It is time of the year again to take out your new year resolutions that were chucked aside for a while and reviewed how much of the list had been fulfilled. I have given up making new year resolutions many years ago as it often evolved to a continous and moving exercise.
This year has basically been a busy year with my focus mainly again on my family and work. Fortunately, family issues seemed to be resolve for the time being. Work-wise, I have started my third portfolio change for the year. Hopefully, my learning curve could gather up speed as I plunged into the budget exercise proper.
What will my focus be next year?
I hope that with a more stable team, I will be able to focus and add value to my more permanent portfolio. In addition, other than picking up the technical skills, I hope to be able to continue to develop my soft skills, especially in coaching and leadership. I hope I will be able to have more time to spend with my friends, especially my secondary school buddies.
I should not be too ambitious and set too mammoth a task for myself. I believe in celebrating minor successes to keep the motivation. Let's cheer each other on with our 2010 resolutions.
December 31, 2009
December 30, 2009
Quiet Week
Typically the last week of Dec will be a lull month for most companies and departments. However, for people in the Finance Department, it is often not so. Most Finance folks will either be busy with closing of the accounts or with budgeting exercise or both as most companies in Singapore have financial year end either in December or March.
There was no black-out period for budget for this week post Christmas and pre-New Year. However, many of the line managers and finance managers were clearing their leave, so the office was exceptionally quiet. It was a fantastic time to catch-up on work.
Despite it being a productive week, the post Christmas mood wiped out any mood for working. How I longed for going on breaks too.
There was no black-out period for budget for this week post Christmas and pre-New Year. However, many of the line managers and finance managers were clearing their leave, so the office was exceptionally quiet. It was a fantastic time to catch-up on work.
Despite it being a productive week, the post Christmas mood wiped out any mood for working. How I longed for going on breaks too.
December 24, 2009
Allergic to Muscle Relaxants
I can feel the first signs of coming down with sore throat and flu. Thinking that it is probably due to lack of sleep, I have decided to pop 2 muscle relaxants the night before. I always know that muscle relaxants will leave a lingering weakness the day after. Never did I expect it was so bad this time round.
Not only was I feeling weak overall, my limbs seemed wobbly. I seemed to be losing control of how my arms and legs. As I walked, I was very afraid that I would suddenly crumble and fall. In addition, I was feeling drowsy.
Phew, lucky the muscle relaxants more or less wore off by evening.
Not only was I feeling weak overall, my limbs seemed wobbly. I seemed to be losing control of how my arms and legs. As I walked, I was very afraid that I would suddenly crumble and fall. In addition, I was feeling drowsy.
Phew, lucky the muscle relaxants more or less wore off by evening.
Orchard Road on Christmas Eve
I have not been to Orchard Road on Christmas Eve for a long time. I have almost forgotten about the crowd that thronged the streets on Singapore's most famous shopping belts on major holidays. Suddenly, I am overwhelmed by claustrophia again especially with the shoulder rubbing with people around me. Maybe I should be glad that Orchard Road still remain a popular hangout place after so many years.
Avatar
It was touted to be one of the best films in CG which James Cameron (director of Titanic) took 10 years to make as he was waiting for the technology to catch-up with his conceptualisation. After watching the more mainstream movies recently (including romance genre's New Moon and family animation's Planet 51), a little science fiction should be a nice change.
Avatar talked about a separate life in another planet. A group of scientists and military people originally tried to integrate into the indigenous tribe to understand their culture and lives betters so as to persuade them to move away from the site which was rich in the minerals that they were trying to harvest. As they spent more time with the tribe, they began to take the sides of the tribe. A war started between the indisgenous tribe and men.
The movie's theme might not be new-new. After all, it was the perpetual fight of good versus evil. It was also about mankind destroying the environment for commercial use. Just like other Hollywood movies, the good triumphed over the evil. The environment was preserved. Love blossomed between the marine man and the indigenous tribal princess.
I have watched the 2D version but I heard from colleagues who subsequently caught the 3D version that the 3D version was better.
Avatar talked about a separate life in another planet. A group of scientists and military people originally tried to integrate into the indigenous tribe to understand their culture and lives betters so as to persuade them to move away from the site which was rich in the minerals that they were trying to harvest. As they spent more time with the tribe, they began to take the sides of the tribe. A war started between the indisgenous tribe and men.
The movie's theme might not be new-new. After all, it was the perpetual fight of good versus evil. It was also about mankind destroying the environment for commercial use. Just like other Hollywood movies, the good triumphed over the evil. The environment was preserved. Love blossomed between the marine man and the indigenous tribal princess.
I have watched the 2D version but I heard from colleagues who subsequently caught the 3D version that the 3D version was better.
December 22, 2009
Winter Solstice
I was having a 'discussion' with my boss on what was the meaning of winter solstice. You must be thinking we were such a cultured group to be talking about Chinese traditions. Well, we were more of idle chatting than engaging in some intellectual discussion. He argued that Winter Solstice signified the end of Winter while I speculated that Winter Solstice marked the beginning of Winter. In the end, no conclusion was drawn as both of us were not 100 percent certain of our own guess.
P.S. I did a google and it seemed that Winter Solsticewas not either the end or the beginning of Winter. It was supposed to be mid-Winter. Looked like both my boss and I were wrong in our speculations.
P.S. I did a google and it seemed that Winter Solsticewas not either the end or the beginning of Winter. It was supposed to be mid-Winter. Looked like both my boss and I were wrong in our speculations.
The Confessions of Max Tivoli
I have not watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button but heard that it was a splendid and touching film. Benjamin Button was someone who lived his life backwards physically. Max Tivoli in The Confessions of Max Tivoli was also someone who aged backwards.
Max was born looking like a 70-year old. As he gradually grew older, his appearance looked younger. His grandmother predicted his death based on the year he was born and his look at the time of birth. To Max, his illness was like a curse preventing him from living a normal life. His appearance also barred him from the love of his life. When he looked like he was in fifties, he was still a teenage boy pyschologically. When he looked like a teenage boy, he was pyschologically a fifty-year old man. No matter how he felt mentally and emotionally, he had to act the age of his appearance.
Despite being able to spend some time with the love of his life, the bliss was transient as he started to age backwards. The mismatch in appearance started to become more apparent as the days go by. It is time to either confess or leave. When he chose confession, his wife could not forgive him and decided to leave him.
When he next met his wife, he was already a young boy in appearance. He managed to stay a short period of time with his wife and his son as an orphaned boy. Knowing that the second chance with his love would again be transient, he chose to end his life when his wife was to wed again.
It was a tragedy to know your death. It is also a tragedy not to be able to spend time with the one you love. I wondered if The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was as sad and hapless as The Confessions of Max Tivoli.
Max was born looking like a 70-year old. As he gradually grew older, his appearance looked younger. His grandmother predicted his death based on the year he was born and his look at the time of birth. To Max, his illness was like a curse preventing him from living a normal life. His appearance also barred him from the love of his life. When he looked like he was in fifties, he was still a teenage boy pyschologically. When he looked like a teenage boy, he was pyschologically a fifty-year old man. No matter how he felt mentally and emotionally, he had to act the age of his appearance.
Despite being able to spend some time with the love of his life, the bliss was transient as he started to age backwards. The mismatch in appearance started to become more apparent as the days go by. It is time to either confess or leave. When he chose confession, his wife could not forgive him and decided to leave him.
When he next met his wife, he was already a young boy in appearance. He managed to stay a short period of time with his wife and his son as an orphaned boy. Knowing that the second chance with his love would again be transient, he chose to end his life when his wife was to wed again.
It was a tragedy to know your death. It is also a tragedy not to be able to spend time with the one you love. I wondered if The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was as sad and hapless as The Confessions of Max Tivoli.
December 21, 2009
Cupcakes from Colleague
My colleague made cup cakes for us in celebration of the Christmas. She was always an expert in baking. Her cup cakes, in the eyes of novice like me, were certainly on par with the professional.
As the cupcakes were home-made, my colleague has put in less sugar than those sold outside. it was heavenly. I felt guilty chomping down such a pretty cake.
Hmm, I should ask her for the recipe. She certainly inspired me to bake...
As the cupcakes were home-made, my colleague has put in less sugar than those sold outside. it was heavenly. I felt guilty chomping down such a pretty cake.
December 15, 2009
Support From Boss
I must have looked dreadful. The stress must be getting to me till people around me start to notice my frowns and tired appearance. My boss decided to have a one-to-one with me to find out how I was getting on.
I have always have a rather open communication with my boss. Hence, I have no qualms being upfront with her on my worries about my latest portfolio change when I was tasked to cover a colleague on maternity leave. This colleague's portfolio was already quite big in itself. I have only relinquished half of my existing portfolio. Moreover, this was the budget period. I had to cram all the product knowledge within a short period of time and to be able to intelligently apply all business knowledge to the budget submitted. Business acumen could only be built over time through product and market familiarity. I usually held high expectations of myself. Hence, I was very apprehensive about whether I would be able to do a good job.
My boss after hearing my concerns assured me that they had confidence that I would be able to pull through all the challenges ahead. She also highlighted the bosses would provide whatever support that I needed to complete the analysis including running through with me some of their focus areas so that I would not go on a wild goose chase of information to reach a finding that might not be as relevant.
I was very grateful for the talk. It was a vote of confidence by my boss. At the same time, it also showed that my boss was not blind to the stresses that we all faced one time or another with the challenges that came our way. I nearly teared during the talk from being moved by her concern and support. I was truly glad I had such a supportive and knowledgeable boss who could guide and support me through work challenges.
I have always have a rather open communication with my boss. Hence, I have no qualms being upfront with her on my worries about my latest portfolio change when I was tasked to cover a colleague on maternity leave. This colleague's portfolio was already quite big in itself. I have only relinquished half of my existing portfolio. Moreover, this was the budget period. I had to cram all the product knowledge within a short period of time and to be able to intelligently apply all business knowledge to the budget submitted. Business acumen could only be built over time through product and market familiarity. I usually held high expectations of myself. Hence, I was very apprehensive about whether I would be able to do a good job.
My boss after hearing my concerns assured me that they had confidence that I would be able to pull through all the challenges ahead. She also highlighted the bosses would provide whatever support that I needed to complete the analysis including running through with me some of their focus areas so that I would not go on a wild goose chase of information to reach a finding that might not be as relevant.
I was very grateful for the talk. It was a vote of confidence by my boss. At the same time, it also showed that my boss was not blind to the stresses that we all faced one time or another with the challenges that came our way. I nearly teared during the talk from being moved by her concern and support. I was truly glad I had such a supportive and knowledgeable boss who could guide and support me through work challenges.
