Change in Content: More boring stuff

Have decided on a new motto as the year is coming to an end soon. My new motto is learn something everyday. Yea, I have been letting my brains turn to mush for quite a while now, learning stuff and forgetting them just as quickly. 

So this blog is going to be about stuff I'll learn everyday and I 'll keep adding to it and reviewing it often. However, if you already know what I post here, then please bear with me or read someone else's blog, k?

What's that you say???

Why do I suffer from mental block everytime I sit down to compose a new blog?

I mean, here I am going about my daily chores or doing my work and I am hit by the zaniest, cRaZiesT ideas for a blog topic and then when I have spare time to sit at my computer, I totally forget what I was supposed to share on my blog. 

So I'm twiddling my thumb here, scratching my mozzie bites, foot-rubbing my dog's belly and yet nothing comes to mind. 

All those brilliant, flash-in-the-pan ideas... Sigh! Could have made me famous.. or infamous (hope not!!)

居酒屋, here I come!!!

Relax! I 'm not about to start giving you a Japanese language blog today. And for those of you that mistaken those for chinese, you are not wrong. It is the kanji form of written Japanese which is sourced from the chinese language but pronounced differently.

Well, the words read "Izakaya" in Japanese which can be loosely translated to mean Japanese bar or pub. And yes, you guessed it! I'm gonna go Japan tonight and eat, drink and be merry at one of these numerous Japanese pubs where they serve some of my favourite Japanese food all in a single establishment. That's the fastest (although not the most economical) way of savouring or sampling them. Oh and there's a myriad of drinks to choose from: sake (at least 10 different types), Japanese whisky (another 10), Shōchū, Biru (beer, about 5 different types), plenty of cocktails and mocktails, assorted tea/coffee variations, wines and the more common ones like coke or 7-up.

I'll stick to my love for hot sake to accompany the grilled meats, tofu, sushi and sashimi, of course. Hopefully, I'll be sober enough to make my way back to my hotel and then try to find my way back to my room.

But all that merry-making will be AFTER many hours of shopping at the local mall where there's 100Yen shops, a l-a-r-g-e supermarket, decent Japanese bookshop, plenty of Japanese clothing stores and not to mention, numerous yummy food joints. Bliss!

Busy Bee Day of Activities

As I am composing this blog, I am keeping an eye out for the impending rain, my right foot is massaging my smelly dog and I am thinking about which chore to do first: bathe the smelly dog(& rid the house of the pong! my dad so-ever-casually mentioned) or to fold the tons of clothes sitting on my bed or to pack my bags for my overseas trip to London tomorrow morning... or to check my email... Hmm!

Well I usually leave my packing till the last possible moment but of late, my memory has been rather poor. I recently left for a short trip to China and I absolutely forgot to pack any undies. I know this is a rather delicate subject to mention but I have to prove my point. In the end, I had to dash into a nearby department store but at least it gave me a justifiable reason to shop, shop, shop in these times of economic crisis.

Ok, back to my Busy Bee Day of activities. I have a few (ok, I'm lying!!) stuff to do before I get to R&R in London but as it is, my mind is already on its way to London now, dreaming of the pint of dark ale I will enjoy in a local pub with a nice dish of Bangers & Mash (sausages & potatoes, yum!). Then, maybe another pint to reward myself for getting through Busy Bee Day, nice!!! But first, of course, I must say "adieu", ya, and return to do the important ya, that is to ponder on which of the absolutely-must-do-today task to do next. 

Gourmet Coffee

Today I attended a gourmet coffee workshop organised by Sarika, the people behind the Suzuki brand of gourmet coffee. We learned about the history, family of coffee beans,roasting methods, how to prepare the perfect cup of coffee and did some sensory evaluation exercises which was immensely fun, considering my l=o=v=e for the dark brew.

There is this little contraption called the Syphon which in my opinion makes the perfect brew but it requires abit of patience as it took a l-o-n-g time to get a decent cuppa. However, it was really aromatic and rich minus the foamy part which is actually oil from the coffee bean. This is in comparison to the 'Pourover' (the Macdonald's type of coffee machine, not so yummy!) and the 'automated machine' (espresso machine, fast but...) which is widely popular in regular coffee joints like Starbucks or Spinelli's. I have included a link to Coffee For Connoisseurs' website featuring the syphon and a brief but informative description on using the syphon to make your perfect cuppa.

http://www.coffeeco.com.au/syphonbrew.html

To end the day, we were invited to make our own blend of coffee, choosing 3-4 different types of coffee bean varietal depending on our individual taste/preference and we get to bring home a pack of freshly grinded coffee blend. Mine is a 40% mix of Sumatra Mandheling, 30% mix of Brazil Santos & 30% mix of Mocca. Smells good but does it taste good? Well, I'll have to share it with my coffee aficionado friends who are better at giving me an honest opinion of my 'rojak blend'.

