the ami sifu returns!

last week, mon mentioned that she'd like to attempt the ami again... and since last weekend was a long weekend, we roped in san and had an ami get together. it's really refresher course for both of them...

san made good progress, finishing one side of the retro wrist bag that she wanna make.

the next night, received this mms from san's hubby, with the msg, "project completed!"

for mon, she lost count of her rows in her previous pig, so had to start all over again...

me, in between coaching them, i continued working on my
very first crochet creation! watch this space for the result soon!

in between whispered 1, 2, 3, 4... of stich countings and frustrated growls of mis-stiches, panic yells due to dropped stitch markings, and the various sounds made when we stretched our legs or other parts of our bodies from sitting on the floor too long (signs of age catching up! sigh...), we exchanged news, gossiped a bit, cracked jokes, tease each other's handiwork, tease san's hubby (who was so nice to accompany san to mon's house and stayed glued to the tv the whole time we were working on our pieces)...

this is just something that made us cracked up with crazy laughter... san's 'yellow mee'!

and what are get togethers without food, right? here're what we had that day... for lunch, mon brought us to this shop in puchong that specializes in pan mee! all kinds of pan mee they have... the name of the shop is called restauran noodle village and i think they have another branch somewhere else (didn't really listen when san said it).

my 'loh pan mee'. it's like loh mee, and a bit like
sharks fin soup... very nice when eaten with vinegar!

san's cold mee (forgot exact name)... with strips of pork and pickled sechuan vege.

mon's "3 mushroom salted pork mee", or what we dubbed
"3rd aunt's salted meat" (coz in cantonese, it's "sam ku ham yuk meen")...

at night, with stomach growling, we drove over to ioi mall in search of food... ok, not really. we chose to go there because i wanna visit the daiso there! :P anyway, we planned to try out the seoul garden buffet, but then decided against it because we wanted to have more time to browse at daiso... hehehe...

my cajun chicken something from breeks...

read also:
1) more ami students
2) another crocheted wrist bag
3) i'm ami sifu!

more ami students...

2 years back, i tried my hands for the first time at making amigurumi, in the form of N's 2007 birthday present. since then, i've been making stuff here and there, and in the process, sparked the interest of some of my friends to take up the craft. ok, maybe their interest were short-lived, but at least i did teach them to crochet and who knows, they may revisit this interest later on in their lives!

then at beginning of this year, after i made a wrist bag for N, she too begin to take an interest in crocheting... so i helped her to get started, went yarn shopping, showing how the stitches are done, taught her to read patterns, explaining the abbreviations, etc etc... not to mention the numeral impromptu phone tutorials that i had to do while i was out shopping, watching tv, having my meals, working on the computer... hehehe...

anyway, with the year end festive season around the corner, and spurred by the industrious bug that has bit me to hand make gifts for my friends, N too has started on her festive gifts project. hop on over here to see the first in the line of stuff she's planning to make. i'm SUCH a good ami sifu!! :P

as for my own line of gifts, you'll just have to wait till they're finished and shipped off to their respective recipients to see them posted here!

read also:
1) angel amigurumi
2) i'm ami sifu!
3) amigurumi angels!

Take A Stand In The Sand '09

2 weeks ago, my company had a beach cleanup campaign at 2 of our properties... it's part of our corporate social responsibilities program, so have to go support a bit lah. this is the first time we're doing this, and i'd say we did quite a good job! ;)

this campaign was carried out concurrently at 2 of our properties, across a total of 3.5km stretch of beach. other than the staff, we brought in the children from our 2 adopted homes from pd and seremban. even tho' the kids did not really do the cleaning up and spent most of their time playing on the beach, this is a good chance to expose them to such things as keeping our beaches clean and working as a team. also, we teamed up with the municipal council of pd for a loan of their beach cleaning equipment like the rake and their garbage truck.

we spent about 3 hours under the scorching sun, picking-up a total of 3 ton of debris from the sea, discarded polyfoam plates and cups, plastic bags, cigaratte buds, durian seads, various clothings (we even found a bra! no kidding!) etc...

here are some photos to share...

at the deck by the beach, all set... for breakfast! hehehe...

the vip table... one thing abt working with the gahmen is, everything must follow protocol.
sometimes, we let ourselves be so occupied with all the protocols that we loose sight of
what's really important! but that's just my own two sen lar... :P

the rest of us unwashed were expected to make do with what we were given. no complaints, pls!

after breakfast and some speaches (short one by our MD, and a long one
by the ydp of mppd *rolls eyes*), we had a bit of a warm-up session...

