It was Date Night a couple of weeks ago at a warm cosy French restaurant in the city. A single long stalk of the conventional red rose elegantly wrapped in simple black paper and a shocking red plastic mesh secured with a black ribbon greeted me on the table reserved for two. It was the most beautifully presented floral gift I have ever received even by the standards of a person who's not that into flowers. Or maybe I should say especially by the standards of someone who's not half as appreciative of flowers as the average female; this one was impressive enough to awe me.
The intricate wrapping aside, the thought, effort and efficient coordination by the friendly staff at Uptown Florist and La Guillotine that went into organising this elaborate presentation of a simple gift to me were most commendable and worth complimenting over and over again. Because Date Night was on a non working day for the florist, they delivered it to the restaurant a day before with a special personalised handwritten instructional card on caring for the flower such that it remained fresh and beautiful on presentation. It was also worth mentioning that contrary to what was expected, it didn't cost an arm or a leg, probably merely a main dish at a local thai takeaway.
And the restaurant staff took tender loving care of that lonely flower for more than 24 hours. I gathered it must have been a challenge for them to find a suitably cool but not overly cold fridge of an adequate size to fit the extremely long package which must have been about at least a metre from tip to tip without squashing it. It was also obvious that they timed its removal from the fridge such that it didn't feel icy cold in my hands upon my arrival.
As cliché as this whole receiving a red rose on Date Night affair was, I was touched by a few simple things that are not measurable by how much was paid or spent or how sophisticated the setting was: The Florist's love for their products and pride in their work; The looks on all the staff's faces when handing over the rose to me were one of excitement and that blew me away as this simple gesture of making a complete stranger happy genuinely meant something to them; and of course the sweet intentions from the brains behind this plot.
Now that the bar has been raised, I await with much anticipation on what comes next. ;p
date night
i want more dresses
I've been indulging myself in quite a bit of online shopping lately, mostly because of my little promotion and partially because I lost quite a bit of weight and find my clothes hanging off my bony frame very unflattering. Besides, I need nice sundresses for a trip back to Sunny-pore and to welcome the Sydney summer which will be upon us very soon.
As I'm into my long dress phase, I got a long number from ASOS Online - this halter neck maxi dress with a reed and dragonfly print design is by Ringspun and was going at 50% discount.
I got these two from Victoria Secret online. There is a summer dress sale going on and I'm tempted to buy more.
I was a bit hesitant to buy dresses online as I'm a firm believer of physically trying on clothes before you can tell if they suit or fit you. I only made up my mind to proceed with the purchases after measuring myself with a tape, tallying the measurements with the size chart and re-reading the return policy umpteen times. The mega sales were a big push too. I kept telling myself that I could always return them if they don't fit or if I don't like them. At most, I can always give them away to the girlies back home since they're not exhorbitantly priced.
So. They all arrived within two weeks of payment with a form clearly outlining the return and exchange policies and instructions for completing them. It's all quite dummy proof and very efficient. So now I'm shopping for more.
berry meringue
Remember the berry meringue I successfully made on the eve of my thirtieth birthday? I thought I'd try to re-create it for dessert one night and document the process as I did so I can share here on how easy it is to make it.
The above was all that was needed: a big bowl, eggs (I used 4 the first time and that turned out to be much more than expected and could feed 3 people so I used 2 this time), berries (from a pack of frozen berries bought at the local supermarket), an electric egg beater and dessert bowls. I also added a tablespoon of sugar as I like it uber sweet.
First I separated the egg whites from the yolks - we only need the whites. The first time I did it, I thought this was the most difficult step but it was too easy the second time round. Add sugar if desired according to your level of sweet-toothiness (is there such word?) and then beat it until it turns into a mass of great white fluff as shown above. I believe only an electric beater can do the job but you can always try beating it manually but keep me posted on the outcome ok?
This, I feel, is the most difficult step of all - folding the berries into the fluff without destroying the fluff. Being the impatient person that I am, I ruined the whole mixture the second round because I wasn't gentle enough. Also note not to be too greedy with the berries, too much berries in relation to the fluff will kill it too (I believe it was the moisture when the frozen berries thawed).
Then you pour the mixture into the dessert bowl - remember to spread butter all around beforehand. It will look like an unappetising blob of gooey stuff as seen in the below pic but will turn out all nice if it rises properly as in the first pic above. Here, you will see the mixture looking more reddish pink than white - that's because I added too much berries. You want to be able to see more whites than red in yours.
