I’ve been editing a story about a writer’s love affair with instant noodles
for our October issue and I have discovered something – Reader’s Digest is the
perfect size magazine to put on top a cup noodle to ensure the cup is sealed while your
noodles are cooking. I just love RD!!!!! Something else I love – instant
noodles. This story I’m editing goes all the way back to my university days. You
know, the 2 o’clock in the morning I’m crashing to finish my 5000-word essay
on the application of existentialism in 21st century society due in 7 hours and I’m
only on page two cursing Nietzsche for causing my slow and torturous death by starvation
because I’ve missed both lunch and dinner taking copious notes in the library and
trying to fashion them into a cohesive narrative. And then, I see the light.  In response to my loud wails of hunger and
intellectual despair, my next-door dorm roomie Christina has come over with a cup noodle
and a pair of disposable chopsticks. Ahhhhhhhhhh sweet relief. And that’s when it
happens, the comment: “Someone should write a story about instant
noodles!” And so here I am, years later, editing a story on the guilty
pleasures of instant noodles. Yes, I know that they don’t have much nutritious
value. And yes, I’m aware of the sodium content and yes, I realise that
there’s wax in the cup (it’s edible wax). But, and here it comes. I
Don’t Care. Let me repeat that. I Do Not Care. I love my instant noodles and
no matter how good broccoli is for me, it is in no way as satisfying as Myojo Mee. Or an
Old Chang Kee. So, I will do the exercise, drink lots of water and go for all my pilates
classes, just don’t lecture me on the evils of instant noodles. You do that and
you’ll get a tongue lashing on your addiction to oh say Korean drama serials
(you’re killing your brain cells!!!), smoking (what are you doing to your lungs?),
drinking (seriously, how much alcohol do you intend to pour into your system?) and your
predilection to motorcycles and comic books (they’re called donorcycles for a
reason!) While I’m writing this, my colleagues are violently protesting my
use of the magazine as a pot cover. “It’s disrespectful!” David, the
design director says. Oh you people just don’t understand. I’m taking
two things that I passionately love and putting them to good use... Read More...
|