Christmas

Christmas 2007 was fun!!!

On the eve, Daddy actually allowed me to drive all the way to Causeway point to collect the Dinner deal deluxe (Medium turkey, champagne ham, grilled beef, Guylian chocolates and a botttle of New Zealand Merlot wine, all packed in a wicket basket), a small turkey 3.5--4.5kg and a box of lovely chocolate & raisin cupcakes ( it had a butter-cream topping, wouldn't touch it).
Lunch was a plate of Yong Tau Foo (not nice gravy) and a huge ice-kacang with extra corn...yummy... following that was a fruitless hunt for Turkey gravy...which was all sold out. No wonder it is such a 'hot' christmas...
After that, I drove to Bukit Timah, Goldhill Road, through BKE, PIE and CTE. This is the furthest I have drove so far!!! From there, we went back to Woodlands and then to home.

Neighbour Louis and little Daniel came over to give us a black forest cake. Little Daniel kept saying it had 'funny funny things' on it...cute boy =) We got a remote-controlled car (hope it works) for him!

Preparing for dinner...














Made a chistmassy barbeque sauce. Very healthy one, with lots of tomatoes, herbs and large onion. Grandma said it is nice, hope it is true though...but at least it is 'MSG-free','fat-free', almost 'sodium-free' and 'diabetic-friendly' effort loaded sauce...




What a wonderful spread :D

With auntie Mervi...

With Me!!!

All of us attended the midnight mass at Christ the King church, and we did have seats!!! Hurray!!! Sang Feliz Navedan into Christmas day...

My furry brownie coatie...

The other day...

Daddy and Mummy went to get for me a 'water-proof', 'winter-proof' and I suppose should be 'fall-down proof''(since it is so thick) coat!!! It's brown and furry, quite nice actually, and undisputably expensive... haha...

Me with the tiny christmas tree :D

Xiu wanted to try on too...

The best thing is that if I do not want to look like a 'furry thing' with the furry cap (which is relatively nice when we look at it a couple of times), I can detach it!!! Nice!!!

Thanks Mummy and Daddy for all the effort! :)

Fast Food Nation--Eric Schlosser

Read FAST FOOD NATION the past few days (haven't completed it though...gosh...really lacking the determination to finish it in 1 day...am trying to regain it). A very informative book actually, not absolutely biased or prejudice, but still quite critical of the fast food companies around...

Was quite enlightening actually, for example, I didn't know that Tyson co. (the orange packaging of chicken drumsticks I used to look out, for during grocery shopping with mum) is the main supplier of all chicken in MacDonald's, and even 90% of restaurants in US! It all started in 1983 when they supplied chickens with uniquely large breasts for McNuggets (the super fatty food containing more fats than a hamburger, according to Eric Schlosser). Tyson is the overall in charge of the chickens, but they do not raise them. Instead, sub-contractors obtain the chicks, feed, equipments, technology etc from Tyson, who returns to collect the full-grown chickens in 7 weeks time. Interesting... And Macs is 2Nd only to KFC of being the world's largest consumer of chickens! Tyson must have been enjoying so much lucrative profits with every new fast food outlet opening.


Do you know that KFC's founder, Colonel Sanders, became successful only at the age of 74? Do you know that Carl's Jr founder was actually the 1st in US in starting the drive-in restaurant idea? He actually started off with a hot-dog wagon (still kept the receipt for it till his last days), and was even thrown out of his own co. by the board of directors (sounds like Steve Jobs). Later, he made a comeback by collaborating with a huge conglomerate, by giving all the governing power to this co. to this day. Even though I'm not into Fat-laden gigantic burgers like Carl's Jr( also a rip-off in price), there is a single connection between Carl and I... that is... he is also a Catholic!!! Who said church-goers can't do business??? ha ha


So many facts in there... but 1 interesting thing is the flavours part... look carefully below:

STRAWBERRY MILK SHAKE

Amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amylketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenyl-2-butanone butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rumether, y-undecalatone, vanilla and solvent.

Ethyl-2-methylbutyrate smells just like an apple

Adding:

Methy-2-peridyketone makes something taste like popcorn
Ethyl-3-hydroxybutanoate makes something taste like marshmallow
Amyl acetate provides dominant note of banana flavour

Aroma:

Hexenal – smell of freshly cut grass
3-methyl butanoic acid – smell of body odour

Natural & artificial flavours sometimes contain exactly the same chemicals, produced through different methods. For example, when distill amyl acetate from bananas with a solvent, it is a natural flavour. When it is produce it by mixing vinegar with anylalcohol, adding sulphuric acid as a catalyst, amyl acetate is an artificial flavour. Either way it smells and tastes the same.

