i have a suspicion the Lees have read Kafka

I picked up an old copy of Franz Kafka's short stories recently. The first story was 'The Great Wall of China' and this paragraph really stood out:

Nowadays one can perhaps speak about it without danger. At that time for many people, even the best, there was a secret principle: Try with all your powers to understand the orders of the leadership, but only up to a certain limit—then stop thinking about them. A very reasonable principle, which incidentally found an even wider interpretation in a later often repeated comparison: Stop further thinking about it, not because it could harm you—it is not at all certain that it will harm you. In this matter one cannot speak in general about harming or not harming. What will happen to you is like a river in spring. It rises, grows stronger, eats away powerfully at the land along its shores, and still maintains its own course down into the sea and is more welcome as a fitter partner for the sea. Reflect upon the orders of the leadership as far as that. But then the river overflows its banks, loses its form and shape, slows down its forward movement, tries, contrary to its destiny, to form small seas inland, damages the fields, and yet cannot maintain its expansion long, but runs back within its banks, in fact, even dries up miserably in the hot time of year which follows. Do not reflect on the orders of the leadership to that extent.


And the recent security debacle in Singapore and the debates in Parliament seem to confirm this...

don't you sometimes wonder why/how the oddest, most random pieces of information are retained at the back of your head?

like how your toilet paper should face out because it tears more easily than if the roll faces inwards.

(from the first episode of vintage Singapore sitcom 'Three Rooms' - anyone remember that?)

mmm... custard...

as my mom had a box of Marks & Spencer all butter tartlet cases sitting around in the kitchen for some time, i decided to bake this weekend and use them up before they ended up like the christmas pudding of 2006 (or maybe it was 2005?).

i was surfing Epicurious.com for a tart recipe (something that is foolproof) and chanced upon this, which had very positive ratings and reviews. as i only had 8 tartlet cases and the recipe made 24, i quartered the ingredient amounts and made 6.

To make Portugese Cream Tart (filling):

Whisk together 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 tablespoon of all-purpose flour in a heavy saucepan.

Whisk in 150ml of heavy cream (I used Dulla Pure Cream), 2 large egg yolks, some lemon zest, a pinch of salt and 2-3 drops of vanilla extract. Cook over moderate heat and stir constantly. The custard will thicken. Take it off the heat once the first bubble appears on the surface (which will take about 10mins).

Transfer the custard to a bowl to cool, whisking until just warm. Spoon the custard into the cases and bake in a preheated oven (at 200 degrees Celsius) for about 10mins until the crust has browned.

Remove from the oven and allow it to cool slightly. Sieve some icing sugar and ground cinnamon over and serve either warm or at room temperature.


the custard smell filled the kitchen as i was enthusiastically whisking it over the stove and it tasted really delicious. the generous dusting of cinnamon also helped balance the sweetness and sharpness (thanks to the lemon zest) of the custard. initially when i found the recipe i thought it was for Portugese Egg Tarts but upon taking my first bite, i realised it was far from it. but it turned out to be a good thing as this custard can be used as a base for many different tarts (e.g. fruit tarts where you layer pieces of fruit over the custard) so i'll definitely be filling this for future use.

HIS faith has made me whole

because the victory is already mine

I see all my sins nailed to that shattered form
Now grace as healing flows
To me You gave

For you

i'll be your perky cheerleader...

i feel like i'm playing Monopoly and i landed on 'Community Chest'/'Chance'

on the way home from a rather pricey dinner (sigh - it was yum though so COMPLETELY justified...) and had to withdraw cash from the ATM. was rather dismayed at the balance displayed on the screen after the money was spat out and while walking home, was calculating where all my money disappears to each month.

bemoaning the "loss" of my monthly paycheck, i arrived home and realised i had mail. from the insurance company. gosh, i thought, maybe it's about them asking for payment (i.e. my direct-debit/GIRO failed to go through again this month).

to my pleasant surprise, the rather fat letter read:

Dear Policyholder

We refer to our letter dated 28 February 2008.

We wish to clarify that there was no need for you to submit a fresh GIRO form. You may wish to know that we have already forwarded the GIRO form submitted previously to your banker for approval. We shall be writing to you again upon receipt of the bank's approval to confirm the deduction date of your premium.

As a gesture of regret, we have enclosed a S$20/- TANGS shopping voucher.

We apologise for the confusion caused and thank you for your kind understanding on this matter.


whoa! God has a great sense of humour. AMAZING. especially since on the way home doubts were running in my mind about His provision for my finances.

and you know what's the kicker in this? He sent me a shopping voucher! indeed God, You are all-knowing and such a cool friend... :)

IT HAS ARRIVED!

just came today in the post. :)

hey, even the President can be a tad bit cool...

