Breakfast: Sleep still as screwy as ever. Maybe I'll be able to stay up all day and keep myself occupied, sitting around somewhere drinking juice, sweating incessantly and watching the pointless display of Capitalism out on Orchard Road. (Not that that I think Communism is a good alternative, mind you... but the sort of vacant, soul-sapping serial shopping they seem to enjoy doing here just creeps me out. In a vancat, soul-sapped sort of way.)

Anyhoo, since I was up and feeling a bit peckish, I wandered over to 67 Killiney Kopitiam and had my usual quick breakfast of nasi lemak and kopi with milk. I still don't know exactly how I'm supposed to eat the fish that comes with it... I usually just whack it around on the banana leaf with the provided plastic spoon until I get some manageable chunks flaking off, tho' often that's easier said than done, and I end up getting pieces with lots of bones in them, which I eat lock, stock and barrel, figuring that's probably a fair way to do it, and even if not, it's good calcium anyway. Then the head I usually save for last, and I have to tell you, what the Chinese say about the head being the best part of the fish... it's absolutely true. At least on these little buggers. It's the sweetest, most succulent bit, with a crunchy skeleton surrounding the softer inner bits. Yummm!

Actually, I try not to think about it too much and instead just chow down. It's fried to all shit anyhow, so it's not like you can really tell definitively if the eyes are still intact or whatever.

Funny, the things that different cultures accept as being edible or not. Having previously dabbled in near-vegetarianism for about 4 or 5 years, one might think that I'd be disgusted by the thought of tucking in to a nice plate of prawns with the shells still on or whole fish heads or sea urchin gonads or whatnot, but actually it's quite the opposite... I consider it more barbaric to try and pretend that the meal in front of me was not once a living thing. That's not to say that I neccessarily like stewed chicken feet or pig organ soup (I still haven't figured out which organ, specifically, they're referring to) or beef brain burritos, but I do have a certain appreciation for the honesty such culinary offerings convey, as well as the idea of not letting anything go to waste.

To me, far more revolting and profane is the idea of rubbery chicken chunks floating in alfredo sauce of a Lean Cuisine TV dinner, completely detatched from the reality that a living, breathing animal gave its life for me to eat my "Only 6 grams of fat!" sustenance simulacrum packet in the insulated privacy of my apartment. As Americans we don't understand our food, where it comes from, how it lived, how it died, what all the little parts are... we just get things pre-packaged, pre-prepared, and stripped of all the less-than-savory little bits that we'd rather not have to think about. You never have to get any blood on your own hands. And in many ways, I feel this mirrors other problems in our society, as well. Many of those in power and positions of authority wage remote-control wars, restructure organizations without understanding how they operate, and generally see fit to muck things up from their detatched and insulated perches on high.

Where was I going with this? I dunno. Eat honestly!

Lunch: Tekka-don and an iced oolong tea over at Sento.

Dinner: Seafood kushiage (I think?) rice burger and a salad from Mos Burger, soursop juice from HealthWorks. The kushiage burger was the best thing I've had so far at Mos Burger... it wasn't overly bready or greasy, and had a nice peppery sauce on it. Superior to the ebi and unagi rice burgers, no contest.