December 14, 2009
Christmas Lighting
I have enjoyed walking down Orchard Road admiring the Christmas Lighting put up by the STB. Each year, the Christmas lightings drew varied and even opposing comments. This year is no exception. Some of my colleagues prefer the white lightings at Marina Area. I, on the other hand, welcome the more traditional red lightings especially with the drip-drop blue lights.
There has never and most likely will never be a white Christmas in Singapore. Unlike the temperate countries where they can probably hurdle around their furnace with their families and friends for a cosy and heartwarming Christmas. Christmas in Singapore can be equally heartwarming with a walk down the Orchard Road admiring the lightings.
If you have time, why not take a stroll down Orchard Road with your family and friends to bask in the festive mood?
December 12, 2009
Pu Tien
Pu Tien is one of the up-and-coming restaurants in Singapore offering Heng Hua cuisines. Heng Hua dialect is one of the less common dialects in Singapore. Similarly, its cuisine is also less well-known, unlike the Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese food.
Maybe I am too used to Teochew and Cantonese cuisines, Heng Hua cuisine may be more of an acquired taste. The aloe vera soup may be refreshing but being more used to the clear watery soup, the starchy version takes a while to get used to. The steamed sliced pork was slightly more salty for my liking. The home-made toufu was my favourite. The stir-fried bee hoon was its specialty. Perhaps I had too high an expectation and was slightly disappointed when I could not detect any specialty of the bee hoon.
Anyway, as with all food, sometimes the most important is not the food itself but the company. If you have the food with some of your closest friends, then the food only plays a secondary role.
Maybe I am too used to Teochew and Cantonese cuisines, Heng Hua cuisine may be more of an acquired taste. The aloe vera soup may be refreshing but being more used to the clear watery soup, the starchy version takes a while to get used to. The steamed sliced pork was slightly more salty for my liking. The home-made toufu was my favourite. The stir-fried bee hoon was its specialty. Perhaps I had too high an expectation and was slightly disappointed when I could not detect any specialty of the bee hoon.
Anyway, as with all food, sometimes the most important is not the food itself but the company. If you have the food with some of your closest friends, then the food only plays a secondary role.
Planet 51
I have not watched an animated film for a long time. I cannot remember the last animated movie I have watched - perhaps Shrek 2? It sounds like ancient times.
Planet 51 was about human landing on a planet which was at the level of civilisation of Earth's Fifties. The human surprised at landing in a place of aliens (lives in other planets) was more astounded when he was being hunted as the 'alien'. Of course, friendships blossomed between a few aliens and the human and eventually, the human and the alien helped each other to grow.
There are a few scenes which are rather slapstick humour making a dig at a typical outer space exploration, such as the astronaut pretending to moon-walk and striking the American flag on the ground of the planet. The process of self-discovery and having faith in one's ability were also emphasized.
It was an average film. If you wish for a short, brainless entertainment, then this will be a good show, but not an appropriate show if you have higher expectations.
Planet 51 was about human landing on a planet which was at the level of civilisation of Earth's Fifties. The human surprised at landing in a place of aliens (lives in other planets) was more astounded when he was being hunted as the 'alien'. Of course, friendships blossomed between a few aliens and the human and eventually, the human and the alien helped each other to grow.
There are a few scenes which are rather slapstick humour making a dig at a typical outer space exploration, such as the astronaut pretending to moon-walk and striking the American flag on the ground of the planet. The process of self-discovery and having faith in one's ability were also emphasized.
It was an average film. If you wish for a short, brainless entertainment, then this will be a good show, but not an appropriate show if you have higher expectations.
Back at Sticky Rice Again
If you ask for me for recommendations on value-for-money Thai food, I would definitely suggest Sticky Rice at Ang Mo Kio Hub. The promotion is more attractive for weekday lunches as well as for Citibank's credit card holders. 
There is also a wide selection of dishes from meat, vegetables, seafood to even soups. When eating Thai food, how can we miss some of the signature dishes such as tom yam soup, pandan chicken and thai prawn cakes.
The dishes are not served in large portions. For those who craved to try many dishes at one go, the smaller portions mean that you can have room in your stomach for many dishes. If you always avoided Thai food for its spiciness, then the dishes at Sticky Rice will suit you better. For someone who often choke on Tom Yam soup elsewhere due to its spiciness, Sticky Rice is the only Thai restaurant in Singapore where I can drink at least a bowl of Tom Yam soup without gulping a glass full of water. It also has a variety of non-spicy dishes for those who do not take spicy food at all, such as stir fried kai lan, prawn cakes, fish cakes, honey drumlets etc. Its food has rich flavours without being too overpowering. 
If you recently run out of options for a weekend meal, I will certainly recommend Sticky Rice at Ang mo Kio Hub.
December 09, 2009
Efficient Christmas Shopping
I tend to procrastinate on things that I am not good at. One of them is buying Christmas gifts for friends and colleagues. I have never prided creativity as my forte and I prefer to get pragmatic gifts, so usually food and towel sets rank high on my preferred gift choice.
This is the first time that I have bought all the gifts in a single shopping trip. As it was still about 3 weeks before Christmas, the popular Takashimaya departmental store was still relatively crowdless. I heaved a sigh of relief as I have never been one comfortable in crowds.
This year, I have decided to get flora teas for my better female colleagues. I have gotten photo frames for another colleague and a friend. Hopefully, these practical gifts would bring smiles to my friends' faces.
This is the first time that I have bought all the gifts in a single shopping trip. As it was still about 3 weeks before Christmas, the popular Takashimaya departmental store was still relatively crowdless. I heaved a sigh of relief as I have never been one comfortable in crowds.
This year, I have decided to get flora teas for my better female colleagues. I have gotten photo frames for another colleague and a friend. Hopefully, these practical gifts would bring smiles to my friends' faces.
December 08, 2009
Avatar Burger
The Avatar Burger is a new burger introduced by McDonald's in conjunction with the new movie. The Avatar burger consisted of two pieces of sesamed sandwich and succulent pieces of chicken tigh meat. The patty is grilled with teriyaki sauce and reminds me somewhat of the smaller version offered at Mos Burger. Compared to its deep-fried counterpart, the grilled version is slightly healthier, or so I try to deceive myself. The burger is quite substantial for a not-too-big eater like me, but the delicious taste will lure you to eat more than your usual portion.
December 07, 2009
White Cranes
Being Alone
In one of the scenes in My Queen, Wushuang was so used to doing things on her own that she often neglected the people around her. Both Lucas and Yunhao had to remind her to watch out for the person besides her as she was no longer alone.
Sometimes when we have been used to doing things independently, especially when our friends are equally independent, we tend to be more self-centred. We walk at a pace that is only comfortable to ourselves, oblivious to the person who may be in front or behind. When we eat, we forget that the person has not yet started or that the person is eating more slowly than we do. We neglect to wait for our companions. We forget the joy of doing things and sharing moments together. Doing things alone and having lines of sight of only 10cm radius around us may arise out of habit and necessity but may inadvertently breed self-centeredness.
I can feel myself slowly degenerating to exhibiting such atrocious behaviour. Is this a result of my own doing or am I being influenced by the macro culture?
Blurness partly contributed to my oblivion to my surroundings, including the people in my surroundings. I have once left my classmate behind while walking home together, not realising that she has almost fainted. I realised her absence only when I reached the train station a good 15 min away. During those times, there was no mobile phone to contact each other. Hence, I had just continued my way home thinking that her mum might have decided to fetch her after all.
I dislike such blase attitude towards friends and family. I have to put a stop to such self-centeredness before any damage became irreversible. I had to be more mindful of the person beside me. I must remember to slow down my pace if the person is not catching up. I have to learn to be more expressive of my concerns towards friends to let them know that I too notice their frowns. I must remind myself that I may not be alone all times.
Sometimes when we have been used to doing things independently, especially when our friends are equally independent, we tend to be more self-centred. We walk at a pace that is only comfortable to ourselves, oblivious to the person who may be in front or behind. When we eat, we forget that the person has not yet started or that the person is eating more slowly than we do. We neglect to wait for our companions. We forget the joy of doing things and sharing moments together. Doing things alone and having lines of sight of only 10cm radius around us may arise out of habit and necessity but may inadvertently breed self-centeredness.
I can feel myself slowly degenerating to exhibiting such atrocious behaviour. Is this a result of my own doing or am I being influenced by the macro culture?
Blurness partly contributed to my oblivion to my surroundings, including the people in my surroundings. I have once left my classmate behind while walking home together, not realising that she has almost fainted. I realised her absence only when I reached the train station a good 15 min away. During those times, there was no mobile phone to contact each other. Hence, I had just continued my way home thinking that her mum might have decided to fetch her after all.
I dislike such blase attitude towards friends and family. I have to put a stop to such self-centeredness before any damage became irreversible. I had to be more mindful of the person beside me. I must remember to slow down my pace if the person is not catching up. I have to learn to be more expressive of my concerns towards friends to let them know that I too notice their frowns. I must remind myself that I may not be alone all times.
December 06, 2009
Shokudo Pasta
I did not particularly like Shokudo Pasta the last time I visited. Of all the fusion food, I think I have only prefer Chinese-Western fusion. Italian-Japanese fusion is not exactly my cup of tea.Nevertheless, I still decide to give it a try.
When it is first served, the display of the food looks good. However, the creamy pasta is too rich for my liking. The meat balls had too much spices added for my liking. I am not someone who is big on spices. As the taste is too rich, I feel full soon even before I finish the pasta.
New Moon
This is the sequel to Twilight. The story has moved away from focusing on the Cullens family to that of the blossoming friendship between Bella and Jacob Black. Jacob took over as the new best friend of Bella when the Cullens moved away from Fork. Spending time with Jacob allowed Bella to temporarily forget about the void in her heart from the departure of Edward.
Just as Jacob and Bella might have taken their friendship further, Edward was in danger as he thought that Bella had died. Bella decided to go to Italy to stop Edward from doing something stupid to end his life.
Unlike Twilight where I have read the book before I saw the movie, I have not read New Moon. The Movie was simply about a good looking cast with the typical ingredients of touching romance, but the plot was unexciting. At least in Twilight, there was some humorous scenes but in New Moon, the development of the friendships between Jacob and Bella was slightly draggy. The different things that Bella attempted while she was trying to find adrenaline to compensate for the emptiness she felt was also draggy.
The only entertainment came not from the movie but from the audience. During critical scenes, the audience was making cat calls. There were also other sound effects that were emitted from the audience. This was the interesting part. In the end, the whole movie appeared corny because of all these sound effects.
Just as Jacob and Bella might have taken their friendship further, Edward was in danger as he thought that Bella had died. Bella decided to go to Italy to stop Edward from doing something stupid to end his life.
