Instant Noodle's Pot

It Hailed in Melbourne!!!

2010-03-07T15:46:00.006+08:00

Talk about throwing snowballs and having a snowball fight... check out what happened yesterday 6th March here in the CBD...

I guess it's true what people say about the weather here, you just can't tell what you will encounter each day - rain, wind, sun or hail...

Mind you it was 30 degrees or there abouts on the 5th.... imagine....

My Last Final Exam Piece for the Course!!!

2010-02-21T20:44:00.003+08:00

Dear All

I know I have been away like for ages but I hope that doesn't mean that I've forgotten about this blog. School has been one hell of a ride and I can't believe that I'm in the last leg of the course.... Yep this is the last six months I have here in Melbourne and I'm not sure how and where I will be headed after this.

I remember sending my mum a text to wish her Happy New Year telling her also that I would be seeing her soon. She was surprised; thought that I won't be doing so until 2011. Scared her though when I mentioned that I would or could be back in like June or so when I graduate. Guess what her reply was - Don't come back.....

Three simple words that spoke a hell of a lot.... Hmmmm.... got me pondering......

In order to not be a naughty daughter and adhere to her wishes I would have to do one of two things : stay here illegally or get married to a aussie....

You guys tell me.....

Anyhow.... this is the best piece I have ever made in my entire course here... I love this piece. Themed 'Paris in Love'.... my friend Aazam helped me choose this expressive masterpiece....

Thank you Aazam.... I love ya for it :)

Present Desserts (Assessment Task)

2009-06-19T19:40:00.001+08:00

My Novelty Cake (Assessment Task)

2009-06-19T19:38:00.002+08:00

My Sugar Roses (Assessment Task)

2009-06-14T20:27:00.001+08:00

2009-05-31T20:10:00.000+08:00

Where oh Where Have I Gone????

2009-05-31T19:28:00.002+08:00

yes folks.... it's been ages and ions ago that this instant noodle has even thought to type anything in this pathetic un-updated blog of hers...

sometimes a person like me gets so caught up in the daily ramblings of life she forgets that she has a small obligation to other people around her. to be exact the past 4 months or so has been such a hurdle for me to jump i hadn't had the mood to write anything in here let alone put my mind into words.

i know you might think that i've been such a let down and that i should at least have the decency to let people know i'm still alive, breathing and kicking ... but then again who am i?

well folks, i have to apologize for not being faithfully updating this blog of mine with the latest happenings here in cold and wet melbourne since i've left hot and sunny home sweet home. i hope that there are some of those who still pop in to see what i've got here even though i haven't been constant.

i'll try my very best to keep everyone posted though...

This is the ONE Time You Wish Your Swipe Card Worked!!!

2009-02-25T19:51:00.001+08:00

In a large multinational company..............

A fire alarm rang at 4 PM in a large office when almost all employees were in office (approx 5000). As usual the entire office was evacuated within 3 mins & all employees gathered outside the office in the designated area waiting for further announcement.

The Security Officer in charge made the following announcement: "Dear employees - with sincere regret I have been asked to announce that for many of you it will be your last evacuation drill. Due to the recession the company is laying off almost 50% of its employees. So when this announcement finishes, I ask all of you to move back into the building and if your swipe card does not work then it means you have been laid off in which case you will not be allowed inside and all your belongings will be couriered to you by tomorrow.

The Company has used this innovative approach as we didn't want to fill up the email box with lay-off mails and good bye mails in the thousands & also to avoid any fights inside the office and the consequent security issue for all staff.

Hope you have had a rewarding career with us and all the best ahead.

Please move back in & try your luck".

Another Week at School... Another Week full of Food...

2009-02-21T19:31:00.008+08:00

Well folks... all these pictures speak for themselves... feast your eyes and salivate my friends...

Back to School!!!!!!

2009-02-13T19:12:00.005+08:00

Yes folks, summer is almost over and all the schoolies are back with their heavy laden bags, musical instruments, new uniforms and stationaries along with a slight tan to show off to all their friends.

And of course, dear old me is not excluded from this parent frenzy of utmost joy where they will once again enjoy the silence within the walls of their houses after the kids have gone to further enhance and gather the wealth of knowledge.

Trust me, I can almost hear the shouts of joy eminating from each and every household...

As for me, this first week back at school has been an OVERLOAD!

Not only do we have classes on a Monday night, we also have a kitchen production class that will see us unqualified patisserie people whipping up a supposedly 3 or 4 course meal to be served to the general public! Wonder whether school has hinted to those making a booking to read the fine print that explains no medical claims and lawyer suits would be our responsibility...

So if you heard anything through the grapevine that people had an unwanted 'incident' at a particular school, well just pretend that you didn't know me.

Anyhow, this semester sees me making gateux, tortes, cakes, bread and cooking dishes so here are a few pictures from the initial classes this past Monday and today:

Dear Diary...

2009-01-14T18:14:00.002+08:00

Sometimes in life one tends to wonder about the people around and how they affect each other...

When I prayed hard for a miracle to happen and help me make my dreams come true, GOD answered it graciously with a good Samaritan. For that I was extremely grateful for HIM listening to this little child of HIS and looking out for me all this time.

But there are also times when I tend to wonder if asking a simple question to something that was not confirmed with a reply to be sarcastically shot down...bad???

Did I do something wrong?

Did I offend anyone?

Was I to assume that all will be done?

Was I to assume that my note was received?

Who is to blame? ME???

Does accepting assistance from someone mean that you owe them your entire life and the universal space and existence you breathe and live in??

It makes me wonder whether I should have accepted in the first place....

Deep down inside I don't really regret my decision for accepting for I would have never come this far but the small gnawing at the bottom of my gut says that sometimes some form of assistance doesn't come free without pain, suffering and sarcasm...

2008-12-04T17:04:00.002+08:00

Hello everyone!!

My sincere apologies for not updating my blog with all the stuff I've been making in class. After part 5 of yeast, I've been busy preparing, executing and delivering loads of assignments and doing exams for the first semester here. So there was not many stuff to make and show you guys.

