If you were a faithful reader of my blog, you would have noticed by now that there has been a lack of food posts recently. Well, it isn't that I am not trying out new food and stuff but sometimes, I am simply too lazy to post it up. And I can't deny that I was away for some time over the Christmas, where to? To Los Angeles, in Torrance, will put up a post of my trip later on when I am feeling less lazy... *chuckles*
Beeeef rendang... I love it, the strong aroma and taste of this dish never fails to make me wolf down more rice than I usually would. And this time, I decided to make my own so I never have to go round to hunt for it when my craving hits. As one knows, the key to beef rendang lies in the paste, and with my limited knowledge of spices and its counterparts, I didn't have much choice but to use a pre-packed paste. But I added kerasik which is grated coconut that has been toasted till brown, it was really easy with the pre-made paste. All I had to do was toast the grated coconut till brown and its nutty aroma fills the kitchen, making me feel dreamy all of a sudden... hmmm. The beef (either shin or top side can be used) is lightly brown to seal in its juices before being added to the paste which has been lightly cooked in oil and garlic, kerasik and water is added at the same time. Leave it to simmer for an hour or two depending on the cut of the meat. When the beef is tender, remove the lit, use a bigger flame to reduce the liquid in the rendang, it is done when you can see a thin layer of oil on the top which by then, the gravy should have thickened and it is ready to be enjoyed.
Well, the end product is not bad but the beef was a little too tough for my liking, shall use the top side in the future and the taste was not strong enough. I will be sure to make it from scratch the next time!
It was only yesterday I was mumbling about the endless number of people who were tagged under 'engaged, getting married, pregnant...' and here I am today, receiving another piece of good news, from someone, but I shall not divulge her name here since it is her good news to share with others and I am sure she prefers to tell her friends personally than see me announce it on my blog although only a few close friends have access to this blog. Although things have happened between us, I would still like to think that she is a close friend, in fact, a buddy. I know it is shameless to claim that when everything is one-sided *lol*
But nevertheless, I am truly delighted and happy for her, I believe that she knows this person is perfect for her, that is why she gave him her thumbs up. Well, I think love has always played a major role in her life and marriage will too in the future, I daresay the groom is a lucky man to have found such a patient, loving and selfless woman to be his wife.
I wonder what happens after marriage, will everything go on hold, are children a must? How will life change? As I lay in bed, munching on my ginger snaps, thinking if I will ever find someone who can tolerate a woman munching on ginger snaps in bed and in the middle of the night! The very thought sent me right back to earth, it would take a special man to see pass that and still allows me to stay in bed... With that, I can't help but smile to myself.
I wonder if it's the festive season or it's just me. For these couple of months, I seemed to be constantly surrounded by women who are getting married, women who are planning for their weddings, men who are proposing, women who are pregnant and lotsa of children. I am... surrounded by happiness, not of my own but of others. Of course, I am awfully happy for friends who are getting married and delighted with news of pregnancies, but what do one do when the light of happiness seems to shine on everyone else except for yourself. Can you imagine standing on the stage, every other person has a white and bright spot light shining on them, and your very own spot light seems to be spoiled, denying you the beam that you so craved for, especially at this point of time, at a time of the year where happiness seems to be the only emotion that exist in the world.
I am happy, although not every hour of the day and every day of the year, but I am happy. The year of 2010 is nearing and looking back at the year of 2009, it was not a bad year. The year began on a good note with a trip to Phuket with my buddies - Daphne and Hui Ming, and followed by a snowboarding and backpacking trip with Hui Ming again. It was a great first quarter of the year with all the trips, second quarter came and went, third quarter was when I felt my buddy and I growing closer being emotionally there for one another, I felt closer to her than ever even though we weren't on the same island anymore. Fourth quarter was the worst, with all the emotions running haywire, and the break of friendships and all, but on a good note, I found others, I grew closer to my family, I became a tad closer to Daphne (I have not said it before but thank you for being there... =) ), a good friend of mine is pregnant, I am a little step closer to understanding 'Yee' (for now, he is 'Yee'), my mum is picking up a computer course (I am so proud of her!), I swallowed my pride and contacted a friend (not knowing if it was for the better or worse, our friendship really could go either way...we could go back to being best friends or just friends, I don't know... time will tell...) and my sis-in-law and brother bought me a set of mahjong, a black one with silver dust, just the way I like it!
