Rojak post.....

The bambis have been coming almost everyday....sometimes twice in a day.

This little fatty is one of my neighbor's cats. She loves to roam the neighborhood and pounce on herons that are twice her size :P

Here's her sneaking around amongst the reeds. She's quite fun to watch.

The forsythia in the front yard is looking oh-so-pretty!!!

My fabric stash is growing and growING and GROWING......and not to mention the gigantic heaps of old clothings and other materials that I'm keeping for repurposing!

I store my fabrics in huge plastic containers and a fabric holder that I've sewn (but not completed if you notice all the frayings at the edges!). And I still have more fabrics back home in Singapore. If we have our own house, I'd wish for my own sewing room with lots of shelvings/drawers for fabrics *dream*

RG and I love to eat porridge with dishes. Here's what our typical porridge meal looks like! *slurp*

Of pots and pans......

I used to think that cooking utensils are not instrumental to the taste/texture of the cooking.

However, after using my 5-qt cast iron dutch oven and 9 1/4" cast iron grill pan (both from Cuisinart, purchased at HUGE discounts!) all these months, I now realised that the pot/pan that you use does indeed make or break a dish.

I'm totally a cast iron ware convert now. Cast iron wares are able to distribute heat very evenly and you can move the cast iron ware from stove to oven without worrying about the high oven heat melting anything.

Food cook so much better in these cast iron pots/pans. For example, I used to cook my steaks on a regular teflon stainless steel grill pan....and no matter how I hard I tried, the steaks were usually tough and not as juicy on the inside as they should be. But with my cuisinart cast iron grill pan, the steaks will turn out nice on the outside (with beautiful grill marks) and ohhhhh-so-tender on the inside!!

Roasting/stewing/baking/making soup with my 5-qt dutch oven also yields similar results!

I know these cast iron pots and pans cost an arm and leg in Singapore. (the last I checked, one 5-qt or bigger pot is over SGD400!!!)....so I'm seriously considering if I should lug a few of these back in my suitcase. The only "minus" of cast iron wares is that they are mad heavy!!!

My 9 1/4" grill pan.....a little scruffy looking but works miracles!!!!

My beloved 5-qt dutch oven that I use practically for everything and anything....on the stove as well as in the oven!!!

Ladybird generation......

My best friend SN gave me this cute notebook which looks exactly like one of those old ladybird story books that I had grew up with.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!

Yes, I like all stuffs retro.....but ladybird books are much more than that.....they were what I lived and breathed when I was a kid.

My dad would buy me one ladybird almost every other week (ok, sometimes a few more if I were to whine incessantly)....and I would spent hours reading, re-reading and re-re-reading the books until I can memorise each and every word.

I'd gently and lovingly thumbed through the pages....admiring the beautiful illustrations....and then putting my nose up against the pages to catch a whiff of the lovely smell of a fresh new ladybird book!

Ahhhhhhhh.......the joy of holding a brand new ladybird book in my hands.....I can remember it like it was just yesterday.

While I subsequently moved on to read Enid Blytons, Nancy Drews and Sweet Dreams once I started primary school....I had never forgotten my sweet ladybird books. I kept them all in my cupboard for years and years (occasionally, bringing them out for some good'ol reminiscing) until my mom decided that it was time for me to pass them on to my young cousins (I was already in my late teens then!).

So my cousins inherited my very respectable collection of ladybirds and Enid Blytons (lucky them!). I heard my book collection had passed through numerous hands and it could still be in the hands of my youngest cousin who's already in college this year.

I really hope my cousins had enjoyed the books as much as I did.

So yes, I'm a product of the ladybird generation. To some of my younger friends (post 80s generation) who would always tease me for being so "old fashioned" and for not knowing how to use an iphone/ipad/ipod or for sending Christmas cards in the snail mail (you know who you are!)......I just want to point out that it's not because I resist new things/changes.....I just love certain old things and old ways too much to want to let go of them or forget them.

Of chocolates and sunset.....

A dear old friend who lives in Hawaii sent us some yummy chocolates.

