evelyn

*1149 - s;oce pf nread

2012-02-11T22:07:00.002-05:00

My right hand misaligned on the keyboard and I typed "s;oce pf nread" into google images.

And guess what popped up?

Slices of bread!!!

OMG how did they know??

*1148 - internet problems

2012-02-07T00:21:00.002-05:00

Not knowing your city and state is pretty embarrassing when the IT support on the phone helping you connect to the internet at your hotel asks you for it. "Uhhhhh I'm somewhere in Arkansas ..." Scrambled wildly for a hotel address on a piece of paper somewhere in the room to no avail. Oh well, what matters is that I am finally connected to the internet!

Living out of a hotel room for the next few days. It's almost midnight and I am de-greased from the flights but I still have work to finish up. Which begs the question of why I am here blogging, but three minutes? What difference will that make ;)

*1147 - bisou

2012-02-05T23:15:00.008-05:00

Bottomless mimosas at Bisou French Bistro.

These were the culprits that caused us our midday hangover. Still, that little morning buzz was quite worth it. And how can I resist a restaurant called Bisou?? Absolutely trendy place in the middle of the Castro district. And it was very much more Castro-like than the other time we had brunch in the Castro. Today we saw, on two independent occasions, while gazing out of the window over brunch, two stark naked men walking casually down the street--one with hat on and tote slung across shoulder, and the other with a little ... black ... sock thing with tassels decorating his package. It is apparently not illegal to be nude in San Francisco if it is not lewd.

Anyways.

Eggs benedict is my go to for brunch. Besides the fact that I love poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, knowing that I am not often able to whip up eggs benedict for myself makes it all the more special. Same reasoning for why I never (rarely) order chicken at a restaurant--I cook it for myself all the time.

Now look at these. One's crab and one's scallop. I usually love crab but today's paled in comparison to the scallop. Not that it was bad, but the scallops were so good!!

The glorious moment of cracking open a poached egg. I can never quite bear to do this but each bite deserves at least a dab of ooey gooey yolk.

Spotted some art in my glass of water, and bisous above us.
u.]kj,-------

^And this was Poka's fault #1

After a blue bottle coffee (DELICIOUS, a must try) and more discreet gawking at naked men on the streets, we went up to the twin peaks for a most glorious view of the city. Mister Bird agrees.

It was like googlemaps come alive! If you squint really hard in the middle upper portion of the photo you will see our apartment. We will be back with a picnic \\\\\\\\\\\\\8

^ And this was Poka walking over my laptop and settling down for a nap, thus ending this post.

*1146 - poka; the playful one

2012-01-28T23:34:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone,

My name is Poka (from Pocahontas). I'm EV and D's latest addition to the family. I was really scared of my new world when they first adopted me last weekend and so ate my food while half under the bed and half outside.

Now a week later, I've finished exploring their little apartment and I don't hide under the bed anymore. Look, I've even made friends with Frisque.

I love playing with my new toys, especially the one that flies like a bird. I can jump ridiculously high to catch it. Because I'm a quick-moving Russian Blue, it's hard to capture that on camera at night--I'm just a little grey blur.

Did you know, we kitty cats sleep up to 16 hours a day? I like to curl up next to EV and D when they are on the couch and snuggle in EV's lap at night. I know I am intensely cute when I am asleep. Look:

Mrreeaoww.

*1145 - guacamole

2012-01-22T12:36:00.004-05:00

Now that we are on the topic of food that I have recently made (as it often is), here is my guacamole, tweaked over time and made just the way I like it.

A third of a red onion, diced
A few cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 roma tomatoes
A handful of chopped cilantro (fresh)
A sprig of chopped green onion
1 Hass avocado, cubed
Juice from half a lime
Cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper

What I do that is sacrilegious to guacamole but I do because I hate the smell of raw onion and garlic is to saute the onion and garlic lightly until half-cooked. Let cool and mix with all other ingredients. The cumin here is the secret ingredient that gives the guacamole a bit of an adult-tasting kick, and I do add more tomatoes than normal as I find it gives the guacamole a nice freshness. Everything is a vague estimation and sometimes I add more of this or more of that if I feel like it.

*1144 - breakfast in a cup

2012-01-21T20:00:00.006-05:00

So I don't forget how I made this:

Wrap a half-cooked bacon strip around the edge of a muffin pan cup. Push cubed bread in the base, drizzled with maple syrup, splashed with milk, patted with butter. Then, top with a piece of cheese (I think I used provolone). Crack an egg over. Sea salt, cracked black pepper, and rosemary to taste. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Important to have the bacon already half-cooked (but still soft so you can shape it) so that your egg doesn't overcook.

Individual baked eggs. Breakfast in a cup. Though you probably need to have two, or three.

*1143 - frisque

2012-01-21T15:24:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone,

My name is Frisque. It's pronounced "Freesk". I'm Evelyn's special froggie mug that she uses for coffee at home.

*1142 - bloobry doobry

2012-01-18T00:36:00.003-05:00

Guess who I dragged kicking and screaming (almost) to the slopes this long weekend?

And guess who "shredded the slopes" and wants to go back?

Yup. 'Twas Doobry.

I skied for the first time ever (pretty fun) and snowboarded for the first time in ... two years? Three? (Major fun) And today I am limping with a pulled groin muscle and covered with bruises, but so so pleased! Snowboarding is one of those unnatural physical activities with a steep and painful learning curve and hence so addictively fulfilling.

Plus, Lake Tahoe is beeeaautiful. Not too bummed that I never had my camera on me at the right moment (why, imagine that!) because I know we are going to be back!

*1141 - ev's homemade focaccia

2012-01-13T01:54:00.003-05:00

I luvluvluvluvluv my focaccia bread. It's probably one of the yummiest things I've ever produced with my own 2 hands.

Delicious, savory, scrumptious, delectable, and downright titillating...it makes you wanna slap your mamma!

(Starring Guest Blogger D putting on the persona of EV. I bet you couldn't tell!)

*1140 - me

2012-01-10T03:21:00.003-05:00

I am an introvert, which means that I make selective connections and put myself in certain social situations but not others and choose a lifestyle where I have just a handful of very solid bonds with the people who matter to me. (Clarification: it doesn't mean that we are necessarily socially awkward or shy (which I am, teehee)--it is a matter of where energy is derived, inside or out.)

Yet I often live vicariously by means of words or pictures through the lives of girls who are skinny and beautiful and popular and decked out with pretty shoes / clothes / friends, who are the life of the party and whom everyone wants to be around, and especially those who are intelligent and witty and articulate on top of all that ... and while I know that is not me and I know that I don't really desire to be something other than who I am, I wonder sometimes why it cannot be me and what I am missing and why I have to be missing those little things. Don't you wonder too?

