Looking back with no regrets

I have said this before. Sometimes certain things happen for a purpose. 

It is natural that we yearn to return to what we are used to, no matter if it is something pleasant or not. I had this feeling for these few months, thinking that maybe I could still go back. 

But something did happen. And I was reminded that although no bridges were burned intentionally, that was in the past. A different life altogether. 

It was quite a painful lesson. To hear of it and knowing that I was used in a bad manner unbeknownst to me. Shame on you. To attack me behind my back. Such unprofessionalism. 

But this just proves that I made the right move. And at least I am above resorting to such underhanded tactics of self-preservation.

I never judged you although I had heard stories but now that I have myself experienced the bad end of it, I have concluded that a bad loser is just not someone to look up to. I will not be turned into a pillar of salt.

Baking Experiments: Hokkaido Cake

After class, practice makes perfect. So since my first baking class, I have practiced baking Hokkaido cakes twice. The more I practice, the less panic I get and the squeaking is minimised. Mum taught me that mixing the batter into the meringue is best done with bare hands and it is true!

Fresh in the oven

Baking Experiments: Kiwi Muffins

This post is a little late. It was the first time I tried out using my then new Electrolux hand mixer. I bought a kiwi muffin mix from Bagus baking supplies shop and one afternoon, when the mood was right, I began experimenting.

All the ingredients needed for the kiwi muffins

Teapsy on Green Tea

Today I attended my first baking class at The Cooking House. I redeemed the free class for my Panasonic oven purchase earlier this year. I remember accompanying my mum when I was little for such classes at the National/Panasonic showroom in Section 13, PJ, but now I think they have closed down that centre.

So, today we learned how to make Hokkaido cake, matcha and red bean swiss roll and sushi handroll. The session was pretty rushed towards the end as we overshot by an hour. Working in a team of 3, our group managed to complete all but the aesthetics part... questionable! haha none of us had any experience in chiffon cake making (both cakes basically used the chiffon technique).

Green tea and red bean swiss roll

The Apple Parable

I have an apple. I know it's going soft and bad. Although in form, it's still recognisable as an apple, but I know it is filled with maggots just shy of bursting through the apple's skin. The stench is nauseating and it is attracting bluebottle flies.

So the question comes up on what should I do. Do I:

1. Tell myself that I should be thankful for having the apple, take a deep breath and bite into the apple?
2. Shout out loud to my neighbours that there is nothing wrong with the apple and gulp it down fast although it tastes putrid?
3. Take the 50 sen a 'so called friend' has offered me for eating the decaying apple because money is all I can think of at the moment?
4. Trust in the apple blindly because at one time in the past it was a fresh apple (or appeared to be so) and things can't change that much, right?
5. Listen to my 'so called friends' and partake in the apple because they are also doing the same?
6. Blame the stench on every other thing under the sun besides the apple and continue to worship the apple?
7. Stir up a fuss that the pears were to be blamed for the apple going bad?
8. Throw the apple away and go to the supermarket to shop for a new fruit or fruits, if I'm feeling hopeful?

The point is, at the end of the day who is going to face the consequences of holding on to a rotten apple? And upon eating the rotten apple, who is going to get a diarrhea attack? The apple? Nope. It's me! Isn't the option that has to be chosen obvious?

God has given each one of us brains enough to discern what is good for our bodies. And if we keep choosing poison over nutrition, when shit hits the fan the blame lies with ourselves.

Happy birthday, Malaysia!

My Cheesecake Fell Apart!

Finally made my chilled cheesecake after many months of procrastinating. I tried a recipe given by a colleague and unfortunately it didn't turn out too good (texture wise).

Chilled Cheesecake with chocolate layer

Biggest Super Ring Cheese Ball

Most Malaysian who have had their childhood locally would know and remember this electric blue plastic bag with luminous orange cheese rings - Super Ring! Although Super Ring has evolved through the years to a lighter orange (apparently natural cheese colour), it's taste is unmistakably the same. Just yummy milky cheesy yummy.