Unlike Twilight where I have read the book before I saw the movie, I have not read New Moon. The Movie was simply about a good looking cast with the typical ingredients of touching romance, but the plot was unexciting. At least in Twilight, there was some humorous scenes but in New Moon, the development of the friendships between Jacob and Bella was slightly draggy. The different things that Bella attempted while she was trying to find adrenaline to compensate for the emptiness she felt was also draggy.
The only entertainment came not from the movie but from the audience. During critical scenes, the audience was making cat calls. There were also other sound effects that were emitted from the audience. This was the interesting part. In the end, the whole movie appeared corny because of all these sound effects.
December 03, 2009
313 @ Somerset
This was the most exciting event of the year - the grand opening of a new mall and Uniqlo's megastore. We were anticipating this grand opening since we saw the advertisements. Moreover, this was right beside our office. How could we give this a miss?
We were so excited about this day and had been talking about it for ages. When we met the throngs of crowd who were as eager as us to see the mall on its opening day, our excitement was heightened. We could not wait to rush to Uniqlo.
Oh no, the queue waiting to get into the boutique snaked about at least 500 metres from the entrance. We decided to abandon our original mission of shopping at Uniqlo. Instead, we just went for the food at Food Republic. Oh dear, the queue continued here. There was a queue length of at least about 8 to 10 people for almost every stall. I was getting abit nervous about whether I could make it back in time for a 115 pm meeting.
I ordered handmade noodles which was quite good. However, the queue was quite slow. My colleagues had Yong Tau Hoo and sliced fish noodles. In the end, we really did not make it back in time. We only managed to reach office at 130pm. I guessed we would have to wait till the crowd die off at 313@ Somerset before we ventured here again.
We were so excited about this day and had been talking about it for ages. When we met the throngs of crowd who were as eager as us to see the mall on its opening day, our excitement was heightened. We could not wait to rush to Uniqlo.
Oh no, the queue waiting to get into the boutique snaked about at least 500 metres from the entrance. We decided to abandon our original mission of shopping at Uniqlo. Instead, we just went for the food at Food Republic. Oh dear, the queue continued here. There was a queue length of at least about 8 to 10 people for almost every stall. I was getting abit nervous about whether I could make it back in time for a 115 pm meeting.
I ordered handmade noodles which was quite good. However, the queue was quite slow. My colleagues had Yong Tau Hoo and sliced fish noodles. In the end, we really did not make it back in time. We only managed to reach office at 130pm. I guessed we would have to wait till the crowd die off at 313@ Somerset before we ventured here again.
December 01, 2009
More Abalone Dishes At Ah Yat
Ah Yat has offered more promotional abalone dishes. As we still have $5 vouchers from our last visit, we decide to utilise them before they expire.
The promotion for second serving of abalone rice dish at $5 has been expanded to include new abalone rice dishes. Of course, we have to try them. Yum yum!
The $5 vouchers can only be used on ala carte dishes at regular price. We order a soup and some fish cakes.
Overall, we are still very satisfied with the meal.
The promotion for second serving of abalone rice dish at $5 has been expanded to include new abalone rice dishes. Of course, we have to try them. Yum yum!
The $5 vouchers can only be used on ala carte dishes at regular price. We order a soup and some fish cakes.
Overall, we are still very satisfied with the meal.
November 30, 2009
Wonders of Nature
I never ceased to be amazed by the wonder of nature. In this morning's jog, I notice a tree with 2 shades of leaves. The lighter shade leaves are found evenly around the tree so that they appear to be tiny ornaments on the trees.
November 28, 2009
Teen Lit
You have probably heard about chick lit but not teen lit. I am not sure if this term has been officiated yet. I am using this term to refer to the type of literature that caters for the teens. Recently, I started to read a few teen lit - books by Stephenie Meyer and L J Smith. Surprisingly, I have enjoyed myself very well when I read their books.
Twilight was an enjoyable read which had subsequently been adapted to hit movies. L J Smith was the author of the Vampire Diaries which had been adapted to a drama series. However, what I had enjoyed was more her Dark Visions series which featured a group of teenagers with supernatural powers - the ability to heal, the ability to move things, the ability to read minds and the ability to tell the future. Together, these teens hpoe to save the world from a tyrant who wanted to capture and use teens with supernatural powers to conquer the world.
After reading the heavier and more philosophical stuff, the simple reads can be equally enjoyable.
Twilight was an enjoyable read which had subsequently been adapted to hit movies. L J Smith was the author of the Vampire Diaries which had been adapted to a drama series. However, what I had enjoyed was more her Dark Visions series which featured a group of teenagers with supernatural powers - the ability to heal, the ability to move things, the ability to read minds and the ability to tell the future. Together, these teens hpoe to save the world from a tyrant who wanted to capture and use teens with supernatural powers to conquer the world.
After reading the heavier and more philosophical stuff, the simple reads can be equally enjoyable.
November 26, 2009
Awkward Lunch
I should stop trying to be nice.
We have a new addition to your team. When we were organising a group lunch to a Japanese restaurant offering lunchtime promotion, I suggested inviting the whole team despite some of the colleagues expressing reservations and wanted to keep to the usual lunch khaki. I thought an informal lunch would be a good opportunity to bring everyone closer.
Of course, I was proven wrong again.
It was an awkward one hour. The conversations were stiff. As girls, we could not help getting excited over the impending delivery of oneof our colleagues. the new person sounded abit uncomfortable especially when we touched on epidural and other stuffs relating to delivery. We also did not hvae alot of common topics.
Was it strictly due to rong frequency or was it due to simply generation gap? The new person was about 2 years younger than me and might be the youngest among our group.
After the lunch, one of my closest colleagues subtly hinted to me that she viewed lunch time as personal time and would prefer to spend it with people she was more comfortable with. Uh-oh, me and my stupid ideas. Perhaps, other than thinking from the new person's perspective, I should also respect the wishes of my other team members.
We have a new addition to your team. When we were organising a group lunch to a Japanese restaurant offering lunchtime promotion, I suggested inviting the whole team despite some of the colleagues expressing reservations and wanted to keep to the usual lunch khaki. I thought an informal lunch would be a good opportunity to bring everyone closer.
Of course, I was proven wrong again.
It was an awkward one hour. The conversations were stiff. As girls, we could not help getting excited over the impending delivery of oneof our colleagues. the new person sounded abit uncomfortable especially when we touched on epidural and other stuffs relating to delivery. We also did not hvae alot of common topics.
Was it strictly due to rong frequency or was it due to simply generation gap? The new person was about 2 years younger than me and might be the youngest among our group.
After the lunch, one of my closest colleagues subtly hinted to me that she viewed lunch time as personal time and would prefer to spend it with people she was more comfortable with. Uh-oh, me and my stupid ideas. Perhaps, other than thinking from the new person's perspective, I should also respect the wishes of my other team members.
Shokudo Bazaar
There is a promotion at Shokudo Bazaar which offered a few Japanese sets at $4.80 each. It was certainly value-for-money. How could we miss it especially when it was only a short walk away at Heeren.
Shokudo Bazaar was a Japanese Marche where one would be offered a card which served as your tab. When you order food, the price of the food would be recorded on the tab. Then after you finished your meal, you could just pay for the value store on your card. It provided a temporary cashless convenience.
With ongoing promotion and lunch-time peak, the place was surprisingly empty. After we ordered our food and started eating, crowd started to fill in, but it was still considered empty. Personally, I thought my udon was ok, but my colleagues who were used to more high class cuisines especially when two of them had just came back from Hokkaido, felt that the food was not authentic enough. Despite the relatively cheap price, my colleagues did not sound keen to come back again.
Shokudo Bazaar was a Japanese Marche where one would be offered a card which served as your tab. When you order food, the price of the food would be recorded on the tab. Then after you finished your meal, you could just pay for the value store on your card. It provided a temporary cashless convenience.
With ongoing promotion and lunch-time peak, the place was surprisingly empty. After we ordered our food and started eating, crowd started to fill in, but it was still considered empty. Personally, I thought my udon was ok, but my colleagues who were used to more high class cuisines especially when two of them had just came back from Hokkaido, felt that the food was not authentic enough. Despite the relatively cheap price, my colleagues did not sound keen to come back again.
November 25, 2009
Playing with My Phone's Camera Again
Recently, the photos that I have taken with my phone's camera ended either blurred or with the wrong light. It simply meant that I ought to be more familiar with the phone functions so that the phone could help me capture the right moment and the right emotions.
I started to practise with the different shooting scenes and focus under the setting of the phone so that I knew which function would be best suited for each situation. As the brand of the my phone and that of my digital camera is the same, the available functions are rather similar.
Compare the 2 photos below, one is taken with macro and the other is taken without a macro as the focus subjects are different. It is not difficult to guess which is the one with macro. *Wink*
I started to practise with the different shooting scenes and focus under the setting of the phone so that I knew which function would be best suited for each situation. As the brand of the my phone and that of my digital camera is the same, the available functions are rather similar.
Compare the 2 photos below, one is taken with macro and the other is taken without a macro as the focus subjects are different. It is not difficult to guess which is the one with macro. *Wink*
November 23, 2009
Pandan Cake
We have not tried our built-in oven at all. It was big enough for roasting chicken. We are not that ambitious, we only try its function for baking a cake.
My mum is a risk-averse person. Unless it is a tried-and-tested and proven recipe, she is adamant in trying. The only cake that we have ever successfully baked before it is a pandan cake. The choice this time round is again pandan cake.
After gathering the ingredients which can be abit hard to find these days, especially fresh coconut milk and pandan leaves, the process of sifting, beating and mixing begins. With smaller eggs, adjustments should be made to ensure that the proportion of the various ingredients are still round. My mum forgets to factor that into account, so the mixture is slightly off.
The biggest disaster is yet to come.
When everything is ready, the next step is to pre-heat the oven. Alamak, the whole house's power trips whenever the oven is switched on. We try a few more times and the outcome is always the same. We cannot get the oven on for more than a minute.
The melt-down begins. My mum starts to despair. She then starts to feel like a failure and starts complaining and grumbling. She is on the verge of giving up when she recalls she has a smaller portable oven. We quickly fetch it out and heat it up. Uh-uh (fingers wagging), this is not the time to pop champagne yet. More trouble awaits.
The original mixture cannot be fitted into the smaller oven. This means that we will need to transfer the mixture into another container before we can shove it into the smaller oven. Once it is done, it is waiting for the mixture to be heated up.
For some reason, the top soon became charred and burnt within 10 minutes into the baking. This is too early for any burning. To prevent further burning, we turn off the top heat and only allow the bottom heat to remain. More drama await. About 20 minutes into the heating, the top starts to rise more and more and the mixture starts to move away from the side and cracks appear at the top.
We have no choice but to turn on the top heat again. Despite baking for about 40 minutes, the mixture still appear wet. We are starting to get worried.