THEN ONLY we start on our beach cleanup...

comparing "beach bums". whose "bum" is bigger? hehehe... obviously, i lost! :(

our campaign name on the butt! kakakaka...

proof that i really cleaned the beach, and did not go there only to pose for pictures :P

leaving nothing but footprints in our wake...

the 10 of us (including the photographer lar) who actually
managed to finish the 2km stretch at our side of the property.

this pic was posted in relation to my previous post. stripy BBW, if you get what i mean!

read also:
1) slow to boil
2) Terry Fox Run '09 - post run
3) Terry Fox Run 2009

bento #23: the one with the pumpkin porridge

have not been preparing any bento for some time now... reason being:

1. don't really like the taste of overnight dish
2. no microwave in the office. so even with insulated food container, i'll be having lukewarm food for lunch at best, and outright cold lunch at worst
3. no proper pantry in the office. so it's really a hassle washing up all the food containers in the (one and only) wash basin in the toilet
4. i'm always rushing to get out of the house in the morning (coz running late for work lar!), so dun really have a lot of time to prepare my bento
5. ok fine! i'm just pure lazy. satisfied?

anyway, last weekend i suddenly had this urge to cook some porridge, so went to the supermarket to look for some ideas as to what can i throw into my porridge.

at first, i was thinking of sliced potatoes, carrots and maybe some crabsticks. then i saw a quarter pumpkin for sale in the fresh produce section and my brain went 'ting!' and i can immediately see my pumpkin porridge in my mind. heck, i can even taste it in my mouth, even though i've not eaten a pumpkin porridge before!

so that's what i cooked for dinner yesterday. i tell you, cooking for one is a real bitch. as i don't really cook that often and i'm not that confident to share my culinary experiments with my housemates yet, i need to use up all the perishable ingredients that i buy. in the end, i had more pumpkin than rice in the pot! which explained why my porridge is such brilliant orange in colour. hehehe...

other than pumpkin, i threw in a lot (again, perishable items!) of oyster mushrooms (not sure it's called, but according to Mona and from my searches in google, this kind looks closest to the ones i used) and some red dates that i found in my larder. would love to throw in some kei-zhi (wolfberries) but found out (too late) that i didn't have any. and the result...

it's quite yummy lar... not sure if it's becoz my pumpkin is organic, but the porridge is not as sweet as i'd expected it to be. while i was shopping for the ingredients, mom called and when she learnt of my plans to cook pumpkin porridge, she said it's so weird but there's no harm trying. but it did not taste weird at all! will definitely try it again, when the cooking bug bite me again the next time!

neeways, as with my previous porridge attempt, i ended up with a big pot again. hmm... i guess i need to improve on my estimation. so that's by bento for today's lunch. incredibly, i was able to wake up early, nuke the leftover porridge, dish out my fav condiments of fermented bean curd and pickled sizhuan vege into my food containers and still reach the office in time for the 1st shift (i'm on 1st shift every monday due to !@^!@&($@&# monday morning meeting)!

read also:
1) bento #18: the one with all the shapes
2) bento #14: the one with the experimental porridge
3) bento #8: the one with the yellow vege

slow to boil...

*beware. ranting post ahead*

grrrr... i hate it when some nasty person catch me off-guard, because i can never think up a nice good retort until it's too late!

i find that i'm the 'slow to boil' kinda person. whenever someone did or said something nasty to me, i'll be struck so dumb that all i could do is stand there like a dummy! it's only after the moment has passed and i've had a chance to dwell on the things that have just taken place, that i begin to bubble and simmer. then only i'll think up all the nasty retorts, sarcastic replies and biting comments that are sure to make the person run to mommy with his/her tail between the legs... only thing is, it'll be too late! and i'll be left seething and fuming on my own...

one such incident happened just yesterday. there's this big bully of a director at the resort, henceforth refered to as big bad wolf (or bbw for short). generally people steer clear of him due to his infamous reputation for biting ppl's head off, esp when it concerns his department. even so, i'm generally spared from his fangs, because i'm not directly involved in the workings and operations of the resort. or even when i'm involved in one way or another, he'll never show his belang (malay for "stripes" - here to mean "show true colour") in front of me, because i'm from the HQ.

or so i thought.

it was during the beginning of an event at the resort yesterday, and the guests were having their breakfast at the designated area near the beach. some of our staff from KL are also participating, so instead of just standing around, we tried to help out in any way we can.

one clg, sweet suzie, was helping to distribute the plates and utensils to the long queue of participants at the breakfast buffet line when she noticed that the spoons were running low. spotting me standing nearby, she asked me go look for a banquet staff to replenish the spoons. searched high and low, but i can't spot any banquet staff around. it was then that i saw bbw standing at a corner.

stargal: bbw, do you see any banquet staff? i can't find any staff around. we're running out of spoons.
*short pause*
bbw: (in a cold tone of voice) can you please don't make such general statements?
stargal: ???
bbw: we've been bitching abt the lack of staff since day one. in fact, we're working with only trainees now. by right all the staff should be helping to clear the tables...
stargal: *dumbstruck*

i mean, wtf??? aren't i helping by prompting him (bcoz the banqueting comes under him!) that we should replenish the utensils? would he rather we just keep quiet and buat bodoh (malay for "pretend not to notice"), and let the guests complain abt it? or better still, let the press pick up on it! heck, if i know where they keep the spoons, i'd have gone and get them myself!

