Ingredient:

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp sherry or red-wine vinegar

½  tsp cumin, salt and freshly ground pepper

2 mahi mahi, sea bass, halibut, or snapper fillets (6 oz each)

1 jar (12 oz) roasted red peppers

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 clove garlic (not the whole bulb)

Step:

Step 1:

To make the Harissa, an African chili sauce, combine the red peppers, cayenne, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and cumin in a blender and puree until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you don’t have time to make it, try Mustapha’s Moroccan Harissa .

Step 2:

Lightly oil a grill or grill pan, and preheat it on medium high. Lightly season the flesh side of the fillets with salt and pepper and place them, skin site down, on the hot grill.

Step 3:

Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the skins are lightly charred and crispy. Turn them over and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. When they’re done, the fish should flake with gentle pressure from your fingertip. Serve immediately with a big scoop of Harissa.

Makes 2 servings dine with Roasted red potatoes and spinach sauteed with olive oil and garlic.

Per Serving

320 calories,

33 grams (g) protein,

8 g carbohydrates,

15 g fat (2.5 g saturated),

2 g fiber,

560 milligrams sodium

Ingredient :

1 ½ tsp sesame or peanut oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch spinach, washed and stems removed

1 ½ tsp soy sauce

Pinch of sugar

1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Step:

Heat the oil in a wok or saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes until it’s very lightly browned.

Add the spinach; saute. stirring, until the spinach is fully wilted, about 5 minutes. (It will look like too much spinach in the beginning, but it will cook down quickly.)

Add the soy sauce and sugar, and cook another minute. Serve with sesame seeds sprinkled on top. Makes 2 servings

Per Serving

100 calories

6 g protein

8 g carbohydrates

6 g fat (1 g saturated)

4 g fiber

390 mg sodium

Ingredient:

2 tsp peanut oil

¼ tsp red-pepper flakes

1 cup bite-sized pieces or strips of red or green bell pepper

¼ medium onion, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 Tbsp orange juice

2 Tbsp jarred jalapefio pepper slices

1 Tbsp hoisin sauce

10 ounces (about 301 medium precooked frozen shrimp, defrosted, tails removed)

Step :

Heat the oil and pepper flakes in a medium-hot skillet, and then aid all the remaining ingredients except the shrimp.

Cook the mixture 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Acid the shrimp and cook 2 to 3 more minutes.

Stirring frequently. Serve over brown rice. Makes 2 servings

Per Serving:

240 calories

30 grams (g) protein

12 g carbohydrates

8 g fat (1.5 g saturated)

2 g fiber

340 milligrams (mg) sodium

Step 1:

Begin by pinching from tips and bottoms of each finger and thumb of both your right hand and left hand. The pressure applied to your fingers should be firm, but not painful. A few seconds for each finger tip will do. Pinch them again, but this time squeezing from side to side.

Step 2:

Vigorously rub back and forth from the base to the tip of each linger & thumb.

Step 3:

Grasp each finger & thumb at its base and pull firmly. Allow your grip to loosen slightly, graduating it from the base to the finger tip until your finger slips out of your grasp completely.

Step 4:

Using your thumb and forefinger firmly grasp the webbed area between your thumb & forefinger of your other hand. Keeping a firm hold, pull at the skin gently until the fleshy web snaps away from your grasp. Repeat this process for the webbed-between areas on all your fingers.

Step 5:

Rest the palm of your hand inside the fingers of your free hand. Use your thumb to massage the back of your hand. Slowly work on the knuckles and in between knuckle area first. Continue thumb’ massaging each area on the back of the hand.

Step 6:

At the end of your session press your thumb deeply in the center of your palm. Take a few deep breaths. This would help to relax, clear your mind, and focus on your healing intentions.

The Son came home from work, grudgingly. Upon arriving, he found that his mother had gathered a few beautiful ladies at the house for him to choose as his future bride.

The FIRST one was a well-endowed Telephonist- cum-Receptionist .  He immediately commented:  ‘Please….. Mother, they always say….. PLEASE HOLD ON, HOLD ON………’

The SECOND nominee was a leggy secretary.  She was also rejected. Reason being: ‘Agian??…. Mother, this one aaa…, Secretary always fond of saying ‘PLEASE SLOW DOWN, SLOW DOWN…….. ‘

By this time, the mother is nearing frustration. She called a sweet but plain-looking Teacher. The Son suddenly agreed!!