*1139 - winter

2012-01-07T17:29:00.003-05:00

Today, it is 61 degrees and we are headed out in a t-shirt (for him) and shorts (for me, albeit with a pair of thin tights). What are all those people complaining about the weather in SF for? They obviously have not experienced winter on the East Coast. It's balmy and I'm appreciating winter in San Francisco very much.

*1138 - ramblings about osha

2012-01-07T17:17:00.004-05:00

There are two Thai restaurants right where we live--one is fancier and is in the same building as the apartment complex, and one has embarrassing decor and service but great home-style cooking.

Guess which one this is.

It's been a while since I had last had a green papaya salad, and this one was a particularly handsome one. OSHA also makes the best crab fried rice ever with huge hunks of snow crab meat, which I love even though it is possibly the cheapest entree on their menu ($12 or $13). And we were once served by a lovely Thai server (they almost always are Thai, which can only mean good things for the restaurant, I think) whom I thought was a lady but whom the boys were convinced was a man.

*1137 - candy cane, christmas tree, and an angel by the pool with a trumpet

2012-01-04T00:38:00.006-05:00

Perhaps our most magnificent sparkler photographs yet! If you look hard enough, you'll see that the angel's feet look remarkably like Maddy's.

See? Quarter-way to grannyhood and still dancing.

*1136 - happy new year!

2012-01-01T13:01:00.002-05:00

As everyone in the blogging world churns out witty / touching / inspiring posts about the new year and what it has in store for them, their families, their friends, humankind, I shall instead divulge a most embarrassing secret as I sit huddled in bed listening to the washer rumble in the next room (see? Productivity! This bodes well!):

I downloaded the Sims on my iPad two days ago and have not since been able to stop planting onions, making the little Sims do the WooHoo, and baking croissants.

I'm so behind the times, I know.

Well. It being 2012 makes no difference to me (although the midnight champagne and kisses were very cute) because we live moment by moment and breath by breath (which is the way I regard every milestone) but every occasion is a reminder to celebrate life and love and a reminder that blessings are in store whether it is 2011, 2012, or decades down the road. I'm celebrating this very moment, right now, and it just happens to be the first day of 2012.

Cheers!

*1135 - down south

2011-12-31T00:24:00.002-05:00

Yet another hallmark Christmas has passed, and retailers are trying to stretch their holiday earnings with massive post-christmas sales. (Which have resulted in two pretty pairs of boots for me ho ho ho.) It is fascinating to watch how retailers have shaped every major holiday into what they have become today. But still. Christmas is always a lovely time to me--remembering amidst the jolly Santas and red-nosed reindeer that it still is to me a reminder that Christ was born to us and albeit the commercialization of the holiday, the impetus we get from it to put such careful thought and warm fuzzies into giving meaningful gifts for people who matter really is quite touching!

The new year will be here in less than a day and the new year ahead looks so incredibly wonderful that I am all a jitter and can barely wait. No one specific reason, just many reasons, big and small, to thank God for. Always!

Merry Christmas and a blessed 2012!

*1134 - airport again

2011-12-23T08:01:00.001-05:00

And this time, headed to VA!

I would be wildly excited except that I did get up, after an unsatisfactory nap, at 3 am, to make it to the airport by 4.30 am. Well, you gotta do what you gotta do.

The past week has been a whirlwind of activity, sans D no less, but with a visiting Maddy. Who is one of those fuss-free guests, which I very much appreciate. We took a yoga class together which continues our pact (made very seriously years ago) to be dancing grannies together. No, really, it's going to happen!

So nice to share a decade-long friendship. No matter how many wonderful friends I have made in the past four years in the US, there is still nothing like having friends who grew up and got through those awkward years with you and understand you in a much deeper way just because of shared roots and a similar set of childhood experiences that is a function of growing up in the same place. This is not something I truly appreciated or maybe really understood four years ago, because it is such an intrinsic thing that you dont even realise. If you grow up with PSLE and Junction 8 before it became all fancy and Casuarina prata and Green Meadows and rhythmic gymnastics under a coach from China and Mrs Bala and Hokkien mee, you don't realise that there is any other way to grow up.

*1133 - by the way ...

2011-12-20T01:24:00.000-05:00

Maddy,

I beat you to blogging.

:)

- Evelyn

*1132 - sprinkles cupcakes

2011-12-17T23:32:00.003-05:00

These are the most renown cupcakes in all of LA. Sprinkles cupcakes. We tried the peanut butter chocolate cupcake and the red velvet.

My verdict? Great presentation, gorgeous cupcakes (although the sprinkle itself is not something you really want to eat). However, the cake was too dense and heavy for my liking, we had to scrape off a bunch of the overly-sweet frosting, and sharing those two cupcakes among four of us still made us feel really jelat at the end.

Hm! Maybe my expectations were too high because of the hype and celebrity endorsement. I mean, it was still a good cupcake that I would eat again if it wasn't so expensive or if someone bought it for me ;) but it was nothing very extraordinary to me.

(I'm sorry, is this blasphemous?)

*1131 - busy

2011-12-15T03:00:00.002-05:00

I have not had enough time these days to do what is necessary--clean the apartment, keep in touch with people who matter, prepare for the holidays, get my teeth cleaned, all the nitty gritties of life that beg to be done but unfortunately tend to get pushed to the side.

But! I am alive and well and happy! And that is something to be thankful for first and foremost.

*1130 - airports

2011-12-11T18:13:00.002-05:00

I must be so spoilt by being Singaporean because we have the prettiest airport and the best airline (bias? Nah) that every other airport and plane pales in comparison. "Pales" is not the right word for describing Logan airport, which I am at right now, it is about thirty times more severe than merely "paling". I feel disgusting. Ugh.

Not a fan of flying but it is worth it when your company ships you out from one coast to another for in-person team meetings and more importantly the annual holiday party. Working amidst friendly faces is such a thing I have missed the past three months that I've been in SF ... Things are so different there office-wise, but who besides myself is to blame? It is so hard to be friends with a floorful of people from companies that are not your own, but we have to try.

Being back in Boston for the past four, five days has been so lovely! I never regarded it much more than a great place where I lived and worked for a year, but leaving it for a new city really makes me realise the value of familiarity and a base of awesome friends--both of which are missing from my new life in San Francisco. But don't get me wrong, I love being in SF! It is just different and an adjustment, the way every move is. It's great, really.

Finally boarding, and very much not looking forward to having to eat my dunkin donuts chicken salad sandwich but there really wasn't anything much more worth eating at the airport for purchase. Here goes!

*1129 - the family

2011-12-03T21:46:00.003-05:00

I've not had so many family pictures in such a long time--it is heartwarming, really, and I want to print them all out and stick them everywhere. It was just a short 1.5 weeks with them ... which involved a lot of childhood nostalgia, a ton of really excellent food (sis and I being such foodies and successful Yelpers), wedding dress excitements (not for me, silly), shoppingoppingopping, but mostly just simple hanging out and spending quality Chan time together (and answering funny questions like "how come D can eat rice with a fork ah??").

