Mid-August!
How fast time flies! We're now already half way past 2021 and well into August!
The weather has been awfully hot and humid, but I'm still thankful that it is comparatively cooler in Singapore than in Japan (having caught 熱中症 twice living in Japan during summer, and not once almost my entire life in Singapore. I'm always grateful for our government's aim of making sure Singapore has a good balance of concrete with grass and trees etc.
I've been taking a morning soak every few days since the start of August. The cold weather is just so cooling and inviting. I usually go early in the morning around 8am after taking Bao on his morning walk. Swim and enjoy the jacuzzi for about 20-3min before heading back up for a shower before starting work. It's a good timing - refreshing before work and feeling clean after the humid morning walk, and there are usually only another 2-3 swimmers in the pool. Weekends I try to go earlier in the morning as well and avoid afternoons as the pool is usually full of screaming children, crowded with families and swimming coaches/classes by then.
Badminton!
彼 and I recently bought badminton rackets and shuttlecocks as well, and booked our condo's badminton court for a session! It's been quite a while since I actually played badminton... 彼 had to go slow/soft on me lol We brought Bao along he was very guai just sitting there watching us play. It feels quite good to be using more of the condo's facilities since we pay like almost SGD300/month for maintenance of the public area/facilities in the Condo. BBQing/Grilling and booking of the multi-purpose room has been OOS because of Covid but the maintenance fees remain the same anyway, so I do feel we should try to use the facilities more...
Shaobao
Some recent photos of Bao. His fur has grown really long. He and Yuki had their grooming scheduled for end of July, but due to my dad's hospitalization and my parents' family helper's quarantine order, we decided it was better to rearrange the grooming session until the family helper's QO was over. Unfortunately our groomer is really popular and unable to reschedule so we had to cancel it and wait for the next session in early September.
I've always wanted to grow Bao's fur out so now is a good chance, but the tangles, blow-drying and brushing is reallly tiring. But I'm trying my best to keep him as tangle-free and pretty as I can until his grooming! his fur is now so long his ears tend to brush the ground when he sniffs it, so now I tie up the tip of the fur on his ears when we go out for walks~
New Sandals!
Bought new sandals! 彼 and I both started wearing Birkenstocks since a few years ago. We really love it because they are so comfortable. 彼 has flat food so Birkenstock provides pretty good support. Each pair usually lasts us 2-3 years or more. I've been wanting to get a new pair since earlier this year but had been having trouble find the size of the design that I liked.. It was always out of stock.. and finally I decided to just go for this last pair on-display set since it was still in good condition. And loving it!
Shows
Sailor Moon Eternal
Click to viewI was so so happy when I found this on Netflix. Sailormoon will always be one of the most memorable series for me and mayu. We chased the manga religiously back in primary school. It was one of the first few mangas we read and end up buying the whole series, including Sailor V. We didint really enjoy the anime series back then though because the characters' personalities were so thwarted.
I was so thrilled when I finally made a trip down to 麻布十番 when I was living in Yokohama, as one of my last travels around Tokyo before returning to Singapore~ My only regret is not going there earlier and more often to check out the place more thoroughly.
This arc is really one of my favorite arcs in Sailormoon, and the movie has it really really well done.
The Last Madame
Story about how a the great-grand daughter of a Madame running a brothel in Chinatown, Singapore back in 1930s, come to learn about her great grandmother's history and the history of Singapore. I love the bits of 1930s, but the storyline in the present is kinda meh.
Kingdom: Ashin of the North
I honestly did not recognize Jun Ji-hyun because she looked so different from her usual glamarous characters. The show was kinda slow for the first half. Enjoyed it because it very well explained the story of Kingdom.
Rurounin Kenshin: The Beginning
I still cant say I enjoyed this very much, though it was better than Final. I liked how it is pretty close to the manga, but the storyline went really slow....
樹海村
Pretty good horror! I would really like to go Aokigahara for guided hiking tours in future if possible...
The Cinderella Addiction
Probably.. one of the most twisted movies I've watched in a while...
Covid-19!
We're now able to eat out again! The rules are kinda confusing as to where/who can eat out. As far as I know: if all vaccinated, up to 5 members (or members of one household) can eat out at restaurants together. Non-vaccinated are not allowed at F&B eateries except non-aircon/non-enclosed hawker center and kopitiams. Hawker centers and kopitiams only allow up to 2 members at a table regardless of vaccination status. Honestly it is very discriminating towards the non-vaccinated, though the government package it nicely as being for the safety/benefit for the non-vaccinated, which I have to agree plays a part too.
We have reached 71.4% vaccination rate in Singapore as of today. In my project team as well, of 20 members, about 16 have already received their 2nd jab so we're around that rate as well. 3 of the remaining 4 members will get their 2nd jab later this month, and one is holding off due to pregnancy, but open to vaccination after delivery based on her doctor's advice.
I do have relatives/friends who are anti-vaccine and have yet to take the vaccination.. We're not close.. I do wonder what they intend to do...
Exploring Singapore
彼 and I brought Bao to Coney island one weekend. The sky was abit dark as we approached the island but we were hoping it wont start raining until we were off the island. (so said island, it is actually connected to mainland via a dam). Bao loves running around the beach and even jumped into the sea to swim! And while he was swimming it started to rain really heavily. We braved the rain, and walked in the rain about 30min to get back to the car.
Another weekend at Sengkang Riverside Park. This is near 彼's parents house so we dropped by before heading to 彼's parents' house for dinner. The park used to be so quiet and empty (2 years ago when we lived with 彼's parents for a short while and visited), but now it was so crowded and full of families flying kites, jogging, feeding turtles and fishes, or simply just enjoying the park. We're unlikely visit it again as the paths were narrow and overcrowded... esp in Covid times.
Food!
With restrictions lifted, we've been able to go out more for meals. First time visiting Tamago-En. We had Hamburger set, Oyako-don, Triple berries fruit tea and Genmai tea! Genmeai tea is so refreshing for a hot summerish day~
Tonkotsu kazan ramen! It's a ramen shop we often walked passed and were tempted to try. It is called Volcano Ramen because the hot soup is poured sizzling into the stone bowls and the bowl covered with the special lid. Hot steam will fizzle from the lid making it seem like a Voclcano eruption. We ordered a curry tonkotsu ramen, sukiyaki tonkotsu ramen and karaage. The sukiyaki tonkotsu was awesome! Definitely be back again!
Simple home-cook meal for myself. 彼 doesnt have lunch when he is doing morning shifts or when he has finished his nightshift (he will sleep till late afternoon after getting home), so those days I will usually just cook very simple/easy meals.
So here's a simple meal of Tamagoyaki and Donki's instant pork don. I finally mastered rolling the tamagoyaki (though one side is still abit ugly)
Another simple meal. Seaweed, natto with egg and rice. And Tofu and century egg.
Donki's pork cutlet cooked with tamago toji. Quick and easy to cook~
My first attempt at 酸辣土豆丝(spicy-sour shredded potato)! Turned out pretty good. I replaced dried chilli with normal chilli coz i didnt had dried chilli.. it ended up super spicy but super good!