As you may know, Marine Parade Library is closing from May 9 for a major revamp.

Having grown up with this library, I found this piece of news rather bittersweet. I know we have to accept changes to usher in new things - but aw, let a sentimental girl weep for a little...

My current book count on Goodreads is 1336, and I daresay 90% of the books I read are from the library or their e-book service, Libby! Furthermore, I only joined Goodreads in 2009, so whatever I read before is mostly not logged.

Yeah, that's a lot of books and time spent hanging round in MP NLB. 😂

So when I went to return my books there for the last time, I knew I had to take some photos to document how my library looked like before it went through the big renovation!

The familiar entrance to the library. Every user enjoys the initial rush of air-con when the glass doors slide open. Welcome to the library!

You are greeted with some booths and stands, but I usually make a beeline for the Book Drop because I usually lug about 10 books in my tote bag. After dropping my books, I'd browse the recommended titles on the adjacent shelves.

The staff usually have a theme and recommend books accordingly. It's Ramadan month now so we have books related to that! Previously, there were themes like Mystery/Detective, Environment etc. 

You can spot the borrowing station in the background. When I was a little kid, I remember using my whole family's library cards to borrow books because we only had a limit of 4 books per person. That's too little for a bookworm like me. I remember feeling blessed when the loans went up to 8, and then 16.

At some point over the years the borrowing station also became very sophisticated and you could just put a stack of books and the machine would scan all of them at once! Nifty. They probably need to do that at the supermarkets now! 

Nowadays I sit on one of the chairs in the 3rd floor (Adult Lending) and scan my books using the NLB app. 

Here's the Adult Fiction area!

I can smell this picture! Lol. MP Library isn't very musty - but it still has a distinct book smell! Some libraries, especially the newer ones, tend to smell more like plastic.

I frequent the library so much that it got to a point where I could point out a book or two that I have read before from every shelf. Also - I also had the pleasure of borrowing brand new books - spines unbroken and mostly pristine! 

Then I drop off or pick up some books in the donation shelf!

The second floor is actually the M floor.

When I was a child I completely ignored every floor other than the Children's floor. Plus, I didn't know what M stood for back then - modern? Mature?  (It's Mezzanine)

The view of the concourse/ex-cafe space from the M floor.

I don't really go to the cafe but I know many students hung out here! It was still sad when it closed.

Off to the next floor!

Level '2' is the Children's section. This is the part of the library where some noise is tolerated.

What you see when you push past the door!

You'll often see a couple of kids or even their parents in these study spaces. It's actually very nice to see parents reading to kids especially with the proliferation of iPads.

Kids section that I ironically spent more time in as an adult because I was trying to borrow suitable titles for my younger students. I once spotted a book called 'Quantum Physics for Babies' here. I also found a cute picture book called 'No Kimchi For Me!' which I totally related to - it was about a cat who hated kimchi in anything but kimchi pancake that her cat grandmother makes. 

The Adult Lending section is where I hang out nowadays.

It's where I borrow my Singapore collection books and where I started to read non-fiction and self help. It's also where I borrow my occasional Chinese novel or comic. The computer station here is also much less grimy than the one on the first floor if you want to search for a specific title.

Some other things I love about the library too are the clean toilets and water coolers (back before Covid). 

It's time for me to leave... one last look! When the MPCC was first unveiled, people loved or hated this swirl design. Today, you can see that the facade is pretty much worn out and not as spiffy as before. Also, the roof is full of visible brown gunk. 

I didn't take photos of the 24hr book drop area because that area is mostly used by the vaccination centre now. However, did you know that NLB has an office at B1? I only know this because I once had an interview there. I was surprised because I never knew about the space. 

Ending notes

Marine Parade Library is slated to re-open in 2025, so we'll be back then to check out the new changes!

Meanwhile, there will be a 24hr book dispenser at the Marine Parade NTUC and a Reading Corner at Marine Terrace. There will also be mobile library buses called Molly buses.

While these can never replace the library, I'll still check them out all the same because they sound interesting. I foresee myself using Libby more often though. 

Recently I had to cook all own meals, so I've been eating a lot of bread, chicken, eggs and noodles. It gets stale.

FISH!! 🤩🤩🤩

Frozen fish is such a good idea for millennials like me, who can't really differentiate what's good fish or not (for cooking). Also, we can get them easily at the supermarket, instead of the wet market.

If you're a millennial like me, chances are you shop more at the supermarket than the wet market.

 

If you've never been to Hvala, the matcha come in different degrees, with °1, Matcha degree 1 being the least intensity, and °3 being the strongest. °1 was sold out so we just went for °2, which was perfect for us and not too bitter. 

How about a duck minced pie?

Waffles? Sign me up please.

Even the drinks sound interesting. Maybe I'll try 'Duckland Sling' and 'Pineapple Pandan Lemongrass' next time! They serve alcoholic beverages and even a chocolate whiskey cake with ice cream.

Hey guys!

Just sharing some photos of a new nature area we visited.

It's a really small - you can complete it in maybe 10 minutes, but green spaces like these are definitely appreciated in our little urban concrete jungle.

It's located near Seletar Airport, or a ~20 minute bus ride from Sengkang MRT. 

A turtle basking in the (scorching) sun.

The lake is dotted with lily pads. I have yet to see an actual frog resting on a lotus/lily pad in real life, though. It's probably too hot for these amphibians friends to hang out in Singapore's weather.

Spotted this little 'shelter' at the end of our walk. 

There are also cool airplane themed playgrounds if you have a little one. Many dogs and their owners were spotted too! Overall, this was a fun escape from the buzz of the city, and you should probably check it out if you are plane spotting, or simply having a meal at one of the cafes or restaurants nearby. 

Hey guys!

I was scrolling Instagram last night and came across three pasta posts. It was definitely a sign for me to make some pasta!

Miso Pasta

Recipe from @brekkyattiffanys

Yum!

That's another new recipe for the keeps.

It's super easy, and what I like about it is that it doesn't require cooking cream or milk.

Enjoy!