Grubbs n Critters

January 31, 2012

It’s cold out here!

When Silver Bullet told me that it snowed the night before, I did not really believe him and thought that he was pulling my leg.

Admittedly, I thought he was delirious from the lack of sleep as Spud had been down with a fever the entire night and had single-handedly manage to keep the entire household awake! That being said, since we’ve been here, there has not been any news report of us having a snowy weather here.

Imagine my surprise when I looked out of the window. As it turned out, it did snow that night and we were just oblivious to the surrounding as we got too busy nursing Spud having a fever, turning the entire household upside-down!

I can’t remember the last time I saw snow. And, as I watched speckles of tiny snow falling the next day as little sick Spud dosed off, I was a little disappointed that Spud was just too ill to enjoy the new experience. I’m just hoping that the snow will last a little longer for Spud to get a little better before we head out back to Bangkok.

A day of surprises

Category: Random

[This is a bit of a very delayed post; a post which has been in a draft mode for 10 days and should have gone up more than a week ago. But here it is, anyway]

I woke up one Monday morning of mid-January feeling sluggish, dreading the week I was about to face, but was greeted by a cheerful Silver Bullet wishing me a Happy Birthday as I stumbled into the bathroom. Only to forget that it was my birthday a few minutes later.

When the Nanny came in, I was again greeted by a birthday wish and a little present….only to forget that it was my birthday again that day!

So, that repeated itself over and over again throughout the day, and. somehow, every time I was being reminded by the wishes, I forgot about it right after. My memory has been like a sieve.

In all honesty, though, I felt like it was just like any other ordinary day. A birthday for me is nothing special – it is just a day when I am officially a year older. That being said, it felt so very ordinary perhaps because, this was also probably the first time in years in which I did not take any birthday leave and be done with all work obligations for one day. This year, there just was not enough time for a birthday me-time.

I guess I am lucky that quite a few people made a big deal out of it by just showering me with wishes and gifts.

After lunch, a colleague bought me an ice-cream after he casually asked me of my favourite ice-cream flavour.

Sometime in the late afternoon, whilst I was furiously typing away on my keyboard, my team surprised me by singing a birthday song out loud and ambushed me at my desk with a birthday cake after they dimmed all the lights in the office.The gesture was so sweet, not because of the fact that they remembered, but the fact that in the Thai context, that small gesture given to a foreigner meant a hell lot more than just a birthday cake. In the Thai context, it meant genuine acknowledgment, appreciation and some form of adoration (if I may speculate it so) from subordinates to their boss that it brought a lump to my throat.I think I may have even slightly teared a little as it was nothing which I had expected at all.

When I got home, Silver Bullet not only had gone through all the trouble of cooking dinner for me but, just as I thought the day was over (and forgetting again that it was my birthday), he presented me with a huge-ass gift.

His gift in the form of Osim foot and back massage device made me a very happy person, indeed! (actually, come to think of it, it probably makes Silver Bullet the happier person as he now does not have to do any more manual foot rubs for me when I absolutely need it!)

It was, all in all a great day and certainly something to remember by!

P.S:
Photos will be posted up later as I am currently away and have no access to download the photos from my camera to my laptop!

Keropoks, Fishballs and Cheese

Category: Baby Milestones

Keropok (Singapore/Malaysia), Krupuk (Indonesia) or Kroepoek (The Netherlands) – What is it?

A popular deep fried snack crackers made from starch and other ingredients (usually fish or prawns), and most popular in parts of East and Southeast Asia.

Really tasty and addictive especially when dipped in sambal or chilli sauce. Can be really fishy, but still one of my favourite all-time snacks!

(Silver Bullet hates the fish version)

Fish balls – What is it?

Made from fish instead of meat, they are very common food in Southern China, and apparently in Scandinavia, too.

Can be eaten as sides with noodle soup, in curry with rice or on its own.

Especially good when deep fried, and dipped in, of course, chilli sauce. My favourite comfort food since I was a child.

(Silver Bullet will not have any of these)

Cheese – What is it?

Needs no introduction.

Definitely Silver Bullet’s all-time favourite. For him, the smellier the better, even if they smell like rotten feet!

(I like the milder, younger cheeses. I don’t do smelly – they are revolting!)

So. What do they all have in common?

Apart from the fact that they all can smell a bit funny, I bet you would not have guessed for a second that we found out over time that these junk (more for the keropoks and fish balls as opposed to the cheese!) have turned out to be one of Spud’s favourite snacks!

Funny how that is and all i can say is that it is a testament to Spud’s true mix of Silver Bullet European and my Asian heritage.

I hope it stays that way and it will be nice to share my love for fish with someone else in the family.

Woo hooo! 🙂