It‘s been getting hazy in Singapore again. Plus the UV is so high some days that the Ministry of Health is giving us warnings to stay indoors, contrary to all the previous attempts to get us out to exercise…
Hazy Days
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Murder4Money (We Don’t)
It’s very hot in Singapore right now. Yes, it’s always hot in Singapore, but right now it’s bad enough that I’m getting morning UV warnings from the Ministry of Health…
Growing Old With My Country
Singapore turned 61 years old on Sunday. There were flags everywhere, fireworks, parties… But I was feeling more sleepy than patriotic….
Reactivating, Revising and Releasing
I just finished watching Agent Kim Reactivated—my first K-drama series! I watched it all the way through and love the message of ‘never underestimate middle-aged men wearing glasses’…
Good Students Follow Instructions. Great Students Go Beyond
The Beloved Husband and I are sixty-five year old products of the Singapore education system that we survived…
A Real Danger of Roots
Yesterday was my Tuesday to post here, and I missed it completely. My excuse — if you are in a forgiving mood — is that I was in the middle of wrapping up the last quarter and planning the next (July-August-September) one…
Ox Head, Horse Face–Hell’s Policemen
I read Remy Lai’s Ghost Book last week and I loved it. It’s a graphic book that’s somehow funny, scary and tender all at once. Also, there are soup dumplings…
3 Steps Forward, Bow Inward.
Here in Singapore we just had two public holidays close together: Hari Raya Haji last Wednesday and then Vesak Day on Sunday…
My First Farmer’s Box and Two Kinds of Carrot Cake
I was excited (and a little apprehensive) to order our first ‘farmer’s box’ from Talula Farms last week…
Singapore Slings, Peanut Shells and Singapore Crime Fiction
I’ve been working on a piece about Singapore crime fiction for an encyclopedia of Global Crime Fiction and it’s…
When Pots–and Plots–get Root-Bound
One of my bamboo plants was starting to look unwell. A few leaves here and there turning yellow and dropping–nothing dramatic, but…
I Don’t Like New Things
I don’t like new things. I like the idea of them and I admire (and envy) people who embrace them and plunge in (Thank you, Stan!) But when it comes to actually stepping into something unfamiliar…
Notes from the Saggy Middle
I suspect all writers (and too many readers) are aware of the ‘saggy middle’ stretch where nothing much seems to be happening…
Feeding Me, My Dog and My Next Mystery
For years I’ve had two mystery series, both of which I love. But recently I’ve been feeling the itch to start something unconnected with either of them…
Try on some Fiery Horseshoes!
By the Chinese zodiac, we’re now moving into the Year of the Fire Horse. Fire Horse years are said to bring dramatic, intense, fast-paced upheavals…
Thinking Murder at a Wake
I didn’t plan a post for this week because most of last week was spent sitting in on a family funeral wake in that bizarre state where you’re both ‘on duty’ and…
Sophia’s Lessons on Writing, Walking and How Wonderful Life Is
This is Sophia and our carpet is rolled up because Sophia’s not toilet trained (yet). She’s around six years old, but…
New Stuff & Re-Newing Stuff
We celebrated the first work week of the Western new year by going back to one of our neighbourhood kopitiams (literally ‘coffee shop’ but more a collection of food stalls)…
Facing my LLM Dragons (on Crime Fiction in 2026)
In this strange space between Christmas and the start of the new year, I’ve been finding it hard to focus productively…
Down Time versus Down Moods
Down time and down moods look very similar from the outside–low productivity, high junk food intake–but feel very different and leave me in a very different place…
If Jacky Cheung Can Still Do Splits, I Can Still…
It was a huge treat going to watch the ‘God of Songs’ Jacky Cheung at his 60+ concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium! It was…