A natural flavour is not necessarily healthier or purer than an artificial one.
When almond flavour( benzaldehyde) is derived from natural sources, such as peach and apricot pits, it contains traces of hydrogen cyanide, a deadly poison.
Benzaldehyde derived through a different process – by mixing oil of clove and the banana flavour,amyl acetate – does not contain any cyanide. It is legally considered an artificial flavour and sells at a much lower price.

MacDonald’s Corporation refuse to reveal the exact origin of the flavour added to their fries. However, in response to inquires from Vegetarian Journal, they acknowledged that some of their characteristic flavour from ‘animal products’.

Wendy’s Grilled Chicken Sandwich contains beef extracts.
Burger King’s BK Broiler Chicken Breast Patty contains ‘natural smoke flavour’.
A firm called Red Arrow Products Company specializes in smoke flavour, which is added to barbeque sauces and processed meats. Red Arrow manufactures natural smoke flavour by charring sawdust and capturing the aroma chemicals released into the air. The smoke is captured in water and then bottled, so that other companies can sell food which seems to have been cooked over a fire.





Maybe some 'organic' obsessed ppl out there will have something else to chuck out of their diet... but i may still take the low-fat, low-calories strawberry milk shake if it floats my way... ha ha :P

Teach at Rempang Island

The 3rd Rempang trip!!!

On 2 Dec 2007, the IHM and St Anne's groups went to the Rempang Island for our last volunteer trip of the year. We organised a X'mas party for the orphans and poor villages there. A very memorable experience as the greatest gift we received was the improvement in their studies and the happy looks on their faces!!!

The sisters were also very pleasant. All the fried tapioca, pineapple tarts and ginger snaps were really good!!! Not only are they holy people, they are also good cooks & bakers! Very talented indeed!

Thanks be to God for all the love and blessings he showered on all the volunteers, in areas like the beautiful weather and safety, especially for all the blessed children and lovely Indonesians we met along the way!

S$0.8=A$1 is the way to go!

Aussie currency... slide...slide...slide!
Why does it keep going up???
Is S'pore economy so terrible now? it cant be, with all the hype and anticipation, I thought we are moving on good, and this doesnt make sense anymore.
Guess doctors don't really understand the way the economy, currency and global issues function.
Gosh, feeling so ignorant about so many things... and its adding to my worries...

Inspirational Quotes

It is not the strongest that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to changes --- Charles Darwin (1809-82) ... the evolution genius...

Experience is the name we give to our mistakes --- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) ... Irish playwright,poet, novelist,author and also infamous bisexual, homosexual and paederastic(love for a boy or child). Interestingly, he converted into a Catholic on his deathbed and was given the Baptism and Unction sacraments...

Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration --- Thomas Edison (1847-1931) ... American inventor and businessman, who invented the light bulb, patented the gramophone, designed and produced the 1st commercially available fluoroscope. Started the Motion Pictures Patents Company. Key to wealth is telegraphy. ..

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself --- Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) ... Russian writer-novelist, essayist, dramatist and philosopher-as well as pacifist Christian anarchist and educational reformer...

Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or self-confidence --- Robert Frost ... American poet, who received 4 Pulitzer prizes...

When you talk, you repeat what you already know; when you listen, you often learn something ---Jared Sparks (1789-1866) ... American historian, educator and unitarian minister(pastor). Was President of Harvard University from 1849-1853...

Virus... Virus...Virus...

Now, i know the potency and danger of the bug called virus. It may be microscopic in size, cannot be seen by the naked eye, but it may be omnipresent and spread like wild fire. Only that this cannot be seen but the California(or even the Sumatra) fires will at least give some signs (smoke and smell).

To think that a health freak and doctor-wanna-be like me may be a potential victim gives me shudders. During the end of August this year, I was in a vulnerable state to the Viral conjunctivitis, and was super duper worried of becoming that victim because my driving test is during that week. With God's blessings and guidance, and Our Lady intercessions, I was spared!

Just last week, Xiu contracted the Varicella-zoster virus(VZV), also known as human herpes virus 3 (HHV-3), which acually causes the disease Chicken Pox. If contracted, symptoms and signs will appear 10-21 days after exposure to the virus. Now, I am at a loss of what to do, since I acually slept in the same room and live in the same house as her. Should have taken PY's advice in september to go for the vaccination, but i really forgot about it with all the hassle and buzzle these couple of months. Only can leave this matter to the Lord our God! I am really very very worried.

October...This new background looks nicer and nicer the more I look at it!