The Macademia nuts chocos are RG's favorite....while I absolutely love the "Crunch" one with rice crisps!!! I wonder if these 2 boxes are gonna last till tomorrow....... :P~

Drove to Ned's Point in Mattapoisett to enjoy today's sunset.....it was freezing outside so we just sat in the car and watched the sky turned from light orange to bright orange and then to a pinkish-purplish-blue.

Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...........

My life in 2010 according to Facebook......

A FB application that compiles all your statuses in Year 2010. Kinda interesting looking through the nonsenses that I had posted.......

My new year resolution for 2011 - post even MORE crazy status updates on FB.... hahahahaha.....

This one is for grandma.....

I made this last week....it's fried bee hoon with canned stew pork. There are only 3 ingredients in this dish - beehoon, stew pork in a can & beansprouts. It's such a humble dish but it's also one of my MOST FAVORITE food in the world. And it's also the dish that so reminds me of my late grandma. She used to make this (& always accompanied by green bean soup) for lunch sometimes and I remember how I'd gobble up the noodles and then ask for second/third helpings.

Over a skype conversation with my mom earlier this month, I was reminded that it was my grandma's death anniversary. My mom and aunt had gone to the shrine to offer their prayers. Honestly, I can't remember what's the date of my granny's death anniversary and neither can I remember how long ago she had passed on. But I'm not ashamed of that - as I remember her vividly of the times when she was alive.

I remember the time she carried me and ran down from the 12th floor of Eng Cheong towers when my neighbour's apartment was on fire.....the times when we'd pluck beansprouts together.....or waiting for her to buy lunch for me before school (& she always knew exactly what I love to eat i.e. dry fishball noodles with lotsa ketchup, peanut porridge, chicken rice etc).....the wonderful kopi-O that she'd made everyday that she kept in a HUGE flask.....the times when she'd freak out when her huat-kuehs didn't huat.....of how she'd make red eggs for my birthdays.....she used to lock up all her "goodies" in a tiny drawer in the wardrobe and be very secretive when she were to open the drawer.....I can even remember the "squishy" sounds that her rubber slippers made everytime she walked down the corridor! She'd proudly help me pin my PREFECT batch on my school uniform....and everytime there was a party at school, she'd help to pick out a nice cake or some candies to contribute to the party.

And then there was once when I made her teared....I was supposed to be going home for the weekend with my parents....but I told my parents (in front of my granny) that granny would be very lonely if I were to go back home and not stay with her. Somehow, I remember that very vividly even though I must have been very young then. It sounds unbelievable....but I can even remember the times when she rocked me to sleep in the sarong "hammock" when I was still a baby.

There are so many little things that remind me of her. I watched a korean movie a few years back called "The Way Home" and cried buckets 'cos I thought of my granny (she had already died then).

My mom was telling me that maybe they'd choose to be cremated when they've passed on and have their ashes thrown somewhere....into the sea or back into the ground to fertilise the soil. Perhaps she was thinking that it'd be useless to place the ashes in the shrine where nobody would even go to pay their respect. Ultimately, it's their choice really and I'll do whatever I can to fulfil their wishes.....maybe I'm not the sort who'd make prayers and remember death anniversaries....but one thing for sure, I'll always remember everything DEEP IN MY HEART.

Food obsession....

My food obsession comes in the form of containers, pouches, bags, clothings, art pieces....

I'd gladly buy Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup if I could afford it.....

I'm a closet reader of Xiaxue's blog.....

I first heard of Xiaxue's blog in 2005 (yeah, I know, I was a little late into the blogging scene) and decided to check it out one day when I was absolutely bored out of my mind.

The very first blog post that I read was the one in which she was ranting on and on about KL/KL-ians and I was totally appalled! At that time, I couldn't understand how anyone could possibly want to read her bigoted nonsenses...and I was obviously very wrong as she somehow went on to become one of the most prolific bloggers in Asia.

While I personally prefer to read blog contents of a much more intectually-stimulating nature and much less of the bigotry bitching and blog full of soft-porn and bling-bling photos...I have to admit that I do pop by her blog every now and then to catch up on the latest piece of bitchy news (& to keep myself updated lest I have absolutely no idea what my friends are all talking about at social gatherings!)