This is the last week at school and IT"S THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!

Yup folks, get ready to hit the beach and soak up some sun. The weather here has been a bit crazy for me. Winter ended like 3 months ago to move to spring but it's still blowing cold wind and darn it's summer!!! What's happening???

Anyway, now my time is taken up with working my butt off to earn me cash. Life couldn't be any better. Just to wish all those out there reading my pathetic un-updated blog a wonderful summer and that yup I'm still alive and kicking...

Take care everyone!!

Yeast Goods... Part Five

2008-11-10T12:08:00.002+08:00

Getting drunk before lunch isn't a good idea though....

Yup, the babas above were soaked in a mixture of rum, lemon juice, orange juice, lemon and orange peel, sugar and water.... Somehow the teacher had a heavy hand and the amount of rum that he poured into the mix was gooooooooooooooooooood!

Didn't manage to bring any back for me housemates though. Filled those with fresh cream so by the time I get back there wouldn't be anything left! Plus the babas would have been too mushy and soaked in the liquid mix it wouldn't have been yummie to eat.

A picture says a thousand words though.. imagine the taste....

Yeast Goods... Part Four

2008-11-03T11:59:00.002+08:00

Krispy Kreme, Dunkin Doughnuts, J.Co and Big Apple.....

To me nothing beats the fresh, homemade smell and taste of doughnuts... YUMMIE

Above is the picture of our products: jam filled, mini sugar and cinnamon sugar. I brought two boxes filled with those for my housemates and they gobbled up everything in 2 days!!

Now they want me to make more of them so that they can eat. Told them they would have to wait until summer comes around for me to ferment the yeast at home with the heat. Currently spring in Melbourne is like winter with the sun shinning hot and the wind blowing cooooollldd....

Anyhow, this batch was heavenly. Can't wait for next week to see what else we are going to churn out from the mixing bowl...

Yeast Goods... Part Three

2008-10-27T18:42:00.005+08:00

Hello everyone!

Sorry for not writing about the yeast stuff I've been doing the past few weeks... ben busy producing loads of assignments and class theory tests to close up this semester.

Can you believe it's going to be summer holidays in a few weeks time??

Well the picture above shows our finished danish products: apple, custard, apricot and blueberry fillings. So far these were the best products that I'v enjoyed making and eating as well.

Tune in to next week to see what is in stored!

Yeast Goods - Take Two

2008-10-20T19:15:00.001+08:00

Bonjour mes amis...c'est lundi encore. Aujourd'hui nous faisons des croissants dans la classe...(corrigez mon français s'il est mal... merci...)

Quels sont des croissants?

Pâtisseries...rempli de celui que vous puissiez imaginer, doux et savoureux.

Alright alright... enough of french. I think I've not made a good French speaker at all. My apologies to all those who are fluent in the language especially the native speakers. I was merely trying to practise what my teacher had taught me. I hope I have not angered anyone.

Well, today sees us patisserie people making chocolate, plain and marzipan croissants in class. Making puff pastry is always great fun especially when it's for products as yummy as this. Then again, the yummie stuff always leave us short of the pictures eh...

No thanks to the wonderful camera I have though... but yup... croissants for this week my fellow readers, the one off visitors and my salavating friends...

Au revior!

Yeast Goods - Take One...

2008-10-13T19:02:00.007+08:00

Hello everyone and welcome to Yeast Goods... the session that allows one and all to sample the yumminess of freshly baked bread and other products made from yeast.

Today, we made something called a beesting...

The picture above shows you the product in 3 different stages; stage one is on the furthest right just out of the oven whole... stage two is on the furthest left where the beesting is sliced into two and is piped with custard whilst the final product is in the middle.

The beesting has a sponge like cake texture with an almond sugar glaze topping. Looking at the way this product was made, it comes no where to creaming butter and sugar and adding eggs like you would a cake but is made using yeast..

Let me just tell you that this is one yummy yummy yummy yummy beesting...

Here is the recipe for the above:-

Ingredients A:

Bakers Flour = 250gms

Yeast = 50gms

Sugar = 10gms

Water = 200gms

Ingredients B:

Bakers Flour = 600gms

Butter, soften = 240gms

Milk Powder = 20gms

Sugar = 170gms

Egg = 220gms

Salt = 5gms

Method:

Mix ingredients A together and let it stand until doubled in size. Add ingredients B to A until developed. Scale a dough ball of 450gms each with the total quantity and leave to rest for 10minutes. Roll out and place into tins or trays and dock using a fork or a roller docker. Apply fillings or toppings and proof at 32degrees celcius. Bake at 210 degrees for about 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown in colour. Remove from oven and place onto cooling wires. When cold split in half and fill with custard.

Topping:

Butter = 150gms

Sugar = 250gms

Honey = 25gms

Cream = 30gms

Almond flakes = 150gms

Method:

Boil together butter, honey, sugar and cream. Remove from heat and then stir in the almonds. Cool and spread onto dough.

Sponge Cakes Galore

2008-10-06T18:55:00.002+08:00

Well folks, this brings me to the last class of cakes for the time being. One of the most anticipated classes for me since I'm so scared of the dreadul sponge cake!! Yep, big ole silly me scared of a soft cushiony type cake that I love to savour....

The last few times I tried making sponge cakes at home turned out to be disasterous. Instead of me having a nice spongy cushion, I had a dense pound cake instead... No matter what I did I never mastered it and gave up making my favourite cake - black forest.

Now... I think I would be able to whip up one that I could eat all by myself (erm... if I have to share then I'll make two.. ). For those that were told the old wifes tale of not knocking the cake mixture and slamming the oven doors or opening it up too early... well I'm afraid those rules APPLY.

In my opinion, the emulsified sponge was the most easiest and fool-proof recipes I would use in the coming future...

My apologies as no pictures were captured during this class... was too busy stuffing everything down to preserve a shot.

