Kodoku no Gurume Season 4 Ep 5 (Japanese Food Drama)

Himakajima

Looking for a customer named Yamashita...

A pity Goro-san smokes.  This time, the show starts with him already sitting & appreciating his cigarette. Then it says "30 mins earlier..."

This time, Goro-san has come to a seaside town that has no taxi & no bus. Only...

Hai. We get to see him riding a bike for the 1st time. He takes off his suit jacket again sexily...

Legs too long...

Adjust saddle to maximum height...

And off he goes ... a very straight back. How does he sit so ramrod straight??!

He just parks his bike anywhere without locking or anything & goes exploring. Japan still has very rural towns like this, just like in the currently ongoing anime Barakamon (where the people speak in a totally different dialect). Such places really exist. Wow.

Is there any food in this rural place?

He waits like a king for his Tako...

Chewy Tako...

Continues looking for Yamashita san...

Makes a funny face going uphill... He's pretty good on a bike!

Found him! Turns out his customer forgot the day of the week... as Goro-san guessed.

Customer: What day is today?
Goro-san: It's Tuesday.
Customer: Tu...?
Goro-san: It's Tuesday.
Customer: ..?
Goro-san: Tuesday.
Customer hangs down his head.

Is that Tako the only thing he's gonna eat this time?? Hungry time:

I can't believe he can even make these prawns look delicious, the way he eats. The prawns are actually small & skinny in his hands. Appetizers? He eats them like peanuts. (If you know how to read the moons -the white crescents- of his fingernails in the 3rd pic, you can tell his health condition).

 

Here comes the main meal:

 

*laughs* The way he eats... I can feel what he's eating. I really need to eat this meal. I know what it feels like because I ate a small but similar rice asari packet from a supermarket at Sendai (best lunch I ever had). This is Tako rice:

 

A grain of rice on his lower lip. Earlier, there was a bit of prawn.  In the previous episode, I said how come his lips are always so clean & never oily. Well,  here it's as if the producers heard me.

The way he eats...tells me, this is what living is about:  Be grateful for the sea.

One question though... when he returns the bike, how is he going to go back to the pier? He came a long way on bike. They should have a service where a truck comes to pick up the bikes around the island.

Personally, this episode is quite boring.  His seaside town food excursions have usually been boring. The one exception I remember... was when he went to this seaside town eating place where some handsome young surfers dropped by.  Wow, I surely want to go there.

Kodoku no gurume (Japanese Food Drama) Season 4 Ep 3 Watch

Here's a rare instance of Goro-san on a swing! Didn't expect him to get on the swing, but that's what I always do also when I see a swing. Love it.  He is smiling while swinging although it's not obvious in freeze-frames.

Look at his long legs. ^_^ So fun to see a business man set aside his briefcase for a swing. Love the way he leaps out unexpectedly at the end. Cool. 

 

In this episode, the way he explores the back alleys & houses, is the same way I explored Japan when I was there. They have very interesting & quiet back alleys that's quite fun to explore.  Usually, there's nobody around. You feel as if you're trespassing & that's the fun part. ^_^

Desperately looking for food:

Kodoku no gurume (Japanese Food Drama) Season 4 Ep 4 Watch

This episode makes me want Japan meat right now. The way he does it.

I don't eat beef (because cows are cute) & seldom eat meat (pigs are cute too & so are chickens that I read are abused by sadistic slaughterhouse workers & I don't like the taste of meat), but this episode just plain makes me Crazy for it!!!!

How does he eat without messing up his mouth every time?? It's amazing. Is it even possible he can eat so neatly without film cuts? Not a smear, his lips ain't even oily. Hmm... But he did eat it or at least chew it. ARHGghh.... Mou!! Eii! (Enough!). The more I think, the more I don't want to think.

With the previous episode & this one, the show is warming up again, just like Season 3.  Lighthearted,  comedic & with lovelier food than episode 1.  (Episode 1 was disappointing).