So if I do start a little café of my own, I'll be sure to serve my coffee using the Syphon. Although it is a little costly but the pleasure of savoring a perfect cup of coffee is worth the wait and price.

ps: for those who are unfamiliar with the different types of coffee usually served in coffee joints, here's the link for you to check out the diff between cappucino & Café au lait... (courtesy of suzuki coffee).

http://www.suzukicoffee.com.sg/moby/cms/mykindoffun/cafestylecoffee/

Face to Face:

Met writer Lee Han Shih in the course of my work recently. I told him I admired what he is doing with the magazine, Asia Inc (of which he is the editor) and encouraged him to keep up the good work. For those who are not acquainted with Asia Inc, an informative free magazine about what's happening in Asia, I have posted the link to its website for your perusal. 

http://www.asia-inc.com/index.php/investing/82

I like Asia Inc because it is an insightful magazine offering a different take on issues and is a very entertaining read. An example would be their article on the Taiwanese turned Japanese man who invented Cup Noodles, the staple snack of most Asians. Who knew that this humble (not to mention yummy!) snack could turn into a multi-million dollar business? And to think it started out as an ingenious way for a poor man to carry around his lunch of deep-fried plain noodles to be eaten during meal breaks. 

Well, after so many years we are deeply rooted in the cup-noodle eating culture and I for one, considers it my all-time favourite comfort food. (read previous blog titled "eating this-order")With a myriad of flavours, both traditional and new-fangled ones, and the numerous international brands (hai! definitely Japanese numba wan, ya!) the market is absolutely spoiled for choice. I dare say you can find cup noodles in any supermarket in any country wherever you travel these days. Just look out for the country it is made in: those from Japan are definitely numba wan, or have I mention it already?

Eating this-order

Food or the art of consuming food is my favourite pastime. All time favourite pastime, I should add.

However, for someone who rarely cooks at home, it is getting to be quite a chore. Why? Simply because I dread the question of "what do I want to eat?" when I feel lazy enough to order food delivery which is more often than not.

Pizza? Not as good as when you dine in at the restaurant. 

Fried Chicken? Erm, not tonight dear, I have a sore throat.

Pasta? Soggy. Not al dente.

Fish soup noodle? Read above.

Tzi-char? (Hokkien for cook-stir-fry at typical hawker stalls) Again?

Steak? Do they deliver?

Seafood? Do they deliver fresh? I feel like having an oyster party.. 

Ok, so I should consider cooking tonight. Hmm, maybe I'll be adventurous and add an egg into my favourite Nissin Laksa flavoured Cup Noodle. Yum!

My Fruitful Day of Doing Nothing

When you have some time to spare (make time for it), choose a nice cloudy day, grab a nice comfy outdoor kind of chair (cushions optional), a bottle of water or your favourite cool drink and head over to a quiet spot along a deserted part of the beach. Choose a shady spot, arrange your goodies around you and make yourself at home. Sit cross-legged, sideways with legs sticking over the arms of the chair or slouch but BE comfy.

Then stare out at the sea with its many shades of blue, grey, green or even miky yellow and give a 100% attention to the waves. 

Listen to the sound of the waves, observe the way it seems to move in one direction but further out it moves in another, or watch the boat cut through the waves sending it rippling out in a v-pattern and ending up following the endless cycle of one behind the other. One white peak, a little splashing and another one takes its place. Always. And the sound of waves lapping up the beach. Soothing. Hypnotising. And pretty soon you'll find yourself thinking of nothing, clearing your mind, like a little springcleaning of the brain, thinking of nothing but the waves and concentrating on every wave that follows. 

That's My Fruitful Day of Doing Nothing: 

A simple way to recharge.

Back Home is where I really want to be...

Sigh!

Why am I sighing? Well, I am preparing for work now. Work is what it is, although sometimes I do have fun at work. I will be going to Moscow but I do not intend to sightsee during my free time there although it is SUMMER. Most people think i am crazy to want to stay in the hotel watching Russian TV and catching up on my reading. But maybe I will venture down to the gym with the promise of an indoor heated pool but I dare to say, that's it for Moscow. Sorry folks!