Lastly, just put them into the preheated oven at 180 degrees celsius. I can't remember how long it stayed in the oven but it wasn't long, maybe about 10 minutes? I just kept peeping in through the glass window and the moment I saw it turn a nice golden brown, I removed it. Sprinkle some icing sugar on it, add fresh strawberries on top and serve with a scoop of the creamiest vanilla ice cream you can find.
So easy right? I didn't even need to study any recipe books and can whip it up in less than half an hour. Try it!
the king and the bone
A while back, I swapped my queen sized bed for a king. Because of my sleeping problems (1. I am an extremely light sleeper who wakes up at the slightest noise or movement; 2. I toss and turn a lot and wake up one thousand times every night to change my position because the mattress gets too warm after lying in the same spot for a while; 3. I have exhausting dreams all night long - this is purely psychological and probably can't be remedied by a change in bed; 4. I get the occasional backache which can partially be attributed to my curved spine methinks.), much effort was spent trying to find a mattress that may help alleviate some of them so I may get a good night's sleep.
After visiting at least half a dozen shops and testing more than a few dozen mattresses, the eventual decision was to get a King Koil firm mattress from the Superior Support collection. When I laid on the display unit, the entire space around me curved to my body contours such that every part of me felt adequately supported (like what one looks out for when buying a bra really) yet still offered the luxurious feeling of floating in water. I also tried lying in the same space for an extended period of time just to see if it gets too warm - the material (blend of pure and something else) supposedly offers optimal temperature regulation all year round - and I was really amazed that it remained sufficiently cool for a long time.
And so, I've been sleeping on this new King for two months now and coupled with some other sleeping aids such as having a cup of warm chamomile tea and relaxing the body and mind by listening to soft music or pampering myself to a whole body moisturising routine before bedtime, I'm definitely sleeping a lot better although I still dream a lot and that alone can make me totally exhausted the next day - I guess I need a sleep therapist or psychologist for this.
In the picture above, you also see a humongous black bone which is a recent acquisition from IKEA. It is a gigantic body pillow that curves in all the right places and 101% more huggable than a traditional bolster. My new pillow formation now sees me sleeping with the side of my head on one pillow, holding a second pillow over the other ear to block out any noise, supporting my chin with the COO pillow, and my legs astride over a traditional pillow (gift from my Fav Tudi and dear Rae specially airmailed to me) and the bone. It's pure heaven.
i'm a bee
I woke up this morning saying: "I'm a bee.". Remember my previous dream of being an ant? I wonder if these dreams mean I'm always busy working working working for the community??? Or that I am a hard worker?
weird random faces of me
Left: Applying used chilled chamomile tea bags onto my puffy goldfish eyes first thing on a Saturday morning. It really works; the swelling reduced by half after just 20min.
Right: Looking grumpy all decked out in my funky communist attire buried in a massive second hand bookstore. Highlight of the night was I got to study this book published in the 1970s on the 20 tips to enhance your sex life complete with naked couples in totally uncreative sexual positions.
reel anime 2010
Image taken from the Reel Anime 2010 official website here.
Some of Japan's newest anime are being showcased exclusively in Dendy Newtown for a very short period of time in September - Evangelion: 2.0 You Can [Not] Advance (They're also screening Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone for those who have not seen), King of Thorn, Summer Wars and Redline.
OMG OMG. Even if I can't find time to watch all, I hope I can at least catch Evangelion 1.0 and 2.0. I wonder if the audio will be in the original Japanese with English subtitles or will they all be dubbed in English... I really hope it will not be the latter as it will then sound really weird and I wouldn't have a chance to practise my newly acquired Japanese listening skills.
bleeding heart
My latest addition to the candle collection created a beautiful mess when the hot wax broke loose over the confines of the too-small glass container.
While the candle bled, I was having an informative discussion about CPR. Call me ignorant, but it came as a surprise for me to learn that the sole purpose of this physical intervention is to manually compress the chest to maintain a flow of oxygenated blood to the brain and heart, ie. it does not contribute in any way to get the heart started again; for that, you need to administer an electric shock - defibrillation to get the organ pumping again.
The conversation then flowed on to what is needed to maintain a relationship with your chosen partner for the rest of your life to enact a happily ever after fairytale.
When one's heart starts to bleed (metaphorically), is it enough to just go through the motion of fulfilling your so-called obligations hoping that in time the heart will pick up its usual rhythm to re-synchronise with your partner? I was told that performing CPR probably gives you a window of a few minutes before you lose your patient completely if no advanced life support is introduced; how long do you think you can sustain the relationship for by giving it the CPR treatment?