The Mother was surprised and asked: ‘Why this one?  The earlier two were a lot better looking!’

He replied: ‘Teachers aaa…. Teachers very good, very good, always say: PLEASE REPEAT, DO IT AGAIN, I want it done 10 times…. SOME MORE, SOME MORE…..!’

Her youngest son (10 years old), was listening quietly all this while at the other end of the room. Suddenly, he shouted:  ‘Brother…. Female mini bus Conductor much better ….. they always say:   ‘ GO IN FASTER, GO IN……. GO TO THE BACK…., COME ON…… PLEASE GO IN …FASTER,….. DON’T WAIT…. GO TO THE BACK….INSIDE GOT LOTS OF SPACE…FASTER…DON’T WAIT FOR OTHERS!!!…..’

The mother fainted….

The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to the stranger, ‘What would you like to talk about?’

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said the stranger. ‘How about
nuclear power?’ and he smiles.

OK, ‘ she said. ‘That could be an interesting topic.
But let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow,
and a deer all eat the same stuff – grass – . Yet a
deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a
flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried
grass. Why do you suppose that is?’

The stranger, visibly surprised by the little girl’s
intelligence, thinks about it and says, ‘Hmmm, I have no idea.’

To which the little girl replies, ‘Do you really feel
qualified to discuss nuclear power when you don’t know shit’?

A cancer patient credits his morning glass of broccoli juice with halting the disease. Ray Wiseman’s claim has prompted more research into the vegetable’s healing powers. Doctors told Mr Wiseman they did not expect him to survive, when they diagnosed him five years ago.

But scans show that his cancer has stopped spreading  -  vastly improving his chances of a recovery. The grandfather, 79, puts his health down to the tumbler of broccoli juice that his wife prepares for him each day.

Mr Wiseman, who lives in Braunstone, Leicestershire, said: ‘I take this juice every day. I know it’s done me good.  I suppose it would be the same for everybody.’

His wife Joan, 72, started giving him the juice after a friend told her about the healing benefits of green vegetables. For each half-tumbler dose she combines a head of broccoli with some apples and carrots to improve the taste.

She said: ‘We believe my husband’s incredible luck is down to broccoli. I hope our experience can help other cancer sufferers.  ‘The juice is a mess to make but it’s something we have been happy to clear up. He now just takes it as second nature.
‘If anybody else’s husband is suffering from cancer and they are not getting on too well, it could help them.’

Scientists from Cancer Research UK have asked her for the recipe, to further study the vegetable’s benefits.  Recent medical studies have highlighted the possible cancer-beating powers of broccoli.

British scientists at the Institute of Food Research found that men who ate one daily portion had altered patterns of gene activity in their prostates, suggesting that the chemicals in the vegetable might be able to reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

According to a report published in the British Journal of Cancer in 2006, natural chemicals found in certain vegetables, such as broccoli-cauliflower and cabbage, can enhance DNA repair in cells, which could help stop them becoming cancerous.

A spokesman for Cancer Research UK said: ‘There’s a lot of research that’s focused on broccoli and the healing properties that the vegetable contains.  ‘If taken, broccoli needs to be with a healthy diet that is high in all fruit and vegetables.  ‘This can also reduce the chances of developing cancer.’

Around 10,000 are diagnosed with bladder cancer every year in the UK . It is the fifth most common form of the disease and affects more men than women.

A member of the cabbage family, broccoli is rich in vitamin C and has properties that boost the human immune systems that fight viruses, bacteria and cancer.  Studies have found that boiling broccoli can reduce its anti-cancer compounds, but steaming and microwaving do not.

1. 200g fresh cod fillets
2. Young ginger, sliced long and thin
3. One large red chilli, sliced long and thin
4. Lee Kum Kee seasoned soya sauce for seafood
5. Spring onions, cut into Scm pieces
6. Chinese parsley

Step 1 : Steam cod for eight to 10 minutes (depending on the fillet’s thickness)

Step 2 : In the last two minutes of steaming, heat some oil in a pan (Andrea uses light soya oil) and fry the ginger till fragrant, then add the chili and soya sauce, followed by the spring onions. Remove the mix quickly so as not to overcook the chili and spring onions.

Step 3 : Place the steamed cod in a serving dish and pour the sauce mix over, then top with Chinese parsley. Serve immediately.