You see, it is not really a place for tourists. The sightseeing places are all in Russian and I have been in a 45 mins' queue in wintery Moscow to see some tombs with Russian words inscribed on their tombstone so whoever they are, rest in peace... and oh! To see a dead body (Lenin) in a chamber where I paid some money (didn't know I was supposed to see his body) and walked in and out of the chamber in absolute silence in less than 30 seconds (Move it, I gather from the stern Russian guards' tone and demeanour!) Definitely not my cup of tea. Or vodka for that matter.

 

So thank you very much but the hotel holds more promise for a person like me, afraid to get lost and afraid to ask for directions (coz it is not easy to find an English-speaking Russian on the street and I do admit I maul the Russian language so badly they probably think it is Chinese...) Maybe I will learn a Russian phrase or two in my free time:

Здравствуйте

Zdrastvooyte (Hello!)

Love Sick...

Didn't know that dogs can get love sick. Wonder if they'll pine away and maybe become a heap of bag-n-bones if they stop eating...

What happen is this: 

My exercise buddy's owner is currently out-of-town on a work trip. It has been only 5 hours since the dog's owner left home and this fierce looking but chicken-livered dog is whining and making small little sighs every now and then. It is getting on my nerves, never having been great with noisy people and now being subjected to the love-sick behaviour from a 15 months' old dog that is sooo attached to its owner. It has stopped eating its lunch (unheard of) but it couldn't turn down a treat. But as soon as the treat is safely on its way to the stomach, the dog returned to its favourite spot: by the gate, looking at the goings & comings around the lift lobby area a floor below. No playing of toys, no chewing of sofa cushions (so far!) but I guess this dog is just going through the phases like a normal teen in puppy love (pun intended!) would.

So the plan is to skip out of the house and head for work earlier than intended. At least, I get to enjoy some free air-conditioning and hopefully, it will be abit quieter at the office.

To Beat The Mental Game, Beat Your Pet First!

Ok, don't take it literally. I'm talking about staying on the exercise plan.

I've discovered a good way to keep me motivated. Beating my dog when we go for long walks. You see, my dog is a hardworking dog. She absolutely must burn off excess energy or she'll rip my furniture apart or terrorise the smaller (although older) dog. Hence, the necessity for long walks to keep her spirits up and keep her from getting into naughty behaviour. 

She's my new exercise buddy and she trembles with joy whenever I bring out her leash. She is really good at keeping up when I jog every 5 mins or so into our hour long walks in the mornings or evenings. She bursts into speed sometimes & I have trouble keeping pace with her but she always looks at me with her tongue hanging out, as if she's encouraging me to run with the wind and breathe with my mouth. She's great fun to be with and I am absolutely delighted to have her for company. 

Back to the Grind!

Its Huffing & Puffing time for me. Time when I feel I am putting on weight and need to lose some drastically. Well, not drastically but quickly and hopefully, effectively. Meaning "stay away, flabby rolls, Helllooo muscles!"

I am examining some of the weight loss tips my colleagues have kindly passed on to me without me asking. (So kind of them, huh!) One of the most sensible one includes eating sensible portions of food, raising your metabolism rate in short bursts throughout the day (sweat it out, babe!) while cutting out sugar and most refined food stuff such as bread or chocolate. (Yum!) 

I will give it a try as I think it is the most promising one, having seen my colleague's new svelte figure. So my motto for this week is :"Stay smelly!"

7th Month

Yesterday was the start of the Lunar 7th month, the month when the chinese believe that the Gates of Hell opens up and its inhabitants are free to wander for 30 days. This is either a very lucky or unlucky month; most people believe that more deaths or unexplainable stuff occurs during this time so they try to go home before dark, avoid swimming for fear of 'water spirits' n generally hold off celebrations or renovations and delay travel plans for the month. Some people consider this the lucky month because some stuff costs less during this month, example, wedding banquets are cheaper as the demand is low, renovation packages are also cheaper. Entertainers who specialise in getai or chinese stage performance find their schedules packed as business owners, associations and clans engage them for ritual performances which in the past were meant for the wandering spirits but is now popular with the living. 

As on the 1st day of every 7th month, I perform a short ritual that is also repeated on the last day. After dark, I will gather joss-sticks, incense, sweet rice cookies, a pack of tea leaves, gold paper ingots, paper money & assorted paper charms & burn them outside my house. This is the 'gift' to the dead, an acknowledgement that the living is aware that the spirits are around and a sort of bribe to ask them to leave us alone during their time back in our midst .

I Love My Toys but...