and why is he bitching this out to ME??? i'm not the one who cut back on his staff! i'm not the one who used up all the spoons! i'm not the one who wanted this event! i'm not the one who'll benefit from the success of this! what, he thinks i get such a kick out of running around like a headless chicken for these events issit???

brats...

been silently lurking in my s'porean nieces' blogs for a few months now... and the more i read their postings, the more i come to see them growing up to be the typical s'porean brats! no offense to singaporeans reading this and i do hate to tag them like that, but if you're m'sian, u'll understand what i'm talking about!

the younger niece, K, the more active blogger, is such a sweet kid in person. sure, she's beginning to put on some snobbish and pratronizing airs typical of singaporeans when they're talking to m'sians (or worse if you're a filipino or indonesian, even if you're a professional and not a maid!). but generally, she still speaks with some semblance of respect for her elders and is always one of the first to give me a hug when she sees me.

but her blog persona is a totally different person. apparently vulgarities are a norm, not to mention all those bickerings, bitch rants, blog wars, name callings etc that goes on between her classmates and her. and it seems that no one is spared. classmates, teachers, parents, siblings, maid... i don't recall me and my lot being so bitchy and so drama in our primary years... or maybe my memory is failing me? hehe...

on the other hand, C, the older niece, is on the brink of adolescence. even tho' just a periodic blogger, her posts are showing some disturbing early signs of a troubled teenager. tho' not very serious (yet!), but it definitely needs attention.

i wonder if their mom is reading all these posts. sometimes i feel compeled to point her to these insights into her daughters' lives. but then again, it could all be just online personas they put up for themselves in front of their friends. maybe it's cool to spew crude words left and right... maybe it's to draw the attention that they feel is so lacking in their lives...

oh, and all those love, romances, crushes, heartaches, breakups, etc... they sure start early nowadays (primary 3 for niece K???). gosh, do they actually STUDY in school?


read also:
1) long overdue gift

one of those days...

it's one of those days... where everything just seems to piss you off.

you find the antics of your colleagues, which on normal days are crazily funny and which you'll laugh hysterically over, just plain idiotic.

you feel the things your friend said to you, which on normal days are good points for discussion and which you'll good-naturedly debate over, simply shallow and patronizing.

you receive requests made to you, totally unrelated to you, but which on normal days you'll willing help out and thought nothing of it, with grudge and resentment.

you dwell over the comments and remarks people around you make, which on normal days do not get to you and which you'll just brush off with a shrug, just pure irritating.

.
.
.
.

haiz... i'm such a cantankerous crank today!

Terry Fox Run '09 - post run

dragged myself out of bed bright and early on a sunday morning... after a tiring day the day before, with work in the morning, shopping with N in the afternoon and halloween dinner at night with a bunch of friends. haiz, whole weekend didn't get to sleep-in!

anyway, M, N and i went in one car, and we managed to find our way to the lake gardens without getting lost [with some help from my gps! :)]. but once we arrived, we had some trouble looking for parking space. everywhere was full! even those roadside illegal spaces were full! gggrrrr...

in the end, we had to park right at the opposite end of the lake. but we still managed to get there 5 min before the flag-off (officially at 9am).

however, once we saw the t-shirt booths, we made a bee-line for it without even a glance at the stage, where the final stages of the warming-up exercise was in session.

what can i say? we're true-blue shopaholics!

met up with san and hubby at the t-shirt tents (we made san's hubby go behind the camera for
this pic!). we all pakat (malay for 'made a pact') to come in last year's t-shirts, to save us the
hassle of having to change into this year's t-shirts after buying them. the sun was blazing hot
that we were in no hurry to leave these tents...

it was after we heard the flag-off horn that we (reluctantly) left the cool shades of the tents to make our way to the starting point... that also, at a selamba (malay for 'nonchalant') slow stroll, stopping at the stage to take photos of my company name listed under the auction sponsors list. but then, there were many ppl like us also, strolling along so selamba, like walking at pasar malam! look at the crowd! how to run lar?


after a while, M, san and hubby lagged behind, coz that 2 chatterboxes just can't stop talking!


the participants came in many different shapes and sizes, genders and age...


...on foot, bikes, rollerblades, skateboards, strollers...


...and even push tricycles! any way to propel yourselves forward. what a great event!


then there were the road hoggers... i was quite excited when i saw this team,
but none of them paid my shout of "ice-blended mocha satu!" any attention! :'(

that way! that way! naturally, we took the shortest route of 3.5km.
didn't even considered doing the advanced route (5km)! :P

met a few friends in the throng of people... was hoping to meet auntyjo,
coz wanna pass her something, but didn't spot her in the 'people mountain people sea'.


after the walk run, of course need to replenish all the calories burnt! oh, and we were quite heartened to know that we're not the only participants with lifestyles of a regular slug, coz we overheard this near the beginning of the run: "u think how many kg oredi?" :D


looking so tired... even tho' it's more of a leisurely stroll than a run,
it's mighty tiring still! can't wait to go back to hit the sack!

also:
1) Terry Fox Run 2009