Next week is when yeast meets east...

Teslaar's Tulip Festival

2008-10-03T17:16:00.016+08:00

It's the last week before we all go back to school... how fast the days go by. It was like I just arrived in Melbourne and it's coming to almost half a year. Time waits for no man or woman....

My friends and I decided to check out the annual tulip festival that happens only from mid September to early October. Boy was I blown away with the wonderful vibrant rows of multi-colored tulips that were planted!! Here are some of the photos I've taken for all to see:

Exams are OVER!

2008-09-15T19:30:00.007+08:00

Yep, this is our last week at school before a 2 week break!

We had 2 exams back to back today; cakes in the morning where I made 12 plain scones and decorated a chocolate mud cake whilst a chocolate souffle (came out like last week's pix... thank GOD) and a vanilla bavarios decorated and garnished with raspberry coulis.

Here are some photos of the stuff I made:

By the way, that person you partially see in the first photo is moi...

Have a great week guys and gals!!!

p/s - Daniel... please lar... your keyboard oledi over-flowing ler, go get bucket to contain all the excretion of liquids ler hahahaahahhaha....

Alamak .... Kena Tag Liao....

2008-09-15T18:45:00.003+08:00

Itu Uncle Daniel arrr... gua tak tau main ini tag-tag punya la... gua tau lari-lari tangkap orang ler... errr... apa orang panggil.... polis dengan pencuri????? Ada lagi itu Smart Tag ler... office tag... parking tag...

Ok... just testing to see if I still remembered my Bahasa and spelling since arriving and staying in 'ang moh' land for the last 2 months ler. Of course you don't think I would be speaking like them in such short time ok... gua olang cina liao... makan bak all the time and yum char too... tapi hor itu teh cina takdak ler... so gua minum itu teh olang putih.. hehehehehe...

Alright, back to the tag... here are some of the stuff you don't know about me :

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My grandma named me after Mary Magdalene from the bible... (gua manyak holy worrr....)

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Just yesterday... life has it's ups and downs...

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
I LOVE MY HANDWRITING... so curly whirly...

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Processed meat - HOTDOGGIES!!

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Nope, mother would skin me alive if I did and never told her!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Absolutely, definately 100% ... I luv Me... (so perasan...)

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Can't be sarcastic ler dunno why... anyone can help me?

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes, along with all the other stuff except the top wisdom teeth

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Gua ayam ler... takde bola....

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Cornflakes and rice bubbles...

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Yes, unless lazy and if the shoes oledi too big like clown...

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Errr.... strong in what? Makan? Definately power one... muscles? Lemak manyak jugak ada....

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Rum & Raisin, filled with plump juicy raisins soaked in rum.... YUM!!

4. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
The kind of look they give you.. it takes only 5 seconds to make an assumption of a person....

15. RED OR PINK?
Neither, I love PURPLE

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF?
My hair... like wire brush ler...

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My friends back in KL...

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
Kalau boleh la...

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Me wearing black jumper pants... shoeless in the bedroom....

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Err... dessert or main course?

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Melbourne's Mix FM

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Purple

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
would think a guy's aftershave...but then it depends as well... I like the musky, manly ones and not those killer waves...

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Phone calls to expensive ler... me sms...

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Hehehehe... now wouldn't he want to know....

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Gymnastics

27. HAIR COLOR?
Black with blonde, red and brown highlights...

28. EYE COLOR?
Brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Gua punya mata manyak keng ler... ate all my carrots like a good girl so no need contacts...

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Anything that my mom makes... if not how I ended up like this la...

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
I'm a hopeless romantic ....

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Pierce Brosnan trying to sing to Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
My tee shirt is dark blue...

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
SPRING!!!!

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Ice Cream...

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Most of the time to anything....

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
If too engrossed doing something or burried in a book...

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
'The Wedding Officer' by Anthony Capella (and no I'm not hadap to get married yet... got nothing else to read in the library ler...)

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Don't own a mouse and if I did it wouldn't show me what pad it would be wearing la...

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
No tv yet la.. haven't bought one ... coming soon...

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
Silence....

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Definately Beatles!!!!

44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Australia

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Making yummie stuff to eat just like mommie...

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
On a bed in the delivery ward... where else la....

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
I haven't anyone to tag and have already read Uncle Daniel's answers so waiting for the others to answer...

Monday Food Galore....

2008-09-08T18:21:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone, it's Monday again... yup another week another list of stuff I made....

Today, sees the following being made in the bake area -

- Chocolate Mud Cake
- American Brownies
- Chocolate Souffle

Next week will be our theory and practical exams for both prepare and produce cakes as well as prepare and produce hot and cold desserts. I'm going to be pooped next Monday I tell you.

Today we had a chocolate field day in the bake area... most of us were covered in one or more types of chocolate whether it being cocoa powder, melted cooking chocolate or chocolate ganache. Our teachers were busy preparing us next week's exams whether from the theory or garnishing aspects. Let's just say things were hectic today....

Oh yes... here is a pix of the souffle that we made just out from the oven :

The tricky thing about souffles is that it has to be served straight from the oven to the customer looking like this... if you wait then you would have a flat cake!!!

Will try to get my 'frozen' camera to work hopefully by next week so I can put up more pictures of my masterpieces here from the exam and those that are upcoming.... so stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed and a bucket nearby to catch the drool....

Have a great week ahead!

Accidents Happen...

2008-09-06T16:37:00.002+08:00

Here's the most interesting that ever happened to me since I've arrived in Melbourne...

Being the 'soft cushion' for a cyclist whose bike chain came off ...

(Note: If you consider getting lost most of the time every time I head off to some place normal.. well I guess that's your point of view and I don't consider it interesting... I look like a bloody tourist walking around with my Melbourne Mini Street Directory or the 2007 Melbourne and Surrounds Street Directory the size of a gigantic roach killer!!! Yes.. yes... I know I'm still new to the area so shaddup right??)

Well, here's the story....