Long long time since I last wrote on this blog... Been happily busy with facebook, till didnt really feel like doing diary writing. However, I'm having the inspiration now!

Am getting quite sick of eating, TV, shopping, sleeping and all the useless lifestyle. Plus really DESIRING to go to Taiwan ( esp since xiu is planning to go there with viv soon), yet 3 matters are holding me back: 1) No suitable ppl to go with 2) Dad's approval 3) Time and $. However, if someone suitable ask me to go, I will most probably go, so in conclusion, the 1st reason is the most crucial one at this point in time.

Currently feeling a little:
* traumatised--by what happened and what I fear will happen again
* useless -- not doing anything constructive
* lost -- not sure what to feel sometimes
* hopeful -- for the upcoming trip
* worried -- with the A$ becoming stronger, this is seriously a problem if the S$ don't rise fast

Macbeth, there seems to be a reincarnation...

William Shakespeare does have foresight...
Macbeth (in lit class in Sec2)...
"the serpent beneath the flower"
that honestly sounds really bad, but it seems like many actually are like that in the corporate world...
thats reality...

And

There's many reincarnation in my workplace now...

Although some do not hide it well...
They still backstab very well indeed...
No wonder my months here is so miserable...
Sometimes you dont know what comments can do to hurt...
But since i am so numb and used to it already...
I TAKE IT IN STRIDE AND REMAIN AS CHEERFUL AS EVER!!!

Sometimes, people of the same religion can do super awful things...
I agree that i am not super pious or holy...
but at least i do not hurt those that do not attempt to hurt me...
I learnt to trust my GOD, and not the people...

Paris Hilton Back to Jail!

Kudos to Superior Court Judge Michael Sauer!



He got the COURAGE to go against 1)the ultra rich and powerful people 2)the ultra popular and BIG hollywood star 3)the Sheiff of LA 4)the fans of Paris and 5) the corrupted law of order.



Paris Hilton entered jail with much fanfare, looking quite suspiciously confident and calm( which should have signalled that something interesting might happen, that is why i have been checking the news everyday for this much anticipated 'unidentifiable' release from jail). What can the rich and powerful do in our society is unimagineable! and i initially thought that justice will not be met...



In the first place, if Paris did not commit any crime, she would not be in this situation now. Honestly, i do admit that jail is quite a horror for a poor 26 year old. but she actually have a individual room and a reduced sentence, so that should not be so bad compared to other younger offenders, who have to tolerate other more awful jail mates. Plus, we never know if her 'cell' is decorated and equipped like a 'palace'.So, if she can complain, how about the thousands out there???



Removing the reduced sentence of 23 days in place 46 days is a super good idea.



DEMOCRACY IS FINALLY PRESENT.



THE SUN AFTER THE DARK CLOUDS INDEED!!!

EV is back!!!

yay!!! EV is finally back. After the separation for 2 months + 1 day, she is finally back. cant believe it, took leave on tues 29 may to go airport to meet her, but received news she cant come back on that day, so became super worried for her safety. but at last, at about 7+ am on 30 may, she arrived in S'pore.

haha, we met up that night, went to the starbucks at United Square to have a late night drink, then at about 11.30pm, we ran to catch the last train home. We decided to walk to my place instaed of spending the 2x cab fare, and for bonus, we were chased by a dog. haha, such a thrilling and unique experience. Little Doggie doggie, chased 4 cutie ladies, at the wee wee hours of 1am in the morning. hehe, interesting...

Reached home at 1.30am, so late... then slept at 2.30am... zzzzzzzz... the next few days will be so exhausted... but it is worth it, coz youth is meant to do interesting and new stuff. always doing safe and boring stuff dont make us any special memories of our youth. haha, may attempt more interesting stuff with my BFFs more often! EV, PY and SM, what do you all think??? haha

A crazy foodie night

Went to Great World City with Anita yesterday. Ate at Kenny Rogers- the unltimate gastronomical place... had the BBQ chicken pita bread meal, the amount was so large with 2 side dishes and the muffin. really too much and i actually ate all!!! it tasted really good, and i really like the chicken pita bread and especially the muffin. so forgot all the fasting plan and tucked in like a glutton. Anita was also amazed i could eat so much. She only had 3 side dishes- mash potatoes, cheesy marcaroni and cold pasta.

At 6.45pm, we went to watch 'Because i said so'. it was quite a funny and irritating show, not absolutely nice or wow!, but just okkkkk, it was a short movie of about 1.5 hours. Then we went for our frozen yogurt.