The Games Room – A room for both “boys and big boys,” .

Avid entertainers, I take great pleasure in hosting friends and family here. An after-school hangout, a karaoke lounge, a party area — this is multi-functional room. The pool table is from Leisurtron.

Ingredients

1. Vegetable oil ½ cup
2. Medium prawns, 500 gram, peeled, deveined, tails left intact
3. Thick coconut milk, ¾ cup
4. Large tamarind slices,2
5. Coarse black pepper, ½ levelled tsp
6. Chilli flakes, ½ levelled tsp
7. Salt, ¾ levelled tsp
8. Sugar, ¾ levelled tsp
9. Onion (optional), 1 medium, sliced thinly
10. Cucumber (optional), ½ small, discard core and shred coarsely.

Method

1. Head oil in a deep pan over medium-high heat and fry prawn until just cooked. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Remove most of the oil from pan, reserving about 1 tsp and return to heat again. When hot, pour in coconut milk and add all other ingredients except onion and cucumber. Stir over medium heat until thick. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
3. Return prawns to the pan and turn off heat. Add onion and cucumber and mix well.
4. Serve immediately.

This is surprisingly refreshing despite being served hot. Mint is known to warm the body and stimulate the appetite, although which appetite is meant, remains unclean. Well, this way or the other, a little warning stimulation never did hurt anyone.

Ingredients

1. Fresh mint leaves, 2 good handfuls, stems removed, washed and drained.
2. Cube sugar, 6 lumps, or use 3 tsp granulated sugar.
3. Good quality green tea, 4 tea bags
4. Fresh boiled water, sufficient to fill choosen teapot.

NOTE : This is excellent served after a rich and spicy meal, to soothe an overworked tummy.

Steps

1. Get a teapot that will serve four~five generously
2. Put the mint leaves into teapot. Put sugar on top of mint leaves. Put teabads in teapot and pour in hot water almost to the brim. Leave to steep for about 4~5 minutes.
3. Pour a cup of tea out and then pour it back into the teapot. Repeat this about 5 ~6 times until sugar is dissolved and diffused through the tea. Discard teabags but leave mint leaves inside teapot and pour into cups or handled glasses.
4. Serve immediately.

My honey – Gwen chose an Eastern- inspired theme for the master bedroom. The center piece is the large bed facing the windows.

I wanted to put the bed along the wall, but my wife suggested facing it outside, so that we can wake up with the sun and the view every morning. All beds in my house and the lounger sofa are from Gallery 62 – Lavender, while pillows are from JT Home.

Harissa sauce would perfectly complement the rich, smoky lamb and succulent cous cous. The salad component is a mix of seeded and coarsely chopped cucumber, fresh coriander and red and green chillies, bound with a little yogurt, seasoned with salt and a squeeze of lime.

Ingredients

1. Black peppercorn, 1 ½ tsp
2. Cumin seeds, 1 ½ tsp
3. Salt, 2 levelled tsp
4. Lamb lion chops, 8, leave the fat on
5. Water or chicken stock, 1 cup
6. Olive oil, 2 tsp
7. Instant cous cous, 1 cup
8. Red onion 2, medium, peeled and sliced into thick rings.

Steps

1. Combine pepper, cumin and 1 tsp salt and pound to a coarse powder. Wipe the lamb chops dry with paper towels and season well with the pounded salt and spice mixture. Set aside.
2. Heat the water or stock, remaining salf and 1 tsp olive oil in a pot and when boiling, turn off heat. Stir in the cous cous and when combined, cover and set aside for 3 minutes.
3. Heat the remaining olive oil in a pan and sear the onion until lightly charred and fragrant. Fluff up cous cous and stir in onions lightly until evenly combined. Taste and adjust seasoning.
4. Heat the same pan, without adding any oil, until smoking and cook the lamb chops for about 2 minutes each side. Do not overcook.
5. Dish out cous cous and arrange lamb chops over or alongside cous cous. Serve with harissa souce and a green salad if you like.

Ingredients

1. Fresh red chillies, 3, sliced thickly
2. Hot red chili flakes, 2 tsp
3. Fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, 1 handful
4. Garlic, 3 cloves
5. Cumin seeds, 12 tsp, group
6. Extra virgin olive oil, 1 ½ tsp
7. Lemon juice, 1 ½ tsp
8. Salt, 1 levelled tsp or to taste
9. Sugar, ½ levelled tsp

Steps

Combine ingredients in a blender and process to a slightly chucky consistency.