Super Ring cheesy goodness!

Finally a Mixer!

I bought cream cheese and whipping cream. Gelatin and brown sugar. An oven, butter and Digestive biscuits. Then there was something missing - an electric mixer!

It's funny how I can spend RM100 plus on other things without thinking twice but buying an electric mixer took me many procrastinating trips to the electrical store. In the end, I bought mine online through Lazada!

My electric mixer arrived in 2 days! Electrolux Stand Mixer EHSM2000 

Waffles Cravings at Inside Scoop KK

I've driven past Inside Scoop many times while on the way to Gamuda Walk in Kota Kemuning, but never had the urge enough to turn into the shophouse area. However, today I had a friend with me and we decided to go for some ice cream after dinner.

Googling revealed that they had waffles and I had been longing to have nice waffles for some time. Can't seem to find one that tasted as good as those we had at Max Brenner in Brisbane many many years ago.

So off we went for some ice cream tasting and eventually ordered charcoal waffles with a scoop of salted caramel and peanut butter jelly.

Inside Scoop's charcoal waffles with Salted Caramel and PBJ ice cream

artisANAL

I love words. But... some words have been used to death. And today's wordkill is "artisan" and all its conjugates.

No, "artisan" did not just spring up and become famous in a day, but after browsing through a website, the only takehome I had was "artisanal this" and "artisanal that". Every single item on the menu was "artisanal". And then I started to see something else in the word... artisanal... artis-anal... artis-ANAL... ANAL!

Some things you cannot unsee and that was it! Henceforth every time I see the word "artisanal" used to describe a food, I will snigger and remember this moment.

Phone Separation Syndrome (PSS)

Accidentally leaving phone somewhere, which causes the following temporary side effects:

1. Panic attack
2. Delusion
3. Forward planning
4. Self consolation
5. Self doubt
6. Disbelief
7. Seeing is believing
8. Self reassurance
9. Motivation
10. Weak knees

Disclaimer: the above was based on the author's experience and is not from a reviewed study.

Happy 58th, Malaysia!

Malaysia celebrated her 58th year of independence

So much has rocked Malaysia in the past few months and especially the past two days. What the future holds for Malaysia, it's still unknown. But as a rakyat, I sincerely hope that truth will prevail and cleansing will occur. That good leaders (no matter which party they are from) who are God-fearing and have the nation at their heart, will rise up and right the wrongs. That the divide between the urbanites and the rural folks will be reduced and understanding between both will increase. That the Ringgit will strengthen and investor confidence will be restored.

There are so many things I hope for Malaysia but at the moment it seems like such a faraway dream. Nevertheless, I will pray for Malaysia and try to do my rakyat duties.

Selamat Hari Merdeka, Malaysia!

Multitasking is a Myth

Good things should be shared.

I recently signed up for a MOOC on time management on Coursera. The reason behind it was obvious. Although it was a 4 week course (which honestly, could have been completed in 1 day), it took me 3 months to complete it!

Anyway, the long short is that most of the tips were common sense and if I'd been more critical of how I used my time, I would have been more productive. However, there was a video link in the additional reference which I found interesting and beneficial. It was a lecture by Mike Sanders on Multitasking - how our brain works and why multitasking isn't productive at the end of the day.

First Two Weeks

So fast! I'm two weeks old at the new place. As usual, when entering a new environment many weird and embarrassing things have occurred.

Why I Wanted to Leave

Awhile back when I was serving my notice period, I had lapses of confidence in my decision. Was I making a mistake? Was I being over-sensitive about my situation? It really wasn't that bad after all, right?

Resonating Quote

Many people share quotes on social media. Some of them are motivational, some sarcastic while others are "Huh???" but sometimes, in the midst of all the over-sentimental mumbo jumbo there comes one that resonates with you. A sentimental quote for me might be total bullshit for others. But the fact of the matter is that it resonates with me.

Today's was:

Never get too attached to anyone unless they also feel the same towards you, because one sided expectations can mentally destroy you.

