quirky things said at work

firstly, that i apparently speak rather fluent mandarin, technically better than some of my colleagues.

but i speak with an ang moh slang (this coming from someone who is reasonably cheena is that she wanted to take A Level Chinese. no, not AO. A.)

and my female boss wants to me to shorten my skirt. yes, you read right. apparently it makes me look older than i am. i guess she was trying to say boring and dowdy. actually it went along the lines of "like a schoolteacher"...

i am amused.

i dreamt of you

it was suddenly Feb and you were here for the 4 short days. and i was so unprepared for it. i was feeling physically tired but i felt i should be taking you around the island and making sure you had a good time in the 4 days we had together.

then i realised i hadnt planned anything and didnt know what to do first, or how the 4 days should be spent to optimise the time we had toegther. at the same time, my body kept telling me to go back to bed and not bother.

:(

i wish i were a rubber ball

thank God for GT & the Halo Express...

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

John 16:33

how should you react when your driving instructor falls asleep while you are at the wheel?

though to be fair, he only dozed off when we were in the circuit. AND i was only in first gear, going at 10km/h for most of the time, since many of the drivers on the circuit were really newbies and i have already been driving on the road quite a bit.

my immediate reaction: should i be disturbed or comforted? like my driving is good enough for him to not need to stay awake/freak out and stay awake out of fear...

Moon's reply to my text: "i think us pedestrians should be more disturbed"

Josh's instinctive question: "did you swerve to wake him up?" (my answer: "no i revved the car")

my brother: "harh?"


classic.

when things get on your nerves, it helps to view things in perspective...

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

THE LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.

MY VERY FIRST NAMECARD!

it arrived today! the boss came by with 2 boxes of them.

but i've been told not to go trigger-happy with them and give them out to anyone and everyone... oops! i think he read my mind...

weird (and scary) dream..

last night i had a really freaky dream.

i was in my final year at university and was helping out a theatre studies class. i said goodbye to everyone since it was the end of final year and all i had left as a student were all my exams. as i was leaving the classroom, i was working out in my head what i needed to do for revision. as i went through all the modules i was taking, i realised i could only recall three (i need to do 4 a year, each worth 120 cats). suddenly i remembered i was doing French language. AND that i had not been to a single class the entire year. the first thought that came to my head was, why didnt my tutor call me to find out how come i have not attended any of the classes the entire year? then i freaked out - did i miss the oral component of the exam? if so, i must have lost about 20% of the marks already. i panicked and wondered if i could switch modules - like take that theatre studies module i was helping out in as a replacement for the French one. then i realised that it was too late to change and that registration of modules had closed a long time ago. so i walked to the classroom where the French classes were supposed to be held and picked up the week's lesson handout from the door. it was Lesson 10 and the content for the week was 'how to behave in an embassy' and information about embassy dinner parties - like food names, etiquette. i thought to myself, ok i can manage this... wait a minute, what about the previous lessons? how am i going to get the notes since i dont know anyone else in the class? DO I HAVE TO WRITE A WHOLE ESSAY IN FRENCH?!

then i went to a classroom, sat down and started working out how much i had to score to maintain my 2:1 average that i was riding on from the previous year's results. i started thinking, what if i skip that module exam altogether? then i realised i'd be short of 30 cats and wouldnt be allowed to graduate.

it was at that moment that i woke up. and it took me a really long time to realise i had already graduated. and got my 2:1.

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i was trying to figure out the cause for such a haunting dream. maybe it's the nervousness of starting work tomorrow. and not just any work. my first permanent job. and i guess it still hasnt sunk in. that i've already made it (in terms of the years of hard work to get to and through university). perhaps part of me still cant let of go of university life. but then again, it's the fear of being left behind.

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spent the weekend with family in Bintan for a short relaxing holiday. it was nice to spend time together and to get a bit of relaxation time before work starts. guess the thought of not being able to take leave for 6 months while on probation has begun to get me a bit down. but my mom and i have already hatched some plans to get away over a weekend or two to unwind.

also am a bit intimidated by the prospect of a real job. and also the need to be well-dressed and groomed EVERYDAY at work. but in some ways i'm looking forward to having a reason to dress up everyday. perhaps it was just some anxiety after my meeting with the boss last Friday and his little speech about "image is everything".

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But i've put my trust in Him so far and i will continue to. He got me the job and He will see me through it AND give me favour.

and thinking about that has just made me excited about tomorrow. :)

there is nothing quite like

hearing that your boss has already ordered your namecards.