When he first sits, he starts taking off his jacket which I find rather sexy, the way he takes off the other side (closer to the woman).  [Reminds me of Lee Min Ho shyly taking his jacket down his shoulder as a favor for a friend's friend who wanted him to do a spray can ad in Personal Taste.] 

I love his movements. Even though he is very tall & large-framed, he is very graceful. Look at the way he holds the glass of Oolong tea & sets it down gently with his long fingers. 

Goro-san, in his immaculately well-pressed & starched white shirt, doesn't even look at the pretty girl. (where do they find such pretty girls??).   I have been noticing that he never looks at pretty girls in the show. **

But he looks at the meat like this:

The meat:

While it's on the grill, he wafts the smell to him with his hands & says, "This smell is dangerous.". He says "dangerous" in English & smiles as in the 2nd pic.

He first ate this. He says "Tonsoku". Pig's feet.  It's the first time I've seen him using his hands & spitting out the bones into a bowl.

Sucking it. I wonder if maybe that's why they got a man for the show? Eh, no. They had to get a man because the manga character is a man. I don't know... is that feet meat really that good?

After those slabs of meat, he's still as usual, able to order more. Where does he put all that food?

Here comes the soup that I love!!!! Lemme have it!!!!! Such torment watching him slurp it off his spoon....ARGGHHHHHH....!!  Damn him.  I bet the broth is from pork or beef bones. Should be very very nice & flavorful. (It's odd that he looks thin but he actually eats so much? Does he really?).

I love the egg in there. Here's where he has added his 2nd bowl of rice into it. The 1st bowl was eaten plain with his meat. It may seem very plain, but Japanese rice is really fabulous like that on its own. Really. Back when I was in a grill shop in Japan (I didn't know it was a grill shop), I was given only 3 little strips of chicken neck fillets to grill, a bowl of rice & just a small plate of very few pickles. Yet it was the best meal I ever had. A tad expensive though (something like $15).

After that 1st bowl, he then called for another bowl of rice when this soup arrived. And he got the idea of putting the rice into the soup (as I was also thinking of doing).

While the young girl flirts with the 2 machos, Goro-san is completely oblivious. Because he's in heaven.

             It's that good. I've never seen him do this before. Scrapes everything & keeps scraping.

 

Next episode #5:   Also making me nuts!!  I love the rice. There's Tempura!

I've started wondering whether the shops request the film crew to go there to help them publicize their food. I know all the shop staff & customers are hired to be in the show.  Obviously, everything has been prepared beforehand.

By the way, he never loosens his tie. Even on a hot summer day. No sweat either.  In this episode, he dabs his face with his handkerchief but there actually isn't any perspiration. Pretty amazing. This episode is the latest & it's hot summer weather that's causing heatstroke in elderly Japanese folks at this time. 

I love the background music. Keep whistling it.

** In Ep 2, he does look at a pretty woman behind a glass window, but that's because he just happened to notice her looking at him while he was considering the men's wear display.  In return, he just bows politely & quickly walks away.  Her reflection: she looks like a stewardess for Japan Airlines... so pretty...

EAT @ JEM Review

Thurs 24 July about 6.15pm.

Plenty of seats even though it was dinner time. Now I know why.

Young woman cashier was attentive & waiting even while I stood outside the place talking to Bro about what to order. When I walked up to order, turned out she's a foreigner (Indonesian?).  She asked about my Laksa specifics in off-sounding Hokkien/Chinese but still understandable (slim noodles? Sea hum?).

But I didn't like her the moment I found out she's a foreigner.  She didn't look clean either.

She busied with something, and only when she put the bowl in front of me (with noodles and some bean sprouts) on the glass counter top, then I realized she had been preparing it. Odd.

So she doubles up as cashier & food preparer?  Shouldn't the man who is doing the cooking do it?

After that, she said $4.30, took my money & gave me the change in my hand. Rather ... polite but... This is the oddest and most unprofessional EAT outlet I've been to. 

