slice-of-life, 24 Jun 2025

house party

It was my first time buying a bottle of wine. Previously, I had only bought wine by the glass, at various bars. And, of course, the sales assistant now seized the opportunity to brainwash me into buying more than I could conceivably drink. (Probably she was in danger of losing her job if she couldn't meet her sales target for the month. But, dear madame, I can't mend your life at the expense of my budget.) I turned her down firmly, at least three times.

I chose to buy a Haut-Médoc, at the price of SGD$45 for a 750-millilitre bottle. I thought that was the most value-for-money. I had always wanted to try a Haut-Médoc because I have had a wonderful experience with Médoc wine at a certain bar. And I recalled that the writer of a wine-buying guide had advised that a Haut-Médoc costs only a little more than a Médoc, but offered a great increase in quality.

I was delighted that, at the house party, this Haut-Médoc met with approval from at least two ladies (who had already been inclined to appreciate wine.)

But – in a sprinkle of drama and tension – a late-comer to the party erupted into a fit of rage and accused me of pretentiousness. “Do you think you're a sommelier?” he taunted. “I think your wine tastes like cheap beer!” he spat.

A nearby lady said, “what?!” she appeared to be in shock and disbelief.

I was initially upset but then I reminded myself that I had brought the wine to engage a wine-appreciating audience, not to massage the fragile feelings of a certain group of easily irritable, intolerant and rude humans. (Sadly such humans seem to occur in large numbers, in this part of the world. I console myself thus: It's okay, I can't get to 5 million supporters without five or ten haters.)

I left the party soon after the afore-mentioned belligerent human crashed into the room. I did not want to associate myself with any further sourness that was emanating from said human.

After the party, I surfed the Net, and, in an educational experience, learnt that Haut-Médoc wines – and Médoc wines – are blends of different grape varieties. I had previously thought they comprised of only a single grape variety. That might explain the structure in the taste.

Well, on a holistic note: the party hostess discouraged me from drinking more wine: “It's bad for your health; your body appears to react adversely to wine.”

Thanks, JY. What a blessing that someone like you has appeared in my life: someone who wishes for my well-being. In contrast, I think of all the great cloud of well-dressed bartenders and pretty waitresses, hitherto, who were only too keen to enable and feed my alcoholic tendencies, without regard for my health. Probably they were happy as long as money flowed from my bank account to theirs.

And, one might ask at this point – what would happen if I ran out of money? One need not stretch his imagination too far.

I think to myself: How should I navigate the world of grown-ups? I think of a quote:

Critical thinking without hope is cynicism. Hope without critical thinking is naiveté. (Source: “The pathless path”, a book by Paul Millerd)

I end this narration with a nugget of wisdom from the Buddha:

upon hearing a wise man's advice, the king gave the wise man half the kingdom. upon hearing a wise man, the boatman struck the wise man on the mouth.

Further reading:

coffee-shop chat on insects

I learnt about a malaise trap.

The layperson might ask, what is a malaise trap? According to Mississippi Entomological Museum:

“Malaise traps are tent-like traps made of fine mesh material and used primarily for the collection of flies (Diptera) and wasps (Hymenoptera), although they also catch a great many other flying insects. Malaise traps are generally set out for long periods of time and checked at least weekly, or occasionally every other week.”

But there is a problem with using malaise traps in this part of the world. It turns out that wild monkeys do like to use them as trampolines, gleefully bouncing up and down. (or so eyewitnesses have reported). This destroys the trap – and confounds the researchers.

And I learnt that the traps come with a bottle of ethanol – for collecting the flies, which are the subject of research. But the story goes that the monkeys do enjoy consuming the ethanol. So researchers have tried to monkey-proof the bottle by applying a few layers of Vaseline. One researcher has even bought a dummy snake from a Daiso store, and hung it near the bottle. “the (alas-too-short) snake and the Vaseline have helped to protect the trap,” she said, “though sometimes you can see the monkeys' claw marks on the Vaseline on the bottle. Sometimes their claws puncture the bottle and the ethanol leaks out.”

*in a dramatic voice* That's precisely it, dear humans of Planet Earth! Monkeys are in control, and who are we Homo Sapiens to think that we are king of the jungle? I shudder at my arrogance. Surrender to your monkey overlords right now. (c.f. a recent article: “At least 25 monkeys seen loitering around Punggol Northshore HDB block”. In Mothership.)

A few interesting nuggets of information I stumbled upon, during the conversation:

Open Mic at a cocktail bar

Long story short, I played the guitar chords for John Legend's well-known song, “All of me”, while an audience of total strangers sang along, enthusiastically and heartily.

It was my first time playing on an electric guitar (or was it a semi-acoustic?). Someone helpfully tuned it for me. Thanks!

And, genius that I am, I sang off-key in the opening bar, but a audience member helped me find the correct key, by singing at the correct pitch. Thanks!

The air did feel too suffocating though – due to a large crowd of humans, and a malfunctioning air-conditioning unit. I guess the event proved to be too popular – in hindsight, a drawback of publicising such events on social media – without a ticketing system – is that you never know how many people exactly will show up, and what their individual backgrounds and personalities are – or even whether they will pay for the “courtesy drink”. It's so unpredictable!

It was all a mess, and it was all make-it-up-as-you-go-along, but it was fun! But I'm not sure if I'd tag along with this same organiser though. Other Open Mic organisers do provide me, an honourable and hardworking performer, with a free-of-charge alcoholic drink, instead of expecting me to buy a drink.

I think to myself: what is the dividing line between laudable amateur effort, and off-putting professional incompetence?

I offer no answers, only an invitation to live out the above question.

Thank you for reading. Have a great life over there. Tell your loved ones that you love them; tomorrow is not guaranteed, and neither is health. God bless.