AND that they will probably be arriving next week.

Lessons learnt from the past 3 days

1) boredom is more tiring that being busy
2) i've not gone home from work so on-time since, probably, 2004
3) people either underestimate my abilities or they overestimate the amount of time it takes for a task to be completed. which then leads me to question their own efficiency

anyway, i bid thee farewell, O Temp Jobs.

i sign my contract tomorrow and start Monday. a new phase begins!

a 3-day birthday celebration! WOW!

it's great being able to celebrate my birthday in Singapore, since for the last 3 years i've been away in the UK on my actual birthday (thus celebrations with friends in Singapore have always been at odd times). and perhaps it's because i've been missing for 3 years that this year's celebration was MASSIVE!

it started on the 4th in the evening, when my family decided to have the birthday cake. coffee ice cream cake to be exact! mmmm... me and my parents!
my brother, me and my mom! YAY CAKE!

on the 5th i had a casual Italian dinner with my family (at De Mario, Quayside) before heading off to eM By The River for a drinks party with some close friends.
Rachel and Moon amusingly trying to read the menu under the lamp because of the dim lighting...
Rachel, Moon and ME! i decided to go all out and be adventurous in my dressing! suspenders and hat, very Marlene Dietrich! haha... and fun!my friends that amuse me...
me, Jeannie, Amy, Steph, Alina, Joyce and Ave!
me and Ave! the hat caused a lot of amusement - Ave's musings on Facebook: "Talk about globalization! This hat was made in China for Swedish behemoth H&M, purchased in Dubai and now sits elegantly on tapdancing extraordinaire Adeline Li's pretty little Singaporean Chinese head."
Amy and me!
Ms Joyce UnKhoo!
a flattering photo! haha!
Ivy and Wen Fang brought me cake! and not just any cake... LANA CAKE!
what a pleasant surprise!
Wen Fang, Ivy and me! (and one in the toilet! hehe...)
awwwwwwww... it was a great night!

and the birthday celebrations ended with a lovely brunch buffet at Keyaki, the Japanese restaurant on Level 4 of Pan Pacific Hotel. at $58++, it's not cheap but they have a great selection of really good food. PLUS it's a la carte buffet so it's very civilised.
baby lobster with a wasabi mayonnaise
the sashimi platter (sadly, they only allow a maximum of one sashimi order per diner because "the ingredients are seasonal and not always available in large quantities")
roasted duck breast cold dish
rice ball with fish flakes, served with pickles
agadeshi tofu - i liked it so much i ordered a second round of it
teriyaki cod fillets
yakitori - mmmm... (yes we ordered a second round of that too!)
salmon with sea salt
grilled prawns! mmmm...
clockwise: tuna nigiri-sushi, california handroll, unagi nigiri-sushi (eel)
soft shell crab - i really liked this version. many that i've tried have so much batter while this one is just very thinly coated.
assorted tempura - it is really good because you can tell that the oil they use is fresh and not oxidised.
tuna with grated yam
scallops with miso paste
scallop nigiri-sushi and a tempura handroll
maki with sweet pickle (the brown bit)
smoked salmon salad
snapper salad
salmon nigiri-sushi
pork with ginger - YUM!
crab cream croquettes
beef teppan-yaki - REALLY good! not overcooked so still moist and tender inside!
yellowtail nigiri-sushi (and more scallop ones!)
cold soba
squid and salmon nigiri-sushi
FINALLY we decided we'd eaten enough and ordered dessert - fruit is always good to cleanse the palate
the lime sorbet is very refreshing!
utterly satisfying meal...

AND what a way to end the great birthday mega-celebration!

Times of refreshing
Here in Your Presence
No greater blessing
Than being with You
My soul is restored
My mind is renewed
There's no greater joy, Lord
Than being with You.


speaking to one of the pastors today, he shared something very interesting about his life when he was working in a high profile job.
"your promotion doesn't come from doing work, it comes from the Lord. I found that when I started going home earlier, I got promoted faster."

now that's called living under Divine Favour rather than striving for blessings. since blessings already imply grace (unearned, undeserving...).