Money and material objects are omnipresent throughout the diary. This is not surprising in a testimony about addictive buying, in which the author describes a person economic behavior in great detail. However, the symbolic meanings of products and money, which are sometimes explicitly mentioned and other times are implicit in the author’s interpretations of the buying episodes and other life events, reveal some deep-rooted materialistic values. For example:

I admit now that I dreamt of one day shopping in good shops like my big boss….haha… A friend (female) before she  got married, who was always dressed in the latest fashion, drew my attention a lot, like the boys who were well dressed. I was mistaken, but nothing can be done about it.

Although, at times, she seems to question the importance of money and material objects, these values constantly emerge. For example, an important motive for worry and anxiety is the damage that her buying behavior has caused to her husband and children. On one occasion, she mentions the possible emotional damage caused by her permanent state of anxiety and irritability; she also considers at one point that her spending habits have not set a good example for her children, but most of the references to this issue refer to the pain she feels because the accumulated debts now prevent her from buying things:

I see people with their flat all set up buy a car, things for their child, and I think how I have ruined my family… It takes a great effort to acknowledge these feelings, like seeing a friend who has kept his money under control and has many more things.

What is outstanding throughout the diary is the degree to which family relationships and friendship revolve around the purchase of products, going to shops as a leisure activity, and gifts, both in the form of material objects and money. One fact that illustrates this centrality is the friendship maintained for years with another buying addict from whom she frequently receives money and gifts.

Money, material objects and presents in family relationships and friendships.

What did I spend money on? On everything and on everyone.

It can repeatedly be seen that purchases, material objects, and money have always been and are present as means of communication and relating, both in family relationships and in friendships. Gifts of articles of clothing and other products to various family members and friends are frequent, not only on special occasions, but as a routine that is carried out either by buying or by paying for what others buy. For example:

Last week I went to get clothes for my nephew, I went with my niece… I think that they have forgotten about that affair of them buying me the suit, but it doesn’t matter.

At times, money and presents fulfill a reciprocal function: They are a way of paying for, or returning favors.

One day, I had a quarrel with my nephew, the one I always said was my child, and the relationship no longer feels the same to me. I feel sorry about the affection and about everything I spent on them. Of course, you must understand that they now have a good friend that gives them a lot, and an uncle without children who is giving them a lot of money, you can see it in their clothes and everything.

The inappropriate nature of my relationships with certain friends, based on excessive gifts, becomes evident to a good friend, someone from outside the family.

Everything I gave them didn’t seem right to my friend. When that happened, I was often with the wife of one of these friends. They had a daughter whom I was very fond of. As they didn’t have much money I always bought things for the girl, shoes, a dress, a jacket. My friend was right, it was too much. For my birthday, I went to the shop and I really took advantage of this friend, because he pays by installments. I bought a jacket, a skirt, a jersey, a jacket with a polo shirt, and, to round it off, two pairs of pants because last year’s pants are no use to me.

In fact, this friend’s gifts include clothes and other products for the husband and children. These family values, beliefs, and customs with respect to money and material objects, in short, the predominant material culture in this family generates an atmosphere of permissiveness that favors the development of addictive buying.

The behavior of both women during these visits reminds one of a relationship with a child, a nephew or niece, or a grandchild, because each time there is a visit, there is always, or nearly always, “pocket money”. Last Monday, my mother came to bring me prescriptions, well, I was waiting to see if she would give me something… she gave me five hundreds.

I’m going to draw a five hundreds for today or tomorrow because my nephews and nieces are coming. I draw a thousand because there are two of them and they’ll spend it on the machines, if not, I’d only take five hundred.

Family Background.

With regard to the influence of family background, three possible interrelated mechanisms are mentioned: genetic heritage, learning and the constitution of his/her personality, and emotional imbalance.

I ask myself now whether my problem is inherited, or whether it’s what I’ve seen, or whether I’m a dissolute person. Because my older brothers aren’t like that. The women are, though, they lied about shopping, they always said it cost less than it had; well, not when buying food; then, they said it had cost a bit more. The presence of two drinkers and an excessive spender in the family is posed as a possible genetic factor and also as a problem that could have led to her problems of emotional instability.

