Sarah: The old things are bought at the sunday market at China Square Central. There were only two date stamps available and only one (mine) came with the packaging. The stall in on the 2nd floor, at a corner, but I didn’t see the stamp again when I went back for a second week. The stamp is not functional either. The rubber is extremely dry and I imagine it will crack if I try to turn it.

diane i. wetzel: Thank you for asking. I’m using the Default theme on Wordpress customised with my original photos. As they are my photos, I’m not planning to turn it into a theme for use. So sorry! But if you work around with the Default theme with your own photos, you should be able to get pretty much the same effect.

clara: I guess it’s natural to be interested in our identities when we’re not surrounded by things or people “like us”. Maggie Cheung said the same thing in an interview about her experience while living in France, and she was a pretty accomplished actress by then. I don’t love all things Chinese – I really don’t buy into Shanghai Tang’s take on modern Chinese design; seeing dragons and red used to add a “Chinese” flavour to anything really annoys me – but what really is Chinese aesthetics? One of my interests currently is to research traditional/ancient Chinese aesthetics and think about how it can be expressed in a relevant way for myself, for today.

nikole: The cookbook is designed in a modern way but features traditional recipes, mum’s cooking sort of thing. I wish there was a version too for Teochew cooking!

read me…, Yen, stefanie and Shinn: That tired old line… One man’s junk is another man’s treasure! I had great fun spending two Sundays at China Square Central’s market. I also bought more than I did in any of the shopping malls.

karyn: Go to this shop 想當年 at China Square Central. I assumed you knew about it because it’s exactly your sort of place! Could I ask you of a favour though? If you do go there, could you check with the owner about a record he plays in the store? The song is called C’est si bon and I’d like to know who sang the version he plays…. Please!!!

Bardotty: My suitcase revealed. It’s a life-saver.

ariadne: I’m taking it on the trip. It’s quite a good rolling around sort of outfit.

Chiara: Looks like it! I haven’t read the story. Maybe I’ll show you when we have class again.

Viv: I considered reading in English before attempting the Chinese version but so much would be lost in translation particularly in the case of DRC because homophobes are a feature of the book. I’m not the least bit interested in the tales of WM. If I had to read another, it’ll be Three Kingdoms for sure. I think I’ll just get on with DRC first, ha ha… Will you read DRC in Chinese anytime?

Iconoclastic: There are one digit areas too. So hard to compute, isn’t it?

Wera: The calendar is a very classic Chinese style but the version I was recommended had English translations.

yuko: All sales meetings! Not sure who I’m meeting in Kansas City though.

Tricia: I actually missed the rain in Singapore. Don’t think it rained much while I was there…

wl: I don’t think it’s such a problem now, not being able to write from memory. I think if the education focus (in Singapore as I experienced it) shifts from memorising 笔画 to learning about the intricacies of using the language, it’ll be more successful.

ANDWHATELSEISTHERE: Thank you for sending me your blog link!