So many fail to realise the importance of re-injecting that spark to stimulate your partner's heart into beating for you again. The heart of a relationship is governed by emotions that are so fragile they can get blown to smithereens by a mere word of inconsequence or so strong they can withstand the worst calamities imaginable. It could be timely now for you to get a defibrillator for your dying relationship.
"Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of withering, of tarnishing." ~ Anaïs Nin
the coo pillow
I got this in the mail a few days after my birthday. It's a handmade little pilow specially sewn with love from Flyaway. I was so touched when I opened up the package. It's been such a long time since anyone made anything for me. And a pillow! I love pillows! It has been added to my collection of pillows and is now part of the multi-pillow formation set up every night before I sleep.
Can you tell that there are actually three alphabets sewn onto the white square patches of flowers against the yellow background of dragonflies? It took me a while to realise that Flyaway has added the word COO onto the cute little pillow.
She meant it as a congratulatory gift for a little promotion I got at work as well. Remember how a project I took on reached a major milestone earlier in May? I got promoted shortly after that. And yeah, my new title is called COO. No brownie points for guessing correctly what it stands for.
I only shared the good news with a very few people I was close to when I first heard it. I actually felt a bit embarrassed by the new title at first and I got so overwhelmed that I didn't quite know how to handle the new added responsibilities.
Things have stabilised a bit since but I am still terrified by the fact that now so many more people depend on me for directions everyday. I just hope I have the wisdom to make the right decisions.
everyone needs a step-up in life
As my bedroom plunged into darkness with 9 out of 11 ceiling lights blown, I had to get a ladder at least 5 steps high to access the >3m higher-than-normal ceiling to replace these extremely shortlived halogen bulbs.
It called for an emergency trip to Bunnings - a place that never fails to amaze me by the sheer size of it and what can be found there - and a mad dash around the warehouse just 10 minutes before closing time to find a suitable ladder within the pre-budgeted cost of $50. Happy with the find at $44, a slight panic then ensued when trying to squeeze the longer than expected ladder into my tiny coupé.
So yeah. It's the first ladder I've ever had in my life. The lights have been fixed and I am no longer in darkness. Hooray for ladders. When are you getting one too?
はじめまして
I signed up for a beginner Level 1A Japanese language class at the UNSW Institute of Languages a few months ago. I'm now in the fourth week of the nine week course and thoroughly enjoying it.
At the end of Level 1A, I am supposed to be able to:
- count from 0 to 90000
- talk about my nationality and occupation
- introduce myself and others at the workplace or at a party
- talk about objects and their owners
- talk about times of meetings and parties
- ask about the hours of service in stores and hotels
- ask about the prices of items in a store and make a purchase
- ask about the size, colour, and country of origin of an item
- order food and drinks at a restaurant
- be familiar with the Japanese currency
- read and write Hiragana (this must be the most difficult of all!)
I must say going for a two-hour class straight after work once every week, having to complete a tonne of homework and memorising and practising to write a whole list of hiragana characters before each lesson is very demanding for a hobby. My せんせい (teacher) かおるさん (Kaoru-san) tries to cover as much as possible to keep to the course outline on the reading, writing and speaking aspects while introducing us to the Japanese culture and social conduct at a pace manageable by all fifteen of us in her class. Her effort in making the session as interactive and dummy-proof as possible is commendable. I have definitely learnt a lot in the last three weeks and looking forward to absorbing more.
I guess I will be continuing on to Level 1B, 2, 3 and so on until the final Level 8. A trip to explore Japan next year is also in order (I hope...).
I am now tempted to continue my French studies so as not to waste whatever I've learnt in the short stint I did as an elective in Uni a decade ago... there will never be enough time for me to do everything that I wanna do...
autumn kiss
Many moons ago, I added the Autumn Kiss necklace onto my Etsy Favourites list and quickly forgot about it... until I received it in a package. Obviously there are people out there who stalk my online persona! Anyways, I love the oversized pendant that looks better than it appeared on the Etsy site and have already worn it more than a few times.
The package arrived promptly after the purchase and the delicate item was nicely wrapped in a small velvet pouch with an accompanying customised card that contained a short note handwritten by the seller Tina Tarnoff. Such nice gestures and pleasant online buying experiences which are so rare these days should be rewarded with a heartfelt thank-you message and a testimonial posted on her site.