The placement agency I currently am registered with had arranged for me to take the FWH exam (Food Workplace Hygiene) that is a must for those who want and are working in the Hospitality industry. So off I went to catch a train to Oakleigh where the exam was to take place.

After getting off, I headed out of the station to find Portman St as well as the school required. Came to a 'T' junction under the station and decided on the left first as the Melbourne Mini maps didn't have the street in their pages - limit of maps it said at the page. Walked for a good 5 minutes until I found the street sign that showed I was on the wrong street (of course - what else!!)

Turned around and headed back to the station... and walked to the other side. As I was walking there were these two aussie blokes (australian slang) on their bikes wanting to get either to the other side of the station or to catch the train to the city or another stop. The all natural thing to do was to stop and give way right? And that I did, stopping at the corner for them to pass before I can continue my search for the 'lost' school.

As the first one took the corner to pass me, he slowed down as it was a slight downhill pathway and HE FELL!!!!!!! YES HE FELL!!

I thought he had missed his balance and just wavered and fell but he couldn't move and get up. Moreover the other bloke was just dumbfounded I think as he just sat upright on his bike and didn't come down to help his friend. And boy did my right hand upper arm hurt (of course the pain hit later than earlier) as the helmet and bike handle hit me along with the guy's body weight.

Luckily another passer-by helped by picking up the fallen (note that the other friend is still on his bike watching the whole drama go by...), offered to provide some plasters if he had any cuts or scratches but he declined. Finally discovered it was the bike chain that had caused this whole incident...

The finale to this before we went our separate ways was - "Thank you very much for being my soft landing...."

Yummie... Yummie... Yummie

2008-09-01T16:03:00.003+08:00

Welcome back folks to another edition of... 'What I Made in Class' day...

Yup Monday again and boy are my legs aching today... All I'm thinking about is stuffing my face with dinner and then snuggling up under the covers to catch a good night's rest before tomorrow comes around.

Anyway, enough about me and let's hear about today's menu:

Muffins
(apple-cinnamon, banana-walnut, chocolate chip, blueberry, raspberry, double chocolate, vanilla-almond and coffee)

Plain Scones

Gugelhoff
(chocolate-walnut, orange-almond, coffee-walnut, raisin-cinnamon, coconut-almond)

Bread & Butter Pudding

Macadamia Tartlets

All I can say about all the stuff we made today.... scrumptious!!!

For me the highlights of today was the gugelhoff, scones and the tartlets. A classmate of mine and I bought our gugelhoffs to take home. Made sure we wrote a short note to the Bakeshop telling them not to sell ours... think I did mention that our products get sent to our academy's Bakeshop that is open to the public and gets sold there.

When the scones were done, I was wishing that there was fresh clotted cream, strawberry jam, butter and a hot pot of tea around so I could have an English tea party!! We didn't make a variety of scones though and stuck to the plain normal one. You ought to try out making a batch adding apple-cinnamon-brown sugar mixture to it or just pack it full with grated cheddar cheese for a sweet and savoury type of scone respectively.... I tell you ... once 'kena' when they are fresh out of the oven.... wahlaueh... will be begging for MORE!!!

As for the bread and butter pudding, those were alright. Made 1 slab tin per bench and 3 smaller ones so that we could practise our garnishing techniques for the upcoming exams in 2 weeks. The tartlets were very sweet though. Normally one would find this made with pecans actually, therefore being known as Pecan Pie. All we did was substitute the pecans with macadamia nuts.

As soon as these two items hit the Bakeshop, they were grabbed up in a few minutes. So happened when I wheeled them into the shop, it was full of customers... drooling over the items made earlier in the day... whipped up all of these 'hot' ones too!

Let's just say the people here love their desserts; hot or cold, pastries, cakes or whatever... those who are planning visit here ought to take a ride to South Yarra and have a look at the pastry and bake shops there.... you can drool just by standing at the display window on the pathways. Once you get in I would think you might need a bucket! (let your imagination run wild....)

Have a good week y'all!!!

Monday Food Galore...

2008-08-25T18:02:00.001+08:00

Hello everyone, it's Monday again!

This week begins the cake galore in class. Last week marked the end of pastries and our exams. We got to make the famous traditional fruitcake this week. Our lecturer had been soaking the sultanas and raisins in brandy for the past one week. When she opened the container.... ooooooo.. the whole classroom smelt like a liquor party...

We did the cakes the industrial way, with a massive gigantic mixing bowl and laser sensors in the front. The cake paddle was as big as my face! Only thing is that I didn't get to taste the end product. We actually made the cakes for another class to practise their icing techniques. The teacher set aside just 1 9inch cake for the class of 15 to taste. Let's just say the people in class have no understanding of the word taste as they decided to 'tahpau' back for their friends at home.

As for the second half of the day, we made vanilla bavarois and sticky date pudding. Heheehe... I liked the sticky date pudding.. easy and simple and tasty to make... yum yum. Ate mine like a cupcake without the topping though. Sweeeeeet...

Stay tuned for more next week....

Exam Jitters and a Lost Profiterol...

2008-08-18T20:39:00.001+08:00

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Yes today was the day where I had to do my assessment for Prepare & Produce Pastries.... and boy was I jumpy. We had to do a theory exam of 20 questions in 1hour and 10 frangipane tartlets along with 6 eclairs and profiterols in 2.5hours.

Things got on to a good start... did my theory paper in about 30mins and got started on the 'hot' stuff. Got everything weighed and measured out, made everything quite well (if I do say so myself) and got them to bake.

First in the oven was the choux pastry for the eclairs and the profiterols. Luckily I still have a steady hand and managed to get all my 12 choux pastry items in a consistent shape and size; 6 nice straight eclairs about 5 inches in length and 6 profiterols in a well rounded shape.

After that was done, I headed off to weigh and measure for the frangipane tartlets. Had to make the pastry first so that it can be rested in the fridge for about 20mins before it can be rolled. In the mean time look into the choux pastry in the oven and make the filling for the tart.