Oh, the 'mental agony' I've gone through of thinking too much. Just waiting for an email reply or a chat message but I don't think there'll ever be any. Flipping this page.

The End of a Chapter

Finally, the day has come and gone. Yesterday was my last day. It was like a time bomb and I had full intention of completing my outstanding work but the nature of our typical work day and volume of tasks just didn't allow it. So, reluctantly I had to handover the remaining unfinished business to my colleagues to follow up on.

Can't believe I managed to clear my desk and I can actually see the surface of my desk again!

Frailty of Life

Today began my final week of saying goodbyes. I had been caught in a downpour and an expensive BRT ride with a heavy parcel. A number of extraordinary occurrences happened today but the least expected was the tragic passing of my colleague's mother.

When I came back from my lunch appointment, all I'd heard was that my colleague had received the bad news during lunch and broke into tears. She took the rest of the day off. My other colleagues filled me in that her mother was involved in a horrific traffic accident.

How does one comfort a friend when such a sudden violent death occurs to a loved one? There are no words that could alleviate the pain of mortal separation. And sometimes, even our well-meant words could offend.

I pray that the Lord will be her comforter and pillar of strength in her time of grieving and that she would be able to bounce back to her spunky self.

Jumping to conclusions

I'm always right!

I must be right.

I should be right.

Am I right?

Sometimes we get so caught up in predicting people's responses (and many times we are spot on) that we jump to conclusions at the sight or hint of the first word(s) in a reply. I must admit that I had committed this crime over the weekend.

Hot Hot Days and My Head is Uneven!

During the week, most of my time is spent in office with freezing air conditioning although my room should be warmer due to the windowed wall. And when I return home, it's already night time. So I don't really experience the hotness of the day until I am out on the weekends.

Yesterday was particularly hot. I was out on the road for most of the day and it was so hot that I got myself a slight headache (which is a rare thing for me). My headache sneaked up like a snake in the dark and coiled around my temple with slight throbbing every now and then, all through the afternoon till night.

It was so hot that I had to lie on the marble floor in my aunty's house, rolling around. While rolling around, I discovered that my skull is shaped really unevenly. The curves of the right side of my head is pretty uniform, but my left side had this ridge of bone jutting out (at least from my estimate of rolling my head from right to left and vice versa on the even floor. It was a weird feeling, discovering this.

What had happened to me during my formative years? When my bone material were solidifying and taking its shape. Was it because I had lie on one side too much or I got dropped on my head or someone had massaged my skull unevenly? All these ideas are funny. But thankfully, my hair hides this imperfection! ;)

Part 1: Our trip to the Land of the Rising Sun (post late by a year and some)

Around March last year, the three of us set out to finally visit our dear friend in Tokyo. It took us three years to make the trip and C was already in her final year of PhD studies. Nevertheless, we found some time in between the busyness of us three to agree on a date and just book those darn flight tickets!

So off we went with some level of planning and budgeting. Our itinerary was to spend a few days in Tokyo and then head to Kawaguchiko, back to Tokyo, shinkansen our way to Kyoto, day trip to Osaka and back to Tokyo for the remaining days. Being Asian, we wanted to cover as much as possible (ideally) but reality always pulls us back to earth and enjoy things as it comes rather than chasing a humanly impossible schedule.

The deed is done

After the decision was made, it was time for action to be taken. I always believe that talk is cheap, but action speaks volumes. I had been complaining to every one that would listen, for the past year (yes, it is June again!) and hadn't done anything much but reject other opportunities. Even if this would turn out to be the wrong choice, I think I owe it to myself to do something about my problem (ooh, the bad P-word!).

News or Tabloid: I don't know which is which anymore

Lately, Malaysia has been having quite a number of incredulous news that I'm not too sure if I'm still living in the same country. Every news, be it a happy one or a sad one, has been sensationalized. And the funny thing is that it all turns out to be stupid. Seriously brain dead stupidity.