I went to stand where the man was doing the cooking.  I didn't see how he did it, but when he put it in front of me & I took it in both hands, I was surprised the bowl wasn't hot.

When I started eating it, the soup wasn't hot either. What the heck did he do?

Other than that, it tasted Ok because I was hungry. Then I saw a strand of short hair curled around a white noodle.

Must belong to the man since the foreigner cashier has longer hair that's tied up in a ponytail and capped.  The man has a clean cut look, but his hair must have fallen in.

Was at first reluctant to order from this shop. But Bro & I walked round the place & didn't know what to eat. Since we have tried other EAT outlets elsewhere before & they were Ok, I thought this would also be Ok.

Bro didn't eat here (he ate at Yoshinoya that's just across).

This EAT at JEM looks a little dingy & unclean. I shouldn't have stepped in.  Luckily,  my sensitive stomach was Ok after that.

Avoid.  Other reviewers have complained about their service (I only know this just now when checking reviews after I have already eaten).


** After removing the short strand of hair... I still continued eating a little more but that was it.  A strand of hair won't kill, although it can be gross. It's straight hair so it's from the head, not down below.  I know some people would rather stop the moment they see a strand of hair, but ... that's a full bowl & as mentioned, I was hungry.  Although a strand of hair won't kill,  it does show that it's better not to eat here, not entirely clean. It's also not the first time I've come across a place that has hair in the food. Second time.

Some years back,  I found a rather big piece of green glass in my bowl of noodle soup at a hawker center. I complained to the women & they merely apologized.

Keisuke Tokyo Ramen Dining Suntec Review 東京らーめんけいすけ味噌汁ない?

What is a Japanese restaurant without Miso Soup?  Oddly, this one doesn't have.

I'm sure the publicity was done in Japanese magazines such as WAttention since quite a number of Japs dropped in.  Of the 6 or 7 occupied tables at the time,  4 or more were Japanese in groups, couple or alone.

This number can be considered large since Japanese people are usually absent from the usual popular so-called Japanese restaurants in SG.  Many so-called Japanese restaurants in SG serve fake and lousy Japanese rice and food that people queue up for (I can only assume these people haven't been to Japan and so don't know the taste of authenticity).

Having been to Japan and enjoyed the personalized food and attention in their small restaurants, I can understand and appreciate the quality and meaning of their Japanese rice. The authenticity that can be tasted and cannot be forgotten. It is no wonder the Japs place such importance on their rice.

When real Japs patronize a Japanese restaurant in SG,  it's a sure bet that the restaurant is serving real Japanese rice from Japan and the food is accordingly nice.

First off, Keisuke is a nice name. A person's name for a restaurant? Nice.

I also like the wordings of the name on their shop sign. Very Punk-Gothic. Cool.

I like the look of it from the outside. Welcoming, inviting. Brightly lit. Makes you wanna walk in.

Nice front poster of food. Very Japanese layout. It caught the attention of a passing Japanese working man in a suit and briefcase in his 40s or so. He paused at the poster, and I was certain he would go in, and he did. This was after Bro and I were done and I stood outside while Bro was at the cashier.

25 June Wed around 6 pm (bill paid at 6.25pm)

I think we were the earliest customers for dinner since no one was in there. No staff seemed to be about. So I tapped once on the cashier's counter bell for attention. The bell is very near the entrance.

Right away a staff popped her head to look while she stood inside the restaurant. She smiled and I held up 2 fingers. She walked towards us and seemed to indicate for us to walk in, so we did. A smiling, welcoming staff is a good sign, although not having anyone welcome us at the entrance is bad.

The walkway in, is welcoming and inside is brightly lit. But that walkway, is a disadvantage because the staff can't see customers standing outside unless the staff make the effort to look.  (Earle Swensens @Vivocity has a very long walkway that the staff uses to ignore customers standing outside).