Reckless spending and the repeated recourse to loans to cover debts were constant in the family economy, even before he / her serious problems with buying started. This, and the habit of deceit about spending, clearly seems to be behavior traits learnt in his / her parents’ home.

I’ve just remembered my mother paying the bills in installments and in order to pay the rent for where we lived…, they never had money… So I think that I never saw anything that would have served as a good foundation… While I lived with them, my parents never had any savings … My mother had the habit that, when she bought something a little expensive, she wouldn’t tell the truth to father, she would say it had cost a little less.

With regard to her personality, the author is torn between the possibility of having inherited an inadequate personality—coherent with her behavior of selfish buying that harms those closest to her, and which generates a strong feeling of guilt—and the idea of being a victim during her childhood and youth of a damaging family setting that has led to pronounced emotional instability, which, in turn, has produced a loss of control over her behavior.

I don’t want to seem like a victim, but at the rate I’m going, I’m doing badly. I have the sensation that I’m wrong in the head, or that I’m a pig, like my parents and my little brother. Life has given me a lot of upsets and I’m paying dearly for them; what hurts most is my family member.

Crisis in family relationship.

A pattern frequently emerges in descriptions of cases of addiction to buying that can also be observed in this diary: Diverse psychological problems and inappropriate buying and spending habits are the background, or the antecedents, of addiction to buying. But that behavior pattern is habitually triggered in all its severity following a life crisis.

In this case, the crisis was caused by her perception of social isolation upon the birth of her second child and aggravated by the prior estrangement from her parental family and her work milieu. The qualitative change in his / her economic behavior materialized in the start of a private parallel reality of credit and purchases, unknown to her husband, in which there were no limits.

A friend (lady) of my – Helen was left very much alone after the birth of my second child, because of a quarrel with her parents a year before, the row with her brother, then stopping work, getting cut off from my friend. As she didn’t have anyone to leave the child with, that put an end to going out and dinners. And not only that, the relationship with our group of friends was nearly completely broken, because we stopped going out, even for a walk. That’s when she started to feel bad, lonely, with a complex, she had bad headaches and she didn’t have anyone around. Leaving the hospital was terrible… After that, Helen started to go very fast, because she think she was going slowly at first.

In the eyes of the diary’s author, her husband did not provide the help she needed at the time, and that was the determining factor in the start of the buying spiral. Helen also have to offer her opinion about her husband, because she think that if he had understood her a little, perhaps some of that could have been avoided… In November, he had a farewell dinner for a friend; well, he went to the dinner, it cost him X amount of money, Helen don’t know how much, but he spent more that night than he had ever spent on his wife and children, all in one go. That hurts a lot when one feels lonely. Well, Helen didn’t stop him from going; instead she said he should find a little time for both. That’s where she thinks the problem started, because he was earning and Helen was spending.

The author goes on at great length in her description of the lack of consideration, or even abandonment, in her husband’s behavior. Although at no point does she explicitly say so in her diary, in various passages, the reader gets the impression that taking revenge on her envy and anger on seeing couples and husbands and wives with their children, and me alone. Of course, she continued spending and buying.

In short, Helen proposes possible genetic causes, and she affirms the role of learning or socialization in consumption and spending, the role of low self-esteem, and the importance of a life crisis in triggering a spiral of buying and spending out of all control. After analyzes her behavior and its motives, besides the above-mentioned factors, she suggests the possibility that her will is another factor that has guided her behavior when she wonders whether she has inherited an inadequate personality and distinguishes between the motivations for confronting her low self-esteem and “buying for the sake of buying.”

However, in western consumer societies, a growing tendency has been noted of buying, which is impulsive, recreational, and compensatory for negative emotional states, and the percentage of consumers who are prone or vulnerable to addiction is estimated to be between 19.5% and 25% of the population. These figures indicate the social relevance of this phenomenon, which is not limited to a small percentage of subjects suffering from a mental disorder, but instead reflects a socio-cultural tendency whose medium- and long-term consequences should be considered.

The definitions of addiction to buying include as key characteristics a perceived difficulty in controlling one’s impulsive and excessive buying behavior, its chronic nature, its functions of emotional repair and of symbolically improving self-esteem, the development of a strong psychological dependence, and its damaging effects at the economic, psychological, and family levels. Similarly, they point to learning processes as factors that explain the difficulty to control the behavior and its repetitive nature, and they acknowledge vulnerability factors of a cultural, social, situational, and psychobiological nature.

