Taste of Singapore

First day in Singapore for the tasting trip, I brought my mom in the hope of showing her how Singapore food is. I hope she would enjoy the trip. But, no! it was a big mistake! She only enjoyed a little on the first day, after that it's all complaints I heard! Anyway, Here are some photos we took at Scarlet hotel where we checked in.
a) This is the scarlet couch at the corner of front desk.

b) Inside the room, study table
c) Ma and me on the black couch @ Bold
d) & e) Ma chilling in the room

Haruki Murakami

I'm hooked.

I was the the Stock Exchange's library studying for my exam today so I browsed the Literature shelves for a while. I found 'South of the border, west of the Sun' by Haruki Murakami, this one was translated to Thai by someone unknown to me. It couldn't compare to Kafka on the shore, I finished reading this short story without being intriqued. Or it's more honest to say I didn't really get what the core idea of the story is.
...
Maybe that's the point, maybe that supposed to be the charm of the story. I'm just not sophisticated enough to appreciate it.

The following week I met a friend who's a Murakami fan and he had the whole collection, 7 books that I haven't read. I told him that Kafka is supposedly the best of Murakami works and he got all defensive. His favorite was Norwegian Wood and he wanted to believe that it's the best. He had yet to read Kafka. This whole situation worked in my favor! I made a deal to borrow his 7 books in exchange of loaning him my one Kafka book!

After reading a few books including my friend's favorite, I still insist that Kafka is Murakami's all time best story.

sorry..

Kafka on the Shore

Today i heard a song on radio, it was kind of bland and the singer didn't have the voice that'd suit my taste. However, when I listened carefully for the lyric, it was actually a very beautiful poem. I remember bits like 'how to forget to remember you.' I will find more info about this song later.

Recommended by an influential character of mine, I turned a few pages in English version a month ago and thought it was a too-difficult read. Today when I passed by a bookshop I found the Thai translation of this book and since the translator is Noppadol Vejsawas whom I'm loyal to since I read his works all my life, from the science magazines and from the translation of Asimov's Foundation series. I finally got the hint that this book must be a quality sci-fi so I didn't hesitate to buy it.

Day 1: After reading pass the intro (Which was the one chapter I first skimmed in English version) I realized the story isn't that heavy nor too difficult actually. I'd love to continue reading but I promised my classmates to sum up the marketing models to use in coming exam and another small group review session on Friday, so I had to hold my thirst and worked on the class material first.

Day 2: Had to leave the exam preparation and bring my 'family asset' to her scheduled massage, so I took the opportunity to give myself a break and bring along Kafka on the Shore to read during the 2 hours waiting. The book employs multi-tellers technique which I have seen more in Japanese novels during the past few years, it's good, really. It also reminded me of Sophie's world (by Jostein Garrner) I read many years back. That book was also about teaching complicated philosophies in an easy-to-understand manner, digesting the sophisticated topics by bits and pieces and referring to everyday life. Sophie was a girl who had the chances to learn all those philosophies and finally came to realize that she herself was actually just a character in the book a father wrote for his daughter, how could she be not real when she had her own cognition? That's the key, at least to me. I wonder where my Sophie's book is, I'd mislocated many books with all the moves. . .

Back to Kafka on the Shore, this book has a much darker shade than Sophie though both use similar methologies; semiotics, Greek myth, speaking cats. How should it be classified in the library? Of course, novel! What a silly question! I just wonder whether it's a thriller? Science fiction? Fantasy? Philosophy? But it's a real unput-downable read! I finished the first half this afternoon and planning to sneak a few more hours to read it tonight. Dah.. What will happen to me on the exam!

Day 2 Part 2: I stayed up almost all night to finish it, I skipped most of the narrative parts of course. I don't know a real Kafka but I intend to look for his work to find out more. I don't know this Murakami Haruki neither, is this his usual writing style? Is he already a famous, well established writer or is he just starting his career? I went back to the book's preface and found out he had actually won many prizes and is now a professor at Princeton, so I guess he won't bother to explain more of each character in this book by writing any other books for them. I'm a little disappointed, feeling the story here is a little too much towards Twilight zone's instead of my expected Sci-fi. But it's still a good story indeed. The ending didn't upset me the way Alchemist's did.

I came across the English version of this book again while browsing the bookstore in Changi terminal, this time I flipped to certain parts to see how they're written in English. I had to admit that Khun Noppadol had outdone himself again, his Thai version boasts more tastes and depth in literature. The English version is pale in comparison, I'm glad I read his version first.

World Blood Donor?

Day 15 off Friendster

Coffee consumed today = 0 (hurrah! also just remember that the machiato I had yesterday was a decaff!)

Managed to donate the blood at last, I had been thinking about doing so for months since HSA rejected me last April because I no longer had an address there (I guess Singapore was so afraid that people having some diseases (like HIV) would use the blood donation as a test center instead of seeing a proper physician) I dropped by Red Cross yesterday but it was too late as the clinic close at 4.30pm, lucky I had to go to town again this morning. Good blood wouldn't achieve its purpose if it's still in my body, better set it free. I have a little problem of dehydration even though I drink 3-4 litre of water each day. Since giving blood this morning I felt more cold sores were incubating. I should really see doctor about this nagging condition.

While I was there, I noticed many announcement boards boasting "The World Blood Donor Day", and the date given was 14th of June. This question then popped up:

Why should June 14th be the world blood donor day?

a) is it the worldwide median of blood donors' birthdate?

b) is it the day with highest record of blood donated?

c) is it the day there was the highest record of blood required?

d) is anyone born on June 14th required more blood than others?

e) is anyone born on June 14th donated the highest record ever?

.

.

.

my silly brain can come up with twenty or so silly explanations. but I'll try to forget them

Afterwards I went to Paragon, got into supermarket and admired the gourmet salad bar. There it doubles the price of salad at Sizzlers but the stuffs are with far higher quality, and better taste too. I wish there was such salad bar in Singapore when I lived there, I wouldn't eat anything else and wouldn't have to trouble myself making own salad!

Yawn! 4 days to final exam and I haven't read a single page. I either worked on my jeans revamp project or writing a blog. Promised my classmates to come up with the summary of marketing frameworks and modules to memorize for the final.. I intend to stay up all night to work on it..

May god please bless me..