Crunchy sun-baked leaves!

Exams

2010-11-02T07:34:00.003+08:00

Yay! My parents will be around during my exam period, which means I’ll get to enjoy home-cooked food for these 3 weeks! My mum seems to be very enthusiastic to cook because I’ve listed out a number of dishes that I’ve been craving for. However, it’s strange though, the day before, she asked me to try if the stew tasted alright. However, she asked this question: “有你煮的好吃吗?”.I really didn’t know how to react when she asked me that because what I now know, is just what she had taught me in the past. Mama, I just wanna tell you: 我煮得再好吃也煮不出家的味道! Even with the same kind of seasoning, the same type of ingredients, I can never cook something that tastes just as it is back at home. Only you can do it ...... when you cook for me:)

An interview

2010-10-03T09:50:00.002+08:00

I had to encounter the unfortunate incident of having my thumbdrive crash today. Gone with it are 2 of my half-done assignments and some learning materials. Strangely, my song folders are all intact. I am still mourning over my loss. The effort...the time used to painstakingly complete part of those assignments... While I do have some impression of what I had written, I would never be able to replicate an exact copy of what I had done previously. *SIGH*

Back from my short trip to sunshine coast, I’m now left with 1 day of holidays to finish up assignments before the shortly approaching deadline. As part of my assessment requirements, I had the chance to interview a person of my choice who had a vastly diverse background from me. He fit the criteria of being ‘different’ from me, but he too was an international student. He struck me as a person who was clear of his goals in life and someone possessing immense determination to pursue his interests. I paled in comparison and I ought to feel embarrassed. I realised that I had always been ‘following the flow’, without ideals, without aspirations. I guess that’s why my life lacks a direction in which I want to work towards. Of course, there are many things that I badly want to do, but I don’t seem to have the courage and endurance to pursue these interests, especially if no else in my pathetically small social circle shares the same interest.

On top of that, another realization dawned upon me---I don’t think I have been working hard enough. Like what my secondary school teacher used to like to say, “You ought to be shot.” Seriously, I could hear her voice ringing in my ears. This guilt is further compounded by the fact that he was an average student, not academically brilliant, but since he had to bear part of his study expenses in Australia, he had this innate motivation to ensure that his school fees did not go to waste. In contrast, I as a scholar, who does not have to bear the burden of ridiculous international student fees, took it for granted, skipped lectures, skipped practicals, skipped tutorials and did not set high enough expectations of myself to uphold the image worthy of a scholar in terms of academic achievement. I wish that I had the drive to push myself towards goals that I truly desire to achieve, rather than feeling content with using others as a benchmark to gauge my performance. I wish.....Students without scholarships could excel...maybe I could too.....?

Truffles!

2010-09-23T14:55:00.005+08:00

Guess what?Hehe i made my first batch of chocolate truffles yesterday!Yum.I realised I'm quite into working with chocolate snacks!I'll take photos of my next batch to show you all.Looks great, but rolling chocolate with my bare hands isn't all that a good idea!It is supposed to be rum and raisin flavoured but i guess the rum evaporated and the raisins disintegrated.But who cares anyway,the essence of my point is that it looks appetizing for you to pop half of in in your mouth, realise it doesn't taste as good as it looks, but still gotta finish it anyway since you've taken a bite out of it.hehz.

Oh well, I'm feeling bored with the "to school-to library-back home"routine. I dont think I have many other leisure activities to explore.Cooking and baking is just one of the few options :( You can help by suggesting some easy recipes for me to cook and hopefully ease my boredom or simply suggest some crazy activity for me to try out!

Clearing blog dust

2010-09-23T14:48:00.003+08:00

Blog revival up next.Stay tuned.

The truth

2010-01-21T00:43:00.003+08:00

Oh man!What a shock I had when I flipped through the newspapers yeterday and I saw 2 of my tuition tutors in e past featured in the newspaper.I never knew that they both were scholars(one from PSC).Both studied in a prestigious university in UK....and they were a couple!Haha,why did they behave like strangers in front of their students!It got me even more suspicious when I spotted them talking heartily and taking the same route home!All the speculation =.= silly me should have known better!haha!Oh and I didnt know they were the bosses of the tuition chain!So they were the ones keeping all the money...hmm...but oh well,they are nice people!

Weeheee!Another shopping spree coming up!

My encounter!

2010-01-13T22:31:00.002+08:00

It feels almost like a dream.I'm awed by how the world can be so small at times.I actually met a very good primary school friend at the pre-departure seminar.Having lost contact for 6 years++,I did not expect such a well-timed coincidence.Despite being enrolled into different courses,she will be studying in the same faculty in the same university as me,and bound for aussie on the same day,same time,same flight!Ahaha so qiao~ right?

Ps:Xl,you know her too!