So what are the things that I enjoy of her blog?

(1) She has the mouth of a sailor and she's not afraid to use it. It's hilarious sometimes to read the @#&$%*@! that come out of this 25-yr old gal's mouth! Sure I swear quite abit myself...but she is the MASTER of cursing. Swear words just seem to flow so naturally and effortlessly from her posts.

(2) She stands up and speaks out for her beliefs (whether or not you share her beliefs is besides the point). No topic is too controversial. And that "so sue me or f**k-off!" attitude is so recklessly priceless.

(3) She engages you with her writings...and her postings have the ability to elicit all sorts of emotions from you. You can either hate or love what she wrote...but you are unlikely to be bored (with reference to my own blog!).

(4) She doesn't aim to be politically correct. This gal has guts and she doesn't fear public outcry (I can be so politically correct at times that I think I sound like such a hypocrite).

(5) She feels. And most of her posts are written with such fiery passion - of anger, love, joy, jealousy, sadness etc. With everyday work and family life bogging us down...we often lose that spark that we used to have when we were much younger. Reading some of her posts does remind me of my younger days of wanton heckcare-ness!

So yeah, love her...hate her...but there's no doubt that her blog stands out as one of the more readable and entertaining ones in the blogsphere.

SPRs, you are NOT one of us...never has, never will...

This is the resounding message that I get....from the recent spate of compliants by SGers...about SPRs stealing jobs, pushing up HDB resale flat prices..oh ya, and also stealing eligible marriage-material SGmen/SGwomen from SGers!

As a SGer, I'm deeply embarrassed by this. When we needed SPRs to help build our nation and economy...we had sweet-talked and welcomed them with open arms. But when the going gets tough...tempers start to flare and accusing fingers inevitably all point towards the "outsiders (aka SPRs)".

The word "equality" in our national anthem...apparently, only applies to "We, the citizens of Singapore". Isn't equality and fairness a fundamental human decency that extends to all? Or do we talk about "equality" only when it's to our advantage?

Hairline cracks between the relationship of SGers and SPRs are already starting to appear - and all over what? Rising resale HDB prices! Imagine that. How much of that is fact...we don't even know!

When it really comes down to some castastrophic events in Singapore like war, terrorism attacks or natural disasters...SPRs be very afraid...'cos when times are desperate and resources scarce, SPRs would be the first in the line of fire. During such times, it doesn't matter who needs help more, all it matters is whether or not you hold a pink NRIC.

Human nature can be really ugly!

Me and my cookbook fetish

Ohhh I love cookbooks so much that it has become a fetish. And I've been feeding this fetish for so long that it's almost impossible for me to leave a bookstore without buying at least 1.

I have accumulated so many of them over the years. Some of my less favorite ones have been given away and many have been loaned out to friends and never made it back to my shelves. (DEAR FRIENDS: If you are reading this and are reminded that you still have my cookbooks, please return them to me as soon as you are done with them. Thank you!)

When we were renovating our tiny apartment, we were actually considering to sacrifice already scarce space in our puny kitchen to build a floor to ceiling bookshelf just to accommodate all of my cookbooks. But alas, the head rule the heart in the end.

When we left Singapore, I didn't bring a single cookbook along with me...to date, I still have no idea what came over me at that time to make such a crazy decision! My urges started the very minute I started unpacking my shipped boxes...and I had to run to the nearest Borders to buy a few of them to satisfy my urges for the time being.

Now that we've been in the states for almost one and a half months, I've only bought 8 cookbooks, a huge pile of cooking magazines and still counting!

Just today, I've received the bread baking book that I had ordered through Amazon and RG also came home with an autographed copy of Chef Yan's cookbook as he was in campus doing a special cooking demonstration. Isn't he such a darling? I mean RG of course, not Chef Yan!

The thing I like to do best is to flip through the pages of my cookbooks (from front to back and back to front x10) while watching TV, just before going to bed. The truth is, I rarely cook/bake using any of my cookbooks...I just like to oggle at pictures of the yummilious food...and then, I'm the happiest gal in the world!

Why the long silence

It has been many months since I last wrote here. Please pardon my tardiness as I had been too bogged down with stuff. So much has happened in the last 3-4 months! Almost life changing events I should say....