She led us to a table for 4, which surprised me a little because usually staff in restaurants tend to be stingy and give small table. She was smiling throughout and very upbeat, quickly pointing out the two slips of paper with pencils on the table before walking away.

I actually had no idea what she said. Throughout, except for the word "sure", I didn't know what she was saying (even though she seemed to be speaking English.  Her voice was very shrill and hard to hear what she's saying.). 

Menu... not much variety but looks delicious. Bro and I were not very hungry (he ate KFC earlier while I ate junk sausage crackers from Korea at Marina Square).

Nevertheless, hungry enough for some dinner.

We ended up ordering all side dishes.  I absolutely had to try the Ramen Gratin with crab stock ($8). The picture looked so good on the poster. Bro ordered the Minced Chicken on rice ($4.50). I later added another order of Sesame & Spring Onion rice ($3).  

After the same staff read out the orders and walked away, Bro said, "She's Japanese.".  He had earlier mentioned it but I didn't think so.  I still didn't think so.  He said, "She said 'mince-zi'."

"Mince-zi?" I laughed. "Are you sure? Didn't she say 'minced'? I can hardly hear what she's saying.".

He said he heard it because she was closer to his side. I only heard it when she turned to me and was walking away.

"She said 'mince-zi'." he affirmed.  Even when we got home, I laughed thinking it and asked bro to say it again.

Ahh, the Japs. They can't pronounce English words. Hades, they say "Hardas". "Issac", they say "Esac", "Thoth", they say "Tot to".  Now "minced", they say "mince-zi".  (The only anime that pronounces "Issac" correctly is Devils & Realists. Hades & the others I mentioned are mispronounced in Kamigami no Asobi).

When she passed by, I made a point to glance at her large name tag. Yasuko.  Hmm.. is it the same as the Japanese word for "promise"?  I think not.

So, she's really Japanese. Bro was right.

Bro ordered ice water. I didn't order any drinks.

The food took some time to arrive.  I can only see 2 cooks. Considering it was just us, it's rather slow.

Shortly after we ordered, two more tables in front of us were filled. But we had ordered first, so I expected the food to arrive in a short time.

The Ramen Gratin came first. Presented very cutely & miniaturized. Bro said it looked like it shrank after cooking. I laughed because that's exactly what it looked like. I had expected it bigger (the poster enlarged it).

Digging in, it's ribbon noodle pasta under the cover of cheese. Small portion, as fitting for a side dish. Taste... Nice but gross.  The cheese flavor is probably for cheese lovers. I finished it, so it's nice. But I wouldn't want more of it and it was just a little gross while eating.

Bro's small bowl of Minced Chicken on rice, I took a spoonful. Nice. Right away, I could taste it's authentic rice from Japan. It's almost the same as what I ate one late night in a back alley of restaurants somewhere in Japan (I still miss that woman's white rice with nothing except 3 chicken neck fillets).

He said it's too salty (he gave it 7/10).  The sauce of the meat is well infused into the rice, so it's very nice, flavorful and fragrant rice.  Not just white rice underneath which some restaurants do. This rice is moist with the fragrant oil of the sauce and meat.

After my gratin and spoonful of Bro's rice, I decided to order the Sesame & Spring Onion rice. It took rather long to arrive. By then, more of the tables were occupied with a Japanese (according to Bro) guy in T-shirt, knee-length cotton shorts and slippers eating alone to the left of us (looking as if he came from some condo nearby).

Bro said he thought I would order what he had, but I said the Sesame & Spring Onion rice sounds plain and I want to see how it will taste.  I want to test how good it will taste with something as plain as that.

Just Sesame and Spring onion with rice? It was bland and dry. So, I called for one of the staff for Miso Soup. She paused thinking, then said she'll ask. She went off and returned to say they don't have.

Don't have Miso Soup? It was quite surprising. A Japanese restaurant, no Miso Soup?