Blackberry, cherry, raspberry, cranberries, strawberry, kiwi, mango, oreo were a few of the flavours. Anita loves the strawberry, kiwi and oreo combination. Since i love berries, i decided to choose backberry, raspberry and oreo. It was really quite good, next time can intro to PY, SM and EV already.

We walked all the way to Outram Mrt to go home together. It was pretty nice experience with her and this is the first time we went out together. First time i went out with my neighbour... a breakthrough!!! haha...

where is new york new york???

sigh... wanted to try out the new york 2 but too packed

hmmm, was happy to meet PQ and SM for dinner!!! wanted to check out new US, but the loads of immigrants scared us away... haha...

so decided to visit the old US instead, since our 'loyalty to the US gluttons' is so great... so we backtracked to the childhood time where we hang out at the happiest place on earth... MacDonalds...

SM bought grilled chicken foldover meal, PQ bought chicken burger meal, and i got a pancake and hamburger. My advice: never buy thehamburger, it really taste quite terrible, nothing except a thin piece of 'gourmet' meat and white burger bread. No wonder it cost only $1.55.

chat chat chat, and time flies. Finally we parted at about 11pm... so tired, and dreading the next day at work...

Received news of Evonne!!!

Woke up at 4 this morning. After last night of re-reading a romance novel ( I have not read one for such a long time already!!!), i was quite recharged with energy and less stressed out already. Cannot believe what a novel or a fiction can do to one's mood.

Decided to check my mail, and discovered that Evonne's dad sent us her journal!!! Gosh, was just worrying about her from all the negative news that came, and wondering how she was for the last few days, then when i read through her life in india so far, i was pretty relief and glad that nothing really bad occured. Other than the awful blackout, it seems like she is eating and resting regularly.

what a wonderful way to start a boring working day! at least i was not dreading this terrible work day after reading the mail. But now, sigh.... back to the absolute brainless and boring stuff again...

INTERESTING DAY...I actually did things that i never did before!!!

Today is indeed an interesting day...

Pei yueng and Shu min came over to stay last night (so sad that Evonne cant make it). Even though they arrived late last night about 11pm, we still had quite some time to talk and play. We wrapped the present for evonne...

herbal jelly = cooling and mellow the spicy indian food
peanut butter = in case she want to eat some 'edible' food
honey stars 6x = ev favourite snack
nutella = maybe she likes chocolate
rabbit milk sweet = to mellow down too spicy food
and...
3 wonderful letters in a biege envelope!!! Hope she is touched :)

Shu min wrapped them beautifully, and we went to brush our teeth. First time we did such things together since knowing each other for 4 + years now.

Into bed we went, after some argument about who should take which blanket... haha.. then we had some in the dark chat, and soon silence fell...

At 4.30am today, i was the first to wake up. Creeping into the toilet to wash up and then sleeping for another 10 mins again. 5am the rest woke up and i went to eat something before they came down as i was super hungry. Then we all had something to drink, ate a little cake, and Daddy fetched us to the Seletar Airbase bus stop. Luckily we didnt walk as it was actually quite far.

We met a crazy taxi driver who horned at us from behind and stopped there staring at us. then he shouted at us to hop into the cab, which freaked us a little since the place was so dark and there was no one else other than us. We saw the bus from a distance and ran to catch it. It only took us 20 mins to reach Changi Airport Terminal 1.

At departure hall row no.7, we met Ev and her mum. Later, we saw the jap girl that Ev mentioned before. During the checking in of the lugagge, we discovered 2 light bulbs in the dark dark night... :p

They are taking the India airlines and the plane will be departing at 8.25am. After a short chat at the expensive kopitiam, we hugged Ev and left for breakfast.

Boo Hoo Hoo... will not see her for 2 months... Have to wait till 29 May...

At Terminal 2, we saw a 'Singapore Girl' buying 13 Bo Luo Bao. Immaculately dressed and groomed, her actions seems to indicate more of the heartlanders though... well maybe she is not like this usually??? anyway, PY bought a bun and we went to Burger King to eat. wow, ang mohs can really eat! i saw some of them eating the giant burger with the other side dishes UPSIZED!!!

8.00am... we went to work... tired but felt quite glad we did make it to the airport early. PY left by bus, while SM took the train with me. She was deciding on the way whether to take full or half day leave or go to work. At last, a half day leave was confirmed since she was too tired.

I reached RH about 5 mins late, and took over FMC duty. Lunch with Joe was enlightening and later the little chat with Alexis was super enriching. Felt that they are fantastic people: Ax is observant and have strong moral standards, J is gentlemanly and very careful in actions. I was treated to lunch, and cant believe it, i just ate nasi lemak with fried chicken wing... never had it for years... broke the rule... oops... its work out time...

