The Marriage - Episode 5

It is almost two weeks.





As the hours and then the days ebbed, hope wanes.





No news is good news?





Maybe it is destiny.





Or Astrological stars not in alignment?

The Marriage - Episode 4

The hours are ebbing away and still no news from Ah Kung. The chance of getting Ah Girl's hand is diminshing as each hours passes by and Ah Pek's hope is also beginning to fade.

The silence is deafening to Ah Pek. Will the light of triumph shines on Ah Pek and give him a second chance to set up a family? Or will ageism dominates?

The Marriage - Episode 3

It was an anxiety filled weekend for Ah Pek. Weighing heavily on his mind is the meeting with Ah Kung. Ah Pek went through in his mind the critical comments that Ah Kung had made and now these ring loud....something which was not immediately discernible then.

Underscoring all the comments is the issue of age.. a strong preference for youth. Ah Kung's hint was that a younger man has more vitality and drive and will be able to stay and be loyal to Ah Girl longer.


The suspense is causing Ah Pek to be very listless.

So when will Ah Pek be informed?

The Marriage - Episode 2

Now that Ah Kung had met with all the suitors for Ah Girl, he has called his family for a meeting to review, discuss and select the prospective son-in-law.



Ta Chay, Ta Ker, Ta Sao, Er Ker, Er Sao and Ah Ma will have to add their opinions after Ah Kung has described to them on the various prospects. Ah Kung's principal concern is the dowry amount that has to be given to the selected suitor. So far what Ah Kung has indicated seems to be acceptable to all the suitors as they feel that given the global financial crisis they are not going to ask for more. Of course if the family and Ah Kung is doing well then the suitor expects a big ang pow during the Chinese New year to which Ah Kung is not averse.

So who will be picked??? A young man seems the likely outcome but will Ah Pek have a chance??

The Marriage - Episode 1

It was a very harrowing experience for Ah Pek when he went to meet Ah Kung. The occassion?
To ask for the hand of Ah Girl, Ah Kung's youngest daughter, in marriage.
A good friend has whispered in Ah Pek's ears that Ah Kung is looking for a suitable suitor for Ah Girl who wants to start a family soon. Ah Pek has been adrift for more than a year and yearn to get back into a meaningful family life and also to bring his children back after Ah Pek's family broke up due to the global financial crisis.
Ah Kung was a merciless interrogator and gave Ah Pek a very thorough examination in all expects of life and Ah Pek's experience in life. It was a full one and a half hours of relentless questioning...worst than facing the CID!
At the end, Ah Pek's brain felt bleached and physically drained.
Ah Kung told Ah Pek to go home and wait for a reply as Ah Kung will be meeting more suitors who are according to Ah Kung much younger.
What is Ah Pek's chance in the face of strong competition from the younger suitors???
Wait for the next episode lah!

A New Year, A New Decade, A New Hope.

2009 is gone and good riddance! It is a year that is best forgotten and I have no found memories whatsoever. It was a year that saw many forms of miseries to people from job losses to financial losses to natural disasters to diseases like the H1N1 flu.
2010 promises to be a good year and a new chapter but it is also going to be the Year of the Metal Tiger (on February 14)....a white Tiger...so what can I expect from this Tiger and what will the year of the Tiger eventually pan out be like?
On the job front...more employment opportunities. Given the good economic growth there will be more hirings. Companies are also making up to their exisiting staff by giving out bonuses and re-instating back the salaries which were cut during the economic crisis....show of optimism! But will the hirings also include the older workers and the PMETs?
On the investment front... the local equity market had surged to a dizzling height and most Asian equity markets are already on the 70%-80% level.. any likelihood to sizzle further to pre-October 2008 level?...or more choppy?..and commodity prices have all climbed back to their old highs...so is there opportunities?
On the personal financial front...inflation is creeping up but interest rates will remain ultra low which means an erosion on savings unless interest rate rises too...likely?
On the property front...prices have surged and I will say missed the boat already as it is unlikely that prices will drop notwithstanding that there will be more launches of new private and public flats.
At this juncture I can only remain hopeful...hoping that the global economy will continue to expand...that there will be no major financial defaults, major corporate failures or major natural disasters....I will be able to secure a job eventually.
HOPE...a powerful word.

MSG-ed

My friends who were also retrenched early this year and I planned that during our unemployment we should have more time roving around for good food....there's such a wide variety of cuisine and street food to entice us and tease our tastebuds as eating is our passion. To launch our plan we drew up a list of all the popular eating places garnered from friends, personal encounters, magazines, tv programmes etc. that die die must go and eat. It was a formidable list and we were so enthusiastic about it that we started our journey...never mind the distant or out of place location, even before the list was finalised...can't wait to get into the gluttony stratosphere.
Now 9 months have passed and many food outlets later, our initial euphoria has boomz and we are also suffering from a jaded palate not because of over-indulgence.
No! definitely not! Truth is...We have been MSGed! by the food vendors. We now realise why all the food dished out by such acclaimed food outlets taste so delicious and yummy...and we raved about them after eating and then later realise our folly of consuming such "delicious" food. It is the liberal use of MSG (monosodium glutamate) to enhance the flavours and taste! Some chefs are very generous while some are more controlled but they all seem can't do without it. We are not intolerant (lucky or else we will have serious after effect like the so called "China Syndrome") but sensitive to being msg-ed and the resultant effect was a gripping thirst and dehydration that can only be eliminated by drinking litres of water and chinese tea....now we know why chinese restaurants serve chinese tea to go along with your food!!
Now that we have crashed back onto earth with a reality check, our eating out is more prudent....why pay to be poisoned? (Killing me softly with his msg!) Thus we are avoiding and black listing those food outlets that take pleasure is msg-ing us..and thanks to that we are eating more wisely and hopefully healthier but now holding a very small and shrinking list of food outlets to patronise.
We live to eat but now it maybe that we eat to live...how boring....all because of MSG!