Anyway,I watched Sherlock Holmes yesterday.I watched it early in the morning so the whole theatre was ulu,no queues,no background noise of people chomping on popcorn and practising muay thai on my chair---perfect:)I personally felt that avatar was better.I don't know why the movie reminded me of Harry Potter,probably because it involve sorcery and (black)magic,but I was particularly annoyed by its ending---"Case reopened.",which meant that I have to look out for part 2?Otherwise it was a good watch.Watch it and tell me what you think!

I'm a cook!

2010-01-12T21:24:00.011+08:00

It has been a long time since I last logged in.I have almost forgotten the password and worst,the link to my blog.There are exactly 29more days before I leave .Eeek!It's a horribly small number considering the fact that I still cant cook.Oh well I guess I just have to pilot a series of experiments when I reach aussie and my poor housemate has to undergo all the unnecessary torture.It is not as if I haven't tried.I did,but the kitchenware just had to find ways to go against me.I thought slicing fish and meat was an easy feat---not without a sharp knife.I ended up with fish paste.In order to avoid the same mistake,I decided to be less of a perfectionist and cut thicker slices instead.It went awfully wrong.You know what I mean when the pork is tough like rubber and the fish disintegrated into the soup.You could easily get conclusive results from these experiments which are summed up in the following equation:

Jia Hui+ kitchen ware=taste bud disaster

Here's a poem that I created which I thought was quite an apt description of my superb cooking skills:

Do you cook?Never will I.

When dinner comes I'll heave a sigh

Into the phonebook I'll take a look

To see who else can be my cook.

But this is never a practical move.

All my friends will become aloof

Then I had this illusion that I can

Make Martha Stewart my big fan.

Cook up a storm my next brave act

Cook up a disaster to be exact.

I bless myself, turn the knob

A blue flame appears with a pop.

I make magic I must say

The blue hues are dancing hooray!

Lo-and-behold it starts to burn

Just when it knows my gaze is turned

These blue pixies dance out of hand

Abracadabra just isn't the word,oh man!

No fear,no fear I assure my friends

This is not the way my life will end.

Water or oil should I get

That's one thing I tend to forget.

A fiery face greeted my eyes

It must be goddess in disguise!

"Don't play play!"I heard it say

It's a command I must obey.

So here I am heeding that advice

No sugar,no spice and everything nice.

I'm bored to tears as you can see

Just because I (almost) made dinner for you and me!

Side note:I did not burn down my kitchen/house!

Updates!

2009-11-08T00:38:00.006+08:00

Hello Japan!
Bye Japan!
Bye lab job!
Hello camp job!

Hello dear friends,
I ain't wanna be a passenger no more!

Sorry.

2009-11-08T00:17:00.005+08:00

Haix. I can imgine the disappointed look you had on your face. After waiting for ages for the page to load, you find the latest entry to be dated 6 August 2009. Even my chatterbox has been blown away by the wind. Tattered and torn, it is now totally dysfuntional. How sad.

Proper pronounciation makes a world of difference!

2009-08-06T20:25:00.002+08:00

Today at work, the lab auntie gave that flustered expression when she rushed into the lab preparation room(sometimes she's a little too kan cheong) and said that a teacher requested for 80 choppers.Bewildered,I started wondering where in the ~~world~~ lab will I get 80 choppers???

Then, it dawned upon me that she meant 80 D-R-O-P-P-E-R-S.

Delivery tubes

2009-07-15T17:49:00.001+08:00

Today, I made an interesting discovery. Remember those delivery tubes we used in sec school and jc? They arrive in the form of straight capillary tubes. You only get the bent delivery tubes when dedicated lab staff endure the blazing heat to bend the capillary tubes manually over the fire. Woah!

Moral of the story: Treasure those delivery tubes!

Feeling old in a secondary school

2009-07-15T00:13:00.002+08:00

I am thankful that I now have a full time job, but that only adds to the incentive to spend freely. Haix. I need more self-control. Having a job is good, but it doesn’t mean the job is good. In my 3.5 day(and still counting) stint as a school lab tech, I covered many duties. A typical day would be as follows:

-Report to the sci lab by 7.30am or risk getting a pay cut (means eating breakfast with my eyes closed)

-Temperature taking (oopss…the HOD found out today that I had been reporting my temperature with an invisible thermometer, this is what you call goddess power)

-Check if all the projector, mike and apparatus are ready for the first lesson (triple check again if I know that the teacher has a monstrous temper, especially one that eats students)

-Help the lab auntie to clean up (I cant help but complain that the labs pose as both a safety as well as a health hazard. The place is lined with a layer of dust and is infested with termites! Three cheers to my faithful 6-legged friends.)

-Help water the plants, sprinkle them some love using a fire hose---a must-have gardening tool! Gets the job done within minutes!

-Treat the birdies to rice grains (Their version of breakfast cereal? Rice crispies? I question its purpose, but it seems to be part of the daily ritual probably to invite them to chirp along with the school song?)