Yippee ... was I glad that my choux pastry items came out of the oven nice and very deliciously golden in colour. Left that on the wire rack to cool and continued with the frangipane tartlet filling and rolling out of the pastry for that 10 to bake.

What I didn't notice is that someone had the nerve to pinch one of my profiterols from the wire rack!!! OOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhh.... I was so angry when I went to collect it from the rack and told my instructor. I asked her if she was going to pinalise me for that and she said no. It's not like I didn't make 6, the evidence of a profiterol being there in the first place can cleary be seen by the baking mark on the tray!

Oh well... after all was made and done for I brought the completed products up for judgement day. Nicole (my instructor) said I missed by 1 mark to get an A for my theory test and gave me a B... shucks. And for my products she gave me a C.

So I guess my overall should be a B?

This closes the chapter in pastries and next week sees me in cake production, my favourite! Stay tuned for more mishaps, calamities and yummie stories next week!

p/s - Second half of the day we made caramel cream and creme brulee.... yum yum yum....

Bombe's Awaaaay!!

2008-08-11T17:50:00.002+08:00

Hello Hello... yes it's Monday!

My tales from the kitchen today incorporates the following:

Apple Strudel (with the dough made from scratch and NO we didn't use filo pastry)
Sausage Rolls
Mango & Raspberry Parfait
Raspberry Coulis
Brandy Snaps
Bombe Alaska

We had a wonderful time stretching our strudel dough over a flour-covered table cloth!

Yup we used a table cloth to make sure that the thin pastry didn't end up with multiple holes and be called 'Holy Apple Strudel'. I assumed that the pastry would end up like the roti canai dough and it was but slightly different as the ingredients were slightly varied.

What a heavenly feast my late Great Grand-Uncle would have had... enjoying every single bit of that lovely dessert served with fresh cream or ice cream.... ooooooohhhhhh.... bless his soul!

As for the sausage rolls, I thought biasalah... bakery pun ada what. Just make the dough and put a sausage inside and bake right? Nope... the dough was a type of puff pastry just not so complicated filled with a mixture of minced meat, chopped sausages, onions, garlic, eggs, spices, salt and pepper made into a paste and piped onto the pastry and egg-washed to bake. Nice...

When it came to the Bombe Alaska the even layers of the 3 ice cream flavours from last week were yummily done (had to abstain from licking the spoon everytime each flavour was done though...). Then John (a classmate from South India), Harolf Firth (our lecturer) and I had another go at the champagne sorbet! (and no we are not alcoholics..) Ohhhh.... I tell you that is one heavenly dessert! You guys who are reading this ought to get the recipe and make em! You will not ever regret it trust me...

Overall, it was another exhausting day for my poor feet standing from 8am right up to 5pm just now. Next week will be our practical exams for "Prepare and Produce Pastries". I have to prepare 6 profiterols and chocolate eclairs along with 10 frangipane tartlets.

Wish me luck!

How hard is it to get a JOB???!!!

2008-08-09T14:13:00.002+08:00

Sigh... I'm so frustrated!!

I've been trying to get a job for the past 3 weeks and I'm still not having any luck!

I applied for alot of jobs online but to no avail has anyone called me. There was an agent however that did get a hold of me through one of the jobs I applied for. Went for the induction and filled up the required paperwork.

Finally I thought all things were going to be alright... all he said was go get the uniform requirements and sign up for the Food Hygiene Certificate and you'll have a job asap. So did everything and wanted to show him my stuff on Friday. Called the guy in the morning at 9:30am to get an appointment and he never called me back!

I just wonder how long this is going to take... I need to work to be able to save up for my fees...

The Yummies Keep Coming!

2008-08-04T19:56:00.003+08:00

Hellooo.....

Yes it's me Maggie and I'm here to tell you what Week 3 at practical had instored for me. I'm afraid my camera will be out of service until spring comes along when it feels more warmer and 'geared up' to take shots of my tempting creations in the kitchen.

This week we had the pleasure of making:

Profiteroles
Chocolate Eclairs
Fruit Rings
Vanilla, Chocolate & Raspberry Ice Cream
Champagne Sorbet

Ahhhh.... the wonderful devilish creations one can get from choux (pronounced as shoe) pastry... as soon as our handiwork hit the Bakeshop (where the desserts made are sold to the general public), you should have seen the ogling eyes of the female patrons!

"Arrrrrggghhhhhhhh CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS!!!!!!!!! OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!", that was what I heard from a girl and her friend. Guess how many eclairs she bought off the rack?? She bought 3 chocolate covered heavy creamed gorgeously filled eclairs all for herself!! Should have heard her in the hallways after.... "Mmmmm...mmmmm these are like soooooooo goooooooooood". Mind you that her friend didn't get any of those 3 she bought....

As for the ice cream and the sorbet, well those were not for sale as we were preparing them for next week's class where we will make the famous dessert called Bombe Alaska. A pretty tricky thing making ice cream... have to be careful not to get a 'scrambled egg' mixture on the fire to get a lovely smooth and creamy ice cream.

Ze sorbet was as one would say... positively magnifique! The taste of the bubbly in the ice that melts in your mouth.... mmmm.... no words can express....

Oops... erm... sorry... please stop drooling over your keyboards. It kinda gets a little nasty trying to clean it later....

Stay tuned for the next kitchen adventure... brought to you every Mondays by moi!

Cold Camera = Zero Pictures

2008-07-28T16:02:00.003+08:00

Hello folks... today is my second day in practical class. Yep.. this is where I get to stand from 8am in the morning and sit at 5pm in the evening... not that I'm complaining of course...

Last week we whipped up a few items in the kitchen:

Frangipane Tartlets
Poached Pears
White Wine Jelly
Chocolate Sauce

This week we managed to not burn our hair with:

Quiche Lorraine
Crepes
Banana Flambe
Creme Sabayon
Some melted sugar pieces (for decoration)

As you can see I have no pictures of my masterpieces from the kitchen coz my seeetooopid camera is frozen solid!!! And my wonderful brother laughs his heart out saying I shouldn't have bought a cheapo camera that doesn't work in cold conditions ... and he had the cheek to say it when it was his recommendation that I buy it!!! Of all the nerve!

