Monday, July 16, 2007
Gindara = Black Cod = Sablefish = Escolar = Oilfish??
As the title suggests, there is so much confusion over what one could be eating and hence my recent miserable encounter.
On Thursday, I was at a Country Club in Jurong for lunch and ordered a main course made up of Gindara. Prior to ordering the dish, I asked what Gindara was (as I was hearing it for the first time) and my colleague told me its Cod fish! Apparently, Gindara is a fish commonly used in Japan for sushimi. It is also sometimes known as Sablefish (which I discovered from the internet).
Anyway, I was served this fillet of white fish that is approxiately 4.5 inches in length and 3 inches thick. That was when I thought to myself, "Wow, that's really value for money for Cod fish!". I was able to share a piece of it here and there with 3 other colleagues and still have a very decent serving to myself.
On the way back to office, I had to ask my colleague (who is driving a van) to speed back to office as I suddenly had terrible tummy ache and need to visit the loo badly. I thought I had too much food that day. Little did I know that it was all because of the piece of fish that I had.
Things really became worse the next day evening when I experienced the gross unpleasant side effects of THE fish. I was passing out orange oil! It was messy and difficult to control and it started when I was catching Harry Potter in a cinema! Luckily I was able to get home before things became really messy. I was horrified and thought that something very wrong happened to me. However, having heard about fake Cod fish, I also sort of suspected that I could be suffering side effects of eating a one!
I surfed the web and found out that side effects typically happen from 30mins to 36 hours after consuming the fish. And that different regions called the same fish different names. Hence, Oilfish can be easily mistaken as Escolar or Gindara or even Cod!
In addition, the oily stools/oil are a toxic reaction to the body's inability to digest and break down the wax esters found in the fish. In humans, wax esters are indigestible and thus accumulate in the rectum causing oily diarrhoea (keriorrhoea), which is what rapidly causes gastrointestinal symptoms after eating it but the symptoms are often not very severe, are not life threatening and they pass.
I seek condolence to learn that others suffered the same fate as me (ChikenMafia, Bob Lonsberry) and have survived. I was okay by Saturday afternoon but decided to stay at home over the weekend *just in case*!
Labels: Cod Fish; Oilfish
11:00 PM
Arts Jam 2007
I took part in an Arts Jam with 4 other colleagues from my company on 7 July 07. 36 other groups from various companies participated. Some pictures from the event to share:
Before the start of the event. Nice and cozy setup.
See the huge canvasses around? We got to paint on those later.
An Artist (Joo) was demonstrating how to use Acrylic on canvas prior to us trying out on our canvas!
Group discussion and conceptualizing......
First wash of a colourful background colour ......
2.5 hours later. Here's the finished product.
Well, we did not win a prize but it was an interesting experience!
Labels: Drawing; Company Event
10:39 PM
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Goodbye National Stadium
Yesterday, I attended the National Stadium's closing ceremony. It was a last minute decision to take a look at the place before it's gone.
That place sure brings back memory of my secondary days, where I was at the stadium for all the non-athletic reasons, like SYF Flash card events (and I am not even one of the flashcard holders!), some interschool events that I had to attend as I had duties as a councillor, and subsequently, National Day parades. I still remembered that my mum grounded me after I attended a SYF event without her consent. Well, actually I asked her but she refused to let me attend. As I really could not see why she did not want me to attend (up till today, I still cannot see why), I just went ahead for the fun of it (hey, all my classmates were going!) and it was one of the best time of my school days!
Later on during my uni days, I went on a date with a guy I fancied to catch a soccer match at the Stadium. Well, the date turned out as boring as the match, and anyway I was never a soccer fan.
Here's the pics for a last glimpse of the place:
Entrance to the grandstand.
The last soccer match. It was a friendly match between Singapore and Australia. The score was Singapore 0, Australia 3
We were seated at the grandstand.
The last walk around the stadium by the 'Singapore Team', as part of the closing ceremony.
There were fireworks, but they lasted only 2 minutes. And honestly, the fireworks were quite lousy.
View from the field.
View at the field.
My feet on the field for the last time......
My feet on the track for the last time too......
Labels: National Stadium
9:59 PM
Blogthings
I discovered this website from ursweetlullaby's blog and went on to take several tests that they have there. Each test takes less than 5 mins to fill in and to generate the result.
Here are my results. Some pretty true (like birth order!) while some's over-generalising.
| You Should Be Fashion Designer |
 Although you're offbeat and artistic, you have a good eye for trends You can figure out new incredible clothes to create... that will sell well! |
| Your Personality is Very Rare (INTP) |
 Your personality type is goofy, imaginative, relaxed, and brilliant. Only about 4% of all people have your personality, including 2% of all women and 6% of all men You are Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving. |
| You Are Emerald Green |
 Deep and mysterious, it often seems like no one truly gets you. Inside, you are very emotional and moody - though you don't let it show. People usually have a strong reaction to you... profound love or deep hate. But you can even get those who hate you to come around. There's something naturally harmonious about you. |
| Your Chances of Being a Multimillionaire: 48% |
 You have a decent shot at being a multimillionaire. Surprised? You're confident and a hard worker. Keep it up! |
| You Are Likely a First Born |
 At your darkest moments, you feel guilty. At work and school, you do best when you're researching. When you love someone, you tend to agree with them often. In friendship, you are considerate and compromising. Your ideal careers are: business, research, counseling, promotion, and speaking. You will leave your mark on the world with discoveries, new information, and teaching people to dream. |
| Your EQ is 120 |
 50 or less: Thanks for answering honestly. Now get yourself a shrink, quick! 51-70: When it comes to understanding human emotions, you'd have better luck understanding Chinese. 71-90: You've got more emotional intelligence than the average frat boy. Barely. 91-110: You're average. It's easy to predict how you'll react to things. But anyone could have guessed that. 111-130: You usually have it going on emotionally, but roadblocks tend to land you on your butt. 131-150: You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin. 150+: Two possibilities - you've either out "Dr. Phil-ed" Dr. Phil... or you're a dirty liar. |
Labels: Quizzes
9:35 PM
My Funny Cousin
My cousin is quite a strange fellow. I think she is quite creative too. Perhaps 6 years of her education in US just created a person with a less 'stifled' view point of things. Too bad she had to come back to Singapore to continue with the rest of her education, at least till she completes her 'A' levels. But I am sure she will continue to have fun......
Labels: Family
8:53 PM
I am The Emperor