Another 2 days to a new year, I hope that the year of 2009 will end on a good note and the year 2010 would bring much happiness, surprises and knowledge into the lives of everyone around me, and of course, most importantly, to me too!
With nothing much to do in Los Angeles and feeling a fever coming up, I decided to stay in and catch a movie on my laptop. After reading several synopsis of several movies, I decided to go with a Japanese movie titled - Koizora. At first, it was a little slow moving and I was starting to get bored, so I turned it off. But something was nagging at me, so I typed in the title name of the movie into the search bar and read the reviews, I was surprised by the raving reviews of the movie and decided to give it a second chance. Boy... was I glad that I did. As usual, being a crybaby, my tears were streaming non-stop.
Koizora also known as Sky of Love (恋空)is a love story between two teenagers - an innocent black-haired girl, Mika and a silver-haired punk, Hiro. It started out when Mika lost her cell phone and found it in the school library. The stranger who helped to retrieve her phone deleted all the phone numbers on her cell phone citing that if the these people are keen to find her, they would call her which I can't help but agree as I have the habit of clearing contacts stored in my phone too, keeping only those whom I know would call.
Unconsciously, Mika and the stranger contacts one another without fail every day, Mika grew curious of the identity of the caller at the other end. And it was decided that they would meet at the school swimming pool before the start of the new term. Upon seeing Hiro, Mika was surprised and reluctant to accept the fact that this silver-haired punk was the gentle caller whom she spoke to every single day but Hiro seems to win her over time after time in his own way and it was inevitable that they became one. Hiro's ex-girlfriend, Saki, was unable to accept the way things were going hired thugs which led to the rape of Mika. Hiro was distraught at his inability to protect his love and sought revenge. As gossips spread like wild fire in school, Hiro stood by Mika and carried her through.
One day, Mika surprised Hiro with the news of her pregnancy in a cafe, Hiro ran off without a word leaving Mika all alone. Mika waited but eventually decided to leave, as she was about to walk out of the cafe, a panting but happy Hiro rushed in with a gift congratulating and asking her to keep the baby. Rings were bought, they decided it was time to meet the parents, Hiro's parents were easy to persuade but Mika's were reluctant to accept Hiro. Hiro decided to quit school and find work which led to the appearance of Saki again, Saki demanded the reason behind Hiro quitting school from Mika which resulted in Mika falling off the stairs. The consequences of the fall came when Mika and Hiro were out on Christmas Eve, Mika doubled in pain and the baby was lost. Mika and Hiro decided that every Christmas Eve, they would visit the place where Hiro once planted the flowers intended for Mika, this place was to be the memory of their lost baby.
Out of the blue, Hiro decided to break up with Mika which left her puzzled, disappointed and hurt, promising herself never to fall in love again since separation would hurt so much. As time passes, Mika found love once again, a man who was gentle and loving, promising to always come back to her like the sea, unlike Hiro who was like the river, taking everything with him and always forward-moving. On the day of graduation, Mika went to the library, a place full of their memories and wrote on the chalkboard found inside:
"Were you ever happy?"
And her question was answered.
"I was once very happy."
But she had to say goodbye, she went to college and hoped that time will fade the memories and remembering it only once a year on Christmas Eve. On a new Christmas Eve, she found Hiro's friend coming in his stead and that was when she found out the Hiro had cancer, the reason behind him leaving her. Her boyfriend was reluctant to let her go but knew that her heart was never really his...