This staff (I think local or Malaysian) at the beginning, has been sounding tired in welcoming customers in. Also, she sounds impolite compared to the Japanese staff Yasuko.

I actually didn't want to ask her for Miso Soup, expecting the answer would be an outright no. But she made the effort of asking the cooks (or whoever) and the answer was still no (which is quite surprising since Miso is a staple and very common in Japanese cooking).

I had actually intended to catch the attention of Yasuko who might have said yes. But since this local or Malaysian staff saw us, she came over.

Besides the local/Malaysian, another non-Japanese staff also sounded tired, less upbeat and impolite. When she cleared my plate (the Gratin), she asked, "Are you done?".  It's very rude to ask in this way. The correct way should be "May I take your plate?" or simply extend an open palm towards the plate.

The contrast among the staff is great because Yasuko is the only one so upbeat, as if she's the boss.

Anyway, no Miso Soup displeased me. The rice was so dry and bland. It would go well with a bowl of Miso Soup.  They could charge for it, I don't mind. But to say they don't have Miso Soup, is really... disappointing, especially when it's just a simple request.    

[Translation: とにかく、何味噌汁は、私を不快にしない。お米はとても乾燥して当たり障りのでした。それは、味噌汁の椀とよく行くだろう。彼らはそれを有料化できた、私は気にしない。しかし、彼らは味噌汁を持っていないと言って、それだけで、単純なリクエストの場合は特に、···、本当に残念です。

Japanese people proud of their food, would serve the customer in a way that adds pleasure to the food for the pleasure of the customer. I was thinking of Goro-san (Kodoku no Gurume 孤独のグルメ) when asking for that bowl of Miso Soup.

[Translation: 彼らの食糧を誇りに思う日本人は、顧客の喜びのために食品に喜びを追加する方法で顧客に役立つであろう。味噌汁の椀を求めたとき、私は五郎さん（孤独のグルメ）のことを考えていた。 ]

I didn't finish the rice. The bottom half of it, Bro ate it for me.

Zen-nen desu. No Miso Soup. 残念。 味噌汁はありません。

The bill for 3 side dishes (water free) with service charge etc.. = $18.25 

Before then,  I had at some point asked Bro how much was his rice, he thought for a while and said, "Very cheap only. About $4.".

"$4??!"

"Yeah. Around there.".

The manager is a woman with the name of "Nao". Strange short name. I'm sure it's a short version of something longer? I thought she was a China woman with her fair square face, but from her name tag, seems she's Japanese.

She sure took her time to stroll out to be our cashier. No apology for keeping us waiting.  (In the time we waited with no one at the counter, it was tempting to just walk out without paying. Would serve them right if someone did walk out.).

I asked the manager to confirm if their rice is from Japan. She said yes. I said "It's nice.". She just smiled a little. I said, "It tastes different.".  She didn't hear or understand what I said. So, I said, "It's different from other restaurants.".  She smiled a little again. I don't recall if she thanked me for the compliment. Maybe she did. Maybe she didn't.

As a manager, that's pretty cold and impersonal attitude towards customers.

Will we be back there? ...Maybe not.

Food... Bro is more lenient than me in grading restaurants.  I give it 5/10.
Service... 5/10.
Price... Well, it's not too bad. For the authentic taste and flavor of the rice... at that price. 6/10. I was surprised the bill was only $18.25.

Who wins them in terms of service?  Tsukada Nojo Bijin Nabe @ Plaza Singapura.

Gackt looks so Cute being a Girl. Really Cute.

No wonder it's said he's androgynous (-looking).  I never thought he looked handsome as a man. But as a woman... Wow. He's really cute. Amazing. His face softens when dressed as a woman/girl.  As a man,  he's not handsome because he looks like a woman (that's what I have always thought, although he is handsome sometimes especially when wearing dark sunglasses.). 

Meaning... his face is actually a woman's/girlish/feminine face.  The only man I have seen who looks cute in a nurse's dress and girl's uniform. Pretty amazing. I won't believe he could look like this if he was in his usual male clothing.