(click on image to view full clipping)

someone once asked me, "why learn Tap dancing? you can't really USE it compared to other social dance forms like salsa..."

well, this just proves you can Tap anywhere, anytime, just because... :)

the most disgusting way to eat fast food

is to have it with salad.

after all, the point of fast food is to revel in the greasiness and lack of nutrition. basically stuff that leads to obesity.

dare i say 'yum'? :)

but to counter the atrocity i committed (and to make peace with all outraged hard-core junk food fans), i tucked into my delicious chicken while in bed, with my eyes glued to the TV (actually, my laptop but who's keeping track here, eh?) watching Gilmore Girls (season 2, if you are interested).

ahh, life is beautiful...

in RETRO-spect

these past days i've been doing something very old-fashioned: instead of taking my Zen Stone Plus to work, i've been carrying my Sony CD-Walkman - YES I KNOW! which also means i've been digging into my CD collection for CDs to listen to.

and somehow that has resulted in me listening to some very retro material. take for example Monday's CD of choice:erm, Geri Halliwell's "It's Raining Men", anyone?oh then Wednesday's was MTV's Fantastic Females! does anyone remember Jennifer Paige?!? and my CD came with a bonus VCD of 5 of the music videos. Celine Dion's "Immortality" with the Bee Gees has got to be one of the best/funniest videos!

Thursday's retro CD-of-choice was...that soundtrack is like doubly retro! a 90s movie set in the 80s and me listening to the songs in the 00s! haha..."Oooh heaven is a place on earth"... "turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so da-da-da-da-da-daaaa"... "karma-karma-karma-karma-karma- chameleon!"... hehehe...
oh and Friday's CD was Robbie Williams - "Rock DJ" is a GREAT song! i can still remember the music video (the one that caused quite a stir) which had him stripping - and peeling off his skin and muscle till he was just a skeleton dancing on stage (with afro-sporting models on rollerskates). ahh... those were the days... when i was a massive fan of his music...

this whole retro-music thing put me in a nostalgic mood at work - and something someone said in the office suddenly reminded me of childhood cartoons and... Stoppit and Tidyup! i got so excited i went around asking my colleagues if they remembered it. and no one did. me being me, i searched for it on youtube and found it!

i remember being very tickled by this cartoon. and The Big Bad 'I Said No'. i loved the quirkiness of this cartoon. which if you watch it when you are older, reminds you very much of Monty Python (very Flying Circus).


and who can forget Zoo Cup! sadly i was unable to find any episodes in English, but hey, football transcends language barriers, right?

I PASSED MY DRIVING TEST!

YAY! *does the dance of joy, Perfect Strangers-style*

i accumulated 14 demerit points during the test, 12 of which were while IN the circuit - Failure to confirm safety during 1) directional change [-4], 2) vertical parking [-4] and 3) parallel parking [-4].

on the other hand, while on the road, i positioned my car incorrectly at the junction (did not move far enough into the yellow box for the right turn) and failed to overtake when necessary (in my defence, there was a really expensive-looking Merc in front of me in the filter lane who decided he didn't want to turn right after all so he moved out but part of his car was still in my lane and i didn't think i had enough clearance space to overtake him without scratching his car OR inching into the lane of oncoming traffic). Thankfully these mistakes were "free" (as my instructor said, "you get to make mistakes like this for FREE" - cue excited expression in voice). the mistake that i did make which cost me 2 points was "failure to use appropriate gear". which in this case, not changing up to 4th gear. even though the fastest i went was probably only 50km/h. apparently the tester said that once i hit 40km/h i should have used 4th already. :(

BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER! BECAUSE I PASSED!

and am excitedly awaiting the arrival of my photo-card in the post in 2 4* weeks!

*due to some system upgrade...

My Funny Valentine

as the song goes, "each day is Valentine's Day".
my "sweet, comic","looks are laughable, unphotographable" and "figure less than Greek" Valentine romanced me at the swanky Changi airport during his 5 hour transit last night.you really make me smile with my heart.

Ahh... Tony! Barbra! my pals!

Smile, though your heart is aching.
Smile, even though it's breaking.
When there are clouds in the sky, you get by if you smile.
Through your fears and sorrow, smile.
And maybe tomorrow you'll see the sun come shining through for you.
Light up your face with gladness.
Hide every trace of sadness, although a tear may be ever so near.
That's the time you must keep trying.
Smile, whats the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worthwhile, if u just smile.