Mika found Hiro in the hospital and reunited, they were happy but it was not long-lasting as Hiro's condition deteriorated, Hiro cried as he wanted more time on earth, he still had so much to do. Hiro asked Mika what happens when a person dies, Mika believes that he/she goes to Heaven there after. Hiro tells Mika that he wants to be the sky so that he could watch over her all the time. Mika smiled and joked that he would be like a stalker. And there and then, she decided that whenever she looks at the sky, she would think of Hiro. On sunny days, it would mean that Hiro is smiling, on rainy days, Hiro is crying, during sunset, Hiro is embarrassed and when night comes, Hiro would be hugging her.
The day came when Mika went to collect the photos that Hiro asked her to develop when he went for his check-up. At the same moment, Hiro was facing death in the hospital, Hiro's sister informed Mika about the situation and she tried running as fast as her legs could carry her, but she fell and the photos covered the ground, she was in every single picture, Hiro had been taking her pictures all the time. She managed to talk to Hiro through a video call, begging him to be strong and to open his eyes; which he did and requested her to smile for him before he left peacefully but reluctantly.
Hiro left Mika a diary, a distraught Mika tried to kill herself by jumping over the bridge but was prevented by the sudden appearance of two white pigeons as she was about to climb over the bridge. The diary which dropped to the ground was flipped by the wind to a page showing a hand-drawn family portrait of three, as Mika picked up the diary and flipped through, every sentence started with her name, every detail was about her, Hiro watched over her till the very end, and now, he would be watching over her forever, from the sky...
It
never occur to me that one day I would be accuse of being discriminating, it
came from the mouth of a rude and unreasonable man. Knowing that this man has
such a character does not lighten the disappointment I felt after putting so
much effort to make sure things go right for him. How can one sprout such
irresponsible comments so easily, does he/she not know that such comments would
hurt the other party or maybe he/she does not have the decency to care? I must
admit that I was deeply hurt and certainly depressed for a while.
But
I was glad that my supervisor was an understanding and encouraging man, it
takes a lot for me to respect someone other than the usual 'respect' that
everyone is entitled to as a human being. He is the first supervisor that I was
willing to trust and for that, I told him how I felt about the whole situation
and now, I could certainly rest better and hopefully, stop the growth of the
white hairs that had seeded from the dramatic woo-ha!
I woke up as usual, around 10 in the morning, still regretting over my stupidity of not letting someone send me home last night. There are no signs of any romantic cells in me after all! What was I thinking?!
Am going to meet a good friend of mine, I haven't seen her for quite awhile and was kinda of missing her, and I kept wondering why hasn't she been going to work. I tried to bake a fresh batch of cookies as fast as I could but being a usual "sotong", I forgot all about the eggs when I went to the store to get some unsalted butter and dark chocolate. Usually, I have these baking ingredients stocked up in my refrigerator but my last attempt at the log cake had depleted my supply thanks to my carelessness of overheating the chocolate, which was pretty much useless since overheated chocolate can't be used anywhere else, but I do use it in my brownies sometimes *ssshh*. So I had to run down to get it again when I was waiting for the butter and sugars to get creamed.
At last, I managed to rush out a batch of fresh cookies, get dressed and took the train to my destination instead of wasting money on cab again. The amount I spent on cab every month is simply ridiculous!
As we met and chatted, I showed her the polaroid picture that I took while wearing the 3D specs while watching the movie, Avatar, she told me she had something to show me too, and out she took an ultrasound picture of her baby, I stared at the picture and realization hit me, she was pregnant. I gasped and hugged her tight, I was practically close to tears, I was aware of what she went through the last few months, the operations, the road to recovery, the disappointment but she never gave up. I was so happy for her, this child was a miracle since the doctor told her that her chance of conceiving was near to zero.
All I want for Christmas this year is for her and her baby to be healthy and strong, for her to have a safe delivery, for both the mother and baby to be safe, sound and healthy when the time comes. The joy of hearing the news is simply too great and I was to be delighted the second time today! Another friend of mine is getting married, in February next year!