A few people pictures today!

Us at Disneyland (yes, Disneyland)!

This was the ride that apparently traumatized me at the age of 1+ so bad that we had to go take the "It's a Small Word" ride about three times in quick succession to calm me down.

Followed by Universal Studios. The Simpsons ride was maybe my favourite because it was just so CLEVER. Unfortunately, I am prone to motion sickness and while old-school roller coasters are perfectly fine, the 4D motion rides make me feel like hurling right away. So unfortunate :(

Donkey (in this photo) really sounded like Eddie Murphy. Haha!

We hung out in Hollywood ...

... with the stars (I was so excited because Bugs Bunny is my absolute favourite cartoon! Well, before I discovered Spongebob) ... and that was when I decided that I was about done with LA. Meh.

And then more nostalgia as we returned to the place that we used to live in CA when I was too young to remember. Nostalgia for them, and intrigue for me, I guess, to see the very playground that I used to scrabble in as a child.

A peek at the Stanford campus. We also went to the elementary school that my siblings went to and took a family photo at where my sister took her class photos back in the day.

Some farmers marketing and pumpkin picking--right up my alley.

Bought both of the below, and have eaten one since :)

April next year is going to be exciting. The Chans reunited again, and with the brother this time!

*1128 - keyboard

2011-12-03T21:32:00.000-05:00

I have replaced my keyboard all by myself and I can type once again! Hurrah!!

*1127 - san francisco sights

2011-11-27T18:48:00.004-05:00

Firstly, the middle row of letters on my keyboard are not working, so while a new keyboard is making its way to me, a temporary solution is this:

... Which sucks.

-

So. A reason why I am loving this city: it's beautiful and vibrant. See for yourself!

Graffiti or murals? Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference.

Some parts are sketchier than others, but that's where you find the life and the beauty too. The "sketchy" Mission district really grew on us and it still oddly feels homely and familiar even though we were only living there a month.

Panoramic view from the top of Coit Tower.

Lovely, no? Sometimes I can still barely believe that I was blessed with the opportunity to move to this beautiful city.

*1126 - computer

2011-11-27T00:21:00.002-05:00

Hppy Thngiving!

My ptop ey re not woring. Thi i not coo. Ugh.

*1125 - halloween

2011-11-18T01:52:00.003-05:00

Belated but I thought this had to go up first before anything else because the season's practically over and these are getting stale.

I found my hidden talent on Halloween. I think I may need to look into offering professional pumpkin carving services, specializing in cute animals.

Guess whose is whose? ;)

My second pumpkin carving attempt ever, and we were both rather shocked at my dexterity in carving a cute bunny into a pumpkin. I was particularly shocked because my first attempt a few years back was pretty lame and I would rather not resurface memories of it.

His first pumpkin carving attempt ever ... valiant effort, I suppose ;)

The innards were, of course, not discarded but made into delicious pumpkin muffins. My first time using fresh pumpkin instead of tinned pumpkin puree (just chop up and roast with cinnamon until soft) and it was surprisingly fragrant and pumpkinny. Mmmm.

Glamour shot of the pumpkin muffins, which we brought with us on a picnic (more on that later):

*1124 - chan family

2011-11-15T02:20:00.002-05:00

And here we are!

Plus a sneak peak of our cute little apartment.

Dirty bum = no sitting on our white couch, please.

So sad that they are gone already. But I will see them again in half a year and it will be glorious! When you live in a different country from your family you learn to think in years--the number sounds smaller than if you think in months, weeks, days ...

*1123 - family in SF

2011-11-14T02:04:00.003-05:00

It has been a lovely week - two weeks with the fam (that is, mum + dad + sis) visiting in SF! Exhausting and ... fattening ... but making as much use of their short stay here as possible. I'll see them again here in half a year but it still makes me feel all sad and hollow inside whenever I think about how I am so far from home.

*1122 - flat bread for brunch

2011-11-04T18:25:00.004-04:00

Brunch is perhaps my favourite meal, and sitting outdoors in tank-top-and-shorts-and-a-light-sweater weather is the best way to do it.

(Added the light sweater clause because sitting outdoors in tank-top-and-shorts-without-a-light-sweater weather could refer to the sweltering outdoor humid heat in Singapore, which I would not say is quite the best way to do it.)

My brunches usually involve poached eggs, often involve home fries, and almost always coffee. But this brunch choice was a little different:

Flat bread + pesto + feta + mozzarella + squash + zucchini + tomatoes.

I love squash and zucchini in everything I eat (okay, almost) and wish they were available in greater abundance in Singapore so that I could have discovered them earlier in my life.

*1121 - caring about food

2011-11-04T01:04:00.002-04:00

Food festival in Oakland. Promoting local businesses, locally grown foods, organic, wholesome stuff. I'm such a fan of anything food-related but even more so when there's an element of sustainability thrown in.

I think the best kinds of pizza involve ultra thin crusts and arugula.

Nothing processed or chemically altered or synthetic about this. A whole lamb being served up. What you see is what you get. Know where your food came from.

And this is what it ended up as:

And just now, two girls: from Singapore, to the East coast, and now to the West coast. An interesting observation shared between us that people here just ... care more. About food and about sustainable living. I like it.

*1120 - if you're into spiders

2011-11-01T04:26:00.002-04:00

Trees in Pakistan shrouded in spider webs after flood, with the spiders allegedly having a blast feasting on mosquitoes breeding in the stagnant waters. Spooky natural phenomenon that keeps disease at bay.

Is this for real? How has it not happened before?

*1119 - when the internet is not working

2011-11-01T04:21:00.001-04:00

Click on the red X.
Running diagnostics.
Identifying the problem.
Three possible solutions.
Repairing.
(The problem is still not resolved.
Two possible solutions.
Repairing.)
The problem has been resolved.
Close.

If only it was that simple

*1118 - curry

2011-10-27T21:13:00.004-04:00

Home-cooked curry. The recipe is simple but amazing: curry powder, tomato puree and lots of fresh tomatoes to give it that edge, sugar to counter the acidity, cloves for that special kick you can't quite place your finger on, and coconut milk for the creaminess. Add in anything you want in it (meat and veg, I mean) and simmer on low for as long as you can stand to wait.

Eggplant and okra (i.e. lady's fingers--how often does one find this in the US?!) were the highlights of this one.

This is a dish worth teaching an ang moh how to use a spoon for. It's absolutely necessary to be able to slurp up that stuff by the spoonful; forks just don't do it enough justice.

And the relevance of this post is, obviously, that it is Diwali / Deepavali. Obviously ;) Happy festival of lights!