Well, just for fun is fine.  I find him a very stern, weird (he has a thing for darkness & spicy food) yet funny and surprisingly intelligent & practical man (for a heavy metal/rock person that I don't associate intelligence with) who thinks differently from the usual (his idea of marriage is surprisingly same as mine) & is very lonely (even though he says he is not interested in marriage or a relationship, I think he's just afraid.).

Wish to get to know him better (maybe). Not that I don't want to, but I get the feeling there could be something very strange about him outside of these public appearances.

Look at him, so sexy being a nurse! Oh my god. So Cute!! I'm smiling.





In this video below, he is really, really, very cool. I love his quiet handsomeness. Very cute. Makes girls want to know what is he thinking. I am however, surprised that Vivian Hsu is here? Isn't she Taiwanese? How come she's on a Japanese show with Gackt? Vivian Hsu is very sweet & pretty here. No wonder he likes her, though I think it's more because she's not Japanese.  He seems to like foreign or exotic things (Chinese food & westerners)? He thinks nothing of rejecting the Japanese girl who is also very pretty & making her feel awkward. These 2 videos are actually when he was younger. He doesn't look like that now, unfortunately.

He is both left and right-handed (right? Gackt fans?) coz in another video, he switched hands.

Singapore Flag Burnt

I was looking for how much selling cardboard pays (coz I had put a few pieces of cardboard by the side of a trashbin downstairs at my void deck & as expected they disappeared when I returned.).

I finished reading the cardboard article on Asiaone. Then saw the side news: Burning of Singapore Flag by Vietnam Rioters...

The news says the SG flag was burnt due to "anti-China" protests. I was thinking what has "anti-China" feelings got to do with Singapore? We are not China.  And their people are also in Singapore.  Seeing the SG flag being burnt in the photo... I think they burnt the wrong flag.

When it comes to flags, it's easy to mistake which country is which. That's what I thought when I was young. Some countries' flags are really similar.  I figured this might be the case here, except that it's the sotong blur Vietnamese who burnt the wrong flag. I think because of the red with stars.  A flag that they should know since it belongs to a neighbour country (SG) where their people also work there. Yet they mistake for China's flag.

Turned out I was right. So sotong blur these people. How the heck can employers hire them in Singapore?

The burning of a Singapore national flag by Vietnamese protesters, who apparently mistook it for the flag of China...

Update Fri 16 May:  Now, how did "anti-China" become "anti-foreigner" protest?  http://therealsingapore.com/content/several-singapore-run-factories-vietnam-set-fire-anti-foreigner-protesters

So did they mistake the SG flag for China's or not? Apparently not. 

If even the "peaceful" Vietnamese know how to protest against foreigners over the China oil rig, how come SG people just keep quiet about the flood of foreigners in SG, NS & CPF? 

Paranormal Incident @ Berlayer Creek SG

Tues 13 May

Maybe SPI might want to bring their measuring counters & stuff there. Or maybe these instruments won't be able to measure a thing.

Prior to entering into such things, I always think positively & realistically & walk calmly as though I don't know it's there. There is no need to run.

At about 9.30pm tonight,  we just finished buying stuff from the NTUC @ ARC & were on our way to the Labrador MRT.  I felt a bit bloated from the spaghetti dinner I made & saw that the full moon was beautiful & bright.

Been wanting to go up to the nearby Berlayer Creek roof top for a while now, but every time some students or people will be there. Tonight, saw that there was nobody. Perfect to view the moon.

Bro was reluctant as we made our way to it after coming down from the overhead bridge to the MRT.

There was a smell as we approached. Probably the decomposing vegetation around. It smelled of urine so I guessed maybe some people come here at midnight & hang around. But I said nothing while glancing around the dark area with the vegetation behind & some plants around.  Best to say nothing.

Bro said it was smelly just as we stepped into the area from the MRT.