Spending Thanksgiving in New York was one of happiest moment in my life, Macy's has a yearly tradition of parading down the streets of New York consisting of many colorful big balloons, bands, cheerleaders, celebrities and many many more. Each time a big balloon comes passing by, I find myself straining my neck to catch a glimpse of the surprise before the others and every single time, it puts a smile on my face, I would excitedly tell my friends what was coming next, I was a child again. And you would know why after looking at the pictures below:
Can't help snapping a shot of the pretty little lady in red, reminds me of the simple joy of traveling and of being a child. New York, New York...
Almost every single time I take a cab ride, the taxi driver would ask me:
"So you have travelled throughout the world!"
I would smile to myself and reply:
"The world is so big, and I have only travelled to many cities, there are so many places yet to be discovered."
I was speaking to a friend yesterday and realized that all the places he mentioned were the places I wanted to backpack to. And I wondered, why haven't we discover that when we were younger, befriending him since I was 20, it seems that there were so many things I didn't know about this friend of mine, his family, his histories, his childhood, his aspirations, his dreams, his plans, his goals, his likes, his dislikes, his hobbies, his students, his love, his secrets and so much more. I wonder if time will deny me a second chance of knowing him once again, to understand him a little more. Even though I have knew him for at least 7 years, at times, I still feel nervous and sometimes jittery whenever I spoke to him. Conversations never ceases whenever I am with him, maybe I was too talkative or maybe I was the one hogging the conversation all the time... *turns red* At times when we had to stop our conversations due to the start of dinner, movie or musical, for that moment, I wished that we were in a park, lying under the clear blue sky, conversing about anything and everything. And when he mentioned he was never really keen in visiting the big cities, it occurred to me that I said the same thing when I was first trained to travel on the ultra-long range flight which travels only to the States and was disappointed since I love the rustic feel of the small villages which usually houses only in Europe. But whatever no matter how much we think alike, there was one big major difference, he told me that it was great being single and not being tied down, free to do as one wishes. Although I very much enjoy my freedom and independence, but I beg to differ, being with someone does not mean you have to lose all your freedom, but of course, mutual understanding from both parties are required and I believe there will be someone out there who is just the way I am.
Oops.. straying from my traveling. Oh yes, I knew of the places I want to go though not in specifics:
England, Scotland and Wales... after I caught the movie, Pride and Prejudice, the castles and vast piece of grasslands have always been part of my plans.
To travel to outskirts and small villages where bustling city streets cannot be found, where tourists have yet to discover the secrets and beauty of such places has always been the reason behind my love for travel.
Greece was once or still the place where I would love to honeymoon. After my first visit to Santorini, I recall myself thinking that I have stepped into a storybook, a place that exist only in fairy tales, the urge to return to discover the rest of the small islands along Greece has never cease. After watching the show, My Greek Kitchen, my interest in Cyprus grew and I longed to visit the the island itself.
But before all the long travel, I should really get to know Asia first, recalling my earlier post, I was deciding whether to visit Japan again, island-hopped Korea or travel the whole of Taiwan? Well, I made a resolution for next year that whenever I have 4 or more days of break, I shall backpack to one of the nearer Asian countries and definitely to Vietnam and hopefully one day, to Bhutan!
When a friend invited me to watch the musical, Broadway Beng, I didn't know what to expect except for the fact that his hair dresser mentioned that it was hilarious!
I myself have never been a great speaker of dialects although I was exposed to quite a number of Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese-speaking adults since young. Watching the musical brought back memories of my childhood, where my grandparents tried to ask me something in Teochew or Cantonese, I would try my very best to reply in the same language, but in broken phases which would make the rest of the adults roar with laughters.
The musical was definitely a hit with the Hokkien songs and continuous rattling of funny jokes, usually due to the mispronunciation of the language itself. I was pleasantly surprised by the singing talents of the cast and of the main character himself.