First, RG had decided to take up a short overseas stint. And since the both of us will be away for awhile, we decided that perhaps we should sell our apartment as the "fruit seemed ripe for picking"! Being the DIY sort, we decided to market the apartment on our own. Much work had gone towards that - decluttering, cleaning, researching, advertising, answering phonecalls, arranging for viewings etc. We even done up a blog with photos and details of the property. Luckily for us, we managed to secure an offer within 3 weeks! You can't imagine how happy we were to be rid of one major task.

At the same time while we were trying to sell our apartment, we decided to look around for a small flat to purchase. We figured it'd be better to still have a place that we can stay in whenever we are back in Singapore.....and we also need a place to keep our furniture and stuffs. We managed to find a place that we really like and within our budget after 2 weeks of intensive house hunting. But as the flat is really old, we had to do quite some renovations which was yet another big task added to our already long list of to-dos.

Then we had to pack. My goodness....the packing was the worst nightmare. We didn't realise how much stuffs we had gradually accumulated over all these years...until we started to pack. We filled up boxes after boxes after boxes.....it seemed like the packing was never gonna end. I was starting to lapse into a depression just waking up every morning and not looking forward to having to continue with the packing. When we realised that there was just too much to pack....we started to dump. Oh we dumped like we've never dumped before....the poor cleaners must have had a hard time emptying trash cans after trash cans of our stuffs.

We had to think about our flat renovations and finding a contractor while juggling all the other tasks at the same time. The old flat had quite a weird layout and we killed countless braincells trying to think of the best configurations for the fixtures in the bathroom and the kitchen. And finding a contractor that you can trust is like the next hardest thing in the world! We decided to go back to the one that we had engaged previously to work on RG's brother's home even though his quote was slightly higher than the rest. We decided safe is better.

Then we hadto sort out our visas, air tickets, hotel accommodations, car rental and a gazillion other things for our big move. We were also worried 'cos our overseas accommodation was not finalized. What if we can't find a place to stay? What if rental is very expensive? We almost went crazy with all the "what-ifs" going through our minds. But everytime I started to get a panic-attack....I kept reminding myself of the chinese saying - "the boat straightens itself when it reaches the harbour".

My next big headache was what to do with all my big chunky furniture? You see, we were moving from a 1625sqft apartment to one that's barely 580sqft. Most of my furniture were designed and built for huge homes. I figured that I could take 5-6 pieces the most of the existing furniture over to our new place. The rest will all have to go. So, I decided to hold a garage sale. I posted in various websites about the sale of our furniture and the response was just overwhelming. But coordinating the viewings/collection of all the furniture wasn't exactly easy and it took quite a lot of time and effort but we eventually sold all of our furniture.

One of the last things on the list was RG's car. We had to keep the car till just before we left as we needed it to run errands and transport stuffs. As with our apartment, we also decided to DIY the sale of the car. We posted the photos and information on a used car forum and immediately after our post went online, RG's phone started to ring non stop till he almost went berserk. He managed to sell it to the first person who came to view and test drive the vehicle. I think RG felt a sense of loss as he had grown very attached to it. I have felt the same about our apartment. It was when I realised detachment is the hardest thing to do.

So for the past few months, we juggled and juggled the gazillion things. It's amazing that we are both still sane. We even found time to meet with our families and closest friends to bid farewell. And finally, on the 12 August, we gave our home the last longing glance before closing the door behind us and then we left the apartment....and left Singapore.

Airfares - Cheap! Cheap!

Just heard from my gal friend that she booked her Emirates airtix to Melbourne for only $403!! I couldn't believe my ears and decided to check it out myself:

http://www.emirates.com/sg/English/destinations_offers/special_offers/special_fares/special_fares.aspx?id=425575#425575

Fantastic deals indeed...if you are planning your travels for these couple months. Only slightly over $700 to travel to numerous european cities and $424 to Brisbane. For my last trip to BNE, I had to pay $1.1K.

