Fried rice and other stuff.

I thank God for the fried rice, pencils and my amazing Mum and sister, caring host parents and safe flights.

Yes, I am thanking Him for fried rice. Yes, I seriously am thanking God for fried rice. It's a funny story, really.

I had a craving for fried rice on Monday at lunchtime. I didn't want to cook...I wanted fried rice in a cardboard box lined with a plastic sheet. I wanted flash-fried fried rice. So I took a little walk. I had a little adventure searching for an ATM, and then my quest began. I walked into the nearest food court and surveyed the stalls...and there were none that had fried rice on the menu. I was confused. I'm pretty sure I'm living in Singapore, and this is a food court in a residential area...I did a double take and I walked around again. Really. No fried rice. Puzzled, I walked to the next food court, surveyed the stalls again, only to find none that had fried rice on the menu! I shook my head, telling myself I must have missed it. I searched again, inquiring at a few of the stalls. Really. No fried rice. I saw another food court and decided to scout that one out. I walked in, it wasn't very big. It had one stall for beverages and another for food. The menu was more localised but consisted of mainly noodles. No fried rice. By this time, I was getting a little annoyed. This is Singapore. The community is largely chinese, and there is no yong chow chow fun in three out of three food courts? Not to complain or anything, but really, that's not quite acceptable. I mean, I could get western cuisine, Italian cuisine, Korean cuisine, Japanese cuisine, Indian cuisine, Chinese cuisine....but the Chinese cuisine has no fried rice? I think fried rice is a staple. That may be subjective, but fried rice as a staple is only logical, no?

I saw one more food court. I was ready to just get something else but I decided to give it one last shot. I walked in, walked up to one of the stalls and surveyed their menu. I was about to order something else when...YONG CHOW CHOW FUN jumped out at me. I was so happy I did a little jig and the lady waiting to take my order furrowed her brow slightly at the crazy girl standing in front of the menu. I was too happy to care what she thought. I placed my order and paid for it, grinning like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland while I watched the chef fry up my order. He put some oil in the wok, swirled it around and poured the excess out. Yay! No oily fried rice! He fried up my rice and put it in a cardboard box that was lined with a plastic sheet. The box then was put in a plastic bag, a little bag of fresh cut green chilli and a plastic spoon thrown in and then handed to the ecstatic customer.

I got home, and was thoroughly satisfied with my lunch. It wasn't oily, it wasn't too salty. Perhaps next time I'll eat it over two meals though. The portion was BIG, and it only cost me $3.50! I thank God for yong chow chow fun!

Pencils. A friend of mine 'borrowed' my favourite pencil one Friday. When I say 'borrowed', I mean she pulled it out of my hand while I was using it and I had to reluctantly let go. This pencil holds sentimental value. In memory of my first orchestra camp, the mechanical pencil with the blue barrel comes with a cap - perfect for carrying around in your pocket or instrument case without getting messy. Being in orchestra camp, your pencil is your best friend. So Little Trusty Blue was gently snatched from my hand (yes, that was on purpose) and subsequently lost. I was searching my bags, turning my room upside down when I remembered that she had borrowed Little Trusty Blue and I called her. I finally got hold of her and she searched her bag and couldn't find my pencil. I was pretty depressed. I told my Mum about it and she laughed at me. But then, she went with my younger sister to this little stationery shop that has been around forever back home, and they bought me a replacement for Little Trusty Blue!!! So yes, I may be the eccentric one, but Mum loves her eccentric daughter all the same and when she does little things like that...*happy sighs*. I can't wait to get back home!

My host parents. I couldn't have better host parents. They got back from a trip...and that evening, my temperature peaked. Lovingly, they took me to a clinic to see a doctor, they paid for the consultation and the medication, and then they would buy soup and rice home for my meals, they'd make sure that I was recovering alright, they would try to make sure that I'm comfortable (they always have) and I could just sum it up by saying that they really treat me as part of the family, as if I was really their daughter. We're having more meals together now, and that's really nice. I like being part of a family, feeling like I belong.

As for safe flights, lots of loved ones have been flying around, for mission trips, for camps, for major moves, and God has been good. They have all arrived safely, journeys going without a hitch, and soon I will be bus-ing and then flying together with my Da Jie and Jie Fu to join the rest of the family for Christmas!

This will probably be my last post for the year, so I wish you all a Blessed Christmas, wonderful times with loved ones, and a Happy New Year!