The place really needs some proper lighting. The darkness is unacceptable & dangerous. The lamp post at the side don't even work.

I looked up & the moon was so bright like a halogen light with four shots of light around it. Very clear &  cloudless sky tonight.

My idea was to go up to the rooftop & splat myself on my back on the wooden floor to relax looking up at the night sky & moon.

As we approached the ramp, bro was talking about Bestway having 3 storeys in the past & I told him jokingly to stop talking about Bestway coz he had been talking about it earlier. He said, "Happy time mah.".

As we went up the ramp, he said they sold very excellent top quality wood furniture unlike the Ikea now.  I said, "Orh, like Pine like that?". He said, "Yeah.".  Then he suddenly didn't say anything anymore.

I was also preoccupied with something while walking.

These tendrils of overgrown plants on the right wall kept sticking out top & bottom. Quite annoying. Don't they prune them?  They are completely overgrown. Not only that, the wall was emitting heat from having absorbed the heat during the day. Quite warm on our right side.  We were on the longest ramp section & it seemed a rather long way more to go even though I could see the end. 

More than that, the more I walked up, the greater the sense of foreboding ahead.  Something was in front & the feeling grew stronger with every step.  This is not the first time I have felt this way about a place.  I preferred to think that it was caused by the wall of overgrown plants along our right.

Just as I was considering whether to continue, Bro said, "Got funny feeling.".

Straightaway, no questions asked, I turned around (with sudden weird & brief goosebumps) & we proceeded to get down.

If he had not said it, I might still have ignored my feeling & continued to the top. But that is a big Maybe because the feeling was quite strong. I may have turned back anyway without him saying it.

When we turned around,  Bro said, "Walk faster.". So we did. I got that sudden, brief goosebumps again.  He bumped against me & I could feel him hurrying beside me, practically almost going to run if I wasn't there.  I chuckled because it was funny even though I understood how he felt (although I didn't feel it).

As we reached back to the start of the first short ramp, he exclaimed with a relief-releasing chuckle that it was a "Clementi re-enactment" (referring to our grandmother's Clementi block in the past where separately as kids, we used to feel there was something pursuing behind us every time we used the stairs alone. Only recently when we talked about it, did we realize we had felt the same thing, except I was calmer at that time because I was older & same as now, preferred not to show my fear. I was able to control my reactions better than bro who said he had flown down the staircases at that time and didn't care if he scraped his small hand on the railings.).

When we returned to the MRT, he said he had felt a presence behind along a part/turn of the ramp, but when he turned, there was no one there. He dismissed it but the feeling returned at another part & again there was no one there.

I said I had felt nothing behind, but it was in front.

But either way, we both agreed the feeling was rather strong & disturbing. He said he wasn't even thinking of anything about the place at the time while happily recounting the happy times of the Bestway emporium.

I said, I had already considered there might be something there when there was that urine smell when we approached, that's why I didn't mention it. He said, "Then you still want to go??!".  I said, "Aiyah. Just calmly walk, it's Ok.".

Back home,  I said I turned back with him no questions asked when he said "got funny feeling". He agreed it was the first time there was no protest from me.  I said, coincidentally when he said it, I was also feeling the same thing.

We both agree there is something there. He said even that one time when we went in the hot afternoon, he also didn't feel good about it. Hmm... well, I admit it wasn't great at that time (too hot weather), but... it didn't feel the way it did tonight. Maybe it's the wall of overgrown plants tonight? He denies it's the plants. He said he wasn't even thinking of the plants.  He had dismissed the plants since it's no big deal during army.  It was something following behind.

When there are such feelings when we go to a place, I always tell bro that people buying new houses should hire us (I said so on our way walking back home).  But they hire Fengshui "masters".  But we can charge cheaper.  But then these days, it's BTO apartments. Don't even get to see or choose the houses they buy even though spend more than half a million. Absurd. It's worse than buying beauty boxes.