That's the time you must keep on trying.
Smile, what's the use of crying.
You'll find that life is still worthwhile, if you just smile.
Smile.
Just smile.

hmm... interesting... (good news for me?)

UK bosses fed up with self-centred diva grads

Gen Y grads: Big headed, boastful, spoilt

4 February 2008

THEY want everything to fall into their laps.

And they boast about how tech-savvy, how educated and how much in demand they are.

Meet the Generation Y graduates - those born after 1982 - successors to Gen X. who were known for being cynical and disaffectionate.

If you're an employer in the UK, you probably wouldn't want to meet this particular bunch - the ones many employers are labelling 'graduate divas'.

They're the ones who lack initiative, over-sell themselves, and walk into an interview room chirping 'you all right, mate?'

A report in The Daily Mail says bosses in the UK are looking overseas for staff with a stronger work ethic in a bid to avoid self-centred, fickle and greedy employees.

The article comes after a report from the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) that revealed employers' recruitment difficulties on the low calibre of graduates.

Those in Gen Y are said to be career-orientated, but many bosses find them less than satisfactory. As a result, a quarter of employers now actively market vacancies abroad.

More than two-thirds of the 217employers polled predicted recruitment difficulties in the comingyear - up from 55.4 per cent a yearago.

And last year, nearly half had to leave prized graduate jobs open, even though universities turned out record numbers of students.

Some Gen Y graduates reportedly lack literacy and numeracy skills. Others present themselves poorly.

According to the report, based on responses from employers in investment banks, law and accountancy firms, some Gen Y graduates lack initiative and expect to be pandered to.

In one case, a new recruit to a transport company was heard on the phone saying to his mum: 'I have got to go to London tomorrow and they haven't even told me how to get there.'

MrCarl Gilleard, AGR chief executive, said: 'The employer threw up her hands in anger.

'Here was someone working for a transport company, was 21, spent three years at university and who was aggrieved because he hadn't been given a detailed map.'

Mr Gilleard added: 'There is a sense among Generation Y that they want it all and they want it now. Generation Y is me, me, me, but the employer thinks, no, it's us, us, us.

'I think there is a wake-up call... As far as graduates are concerned, it's really important they understand the rules of the game.'

The demand for top graduates is illustrated by the report's finding that the number of vacancies is at a 10-year high and is expected to rise.

The report also said that graduates are often seen as 'divas... who expect everything to fall into their laps'.

It noted: 'A quarter (of employers) praise the 'strong work ethic and desire to succeed' of overseas graduates.'

Mr Gilleard added: 'This may have wider long-term implications...and both employers and graduates may have to amend their expectations.'

Perhaps it's time for fresh grads, from any generation for that matter, to stop thinking that it's all about them.

source: The New Paper

interesting perspective

if you trust a hawker to bring you your order, how much more should we trust God to give us what is ours through His sacrifice?

what i learnt from this year's Chinese New Year

i have my father's genes when it comes to drinking - because if i had my mother's, i'd turn red really quickly. according to my uncle, my grandfather and my great-grandfather were like that as well.

phew.

Surreal

you came and went - it feels like such a dream. when i woke up this morning it felt as if the past few days never happened and if they did, they went by too fast.

much too fast... i'm wondering how long reality will take to sink in... that our short time together,
has already passed and it's a few months till the next one...

i can't get enough of you baby...

yes it's true... baby yes it's tru-ue...


Josh is coming to spend the next few days with me so please excuse me for being MIA (online, answering e-mails, meeting up...) since i have absolutely no idea when i will next get to see him (it could even be as far away as Christmas).

i will be "back" on Monday.

driving lesson anecdotes a.k.a. words of wisdom from the driving instructor

"your tester is an old man, probably in his 50s. he needs to be reassured that you are a safe driver because if he is not, he will not want to pass you. remember - he probably has a weak heart."

"erm, your left blind spot ah, is virtually non-existent (translation: you hardly check your left blind spot) and your tester sits on the left so he will notice it more. and it's harder for girls with ponytails? do you know why? because when you turn your head your ponytail will flick so if he doesn't see a flick from the corner of his eyes he will know you didn't check."

"why are you in such a rush to get through the course? the slower you take, the less things you have to do to fill up the 40min test time so you should go slow. then you will have less chance of losing points."

"sorry if it seems like i am dosing off. because i am. but your driving is pretty safe so good for me lor."

"remember, it's all about wayang... give the tester the impression that you are a safe driver... although you SHOULD also be a safe driver, not just act it."