(OKAY PARDON ME, I realise that might be a blasphemous statement because this isn't Indian curry by any means. I don't even know what sort of region of the world this originated from but I can attest to it's simple yummyness and customisability!)

*1117 - the real Peter Pan

2011-10-23T18:47:00.006-04:00

To this Tink replied in these words, "You silly ass," and disappeared into the bathroom. "She is quite a common fairy," Peter explained apologetically, "she is called Tinker Bell because she mends the pots and kettles [tinker = tin worker]." [Similar to "cinder" plus "elle" to get Cinderella]

- Chapter 3, Peter Pan, by J. M. Barrie

I watched Peter Pan, the Disney creation, and it was delightful. And then I read Peter Pan (well, skimmed through half: the beginning and the end), the original by Barrie, and it was darkly different. I much preferred it.

*1116 - spinach artichoke + poached eggs

2011-10-23T18:25:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite dips to make / eat: spinach artichoke dip. So much better than the processed bottled crap when you make it yourself with bundles upon bundles of fresh spinach!

It goes beautifully with poached eggs on toasted cracked wheat bread with fresh tomatoes and avocado slices.

Poached eggs are easier to make than you imagine--they just require a very gentle touch.

*1115 - FREE blog giveaway #2!

2011-10-22T19:47:00.004-04:00

While I don't think this will be half as exciting or be met with the same kind of enthusiasm as my Blog Giveaway #1, here is my second attempt at having some fun before I ship these off to the nearest non-profit.

It's ...

Yes, you read that right. The event of the year we've all been waiting for. EVELYN'S (EMBARRASSING) DRESS GIVEAWAY!

Faced with the problem of an exploding wardrobe, I thought it would be fun to ship a bunch of dresses off to someone who may or may not actually wear them and even if that person hates it, it's off my hands and I no longer need to fuss about how to get rid of it myself.

Rules:

1. Drop me an email at evelyn.chan.yp@gmail.com if you think you're a US Small and not extremely tall, and we'll see what happens next!

2. NO MOCKERY of any article of clothing I send over. As warned, they are likely going to be embarrassing, no designer wear or anything particularly fancy.

3. US addresses only (not enough money to be shipping embarrassing dresses across the world) ... UNLESS you promise to send something of an equally embarrassing nature back as well (but no clothing please).

4. While stocks (?) last!

Have fun :)

*1114 - yoga quote of the day

2011-10-22T19:29:00.002-04:00

I have come to a frightening conclusion.
I am the decisive element in the classroom.
It is my personal approach that creates the climate.
It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous.
I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.
I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis
will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or de-humanized

- Haim Ginott

Remove all the "teacher" or "child" references and apply it to your life. While we are not in control of situations, we are in control of our actions, and that is to a scary extent what makes our world miserable or joyous. Make a choice and choose love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (wow, having Galatians 5:22 hanging on your childhood bathroom wall that you stared at everyday as you pooped has ingrained the fruit of the Spirit deeply in my mind). It can be hard but this is one thing I have to learn. Swallow my pride or impatience or grumpiness and choose to smile instead, and it could avert an unnecessarily petty quarrel or a heavy mood that evening. Yes? :)

*1113 - panta rei

2011-10-19T00:43:00.011-04:00

This was when we were living in our old apartment a little further down from where we are now. We stepped out of the apartment to the bus stop and traversed through what felt like a part of Mexico. Rolled along and then suddenly turned into a ridiculously narrow road (the kind where if you are so lucky as to be crawling along looking for a parking spot, you might hold up five blocks worth of honking vehicles as you try your best to parallel park brilliantly in a spot that you only come across after circling ten times on your very first try, which doesn't usually happen under stress like that) and then, we were in China. We hop off and walk through China with eyes wide, round the corner, and suddenly we were back in San Francisco. Blink. One thing rolled into another so abruptly, it was as if we had crossed invisible borders to different parts of the world in just 10 minutes.

And then we settled into an Italian restaurant, Panta Rei, for some really amazing pasta. Really. Amazing. Really.

Duck with homemade spinach fettuccine in brandy tomato cream sauce. Tasted heavenly but actually looked kind of gross in the photo (my excuse: I only had nerve for one shot per dish because this was the type of restaurant where you feel judged if you whip out your camera), so none this time.

And then all sorts of shellfish with homemade squid ink linguine and a white wine sauce. WOW. (Evidently shot blurrily and hastily from somewhere near my lap.)

And it made for good leftovers too--a teeny bite in a little saucer the next day!

You can really tell when you eat fresh homemade pasta ... the texture is just so different and the flavour is fuller. But after the two or three times I have attempted this in my life, sans mechanical pasta rolling machine a la Statler kitchens that could roll your hand into a sheet of pasta in an instant if you weren't careful, I have since concluded that no matter how good it tastes, the hours of pain that go into hand-making pasta with a rolling pin and a knife are just too much to go through for a mere treat for myself. Or anyone, for that matter. (Sorry.) Some day: a pasta machine. Mmmm.

*1112 - too much

2011-10-18T03:24:00.002-04:00

There's some sort of desperation in the act of rushing to Google "ways to maximise closet space" when you look at the bursting walk-in closet and dresser drawers that cannot close while knowing that there are still two boxes yet unpacked.

No, I didn't find a clever solution. I'll let you know when I do.

*1111 - i wonder

2011-10-18T02:48:00.001-04:00

How is it that it used to be so much easier to acclimatise when I was younger?

*1110 - of Singaporeans

2011-10-18T02:22:00.002-04:00

"Culinarily, they are among the most homesick people I have ever met."
- Calvin Trillin (America food writer)
I can't say I disagree.

*1109 - tourists

2011-10-14T22:57:00.010-04:00

The day Erin came to visit gave us all (Erin, EV, and D) a lovely chance to be the touristy tourists we were dying to be! Our trip out to Pier 39 was as typically touristy as you can imagine it to be. A walk by the water's edge. Peering out over the water at docked boats, sailing cruises, Alcatraz, the bridges. Having steamy clam chowder and crab sandwiches on a wooden bench. Seeing / smelling / hearing the sea lions bake in the sun. And after, a tram & BART ride back and then chilling over coffee in the sun, catching up with an old friend. Perfect.

Picture by Erin, of us by the wharf
(I think D is going to complain but I will leave this up until he does)

Do sea lions and seagulls have some sort of symbiotic relationship or are they just friends?

Moving from the city of clam chowdah to clam chowder in bread bowls over here :) With a disgusting (as in, yummy) deep fried (ew?!?! Yum?!?!! My brain cannot decide) crabby sandwich sitting by my bum.

The lovely carousel, and carousels always warrant some sort of old-school photo editing ...

And of course we had to go for a ride on it!

