In memory of Hermie

Some of you may have noticed my new avatar. It's the picture of our beloved hermit crab, Hermie, who died last Wednesday. He was 10 months old. We inherited Hermie from my sister when she migrated to Canada. I knew his time had come, when I saw the strange look in his eyes. His limbs were stiff and frozen-like. He fell out of his shell as soon as I picked him up. I'm glad I was there for him when he died. We're saddened by his death and want him remembered in a special way.

I miss Hermie, especially his cute little 'pop-out' beady eyes , the wiggly feelers and playful pinches.

The empty shells - a sad reminder of Hermie I can still feel his presence especially in the quiet of the day when the boys are at school and hubby at work. I can almost hear him scuttling about in his aquarium as he clinked the empty shells around him. It was a trick he employed solely for me that meant 'come play with me' in crab language. It's hard to imagine that a critter so tiny, has its place in life and capable of giving so much joy.

  RIP Hermie

Honest scrap

Thanks, Elisabeth for the award. If you don't already know Elisabeth, visit her blog at http://www.latenoonviews.com. She writes awesome posts.

The rules for this award are as follows...

1. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.
2. Show the 7 winners' names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap". Well, there is no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon.
3. List at least ten honest things about yourself.

Here are some facts you dont' know about me.

 1. I can't drive! I don't even have a driving license. I had an accident when I was twelve.I was knocked down by a bus when I was riding a bicycle and ever since that incident, I have a phobia for crossing busy roads. The other reason why I don't try is my poor sense of direction. I get disorientated easily. My cousin says it's something to do with being 'spatially-challenged'. Looks like I'm challenged in almost everything.

 2. I don't eat anything that's 2-legged. There are many theories by my parents,aunts and older siblings to this strange gastronomic adversion to fowl. This is my mom's theory - When I was four years old, we used to rear a turkey in our backyard. It was a huge one and I loved it to death. I even rode on it and when I found out that it ended on the dinner table, I went loco. I vowed I would never eat another bird in my life. I have vague memories of seeing my grandmother slaughtering a chicken which could also be the cause .

 3. I bribe my boys everyday to pull the grey strands of hair from my head.

 4. I was a computer programmer. Go ahead and laugh your heads off. But it's true. I hold a diploma in computer studies. It was way back in the early 80's and I was single and focused. The internet was unheard of then( not in Malaysia,anyway). Somehow, 16 years of being a SAHM to 2 ever-squabbling boys numbed my brains.

 5. I was a partner-in-crime in a bomb hoax. We were teenagers when my cousin was visiting from the U.S. My sisters and I wanted to skip school to spend the day with her but our parents didn't allow it. Then, we came out with this plan - We went to school as normal and later in the morning, my cousin called up the school to report about a bomb that was planted in the school grounds. There was total chaos. It was like a scene out of CSI. The hoax forced an emergency evacuation . An ambulance and several patrol cars were on the scene and the news hit the headlines of local newspapers the following day. When our youngest sister squealed on us, our parents punished us big time.

 6. I once had my hair permed to look like Farrah Fawcett's famous hairstyle but it was a major fiasco. My straight-as-poker hair was hard, thick and unyielding and I ended up looking like one of the Jackson 5 brothers. Think Chinese Michael Jackson with slant eyes! I cried for days.

 7. I take pleasure in crying over sad movies. My late cousin(the one who planned the bomb hoax) said I'm a mental mesochist. I still cry over the movie, "Dragon Heart" even after watching it for the hundreth time - the part where Drago sacrifices himself.

 8. I'm a dabbler. I used to cross-stitch, knit, paint ceramics, take singing lessons, stencil and dabbled in a list of other things. However, all of my interests were short-lived. Hubby wonders how long my blogging obsession will last. 

 9. I used to be an avid reader. You guessed it. John Steinbeck was one of my favourites, hence my blog title but I had to use ramen instead of men because the domain name was already taken. I don't have a preference for any particular genre but as a teenager, I was really big on Phyllis A. Whitney. She was the 'Queen of the American Gothics'.

 10. I have a knack for slogan-writing and have won 40+ prizes in slogan-writing competitions. My list includes a chevy, RM15,000 cash, hampers, electronic products, cosmetics, cinema passes, free magazine subscriptions ......... etc, etc. The list is kinda long. Do I sound conceited? Well at least, there is something I'm not challenged at.

 Here's my chance to blow my own trumpet! 