Holier than thou comments which ultimately show the ignorance and narrows mindedness of some Malaysians. Shameless acts done that certain Malaysians just choose to be blinded against. I don't know. The Malaysia today seems unrecognizable from what Malaysia was not long ago.

Perhaps all these dimwits and liars had been around all this while but the transfer of information had never been this fast and so the mass majority of us had never suspected such idiots existed. And to see these idiots proudly parading their vices and ignorance is just dumbfounding. It really makes the sane ones become stupider (if there's such a word, i.e. reverse learning, miseducation, dumbify)

Malaysians, please! Like what I heard on radio a while back, "please engage brain before releasing tongue!"

First step

Today I've taken the first step. Hopefully it's in the right direction. I'm excited as well as scared. But I have faith that things will work out.

Bedtime stories

I used to read Anne of Green Gables and the likes, for bedtime stories. But now, I'm reading Annual Reports before bed, to research on a company.

How ironic. But the good thing about public listed companies or subsidiaries of PLCs is that their corporate information is publicly available.

When your rejection comes biting you in the derriere

I was discussing with a friend recently about our decisions to say NO to certain opportunities. Although we both felt that we'd made the right choice, there was this inevitable wistfulness of "what if". I knew that I'd regret my decision on a bad day. But I didn't know that that day would come so soon.

Killer Shoes

My H&M faux suede pumps

I've been having this insatiable itch for shoes lately. I've bought 6 pairs in the past couple of weeks and haven't had the chance to officiate them all yet. It started out with 2 pairs of heels that I was supposed to use during the weekends, then 3 pairs of flats for daily office use and the most recent, a black pair of kitten heels for official purposes.

Learning of the day

Before I forget. Yesterday I learned a new word, well actually I learned to spell the word. It's quite common for me to use a word in speech for so long and not know how it's spelt.

This time, the word was "pored". As in 'he pored over the maps and guides in anticipation of his next trip'. All along I thought this word was spelled p-o-u-r-e-d! I don't know why I thought that, maybe the mental image of a person all absorbed in reading and like his eyeballs are "pouring" (as in the forward tilt head position) over the book etc.

Yeah, so sometimes imagination is WRONG.

Leaping to Koh Lipe

Probably my only vacation for year 2015. Our plans finally materialised - changing from Boracay to Lombok to Lake Toba and finally to Koh Lipe! It was more of a slap decision where everyone had to send their passports and by hook or by crook a booking was made.

Minimal planning and most of us had forgotten our flight date till two days before. We set out on Tuesday night, two days before the long weekend. After a weird flight and sarcasm from Captain Poovan ("some of you are slow to understand me..." through the intercom to everyone but the offenders on the tarmac), we picked up our rental car and was led to our apartment in Kuah. We had half a tank of petrol to burn and drove around finding water and supper, losing our way for a while in the process.

We took the morning ferry from Telaga Harbour, where two other couples joined us. It was an hour's journey to Koh Lipe from Langkawi.

Customs hut on Pattaya Beach, Koh Lipe, Thailand

First Bake Test

Like many Malaysians, I too had a panic buying streak right before the implementation of GST on April Fool's Day. What did I buy? My long time iWant - a Panasonic 42L Inverter convection microwave oven (NN-CD997S). Yes very "aunty", I know.

But since our previous oven (the great great great grandmother model of my new oven) of over 20 years was ruined by the big flood, I'd been hankering for a replacement but there wasn't a strong enough justification to get one. Until now.

It was an annual bonus gift to myself, besides the GST part. *plop plop* - killed two birds with one stone. KPI achieved!

Although delivery was made in mid-April, I'd only got down to unboxing the oven in late April. And finally the first bake test was on Sunday. I made the only thing I was comfortable baking - chocolate chip cookies!

Chocolate chip cookies baked with Panasonic Inverter oven

Verdict: The oven is easy to use. My baking time needs tweaking - rebaked each tray a couple of times. Taste of the cookies - suits me! Salty yums! A friend had said it tasted like a certain famous cookie brand out there! ;)

Last minute packing

It's 1a.m. and I'm still packing. Seems like I'm missing something but I'm not sure what.