If you are ever at the Fisherman's Wharf, you have to do the crazy mirror maze that's somewhere above the Lefty shop. It was weird seeing 8 D's and 5 Erin's and 4 me's at one time switching rapidly between blues and purples and greens, and your brain really does get confused about what is reality and what is just a reflection. Reminded me of a day at the Singapore Science Centre when I was younger where they had cool exhibits like this ...

Oddly enough, we haven't done anything much more touristy than that and the bay cruise and I guess the amusement park we almost pooped our pants at last weekend (neither too brave when it comes to scary rides but determined enough to challenge ourselves--more on that another time). Our weekends have been filled with (1) eating amazingly good food or (2) moving-related pains, mostly a combination of both. The pain of moving is fast becoming a distant memory because if I think about it too much, my muscles go a-tremble instinctively and brain tries to bleep over it quickly.

Our new apartment is amazingly perfect and so much more than we could ask for. It's now feeling strangely empty because D has left and will be at home for more than a week. But some alone time is always good and I'm going to unpack my 23896512 boxes/suitcases that are still lying around and marring the look of the apartment. Some of our furniture is still waiting to be assembled so no sneak peaks yet!

*1108 - swedish meatballs with lingonberry preserves

2011-10-14T02:21:00.003-04:00

This photograph represents roughly 80% of all the reasons why one should go to IKEA.

(The other 20% being cheap self-assembled furniture)

(D reckons that percentage is closer to 81%)

*1107 - facebook stats

2011-10-05T17:48:00.003-04:00

Some interesting Facebook user stats, which, among other nuggets, reveal that Singapore leads the pack in Facebook addiction.

Social networking traffic in the US:
In first place: 91% of all visits were to Facebook
In second place: 2% of all visits were to Twitter

Wow.

*1106 - on foot

2011-10-03T21:19:00.002-04:00

Today, I left work mid-day to receive 15 pieces of furniture, make a salad, and bring leftover pizza in for lunch, and returned within ... half an hour. On foot.

Being able to walk to work in three minutes = the closest I've come to living the high life.

*1105 - consumer-driven

2011-09-30T02:31:00.004-04:00

This is it: retail giants make the ethical choices they make not (just) because they believe in it; it happens when the customer makes those choices for himself. They aren't going to stock their shelves with organic yogurt and locally grown produce and grass-fed beef for the sole purpose of standing behind what they believe in; they make these choices because the customer himself makes a personal choice, demands the product, and contributes to the profit.

It's up to us to make change happen. Visit a farmer's market today, pick your own peaches, grow a basil plant on your kitchen ledge, spend that extra hour indulging in a home-cooked dinner instead of heating up a microwaveable one, know where your food comes from, choose organic and local and from-scratch rather than processed when you can and if your pocket allows.

Preachy EV! But still, give it a shot with me :)

*1104 - make out room

2011-09-26T11:45:00.005-04:00

Seriously? "Make Out Room" in purple and silver sparklies? Love it. (No, I did not venture in. I know I should've. Darn.)

*1103 - eye contact

2011-09-26T11:30:00.003-04:00

How can one think it was a good idea to build the toilets of two adjacent apartments facing each other via an enormous window, such that if you leave the window cracked by accident you may by accident gaze into the eyes of a topless man hurrying by or an enraged woman who then slams their window shut as you yourself sit on the potty? THEY HAVE SEEN ME SITTING ON THE POTTY. Imagine that!

OMG THE DUDE JUST OPENED HIS LIVING ROOM BLINDS AND IS GAZING AT ME THROUGH THEM RIGHT NOW. It's like he knew I was thinking about him. Obviously we have made eye contact about three times and he has since closed the blinds in a hurry--no morning sunlight for him today, whoops. Why does our bathroom open up to theirs and our kitchen look into their living room? What sort of awkward building design is this?

HAHA.

The potty scene has happened at least five times to both D and I (the window needs to be cracked at least sometimes for bathroom ventilation, it's only healthy, yes?)--we conclude that our neighbours hate us and we swiftly but silently scuttle past their door whenever we leave the building to avoid any form of contact.

Thank goodness we're escaping in a week to our ... New Apartment. Yes, it's finally happening and I cannot wait!! :)

*1102 - dork dream

2011-09-26T11:13:00.003-04:00

I dreamt that every 100th and over visitor to my blog gets entered automatically into daily sweepstakes and giveaways, not sponsored by me.

If that were true, I would be visiting this space very much more, ha!

I love having dorky dreams on a daily basis, unless they involve Excel spreadsheets, which happens far more often that I would like it to happen.

*1101 - ouch.

2011-09-25T23:49:00.005-04:00

No more dance majors at Cornell

It makes me really sad to think of the brilliant staff I have worked so closely with, who changed my mind and hence my life, who are no longer able to share their knowledge and passion with students who need it.

"Only staff"? Really?

*1100 - the Magnolia cupcakes got stale.

2011-09-25T17:48:00.002-04:00

Time for some French toast and peaches instead.

*1099 - snackity snack

2011-09-24T22:04:00.002-04:00

Nutella on toast, at all times of the day.

*1098 - three-week evaluation

2011-09-23T23:27:00.004-04:00

Yes, Cornell's great and Ithaca's gorge(ou)s with its rolling cornfields and autumn colours and rushing waterfalls and gatherings of hipsters and the farmers' market and WEGMANS and all that but after three years of living in the (beautiful, no doubt) boonies and I am feeling just so ... relieved? Comfortable? In my own skin? ... back in the heart of a bustling city with all the above in the close vicinity and much, much more. And yes, Boston was great but I think San Francisco suits me so much better. It's only been three weeks but I think I am going to like it here, very much.

*1097 - mish mash of foodie shots

2011-09-23T22:40:00.010-04:00

This was our first meal in San Francisco, at a wee little restaurant just across the road, because we were sleepless, exhausted, and could walk no further than five steps to food, and it was endorsed by Yelpers, so ...

Poc Chuc, Latin American / Mayan cuisine. It was delish and I love Yelp. I really do.

And then weeks (A week? Days? The next weekend? Oh wait, we've only been here three weeks? How can that be possible? Really?) later, after we had stuffed ourselves with aforementioned brunch buffet and champagne on a cruise, we scavenged through our teeny little fridge and pulled together just enough ingredients to make (from scratch, of course) birthday burgers!

My deconstructed bun-less burger because I wanted more but didn't have space for a whole other burger and eating two whole burgers sounds so gross but having a whole burger and then a fake deconstructed bun-less burger that is almost a salad is not too bad.

I don't follow a recipe or measure anything but this is what it was, vaguely, and it can never go terribly wrong! For the patties: ground beef (80%, you can't go too lean or it won't be juicy), minced garlic, minced onion, minced cilantro optional, salt, pepper, handful of breadcrumbs, an egg to hold it together. I didn't even have my herbs with me (they're still in boxes) but a splash of everything that smells good would work. Squish with bare hands and cook thoroughly in a pan. (As much as I love rare meat and raw anything, ground beef is the most bacteria-laden of all, so it should always be well-done. So says the Hotelie. Trust me.) And for the burgers: toasted buns with melted cheese, chipotle ranch, squirt of ketchup, thick slices of roma tomatoes, spinach, avocado slices, and our favourite--a few twists of bacon.