Me modelling the car I won

Me, holding the mock key at the prize-presentation ceremony 

  Here are the bloggy buddies I'm giving the award to :- 

 1. Kristi @ http://crazyintx-kristi.blogspot.com

 2. Julie Chats @ http://whimzeesgirlsonline.blogspot.com/

 3. LaTonya Yvette @ http://chedemisboutique.com/blog

 4. TheXMom @ http://thexmom.blogspot.com 

 5. Sarah @ http://justaddcharm.blogspot.com

 6. Nikki @ http://atplanetmotherhood.blogspot.com 

 7. Lady Christi e @ http://ladychristie.blogspot.com

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is to draw the curtains in every room. I freak out at the sight of the sun's rays streaming through the windows of a room. Think UV light - the number one aging factor especially in a country like Malaysia where the UV rays are intense all year round. I do not go out in the sun unless I have slathered on sunscreen.
It's bad enough I have this permanent scowl on my face ( blame Hubby and the boys). I do not need another catalyst in my already ageing skin. The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that premature aging (most of the wrinkles and brown spots we see on our faces ) -- up to 90% of them -- are not actually age related, but are caused directly by sun exposure. This obsession of mine drives the family crazy but wait .... before you think I'm weird, read on about these famous oddballs.

Cameron Diaz
Obsession : Doorknobs
She gets grossed out by door handles and refuses to touch them with her bare hands. Instead, she uses her elbows to turn the knobs. Sounds like a germaphobe to me.

Charlize Theron
Obsession: Neatness
Charlize says she frets about stuff left in cabinets and how messy it all must be! She actually loses sleep over this kooky obsession!

Leornadio DiCaprio
Obsession: Cracks on sidewalk
"I remember as a child, stepping on cracks on the way to school and having to walk back a block and step on that same crack or that gum stain," DiCaprio told About.com at the time the Hughes biopic "The Aviator" was released.

Jennifer Love Hewitt
Obsession: Closet doors
When asked once what she inherited from her mother, the stunning actress replied: 'Everything. I'm really strong like her, and very stubborn like her when it's something I really believe in,' she says. 'I also have a little OCD like her. Except we have it about different things. My Mom counts steps, while I cannot go to sleep if there are any cabinet doors or closets open in my house. It's very strange and weird.'

Alec Baldwin
Obsession : Cleaning
Alec says, "I'm very OCD, I find. I'm ashamed to say that. I come home and I'm like, 'Did somebody move that book?' I just notice everything. I'm very kind of observant. I'll have to catch a plane, like I'm in a hurry to go somewhere, and I'm in my kitchen rinsing out the glasses. I have a housekeeper that can do that and I'm sitting there cleaning the glass."

Squidward J. Tentacles and David Beckham
Obsession: Asymmetry of odd numbers
While Squidward doesn't eat or drink anything odd numbered (eg a glass of lemonade with three seeds in it ), Beckham hates the asymmetry of odd numbers, and will throw away one can of Diet Pepsi if he has three in the fridge

So what's your obsession? Come on 'fess up!

Bryan Berg

These amazing, intricate buildings of cards were built by Guinness World Record cardstacker Bryan Berg. Bryan broke the Guinness World Record for the World's Tallest House of Cards in 1992 at the age of seventeen.

School lunches around the world

Ever wondered what kids around the world eat for lunch? Most Malaysian kids I know prefer to buy their food from the school canteen. Recess in public schools starts at 10:15 a.m and ends at 10:35 a.m so what the kids really have is just a snack as they're usually home for lunch. School dismisses at 1:00 p.m.
My boys usually buy Nasi lemak Bungkus from their school canteen.

Nasi Lemak Bungkus - "Bungkus" means "pack" or "wrap" in Malay

'Nasi Lemak' is a simple pre-packed serving of 'nasi' (rice) cooked in coconut milk and topped with 'sambal' (dried anchovies cooked in a spicy paste), a sprinkling of fried peanuts and anchovies, a couple of cucumber slices and a wedge of hardboiled egg.

Here are some pics of school lunches of several countries. Visit http://whatsforschoollunch.blogspot.com for more pics of school lunches around the world.

Venezuela

USA

UK

Sweden

Poland

Malawi

Brazil

China

Czech Republic

France

Fulvio Bonavia - Food Meets Fashion

Raspberry, broccoli and cheese bags, a kiwifruit watch, artichoke and leek hats, lentil flip-flops etc - These are the brilliant creations of photographer Fulvio Bonavia. Bonavia has put together these scrumptious pics in his book entitled "A Matter of Taste".

Cashew and almonds for shoe straps?

Mark Wagner - Money Collage

Mark Wagner creates currency collages from $1 bills kinda like a money mosaic. Doesn't it make you cringe to think of money being cut up in the name of art? And if you think a measly dollar note won't get you very far in the wake of the current economic situation, it's RM3.48 to 1USD and that can buy me a hearty meal in Malaysia.