April 2017 In Pictures

APRIL 2017 PHOTODUMP

 

 

 

1st April: Clinic work at the SPCA on a ridiculously rainy Saturday.

 

 

 

2nd April: It's a burgers-and-beers kinda night at The Daily Grind with a couple of friends. I had the Portobello Mozza Stack -- hold the cheese! -- with a side of sweet potato crisps. All kinds of awesome.

 

 

 

5th April: So 'Luna' here gave us all a big surprise today. While being prepped and shaven for 'spaying', it was discovered that 'she' was, in fact, a tomcat. Don't ask -- maybe his dingle-dangle was too small to be visible, maybe he was just so black and furry down there that nobody could see a thing, maybe i just never checked properly. Anyway, his new name is Logan.

 

 

 

8th April: Reached home at 1.30 a.m. but still managed to get up in time to do the Chow Kit Run. 6km for a good cause.

 

 

 

8th April: Productive day at the SPCA. Some of the teen volunteers helped to exercise, train and bathe the dogs, and a scout troop from the neighbouring school helped to upgrade the dog playground as part of their Eagle Scout Project. Mama Brenda and her puppies, Clifford and Marilyn, are finally adopted -- together! -- and so we celebrated with cakes and champagne.

 

 

 

9th April: Logan rocking the bananas to help them go beddy-bye.

 

 

 

15th April: Another busy Saturday at the SPCA. Managed to bathe and tickwash the dogs before the rain. The Eagle Scouts have completed their habitat improvement project. Had the pleasure of the company of a 13-year-old volunteer, Liam, for lunch and we ended up discussing the implications of Brexit.

 

 

 

16th April: Annual Feline Easter Egg Hunt at the Wee Green Flat.

 

 

 

16th April: The Little One's first Easter egg hunt.  It has been raining so heavily all day, we had to hide the eggs in the porch and not the lawn.

 

 

 

17th April: My friend Farida came over to play congkak with the cats and me. Katniss here looks deeply concerned over her imminent defeat to Farida.

 

 

 

18th April: Time to put my jars and cloth carrier bags to good use at The Hive Bulk Foods. I love packaging-free shopping.

 

 

 

19th April: So this kinda sorta happened during an 8-minute phone call. I may or may not have gotten ink on my desk. I ran out of space for Raphael's sai.

 

 

 

19th April: Earth Day themed tuition class at the Beacon of Hope community tuition centre. I got my teens to work in pairs and gave each team one of my Green Living articles on energy and water conservation, fuel economy and the 3Rs, among others. They had to understand, summarise and interpret the articles, create a poster on the assigned topic and do a 5-minute presentation in front of the class. I am so very impressed with how far my teens have come. At the start of the academic year, they were so self-conscious that they would not even answer questions when spoken to. I am very proud of them for trying, learning and growing, and for their genuine interest in environmental responsibility.

 

 

 

22nd April: Earth Day cleanup at the Urban Community Forest, Malaysian Nature Society.

 

 

 

 

22nd April: Gasp -- so it's true, after all: I am pro-science! I believe in technological and engineering solutions to environmental problems! I believe in big-picture solutions and not merely reusing paper clips and making baking soda toothpaste! I don't think microwaved water kills plants or that Coke is used to clean bloodstains off highways or that shampoo will give me brain tumours! Time to sacrifice me at the altar of those rubbish natural living coconut-oil-and-deep-breathing-will-cure-cancer David Fraudocado Wolfe-type sites and stab me with my own compostable bamboo toothbrush!

 

 

 

23rd April: Bathing and tickwashing dogs at the PAWS shelter on a scorcher of a Sunday afternoon. So. Many. Ticks. Ugh! The Itchy and Scratchy Show!

 

 

 

 24th April: Hauled 7 bags of trash out of the forest reserve and park. Bloody macaques made a mess of the place and emptied the bins.

 

 

 

25th April: More than delighted with the quality and beauty of the original woodcut prints I ordered from social justice and art activist collective Pangrok Sulap. I purchased these during their fundraiser for Bro Oliver, one of the artists in medical need. Very proud to be supporting such brave local talents, and proud to be supporting freedom of artistic expression.