Just now, Bro explained clearer than we were just going up the last longest ramp when he felt a presence coming up the ramp below us. He turned to look back but there was no one there. He dismissed it since I didn't show any notice of it and continued walking behind me.

But suddenly,  the presence was just behind him as we went up the ramp. He turned back again to look but again, nobody there. That's when he said, "Got funny feeling.".

At that point, he thinks the presence must have then gone in front of me. That's when I felt a strong/stronger sense of foreboding in front the more I went up. That presence was trying to prevent us from going up. Perhaps, it was on ground level, but saw us coming closer & it rushed up to stop us.

That would be the only explanation that matches with what we were feeling at that time.

Bro thinks it's better not to disobey that feeling. Perhaps there is something wrong along that ramp. Better to stop & turn back.

I said I didn't feel anything behind us. I agree there is something there, but perhaps, he had heightened the feeling that it was chasing us out from behind? Well, he admits perhaps he had heightened his feelings although he doubts it.  On my part, I also think perhaps, he has keener senses than me regarding such things because I shut such things out.

I told him about the stone steps of a Japanese castle.  I said if he thought the Clementi stairs were horrible, these stone steps are much worse.  If he were there, he would feel like wanting to run up those steep stone steps at the risk of falling off.  The feeling is very strong that there is something behind (waiting for you to fall while you climb). He said I had never mentioned it before. I said I just ignore it.  (It's not something of importance compared to the overall beauty & experience & probably just my imagination. It actually took a lot of will power to just ignore it at that time).

I don't know whether the stone steps are the originals or reconstructed, but there is definitely something there. It was bad enough that I told myself at that time, that I don't want to be going down those steps again when I go down. There has to be another way down.

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Mink Printer for Make-Up on TechCrunch

7 May Wed 1:39pm

The moment I saw her surname "Choi", straightaway I was thinking "Hongkee" (from Hong Kong). It seems Harvard is now producing foreign grads who aren't up to the mark just like NUS now. Is it true anyone can graduate from Harvard now?

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/harvard-girl-figured-3d-print-165045734.html
http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/05/mink-is-a-3d-printer-for-makeup/

1) Are you sure she's from Harvard? She can't spell "convenience".

2) Her blouse open at the front is used as subtle persuasion = Male judges & mainly male audience.

3) Unprofessional delivery. Defensive attitude, afraid of audience's negative reaction. Rather than the desire to communicate the idea of this new thing, she is letting her defensive emotions get in the way.  Used the word "freaking".  In the demo, she said she is using a particular thing: "Why? because I like it.". 

4) Her replies to the judges are not credible. She has not thought out much (as one reader also commented). 

5) As one reader commented, how is this 3D? 

6) The judges should be female. She will surely get a lot of questions & doubts regarding the product.

7) Why was there a rush to produce a "hacked" demo? Why didn't she take the time to do it well if she really cared about her idea?


She said she has failed many times before. I can see why. This printer of hers... I don't think is going to work.

1) Targeting the wrong buyers. The money-spenders are in the older group of women who have buying power & greater needs for skincare & cosmetics.

2) There is more to the cosmetics industry than just colors.  It is also about branding & the "raw materials" as she put it. If it were just about colors, anyone could have done it and the cosmetics industry wouldn't have lasted so long. Cosmetics users for instance, for eyeshadow, will compare the spread of the product, how long it stays etc...

Also these days, consumers are looking for more natural & safe products for use on their skin & face. If she can provide such true natural/organic & safe cosmetics products at cheap/affordable prices than what other companies are doing now, it will work better than her printer idea.

But she is lazy. She prefers just getting "a cut" & leaving everything else to the big companies such as Epson. Just like a Hongkee would, she just wants quick money with a flimsy idea.

3) Getting Epson or any printer company to do this cosmetics business... is a bad idea because these companies don't know about cosmetics. Companies that are specialized in doing a particular product are bad at trying other products that they have no experience in doing.