Grubbs n Critters

December 29, 2011

Mom’s Nasi Lemak

One of the luxuries of being close to one’s parents is the accessibility to home-cooked food. Not just any other home-cooked meal, but Mom’s home-made dishes and most likely the best tasting dishes I could ever have in the whole wide world!

Whilst thinking about food yet again just a few days ago, I am being reminded by our last visit to Singapore where my Mom had, (at my request, no doubt!), took the effort to painstakingly prepare her authentic Nasi Lemak for dear ole’ me.

It was decided that our picnic-cum-meet-friends trip to the Botanical Gardens was to be accompanied not only by Mom in person, but also by packs of Nasi Lemaks especially prepared by my Mom – wrapped in brown paper and banana leaves and all! Just like an authentic Nasi Lemak would be.

It was in fact, more than just a Nasi Lemak. It was Nasi Lemak and more as for me, it brought back some childhood memories of mine where I remember my mom bringing food from home wherever we went – be it to the Botanical Gardens, to the zoo or to the beach. We were hardly exposed to fast-food available and to date, I still remember the lingering smell of home-cooked food coming out from a packed tupperware with a sentimental attachment to it.

There is so much fondness attached to home-made food…an experience so priceless and out of this world that the first thing I wanted to do as I laid down the mat on the grass was to feed myself with Mom’s Nasi Lemak as quickly as I can.

It was simple, yet so extraordinary. It was a dish made out of unconditional love.

Incognito

Category: Random

I’m re-posting this story here from a recent link I found on FB:

“In Washington DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After about four minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At six minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At ten minutes, a three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent – without exception – forced their children to move on quickly.

At forty-five minutes: The musician played continuously. Only six people stopped and listened for a short while. About twenty gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

After one hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:

In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?”

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I am not a fan of violin-ish music and ignorant-me don’t actually have a clue who Joshua Bell is. But, in a way, this article speaks for itself and I have got nothing more to add to the conclusion.

However, in the context that he is such an internationally recognized, talented musician that he is as perpetrated by society, it makes me wonder if Joshua Bell was bummed by the responses he got!

He is kind of cute, though.

Nice send-off for Gramms

Category: Baby Milestones

Spud must have had a ball in the last week where she seems to be enjoying the attention that was showered upon her, day-in, day out for almost 10 straight days.

While it does take her a few days to warm up to my parents (isn’t it always the case!), once she gets used to them, she bonds with them pretty easily. In fact, after only a few days, Spud called out Nya-yi (Grandma) and Yai-yi (Grandpa) quite quickly.

Very soon, she expects her Nya-yi to come along with her and her Nanny whenever she is due for her play-time downstairs. According to my mom, Spud just does not ask it by saying “Nya-yi?” accompanied by a questioning look when the Nanny puts on her shoes for her, but also waiting for her Nya-yi to walk out of the door as she waits for my mother to waddle along after her.

It does look like they bonded well.

Spud must have a lot of fun with her Gramms, though, for when we sent my parents off to the airport, she somehow gravitated towards my Mom and asked to be carried – something which had not happened before, especially when both Silver Bullet and me were around at the same time.

So, carried Spud in her arms my mom did, and Spud willingly let herself be carried – which is not usually the case. Spud was even very generous with her kisses and hugs as we stood around at the departure area.

What struck me as a little suprising was when we tried to say our good-byes and tried to take Spud back, Spud was pretty vehement that she did not want us to take her and did want to let her Nya-yi go. In fact, she clung on to Nya-yi as if she was clinging on to her dear life, screaming her head off when we touched her. She was visibly upset – something neither Silver Bullet nor me had expected. (this was when I rushed for the camera, but by then, she was already getting quite antsy!)

She finally let go when my Mom gently released her back down on the floor. Spud was not looking too happy, but at least she let out a “bye” after being prompted several times; an indication that she was ready to say her bye for us to (or let them) leave.

All in all, we thought Spud did a nice sent-off for her Gramms. It was completely unexpected, but it turned out to be something worth remembering.