-Sit down and pant a little

-Start playing hide-and-seek with the equipment used in subsequent experiments

-Attend to teachers’ last minute requests and bracing myself for their black faces

-Test out experiments (spend 5% of the time recalling the proper experimental procedures and possible results, 50% of the time asking. The remaining 45% goes to feeling apologetic for not being able to remember)

-Label, pack stuff and sneeze away

-Lastly, I discovered that chatting with the aunties is also part of my job…listen to what they had for breakfast, lunch and dinner yesterday, the day before yesterday and 3 days ago. Ah yes gossip. One of them is particularly fond of speaking ill of other lab staff, supervisor and teachers, but it’s interesting to watch the drama unfold when other staff verbally attack each other behind their backs while the supervisor complains about practically all the lab staff. When it comes to a point when we sit together for lunch, they’ll turn their attention to canteen staff etc. The never-ending gossip actually provides welcomed relief from all the monotony.

-Basically it’s a typical sai-kang job. I think its job prospects are boundless. An area worth pursuing if you don’t like to have your butt stuck to the chair for the whole day!

Huge decisions

2009-07-01T13:32:00.006+08:00

Warning: long post ahead

Part I---The decision

This is probably one of the biggest decisions I’ve made in my life. It involves my future, at least the next 10 years. I hope that I won’t ever have to regret this. It had been a roller-coaster ride for me. I was mentally prepared to farm locally and I thought I should stick to it. I reminded mydelf not to get distracted by any tempting offers that may come along the way, but who knows ...

Let’s be honest, I must say OT wasn’t one of the first things that came to my mind when I was selecting courses, because going to poly just didn’t seem like the route that majority would choose. I like to follow the ~~flow~~flow~~flow. I always liked science. Therefore, farming seemed more like the “natural choice”. I’m still puzzled why I had put OT down as one of my choices. I guess I didn’t put much thought into it, but it’s time to do so:

Farm
Pros:
-Loads of Chem and Bio
-Nice air-con environment
-Stable job with a good pay

Cons:
-Too much chem.= rocket science
-Can be boring/dry---zap my brain power
-Need to stand for long hours (how nice if they can provide high chairs that make me look as if I’m standing behind the counter, with wheels so that I can roll around. Preferably not those that can whirl around in case patients get dizzy)
-Erratic schedule
-Limited placing if I want to venture into research?

OT
Pros:
-Dynamic environment
-More flexibility: Able to exercise creativity to suit different needs of patients (super plus point!)
-Regular working hours (They don’t offer night therapy just yet.)
-Has quite a bit of Bio
-Greater job satisfaction (Able to witness the progress made, I seriously think patients look cute when they smile!)

Cons:
-Needs a truck full of patience (I think I only have a car full, may I have an upsize?)
-Can be tiring moving around, doing all the actions so that patients can imitate me
-Lots of psychology (it’s interesting but it’s not the typical sciency science subject,arhh!!i don’t know if I can cope with that, but I guess it should be better than econs?)

Generally, there were more insecurities for OT. It made me doubt my ability to even do it overseas, but ultimately, if I were able to overcome all that, I would consider myself a big winner.

Part II: The Minor Hiccup

When I was busy making copies of my acceptance letter and other forms, 2 blobs of brown juice splattered on one of the forms (thankfully, that was for personal reference).Desperately locating its source, I blamed my sister for eating messily and letting mushroom sauce spurt all over the place to soil my forms. Almost immediately, I regretted yelling at her.

I realized that the 2 drops of brown juice was just the prelude to a more fantastic display.1 blob of moist, dense chocolaty mousse, encased in droplets of clear, sparkling yellow juice fell from above as if it was a gift from the sky. Sounds delicious? Want more? It’s twin replica was the next to arrive. Coming in more generous helpings, it couldn’t find a better place to land on than my original acceptance letter.

The finale came when I quickly swiped it off with my bare hands (eww eww) and I looked up. It started raining lizard poo. Still recovering from the shock, I hopped up in anger and shoo-ed it away. I’ve always thought that lizards were cute creatures, but for that moment they were certainly NOT. It actually found pleasure spiting me by staring at me with its beady eyes, watching how mad I am and refusing to leave after it had conveniently emptied its bowels.

Obviously, other paper forms weren’t spared. Some were covered with mysterious brown blotches that seemed like oxidized black tea. I hope the lady at the receiving end won’t be curious enough to touch those spots, otherwise it’s always good to fall back onto the good old, handy advice by moh: “Have you washed your hands today?”.

Drive on. Drive me crazy.

2009-06-22T14:12:00.007+08:00

My quest to master the art of driving hasn’t been bumpier. After mounting multiple kerbs, striking poles, getting horned by the drivers behind and accidentally horning others. I’ve never anticipated a more eventful lesson.