Fortunately, the final product is ok but not as fluffy as what my mum thinks it should be and except for a little burnt at the top which can be easily cut away. Nevertheless, it is still moist and soft.
My mum is a risk-averse person. Unless it is a tried-and-tested and proven recipe, she is adamant in trying. The only cake that we have ever successfully baked before it is a pandan cake. The choice this time round is again pandan cake.
After gathering the ingredients which can be abit hard to find these days, especially fresh coconut milk and pandan leaves, the process of sifting, beating and mixing begins. With smaller eggs, adjustments should be made to ensure that the proportion of the various ingredients are still round. My mum forgets to factor that into account, so the mixture is slightly off.
The biggest disaster is yet to come.
When everything is ready, the next step is to pre-heat the oven. Alamak, the whole house's power trips whenever the oven is switched on. We try a few more times and the outcome is always the same. We cannot get the oven on for more than a minute.
The melt-down begins. My mum starts to despair. She then starts to feel like a failure and starts complaining and grumbling. She is on the verge of giving up when she recalls she has a smaller portable oven. We quickly fetch it out and heat it up. Uh-uh (fingers wagging), this is not the time to pop champagne yet. More trouble awaits.
The original mixture cannot be fitted into the smaller oven. This means that we will need to transfer the mixture into another container before we can shove it into the smaller oven. Once it is done, it is waiting for the mixture to be heated up.
For some reason, the top soon became charred and burnt within 10 minutes into the baking. This is too early for any burning. To prevent further burning, we turn off the top heat and only allow the bottom heat to remain. More drama await. About 20 minutes into the heating, the top starts to rise more and more and the mixture starts to move away from the side and cracks appear at the top.
We have no choice but to turn on the top heat again. Despite baking for about 40 minutes, the mixture still appear wet. We are starting to get worried.
Fortunately, the final product is ok but not as fluffy as what my mum thinks it should be and except for a little burnt at the top which can be easily cut away. Nevertheless, it is still moist and soft.
November 22, 2009
Failure
Except for the first time I have tried on plough (almost like a shoulder stand except with your legs at ninety degrees down from your torso and parallel to the floor), I have never failed doing it. Never did I expect me to not be able to do it during today's yoga session.
Despite taking deep breaths and trying to hoist my hips up, I have scarcely managed to only lift my legs up. In the end, I have to lie flat on the flooor to rest while the team members carry on with their plough and shoulder stand.
It should not be a mental hurdle as I have done it successfully before so I no longer am constrained by the fear of toppling over. If it is not a mental hurdle, then it is definitely a physical hurdle. This means that my stamina has deproved over the weeks. It looks like I have to train harder to keep in form.
Despite taking deep breaths and trying to hoist my hips up, I have scarcely managed to only lift my legs up. In the end, I have to lie flat on the flooor to rest while the team members carry on with their plough and shoulder stand.
It should not be a mental hurdle as I have done it successfully before so I no longer am constrained by the fear of toppling over. If it is not a mental hurdle, then it is definitely a physical hurdle. This means that my stamina has deproved over the weeks. It looks like I have to train harder to keep in form.
Tytus' Birthday
The first sign that you have aged came not from wrinkles or grey hair, but from the developments of your peers. Their developments served as a reminder or a mirror that you were no longer young.
When your friends started walking down the aisle, I could probably dismiss that they were the lucky few who met their soul mates early in their lives and could spend more of their remaining lives with their soul mates. When they climbed to a high position on the corporate ladder than I did, I could only explain that they were indeed more capable. All these are not definite signs of maturity or age. However, when they have their kids, I am defeated. I am at once elevated from a "jie-jie" (sister) to an auntie. The children of my peers cannot possibly be addressing me as big sister. If I refuse to acknowledge that I am already an auntie, then I am as good as an auntie of sixty years still trying to squeeze her wide as berth hips into a mini-skirt.
Sharon's son - Tytus held a birthday bash to celebrate his first year birthday. Being a first year old, he could not literally arrange his own party. It was done by his doting parents. It felt strange for an auntie to celebrate a first-year old birthday. For a while, I was slightly freaked out by the notion that I might be surrounded by many toddlers. Well, I am not exactly the most child friendly person in the world. With the creeping up of each year, it seems like I am being more and more disconnected with children. To a large extent, I do not know how to behave in front of children most of the time.
Fortunately, I was too busy catching up with my old friends to have to worry about trying to interact with toddlers. Witnessing Tytus' birthday party, I was reminded of some of the happiest times of my childhood, even though I did not have as large and grand a party as Tytus.
I was also honoured that Sharon allowed me to participate each and every phase of her life - from her coming-of-age birthday party, to her wedding and now to her son's birthday.
When your friends started walking down the aisle, I could probably dismiss that they were the lucky few who met their soul mates early in their lives and could spend more of their remaining lives with their soul mates. When they climbed to a high position on the corporate ladder than I did, I could only explain that they were indeed more capable. All these are not definite signs of maturity or age. However, when they have their kids, I am defeated. I am at once elevated from a "jie-jie" (sister) to an auntie. The children of my peers cannot possibly be addressing me as big sister. If I refuse to acknowledge that I am already an auntie, then I am as good as an auntie of sixty years still trying to squeeze her wide as berth hips into a mini-skirt.
Sharon's son - Tytus held a birthday bash to celebrate his first year birthday. Being a first year old, he could not literally arrange his own party. It was done by his doting parents. It felt strange for an auntie to celebrate a first-year old birthday. For a while, I was slightly freaked out by the notion that I might be surrounded by many toddlers. Well, I am not exactly the most child friendly person in the world. With the creeping up of each year, it seems like I am being more and more disconnected with children. To a large extent, I do not know how to behave in front of children most of the time.
Fortunately, I was too busy catching up with my old friends to have to worry about trying to interact with toddlers. Witnessing Tytus' birthday party, I was reminded of some of the happiest times of my childhood, even though I did not have as large and grand a party as Tytus.
I was also honoured that Sharon allowed me to participate each and every phase of her life - from her coming-of-age birthday party, to her wedding and now to her son's birthday.
Udders Ice-cream
Udders ice-cream offered various more exotic flavours such as sour sop, durian, chempelek etc. if you prefer the more conventional flavours, green tea, mango, strawberry and chocolate would be for you. If you wished for stronger flavour, you could try their rum and raisin which had a very strong rum taste which could be slightly bitter and alcoholic for the faint hearted.
Despite it not facing the main road at Goldhill Plaza, it was still packed with people. The patrons ranged from youngsters to yuppies to even families. I never knew ice-cream outlet was such a popular hangout by Singaporeans. With its relatively more affordable price than the more upmarket Swensen's and Haagen Daz, its single scoop was at $3.20. Moreover, the friendly and young crew also made the place rather cosy and welcoming.
If you wish to have a diferent place for your next gathering or date, perhaps you could try this ice-cream outlet instead.
November 16, 2009
Deception Point
I have been waiting for this book for a long time. In case you are wondering if this is a newly launched book and I was one of those die-hard fans who will order online at the first available opportunity and cannot wait for Amazon to ship over. Sorry to disappoint you. I may be an avid reader but I am way past the age where I will break a leg to attain something. I guess age does mellow people down.
Secondly, although I am not an environmental activist, I do believe strongly in doing my part to save our ailing earth and to prevent the deterioration of global warming. As much as possible, I try not to buy any book. If I want to read something, I will just go over to the library and borrow. I have never had the habit of re-reading a book no matter how much I have enjoyed it in the first place. Maybe I am consumed by novelty and suspense. once, I know how the story will end, it kills the joy of reading immediately.
Deception Point is a Science Fiction cum Mystery fiction by the famous Dan Brown who had raised general awareness of the Musee de Lourve in its Da Vinci Code. If you are familiar with Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons and perhaps even the Lost Symbol, you may be lured into the perception that he is only capable of denouncing religions. It is indeed a pleasant surprise when I read Deception Point.
There were no more churches, museums or some symbols. There was only scientists, the Arctic and a meteorite. Similarly, there are powerful figures all having a hand in one of the greatest deception. The question was who was the power house behind this mastermind. What was the purpose of engineering this deception to the whole world of a meteorite which had fossils? Was this a real meteorite? If it was not real, why was the composition different from that of normal earth rocks? If it were not real, what were the insect like fossils?
It ws hard to imagine that all the suspense, the investigation and the fight to survive the killers close to the scientists' heels occured within 48 hours. Dan Brown could often capture alot of details for a storyline that took place within a week. With the fast-paced development, our heart seemed to beat faster with each narrow escape of the protagonists. If you are concerned that science theories were too mind boggling, rest assured that the theories were explained in relatively simple terms. For just like his other books, one of the protagonists was often a non-expert. In order to help this non-expert understand the concept to be able to participate in the fight against treachery, the theories often were conveyed in layman's terms.
If you are tired of chick lit, or would like to try a different subject matter, Deception Point should not disappoint.
Secondly, although I am not an environmental activist, I do believe strongly in doing my part to save our ailing earth and to prevent the deterioration of global warming. As much as possible, I try not to buy any book. If I want to read something, I will just go over to the library and borrow. I have never had the habit of re-reading a book no matter how much I have enjoyed it in the first place. Maybe I am consumed by novelty and suspense. once, I know how the story will end, it kills the joy of reading immediately.
Deception Point is a Science Fiction cum Mystery fiction by the famous Dan Brown who had raised general awareness of the Musee de Lourve in its Da Vinci Code. If you are familiar with Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons and perhaps even the Lost Symbol, you may be lured into the perception that he is only capable of denouncing religions. It is indeed a pleasant surprise when I read Deception Point.
There were no more churches, museums or some symbols. There was only scientists, the Arctic and a meteorite. Similarly, there are powerful figures all having a hand in one of the greatest deception. The question was who was the power house behind this mastermind. What was the purpose of engineering this deception to the whole world of a meteorite which had fossils? Was this a real meteorite? If it was not real, why was the composition different from that of normal earth rocks? If it were not real, what were the insect like fossils?
It ws hard to imagine that all the suspense, the investigation and the fight to survive the killers close to the scientists' heels occured within 48 hours. Dan Brown could often capture alot of details for a storyline that took place within a week. With the fast-paced development, our heart seemed to beat faster with each narrow escape of the protagonists. If you are concerned that science theories were too mind boggling, rest assured that the theories were explained in relatively simple terms. For just like his other books, one of the protagonists was often a non-expert. In order to help this non-expert understand the concept to be able to participate in the fight against treachery, the theories often were conveyed in layman's terms.
If you are tired of chick lit, or would like to try a different subject matter, Deception Point should not disappoint.