Remember when I wrote about my new toys earlier this month? Well, I've discovered new stuff that I can do with my apple products that I previously did not know about. Stuff that has me glued to my MacBook for a good 6-8 hrs every day, right after my usual breakfast-with-newspaper-reading routine. It also helps that a close friend is a huge fan of Apple. He has taught me stuff that got me oohing and wowing and slowly but surely converting me into an Apple fan as well.

However, for all its wonderful software and applications, I still can't do my most important work stuff on it. Important docs, forms and surveys cannot be sent via Safari or Firefox for that matter. The recommended browser(& the only browser they use) is IE. Sigh! So I might have to trot down to the IT Mall to grab a Windows XP OS to load into my MacBook, just to complete my work stuff. What a bother...

Mission Accomplished!

"Shopping is such fun especially if you are on a mission."

I was on a mission in Frankfurt recently, having had to exchange my old bag due to some ‘gum defect’. No, not my gum chewing habit although my mum would have said “see, the government is right: chewing gums are no good for you.” I’m talking ‘bout the handbag gum defect which kind of made the bag looked like a sad copy from China. So it was a relief when the bag was gladly exchanged for a brand new one, no questions asked, just a simple “we are sorry but we’ll have to get you a new one.” Ooh nice, please, by all means considering I have had the bag for more than 2 years almost 3 now. And since I’m there, I figured I might as well show my gratitude and dutifully check out the stuff there. That was how I ended up spending almost S$400 for 2 bags and a newly exchanged bag. Which means I now have 3 new bags to play. Hooray for shopping. Now, to find some nice pumps to match…

It is Good To Be Back

Back home for now at least. I had a good time travelling and these past week but it sure feels great to be around my loved ones again. Life without internet can be really difficult especially in a country where most of the TV programmes are in a foreign language. It is a pity that some of the hotels I've stayed in provide the most dismal kind of network available - the super slow kind but at least it is free. I guess if you want speed you'll have to pay abit more for it. Sigh! I am not a patient person. So I'd rather sit on my bed and watch the telly. These are times when my current affairs are up-to-date and I can easily rattle off the stock market numbers and names of news presenters. Funny how I seldom tune in to TV programmes when I am home. There's just so much to do, so many people and things to keep me occupied. The only thing I can't seem to do anywhere is read; yep, I am so far behind on my reading I am sure there's already a 2nd or 3rd revised edition to the books sitting on my dusty shelves. One of my favourite to-read books is The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil. It is a door-stopper kind of book. Huge. Thick. Heavy. But chockful of information on Wine, food, region, even culture. Too heavy to lug around the World but too much to do back home. Sigh!

Busy Bee Day

Today is a really busy day for me because I have been putting off the mundane chores till the last possible moment. Stuff like laundry, bag packing, even office work have been relegated to the bottom of my to-do list and today, they have been upgraded to "must-do" & "urgent". In order to prioritise and promote efficiency, I have decided to sit down and blog about how I can achieve that. The following is the new, updated list in order of priority:

1. Update Blog (10 mins)

2. Complete my office work (2 hrs)

Break Time

3. Pack my bags for a week's travel (45 mins)

4. Feed the hungry Dogs (5 mins)

5. Hug the Dogs (10 mins)

6. Hurriedly throw dirty laundry into washing machine (3 mins)

Break Time

7. Check (& reply) emails (45 mins)

8. Hang up clean laundry haphazardly (5 mins)

9. Send smses, return calls to family & friends (30mins)

Break Time

10. Do my nails (30 mins)

11. Do my facial mask and upload songs onto MacBook(1 hr)

Break Time

12. Check if there is anything on my to do list I've missed out (10 mins)

So as of now, which is 12.36 local time, I have completed item 1 on my new list. Now to go on to item 2 which is soooo boring but soooo necessary.... 

I Love My Toys

I love my toys: my week old MacBook, my 2 weeks old SE C902 Hp and I've even gotten a new hairdo to go with it. Curlz and lots of it. I'm loving every new stuff I discover on my toys and I hope that this time round, my MacBook lasts abit longer than the last one. 

Grand Opening of Angela@Blogger's spot

This is my first blog on Blogger. 

I decided to create an account with Blogger as the other blog I maintain elsewhere takes forever to load. Not that I have lotsa stuff or many friends over there but it just drives me crazy to see my enthusiasm dwindling due to the lonnngg uploading time.

Anyway, this is a fresh place for me to blog nonstop. Not to mention the fun I get thinking up new polls. Lots of fun things to explore on blogger.

Well, wish me luck on my first day on Blogger.