Musings

A couple of months ago last year I started thinking about our year-end 2010 vacation, what with Ling haven’t been out of the country for a while now since becoming pregnant. June looks likely to be out as the coming 9 week long trip to Boston is increasingly likely. Hannah will also be 1.5 years old by the end of the year, and hopefully old enough to be watched after by grandparents without too much fuss.

Initially, I was thinking about Taiwan since Ling hasn’t been there before. But two more locations have come into radar – and both very different experiences from the winter experience we’d be expecting if we hit Taiwan. One’s Boracay island in the Philippines, and the other is Sabah.

Boracay is a small island that’s accessible from Manila International Airport via a 1 hr domestic flight + ferry, and is reputed to feature pristine beaches that rival the best in coastal Malaysia and the Caribbean. Oh, if we wanted to beaches again we could check out Redang or the Perhentian Islands; but it’d be nice to check out beaches from a place other than Malaysia for a change.

[Image source here]

There’s also Sabah, and that’s come by way of interest in (maybe) climbing Mt. Kinabalu. Ling I think has scaled its heights at least a few times now, but me I’ll probably go for the beginner and kiddie-version of the climb. And there’s a host of tidy packages for a long stay at the country, e.g. a 10 day one here, that would include wilderness treks, island hopping, and visits to ethnic villages.

Either way, several options now. Decisions to make soon.:)

Here’s a recipe for disaster:

- Hannah still recovering from a bout of diarrhea +

- Hannah carpet bombs her bottom and diaper, like a doomsday sort of conflagration, the likes of which have never been seen before +

- Hannah gives no warning before the bombing +

- Hannah gives no warning after the bombing +

- Hannah happily continues to play in her cot, moving and mopping her bum across the length and breadth of the cot, her toys, her pillows!

And best of all, Mommy wasn’t at home but shopping for CNY clothes at Robinsons – only daddy was at home to hold the fort LOL.

The end result? Her entire cot looked like the aftermath of Hiroshima in 1945. Clothes, toys, pillows, cot, waterproof mats etc. had to be re-washed. Fortunately, Mommy was just 20 minutes away from home to rescue Daddy who was fighting fire after fire!

On the upside, it was a memorable afternoon. Moments like these – must blog, record, and take pictures so that Hannah can ‘relive’ these moments next time.:)

Last month I wrote an entry reporting that while Hannah’s all me in mannerisms and general looks, her eyes take after Ling’s. Well, here’s proof – got Hannah to pose with Mommy, with Ling making her laugh.:)

Looks like Hannah could eventually inherit Mommy’s crow-eyes too!

Taken using the 50mm f1.8 again (but gonna switch back to my usual 24-60mm f2.8 after this) yesterday night after her 7:30 pm feed.:)

Another change at home since Hannah ‘popped’ 8 months ago has been cooking at home for the both of us. Before Hannah, we’d typically home cook perhaps 3-4 times a week. Since June last year, Ling very rarely cooks dinner anymore since she’s already occupied with Hannah’s milk feeds and in the last 6 weeks solids too.

Ling’s normal ‘free’ window of time at any given moment these days is about 1.5 hours. Hannah’s fed every 3 hours. It takes about 30-45 minutes to feed and burp her, 15 minutes to wash and sterilize her bottles post-feed, and between 15-45 minutes to prepare for a feed, depending on whether it’s milk or solids. And that’s not counting the time for sudden feeding mishaps, baby laundry etc.

So, these days it’s the man of the house who feeds the wife, though I must clarify that my repertoire of what I’ll whip up is really based on my entire value system when it comes to meals. And that value system comprises just one rule: Any meal that takes me more than 45 minutes to whip up is not worth the effort.

When I cook, timing is everything, i.e. I project exactly what time we start eating, then work my cooking and prep time back from there. And that timing’s always spot-on. If one goes into my kitchen, you’ll see a picture of someone who’s honed a small range of recipes to optimum efficiency. Carbonara? Time from reaching to the kitchen counter and having that plate of pasta on your table is exactly 25 minutes. Stir-fry vegetables with rice? Exactly 22 minutes. Green curry? Exactly 40 minutes!

In contrast, Ling takes her time during the months when she did whip stuff up in the kitchen. She’s more an artiste than I ever am – she cooks for self-edification, I cook to feed, factory-styled. Unfortunately, that also meant that our meal times were frequently out of whack. When she says dinner would be served at 6:30 pm, we’d be lucky if we got to eat at 7:30 pm!

In any case, I haven’t been doing quick curries for nearly a year now, but just recently got back to it in view of Matt coming by to stay with us later this month. Have to practice and get my touch back. Here’s Malay-styled chicken curry courtesy of paste from NTUC. This was done in 30 minutes from the moment I stepped into the kitchen and walked out with the pot and bowls of rice. Paste called for nearly enough ingredients and meat to feed a family of 4, but I cooked just for two persons – which made the curry super potent.

Litmus test: Ling said just now she prefers what I whipped up to Lentor mum’s similar LOL.