Family gatherings make you see how your weirdness is genetic

it was my grandmother's 81st birthday celebration today. for the record, since my entire family argues about this among themselves trying to remember, it's the 27th day or the lunar 8th month. according to my grandaunt, we celebrate her birthday according to the lunar month because she doesn't have a birth certificate and they only found it out before my great-grandmother passed away when she showed them a sheet of paper that she had written everyone's actual birth date on.
the entertainment for today comprised of the following:

my 2nd uncle telling everyone the dinner was last Saturday only to realise last Friday it was today. then him telling people the restaurant was on the 3rd floor when it was on the second.

my grandaunt and my uncle engaged in banter about how this year's compared with last year's (he organised this year's, she last).

fake vs real birthdays, in particular, my grandmother's.

my brother buying a car (which somehow involves my dad and both my uncles).

the food (my uncle anxious there wasn't enough so ordered more, my grandaunt complaining that he was so disorganised when making all the arrangements and how hers was better...).

recollection of last year's embarrassing antics by the family (it involved BYO scissors and plastic bags and one suckling pig).

my first cousin, once removed (i.e. my mom's first cousin) arguing with my 2nd uncle. then my 2nd uncle discussing with my mom some form of holiday enrichment/boot camp for my cousin which then involved everyone at the table.

my other grandaunt whom i have not seen in YEARS telling me i'm prettier now that i have more weight on (YES!).

general debate about next year's celebration.

relatives asking when i start work... what i am going to do... what my salary will be... why i am not doing this or that...

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you learn all sorts of useful things from family, as well as a clue to why you are the way you are.

i am embracing my eccentricities!

Happy Birthday ME!

God is so amazing!

i feel so loved because so many people wished me a happy birthday.

i got given a date for round 2 of my civil servant job assessment.

and i got a call-back for some temp work next Monday to Wednesday.

AND THE BEST NEWS? i got a job offer! at 7pm when i was in the car with my parents. i had given up hope of news since i assumed they would have called by the end of the working day (i.e. 6pm) so i had resigned myself to being unemployed a little longer.

SUBLIME.

and He knew that was my one true wish for my birthday.

Childhood memories

today as we were in the car, the opening of a song caught my attention and i realised it was the Golden Girls theme song! it reminded me of my childhood, where i spent afternoons watching these classics (soon after the afternoons were filled up by re-runs of even older classics!)

anyone remember this? the song just takes me back to the days when i was teeny tiny, sitting in front of my TV and being so absorbed in the dialogue and humour...

or did anyone wish they had a housekeeper as cool and sweet as Tony Danza?

remember Balki's dance of joy! hei! hei! hei! hei!

and i love the chilled out theme song from TAXI. always makes me think 1980s cool... and there's something so nostalgic about it.


ahhh i truly loved the 1980s. and i think i watched a bit too much TV...

an inspiring and touching book i picked up recently

i don't usually do a review of books i've read (mostly because in the past few years i've been reading very serious work and didn't want to bore people with my enthusiasm for all these philosophical musings), but i recently picked up a book at Orchard Library when i had an afternoon to myself (it was very random - it caught my eye among the pile of 'Just Returned's) that i thought was worth writing about. entitled Talking With My Mouth Full - Crab Cakes, Bundt Cakes and Other Kitchen Stories, by Bonnie Wolf, this book is a rather personal exploration of food memories (she talks about family recipes as well as that of close friends). these are not fancy schmancy dishes but stuff that hold deep significance to people.at the end of each chapter, a few recipes are featured but i found myself skimming them to move on to the next chapter because her stories were so engaging and also struck a cord with my views and experiences of food. In her opening chapter, she writes, "As I went through these recipes, I realized that I remember most life events by what I ate." And that "We cook and eat for comfort, nurture, and companionship. We cook and eat to mark the seasons and celebrate important events. We cook and eat to connect with family and friends and with ancestors we never knew. And through this baking and breaking bread together, we come to know who we are and where we come from." How very true.

one particular chapter, 'Mothers' Days', really inspired me to start a family cookbook. "As I turned the pages (of her mother's notebook filled with collected family recipes), I realized that handing down recipes from one generation to the next is an intimate, simple act of love and connection." i would love to hand my children a collection of family recipes one day, especially family favourites that they can replicate and trigger fond memories. recipes perhaps they can even share with their children in the future and continue the chain of happy memories.

My favourite line of the chapter? "Family cookbooks have recipes for Jell-O salads and Christmas cookies. No recipes call for foie gras or truffle oil."

i'm only a fifth through the book and already it has made such a connection with me. i definitely recommend it!


Postscript:
this is a really good book too! if you've seen Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, you will find this book even more of a good read. other than him introducing each recipe and showing how important it is to learn basic recipes and cook simple but good food, he also gives tips on how to run a successful restaurant. which if you are an aspiring restauranteur, you will really appreciate.