Lucky

I attended an event last night. My initial plan was to leave at 9pm. My colleague who went with me said, 'since we are here, stay for lucky draw'. He said that he wanted to see if he was lucky. 

Well, I got lucky! :D

Brought it to office today and will distribute the items in the hamper with my colleagues. It's great to be able to share our lucky-ness. :) 

Preparing CNY

i do not own this image - i picked it up from the internet

It seems like only yesterday that we just celebrated CNY and the next wave is coming on in 2 weeks. It is supposed to be a busy period for the Chinese Clan. Strangely, I don't really feel busy at all - not for CNY anyway. Perhaps it is because I haven't given much thought about what and how I'd like to decorate the new crib. Buying CNY clothes is easy now - I go to the mall twice every week (because of T's classes) though I haven't quite prioritize that in the to-do list.

But.... I have prioritized one thing on the to-do list which is to materialize the osmanthus jelly cake (known as 'Kwai Fa Gou' soon before the CNY festival.

i do not owe this image - i picked it up from http://wendyinkk.blogspot.com

I find her recipe pretty authentic as it uses water chestnut powder rather than the gelatin or konyaku jelly powder. Although I am in no position to tell what is the difference right now (amateur mah), but I am pretty excited to try it out. If it works well, there will be an additional can-do item on my plate! :D Will update how this osmanthus cake turn out. :)

So for those busy preparing for CNY - don't forget about your loved ones too! They are the ones who makes CNY a little more meaningful, if any at all!

A Little Try Out

Ok.. gotta admit that I actually forgot that this blog existed until, well, now.

Amazing! Not one post in 2013! And I thought I lost it all until another thought appeared! And viola! I am backkkkkkk...

I don't really know if anyone else would still be interested in reading this blog. But I guess I owe it to myself.. for my lack of expressions and creativity these days. Darn, not that I have ever been thatttttt creative.. but ah well, it has to start somewhere and since it is only for self-entertainment, why not, right?

Well, for starters - I finally moved from a big huge house to a all-I-ever-wanted home on the memorable 19 October 2013. Though the entire process had been physically and mentally tiring from selling the Semi Dee to moving to Dad's and monitoring the renovators of the new home, to again, moving from Dad's to the new home. Not to mention the dealings with lawyers and banks and agents and the owner and the buyer of both respective properties. Huge process I tell you. But all well worth it.

And no, that is the supposed to be the content of this entry. But it has some relevance.

The new home - ahhhh.... such a beautiful place. I could just sit at the balcony, stare at the swimming pool (yups, mine faces the swimming pool) and smile stupidly into the air; totally immersed in the enjoyment of experiencing just that. Balcony sight, water sounds and cool air. I knew that my life would not be like before. Not that I am in anyway consciously making a change, but it was a natural change because I finally feel a lot more lighter and peaceful eversince I set foot into this home. Not to say the home before this was bad - it was good too, just that it wasn't really my place. It was meant for something else. And here, it's home.

So, dad has always been  harping on me to learn cooking. And seriously, it is not that I don't want to, but for some strange reason, I was just not ready for it. I do enjoy the process of cooking but I guess I prioritized other stuffs before this choice of experience.

And for some reason, I decided to cook up a dish! Got ingredients ready and also LL over to assist in the process. This was yesterday, by the way.

We cooked Creamy Sweet Potato Soup, Roasted Vegetables & Baked Fish.

And it turned out looking like this: -

The purple grainy thing is actually 10 grains rice. The guardian angel cooked it.

Now, I have to admit that it looked awesome. Except for the soup bowl (I didn't have those Western Soup Bowls and will make a note to get them soon), I think the colour combination went pretty well.

And the taste....

Y-U-M-M-Y!!!

though.... I did think the fish was a little bland. LL thought it was delicious. I think she tasted the love behind the cooking rather than the actual fish! haha..

Well, constructive advise was given - use better fishes, marinate longer, use stronger spices - ALL NOTED!! and will definitely attempt this again till it is perfected!!!!

Why fish? Amateur cooker - so trying out the easy dishes to build confidence. :D

Happy New Year, Y'all!!!

Train - 16/6/2012

Choo-choo.... Choo-choo....

Thanks to a newly acquainted friend who invited me to the Train Live Concert, I was there with my new friends and my little brother KL Life Centre last night.

I didn't know anything about Train. I only knew one song - Hey Soul Sister, and that too was introduced by my brother because he thought I might be able to sing that song while he played the guitar (ya, we occasionally 'jam' together).

I told my brother I needed to condition my mind to enjoy the concert so he gave me Train's whole album which actually seemed redundant since I felt in love with practically only 4 songs of theirs which was repeatedly playing on my iPhone each time I get the chance. Lyrics were superb (though created illusionary and hallucinating dreams of being in a relationship) and the music was simply awesome.

It was to be my first concert. The Kevin Cheng concert experience, to me wasn't really a concert since the meaning of concert to my mind had much relevancy to music and jammin' as opposed to going to see 'leng chais' which was the case for the Kevin Cheng concert (actually I think it was called the All Men Concert or something like that). I was totally excited while my new acquainted friend wasn't really since he knew nuts about Train. Actually, the four of us knew nuts about Train... but enjoyed the music they produced.

I remember as I was walking up the staircase, I had a thought of how perfect the whole universal setup was during the past weeks just to ensure I was here walking up these sets of staircase just to experience something I had not before. And I remember, while singing along with the lead singer (we googled the lyrics on my iPhone) how awesome it was to be able to experience singing along LIVE with the lead singer at the same time within a confined space with all these people who were cheering and being inspired.

My little brother was dancing, my newly acquainted friend started loosenin' up (he was pretty tense due to unfamiliarity to the band though he was the one who invited me to the concert-DUH!) and we were all singing along mindlessly to the music simply surrendering to the surrounding atmosphere. What I was most amazed about was the list of songs chosen was mainly positive instead of some sad puppy love songs (which is awfully common and so commercially sellable amongst artists - seriously, nothing else to life?). The vibes were simply exhilarating! And I enjoyed every minute of it.

I remember as I walked down the staircase, I held my brother's hand and expressed how great it felt to be able to experience the concert with his presence. I hadn't hung out with my brother this way before am sure glad that I was blessed with such an experience. I actually blurted, "Let's do it again!" My cool brother said, "Ok.. Jason Mraz, next week."

Well, he was just joking. He always teases me and I love it.. because it makes both of us laugh. The joy is not in the teasing... but in the laughter. And it was indeed a joyful night.

Thank you, Train... for being here in Kuala Lumpur... My deep bow of respect...

Distracted

The other day I asked Thea a question.

I said, "Thea, am I too nice or not strict enough that you do not listen to my instructions?"

She replied, "You are too nice."

I said, "Oh.... so it is because I am nice that is why you are not listening to my instructions?"

She replied, "Not really, mommi."

I asked, "Then what is it?"

She replied, "I am distracted, mommi"

I was surprised... and then asked again, "What are you distracted by, pumpkin?"

She replied, "Your beauty"

Obviously, I burst out into laughter since I was expecting her to tell me that it was the trees, or the moon or the sun...

And she continued, "You are so beautiful and I keep getting distracted by your beauty, that's why I couldn't concentrate on your instructions."

With that, she came forth and gave me a big hug.

For all I know, she was trying to get her way around... but then again, who cares? My constant observation of her behavior tells me that she is such a beautiful, beautiful being with much love to offer to herself and the world around her.

I love you, Thea.