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My name and ugly-looking rhizome



At 6:13 AM +0800 8/9/01, someone wrote:
>Dear Loh or Kwek Leong -- how do you prefer to be addressed?
>
>I got the Christmas Moss package last night, and was absolutely
>delighted! I also saw what looked like a small rhizome in there.
>Is that a piece of narrow-leaf Java fern?

Hi, folks,

The quoted message was sent to me through private email.  I'm answering her
2 questions on the mailing list because I've been asked many times how I should
be addressed and I think I will be asked many times soon on what is that
funny looking
rhizome that came with the moss.

First question - my name -  If you like to be formal, you can address me as
Mr Loh.  Loh is my surname, just like say, Powers would be the List Mom's
surname.
But hey, this is the internet where there is no place for formality, so
please call
me Kwek Leong.  Kwek and Leong have to go together.  I suppose you can leave
out my middle name and just call me Leong but that would sound rather odd.
Well, at
least, it would sound odd to me.  If Kwek Leong is a bit too long to type,
it's perfectly
alright to call me KL too.

Second question - the small rhizome/fibre/stem/whatever - That's the narrow
leaf
Java Fern without the leaves, don't throw it away!!!!  I have to snip off
all the leaves
because that was the only way I can squeeze it into the small plastic bag.
It may look ugly now but just tie it to a piece of driftwood or rock and
watch it turn
into something really beautiful.  It would look even better if you tie it
to the
underside of the driftwood in your tank.  Grown this way, what you will see
later
will be the narrow leaves spreading out in all directions.  I like to let
the folks who
wrote me know too that the narrow leaf Java Fern is not easily available
even in
Singapore where there are more than a hundred fish shops.  And when it is,
it doesn't
come cheap.  The last time I asked, a small bunch (something like what
would grow
from the rhizome I sent you) growing on a tiny piece of driftwood was going for
Sing 35 dollars.  That's about, US$19 to US$20.  So maybe, you should
think about giving a little more to the fund, huh?

Regards to all,

Loh K L