 

 

 

25th April: Just a random Batman bento because I wanted to store nuts and soybeans in the Batman container. I love Batman. He is the archetypal Byronic protagonist -- dark, brooding and badass. Also, because Batman is human and mortal (yes, I know he is a fictional character), he represents the ultimate in human potential and ability to me, and is therefore the Ubermensch.

 

 

 

29th April: Carrying heavy bits of wood and construction materials up a forest trail is way harder than I thought it would be. Clearly I need to work out. Photo credits: Justine Vaz.

 

 

 

29th April: A fun group photo, courtesy of Justine's helpers.

 

 

 

9th April: Rewarding myself after the morning's forest school construction and trail cleaning. So very glad I found this place. Food that nourishes both the body and conscience at Sala KL -- you have to try it to believe it's not vegan! I had the Nasi Lemak and Chili Bowl, hot tea and a brownie . Service is incredible and I am made to feel very welcome. The ambience is lovely and food is just delicious and lovingly made and served. This happy herbivore will definitely be back very soon.

 

 

 

29th April: Received a gift of Star Wars adhesive bandages from my friend Mun Yee in Singapore.

 

 

 

30th April: Early birthday celebration for Nic. This is just the first of our 2-3 desserts -- Raindrop 'Cake'. Ordered this for the sake of novelty, but seriously guys, I make waaaaay better agar-agar and konyakku jelly. Raindrop cake -- not worth the hype.

 

 

 

30th April: Ice cream sandwiches with Nic to end April 2017 with a bang!

 

 

 

 

Bentos for World Book Day

April 23 was World Book Day,and I observed it by creating a series of book-themed bento lunches based on my favourite books and authors. Many people have asked me about the illustrations. It's really very easy and quick to do -- I painted the illustrations on flat tortilla using a fine paintbrush dipped in natural black food dye, and then cut out the shapes using a small sharp blade, and baked the illustrations to set the dye.  The blue, red and green tints are done using food writing pens.

 

 

 

World Book Day Bento #1 is inspired by Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird".

 

 

  

 

World Book Day Bento #2, inspired by E.B. White's 'Charlotte's Web'. Favourite quote from the book: "You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that."

 

 

 

 

World Book Day Bento #3, inspired by 'A Raisin In The Sun' by Lorraine Hansbury. There's a little 'potted plant' in the top left compartment because gardening is a leitmotif in the book/play.

 

 

 

 

World Book Day Bento #4, inspired by 'War of the Worlds' by H.G. Wells. I am a fan of old-school science fiction, in particular, the works of John Wyndham, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury. My original intention was to feature Wyndham's triffids, but I forgot what triffids look like and ended up illustrating something that looks like the toothy plant in Little Shop of Horrors, so I scrapped it and did the Martian Tripods from WotW instead.

 

 

 

 

World Book Day Bento #5, inspired by Iris Murdoch's "The Sea, The Sea." Iris Murdoch is an incredible novelist, but she is also first and foremost a philosopher and ethicist. I love her protagonists because they are flawed, in particular the protagonist in "The Sea, The Sea", only he doesn't know how flawed and mistaken he is, which of course gives the whole story its element of dramatic irony.

 

 

 

World Book Day Bento #6: And finally, we arrive at the original inspiration for World Book Day... Good ol' Bill Shakespeare. Shakespeare is still considered one of the greatest, most popular and most influential dramatists in history for good reason. His themes of heroism, justice, political intrigue, friendship, loyalty, love, betrayal, prejudice, human fallibility and complex family relationships remain relevant to all generations and across cultures. Shakespeare wrote for the masses, and that is why his plays lack pretension. They weren't moralising or instructive plays, and yet we never fail to learn something from each play. Shakespeare's popularity lies in the fact that his plays are bawdy, ribald, witty, accessible and oh-so-human. So here's to old Will S., one of the greatest philosophers, psychologists, social commentators and writers to have ever lived.

March 2017 in Pictures

2 March: We had a huge team of vollies, many of them first-timers, for Kedai Jalanan, our pop-up street 'store' for the homeless and urban poor, at the Homeless Assistance Centre (Pusat Bantuan Gelandangan) at Medan Tuanku despite the rain and traffic. So good to see so many young people volunteering!
 