The above-mentioned perception of difficulty to control, linked to the highly impulsive nature of buying, has led to different and, at times, contrary interpretations of the nature of addictive buying, even going so far as to indicate that addictive buying can present characteristics of voluntary behavior. This latter point of view has also been defended by other authors in the field of addiction to chemical substances (Megías et al., 2000; Peele, 1987) and of impulsive behavior in general (Baumeister, Heatherton, & Tice, 1994). These different conceptualizations are directly related to the different conceptual models of addictive behavior and to the issue of addicts’ personal responsibility for their own behavior and aspects.

My family stays Singapore, a main reason being my children’s education. The eldest, Gwen (16) and Rebecca (13), want to finish high school here. They have a lot more freedom here than they would have back home. Because it’s so safe, I don’t have to worry as much.

Living here has given them opportunities for traveling, meeting new people and picking up new interests, which has not only allowed them to gross’ personally, but have also made them bond more closely as a family. Life in Singapore is sometimes stressful, but there are so many advantages. It’s important to embrace all the different cultures here and try not to get overwhelmed by everything.

A beautiful home, a loving family, endless possibilities for exploring new places and trying new things — the reasons why my family decided to stay.

The freedom that has come with my exploration of new concepts of beauty has resulted in a new appreciation of Asian and Eastern-inspired art. A favorite piece of hers is the reclining Buddha figure in the master bedroom, which I found at an antiques shop on Dempsey Road. In the same room is another beloved piece, a framed transcription of a Burmese religious text. I came across this item at Apsara, which specializes in antique Chinese lacquer furniture and Burmese antiques.

Also eye-catching is the collection of figurines from Thoms S.B. Raffles on display in the living room bookcase.

Despite its size, every nook and corner of the house is used. I will enjoy hosting family and friends and often throw parties. “There’s always music playing and people coming over. It’s a great house for entertaining,” start thinking in my brain.

Going on advice and recommendations from friends, she enlisted the home-styling services of Gallery 62. “Jessica was great. She took the floor plan, came up with the color schemes, and was involved in the whole process.”

Sonia says she found it difficult to choose from the large variety of products available, especially carpets and Oriental rugs. “I looked at so many samples. It was hard for me to visualize how they would look against the rest of the decor,” she confesses. In the end, she chose well; the individual rugs and carpets — all from Mohammad’s Carpets — create a distinctive ambiance in each room.

Experimenting with different color schemes and cultural influences was also a new experience for Erney. She credits Jessica with opening her mind to new home-styling ideas. “Our house in Texas is decorated Mediterranean-style and is furnished in mostly neutral colors, which is fitting for the landscape of California, but not for Singapore or Malaysia. Jessica introduced me to different Asian cultures and brighter colors. I felt freer here to try out new things.”

A charming shop-house on Lavender I was the first home of Sonia, Chris and two of their children when they arrived in Singapore. Craving more space, however, they soon moved to The Colonnade.

“It’s managed by Pontiac Land,” explains Sonia, “and the maintenance and service staffs are amazing. They bring up your groceries and if something needs fixing, it is usually fixed that same day. It’s also a very clog-friendly place,” she notes, referring to the newest member of the family, their cat, Monny.

Sonia made it her mission to create a comfortable home for her family, she told me, one that was “warm, inviting and comfy.” She wanted elegant furnishings that would nevertheless be able to withstand the wear and tear of family living. “I didn’t want delicate things. With two teenage boys living at home, I wanted both durability and style.”

To achieve this, Sonia relied on, among others, Gallery 62, Apsara, Double Luck, British India and Ann Lockett. “We brought nothing from the New Zealand,” she says.

Amazingly, all these temples were built purely through human labor, with bricks twice the size as modern ones, and twice as heavy. I was amazed by the architecture, which has stood the test of time for thousands of years.

We even visited Ta Prohm, the temple where Angelina Jolie (Sexy chic) filmed Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Our guide, who was coincidentally Angelina’s guide, showed us the exact location where they had filmed the scene.

This was just one of the many trips that ISS organizes as part of the school programs. It helps the students enrich their life experience, nurture their curiosity, and expand their minds internationally. The trip to Cambodia was a very rewarding experience. I especially enjoyed interacting with the local people, who were peaceful and hospitable. Cambodia, I’ll be back…

For our project, three of my classmates and I had to plan a trip to somewhere in the region to help the less fortunate. Our budget for the trip was set at NZ $500 each and we had to plan everything ourselves, from our airline tickets and visas to accommodation.