November 14, 2009
Tortuous Yoga Session
Due to ill health recently, I have missed a couple of my weekly yoga sessions. As many of my classmates were fast learner, this yoga class had progressed faster than other yoga classes with more and more difficult positions. These positions were not only a test of stamina, flexibility and also concentration. Mind over matter was certainly not scientific fluff. On a day where there was alot of troubles of the mind, I was likely to give up maintaining a position over prolonged period of time. Moreover, some of the positions that required balancing over an extended period of time was simple with no test of stamina nor flexibility. Yet, to achieve the positions could require a huge amount of concentration.
After a very tortuous session, my muscles ached all over. I experienced difficulty in climbing down stairs. My legs were wobbly. When I breathed abit harder, my chest and stomach seemed to be in stitches. The good thing about yoga was that it allowed stretches of muscles that you did not know exist in the first place.
Hopefully, I would recover from these bouts of pain soon.
After a very tortuous session, my muscles ached all over. I experienced difficulty in climbing down stairs. My legs were wobbly. When I breathed abit harder, my chest and stomach seemed to be in stitches. The good thing about yoga was that it allowed stretches of muscles that you did not know exist in the first place.
Hopefully, I would recover from these bouts of pain soon.
November 12, 2009
Heart-to-Heart Talk with Mentee
My mentee had joined the company for about 3 months before I had chance to have a more informal chat with him on how he was settling into the company. With the frantic pace of working life, most of our conversations thus far was restricted to how to go about getting the work done. Being a fresh graduate with zero permanent working experience, I vaguely recalled working could be rather daunting. This was especially when you were suddenly hit with a cold harsh realisation that studies never adequately prepared you for the working life.
I always believed that such informal talks should be best carried out away from the office. When a person felt relaxed then could they be more open, both in terms of speaking their minds and listening. Given my meagre pay, it was hard for me to bring the mentee to a high class cafe for such talks. The most economical choice was Killiney Coffee Shop.
Fortunately, the mentee was relatively open about his apprehension and some of his feelings about the job. I was surprised that some of what he felt was similar to my initial concerns in my first job. Feeling inadequate when doing assignments and morale affected by close friends who resigned were common concerns. He was pretty appreciative of this gesture of having informal chats which boosted my confidence that I had done the right thing.
I could perfectly understand some of the disappointment faced during work and the insecurities surrounding a new environment and work performance. However, one had to persevere and weather the storms as it was part of personal development and character building. After the initial steep learning curve, working life could also open up one's eyes to a whole new different world.
I always believed that such informal talks should be best carried out away from the office. When a person felt relaxed then could they be more open, both in terms of speaking their minds and listening. Given my meagre pay, it was hard for me to bring the mentee to a high class cafe for such talks. The most economical choice was Killiney Coffee Shop.
Fortunately, the mentee was relatively open about his apprehension and some of his feelings about the job. I was surprised that some of what he felt was similar to my initial concerns in my first job. Feeling inadequate when doing assignments and morale affected by close friends who resigned were common concerns. He was pretty appreciative of this gesture of having informal chats which boosted my confidence that I had done the right thing.
I could perfectly understand some of the disappointment faced during work and the insecurities surrounding a new environment and work performance. However, one had to persevere and weather the storms as it was part of personal development and character building. After the initial steep learning curve, working life could also open up one's eyes to a whole new different world.
November 10, 2009
The Why Are You Here Cafe
This book followed a queer encounter by a man who decided to go on a sabbathical. His decision to avoid a jam led him to a cafe. In the cafe, he met the owner, the helper as well as a fellow diner who shed some light on how life should be. When he flipped open the menu, he was greeted by 3 questions:
The reason for existence led to the purpose of existence. What do people do when they find out the purpose of their existence? Most people will do all it takes to fulfil this purpose. In order to gain greater mileage from your effort, the analogy of a sea turtle was used. A sea turtle might not seem to exert alot of effort when it swam. Yet, it could swim further and longer by learning how to ride with the waves. If the sea turtle was moving away from the shore, it would paddle very hard when the wave was moving away from the shore. However, it would just float along when the wave was moving towards the shore so that it would not exert too much effort going against the flow.
The story that got me thinking for a long time was the story about a businessman going on a vacation and meeting a fisherman. The businessman was very surprised that the fisherman would only catch enough for his own feed per day. He would not fish more despite the abundant supply of fish and ample time. One day, the businessman approached the fisherman to ask if he could and would catch more fish. The businessman proposed to the fisherman to catch more fish and sell the excess to get money for an early retirement. The fisherman was curious on the purpose of the retirement. To which, the businessman replied that with early retirement, the fisherman could then do whatever he wanted, including more time with family, or to fish more leisure. Yet all these finer things in life could already be enjoyed by the fisherman if he just devoted some time a day to fish for what he needed. On the contrary, if he wanted until his retirement to be able to play with his children, his children would have grown up by then and would not want his company. Many people lost their focus and the reason for work after a while. This led to us doing things which we have already forgotten why we were doing it in the first place.
The book also linked the pursuit of wealth to the prevalence of advertisements. The advertisement inculcated in our minds desire for material things to fulfil our emotional well-being, especially happiness. Hence, we worked to buy something to cheer ourselves up. After we bought, we became guilty and had to work harder. As we worked harder, we became depressed and wanted to buy more things to pamper ourselves. This itself became a vicious cycle.
The reason why we feared death was connected to the first question. We feared death when we did not know our purpose or when we knew our purpose but were not doing something. While doing things to get fulfilled, we could meet with obstacles. Passion would help fuel our determination and pave the way as passionate people influence others around them to want to help them achieve their goals. In addition, sometimes the solution can also be as easy as adapting to the situations rather than working against it.
After completing the book, I started to reflect on my life. How I was just like the author of the book wanting an escape and not knowing the purpose of my existence. Maybe I should start searching and do more to fulfil this purpose rather than cruise along each day.
- Why are you here?
- Do you fear death?
- Are you fulfilled?
The reason for existence led to the purpose of existence. What do people do when they find out the purpose of their existence? Most people will do all it takes to fulfil this purpose. In order to gain greater mileage from your effort, the analogy of a sea turtle was used. A sea turtle might not seem to exert alot of effort when it swam. Yet, it could swim further and longer by learning how to ride with the waves. If the sea turtle was moving away from the shore, it would paddle very hard when the wave was moving away from the shore. However, it would just float along when the wave was moving towards the shore so that it would not exert too much effort going against the flow.
The story that got me thinking for a long time was the story about a businessman going on a vacation and meeting a fisherman. The businessman was very surprised that the fisherman would only catch enough for his own feed per day. He would not fish more despite the abundant supply of fish and ample time. One day, the businessman approached the fisherman to ask if he could and would catch more fish. The businessman proposed to the fisherman to catch more fish and sell the excess to get money for an early retirement. The fisherman was curious on the purpose of the retirement. To which, the businessman replied that with early retirement, the fisherman could then do whatever he wanted, including more time with family, or to fish more leisure. Yet all these finer things in life could already be enjoyed by the fisherman if he just devoted some time a day to fish for what he needed. On the contrary, if he wanted until his retirement to be able to play with his children, his children would have grown up by then and would not want his company. Many people lost their focus and the reason for work after a while. This led to us doing things which we have already forgotten why we were doing it in the first place.
The book also linked the pursuit of wealth to the prevalence of advertisements. The advertisement inculcated in our minds desire for material things to fulfil our emotional well-being, especially happiness. Hence, we worked to buy something to cheer ourselves up. After we bought, we became guilty and had to work harder. As we worked harder, we became depressed and wanted to buy more things to pamper ourselves. This itself became a vicious cycle.
The reason why we feared death was connected to the first question. We feared death when we did not know our purpose or when we knew our purpose but were not doing something. While doing things to get fulfilled, we could meet with obstacles. Passion would help fuel our determination and pave the way as passionate people influence others around them to want to help them achieve their goals. In addition, sometimes the solution can also be as easy as adapting to the situations rather than working against it.
After completing the book, I started to reflect on my life. How I was just like the author of the book wanting an escape and not knowing the purpose of my existence. Maybe I should start searching and do more to fulfil this purpose rather than cruise along each day.
November 08, 2009
Pizza Hut
I have heard about the Pizza Hut pasta for a long time with its rather aggressive marketing strategy on pasta tasting and guessing. It was hard not to take notice of the new item on Pizza Hut's menu. With a free pizza that my mum got from her insurance company, it was the perfect opportunity to try the pasta.
We were slightly overwhelmed by the Pizza Hut menu. I have not walked into any Pizza Hut restaurant for ages and was pleasantly surprised by the choices from starters to main course that it offered now. Not only was its pizza selection plentiful, its pasta and baked rice also catered to vegetarian, meat and seafood.
Finally, we decided on curry rice and pizza. The pizza was as good as before. It certainly stirred up nostalgia with its familiar aroma and cheezy flavour. The curry rice was pretty spicy. However, the taste was not as rich as the baked rice of Swensen's. Personally, I preferred the baked rice of Swensen's.
We were slightly overwhelmed by the Pizza Hut menu. I have not walked into any Pizza Hut restaurant for ages and was pleasantly surprised by the choices from starters to main course that it offered now. Not only was its pizza selection plentiful, its pasta and baked rice also catered to vegetarian, meat and seafood.
Finally, we decided on curry rice and pizza. The pizza was as good as before. It certainly stirred up nostalgia with its familiar aroma and cheezy flavour. The curry rice was pretty spicy. However, the taste was not as rich as the baked rice of Swensen's. Personally, I preferred the baked rice of Swensen's.
It was still a good meal but perhaps I have grown up of Pizza Hut and taste has changed. Despite its wide selection, its taste seems not to have left such as last impression as before.
November 07, 2009
The Zahir
There are many important lessons that I have picked up from The Zahir which I have extracted for remembrance.
The Concept of Favour Bank
Favour Bank is what a senior management told me to be brownies point. It basically worked on the concept that we needed to do favours for each other. When we offered favours to up-and-coming people, we would be making a deposit in the Favour Bank of others. In future, as we needed favours, we could go to these people for help. Of course, the beneficiaries of our favours could at this juncture refused to return a favour. On the other hand, most would be obliged to return the favour. If they refused the favour, word would get around and no one would offer them favours in future.
The Law of Jante
In a small town of Jante, there were ten commandments telling people how they should behave. The commandments promoted that mediocrity and anonymity were the safest choice. When you are a nobody, you have no impact on others and your work deserved to be praised. When you succeed, you defy the Law and you deserved to be punished. Hence, we are often harsher to the successful people than we are to of the average.
True Friends
Contrary to popular belief that our true friends are those who stick by us through our toughest times, the author believed that our true friends are those who are around during happy times to cheer us on. Our false friends will only surround us during sad times wearing their mourning faces when our sufferings are consolation for their miserable lives.
Best Movie
No movie adapted from book can ever be as good as the book because the best adaptation often happens in the mind. When the movie is adapted, we often feel that it is not as good as the book when the movie differs from what we have imagined it should be.