I just typed all that out so that D will read this, get hungry, and make burgers for me the next time round.

;)

And maybe one more set of photos while I'm on a roll ... another one of those indulgent breakfasts. French toast again because it's so easy to make, topped with nutella and caramelized bananas (this is a combination that can NEVER go wrong), and an indulgent drizzle of maple syrup.

It is clear to me that I need to do more exercise apart from the very occasional yoga session and my long, slow walks while carrying weights whenever I end work early (that is, shopping in the city while dragging my laptop bag about).

*1096 - quote of the day from yoga class

2011-09-22T21:08:00.000-04:00

No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
– Samuel Beckett

*1095 - something to learn from

2011-09-21T23:38:00.002-04:00

Oh so cliched, but when this passed through my inbox was an astonishing coincidence in the light of what's been happening too recently ...

Learning to unlearn.

*1094 - wise words from D

2011-09-17T23:41:00.003-04:00

Omgosh it's been so long since this blog has been updated...aiyoh-yoh!

Here are some pictures of San Francisco, taken whilst traversing the bay on a fabulous champagne brunch-birthday extravaganza:

D's first blog post, 20:47, September 17, 2011

-

And EV interjects to add this photo which D failed to select as worthy, because it was one taken by accident but turned out to be kind of dreamy and cool too:

*1093 - mooncakes please

2011-09-12T10:04:00.001-04:00

中秋节快乐!

*1092 - induction

2011-09-11T12:50:00.002-04:00

In an induction cooker, a coil of copper wire is placed underneath the cooking pot. An alternating electric current flows through the coil, which produces an oscillating magnetic field. This field induces an electric current in the pot. Current flowing in the metal pot produces resistive heating which heats the food.

I need to get me some cast iron (ok maybe not, I can barely lift the ones we have back home) or magnetic stainless steel pots/pans!

*1091 - two breakfasts

2011-09-11T11:42:00.003-04:00

My breakfasts are nicer and prettier and probably yummier when there's someone to eat them along with me. As are all my other home-cooked meals. Here are two of them:

Multi-grain french toast with stewed peaches, butter, organic maple syrup, and mimosas ;)

A simple omelette--tomatoes, onions, and provolone with a few slices of fresh avocado.

*1090 - L'Espalier

2011-09-09T16:07:00.005-04:00

Definitely the fanciest meal we've ever had together--at L'Espalier in Back Bay, Boston. Highly recommended if you are trying to impress, and highly recommended not to wear a casual summer dress and flats / polo tee, as we were decked out in ... no matter though, we were still treated like royalty.

Worthy of a picture alone: the BUTTER. I wish I could serve myself fresh whipped butter in perfect dollops on a little square porcelain plate every morning.

My appetizer: heirloom tomato salad, chevre panna cotta (savory! nice surprise), and a balsamic reduction

His appetizer: chilled melon soup with shrimp and a dollop of ... foam (obviously, I was not paying too much attention to his selection because I was too thrilled about my tomatoes)

My main course: salmon, polenta, ratatouille, and flower petals that I nibbled on

His main course: roasted pork loin, sweet corn muffin/pudding, red pepper puree

Our dessert #1: strawberry mousse, lychee foam, olive oil and raspberry balsamic vinaigrette (not sure about the foam, and foam in general, on the few occasions I've had foam in my food ...)

Our dessert #2: we preferred this one--mango sachertorte, mango "fluid gel" to quote the menu if I recall correctly, amaretto cream, and some amazing pebbly stuff that looked innocuously like graham cracker crumbs but tasted like heaven

And this was another one of our Boston Restaurant Week meals :) Great opportunity, if you are discerning and pick your restaurants right, for us mere mortals to taste some of the more exquisite stuff we don't often get to taste!

*1089 - What have you been saying about your situation?

2011-09-09T13:05:00.003-04:00

When you feel the pain in your body, don’t say of the Lord, “God wants me sick to teach me to trust Him more.” Instead, say, “Lord Jesus, I thank You that by Your stripes I am healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

While trying to make ends meet, don’t say of the Lord, “The Lord keeps me poor to keep me humble.” Instead, say, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)

And if you have an intimidating boss at work, don’t say, “The Lord is my patience, I will endure.” Instead, say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)

- Pastor Price

Be positive, trustful, unfearful, and we'll reign over our situations.

:) Little snippet of the morning!

*1088 - and here we are

2011-09-05T01:53:00.003-04:00

In San Francisco!!

Our first homecooked meal: spaghetti in vodka sauce.

Guess which plate was the Asian's and which plate was the ang moh's.

Tired but very, very happy :)

*1087 - 3 am

2011-09-01T22:15:00.003-04:00

Tonight's the night. I'm sitting crouched on the floor with what remains to be squished into my suitcases sitting in little piles around me. The butterflies only began today--nervous, but in a good way!! Big Move of my life #3.

*1086 - bloobry

2011-08-29T22:17:00.002-04:00

Oh looky, it's my tiger friend again, this time with a yellow pail around his neck, hunting hungrily and savagely for the ripest bloobries.

And looky, it's his friend EV, also with a yellow pail around her neck, frolicking wildly through the bloobry shrubs.

*1085 - cape cod

2011-08-28T13:56:00.002-04:00

Third time at the Cape, but first time staying at a beach house.

What is a trip to Cape Cod without lobster rolls?

And what is a trip to Cape Cod without a slew of pictures of kids leaping off rocks/benches/etc with the sunset in the backround?

(Yes, you saw that right, that's a tiger right next to me)

*1084 - adele 21

2011-08-28T12:15:00.002-04:00

By the way, Adele has some pretty awesome songs beyond Rolling In The Deep and Rumour Has It.

Also, if you like down-tempo electronic jazz, kind of Koop Island-ish, try Bitter:Sweet.

*1083 - EV on a ferry

2011-08-28T11:46:00.002-04:00

My M-Day #2! i.e. a day of fun where a group of highly competitive market researchers abandon their work for a day and take over Georges Island, Survivor-style.

*1082 - overeating

2011-08-25T23:57:00.004-04:00

Boston restaurant week + friends visiting + EV/others leaving = a lot of good food, because that's how one best celebrates an occasion.