Not sure what to expect in the next few days. This is probably going to be the most impromptu trip we've attempted. But our motive is to just chill. And no phones! ;)

So let's let our hair down and have a well deserved breather!

Google Earth Day Quiz

When I first set eyes on the Google doodle of the day (Earth Day), my thought was that Southeast Asia was not drawn to scale on the rotating globe. But it was a thoughtful thing to emphasise our country and region on the globe (at least in this part of the world).

Little did I know, clicking the Google doodle would take me to an earth day quiz where upon answering a series of questions, it will tell you what animal you are. I got this (see below)!

A sotong? Encouraging

Not bad ah?

As a regular Malaysian, we sometimes use certain terms which only another Malaysian would understand. One of them is the "not bad ah?"

Although it sounds like a negative statement, it actually serves as a compliment. I don't know how this term came about. I mean why can't we just say, "wow, that's awesome!" or "that's great!" or "I'm impressed!"? Instead we had to come up with "not bad ah?", like an outright compliment is too hard to give but a glimmer of a compliment is good enough for you.

How odd! And even more odd that we actually understand it! Not bad ah? ;)

The Pedigree of Love

It is true that we only realise how much we love someone or something when we lose or are about to lose them. For me, this 'realisation' occurred a couple of weeks ago.

Paw in hand

Morale

It takes very little to boost or deflate morale. Sometimes it really isn't the ultimate message but the method of delivery that causes the effect. But sometimes it is that push that I need to start taking a step forward. To do something to spur change. Whether or not this change occurs, the disruption in settling into my comfort zone forces my mind to rethink things. To weigh the pros and cons. To re-evaluate my relevancy.

Let's see where this leads to.

Reading too much into things?

When someone keeps popping up in your path, is it coincidence or deliberate? Circumstances do warrant for crossing of paths but when you hear from a third party that this person has been discussing your employment status with another boss, the only question is "Why?".

The closest encounter I have had was an internal interview from last year where I couldn't see myself taking on the role in his office, so I declined politely. During the interview, this person had hinted that there would be a high chance of promotion as the role directly reported to him. Perhaps now that the increment and promotion letters are out, he was curious why I was still where I am. Nevertheless, my status should not be of any concern to this person since I do not work for him. So the question again, "Why?" and why talk to someone unrelated to my department who would've been the last person to suspect that I'd been shortlisted for an internal interview?

And to hear it from another colleague means that a vine has been created.

Temptation of Reward

The long wait has ended. Many times I thought I would not last, but I did. And now that the moment is finally here, I am torn on whether to go ahead with what I had planned or just continue on and bear with the situation just for the reward.

I know no one can actually guarantee that the reward would be the same every year, but it is very tempting to assume nevertheless. My personal track record has shown improvement in the two years I've been eligible for bonus and increment. 

It is funny that I was so set on moving on and all this resolve was so intense while I was in a state of anger. But now when things are going fairly quieter, I am double guessing myself. But a part of me still wants to try. Like a last try before I decide whether to settle into this line. 

Happy Endings - A Poppy Tail

Poppy came to us as Puppy, a young but fully grown mixed breed. One of the neighbourhood dogs whom appeared out of a sudden and created quite an impression on the residents. She was the neighbourhood rat catcher and in return some of us would feed her and give her the occasional pat.

As with many of the dogs in our lives, she literally crawled into our lives. Starting with daily visits to our gate with friendly smiles duly rewarded by treats and meals. When we were sure she was tame enough, we invited her into our garden and she was more than willing to stay locked in. Her wild side would occasionally come calling and she found her way out by digging under the wire fence. It puzzled us initially until we peeped on her in the act. Of course we quickly rectified that loophole so that she and other dogs wouldn't be able to come in and out as they wished.

Benefits of Singledom

Chinese New Year means family reunions and the expected small talk and asking when is your turn. But let's look at the brighter side! Ang pow abundance for the unattached! ;)

Lunar New Year Ang Pow

The Dress - I see Blue and Black!