It is also a difficult book to read, not because of difficult concepts to grasp or bombastic words to mull upon. It is difficult because each paragraph is communicating a message and making us think back on our own lives. We need to pause to reflect if we too fall into some of the common fallacies that the husband or the wife was going through.
If you have the time, I would recommend that you pick up this book. It is indeed a fantastic read.
The Concept of Favour Bank
Favour Bank is what a senior management told me to be brownies point. It basically worked on the concept that we needed to do favours for each other. When we offered favours to up-and-coming people, we would be making a deposit in the Favour Bank of others. In future, as we needed favours, we could go to these people for help. Of course, the beneficiaries of our favours could at this juncture refused to return a favour. On the other hand, most would be obliged to return the favour. If they refused the favour, word would get around and no one would offer them favours in future.
The Law of Jante
In a small town of Jante, there were ten commandments telling people how they should behave. The commandments promoted that mediocrity and anonymity were the safest choice. When you are a nobody, you have no impact on others and your work deserved to be praised. When you succeed, you defy the Law and you deserved to be punished. Hence, we are often harsher to the successful people than we are to of the average.
True Friends
Contrary to popular belief that our true friends are those who stick by us through our toughest times, the author believed that our true friends are those who are around during happy times to cheer us on. Our false friends will only surround us during sad times wearing their mourning faces when our sufferings are consolation for their miserable lives.
Best Movie
No movie adapted from book can ever be as good as the book because the best adaptation often happens in the mind. When the movie is adapted, we often feel that it is not as good as the book when the movie differs from what we have imagined it should be.
It is also a difficult book to read, not because of difficult concepts to grasp or bombastic words to mull upon. It is difficult because each paragraph is communicating a message and making us think back on our own lives. We need to pause to reflect if we too fall into some of the common fallacies that the husband or the wife was going through.
If you have the time, I would recommend that you pick up this book. It is indeed a fantastic read.
2 Books by Paulo Coelho
I have read 2 new books by Paulo Coelho recently. Paulo Coelho seemed to be my favourite author of the year. One of the books left me with many question marks on what the author was trying to convey and the other left me many question marks on life.
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept was meant to be a celebration of love - but I was puzzled by the development of the plot and the conclusion. It was one of the hardest book I have read so far. After finishing the book, I was still very baffled by what the author was tyring to emphasise. Was it simply a love story? Or was there some hidden morale that I was blind to?
The Zahir was a book where the plot was simpler to follow with a husband's search for a missing wife. As he progressed in his search, he became more aware of his own dreams, his own weaknesses and how to love. Page after page, through the encounters and character development of this husband, I was also shown to various important life maxims. Strangely, these advices were very fundamental and logical but we often never thought of them at all. Just like many of his other books, The Zahir served as a wake-up call for me to reassess my priorities in life.
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept was meant to be a celebration of love - but I was puzzled by the development of the plot and the conclusion. It was one of the hardest book I have read so far. After finishing the book, I was still very baffled by what the author was tyring to emphasise. Was it simply a love story? Or was there some hidden morale that I was blind to?
The Zahir was a book where the plot was simpler to follow with a husband's search for a missing wife. As he progressed in his search, he became more aware of his own dreams, his own weaknesses and how to love. Page after page, through the encounters and character development of this husband, I was also shown to various important life maxims. Strangely, these advices were very fundamental and logical but we often never thought of them at all. Just like many of his other books, The Zahir served as a wake-up call for me to reassess my priorities in life.
November 05, 2009
Casuarina Curry
It was meant to be a belated birthday celebration for one of my colleagues. We decided to have some Indian food for a change. I never expected the Indian restaurant - well-known for its prata at its main branch along Upper Thomson, to be so crowded.
We ordered diffferent things. Masala Murtabak was a popular choice among us. We then ordered curry to share. The food was surprisingly quite big portion or perhaps the taste was too rich for us to consume too much. In the end, we could not finish the food and had to pack.
Indian food was quite a refreshing change from the normal Chinese, Japanese or Western cuisines. I never expected to enjoy the food so much given that I normally did not take food with to much spices. I would certainly come back for other Indian food in future as it was at a much more convenient location than the main branch at Upper Thomson.
We ordered diffferent things. Masala Murtabak was a popular choice among us. We then ordered curry to share. The food was surprisingly quite big portion or perhaps the taste was too rich for us to consume too much. In the end, we could not finish the food and had to pack.
Indian food was quite a refreshing change from the normal Chinese, Japanese or Western cuisines. I never expected to enjoy the food so much given that I normally did not take food with to much spices. I would certainly come back for other Indian food in future as it was at a much more convenient location than the main branch at Upper Thomson.
November 02, 2009
Sci Fiction
It has been ages since I read any Science Fiction. Just like other things in my life, my reading interests also adopted various phases - from fantasy, to Science Fiction to Romance. I concentrated on different genre in different phases of my life. Science Fiction used to be one of my loves when I was in Secondary School - Robin Cook was my favourite author then.
Robin Cook taught me alot about medical conditions including the different types of cancer. Robin Cook stories typically included some mystery but involving some diseases or virus. It was not purely Science Fiction like perhaps Star Trek. Yet, it was the closest I have ever been to reading about Science outside the Science School Textbook. Well, Science was clearly not my favourite subject.
When I recently picked up the book Philip K Dick's Minority Report, I was struggling with the concept despite it being a rather short story. I was completely lost in the description of precogs and how data about the future was extracted from them. The Department where the Police Commisioner Anderton worked used the precog to determine if there was any potential murders to happen. These potential murderers would be detained before the murder dates to prevent the murders from happening. Hence, the town was free from murders for many years, until one day the precogs predicted that the next murderer would be Anderton himself.
Anderton refused to believe it was true and suspected it was a ploy to remove him. He started his own investigation. was predicted to kill someone in one week's time. Was it a wrong prediction by the precog which meant that it would draw public outcry to the entire system as it meant that many innocent persons might have been unduly locked up in the past? Was it a correct prediction that Anderton was to kill someone?
I would keep the plot and the ending in suspense here.
After all, where is the fun in reading a Sci Fi than to discover the ending yourself? Moreover, this is a very short story which took place in the span of less than a week.
Btw, this was adapted to a film starring Tom Cruise.
Robin Cook taught me alot about medical conditions including the different types of cancer. Robin Cook stories typically included some mystery but involving some diseases or virus. It was not purely Science Fiction like perhaps Star Trek. Yet, it was the closest I have ever been to reading about Science outside the Science School Textbook. Well, Science was clearly not my favourite subject.
When I recently picked up the book Philip K Dick's Minority Report, I was struggling with the concept despite it being a rather short story. I was completely lost in the description of precogs and how data about the future was extracted from them. The Department where the Police Commisioner Anderton worked used the precog to determine if there was any potential murders to happen. These potential murderers would be detained before the murder dates to prevent the murders from happening. Hence, the town was free from murders for many years, until one day the precogs predicted that the next murderer would be Anderton himself.
Anderton refused to believe it was true and suspected it was a ploy to remove him. He started his own investigation. was predicted to kill someone in one week's time. Was it a wrong prediction by the precog which meant that it would draw public outcry to the entire system as it meant that many innocent persons might have been unduly locked up in the past? Was it a correct prediction that Anderton was to kill someone?
I would keep the plot and the ending in suspense here.
After all, where is the fun in reading a Sci Fi than to discover the ending yourself? Moreover, this is a very short story which took place in the span of less than a week.
Btw, this was adapted to a film starring Tom Cruise.
November 01, 2009
Making Pancakes
Truly inspired by Julie and Julia, I decided to try my hands on cooking. Well, I am not as ambitious as Julie who aspired to stir up a storm in the kitchen with the 542 recipes of Julia Child. I am truly aware of limits and is a staunch upholder of the concept of professionalism, ie not everyone can be good in everything. Certain things are best left in the hands of the expert.
Having set relatively low threshold as a starting point, I decided to try making pancakes from off-the-shelf premixed packet. Again, it was because I believed in the experts and also to build up confidence. If the food producers can sell those packet premixed pancakes successfully, the recipes had to be well-tested. Gaining confidence in everything we did would be a good way to start.
We did not have a stencil to contain the outflow of the mixture on a large pan. Instead of making a few of the small pancakes, we made a big one instead. It was a concerted effort with my mum and sis. My sis and I did the mixture while my mum fried the pancake. Similarly, it was a concerted effort to eat it as well. Despite the not so good looking pancake, it still delicious. With our confidence in the pancake, we could have pancake as breakfast in future. This will be a good alternative to the defaulted choice of bread.
Having set relatively low threshold as a starting point, I decided to try making pancakes from off-the-shelf premixed packet. Again, it was because I believed in the experts and also to build up confidence. If the food producers can sell those packet premixed pancakes successfully, the recipes had to be well-tested. Gaining confidence in everything we did would be a good way to start.We took a part of the mixture out and added water until the mixture reached a thick and even consistency. Then the mixture would be poured onto a preheat pan and fried until the surfaced turned slightly brown and the inside was cooked. We tried testing this by sticking a toothpick into the pancake to determine if there was any mixture on the toothpick as we pulled out.
We did not have a stencil to contain the outflow of the mixture on a large pan. Instead of making a few of the small pancakes, we made a big one instead. It was a concerted effort with my mum and sis. My sis and I did the mixture while my mum fried the pancake. Similarly, it was a concerted effort to eat it as well. Despite the not so good looking pancake, it still delicious. With our confidence in the pancake, we could have pancake as breakfast in future. This will be a good alternative to the defaulted choice of bread.
October 29, 2009
Jurong Point
During those times, Jurong Point had already undergone one round of expansion. This time I saw a much bigger Jurong Point with high roofs and so many more shops. At the new wing, I felt like I was transported back in time and across continent to Australia. It reminded me of Harbour Tour in Perth wiht the sun light streaming in from the transparent roof, the high ceiling and the white pillars and structures on the roof. The rather Al fresco Starbucks outlet was also a huge draw among man students.
The numerous eating places with some of the lesser known eating styles and eateries were rather attractive. There were a couple of Western restaurants offering Italian pasta (Olive & Fig and Ambush) and foodcourt style eateries with well-known local names such as Fatty Weng and Japanese restaurants like Botejyu. There were also the ubiquitous food courts such as Banquet and Kopitiam. For those who looked forward to local cafes, there were Old Town coffee and cafes offering Nyongya cuisines.
For boutiques, there were many shops selling fashion and shoes. There were also departmental stores such as NTUC Extra and John Little.
What we foresaw as a short trip became a half day trip with so many to see and walk around. The place could easily occupy us for a long time if you slowly stroll among the many shops. This was indeed a good hangout for people living in the west.
