#the north wasn't included by the humanitarian pause and

[wearenotjustnumbers2]

If you watch the interview, you'll know that the girl here and another one sat in their tank and shelled kibbutz for 17 hours straight, and yet they're being hailed as heroes.

From the beginning, we knew Israeli forces were firing at their own people. We knew that Hamas doesn't have the weaponry to result the destruction we've seen. But since nobody believed, now the truth keeps unfolding about Oct 7.

Watch the interview with Yasmin Porat who was at one of the kibbutz's. She said Hamas treated them humanely, she said they were scared but they [hamas] didn't abuse them. The interviewer was taken aback. The interviewer asks if "terrorists" killed all the bodies lying in the ground but she said: "NO, it was UNDOUBTEDLY our forces." Her exact words. Google her name and listen to the interview.

[40sandfabulousaf]

大家好! For a change, I had a simple breakfast of local coffee and potato curry puff on a return to office day as a show of support for starving Palestinians in Gaza. Curry puff, or epok epok, is a crispy (sometimes flakey) pastry shell that contains fillings like curry chicken, potato and egg, curry potato or spicy sardines. I chose the humblest of them all - curry potato. Ingredients used to make this puff were basic, but the curry was tasty and the potatoes melt in your mouth tender. Pairing this with fragrant local coffee was satisfying even though I was very hungry by lunchtime. Whilst the gnawing hunger can't be compared to what Palestinians in Gaza are going through, it does give me a glimpse of the sheer magnitude of their suffering.

There's usually a long line of customers in front of the shao la (roasted meats) stall at the coffee shop I sometimes go to for WFH lunch. I was tempted to try their food, but the thought of queueing for ages just to place my order was a turnoff. On Saturday, I reached the coffee shop before lunchtime and, lo and behold, there was nobody! After collecting my duck noodles, I happily tucked in. It was admittedly good, the mee kia (thin egg noodles) was very QQ, the duck was quite tender and the sauce coated the noodles and meat without being too salty. But it wasn't exceptional; I don't get the fuss. Won't stand in line during busy meal times for it, but don't mind having it again if there isn't a queue.

Sunday was Father's Day. What better way to spoil Pa than with a delicious meal? I treated him to lunch of braised lobster yi mian (ee fu noodles), followed by local tea (for him) and local coffee (for me). Both of us polished off the giant plate of yi mian; not a strand was left. The meal was so filling that we decided to postpone dessert of ice cream and waffles, Pa's favourite, to another time. The enjoyable afternoon was spent leisurely discussing health and nutrition and current affairs, as well as updating each other about what we did during the week. To Pa, the most precious gift of all was the gift of my time. I'm glad he felt so happy and enjoyed our lunch.

The smoked salmon I ordered last week arrived. I've decided to have it as part of a normal meal. Palestinians in Gaza struggle to have adequate nutrition, let alone the luxury of chilled foods. What I did instead was open a can of baby corn for my weekly simple breakfast, since canned goods are included in the food parcels which Palestinians receive. To be frank, baby corn is delicious when stirfried with straw mushrooms, sweet peas, lotus root and macadamia nuts but quite horrible on its own 😅 That's precisely the whole point of this exercise - to understand and highlight their suffering. Palestinians in Gaza don't get to choose what kind of food they eat.

Today is Tuesday. Yesterday was the Hari Raya Haji public holiday in my country so our Muslim friends can celebrate Eid al-Adha. Things were much more sombre in Gaza where Palestinians mourned friends and family members who've perished in this genocidal war. Malls and dining establishments are usually packed on public holidays and it was scorching hot yesterday, so I stayed home, rested, exercised, danced, caught up on current affairs and wondered when the world will finally enjoy global peace again. I hope it will be soon. All of us thrived then. 下次见!