Now like my friend, I might get interested in some "Hokkien gua" myself! =)
It's almost 12 midnight in Manchester, I can still hear the sounds of laughter and chit-chatting from the bar downstairs, as expected on a friday night. I am struggling to fall asleep, been doing that 4 hours ago and still doing the same thing, tossing around, flipping the quilt away and around me every 5 minutes. The room was simply too stuffy, the air-conditioning was switched to heater-mode, like the rest of the european countries which do have the cold season yearly, there were no windows to open to allow fresh air to enter. I have been facing the same problem too many a times these few months, it wasn't that bad in some other hotels which had windows. Imagine your room, with an air-conditioning but in heater-mode, no matter what temperature you key in, the only thing that comes out of it is hot air. If you switch it off, there is no air circulating the room at all, a room with no windows...
Well, I was left with the last option... to call the reception which I usually dislike doing so, for many reasons. So I called... boy... I am glad I did, I was thrilled to find out that the guy at the reception could switch the air-conditioning back to its normal mode without having to come up to my room at all.
The night was not that bad after all... all I had to do was ask.
An apple that never sleep? Well, I am referring to the city of New York, a place where the lights are always bright, where the streets are always filled with people, where the roads are always covered with endless cars and where the clubs never seem to close. I love being in New York, and being there simply lift up my spirit once again.
It has been ages since I had so much time to spare in New York and I was glad that I did make use of my time there to shop, eat and visit all the places that I have always wanted to. The weather in New York was quite enjoyable but chilly and sometimes, there was a tiny amount of raining.
My very first destination was the Central Park and it was a glorious day to out in the park and I managed to find the ice-skating ring which reside in the middle of the park, and it was a fun sight to see all the kids and parents skating around with their colorful outfits. The park was surrounded by trees of many colors - green, red, yellow... etc. It was a wonderful sight to behold.
An american breakfast that I never miss whenever I am in the States.
Can you spot the squirrel? They run about the park freely, coming so close to the humans, to the point that we could almost touch them.
Loving the nature.
Ice-skating ring visited by families and shown in countless movies. Wanted to head down myself too, but my group didn't seem keen. *sigh*
Moment of laughter, candid shot.
Colors of the park.
The zoo in New York wasn't big but it did bring back many happy memories, and brought me much joy to be around the animals. Too bad, the polar bears and snow leopard were asleep when we were there, so I didn't managed to get a good shot of any of them. I was surprised to see the snow monkeys, and there was a tinge of sadness seeing them in the zoo since I have visited the wild ones when I was a Nagano early this year. I was sad to see the animals caged up, especially the polar bears and sea lions. Deep down, I knew that it wasn't fair for the humans to do this to the animals who belong to the wild but without the zoos, our children will never learn or be able to see certain animals and in the future, protect these animals from harm. I choose to believe that bringing human the knowledge and truth about the animals would help us in protecting them from extinction in the future. But I cannot deny that humans have harm the animals in more than one way... So please be kind to the nature and to the animals.
We were really excited like little children and showing off our tickets.
Black and white ruffed lemurs, really agile animals which you can observe when it swings freely from one tree to the next.
Birds of all kinds were allowed to roam freely in an enclosed area, and we were allow to walk freely among them, even the peacocks were striding next to us, showing off its beautiful fan of feathers.
Another picture of a squirrel, this time I managed to catch it on photo when it was munching on its nut.
Gentoo Penguins in a man-made home.
The cute Red Panda among its food (which are the tree leaves).
Next, I visited the museum of New York, the one where Night at The Museum was filmed, one day was barely enough to cover the whole place. There was so much to read and to see, it would take you days if you were to read every small details of every article or item. There were histories of different races, galleries of tribal groups, statues of marine and land animals, real meteorites and so much more. It is indeed a place where both adults and children could learn facts and enjoy absorbing the immense knowledge through the surroundings.
There are so much to do in New York and I can't wait to return to this city that never sleeps, hopefully, the next time with a companion. =)
