“The Walking Dead” perspective on life

I was down with a sickness last week, so I stayed home a few days and watched the first three seasons of The Walking Dead. This is how I think the Walking Dead perspective on life would go.

It’s a TV show adapted from a graphic novel about a group of people during a zombie apocalypse. Although I know it is gory and not real, it has been an interesting experience to watch it while my own head is feeling a little foggy. But coming out of the fog, I thought about how the show really gets down to the point and distills some interesting philosophical ideas and perspectives on life.
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136 days until World Ultimate Club Championships in Lecco, Italy!

I’m officially 136 days away from playing ultimate in Italy for the World Ultimate Club Championships (WUCC) 2014! This international tournament will be held in Lecco, Italy (which is somewhat close to Milan). The weeks and days are winding down now, and I’ll soon be back in Singapore to train with my team (Shiok! ultimate).

Cleats (gray and pink) Continue Reading

[Recipe] Spicy chocolate cookies, experimenting with vegan substitutes

I’m proud to say that I am participating in a book club! Many people stop reading for fun after they reach adulthood, and I’m also guilty of that. I’ve tried to stick to my reading goals for each year, but only read a measly 5 books last year. (I read 15 books the year before, and 18 the year before that!) So I am excited to get back on track while also enjoying the company of others.

A group of women at the office do a monthly book club, and this month’s book was The Professor and the Madman. Now, in order to celebrate the Britishness and insanity of the book, the theme for our book club meeting (and food festivities) was Crazy Tea Party!
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New food habits and food shopping in the city

When it comes to food, I’ve been shifting towards a whole-food, plant-based diet over the past 3 or 4 years. The first few changes were to stop forcing myself to eat mean (or animal protein) when I didn’t feel like it, and to start eating more different types of greens than the ones I grew up with. Now that I’m in New York City for a few months, I’m also really excited to try local products like Granola Lab. There are so many cool things coming out of New York, Brooklyn especially!

What I have trouble with is how to balance all of the possible adjectives: seasonal, local, sustainably harvested, whole, unprocessed, unrefined, fresh aka not frozen or canned, non-GMO (genetically modified organism, usually corn and other plant products), no preservatives, organic, raw, natural
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[Photo Journal] A walk in the snow through parks in New York

On Sunday, I went on a walk with 2 good friends and their dog in Fort Tyron Park and Inwood Hill Park in New York. The weather was great, and it was so quiet!
Yesterday was my first day “back” in the routine of living and working in New York City. New York is my hometown, which decided to welcome me back from the tropics with snow and freezing temperatures. Awesome! Haha, but really, I’m glad to be back!

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On not freaking out when all your friends are getting engaged or having babies

I’m a few short years away from turning 30, and it seems I’ve entered the time span where all my Facebook feed seems to be dominated by is posts about engagements, weddings and babies. It has been like this for probably a year or more, but wasn’t so apparent until a few months ago when at least 5 or 6 people got engaged within about a 2 week period.

With this, I’ve come to realize that I’m not that close to contributing to Facebook feeds of my friends in this fashion, and I’m ok with that. I’m better than ok; I’m pretty good! My life is not devoid of happy events and especially not jewelry which I don’t care to wear. I’m in no way less “complete” and don’t feel like I’m “behind” in any way. Life events aren’t necessarily following a particular sequence (except for getting older and other time related phenomena). Continue Reading

[Recipe] Mini Onigiri (Japanese rice balls) recipe

I really like onigiri. Each time I’ve been to Japan, I’ve eaten at least one per day. They are a cheap snack you can get in all convenience stores and keep in your bag for when you need a quick energy boost. Traditionally, they are palm-sized triangles of rice with fish or other things in the middle, with a rectangular piece of seaweed wrapped around it. This recipe is for a smaller bite-sized version using Japanese style pickled vegetables.

First step is to decide what you want to put in your onigiri (rice balls). Today I have rice mixed with pickled vegetables, but you can also have rice with salmon in the middle or algae or anything else you want.

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Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. The Terrace, a restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand

2013 in signs and sayings, plus life lessons for 2014

On my travels to various parts of Asia, I often stop and take photos of interesting signs or pieces of English that I find interesting. Here’s a list of life lessons that we can glean from signs I’ve come across in 2013.

We all need money…

"Press for money" sticker on a crosswalk button in Singapore.

“Press for money” sticker on a crosswalk button in Singapore.

…but it isn’t worth going to jail.

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