   
 

 4 March: Attended Petra and Junior's joint birthday poolside party and things got a little wild.
 
   
 

5 March: Green Living partnered up with the Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia for the screening of Racing Extinction. I set up an outreach booth and conducted a quiz for which I had sponsored the prizes in order to encourage attendance and participation. We had a full house.
 
   
 

11 March: Paddleboarding at Putrajaya Lake with the gang on the occasion of Hari's birthday.
 
   
 
   
 

11 March: Attended the overrated and underwhelming hot air balloon fiesta at Desa Park City with Nicole. There were just a handful of balloons and huge crowds. I'll give this a miss next year.
 
   
 

11 March: Fireworks at the hot air balloon fiesta.
 
   
 

12 March: Bath and tickwash time for the dogs at the PAWS Animal Welfare Society shelter.
 
   

15 March: So this sorta kinda happened and I was featured in The Star in conjunction with International Women's Day. They had a series on women activists and I was one of those interviewed: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/03/15/in-giving-we-receive-volunteering-empowers-you-to-be-the-change-you-want-to-see/

 

16 March: This particular week's creative writing and service project for my teens at the Beacon of Hope -- writing postcards to senior citizens.
 
   
 

17 March: My very handy and light bento for St. Patrick's Day. I call this composition "Pot of gold at the end of the rainbow".
 
   
 

17 March: Fair warning. Spit constitutes a weapon of mass destruction.
 
   
 

19 March: Well hey there, cutie-patootie! Spotted this vintage charmer at the parking lot of my friend's apartment.
 
   
 

19 March: Cos sometimes you just feel like baking individual vegan upside-down pineapple cakes at 4 a.m.
 
   
 

19 March: Two big sillies. Lulu is back at the SPCA for boarding. She is a former office dog.
 
   
 

19 March: Many Thanks to Karen Michaela Tan, Ng Geok Chunn, Alicia Ling Horsley and Cindy Yap for the toys, games and preloved books for the Sabah village school adopted by Ecocentric Transitions.
 
   
 

23 March: Meet my latest adoptee, Chantique. Her rescuers -- good friends of mine -- could not keep her due to allergies and health reasons, so I welcomed Chantique into my home two weeks ago as I have experience caring for differently-abled and medically vulnerable animals. Chantique is settling in nicely and not so feral and skittish anymore. I think she likes having me as a mum.
 
   
 

24 March: Friday lunch at my favourite taco place, ThymeOut Sunway, with one of my fave people, Ellen. I had the El Gandhi vegan burrito and it is so, so good! Not easy to find good southwestern food here but dang this place is the ish!
 
   
 

25 March: Doggie-Doos Washing Day at the KL Pooch Rescue.
 
   
 

25 March: Doing two shelter shifts today. Second shift (after KL Pooch Rescue) at the SPCA, cleaning cages and taking care of the Quarantine kittens and cats.
 
   
 

26 March: Shelter sweetheart Soda says "Hi! Notice anything different about me today?" Two of the volunteers took her out for an event at a pet café and painted her nails as a treat.
 
   
 

26 March: Completed the BRT run at 3 a.m. together with LiLi and my friend Ee Koon's partner Chris. We did the charity wave at 2 a.m. to raise funds for the National Cancer Society of Malaysia. The event was very well organised, with the exception of the emcee, who is a blathering halfwit. Chris was super fast, we thought he was going to end up coming home with a trophy, but alas, he didn't.
 
   
 

27 March: Decided to make futomaki at midnight without ever having rolled a sushi in my life, so obviously everything came out oddly-shaped. I used brown rice and quinoa and it was fine and the ingredients (kyuri, sweetcorn, tomato, cucumber, celery and spicy floss) still held together. Vegetarian cupcake on the top right came from my awesome kindergarten teacher Mrs. Balendran because she loves me!
 
   
 

28 March: Still Life with Kitten. (Model: Harriet, 5 months old)
 
   
 

29 March: Logan says: "Hello, I'm here to sit on your apron and prevent you from getting any housework done!"
 
   
 

31 March: My sister Amber is finally discharged after two long weeks at the vet for an infection that took a long time to heal due to her age. Can you tell we were both very glad to be reunited and going home?