Thursday: Dinner with visiting Y (Shanghainese long beans and sizzling black pepper beef mm)
Friday: "Gourmet" pizza with D
Saturday: A day of foodie goodness with visiting J--lobster eggs benedict and two types of french toast for brunch, homemade peach, raspberry, and blueberry crisp, saag paneer + lamb curry for dinner at our fav Indian restaurant
Sunday: Continuation of the previous day's foodiness with a 3-course Boston restaurant week meal at the Union Oyster House, then a party at S's with homecooked amazingness and tupperwares filled with leftovers for all of us
Tuesday: Farewell lunch #1 at a seafood restaurant--scallop risotto
Wednesday: Using up a groupon on pizza fries (doesn't that just sound terrible) and enormous subs--half each filled us up!
Today, Thursday: Farewell dinner #2 that is a 4-course Boston restaurant week meal at the Elephant Walk--French-Asian fusion--along with a very sweet gift that reminded me of how I was so blessed to be on such an amazing team when I first started on my very first job ... and I can hardly imagine any sort of project team coming close to the very special team that we were. I am gushing, but that is how I feel :)
Tomorrow, Friday: Farewell lunch #3 at a Mexican restaurant, Farewell dinner #4 at a Thai place (this means I will have three meals in a row with some people)
Saturday: Another 3-course Boston restaurant week meal at L'Espalier
Sunday: Should be used to recuperate if I am wise enough
Monday: Farewell lunch #5 which is looking to involve epic calzones the length of my arm and the thickness of my ... thigh

And I dare not think beyond that.

Then we fast forward to Friday morning, just about a week from now, 2 am and we hail a cab, 5 am and we will be on a plane together, sailing from this coast to that coast ...

... which sounds like a dream, but think about the fact that we would likely not have slept at all, be struggling with at least 150 pounds of luggage each, and be thoroughly exhausted from the previous week of packing and shipping and carrying and rushing while trying to work in between the flurry plus the handicap of having sent both our cars off and being furnitureless (for me, at least--everything will be gone, including my mattress along with my car, oh dear) BUT!

But! It still sounds like a dream to me, yes, very much, and I know that it will be amazing.

*1081 - this explains everything

2011-08-23T20:40:00.002-04:00

龙虎斗

Now we know why we quibble!

*1080 - fatigue

2011-08-22T18:44:00.000-04:00

Do you suffer from decision fatigue?

Yes, sir.

*1079 - view of Boston

2011-08-21T11:07:00.003-04:00

Perhaps the most definably "romantic" evening that he's whisked me off to, and though we giggled about that and thought it was all awfully cute, it actually was really lovely, really beautiful.

*1078 - August 16

2011-08-17T20:50:00.001-04:00

Yesterday: my one year anniversary as an out of college, working lady.

I made it!

*1077 - downfall

2011-08-15T22:37:00.002-04:00

I think the one final attribute that swings me from online window shopping to being an actual purchaser, after all the other basic variables like style, price, quality, etc., is FREE SHIPPING. It ups the value of all the items disproportionately in my mind. Even though I know that, I cannot help myself.

*1076 - my education

2011-08-15T20:38:00.004-04:00

Observe the differences, comparing two girls who only diverged educationally in college.

Based on difficulty per unit of developed brain cells,

My opinion: 'A' levels slightly > 'O' levels >> PSLE > College
Her opinion: College > 'O' levels slightly > 'A' levels >> PSLE

(For the uninitiated ...
PSLE = 6th grade
'O' levels = about 15 years old
'A' levels = about 17 years old)

What's your equation?

*1075 - why latte love

2011-08-14T21:23:00.003-04:00

By the way, the whole "latte love" thing was not very carefully pondered upon--back five, six (?!) years ago when I had to pick a name for this blog, I looked around me for inspiration and saw that my lip gloss (yes, back when it was still cool to have shiny and wet-looking lips) flavour was "latte love" and, behold, that became the name of my blog.

That was even before I really, really got into the whole coffee thing (it worked, though, because lattes were certainly my favourite back then and still are for the most part).

Too bad there is no better story than that ... truly unoriginal, really!!

*1074 - I have always had a thing for ducks.

2011-08-14T19:38:00.006-04:00

Boston Commons, at the start of August.
A little walk after a delightful salmon eggs benedict.
Mmm.

*1073 - worlds

2011-08-14T19:30:00.002-04:00

Have you ever had the fortune of meeting someone who was essentially the same person as you were, at the very core, and even though you grew up worlds apart which made you into two very different people on the outside, you still marvel at the amazingness that is a telepathic ability (okay, maybe the right phrase might be: wordless empathy and a complete understanding, not just because you understand, which you do, but more because you have also been there and felt those same emotions and thought those same thoughts) between the two of you?

I am happy to say that yes, I have.

*1072 - tau pok

2011-08-13T11:05:00.001-04:00

Teaching D the concept of "tau pok" (because I made dinner that included the actual tau pok), that is, the verb and not the noun, might not have been the wisest idea ...

*1071 - the sun

2011-08-11T19:44:00.001-04:00

Friends, EV's okay. God answers prayers :)

*1070 - the rain

2011-08-10T02:48:00.005-04:00

God blessed me with Mummy and Daddy, who understand without me having to say it out loud, who want more than anything to help and for me to be happy, who always wish they could be here by my side,

and now I don't know if I am crying because of what happened or because I want so much, so so much, to just be home.

*1069 - 46 years old

2011-08-09T07:59:00.001-04:00

Happy birthday, Singapore :)

*1068 - sieve

2011-08-08T21:11:00.003-04:00

Bitterly disappointed and feeling very helpless. I want to go home.

*1067 - can you please have a baby already?!

2011-08-07T19:10:00.004-04:00

Can someone please tell me if talking Gina will EVER have a baby giraffe?? I've been checking her every morning to see if I got a free lemonade or strawberry but I can never get her to 100% happiness, even with a good belly rub. If I don't succeed within the next week, I am deleting that silly app off my iPad forever. I only downloaded her because I couldn't believe that she was topping all the charts (I still don't believe it). UGH.

*1066 - from the last night in singapore

2011-08-07T18:46:00.003-04:00

Party atop EV's roof the old school way--with sparklers, the balloon thingies that you blow out from a straw and "TOK" with your mouth (what in the world are these called??), and iced gems to munch on. Essentials of a Singaporean childhood.

Who knew that Tubs was so artistically inclined? But what a lovely rose!

"Hey guys, let's think of a five-letter word we can all spell out together." "Boobs?" "Okay!"

Followed aptly by ... SHIOK. Noone understands why Justin's S was so tiny.

Could it be that these little things, when taken altogether, shape our childhood and hence us as a whole? Me, growing up with these balloon thingies and eating iced gems (biscuit first, then icing) and a plethora of other Singaporean staples, and you, growing up with ... (???) ... things that were such a natural part of our childhood that we can't even begin to describe them to someone who has no clue what they are, who has never tasted anything precisely like that, who has never smelt nor touched nor seen nor heard of these things. I could feed you iced gems galore now, but it won't be the same, will it?