So this dress has broke the Internet.

Screenshot of the dress

I first saw this dress on my FB feed where Business Insider had an article on it and then few posts down, Mashable had covered the same dress. I clicked the link out of curiosity from the title "dress" and "viral". What was the big deal with this dress? It doesn't even look stunning or professionally taken.

No matter how I look at it - at different angles, different devices, different screen brightness, different distances, refreshing the page - I still see it as blue and black! And not a hint of white and gold! I sent the link to one of my group chats and some saw it as white and gold while most of us saw blue and black. A slew of debate followed.

I showed it to my family and they saw it as white and gold. This was getting a bit creepy. We can't trust our eyes now?

Long story short, the real dress was indeed blue and black, according to the reports. It is plain to see that the lighting in the photo was dubious and it seems to be washed out (overexposure). Many versions of explanations popped out and I'm not too sure which is true - left/right brain activity, sensitivity of rod and cone receptors on our retinas, split second decision of the brain. Apparently in one article, 3/4 saw the dress as white and gold while the rest saw blue and black.

Funny how non-important stuff like this can garner such a crowd in a short span of time. For the record, I see the dress as blue and black, 100% of the time!

What Causes Browning?

"Bake till golden brown" is something commonly found in cookbook instructions. But what does that actually mean?

Crust lover or hater?

I remember while growing up, we used to fight over the cake crusts - especially when mom was making black forest cakes for order. She would apportion the unwanted crusts to appease us and sometimes cut a little extra cake with the crusts.

Lunar New Year 2015

A little late, but Blessed Lunar New Year to everyone!

My Goat card for you! Only 10 hardcopies for distribution to closer relations and friends

It's already Day 5 of the Lunar New Year festivities and Days 1 to 4 were filled with family reunions and random meetups with friends. It's been a mix of laughter and awkward moments, eating and well, more eating. Festive seasons always leave this kind of mixed impressions and a topsy turvy tummy.

Again, my greeting card came out pretty late. This time I made 10 and still have yet to deliver two of them. Thinking of ideas to suit the current zodiac year is getting harder and harder. This time around my card looks pretty kiddish, but it was the brightest and cutest I could think of in between of all the rushing.

Birthday Project: 13th Sewing Adventure - Peplum Top

Turning 30. I made it a point to spend the entire 24 hours and more not thinking about work. No minutes writing. No checking office email. Remembered to turn on my "Out of Office" on Friday although it was only a day's leave. Tried best not to let many know I was on leave for minimal interruptions.

My sewing machine had arrived in time to fit right into my plan. If it hadn't I would have used my old trusty manual sewing machine anyway. It was something I had to complete no matter what. For myself. Over a year of not sewing anything! Be gone!

My Toy has arrived: Brother GS2700

I can't really pinpoint what actually sparked my interest to rekindle my search obsession from back in 2013.

My new toy is not a toy?

Tissue paper yummy?

I will never fathom why dogs love stealing and eating tissue paper, regardless if it's clean or soiled.

Through the years we've had a number of dogs living with us and they ALL loved eating tissue paper!

Favourite past time would include rummaging handbags for food and tissue paper. Once, Zack sniffed out a chewing gum and tried eating it. His expression of the sticky rubbery gum gluing his jaws together was priceless! Another time he stole a packet of wasabi coated nuts and was choking and wheezing from the sting of the mustard. Safe to say we never let him near wasabi since then.

But what puzzles me is why dogs find the tasteless odourless tissue paper so appealing that they go through all trickery to get some to munch (and swallow)! Beats me.

Learning for the day

I knew all those hours (accumulated) reading articles posted on my Fb feed would do me some good. Today I learned that there is no such thing as "detail-orientated"! Omg, my England is the fail.

It has and always been "detail-oriented". Lucky thing I've never ventured to use this term to describe myself in my resume!

Never too old to learn.