Kranji Farm
I was enticed by the publicity revolving around the Kranji farms, so visiting Kranji farms was definitely part of my agenda when I was on leave. Armed myself with a bus schedule and a list of the farms, I set off on my journey hoping to have a date with the flourishing vegetables and the charming animals. Being not truly an outdoor person, I wondered why I had thought it was a good idea.
I was slightly apprehensive when the bus was late. Then I was more worried when I was not certain where I should alight. If I alight at the wrong stop, then I would have to linger at the place for at least 1 hour before the next bus would arrive.
Looking as the bus zoomed past the many farms, we decided to just choose any farm and alight. I was under the impression that once we alight at eaach farm, there would be at least an information counter, a sales counter for selling the fresh produce and probably some activities to engage to the public. I was hugely disappointed when I alighted at a fish farm to find there no human to talk to. I was only greeted by a dog. Being private property and no visible sign that all were welcome, I retreated quickly back to the entrance in case I was chased by the dog or being prosecuted for trespassing private property. In the end, I had to wait for about half an hour for the bus to pass by again on its loop out.
There ended by farm visit. Totally misadventure and uneventful.
(The only consolation is the ability to see the landscape of Johor Bahru enroute to the farms)
Bakerzin 1-for-1
Initially, I thought the 1-for-1 promotion applied only to the 3 sets that were shown on their promotion board. Only when we set down did we know that it applied to a whole list of sandwich, rice and pasta main courses. With so many to choose from, we were slightly overwhelmed. It took us about 10 minutes to decide what to eat.
We were pleasantly surprised when we were told that we were also entitled to free flow of bread at their bread counter. We were slightly apprehensive about the size of the main course, so we decided to just have a piece of bread each to try before the main course was served. There was a few types of bread to choose from, including plain baguette, raisins and nuts.
When the main course was served, we were awed by the size of the servings. It was not puny like other restaurants when there was any promotion. In fact, we felt so stuffed after we wiped off our plates that we had to abandon our original plans after-meal for desserts and coffee. The curry rice consisted of a whole chicken tigh and part of the wing. The prawns on the pasta were fresh and succulent. The aglio olio was quite spicy though.
If I ever can spare the time again, I will certainly be back for more.
October 28, 2009
Quiet Time in Library
It has been a long time since I can spend half a day at the library doing nothing but browsing books and then sitting down to read the book of my choice. For those of you who have never tried this before but have a penchant for reading, I urged you to try this. Reading in the quiet library allows you to focus on nothing except for the book on hand. It is as if we suddenly are lost in the world of the books. Ahh, what a luxury!
For One More Day
Mitch Albom often conducts his moral lessons through the conversations of his main character with others - be it a mentor who is closed to death in Tuesdays with Morries or somehow you met while you are transiting from life to death in Five People You Met in Heaven. Similarly, For One More Day is the conversations that the main character has with his mother when he decided to commit suicide.
He blamed himself when his mother passed away suddenly as he was playing baseball during that day - to fulfil the dreams of his father who had left them since he was young. He did not have chance to bid farewell to his mother. He started to blame himself and lose himself in alcohol. Soon, his wife and daughter also left him. In desperation, he decided to commit suicide.
After the accident, he travelled back to his old town and met his dead mother. He began to have conversations with his mother and started to come to terms with everything.The extra day that he was given by his mother helped answered alot of the unsolved questions in his mind pertaining to his father's sudden departure, his mother's live from then on and including sides of his mother that he was never aware of.
Rather than waiting for this extra day, we should always seize the day for not everyone was as lucky as the man in For One More Day.
He blamed himself when his mother passed away suddenly as he was playing baseball during that day - to fulfil the dreams of his father who had left them since he was young. He did not have chance to bid farewell to his mother. He started to blame himself and lose himself in alcohol. Soon, his wife and daughter also left him. In desperation, he decided to commit suicide.
After the accident, he travelled back to his old town and met his dead mother. He began to have conversations with his mother and started to come to terms with everything.The extra day that he was given by his mother helped answered alot of the unsolved questions in his mind pertaining to his father's sudden departure, his mother's live from then on and including sides of his mother that he was never aware of.
Rather than waiting for this extra day, we should always seize the day for not everyone was as lucky as the man in For One More Day.
October 27, 2009
Jia
North Korea is closed country which we have heard about but where the rest of the world were curious especially when there were some unpleasant news associated with the country recently.
This book by Hyejin Kim narrated the life story of Jia - a North Korean girl who grew up in the mountains, escaped to the city and later became a talented dancer. However, when North Korean went through famine and more and more people died of hunger, she decided to escape to China. For her, she met a Korean decendant who had since settled in China. He saved her from prostitution and sheltered her from North Korean agents. She was nearly repatriated to North Korea when she was caught while she was roaming around trying to find friends in China.
As to how true this story was, it was difficult to assess. The culture depicted in North Korea was very different from the one that we were more familiar with in a capitalist world. Caste system determined the opportunity and job that a person in Pyongyang would get. It even determined the rations one would get when disaster struck. Marriages were often determined by whether the other party came from a clean and respected background.
People who attempted to leave the country or did not conduct themselves well risked being tortured, brainwashed and sent to the jails in mountains. These 'delinquents' would not just implicate themselves but their families and friends as well. Hence, many times to prevent implication of families and friends, people who were trying to escape would tell no one.
Crossing the borders to China was only the first step. When they reached a foreign land, more people plagued them. They had no money, and could only hide in the forests for fear of being caught and repatriated where a worse fate awaited them. Many women were sold as wives to the Chinese farmers and risked being ill-treated or sold to the bars and prostitution houses. Even then, they continued to live their lives in fear as they had no proper immigration documentation.
This was a poignant tale. Regardless of the level of truth in this book, it was still a good read - something different from the western fictions that we were inundated with.
This book by Hyejin Kim narrated the life story of Jia - a North Korean girl who grew up in the mountains, escaped to the city and later became a talented dancer. However, when North Korean went through famine and more and more people died of hunger, she decided to escape to China. For her, she met a Korean decendant who had since settled in China. He saved her from prostitution and sheltered her from North Korean agents. She was nearly repatriated to North Korea when she was caught while she was roaming around trying to find friends in China.
As to how true this story was, it was difficult to assess. The culture depicted in North Korea was very different from the one that we were more familiar with in a capitalist world. Caste system determined the opportunity and job that a person in Pyongyang would get. It even determined the rations one would get when disaster struck. Marriages were often determined by whether the other party came from a clean and respected background.
People who attempted to leave the country or did not conduct themselves well risked being tortured, brainwashed and sent to the jails in mountains. These 'delinquents' would not just implicate themselves but their families and friends as well. Hence, many times to prevent implication of families and friends, people who were trying to escape would tell no one.
Crossing the borders to China was only the first step. When they reached a foreign land, more people plagued them. They had no money, and could only hide in the forests for fear of being caught and repatriated where a worse fate awaited them. Many women were sold as wives to the Chinese farmers and risked being ill-treated or sold to the bars and prostitution houses. Even then, they continued to live their lives in fear as they had no proper immigration documentation.
This was a poignant tale. Regardless of the level of truth in this book, it was still a good read - something different from the western fictions that we were inundated with.
October 26, 2009
Studying for Exams
Studying. I like studying until I have to sit for an exams. Exams can be both a motivation as well as a spoil sport. Sitting for an exam is just like harvesting your crops. Without passing an exams, all studies may be in vain as you may not have truly internalise the concepts. Yet, with exams, the fun of studying has been shaved off. It is like now running a sprint with the sole purpose of reaching the finishing line instead of admiring the enroute sceneries.
After 4 months of being introduced to Lean Six Sigma, the final academic assessment would be over in a week's time. Of course, when I first studied for the test, I committed remembering the theories to short term memory. Now, in preparation of the exams, it was like studying from scratch.
The temptations of taking a break, doing something fun were all around me. I felt trapped having to study when I was supposed to enjoy my 2 weeks' break. Although with my 2 test results, I would have already passed the exams even if I obtained 0 marks for the coming assessment, I thought I should still put in some effort.
Urgh, 600 pages of theories. How long would I take to complete revising them?
After 4 months of being introduced to Lean Six Sigma, the final academic assessment would be over in a week's time. Of course, when I first studied for the test, I committed remembering the theories to short term memory. Now, in preparation of the exams, it was like studying from scratch.
The temptations of taking a break, doing something fun were all around me. I felt trapped having to study when I was supposed to enjoy my 2 weeks' break. Although with my 2 test results, I would have already passed the exams even if I obtained 0 marks for the coming assessment, I thought I should still put in some effort.
Urgh, 600 pages of theories. How long would I take to complete revising them?
October 25, 2009
Twilight - the Movie
After reading the book, I was very inspired to watching the movie.
The movie was a close adaptation of the book. However, I still preferred the book to the movie. Due to time constraints, many of the interesting and funny interactions between Edward and Bella were shortened. For those who had not read the book, these interactions in the movie failed to accentuate the development of the friendship between Edward and Bella.
The book began like a mystery providing little clues here and there from Edward's behaviour, to their quarrels to the speculations of friends which led to the conclusion of Edward as a vampire. With the movie, the shortening of these details brought out the truth of Edward's identity in a rather superficial manner.
There were also less character development of Edward and Bella's families in the movie. The truth behind Alice's conversion to vampire, the relationship between Bella and her father and Bella's male school mates' attraction to her were not fully illustrated in the movie.
On the whole, I would still prefer reading the book to the movie despite the rather good looking cast.
The movie was a close adaptation of the book. However, I still preferred the book to the movie. Due to time constraints, many of the interesting and funny interactions between Edward and Bella were shortened. For those who had not read the book, these interactions in the movie failed to accentuate the development of the friendship between Edward and Bella.
The book began like a mystery providing little clues here and there from Edward's behaviour, to their quarrels to the speculations of friends which led to the conclusion of Edward as a vampire. With the movie, the shortening of these details brought out the truth of Edward's identity in a rather superficial manner.
There were also less character development of Edward and Bella's families in the movie. The truth behind Alice's conversion to vampire, the relationship between Bella and her father and Bella's male school mates' attraction to her were not fully illustrated in the movie.
On the whole, I would still prefer reading the book to the movie despite the rather good looking cast.
October 23, 2009
Yakuza Moon
All memoirs seemed to be involved some tragedies relating to the author. Few of them had some happy tales to share. It seemed like they were all reminders of the other readers to cherish what they had. The experiences served as a deterrence to all on the consequences of any wrong decisions.
Yakuza referred to gangster in Japan. Shoko was the daughter of a gangster. Money was not an issue during her childhood but ostracism was due to her father's occupation. Such stigma threw her to rebellion. She quitted school young and played with drugs. She tried speed and got herself addicted. It did not help that the guys that she hang around with were either married or abusive.
