Actually, I'm not at all surprised.

I Am A: Chaotic Good Human Ranger Fighter


Alignment:
Chaotic Good characters are independent types with a strong belief in the value of goodness. They have little use for governments and other forces of order, and will generally do their own things, without heed to such groups.


Race:
Humans are the 'average' race. They have the shortest life spans, and because of this, they tend to avoid the racial prejudices that other races are known for. They are also very curious and tend to live 'for the moment'.


Primary Class:
Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.


Secondary Class:
Fighters are the warriors. They use weapons to accomplish their goals. This isn't to say that they aren't intelligent, but that they do, in fact, believe that violence is frequently the answer.


Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy of NeppyMan!

Medical Update: Heart checkup

So, saw my cardiologist against yesterday and it's business as usual. Blood and urine are normal, and with the meds, my blood pressure tops out at 110/80, so all's well on that front. Basically, he told me that I don't need to see him anymore and I could do any follow-up monitoring with my own GP. They still don't know what's causing the hypertension, but it's going to be a long term condition, so hey, that gets me out of my mortar operator job in the Reserves.

In other shocking news, I knew I was putting on weight but I was basically in denial as to how much. Standing on a pair of electronic scales while waiting to see him, I'm 68 kilograms or 150 pounds. For a 5 foot 2 incher, yes, swisscheesed, I am a tub of lard.

What is it about mothers anyway? Is it some weird mutation that makes them nag you about your weight and at the same time insist you stuff your face with their food? It's hard to change years of conditioning when you've been forced to clean your plate because of starving children in Africa. ("Drink your coffee! There are children in Africa sleeping!")

I know, I know. Exercise. Bleah. Hate it, I tell you. Hate it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go back to pouting childishly and read bits of Apollo 13 while waiting for my next case to show up.

Filker's block

It occurs to me that I have not written any new songs since November. This is a matter of some concern - have I burnt out that fast?

Possibly part of the problem is that I've been trying to compose original tunes (all the better to be able to record with). Maybe I should ease myself back in by doing parodies.

One bright idea to surface recently on #filkhaven is the idea of doing an Interfilk cookbook/songbook. Think about it, each person contributes one song (preferably about cooking) and one recipe, publish the thing, proceeds go to Interfilk, blah blah. Sounds very do-able.

In preparation then, I offer here an uncompleted song...

-----

Wok Like A Man
Lyrics (C) 2002 by Terence Chua
(to the tune of "Walk Like A Man" by The Four Seasons)

Mom taught me early
That cooking ain't that girly
Doesn't make you any less a man
My skills are scary
My stir fry's legendary
It's all in the way I twirl my pan

(And she said)
Wok like a man
Cook like a man
Boil like a man, my son
Your julianne's the fastest in the land
So wok like a man my son

-----

Yeah, right, like that pun never occured to you before. Um, you can put those knives down now...

What has this got to do with the price of fish?

Well, uh, everything.

While buying some salmon for the traditional Chinese New Year yu sheng (raw fish salad) dish yesterday, I discovered to my horror that Japanese tuna (maguro) is going for an astronomical S$388 per kilo. That's S$38.80 for a 100 gram block measuring approximately 2x4x1 inches. How does tuna - tuna, for the love of Christ - get that expensive?