After researching the organizations we could help, we decided on Nehemiah House, a shelter for girls who have been sexually or physically abused, in Malaybalay, Philippines. We went on our six-day visit last January.

Nehemiah House is located on a mountain, and it took us 18 hours to get there from the airport. When we arrived, the girls were waiting outside the house to greet us. Seeing them put a huge smile on our faces. There were eleven girls, aged 9 to 23. After introductions, we played some games to break the ice, and we also shared our plans to make over their rooms (the girls had told us they wanted their rooms re-decorated).

When our school described the trip before we left New Zealand, they said it would be a “life-changing experience.” At first I was doubtful, but now I completely agree. I left Nehemiah House with a totally different understanding of what it means to help the less fortunate. My trip made me realize that just donating money is not enough to ease the pain and loneliness of those in need; they also need a friend who can make them smile and give them hope. And love u all.

Our activities included volleyball, dancing, stage performs, exchange gift and leisure activity games. We spent time with the students helping them build relationships by using English. After class, the fun didn’t stop as we had people taking us out to eat or coming with us to enjoy a great meal at the canteen…Very nice food.  One student, nicknamed Ah Boy, loved to hang out with us so much that after we ate, he would show us around the campus until our next class started. We even had two parties to foster cultural exchange while we were there.

We did manage to get away from the university a few times to visit landmarks, and we even found a Wal-Mart! But the best part of the whole experience was hanging out with our new friends. All the best to China, and our new friends in there….

I couldn’t believe what a huge difference there is between Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, even though they are right next to each other. Malaysia has no much more land and the houses are very different. They seem to lead a much simpler life there.

A local guide took us to explore the rocky seashore. There were hermit crabs, snails and mudskippers. We also saw mangrove roots, which are called pencil roots, sticking out of the water to absorb oxygen. I was sad to see how polluted the entire area was. When people litter, they do not realize the harm it does to the marine plants and animals.

We also visited a Malay village and I noticed that the girls were dressed differently, wearing headscarves and less revealing attire. This is because Malaysia is an Islamic country. At the local school, we ate Malay food with our hands! It was fun interacting with the students. Their hospitality was overwhelming. It was definitely a great experience for me!

I love Malaysia…..

Sacred rituals are performed at various Chinese shrines, temples and aesthetic displays, such as walking barefoot over hot coals, ascending ladders with bladed rungs, and piercing the skin with swords are performed by entranced devotees. It is believed that the vegetarian festival and its accompanying sacred rituals bestow good fortune upon those who observe the rite.

One of the most picturesque festivals in Thailand, Loy Krathong takes place each November on the full moon. The country is illuminated under a night sky as thousands of candlelit “boats” or kratongs are gently launched into Thailand’s waterways. The idea is to put all your misfortunes in the boat and allow them to float away. In Phuket, major hotels usually host a special evening so that guests can take part.

Another spectacular event is Phuket’s Gay Festival at the end of March. Patong Beach comes alive with sequined, feathered, glittery participants, dancing, parading, and partying in the streets and on the beach. The festival has become one of the biggest tourist happenings on the island and its international reputation grows yearly.

Celebrated on 13 April, the Songkran Festival is the traditional Thai New Year event, when families and friends gather together to visit temples, sprinkle water in reverence on Buddha images, and on each others’ hands for good luck.

In recent years, the tradition of sprinkling water has become an excuse for water fights, and it is not uncommon to have buckets of water thrown at you by merry­makers. II you’re in a tourist area like Patong on the day, leave behind anything you don’t want soaked when you go out.

Shopping

You might associate shopping in Phuket with flea markets, which is what you’ll find in Patong, but this island offers much more than knock-off handbags and souvenirs. Fine art, furniture, clothing, jewelers and antiques abound. But the boutiques are scattered in unlikely, hard-to-find places, so you’ll need a driver and a plan.

Surin Plaza (5/50 Moo 3 Cherng Talay) near Surin Beach is a super- luxe three-storey mall filled with home accessories, art and clothes. Lamont, on the first floor, features stunning Chinese and Japanese antique furniture and decorative objects, but are just as pricey as they would be in Singapore. A few doors down, Lola is a fabulous girly shop filled with great resort-wear and accessories.

