Author Archives: bookjunkie

About bookjunkie

Blogging about life in Singapore & recently cancer too.

When My Faith is Shaken

When someone I think is highly intelligent, like Ricky Gervais, talks about evidence and no proof there is a God I feel horrified as I listen, because I don’t want to agree. I don’t want my skeptical brain to concur. … Continue reading

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Thoughts of My Youngest Cousin

What cousin G related to me: I feel totally Singaporean. Sri Lanka has no impact or significance to me. I feel nothing much. More curious about Jaffna, because of my roots and as part of history. (About my eldest cousin … Continue reading

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Revelations by my Youngest Uncle

Uncle S related that it’s very hard for him to recollect a lot of the past as he has memory lapses due to the seizures he suffers from. But I appreciate that he did try very hard to share his … Continue reading

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Uninhibited

I’m writing in an uninhibited manner. More so than I’ve ever done before as 52 approaches. If not now, then when. Isn’t it time I stop caring what people (who are not even in my life anymore) think. They won’t … Continue reading

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Ceylonese Singaporean

I am so excited that a novel set in Sri Lanka has been shortlisted for the 2022 Booker prize and I’m hungry to read it. My partner was the one who alerted me to it. He knows me so well. … Continue reading

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5 Things I Thought I Would Have when I was a Child: Letting Go of My Expectations

This is my exercise in letting go of expectations. Sadly life never turns out the way you expect for many, but there have also been treasured joys I never expected as well. When I was a kid I always imagined … Continue reading

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My Psoriasis Journey: At My Wits’ End, but Trying to be Zen

I’m going for distraction. Mostly Netflix and phone apps do the trick so well. And writing of course. Doing that on my phone right now. (So thanks Steve). It’s almost comical that the trigger for psoriosis is stress and eliminating … Continue reading

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My Teenhood: What was your favorite subject at school and why?

For me it was definitely English Literature in upper secondary school as not only did I love good books and grew to love poetry, but I had the best teacher ever. She was Miss Penelope Shone from New Zealand. She … Continue reading

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My Childhood: The Beach & What I Seek in Travel

As a child I didn’t have truly good memories of the beaches in Singapore. My sister and I often developed huge painful welts on our upper arms and always thought it was because we were allergic to sea water. We … Continue reading

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My Childhood: Garden Stories & Jaffna Cousins

I miss our small tropical garden. Of course, as these things go, I didn’t appreciate it till it was reduced to just a tiny patch devoid of any fruit trees. I miss the Japanese roses my mum tended to in … Continue reading

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My Thoughts on Memoir Writing

I need to ditch my perfectionist ways in order to do this. Firstly I can’t just write in chronological order, but in patches, because that’s how memory is. And I need to be ok with that. Often a particular memory … Continue reading

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Uncle A: My Grandpa at Work & Other Stories

Following my last post about one of my grandma’s specialities, fried mutton with potatoes, my uncle confirmed that it was one of his favourites too. I then asked him to tell me about what family meals were like back then. … Continue reading

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Fried Mutton with Potatoes

My mum learnt how to cook various ceylonese dishes, observing my grandma. Back then she mostly did the menial work like cutting up and grinding stuff. You could say, she was sous chef to the chef (grandma) and she started … Continue reading

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#13. Simple Joys: When they Don’t Forget My Spicy Condiments

A meal is elevated by condiments, like all kinds of chilli and sauces. I always need spice in my meals.

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Gamification Makes Duolingo the most enticing way to learn a language

I was trying not to waste my time on repetitive games that are addictive, but teach me nothing much, like Temple Run for instance. I am also not fond of scrabble type word games where all kinds of weird words, … Continue reading

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Psoriasis: Visit to the Dermatologist

I feel hopeful after my visit to the second dermatologist. Prior to this I saw a male doctor. He was nice but I prefer female doctors, and my gynaecologist whom I trust, referred me to her. I have confidence in … Continue reading

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Never Been on the Singapore Flyer

Somehow when something is so near and available you feel no urgency to use it. Also I have situational claustrophobia, so when this attraction first emerged I had fear let alone a desire to try it. There were incidents of … Continue reading

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My Eldest Cousin M

Been thinking a lot about my cousin M lately. To be accurate, he’s never left my mind. After he passed away in his sleep in 1995 (he was only 37 years old and it was attributed to an epileptic fit) … Continue reading

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Typical Childhood in the 1950’s (Uncle A’s perspective), with a Preamble About Recording Stories

I’m noting down family details and it’s all these little stories and varying perspectives that may come in useful for a story about a typical Singaporean family that have their ancestral roots in Sri Lanka, specifically Jaffna. Of course no … Continue reading

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My Blog is a Work in Progress

It’s never the finished product, but more like a dairy entry. A diary entry that I can rework easily. I keep editing as I discover embarrassing errors (mostly due to autocorrect), and new information, especially for my biographical posts. I … Continue reading

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Typical Day in the Life of My Mum in the early 1960’s

She couldn’t recall exactly what time she woke up, but it was to the crowing of the neighbourhood roosters and not an alarm clock. They were extremely loud she said. She ironed her uniform the day before. Once adorned, she … Continue reading

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#12. Simple Joys: Having the Option to Not Wear a Mask Indoors

I do it when I feel comfortable enough and usually when it’s not too crowded. But yes I so do enjoy having that freedom.

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