Thursday, February 26, 2009

catching the tails of my last long vacation~

holiday has come to an end. overall, it's been a good vacation.

here's a list of things that i've accomplished!

1) Joined my first Chingay parade.
2) Travelled to melbourne, gold coast and canberra
3) Spent CNY '09 with my family and friends
4) Handled a class of 30 ten-year-old monkeys
5) Watched 8 movies - australia, bedtime stories, red cliff 2, Ip man, valkyrie, the curious story of benjamin buttons, he's just not that into you & slumdog millionaire. (especially enjoyed benjamin buttons. must admit brad pitt's acting was better than i expected.. and i absolutely lOve <3 the endinG! )

sigh. feeling rather pensive right now about going back.. how i wish holidays don't end..

perhaps i should try to increase my serotonin levels.. so that i can somehow increase my positivity. or maybe it is just another excuse for me to have chocolates without feeling guilty.

hm no time for pensive thoughts.

got to get back to packing!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

things that i know are (/not) meant to be

Some thiNgs are meant not to be spoken
no words are needed
stark silence says it all

Some thiNgs despite all the words
remains but an abstract
defined by our own interpretation

Some thiNgs are meant to be
no man can take away
no man can change

SOla fide, by faith
iT will unfold
like a blossoming flower

Sola gratia, by grace
iT will be moulded
like clay in a potter's hands

some things are surely meant to be
though unseen, but by faith and grace,
iT will come in God's timing.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Life's like a sinosoidal curve

"I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world."

Louis Armstrong - What a wonderful world.


What beautiful lyrics. It caught my breath the first instance i heard them. Such soulful words.

I've been feeling emo lately. It feels like i'm travelling on a sinusoidal curve, finding myself sliding down the peak of the curve. uncontrollable. until i hit the bottom of it.

And I ask myself, "why?"

I've come to realise that there is a great amount of pathy in me towards another person's problems. It might be a good thing to naturally be able to feel for someone else, but it is unbearable when you find yourself powerless to help them. Especially when they are people who means a great deal to you.

I wonder if i could stop being so easily affected by people i care about..

:(

Thursday, February 5, 2009

i want to be the next jamie oliver!~ (maybe when i retire =P)

Menu: Creamy Spaghetti with Scallop & Asparagus~







My first attempt!









My second attempt!






THe first and second picture looks similar because i used the same utensils, background and almoST the same ingredients. The difference is that i omitted ham + huge mushroom from the first attempt cos i felt that the whole dish tasted both meaty and seafoody..too heavy on the tastebuds. SO, i used plainly the seafood with asparagus, carrots and chopped mushrooms on e second try..

Also, i pan-seared the scallops and dory fish coated with sesame seeds. (THis i learnt from "surreal gourmet") It is a really simple way of cooking white meat and tasted really good. The fragrant of the sesame seeds complemented well with the seafood, me thinks. oh! and i added some chopped chilli into the cream for a slightly spicy-tangy aftertaste. :)

Anyway, had a really great time cooking today! :) finished the cooking and cleaning under an hour. hooray! wat's more, daddy even had a 2nd serving. :D

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

choked with emotions

"It is not the years in our life that counts, but the life in our years."

I heard a friend speak of the nearing death of her mother today. Oddly, the topic seemed so far for me. I tried my very best to console and comfort her, but i knew i could never provide her all the support which she desperately needs now.. because i am not in her shoes.

I began suggesting ways for her to deal with this situation. "stay optimistic", "spend more time with her", "maybe set up a blog" etc.. But these words seemed lacking. I simply wished i was there, to give her a big hug to occupy the gaps that my words cannot fill.

Then, i remembered a woman with cancer who appeared on The Straits Times home section last week. I remember a woman who has this really big smile, with sparkle in her eyes. Even though it's a gray scale picture, it seems to shout out energy and life at every corner.

The woman in the picture was a victim of breast cancer. But she was not one of the ordinary cancer patients. Apparently, throughout her cancer fighting days, she and her husband started up a blog. Initially serving as a means to update their family and friends of her condition, it eventually became a source of inspiration and encouragement for many - both healthy and non-healthy.

I was utterly choked with emotions when i read her blog (http://shinscancerblog.blogspot.com/) this afternoon. The eulogy written by her husband, the memorial video of her, pictures of her family and stories of her daily fight with cancer. Her strong passion for life is just so infectious. In fact, i believe, she has managed to inspire and touch the life of many others. Her fight for cancer was never really her own.. in fact, her blog managed to garner like-minded souls for charitable works.

Self-reflection on my own life started minutes after i finished with her blog.

How am I leading my life right now?
Am I living my life to the fullest each day?
Do I express my love for my family and friends enough each day?

Each of these questions flashed through my mind. I believe I am working towards living my life to the fullest each day. There are many things that I want to do and have yet to do. I love my family and friends very much, and I am still learning to express my love for them.

At the end of the day, as the woman who have lived her life so brightly rightly puts it:

"It is not the years in our life that counts, but the life in our years."