When her parents passed away, that was when she decided to turn over a new leaf. She decided to pursue her dream of becoming a writer.
It was yet another coming-of-age book. Her story might prove inspirational to other delinquents who had strayed at one point in time. It was also a good book for learning a little about the Japanese culture. The abusive behaviour of her partners also served as an alarm bell to the women who at one point in time met with violent men but never had the courage to walk away. It was a simple read but it was not as gripping as I initially expected.
Yakuza referred to gangster in Japan. Shoko was the daughter of a gangster. Money was not an issue during her childhood but ostracism was due to her father's occupation. Such stigma threw her to rebellion. She quitted school young and played with drugs. She tried speed and got herself addicted. It did not help that the guys that she hang around with were either married or abusive.
When her parents passed away, that was when she decided to turn over a new leaf. She decided to pursue her dream of becoming a writer.
It was yet another coming-of-age book. Her story might prove inspirational to other delinquents who had strayed at one point in time. It was also a good book for learning a little about the Japanese culture. The abusive behaviour of her partners also served as an alarm bell to the women who at one point in time met with violent men but never had the courage to walk away. It was a simple read but it was not as gripping as I initially expected.
October 22, 2009
MacRitchie Tree Top Walk
The tree canopy was beckoning to me. Although I kept telling myself I wanted to go there and see for myself, somehow I procrastinated going there. Finding the appropriate company was one thing. Finding the time to go was another. I knew, even these sounded lame excuses to me.
Well, the two weeks break would be a good time to go. I had no reason to put it off further. Moreover, with a 2 weeks' break, I should have more than enough time to recover even if I suffered any muscle aches or any sort of injury. Not that I was being pessimistic but with some blurness, the tendency of some form of injury was not hard to imagine.
I did some research on how to get to the place and the trail. The shortest and less challenging route was via Venus Drive off Upper Thomson Road. However, as this route was not near the main entrance, I was concerned if I could even locate the trail in th first place. Hence, I decided that it might be easier for me to enter from the main entrance.
Well, the two weeks break would be a good time to go. I had no reason to put it off further. Moreover, with a 2 weeks' break, I should have more than enough time to recover even if I suffered any muscle aches or any sort of injury. Not that I was being pessimistic but with some blurness, the tendency of some form of injury was not hard to imagine.
I did some research on how to get to the place and the trail. The shortest and less challenging route was via Venus Drive off Upper Thomson Road. However, as this route was not near the main entrance, I was concerned if I could even locate the trail in th first place. Hence, I decided that it might be easier for me to enter from the main entrance.
The trail from the main entrance was one of the longest where one way trip would take about 5km. A two-way journey tof 10km would take about 4 to 5 hours. I estimated that if I started at around 9am, I would finish at around 1pm, just nice for lunch. An alternative would be to enter from the main entrance and exit from Venus Drive if I could even locate it in the first place.
I never expected the trail to be so physically challenging with the up-and-down slope. The sunny weather also meant that it was very hot walking around searching rather diffidently for the Tree Top walk. Surprisingly, we took a shorter time than our estimate to reach the Tree Top Walk. We reached the Canopy in about 2 hours' time.
The Tree Top walk was slightly disappointing because it was the shortest walk among the trail with only about 250m. When we reached the Tree Top Walk, it was close to noon, so the strong sun made it difficult for us to leisurely admire the scenery. We were trying to complete the wobbly walk, both from our tired legs as well as the swaying bridge, in the shortest possible time.
(View from the top)
If you thought the adventure ended here, there was more. in fact, the greatest adventure happened when we were walking out along Venus Drive. We were surrounded by a group of monkeys which looked ferocious. Then we nearly missed our way in the narrow and rather secluded trail which got me abit worried because losing one's way in MacRitichie Nature Reserve was not unheard of. Along the endless walking, we came across a very large amphibian which nearly got us screaming. We hurried away quickly without taking a proper look if it was snake. At this time, we saw a jogger coming along and decided to follow him out of the trail.
(A small river on the way out from the Tree Top Walk to the Ranger Station)
Phew, we finally completed the trail. Despite it being slightly physically challenging, we were so proud of ourselves for completing the trail. However, it was indeed very tiring and I doubt we would want to attempt it a second time.
(A map of the trail)
October 21, 2009
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
I had never enjoyed such an entertainment and easy read for a long time. You might have observed from the last few book reviews, many of them were on works of Paulo Coelho or non-fiction such as memoirs. Hence, I had forgotten the thrill of reading a fast-paced, humorous novel.
For those of you who had caught the movie – Twilight would be more familiar about the story than I did. I never watched the movie nor the book until recently. I only knew that it was supposed to be a love story between a human and a vampire. Being classified as a young people’s fiction, I never knew it could be so gripping.
The character building had been vivid as well. Edward, the vampire, was brooding and deep. His swinging moods hid his personal conflict on his friendship with Bella. Bella, the girl who was curious about Edward, was a typical new girl about town. The plot was something that was not day-to-day mundane trivialities. The mystery leading to Edward’s underlying identity and their battle against the tracker were all more fantasy-like and less anticipatory. Hence, you never knew what would happen until you turned the next page.
On the whole, I enjoyed the book so much that I could not stop once I started.
For those of you who had caught the movie – Twilight would be more familiar about the story than I did. I never watched the movie nor the book until recently. I only knew that it was supposed to be a love story between a human and a vampire. Being classified as a young people’s fiction, I never knew it could be so gripping.
The character building had been vivid as well. Edward, the vampire, was brooding and deep. His swinging moods hid his personal conflict on his friendship with Bella. Bella, the girl who was curious about Edward, was a typical new girl about town. The plot was something that was not day-to-day mundane trivialities. The mystery leading to Edward’s underlying identity and their battle against the tracker were all more fantasy-like and less anticipatory. Hence, you never knew what would happen until you turned the next page.
On the whole, I enjoyed the book so much that I could not stop once I started.
October 20, 2009
I Eat I Shoot I Post
For the more observant readers, you may have already noticed a new hyperlink under favourite blogs. When you click on “ieatishootipost”, you will be brought the world of good food.
The author of the blog is a doctor who practises medicine and moonlights into food critic. He trawls through Singapore to recommend the best hawker food. This not only helps to create publicity for the hawkers who are good but also provides some options to the foodies. He believes that life is short and we should not waste our calories on non-delicious food.
If you are wondering where next to find some good stalls, this is a must-visit website.
The author of the blog is a doctor who practises medicine and moonlights into food critic. He trawls through Singapore to recommend the best hawker food. This not only helps to create publicity for the hawkers who are good but also provides some options to the foodies. He believes that life is short and we should not waste our calories on non-delicious food.
If you are wondering where next to find some good stalls, this is a must-visit website.
October 19, 2009
Julie & Julia
Julie and Julia superimposed the lives of 2 women across 2 eras and their passions for food and cooking. The only link was the recipes of Julia Child in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Julia Child - a woman who lived in the fifties and enrolled in the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School when her husband was posted to Paris. From being the worst student in a professional class dominated by male chefs, she excelled to surpass all her classmates in terms of speed and skills. Julie Powell was a government officer who lived in a monotonous life in the Queen's estate with her husband. Her only excitement and therapy of the day were to cook for her husband. To have something that she could do, a sort of adventure and self-challenge, she and her busband decided to use 365 days to cook 524 recipes of Julia Child. In addition, she would share her experience on a blog.
Julie Powell's blog: http://blogs.salon.com/0001399
There were many funny scenes that kept me chuckling from start to end, from Julia Child's practising on chopping onions to her failure to demonstrate successfully the making of an apple pie. Julie's battle with the lobster and her trying to debone a duck were some of the hilarious scenes. The 'picturesque' good food also inspired me to attempt cooking. Maybe I can start with the poached egg.
Julia Child's recipe: http://www.cordonbleu.edu/julieandjulia/Recipes/
For those who love food and for those who love a good laugh, this is a must-watch movie.
Bon Appetit!
Picture from www.wikipedia.com
Good Movie vs Bad Movie
I watched both a good movie and a bad movie over the weekend. One was supposed to be a blockbuster but I was nearly bored to tears despite all the CG (computer graphics). One was a local telemovie but had touched me with its heartwarming plots and detailed character development.
Bad movie - 2 Fast 2 Furious
Despite the good looking cast involving Eva Mendes, the plot was unoriginal with a team of 2 undercovers using speeding cars to help the police gather evidence for a drug syndicate. Being not a car person, the special street racing scenes failed to excite me. in fact, they appeared superfluous.
Good movie - Angels
I am not a fan of Nat Ho as I always thought he sounded funny in the Chinese dramas with his ang-moh-speaking-chinese accent. In this telemovie, he was a delinquent on the edge of going back to crime to solve money problem. He met a senile old man who through his finding of a make-belief doctor helped him steered back from illegal trades.
Despite having no expensive CG, no good looking cast (except for maybe Nat Ho), the movie was gripping and touching.
Bad movie - 2 Fast 2 Furious
Despite the good looking cast involving Eva Mendes, the plot was unoriginal with a team of 2 undercovers using speeding cars to help the police gather evidence for a drug syndicate. Being not a car person, the special street racing scenes failed to excite me. in fact, they appeared superfluous.
Good movie - Angels
I am not a fan of Nat Ho as I always thought he sounded funny in the Chinese dramas with his ang-moh-speaking-chinese accent. In this telemovie, he was a delinquent on the edge of going back to crime to solve money problem. He met a senile old man who through his finding of a make-belief doctor helped him steered back from illegal trades.
Despite having no expensive CG, no good looking cast (except for maybe Nat Ho), the movie was gripping and touching.
October 18, 2009
Mayim Chinese Restaurant
It is a new Chinese restaurant in Northpoint. There are queues outside the restaurant often. My typical Singaporean's mentality kicks in at this point: if there are queues, it must be good. There are so many choices in Singapore, so few will bother wasting time if the wait is not worth the while.
When I saw the menu, it did look promising with its myriad selection from staples to snacks. Feeling somewhat full, we decided to have a variety of snacks and 2 staples to share among the 3 of us.
When I saw the menu, it did look promising with its myriad selection from staples to snacks. Feeling somewhat full, we decided to have a variety of snacks and 2 staples to share among the 3 of us.
(Shanghai fried noodles which was slightly sweet with its dark soy sauce)
(Very spicy vegetable and meat dumpling - if you have low tolerance for spicy food, take these with caution)
(The roast dick noodles was my favourite)
(The xiao long bao was considerately placed in small aluminium bowls for more convenient consumption)
My conclusion? The food is value-for-money because they are considerably cheaper than the more commonly known Imperial Treasure or Crystal Jade. However, perhaps my palate has gotten too used to these restaurants that I personally still preferred Crystal Jade or Imperial Treasure.
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