If there’s one thing I miss on portrait lenses, it’s optical stabilization in low light situations typical of a restaurant. These were taken (badly) this morning during a brunch at Swensens @ Compass Point, and if you’ve been there for a meal, you’ll know how dim lighting is there. I didn’t want to drive the ISO beyond 800 (need… full… frame… DSLR!), and I didn’t want to shoot with a wide-open aperture either. So at f2.2 – the most I was willing to risk, and ISO800 – and at 1/20s exposure times, half of the shots had visible shake, and that’s not counting the fact that Hannah herself rarely remains still – now also got subject motion to contend with. It’s only now when I realize how spoilt I’ve become by optical stabilization LOL.

Hannah with her favorite past time when we’re out of home – chewing on her toy.:) 

Just when she was about to recover from a mild flu, Hannah came down with diarrhoea.

Her pediatrician said the disease was gastroenteritis. Besides diarrhoea, other symptoms include nausea, vomiting and cramping. Well, Hannah had diarrhoea only but it was very acidic and this gave her very bad diaper rashes no matter how quick I detected her soiled diaper each time. Her genital area was inflammed and some rashes were so raw that she refused to let me clean them. She would squirm and yell during every diaper change. Yang had to help hold her still while I clean her up. She could have diarrhoea up to 8 times a day. It was really tiring to clean and cream up an uncooperative baby.

Initially I applied an ordinary diaper rash cream on the diaper rash but I found it to be ineffective. I switched to Desitin Creamy and it helped a bit. The doctor prescribed a Zaricort cream (anti-bacterial and fungal properties) to be applied before putting on the Desitin Creamy. This combination worked. Hannah also had some anti-diarrhoea syrup (has constipative effects) and probiotic pills. We were instructed to leave out veggies and fruits in her diet. Just plain porridge with meats such as fish for the time being. Soy formula milk was recommended too.

It has been almost a week now and her condition has somewhat improved albeit quite slowly. I also fed her yoghurt to help introduce some more friendly bacteria into her gut flora. Hoping that she will recover soon so that she can continue the fun of trying out new foods

The micro four-thirds format sure is picking up steam. I blogged about the E-P1 last year in June. But as attractive as the size and sensor format of the camera was, I wasn’t tempted. The first iteration of Olympus’ design was problematic: slow AF and no unit flash, and it was pegged at too high an asking price.

So, I was real thrilled to read yesterday that Olympus has just announced a new model using the format: the E-PL1, which is less featured and built more cheaply (e.g. plastic mount LOL), will be several hundred dollars cheaper at the same time! Now, that’s really tempting now – a near-DSLR image quality almost compact-sized camera that’ll cost about SGD840 suggested retail, maybe cheaper at street price.:)

Cross-posted from my other blog.:)

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There just isn’t any stopping the BioWare juggernaut. Hot on the heels of their critically-acclaimed RPG Dragon Age Origins that was released just a few months ago, Mass Effect 2 – the second in a planned trilogy of sci-fi CRPGs – was just released for the Xbox 360 and the PC.

The second game in the series sees players back in the role of Shepard, ex-Spectre and commander of the space frigate Normandy. The opening cut-scene though sees the destruction of the Normandy while on hunting for the remnants of the race of sentient machines, the Geth, from the first game. Shepard is technically (?) killed, but his body is reconstructed and consciousness restored by the powerful pro-human group, Cerebus, and headed by the secretive Illusive Man, voiced by the veteran actor Martin Sheen from The West Wing TV-series.

Convinced that the Geth were acting as proxies for a more dangerous threat, the newly restored Shephard is tasked with first finding and recruiting companions, most new but some old and returning from the first game, then investigating the disappearance of human colonies that eventually reveals the galactic threat.

Most of Mass Effect 2 worked well for me. The voice-acting is back in top form, with a couple of easily recognizable voice actors, including aforementioned Martin Sheen, Battlestar Galactica Reimagined alumnus Tricia Helfer and Michael Hogan, and even Michael Dorn from the Star Trek: The Next Generation series. Funnily though, Jennifer Hale’s voice delivery of the female Shepard is more nuanced and make for better listening and story immersion than Mark Meer’s delivery of the male equivalent. So, if you have no compunctions playing the female version of the hero character, that’s the way to go for a better overall experience.

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Last year in August I did a post on upcoming films of 2009 I was interested in catching. So figured it’d be fun to do a regular iteration of posts on upcoming films. This list runs till about May this year. Not all these films are going to be big hits though, but they’re all films I’m interested in catching.

Clash of the Titans (26 Mar 2010)

This is the much hyped remake of the original 1981 film. I actually still remember the original film from nearly 30 years ago quite well – not only because Anglo-Chinese Primary School if I remember rightly organized class outings that year for those of us in primary 4 to watch the film at the nearby Cathay Cinema back then, but also because of the many repeat TV runs on the then old Singapore Broadcasting Corporation. The remake enjoys all the benefits of computer generated visuals, stars Sam Worthington of Terminator: Salvation, Ralph Fiennes and even Liam Neeson as Zeus. The teaser trailer looks fabulous though Neeson looks real weird as an armor-clad Zeus.