Anyhow my friends, rest assured we managed to do all of today's items without causing any casualties especially when we did the flambe... I have all my eyebrows and eyelashes in tact the last time I looked in the mirror...

The end result = the quiche was excellent, the crepes with the banana flambe filling and creme sabayon sauce was gooooooooood!

For those that wanna know what these items look like, please go Google it and you'll know. My apologies to all that are drooling for I have no pictures to show you.. therefore you will just have to imagine what it's like...

Mmmmm.......

Freezing in Melbourne!!!

2008-07-24T15:59:00.002+08:00

Dear Friends and Readers (if there are any left)...

Yep, this bowl of hot 'curry' flavoured instant noodle has finally arrived and settled down in the land of roos and koalas...

Though the curry flavour is suppose to be hot and spicy, the cold and wet winter weather here in Melbourne has killed that flame... Me fingers, toes and everything else is like ice everytime I walk out!!! Not to mention I couldn't take much photos with me digital camera... darn stooopid thing doesn't work with COLD batteries! AIYOHHHHHH......

Of course smart thinking me thought that with the abundance layers of celulite I had on my body was enough to sustain the cold... I thought wrong! Think I have like 3 layers under my coat not including the lingerie ok... but I will only have to endure this for another month or so thank God! Then comes summer to where I'm sure one of my posts would also complain regarding the heat which could reach until 40....

One can never be too satisfied isn't it....

Announcement

2008-06-24T11:38:00.003+08:00

Dear Friends and Readers,

This would be my last post for the time being as I won't be connected to the virtual world for sometime.

Posts will resume once I've settled in and school has started over in the Land Down Under. Till then, happy reading Daniel's blog for his whacky, interesting and entertaining stories.

Au revior!

2008-06-19T13:00:00.000+08:00

Recipe - Easy Vanilla Butter Cake

2008-06-17T13:47:00.001+08:00

Preparation Time
20 minutes

Cooking Time
150 minutes

Serves 15

Ingredients

Melted butter, to grease
450g (3 cups) self-raising flour
150g (1 cup) plain flour
440g (2 cups) caster sugar
300g butter, cubed, at room temperature
310ml (1 1/4 cups) milk
6 eggs, at room temperature
3 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Preheat oven to 140°C. Position a rack on the second lowest shelf of the oven. Brush a round 25cm (base measurement) cake pan with the melted butter to lightly grease. Line base and sides with non-stick baking paper.

Place the self-raising flour, plain flour, sugar, butter, milk, eggs and vanilla essence in a large mixing bowl. Use an electric beater to beat on low speed for 30 seconds or until just combined. Increase the speed to high and beat for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is thick and all the butter is incorporated. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon.

Bake in preheated oven for 2 1/2 hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack for 2 hours or until completely cool.

Notes & Tips:

Have the butter at room temperature, soft enough to beat, but not melted. The undecorated cakes will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Variations:
Rich chocolate cake: Reduce the self-raising flour to 300g (2 cups). Sift 95g (1 cup) cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda, and add with the flours. Increase the milk to 435ml (1 3/4 cups). Omit the vanilla essence.

Orange cake: Reduce the milk to 185ml (3/4 cup) and add with 2 tbs finely grated orange rind and 125ml (1/2 cup) orange juice. Omit vanilla essence.

Carrot cake: Add 1 tsp ground cinnamon with the flours. Reduce the vanilla essence to 1 tsp. Add 285g (3 cups) coarsely grated carrot and 100g roughly chopped walnuts.

Banana cake: Sift 1 tsp bicarbonate soda and add with the flours. Reduce the milk to 125ml (1/2 cup). Add 390g (1 1/2 cups) mashed very ripe banana with the milk. Reduce the vanilla essence to 1 tsp.

Amazing Simple Home Remedies

2008-06-11T09:14:00.001+08:00

1. IF YOU'RE CHOKING ON AN ICE CUBE, SIMPLY POUR A CUP OF BOILING WATER DOWN YOUR THROAT. PRESTO! THE BLOCKAGE WILL INSTANTLY REMOVE ITSELF.

2. AVOID CUTTING YOURSELF WHEN SLICING VEGETABLES BY GETTING SOMEONE ELSE TO HOLD THE VEGETABLES WHILE YOU CHOP.

3. AVOID ARGUMENTS WITH THE FEMALES ABOUT LIFTING THE TOILET SEAT BY USING THE SINK.

4. FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SUFFERERS ~ SIMPLY CUT YOURSELF AND BLEED FOR A FEW MINUTES, THUS REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON YOUR VEINS. REMEMBER TO USE A TIMER.

5. A MOUSE TRAP PLACED ON TOP OF YOUR ALARM CLOCK WILL PREVENT YOU FROM ROLLING OVER AND GOING BACK TO SLEEP AFTER YOU HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON.

6. IF YOU HAVE A BAD COUGH, TAKE A LARGE DOSE OF LAXATIVES. THEN YOU'LL BE AFRAID TO COUGH.

7. YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'T MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THE DUCT TAPE.

8. REMEMBER - EVERYONE SEEMS NORMAL UNTIL YOU GET TO KNOW THEM.

9. IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.

Dear Diary....

2008-06-03T09:58:00.002+08:00

Dear Diary...

The long and excruciating wait has finally paid off... DIMA approved my student visa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally I can move another step up the ladder and go ahead with the next course of action to achieve my dreams... I guess things are slowly falling into place.

My next stop, the Employees Provident Fund office in PJ...

Slow Down Culture

2008-06-02T16:37:00.003+08:00

An interesting reflection sent by a friend...

It's been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any projects here takes 2 years to be finalised, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It's a rule.