Dutch-owned art gallery Soul of Asia on the second floor houses some amazing work from artists such as Andy Warhol, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso and a range of Asian artists at reasonable prices. Once you’ve finished shopping, grab a drink or a Thai meal at chic Silk on the third floor.

If you’re in the market for antiques and artifacts, a minute clown the road from Surin Plaza is Oriental Fine Art (106/19­20 Bangtao Beach Road), a multi-storey building filled with museum-quality pieces.

Fans of fabric giant Jim Thompson should head to Canal Village (Laguna). There are three Thompson stores at this alfresco mall, including an outlet with fantastic discounts on cushions, table accessories and more. Also in Canal, you’ll find suitable souvenirs, pashminas, sunglasses and jeweler.

Phuket City shouldn’t be a top priority, but if you’re on the island for an extended period, the Sino-Portuguese shop houses in this part of town are home to some pretty nice shops. Visit Golden Lotus, Fai Sor Kam and Oriental Origin.

On your way back, make a stop at Gems Gallery, “The World’s Largest Jeweler Store”, for an endless array of baubles. Bargaining is acceptable here, so you may just get a good deal.

You can’t go wrong with food in Thailand, and Phuket is no exception. The local cuisine and seafood is incredible at most places, but the following offer outstanding ambiance in addition.

Baan Rim Pa (100/7 Kalim Beach Road, Patong), perhaps the most well-known restaurant on the island, serves authentic Royal Thai cuisine in a beautiful cliffside setting overlooking the Andaman Sea. This fine- dining alfresco establishment is always fully booked, even in the low season, so make your reservations even before you arrive to get a coveted waterfront table.

In the same strip, Joe’s Downstairs for Western cuisine and Da Maurizio for Italian are also delicious and offer similar views.

Another waterfront favorite is Rockfish (33/6 Kamala Beach Road), serving contemporary Western cuisine and seafood alongside authentic Thai fare in a swanky two-story beach hut.

Finally, if you love fresh seafood, it doesn’t come any fresher than at Lotus (Moo 4 Cherng Talay, Laguna). Choose your live lobster, fish, prawns or crab from the tanks in front and then enjoy the feeling of sand between your toes while you wait at your table on the beach. Casual, tasty and reasonably priced.

Calcium supplements are a good way to maintain calcium stock in your bones. However, in some people, it may not be sufficient to ward off osteoporosis. In our teenage years to early adulthood, the body accumulates calcium to build strong bones.

Beyond the age of 30, the calcium stock is maintained, but cannot be increased. As we age beyond 50, the bones start to lose calcium. When the loss becomes excessive, as is often the case in post-menopausal women, this leads to osteoporosis. Genetics also plays a role. People who have direct relatives with osteoporosis are at greater risk of developing it. Other precipitating factors include a sedentary lifestyle, excessive caffeine and alcohol intake, certain drugs like steroids and certain chronic diseases like hyperthyroidism.

Calcium is only part of the solution. There has to be sufficient daily vitamin D intake. Without vitamin D, calcium cannot be absorbed in sufficient quantities by the body. In countries with prolonged winters, the elderly have been shown to be more prone to osteoporosis. This should not be a problem in sunny Asia, unless you stay indoors or use sunscreen liberally. If you do, a vitamin D supplement would help.

The daily requirement of calcium is about 800mg a day, and the required daily intake of vitamin D is 800 international units. Most of these can he obtained from a balanced diet. Foods that contain a high amount of calcium include dairy products, green leafy vegetables, tofu and whitebait.

Like hypertension and diabetes, osteoporosis is a silent disease, and often manifests itself dramatically in a fracture after a minor trauma. In the elderly, a hip fracture can be a death sentence, not from the osteoporosis itself, but from the complications of prolonged immobility that the fracture causes. Hence, it is important to ensure not only an adequate daily intake of calcium and vitamin D, but to have an active lifestyle and get a medical check-up if you are at risk.

FEMALE / WIFE : You tell a man something, it goes in one ear and comes out of the other.

MALE / HUSBAND : You tell a woman something: It goes in both ears and comes out of the mouth.

Teacher

Sam : “It’s a family tradition”.

Teacher : “What do you mean?”

Sam : “Sir, my grandpa was a street hawker, my father is a teacher.”

Teacher : “What about your mother?”

Sam : “She’s a woman”..