Poems Overloaded

One Art
Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

--even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

I carry your heart with me
EE Cummings

I carry your heart with me (I carry it in
my heart) I am never without it (anywhere
I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
I fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) I want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

Here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)

When we two parted
Lord Byron

When we two parted
in silence and tears,
half broken-hearted
to sever for years,
pale grew thy cheek and cold,
colder thy kiss;
truly that hour foretold
sorrow to this.

The dew of the morning
sunk chill on my brow—
It felt like the warming
of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
and light is thy fame:
I hear thy name spoken,
and share in its shame.

They name thee before me,
a knell to mine ear;
a shudder comes o'er me-
Why wert thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
who knew thee too well-
Long, long shall I rue thee,
too deeply to tell.

In secret we met-
in silence I grieve,
that thy heart could forget,
thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
after long years,
how should I greet thee?-
With silence and tears.

碧血劍
金庸

從南來了一群雁，
也有成雙也有孤單。
成雙的歡天喜地聲嘹亮，
孤單的落在後頭飛不上。
不看成雙，
只看孤單，
細思量你的淒涼，
和我是一般樣！
細思量你的淒涼，
和我是一般樣。

Fried Bee Hoon

I like fried bee hoon. I never need to make it because it is always available everywhere in Singapore. Sadly it isn't the case in Dubai.

I tried to make it at home twice but failed. Determined to succeed, I chose a different type of bee hoon this round and studied various recipes I could find on the Internet. I finally succeeded in my third attempt. It does not taste perfect but I am already very happy. At least I managed to swallow all of it instead of trashing it like the previous two trials.

Foggy Dubai 2

It has been foggy in Dubai for the past few days. I feel like driving in the mountain range with such low visibility.

One weird thing in Dubai is that most drivers switch on their hazard lights while driving at 120km/h on highway. It is extremely dangerous as the indicator lights are doomed with the hazard lights being turned on.

In my honest opinion, driving with the headlights turned on is the safest and the right thing to do in such foggy situation. Of course, driving at a reasonable speed helps too.

Dubai Fireworks!

I was taking a shower in the bathroom when I heard some loud, continuous "thump, thump, thump" noise. I thought it was a thunderstorm so I quickly rushed out and checked. Turned out it was Deepavali celebration.

The balcony in my apartment provided me the perfect view to see all the fireworks. It is so nice to see all these in the comfort of my own home, as I am very used to going to Central in Hong Kong during CNY or Marina Square in Singapore during National Day to see fireworks. I took a video but unfortunately I fail to upload it here.

Comics in Dubai

There is one particular thing I never thought I would miss: comics. You can imagine how delighted I was when I saw these Japanese comics lying around, unwrapped in plastic, in Boarders.
It is funny to read them in English because I used to read them in Chinese. And the flow of reading is somehow weird because we are accustomed to reading English from left to right, where as Japanese comics flows from right to left. But of course, I have no complaints.

Segway

First time trying this gadget. It is super fun and easy to use. I think it is the best solution to global warming. It reduces carbon footprint as it doesn't use any petrol and at the same time it produces no exhaust. It is eco-friendly, clean and energy efficient.

It will be great if I can use it in my neighbourhood. But at US$7000 a pop, it is hardly considered as a good substitute to bicycle, nor a replacement to car yet as the maximum speed it can reach is only 20 km/h.

However I still insist it is a good mode of transport. And a good toy to play with.

Maggot Cheese

Casu marzu (also called casu modde, casu cundhídu, or in Italian formaggio marcio) is a cheese found in Sardinia, Italy, notable for being riddled with live insect larvae. Casu marzu means "rotten cheese" in Sardinian and is known colloquially as maggot cheese.