Globalize processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate results. Therefore, we have come to posses a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand debate, debate, debate, hold x quantity of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields better results.

Said in other words:

1. Sweden is about the size of San Pablo, a state in Brazil.
2. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants.
3. Stockholm has 500,000 people.
4. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux are some of its renowned companies.
5. Volvo supplies NASA.

The first time I was in Sweden, one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees drive their car to work). The first day, I didn't say anything, either the second or third. One morning I asked, "Do you have a fixed parking space? I've noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot". To which he replied, "Since we're here early we'll have time to walk, and whoever gets in late will be late and need a place closed to the door don't you think?". Imagine my face...

Nowadays, there is a movement in Europe named Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family and friends without rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart: the spirit of Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe as mentioned by Business Week.

Basically the movement questions the sense of hurry and craziness generated by globalization, fueled by the desire of having in quantity (life status) versus having with quality, life quality or the quality of being. French people, even though they work 35 hours per week are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour work weeks and have seen their productivity been driven up by 20%. This slow attitude has brought forth the US attention, pupils of the fast and the do it now!

This no rush attitude doesn't represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, productivity, perfection, with attention to detail and less stress. It means re-establishing family values, friends, fee and leisure time. Taking the now present and concrete versus the global undefined and anonymous. It means taking humans essential values the simplicity of living.

It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy lighter and more productive where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do. It's time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality of products and services without losing the essence of spirit.

In the movie Scent of a Woman, there is a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, "I can't, my boyfriend will be here any minute now". To which Al responds, "a Life is lived in an instant". Then they dance to a tango.

Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious of living the future that they forget to live the present which is the only time that truly exists. We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

Men are Just Happier People

2008-05-30T14:20:00.003+08:00

Nicknames
If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-Eyes.

Eating Out
When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20 even though the total is only for $32.50... None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

Money
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but is on sale.

Bathrooms
A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap and a towel from M&S.
The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 200 of these items.

Arguments
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

Cats
Women love cats.
Men say they love cats, but when women aren't looking, men kick cats.

Future
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

Success
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

Marriage
A woman marries a man expecting he will change but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change but she does.

Dressing Up
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water plants, empty the bins, answer the phone, read a book and get the post.
A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

Natural
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

Offspring
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favourite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

Thought for the Day
A married man should forget his mistakes, there's no use in two people remembering the same thing.

Sick Leave...

2008-05-28T08:57:00.002+08:00

I urgently needed a few days off work, but I knew the Boss would not allow me to take leave. I thought that maybe if I acted 'crazy' he would tell me to take a few days off.

So, I hung upside down on the ceiling and made funny noises....

My co-worker (who's blonde) asked me what I was doing. I told her I was pretending to be a light bulb so the Boss might think I was 'crazy' and give me a few days off.

A few minutes later the Boss came into the office and asked, "What on earth are you doing?"

I told him I was a light bulb...

He said, "You are clearly stressed out. Go home and recuperate for a couple of days".

I jumped down and walked out of the office...

When my co-worker (the blonde) followed me, the Boss asked her... "And where do you think you're going?!"

(You're gonna love this.... )

She said, "I'm going home too. I can't work in the dark".

With Deepest Condolences...

2008-05-27T13:33:00.007+08:00

MR. GAN BOON PENG

6th April 1944 - 19th May 2008

Missed Dearly by Family Members & Friends

-----------------------

This column is dedicated to a dear and wonderful friend of mine, Uncle BP Gan (whom I so fondly addressed as so) who just recently passed away from a heart attack whilst in China enjoying what he loves the most - touring.

The news of his passing came as a shocker to me when I received an sms from another close friend Nancy last Sunday. His youngest daughter had to arrange for her dad's body to be flown back here to Malaysia for his final rites and farewells.

His wake was held for the past two days at Nirvana and was just cremated this morning at PJCC, with his friends and family accompanying him on his last leg of his journey...

I said my good-byes to him last night when I went to pay my last respects... It was just like only yesterday when a whole bus load of people went up to Haadyai; Uncle Gan and all. He was the life of the crowd entertaining us with his jokes and karaoke renditions of Elvis's Wooden Heart, Cliff Richard's Bachelor Boy and Bertie Higgins's Casablanca. He didn't have a care in the world to what people thought of his off key singing and his wise cracks. All he knew is that he was having fun and his audience was entertained.

"Kai Lui" (god-daughter) as I was called by him and introduced jokingly to his friends was the time where I had just gotten to know him in dance class as well as socially. He would wear loose slip on shoes and sometimes end up loosing then during dancing. All of us would break down and laugh till our sides and cheeks ached. There even was a time when he did a flick and his shoe flew! Nancy and I decided to have a round of soccer passing the shoe around as he put up a chase!!

There are so many wonderful memories I had with Uncle Gan I will never forget...From Cameron Highlands and strip poker to the weekly supply of bananas, papayas and other fruits one could think of. Uncle Gan always had a steady supply of food in his trusty shopping bag and jokes up his sleeve for his friends all the time.

The 573 pictures in his album that were shown via slides, was compiled by his youngest daughter flashed across the screen during his wake showed how well travelled Uncle Gan had been. From the Middle East to Asia to Europe, Uncle Gan had been to so many places with all his friends who had accompanied him on his tours. There wasn't a picture that didn't show him in a funny pose enjoying himself... even in the pictures of his youngest daughter's wedding.

I really wish that Uncle Gan would have been able to spend more time here with us.. as like what Nancy said, "Why did you have to leave so early? You could have stayed and had many more wonderful times together".

Rest assured Uncle Gan is now in a better place making other people happy with his wonderful and unique character. I will miss you loads for sure, but I know someday, sometime, somehow, somewhere we will definately meet up and I can be your "kai lui" again....

Lessons in Logic

2008-05-23T14:25:00.003+08:00

If your father is a poor man,

it is your fate but,

if your father-in-law is a poor man,

it's your stupidity.

~~~~~

I was born intelligent - education ruined me.