Brick and Mortar

This week we finally saw and felt the 'concrete' evidence of what we had known only on paper for the past two years. My first thought was "so small?" but I've come to realise that it isn't so small when compared with other places.

I loved the wood panel flooring and the bathrooms and the square bedrooms. There was an infinity pool and a sandy beach  between the four blocks, with a tennis court tucked in a corner and other shared facilities. But the best was probably the view. How I wish I could keep it but we need to do what we set out to do.

View from the balcony

I hope one day, I'll be able to keep something like this. It's not too small, it's just right for little old me and probably one other person.

Let's hope.

This Blog is 10 Years Old Today! Happy Birthday!

Hard to believe! This blog has lasted for 10 years. It has seen me transform from a student to a working adult, from ranting about classes to ranting about office politics, sharing my ups and downs, my notebook on life, my gallery and my podium, my tribute and my diary.

Happy birthday Violet Periwinkle! A decade strong and many more to come.

Stack Ranking

A couple of months back, HR had called us all in for a briefing session on how our performance evaluation worked. At that time, I didn't know that it was one of many different types of performance evaluation methods out there. Coming from a background of a small company and then to an SME before joining a conglomerate, I had limited knowledge of HR practices.

Look Up into the Sky

The weather for the past month has been wet, wet and wet. Daily downpours have taken us from a shortage of potable water to an excess of the same element, causing massive flooding in a few states. Looking out of my office window, a promising day can and will turn gloomy at one time or another.

I have become so used to cowering from the weather extremities of ceaseless rain and scorching sun that I can't remember the last time I took time to look upwards into the skies. To be honest, I think if I ever did, I would either get rain drops in my eyes or be blinded temporarily from the glaring sun.

So it was like a breath of fresh air when I saw the clearest blue sky with cotton candy clouds this afternoon while driving home. A lazy Saturday indeed but that feeling of going home, albeit a simple one, amplified by the beautiful sky was priceless! Praise God!

Beautiful blue sky after a gloomy month!

Seems like I wasn't the only one who noticed this beauty - I saw a number of friends posting sky photos on Fb as well. But... I think mine does it more justice! *bangga diri, but seriously imho* ;)

Matching Mayhem

Firstly, I admit I am no fashionista. So let it be known that I am not speaking from an expert standpoint or wannabe-expert. My opinion expressed is from my own taste and logic.

I have a weakness for clothes and textile. A couple of months back I was this close to buying a pencil skirt just because of its material - the cutting was a little off for my body shape. Cutting out all the mental debate that occurred, in conclusion I didn't buy it. Yay, mind triumphed over heart! Mind 1-0 Heart

This is a picture of the material - a blue and white woven cloth (not a print but actual thread weave). Yes, a photo momento as my only consolation. I have many of such photos, my mid triumphs!

Just noticed that it has a heart in the motif - love woven stuffs!

Here comes the point of this post. While buying lunch, I saw a lady wearing that exact skirt in my office. But she had paired it with a frumpy faded lime green blouse! I felt so bad for the skirt! Such a pretty textile, its glory not accentuated but instead hidden behind an inferior article of clothing! It wasn't so much of the colour that was offending but the style and form of the blouse!

Oh well, I had my chance to give the skirt a better home but I didn't take it up. So no rights to complain.

Tong Tong Chiang!

Surprisingly, 4th day of the new year and I've already started preparation for the lunar new year (coming up next month). A few days ago I bought myself a (somewhat) black cheongsam - finally, after so long of passive searching and talking about it!

And today, have made the first step of my what-seems-to-be-annual-routine CNY cards project. Now, I've just got to get some inspiration of the design!

Sneak preview of what I currently don't know the outcome of

Lately I've been mulling on resuming my hobbies, which took a backseat in 2014. There's a strong longing to seek work life balance again in the new year. Perhaps this is my new year hope.

Day 1 of Year 2015

Today I learned that the "sengkuang" we have been eating for years is not called turnip in English. It's called jicama (or yambean)! All these years I've been misled! And I found this out through googling for parsnip...

Photo credit: foodfacts.mercola.com