Serving the Nation

A big hello to everyone!!! I’m back!

If you’re wondering where I disappeared to, well I was away for reservist for a week, that is to undergo refresher military training. As Singapore is a small country, it is necessary for guys in Singapore to be conscripted for Army. Guys will have to go for full-time National Service for about 2 years and after which go for X number of reservists (which typically last for a week to 2 weeks) or till they are age 40 before they are officially released from the conscription.

So while I was in the camp, I can’t bring my tools along to create my doodles and my schedule got disrupted. And therefore once I was out, I was busy catching up and getting my schedule back in order for the past week. Been working on this comic strip for 3 nights so here it is…
Army is a place of discipline and order. Frankly, I dreaded it at first when I did my full-time National Service because I lost lots of my freedom. I had to follow a schedule of when to wake up, when to sleep and even when to eat. Everyone in camp is wearing the same outfit with the same super short haircut and I seem to have lost my identity. And when out in the fields, there could be days where one cannot take a proper shower or even take off the boots to let the feet breathe.

Gradually though, I came to recognise the merits for military training. It did shaped me into a stronger person both physically and mentally. Who would have imagined that a scrawny boy then at 45 kg would be able to carry a rifle, body gear, things that are disproportional to his body weight and walk for hours and even carry on with the tough training? I don’t believe it too but somehow I managed to. And this strong will of going against the odds and not giving up continues to be with me today as I take on the other challenges in life.

Army life also makes me appreciate the simpler things in life, which sometimes I fail to take notice and take for granted. For instance, basic things like having a shelter over my head and dry clothes when there is a thunder-storm, clean water for drinking during overseas training, a warm bowl of instant noodles instead of field combat rations and bonding with my family members. Of course, on a totally different level would be the appreciation for peace times so that people would never have to go to war.

And here is a special shout out to my friends and buddies that I have known during army! In life, we made choices that determine the people that we know. I mean we choose the schools that we want to attend, the jobs that we want to do, the communities of interest that we wish to join and it is these choices that we make, that we get to know people, usually of similar interests. Army which is compulsory for us and with its unknown black box categorisation system somehow brings us together from different walks of life. It is amazing don’t you think?

So thank you my army friends and buddies for being there! Without your mental support, encouragement and laughter, army life would not have been bearable and as interesting. While we transit through the different phases of our life, from boys to men to uncles,  we will forever be boys in our shared memories. Stay in contact!

1 week break

I have been forced to take 1 week break from all my doodles activities, yes even including my Zazzle store. Not that I broke my fingers or something bad happened to me. *Fingers crossed*

I will share more about it in comic strips format when I am back cause I am in a rush for time to do some things before the break. Lots of backlog of comic strips and doodles ideas that I want to draw which either is a a sign that I am struck with a streak of creativity or a sign of procrastination. I suspect it is the latter. Oops!

I did however did an interview piece with blogger and fellow Zazzler, Rico sometime back but was published recently. If you are interested to read about me and my doodles at Zazzle, you can find the two parts interview here…

Interview Part 1

Interview Part 2

Goodbye for a week!

Pineapple wants to be hugged too!

11 Fun Facts about Rusty Doodle (Part 6): What should we have for dinner?

Whenever my friends have no idea what to have for dinner, I will sneakily and shamelessly suggest Japanese cuisine because fun fact number 2 – I love Japanese Food!

I don’t remember when exactly did Japanese Food came about to become one of my favourite cuisines. It could have started off with sushi which my Aunt would buy for us from the supermarkets back when we were young. As a kid and even now, it is fascinating to see balls of rice topped with colourful ingredients. My favourite is the tamago (egg) sushi for its bright yellow and the sweetness of the egg. While it is not exactly too difficult to make your own sushi ( I actually tried it 3 years ago and made my own tamago sushi), the number of steps to make it however is just too tedious whereby I would rather get it from the supermarket. Gratitude for those who cook full time!

Back at my previous job, I would have Japanese food every other day. Not that I eat at Japanese restaurants all the time. Rather, there are various options available. For instance, there are two dingy Japanese eateries near the office, one serves a delicious marinated salmon sashimi don (rice bowl in Japanese) and the other is managed by a Japanese home cook. There is also the supermarket with its sushi, onigiri and bento boxes options. One of the perks of my previous job, the many food options available.

Hence, in my defence, I didn’t really mean to suggest Japanese food to my friends every other time that we meet, it is just harder to have Japanese food now that I am working from home. So friends, please make it easier for me next time, just suggest Japanese food so that I feel less guilty! Haha.

I also came up with a lens on my top 5 favourite Japanese food. Well, I limit it to 5 because it would have took forever if I list all the ones I like.

Do you like Japanese food? And what’s your favourite Japanese food?

Who is responsible for the rainbow?

Wanted to go swimming this morning because I got a free membership to use a club’s swimming pool for a year! Well, it is almost free except that I got to pay for the locker and the bus ride to reach the club but the facilities are newer and way better than the public pool option.

However, as we all know, things don’t always go as planned – it rained heavily. So what was I suppose to do? I make my own rainbow! I kid you not, it inspired the following:

Recipe of making your own rainbow in a beaker posters

“I make my own rainbow” colorful message Postcard

 

You know how the rainbow appears after the rain or the thunderstorm. The thought behind it is sometimes one may get stuck and focus on the negativity but it is actually up to oneself to make one’s own happiness, represented by the happy rainbow colours.

Have you made your rainbow today?

Love Tofu!

Kawaii tofu asking people to love tofu postcards by RustyDoodle

Inspired by Iron Cheftress and her tofu recipes on her blog, I tried making a tofu smoothie today!

Were you gross out by the thought?!? To be frank, as I am in Asia, I am all too familiar with tofu in soups and tofu served steamed or fried but I was kinda surprised that it can be used in other ways too. For example, in making a Chocolate Pudding suggested by Iron Cheftress.

To test whether my taste buds can accept tofu in other ways, I started with something simple, a tofu smoothie. I made mine today by simply blending half a pack of Silken tofu (as the name implies, it is softer than regular tofu), one banana, 2 strawberries, iced water and a little bit of honey.

I still haven’t hit a winning combination taste wise. I think I added too little fruits and honey. Texture wise, it is definitely a smoothie! Overall, I think it is a healthier choice of protein source compared to protein powder or cow’s milk. So in conclusion, I am going to add more tofu in my diet and experiment with new ways to do so!!

Next on the list, tofu salad! And if I can find nice avocados, that Chocolate Pudding!

PS: Pity my fridge seems to freeze tofu into ice easily. I have no idea why. Otherwise I will definitely hoard tofu in my fridge!