Less than an hour before i can sing 'HOME SWEET HOME'... la la la...

Be kind----get hurt easily

After starting work---i was nice and cheerful.

3 months after starting work--- i became gloomy and sad

Why???

Horrid people---thought they were nice--- i was wrong...

初七----听说是人日。是吗？

新年已过了七天， 听说昨天是大家的生日， 但是呢，其实以我们天主教徒来说，不该相信女娲造人这些事。哈哈，也不知道是不是cultural or religion...

不管怎么，我昨天可是玩得够开心了。 咱们家开了大party ， 请了爸爸那一边人，还请了个很重要的人。。。但，我好像出丑了，被问在prelim 拿几分，当我说出那批烂成级后，那重要的人和跟他一起来的2位贵宾表情好像有一点变。当然啊，他们可能以为我一定会非常非常聪明。怎么会在学校考试考到那么的成绩呢？？？ 我笨吗？好像也不是。。。可能是太劳累的关系。现在只能祈祷，求我们的天主帮我在A' levels考到特别好的成绩，让我能在大学读我最想读的科目。。。医科。

焦急的事就先搁在一边。昨晚和堂哥堂姐们讲得津津有味，还去了park ，可不是常瑞说的 pub ， 哈哈，就让他跟女朋友去吧。讲到减肥的事，也发现男生也很关心肥胖的问题。。。有趣。。。这是新加坡的culture了！

被邀请去参加他们的CMI club (cannot make it)， 好新鲜。我想我倒可有兴趣参加常瑞的 CAN MAKE IT CLUB！ 因为我今天可是忍着肚子痛跑了8圈。没想到自己能顺利地完成，但好像毅力把任何事变成可能。所以，总之，我还是蛮HAPPY的！只是，好像也有点担心。。。

NEW YEAR!!!

Cannot believe it, the first 3 days of new flew past so so so fast........

Now, it is back to work......

Boring.......

But, cannot believe it too, heard from Yuna that results may be out next week...

so fast...

Life is................ SSSSSSSSSSSiiiiiiiiiiiiiGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH..............

Then i wanted more Kueh bahulu, but mum said no nutritional value, so refuse to buy for me...

Sob...

i got lots of pineapple tarts.... scared fattening... so dont dare to gorge too much...

My collegues said the sugee cookies that mum made is super nice...

i feel so too........

however, i still like Kueh bahulu!!!

New Year Eve... pending...

Time really flies! Today is the last day of the year according to the chinese calender, and the year of the pig is approaching... what am i doing here??? I should be home enjoying the new year eve and helping in the cleaning of the house along with the cookies!!! Had so many pineapple tarts and cookies last night, so feel super super gluttony. However, last night seems like the warm up exercise only, today and tomorrow and the next 15 days of New year... the gluttony auspicious pig is going to arrive. ha ha. gosh, i think there are at least 500 pineapple tarts which mum made last night. plus the sugee cookies, gosh this is a gluttony festival!!! really need to diet, but is it possible now??? next 15 days maybe not, but after that can consider when all the goodies are wiped out. Ha ha. hmmm, i am rambling on and on again. BUT, i am very very Grrr, my mum havent bought for me my favourite... Kueh bahlu... hope she will buy many and nice sugar coated kueh bahlu today! Looking forward.... xiang qian kan... :)

REMEMBER...

Gosh, nostalgia is coming back... i was thinking about the lovely time spent in Taiwan in 2005, then start to think of the 2 years past in JC, all the SPAs, then followed by the posh prom night... then about... so many things more. cant believe it, such a sentimental me. haha. perhaps because it is VALENTINE'S DAY. last year, still can remember my BFFs came knocking so late in the night to give me the gifts. super touch and happy. la la la... so blissful, better than having a BF!!! (nod nod nod)

BLOGGING AGAIN

hmmm, interesting... less work today.... and just had lunch. went to buy some stuff just now and found some chinesey stuff that i was looking for for a long time. thought that i will spend a big fortune on it, but actually it cost a teeny weeny asset. still have discount, so happier. haha. when have i become so particular about prices??? i think i never had.... till started work.... haha.

chinese new year is coming, still waiting for the pineapple tarts!!! but they are not made yet!!! so miserable... HOW???

FIRST TIME BLOGGING!!!

Wow, cannot believe it, i am actually blogging now. used to think this is a boringgggg and a total waste of time. But under the influence and persuasion of a particular 'Babi', and the Chinese New Year is coming, i decided to follow the 'Babi' advice in this year of the pig to blog.

WELCOME TO MY NEW BLOG!!!