1) I spent half the lesson cooped up in the heat of an oven. The air-con wasn’t really doing what it should---It was on full blast emitting HOT air. This is a great DIY model to demonstrate the greenhouse effect but it’s definitely not the right time! Obviously, I couldn’t concentrate and all I heard was the instructor blabbering on how I shouldn’t make wide turns and how the steering wheel appeared heavy to me.

2) Then, he thought it was time to send the car for servicing. Oh phew, why couldn’t he have thought of that earlier?! Motivated by the idea of ending my predicament, I quickly made my way to the servicing bay but to my horror, the technician wasn’t around! Help!

3) Next, the car staged a revolt by stalling at the exit of the driving centre. It simply refused to budge. Fortunately, the engine roared alive after the instructor attempted to restart the engine for countless times. ~~I didn’t know kicking tires could help.~~

4) Here came the climax---The bonnet of the car started billowing smoke!!! Ahaha!! Ok…the billowing part only came after the technician (back from lunch) placed a wet towel on the hot engine. Woah, look at the choking steam and smoke! It sounded like sizzling hot sausages on the BBQ pit. I spent the next 20-30min watching on and fanning myself before removing my stuff from the car and moving on to another car with a fully functioning air con.

5) My bad day did not just end there. Looking forward to a nice, cool drink and a refreshing hot bath at home, I was utterly disappointed that the water supply had been cut off for maintenance! Arghhh!!

6) Worst of all, I didn’t manage to get a refund for the time wasted! It was as if expecting a piping hot BBQ lunch but all I got was a whiff of smoke…*chokes* from a car engine.

Hehe *cheeky grin*, the plight of that car was certainly not my fault, no no no not mine. I may be in a state of denial but I choose to believe that my appalling skills are limited to maneuvering the car. Other things like smoke and crackling noises are totally beyond my control.

Be strong, my childhood friend!

2009-06-18T20:38:00.008+08:00

I haven’t visited Bobby for ages. The last time I stroked his soft fur was 5 years ago when I had loads of time to spare. Bobby is the doggie companion of my neighbour in the opposite block. Yes, Bobby was the one that chased me from the living room to the kitchen, leaving me with no other choice but to seek refuge in the toilet. He was the one that pounced on my shoulders and glared at me face-to-face. He scratched my ankle, but I think he did that by accident---he was just too excited. Nevertheless, Bobby was also the one that laid his head on my lap to watch tv and eat ice cream (vanilla flavour, hello kitty brand) with me. We played games like hide and seek and “shake my paw paw” game. Bobby seriously enjoyed belly rubs.

Now, the once active and playful Bobby is ill and reduced to a bag of bones. His hind leg has lost its function. He can’t even limp around, let alone relieve itself without support.

Today, I watched Bobby’s two owners jointly lifting him up to bring him to the park (carpark I mean, that’s the nearest park) to pee. Once he was done, he was scooped up and carried home immediately. Imagine no more games, no more walks, and after half a lifetime of tailing people from room to room (his favourite hobby), he could only let his eyes follow his owners around the house and let out an occasional, feeble bark.

Rainbow had already lost his battle against bone cancer---he was put to sleep. Nicole, Rainbow’s son, is gone too. I hope that Bobby wouldn’t have to suffer too much. May he live with dignity until it’s his time to go.

The Origins

2009-06-15T18:38:00.001+08:00

Long before your ancestor’s time, legend has it that there lived a goddess whose duty was to work hand in hand with the ~~tu di gong~~ earth deity to ensure peace aboveground and underground. Pieces of her soul reside in every leaf bin dotting the surface of the earth.

Unfortunately, the frequent occurrence of droughts and floods roused the goddess from her deep slumber. Angered by the chaos, she demanded for its cause to be investigated. Careful not to incur her wrath, bugs, colonies of termites and worker ants scurried to dig tunnels in every nook and cranny. They whispered, gossiped and set ears on every wall.

Finally, they made a powerpoint presentation of their analysis which only had 2 words---Human Beings. The goddess’s failing memory did not help, so she propped out her textbook on primate history, only to be overwhelmed with disbelief----mortals had always been good dwellers and hardly misbehaved. The goddess refused to accept that these human beings were the real culprits behind these foolish acts.

Fuming mad, the goddess was determined to witness things with her own eyes. “Leaf bins on earth unite!” she bellowed. Lightning flashed, threatening to split the sky…thunder rumbled as if she’s never taken her dinner before and….

“POP!~~goes the weasel~~” she magically emerged from an ordinary-looking leaf bin in a quiet corner of a school, tasked with a mission to track the activities of human beings...

To be continued…

PS: Dear reader, you are taking a peek at her confidential reports!Please proceed with caution, the goddess is watching. Do remember, bugs, termites and ants ~~and anything that respires~~ work for her too.