三国杀
I was recently invited to a Chinese colleague's apartment for dinner and a game of the latest craze in China - 三国杀 - a strategy card game based on the Three Kingdom era in Chinese history - a time of heroes, warriors, strategists and legends. It was so much fun that we would have carried on playing through the night if not for the fact that I was feeling rather sick.
The only negative aspect of the game was that you really need to be able to read the chinese words on the cards to understand each card's function and to follow the game. For people like me who have not been using the language much in their daily lives, especially in the written form, you will probably find that the game goes much much slower due to the time you need to put in to try and read and understand the instructions on each card.
This session reminded me of a time when Fav Tudi, Bamboohorse, Lambchop, a few other boys and I were obssessed with the Munchkin card game. I wonder if we can organise a session on my next trip back?
21 chords and a manicure
I went for my first guitar class in late November 2009. After deducting all the times I missed my class due to the month long break I took to spend CNY back home, a number of weekends I fell sick, another few that I went away on road trips and overseas trips and such, I would say I've been learning the guitar for about six months.
I can now strum a few simple three or four chord songs: Stand By Me, Every Breath You Take, Birthday song; pick a few simple songs: 月亮代表我的心, House of the Rising Sun, Unchained Melody, Flightless Bird, American Mouth, intro to 爱我别走 and part of the intro to Nothing Else Matters.
There are still a lot of songs I hope to learn but my teacher always say "Don't rush into learning too many songs at once. Keep focusing on the basic fundamentals and you'll never go wrong.".
And so my homework for weeks now has been to play the chromatic scale up and down at a speed of 100bpm and to learn the first set of 21 chords such that I can play all of them fluently and can string any number of random chords together to compose any song of my wish: the C, D, E, F, G, A, B major chords, minor chords and seventh chords. This is tough. I am having the most difficulty with all the B and F chords and the Cm chord. The positionings of the fingers are just impossible!
I also got to go through a fifteen minute session on 'How to trim and file your nails to enhance your guitar playing' and was tasked to go buy a girlie nail file and buffer set to start practising. To think I have been so proud all my life to proclaim "Nah! I don't ever do manicures. It's too girlie!", I'm actually starting to really get into it religiously for the love of playing the guitar.
that smile
Someone picked up on the photos posted in two separate entries: one posted in February 2009 on my growing up years and another posted just a month ago on my Sydney Showboat experience, and commented that the smile on my face since I was a little girl of five until I hit the big three-o has not changed.
I hadn't noticed it myself! Do you agree?
always the wrong answer
Remember my fiasco with the dumb CSOs from the local Singapore Airlines call centre? I had the luxury of having to deal with them again in recent days to make some flight changes for a loved one who had to fly at extremely short notice for a family emergency.
After making sure the fare purchased allowed for itinerary changes, I called up the Sydney office to request for changes to a return flight. I was first told "No, we can't do it for you. I'm afraid you'll have to call the XXX office.". Wrong answer. A call was made to the XXX office prior which didn't yield us our desired outcome.
Not understanding why it wasn't possible as the booking was ticketed in Sydney and refusing to be bounced to and from the various SQ offices, I pursued by asking if it was possible for me to change the booking online, fully knowing I couldn't because I just tried - possibly because the departure time for the return flight was less than 24 hours ahead.
After being put on hold for a minute, I was told yes I could do that if I wished. Wrong answer again. I persisted, "In that case, I don't understand why you can't just change it on your end right now? Both the passenger and myself have no access to the internet and the flight is tomorrow so we don't have time to waste waiting around.".
Another minute of listening to the on-hold music while the CSO 'checked with his colleagues' later, it became suddenly miraculously possible for him to change the flights with no hassle at all. The actual change took less than 5.278 seconds.
One more thing I picked up on was that they were at most times extremely sticky about callers requesting for any booking changes on behalf of someone else due to security and privacy policies and often went about the verification checks quite thoroughly. This time, they did not even attempt to verify that I indeed knew the passenger and was authorised to make the requested changes.
Why the inconsistency in responses and processes? Surely they must have gone through formal training and taught to be very familiar with the fare rules and policies? I can understand the limitations of flight and seat availability but never when I'm told something is impossible without a proper explanation.
If that particular CSO had made the requested change right from the beginning, it would have saved us both that few precious minutes of time wasted and enabled him to attend to maybe 20 more callers with similar requests who were probably in the call queue listening to that irritating on-hold music right then.
never a fairy tale
As I lay in bed sick on a perfectly sunny Sunday, I entertain myself with such silly clips.
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