*1065 - worries

2011-08-06T20:36:00.002-04:00

Taking a breath, stepping back, and trusting that He provides.

*1064 - ev in virginia

2011-08-06T19:07:00.004-04:00

(FYI, Virginia is more than a view from a mountain and a zoo, but these were all the photos I took.)

First impressions: beautiful, Southern accents are adorable, and I would like a prairie dog for Christmas.

*1063 - bolero again

2011-08-06T09:43:00.004-04:00

The actual orchestral piece, Bolero, is infinitely intriguing to me because it was not meant to be infinitely intriguing. The entire piece is based on a phrase (built upon the Thump ThuThuThu Thump ThuThuThu Thump Thump of a snare drum) that is passed through the orchestra, played by different instruments a total of almost 20 times in repetition, with no development besides adding more and more instruments. Ravel himself was much surprised at the success of his piece, saying that it was an experiment within a limit with no form, no development, no modulation, no contrasts, no invention, a piece consisting wholly of orchestral tissue and no music.

Still, it must be the insistent quality and the constant and unwavering crescendo and the way each instrument gave each of the same 20 phrases a different quality that kept us engaged when we watched (listened?) to this piece a few months back at the symphony.

But I thought this Pink Martini version was exceptionally fun (true, it only loosely follows the original). But then, I must be biased, because I have always adored Pink Martini!

*1062 - step by step,

2011-08-04T23:45:00.002-04:00

we are getting closer to the start (it's always the start) of our adventure (our never-ending adventure)

*1061 - cayuga

2011-08-03T23:44:00.003-04:00

I told you to get out of my life forever and never return, and you obliged. Has it only been two years since then? Two and a half? Or three? Four since we met?

No, I don't wish for you to be in my life again. But it is strange to think about how someone who once made your life a constant crazy jumble of truly amazing and cripplingly devastating is now completely separate and completely a mystery.

(The danger of Facebook--having unwanted memories pushed to the surface of one's newsfeed.)

*1060 - bedtime stories

2011-08-02T23:11:00.001-04:00

The tale of Kokomo, the tiger who had two daddies.

*1059 - thunderstorm

2011-08-02T22:45:00.006-04:00

Today, it rained. Pretty heavily.

After the first few drops fell and multiplied and started becoming actual rain and then a storm, any person would have known that it was probably not wise at all to have one's sun roof tilted and windows cracked. So I sprang out of my chair, ran screaming around the office for an umbrella, and sprinted outside with car keys outstretched, bravely battling the wind and the rain, leaping through puddles and soggy mulch in my now-soggy heels, all the way to my poor little bug which was actually perfectly dry inside (but, you know, better safe than sorry), and upon composing myself and turning around to head back in calmly like a very respectable employee, looked up and saw a window-ful of colleagues watching and waving and supporting me in my ... victory.

And then I return home to realise that I had left the kitchen window open and hence had puddles on my kitchen floor with little flecks of white paint that got blasted off the windowsill. Oopsies.

*1058 - so much for not shopping for a while

2011-08-02T22:42:00.002-04:00

But every girl needs more shoes, no? Especially when she's clearing out her apartment and putting older shoes aside for charitable donations, no? It makes sense, no?

*1057 - mister G

2011-07-31T23:27:00.002-04:00

This is a little someone that I'm going to miss when I leave:

"Yes. I am looking at you."

Awwwww.

*1056 - part two: the humans

2011-07-31T15:03:00.004-04:00

Some of these were filched! (Thank you, Iris)

*1055 - silly beetle

2011-07-30T14:01:00.003-04:00

A new battery + two new wheels + new rear brakes = $700

I'm done with shopping for a while. Ouchies.

*1054 - make some music

2011-07-28T23:22:00.002-04:00

I don't know how to link to these things but

make some music now.

Wow wow wow wow wow

*1053 - russian doll of a vacation

2011-07-27T23:07:00.004-04:00

Just a few, for now, of a vacation nested in a vacation, of gloriousness within gloriousness, of going from one sunny island to another sunny island. Yes, it was beautiful, yes, all we did was to do nothing at all (which we did very well indeed), and, yes, you ought to be jealous.

*1052 - the big move

2011-07-26T20:35:00.002-04:00

The next month is going to fly by. In a month, I'm going to be on the opposite side of this continent, six hours closer to home (heh), starting a new life of sorts in ...

... San Francisco!

*1051 - trepidation

2011-07-17T12:55:00.001-04:00

In less than six hours, I am due to get out of bed and begin on the arduous journey back to the place that isn't quite home. I never like leaving.

*1050 - hokkien mee recipe

2011-07-17T02:13:00.011-04:00

Hokkien mee could possibly be my #1 hawker food craving when I'm away from Singapore for too long.

Newton Circle's hokkien mee--looks good but was sub-par:

Unsatisfying. So, I had to have my fill at my favourite place to have Hokkien mee ... oddly enough, it's the Food Republic version (I can only vouch for the Wisma outlet, but I suppose the rest should be good too).

No picture of the awesomeness.

And upon listening to my Hokkien mee escapades, Mummy decided that I should try to make Hokkien mee from scratch to feed the family. And so I did!

This is my version:

Belachan in the corner of the plate, not featured. It was surprisingly authentic-tasting and reasonably simple to make. Of course, it was leagues beneath my favourite Wisma Food Republic version haha. But still, an accomplishment, I think! The secret, I think, is in using quality ingredients. My egg noodles were a little too eggy.

Singapore Hokkien Mee recipe (feeds 5 to 6):

- About 25 prawns or more (the more the better, right?)
- A big chicken bouillon cube
- A whole squid, sliced
- Half a head of garlic, finely chopped
- 3 to 4 eggs
- A packet of thick rice noodles
- A packet of yellow egg noodles minus a little (I prefer more white than yellow)
- A giant packet of bean sprouts
- A few sprigs of spring onions
- Salt, fish sauce, and sesame oil to taste

1. De-head and de-shell prawns. Add heads and shells to a small pot of boiling water with a chicken cube, and boil for an hour. Toss in a bit of salt to taste. This makes a yummy prawn stock.

2. Remove shells. Drop prawns and squid into the stock, blanch for a couple of minutes, and remove quickly when just cooked.

3. Fry garlic in oil. Crack in eggs and scramble them. Add in noodles. Cook on high until noodles start to brown slightly.

4. Add 1/3 stock and fry until it's almost dry. Add another 1/3 stock, turn down the heat, cover, and simmer until it's almost dry.

5. Add in prawns, squid, bean sprouts, spring onions, and remaining stock. Add fish sauce and sesame oil to taste. Turn heat back up and cook to your desired dryness (I like my Hokkien mee more wet).

6. Serve with sambal and lime. Garnish with parsley and take a stunning photograph of it so you can show off to your friends that you just made Hokkien mee from scratch!!

(Adapted from this really good recipe.)