Damn I really wish I can afford the time *sob*

Top 10 most expensive cities to live in

1. Tokyo
2. Osaka/Kobe
3. Paris
4. Copenhagen
5. Oslo
6. Zurich
7. Frankfurt
8. Helsinki
9. Geneva
10. Singapore

11. Hong Kong
12. Vienna
13. Dublin
23. New York
27. London
90. Kuala Lumpur

I couldn't believe my eyes when I read the above list in the papers. While I do realise that the cost of living is quite high in Singapore, I hadn't known that it's that HIGH! How can it possibly cost more to live in Singapore than in places like New York or London?! Food and public transport seems much more affordable in Singapore than in NYC/London. Perhaps Singapore's exorbitant property prices is what's bringing us to the top 10 position?

So I googled for the 2009 list of the world's most expensive property markets and here's what I found:

1. Monte Carlo
2. Moscow
3. London
4. Tokyo
5. Hong Kong
6. New York
7. Paris
8. Singapore
9. Rome
10. Mumbai

Well, average property prices in NYC/London are still higher than in Singapore based on the ranking.....so how on earth is Singapore a costlier place to live in if not for cost of housing, food or public transport? What am I missing here?

As a Singaporean...I'm not sure if I should feel proud that we made it to the top 10 or that I should be real worried. Perhaps it's time RG and I revisit the idea of moving to a cheaper place like Malaysia (KL is only 90th on the most expensive cities list!)!

Civil servant rapped over cooking holiday

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/403473/1/.html

My Thoughts:

I'm one of those who sympathises with him. I mean, we don't even know the context of his story. The fact being, whatever one does, one's action will always be subject to various interpretations.

And we know that there'll always be the sour grapes or opportunists who'd take the opportunity to shed a bad light on others.

I can also imagine how it'd seem easy for the associated party to criticise the action (in an attempt to pacify the masses) and to isolate the blame.

The poor fella had probably wanted his family to have an experience that they'd never forget (hence didn't mind spending all that $)....well, they probably still do but in a very bad way.

Does it then mean that in bad times like this....we all have to pretend to live like paupers just 'cos we don't want our families and friends to think that we are insensitive?

I agree that flaunting of one's wealth is never the right thing to do (regardless of good or bad times) but there's no way you can control what goes on in the minds of others. People can think bad of you whether or not you are actually guilty of it....so why give a fark what others think?

In recent times, I've been made to feel bad about my trips. I do not usually volunteer information of my travels unless people ask for them...and I'm even more reluctant to share these days. But when people do ask and I tell them what I have been up to, their responses often make me feel kinda embarrassed and guilty....which I realised after awhile that it is totally ridiculous. Why should I feel bad about it at all??!! It sucks that my friends can't travel as much as I do but it's no fault of mine!!!

Sure travelling usually cost quite some $$ but to put it in better perspective, travelling is my ONLY luxury as I do not spend on clothes, makeup, spas, jewellery, gadgets, expensive bags, shoes and eating out at expensive places like others do. So if some people choose to spend their limited financial resources in other things apart from travel, that's their choice to make. If I do not judge them for their choices, why should they judge me?

Moreover, I always make it a point to travel on a budget by researching on the cheapest airfares, accommodations and it also helps that I'm not a big shopper on my overseas trips (why am I even justifying myself here?!!).

So what the heck...people can think/say whatever they want and live their sad miserable lives for all I care. I only live once and I choose to do whatever that pleases me.

This blog aims to help those who are planning their trips but if you think that I'm flaunting my travel experiences...please fark off!

The Best Job in the World

I just read this on yahoo http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20090113/tap-lifestyle-australia-tourism-offbeat-5a1703c.html

To think we used to kid about finding a job which pays well and all we have to do is to lounge around....that joke/dream is now a reality!

Applications are opened until 22 Feb...so for those of you who meet the criteria and is game to have a go....good luck to you!

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Updated: 14 Jan 2009

According to one report, the job application website has crashed since the news has been released. Apparently 300,000 people had visited the website yesterday and within an hour, the site had crashed. The Queensland state government has assured that they are working on fixing the problem and the site should be up and running again soon.

So if you are interested to apply, do get your video application ready soon. Apply @ http://www.islandreefjob.com/ May the best person win!