.♥.♥.♥.♥.♥.♥.♥.

Thursday, July 30, 2009 10:21 PM

a motivational speaker came in today during studio to talk about success. usually i find this kinda of talks boring and repetitive but she was really good. i was absolutely amused by her.

What defines SUCCESS?

people tend to get too obsessed with the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that they fail to see the beauty of the rainbow itself.
so what comes at the end of the rainbow is not as important as long as we have the right attitude. attitude to think, to dream, to believe and eventually to value.

Success becomes a journey, not a destination. (how true...)

***

she went on to saying about what contributes to a positive working environment.
Respect. and to respect is to listen.

"everyone thinks they are good listeners."
"however, when you're sitting there (quietly). you're in fact assessing and judging. so when you're assessing and judging, what is it that you're not doing?"

"YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!"

(LOL.)

***

words alone cannot express that humour during when she spoke but she was really good.

***

accessing input: (taking in feedback) contributes to a positve environment. all we have to do is, "Thanks." (zipped) there's really no need to comment further on the feedback that people give.

trust: how to establish trust? by not stealing aka "extended" borrowing. (love the way she used inverted-commas to "glorify" thiefing. LOL.)

After several exchange of emails with cake tutor, i finally arranged a time to meet him today!! XD
to get the final folio feedback form. (the form didn't really matter, afterall i've already got my grades and taken my folio and models back. it was about meeting him. >.<)

absolutely smitten.
totally infatuated.

so i met cake tutor in his office today and had a quick chat. *irregular palpitations*
he asked about the current studio i was in and he appeared interested. (he could have just be polite but i was glad.)
laughed a little. he said good luck in my new studio.
and then i told him, "I missed the cakes though." he laughed even more.
(what i really meant to say was, "I missed the cake...tutor.") >.<

***

took back my 60% essay today as well(from last semester).
i've got 67. it wasnt a bad mark considering i dont have that linguistic flare that the angmohs possessed but it was an original 70 then scaled to 68 and scaled down again to 67.
(!#$%^*& what is wrong with the bell curve system?!!) it couldnt have been more demoralising. =.=
cant the bell curve just go the other way?? it would have seemed more promising for me if the marks were scaled UP instead.

***

(but that's alright. bad things aside.)
cake tutor had new glasses!!
silver-frame, futuristic-looking, new glasses!!
he couldnt have looked better but the glasses was a major pluspoint to his originally mesmerising face. LOL.
(somebody should just hit me hard on the head.then i'll start accepting the new tutor. hahaha.)

Tuesday, July 21, 2009 11:01 AM

我到了！（平平安安）

***

1st day of school and we were asked to duct-tape and bubble-wrap the class.
the entire learning outcome was to separate spaces in the room.
innovative? (maybe.)
environtally-friendly? (not really...)
(lol. talk about creative teaching/learning.)

now our class looks like a major icebox at the back of a charcuterie with all that plastic hanging from the walls.
the best part is...the class will stay like that for the entire semester. (well-done!! =.=)
it would have been even more convincing if we were strung up on an A-frame scaffold. (ominous way to start off a semester.) >.<

some massive noodle hanging on the pipings. O.o

the class...looking absolutely clueless as to what we were suppose to do. (i had the exact same look imprinted on my face.)

***

*scoots off for my next lecture. ta-ta.*

Wednesday, July 15, 2009 12:34 AM

potluck with the girls was a major success!!!
i have to confess that potluck may not be the best way to have a gathering if you're thinking of saving up on meals. well definitely not a good money-saving plan if you decide to prepare what i did. beef was costly and so was the spices. the worst thing was i couldn't find anywhere selling cumin powder within the vicinity of my neighbourhood. travelled all the way to bedok interchange just to get cumin powder, only to realise it's called 小茴香. =.=
i bet it's selling in every provision shop in the market, just that the auntie had no clue what cumin was. one of them confidently replied with with a "NO." when i asked if she's selling cumin powder. as i was about to turn away, she looked at me and asked, "what's cumin?". (auntie...so cute hor.)

***

here i have is the recipe from which i used to cook the beef rendang. it's really easy to follow and it came out beautifully.

Beef Rendang

(taken from The New Mrs. Lee's Cookbook: Nonya Cuisine)

Ingredients
-1 onion
-600 g beef shin
-500 g grated coconut
-1 rounded tbsp tamarind (asam) pulp
-1 tsp sugar
-1 tsp salt

Paste
-4 slices galangal
-4 slices ginger
-4 cloves garlic
-15 dried chillies or 2 tbsp pounded red chillies
-1 stalk lemon grass
-1 tbsp coriander powder
-1/2 tsp cumin

1. Peel and roughly slice the galangal, ginger and garlic.
2. Peel and slice the onion. Set aside.

3. Prepare the coconut milk. (alternatively, you can use those packed ones.)
4. Prepare the tamarind marinade: soak the tamarind pulp in 120 ml of warm water for 5 minutes. Squeeze the seeds and fiber with your fingers to extract as much juice and flavor as possible. Strain and discard fibers.

5. Soak the dried chillies for the paste in hot water. Deseed them and roughly chop the soaked dried chilies (use a lot less if you are not used to spiciness).

6. Pound/blend them together with the coriander powder and cumin. Add the peeled and bruised lemon grass last (use the white portion only).

7. Slice/Dice the beef according to your own preference.
8. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to boil then simmer uncovered until the sauce has reduced by half. Cover and simmer for 30 mins until the meat is tender. (i had the beef boiling for more than 2hours to reduce the sauce to desired consistency. =.=)

***

i have to say...Mrs.Lee's recipe is definitely shioka~!!

(fyi: Mrs.Lee refers to Mr.Lee Kuan Yew's mum.)

looks as good as it taste. woohoo~ *pats on my shoulder*

my 1st attempt came out looking fab!!! >.<

shuning's 1st time chao fan!

a lil too dry for me. but was very good!! XD

well-done everybody.

***

p.s(ahtan reminded me that since the beef rendang was so expensive, consider it as a farewell gift before i fly off again. LOL.)

Sunday, July 12, 2009 6:16 PM

I'll be back in another 3 and a half months.

Expected return date is approximately early NOV. =))

***

finally i ~~found ahtan to invest in me~~ decide to depend on myself. bleah~ ahtan is going to make on jelly and i threatened her to put birdnest in it. so that i won't feel the pinch should i cook beef rendang for the potluck gathering. XD (meat is expensive ok!!)

***

i've posted up ahma's HAPPY photos on fb!!! XD
this time i made sure i had it locked. (well...at least i think it's private. >.<) took me the whole afternoon to upload that 106photos which i randomly selected. there were definitely more than 106. =.=

***

i'm just randomly blogging my thoughts now. i got fired by the way!! XD
LOL. planned to quit on coming tuesday but the campaign wrapped up earlier than i thought. so ahpok rang to say that the campaign had wrapped up on friday and there was no need to come to work till further notice. (fyi: i took leave on fri.)
so i assumingly consider this as a form of retrenchment?? >.<
nah...bleah.

***

la~la~la~

Monday, July 06, 2009 12:04 AM

Despite the desparado that i am for money, i stil took leave on (last)Monday. Working as a telemarketer is the worst job ever. =.=
*pats on my shoulder*
i'm quitting next Tuesday when the campaign ends. i hit my target and woah...am i glad or what!? LOL. somebody praised me leh!!! that i'm polite. (thank you very much) XD
met the madajiasijia for dinner on (last) Monday.
my cam died after 2pictures!!! (AHHH~!!!!)