Agora (Mar 2010?)

Rachel Weisz returns to ancient Egypt, but not in Mummy 4. She plays Hypatia, a Greek scholar and teacher of mathematics and philosophy who lived around the 4th century and during the rising tide of Christianity in Roman-occupied Egypt. Historically, she was apparently and unfairly blamed as the cause of tensions between the ruling Roman officials and the Alexandria Pope, and was murdered by a Christian mob. The Spanish-produced historical drama has already been released in certain areas in Europe, but no idea if it’ll ever reach Singapore. Still, hopefully it shows up at least on rental or Blu-ray. I’ll be interested in catching this film either way.

Iron Man 2 (30 Apr 2010)

The next film in the successful launch of Marvel’s armor-clad superhero. I found the first film a bit of a mix bag. I enjoyed Robert Downey Jr’s performance of the title character, the chemistry between Starks and Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), the quips and story humor, but thought the antagonist rather bland. Oh well – it was still much more good than bad, so watching Part 2 is a sure-given for me.

Prince of Persia (27 May 2010)

It’s finally nearly here, and the buffed-up Jake Gyllenhaal actually looks the part of the Prince Dastan from the trailer, even pulling the same stylistic acrobatic stunts from the video games. I’ll put money on that this will be a runaway financial success for Walt Disney Pictures and will begin a film franchise like Pirates of the Carribean.

Further down; there’s The A-Team (Jun 2010), The Expendables (Oct 2010), Toy Story 3 (Jun 2010), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (Nov 2010). Next update later in the year.:)

The Ramen Girl (2008) – on rental. Two more DVDs arrived by way of home rental near the weekend. One was the critically acclaimed psychological-sci-fi drama Moon from last year starring Sam Rockwell, and other the third Brittany Murphy drama in my queue and from 2008 – The Ramen Girl.

This Japanese-American production feels a lot like the other fish-out-of-water films of Westerners finding their way about in Japan, including Wasabi, Lost in Translation… heck, even The Last Samurai. Murphy stars as Abby, an American girl who’s just arrived in Tokyo to join her boyfriend, Ethan. Within the first 10 minutes or so, we find that Ethan didn’t really want Abby around, so he breaks up with her and takes off to Osaka for a business trip.

Distraught and in tears, Abby seeks solace in a Ramen restaurant that’s near her apartment. The restaurant is run by a headstrong and not terrifically pleasant Ramen chef Maezumi (Toshiyuki Nishida) with his wife Reiko (Kimiko Yo). And at the restaurant, Abby sees a vision of a Fortune Cat beckoning, as though suggesting that the Ramen restaurant is her destiny.

I’d coincidentally just re-watched Wasabi last week starring the always affable-on-screen Jean Reno, and couldn’t help referencing the 2001 film as I watched The Ramen Girl. Unlike the earlier film though, The Ramen Girl doesn’t take some of the same story short cuts – and I’m referring specifically to the all too convenient contrivances of Japanese somehow being able to speak beautiful English, and vice-versa. In The Ramen Girl, the Japanese leads – Maezumi and Reiko – and most of the supporting cast speak Japanese and don’t magically acquire an English language ability by the film’s end. The difficulties Abby experiences in understanding the locals persist through the film, which really adds to realism of the proceedings.

The pair of Japanese leads too discharge their roles well. I don’t follow Japanese productions, so both actors are unfamiliar to me. Maezumi is gruff at at his best, and an utterly tyrannical employer at his worst – and only at about the film’s last act does he somewhat soften up. So there’s some level of character development and progression from start to end for him. His bad cop role is a nice counterpoint to his good cop wife, Reiko, who’s sympathetic to Abby.

Funnily, it’s the Ramen references though that don’t work well. Early on, the film hints of the almost mystical effects of a perfect bowl of Ramen, with Abby willingly suffering from Maezumi’s Drill Sergeant antics only because she’ll do whatever it takes to learn from the master. However, the film never quite sees this important story element to its conclusion, apart from the suggestion that preparing a bowl of Ramen needs to come from one’s ‘spirit’ and not one’s ‘brains’ – whatever that means.

Even more disconcerting is that Abby is perpetually an emotional roller-coaster in the film. The story calls for strong reactions from her at each of the story’s major junctures – crying her eyes out at being dumped, disgust at the menial labor she has to do, frustration at being unable to cook the perfect bowl of Ramen, and joy when she finally does – and it gets tiresome. And it doesn’t help that Murphy displays little subtlety in each of these emo phases.

There’s also a bunch of supporting characters, a couple of them minor (like the two Japanese aunties who patronize the restaurant), but several of others which look like their parts would have some influence on the story’s progression but disappointingly don’t. Which leads you to wonder if their scenes were snipped to save time, or it was just sloppy writing on the script writer’s part.

So, it’s a mixed bag. It’s a watchable film if you’re interested in Ramen. Just don’t expect to watch this film expecting to experience some sort of epiphany on how they should be cooked.