Derived from Pecorino Sardo, casu marzu goes beyond typical fermentation to a stage most would consider decomposition, brought about by the digestive action of the larvae of the cheese fly Piophila casei. These larvae are deliberately introduced to the cheese, promoting an advanced level of fermentation and breaking down of the cheese's fats. The texture of the cheese becomes very soft, with some liquid (called lagrima, from the Sardinian for "tears") seeping out. The larvae themselves appear as translucent white worms, about 8 mm (1/3 inch) long. When disturbed, the larvae can jump for distances up to 15 cm (6 inches), prompting recommendations of eye protection for those eating the cheese. Some people clear the larvae from the cheese before consuming; others do not.

Several food safety issues have been raised with casu marzu:

* Anecdotal reports of allergic reactions.
* A risk of the decomposition advancing to a toxic state. (Folk wisdom in Sardinia holds that the presence of still-living larvae are an assurance that this has not yet happened.)
* Risk of enteric myiasis: intestinal larval infection. Piophila casei larvae can pass through the stomach alive (human stomach acids do not usually kill them) and take up residency for some period of time in the intestines, where they can cause serious lesions as they attempt to bore through the intestinal walls. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and bloody diarrhea.[1]

Because of these health threats, or simply because it is considered a contaminated product, casu marzu cannot be legally sold in Italy. Within Sardinia, enforcement of the ban is sporadic and the cheese is available as a black market item, selling for about three times pecorino's price.

I'll stick to my cheezits.

(I didn't write this article, it is stolen from MUA. But I would love to see and try it one day.)

Thoughts on being a Woman

I feel bad about my neck and other thoughts on being a woman by Nora Ephron. Nora is the woman responsible for movies like When Harry Met Sally , You've got mail and Sleepless in Seattle, which she also directed.

A great book. I finished reading it in Boarders. Yes, I admit I am a cheapo. The book is hard cover and cost 100 Dhm, dammit. I would have bought it if it had come in paperback. Yea yea yea, I am sorry Nora because I am a cheapskate. But it really is a great book.

Brave Cat

Catcat decided to check out the neighbourhood(common corridor) after dinner. I let her out to have a quick walk.

Big mistake.

After that, she always waits at the door and meows me, orders me to let her venture outside the flat whenever I am in the living room. It would not bother me that much if she doesn't need me to be constantly near her, reassuring her I am not abandoning her while she is having fun in the corridor. And with her previous record of getting lost in an HDB flat and being ended up in my neighbour's flat(which is exactly one floor below my flat), I conclude her sense of direction is not that sharp. Therefore I cannot take the risk in Dubai and let her play alone in a corridor, let alone one with elevators and staircase. In the end I spent an hour standing there, watching her sniffing our neighbours' doors.

It is tragic.

Cooking for fun

I stayed at home for my entire weekend and decided to cook everything I had in the fridge and tried some new recipe.

This is Ma Poh Taufu. This is so tasty that I can gobble up two bowls of rice with this alone.
Curry Chicken. My mum tells me this is a good way to trick children to eat carrots and celery or any other vegetables. The cooked vege are all soft and blend so well into the gravy that they are hardly noticeable. A clever trick. I believe my mum is a genius in cooking. My family has a very balanced diet without even knowing it.
And check out who is the un-invited guest?
Stir Fried Mixed Vege.
Fish Finger with Mustard. I love mustard.

Movie again

Watched the movie Prime during the weekend. Great movie. It is a romantic comedy, think along the line of My Best Friend's Wedding, While you were Sleeping and Sleepless in Seattle. If you like the above mentioned movies, you will enjoy Prime too.

Especially love the song by Rachael Yamagata at the end of the movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-hda-yZvEE

This is the lovely lyrics of the song, I wish you love

I wish you bluebirds in the spring
To give your heart a song to sing
And then a kiss, but more than this
I wish you love
And in July a lemonade
To cool you in some leafy glade
I wish you health
But more than wealth
I wish you love
My breaking heart and I agree
That you and I could never be
So with my best
My very best
I set you free
I wish you shelter from the storm
A cozy fire to keep you warm
But most of all when snowflakes fall
I wish you love
But most of all when snowflakes fall
I wish you love