At the substantial risk of putting another tune in her head, here’s one that’s stuck in mine. Sharing the love:
Skidamarink a dink a dink,
Skidamarink a doo,
Bee Hoon too.
Bee Hoon in the morning and in the afternoon.
Bee Hoon in the evening and underneath the moon.
Oh, Skidamarink a dink, a dink,
Skidamarink a doo,
Bee Hoon too.
~The Skidamarink a Dink a Dink Song (adapted)
I’ve had Bee Hoon for breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner at one of those ubiquitous Bee Hoon + Luncheon Meat + Fried Egg + Ngor Hiang stalls at hawker centres around the island, except now there’s no fried egg to be had. Anywhere. Except where LMD lunches. She gets eggs.
Anyway, the Bee Hoon’s cheap, though the pricing varies. I usually have a slice of Luncheon Meat and an Egg or Ngor Hiang, but prices vary from $1.80 to $2.30 depending on which part of the island you dine at. So far, it’s $1.80 at Jurong East, $2.30 at Bukit Purmei and $2.00 flat at Holland Village. And man, the bulk of the Bee Hoon fills you up real good. Great for times when you’re skint. Like now. So skint. I’m gonna have to siphon petrol out of my mother’s car soon. This Bee Hoon diet’s not quite low-carb though, so if you’re on some Atkins Diet type diet, you can forget it. Then again, if you’re as skint as I, you don’t need an Atkins Diet.
The wife gave me a coin bank she got from some Campbell’s Soup promo, and I’ve been putting coins in them for a month or so now. Good thing too, because when you’re skint, they come in handy at the hawker centres for the Bee Hoon and Kopi. Only thing is, it’s a bit weird carrying a Campbell’s Soup Can Coin Bank, so I leave that in the car and take out a handful of coins to put in my pocket every time I have to go buy food.
And because I’ve been skint, I haven’t been in the mood to swipe out my camera to take pictures of my food and a part of my dining companion, as has become my custom. But I promise, once I’m rich, fine and dandy again, I’ll start annoying people with the camera at meals once more.
It’s not all gloom and doom though, when you’re skint. There are so many things you appreciate more, so many creative ways to enjoy what there is to enjoy.
I take more walks, drive less, buy less, sit outside That CD Shop at Pacific Plaza and listen to whatever chill-out Buddha Bar modern music they’re playing on their fabulous sound system.
I enjoy going out with my equally skint friends, who, likewise, enjoy simple pleasures such as taking their pet rabbit out walkies (hoppies) in a straw bag. The bunny’s so cute I think we’re gonna start a one-animal petting zoo and make some spare change. Failing that, we’re thinking of making the rabbit pick 4-D numbers, you know, rabbit’s foot and all that?
I also go to the driving range and sure enough, there’s always an absent-minded golf-ball hitter who’s left his stored value golf ball card on the golf ball dispenser: If there’re credits left, free game; No credits left, go to the pro shop and get a $6 refund. Enough for two Bee Hoon meals and a couple of coffees.
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