~~~~~

Practise makes perfect... But nobody's perfect so why practise?

~~~~~

If it's true that we are here to help others,

then what exactly are the others here for?

~~~~~

Since light travels faster than sound,

people appear bright until you hear them speak...

~~~~~

How come 'abbreviated' is such a long word?

~~~~~

Money is not everything... there's Mastercard & Visa!

~~~~~

One should love animals... they are so tasty!

~~~~~

Behind every successful man, there is a woman.

And behind every unsuccessful man, there are two women.

~~~~~

Every man should marry, after all happiness is not the only thing in life.

~~~~~

The wise never marry...and when they marry they become otherwise.

~~~~~

Success is a relative term, it brings so many relatives.

~~~~~

Never put off the work till tomorrow what you can put off today.

~~~~~

Your future depends on your dreams - So go to Sleep!

~~~~~

There should be a better way to start a day than waking up every morning.

~~~~~

Hard work never killed anybody, but why take the risk?

~~~~~

'Work fascinates me' - I can look at it for hours!

~~~~~

God made relatives; Thank God we can choose our friends!

~~~~~

The more you learn, the more you know,

The more you know, the more you forget.

The more you forget, the less you know,

The less you know, the less you forget.

So... why learn?? ;)

~~~~~

A bus station is where a bus stops.

A train station is where a train stops.

On my desk I have a work station...What more can I say?

Dear Diary....

2008-05-22T14:31:00.002+08:00

Dear Diary...

Time and tide waits for no man or woman...

Thinking about things and whether they would be smooth sailing is a real headache. You think that all would be well as you're finally getting what you've always wanted but then a major gliche in the flow happens...

When you want something done, at the right pace that is without having to rush at the last minute is always the best choice... unfortunately this doesn't always happen.

Usually it's things that you least expect to cause you difficulties that spring up from nowhere...

All I hope and pray is that all goes well...

Happy Wesak Day

2008-05-19T11:23:00.000+08:00

Diabetes...

2008-05-16T14:30:00.003+08:00

After being diagnosed as a diabetic, I went surfing the internet for websites and information on how to handle this situation.

For those that wish to know more about this killer disease, take a look at this page : http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp

I hope that this website is able to help you out with any questions or doubts that you have regarding the disease as it did help me.

If you need to know what to eat, then may I suggest looking into this website for a delectable selection of menus made for our conditions : http://www.diabetic-recipes.com/menus.htm

Happy Reading!!

Dear Diary....

2008-05-15T16:15:00.002+08:00

Dear Diary...

Been away for the last 3 days... Dr made me do more tests to see if my eyes and kidneys have been somewhat damaged...

Yes my friends, confirmed a diabetic...

Had already known it would come but never expected it so soon... it runs in the family... dad's genes am afraid...

Dr says am all clear at the moment... will need to look into balancing my diet - medication - exercise regime starting now....

Meeting with another Dr friend on the coming Monday to get her advise on the matter...

Am happy to have a great group of friends who I know will be there to support me in my difficult times... you know who you are... love you guys...

Dear Diary

2008-05-12T09:00:00.000+08:00

Dear Diary,

Our lovely Maggie will b on a blog break for the next few days bcos she's now not feeling very well rite now...

She'll b back 2 bring us all further joy n love when she comes back with "full battery charged" haha

Dear Diary....

2008-05-09T13:31:00.003+08:00

Hugs

There's something in a simple hug

That always warms the heart;

It welcomes us back home

And makes it easier to part.

A hug is a way to share the joy

And sad times we go through,

Or just a way for friends to say

They like you 'cause you're you.

Hugs are meant for anyone

For whom we really care,

From your grandma to your neighbour,

Or a cuddly teddy bear.

A hug is an amazing thing -

It;s just the perfect way

To show the love we're feeling

But can't find the words to say.

It;s funny how a little hug

Makes everyone feel good;

In every place and language,

It's always understood.

And hugs don't need new equipment

Special batteries or parts -

Just open up your arms

And open up your hearts.

-Jill Wolf-

Dear Diary....

2008-05-08T15:31:00.004+08:00

Dear Diary...

Arrived the hospital lab anxious....

Please let me not be diabetic... please... please... pleas...

Had my dinner at 7.30pm the previous night and drank water like no body's business...

I hope that the results are going to be clear so that I can proceed with whatever I need to do... I hate doing things last minute...

Timelines ... timelines... need to hurry...

The guy at the lab was superb in getting my blood samples, never felt a thing. Compared to the previous incidents where they just kept sticking the needle in my arm and making holes. Kudos to the lab guy!!

Drank my cup of glucose that made me see heaven, earth and the other worlds!! Boy was that cup SWEET! Wanted to throw up after the first sip... Had to wait another 2 hours before lab guy had to take another sample.

After that, got back to the office and had lunch... Hungry like a wolf...

Will need to see the specialist again on Monday for my results... need a miracle...

Dear Diary....

2008-05-07T16:44:00.003+08:00

Dear Diary...

Got myself out of bed early to get to the specialist quick...

Can't take the suspense to find out the results... Ate dinner at 6.30pm yesterday consisting of plain chee cheong fun with a miniscule amount of sauce and had nothing else but water...

Feeling dizzy as I got into the car to drive... Had no choice but to munch on an apple to keep me going...

Saw the specialist; a friendly face as was an acquaintance of a friend... and he remembered me!!

After going over my referral letter and report he says - I don't think you're diabetic. The reading given has to be divided again for the correct number.

I was leaping for joy!!!! All my worries and tears were changed to shouts of happiness!!!

Just to ensure that all is clear, we will have to do a glucose tolerance test (GTT) - he continued... Do come back tomorrow since you've munched on a apple this morning to make the figure more accurate. Ensure to fast accordingly please...

If I could do backflips and cart-wheels I would, but I can't be too happy as the results can only be made known to me when I see him again the following Monday...

Relieved for now... tomorrow the test....

Dear Diary....

2008-05-06T14:54:00.002+08:00

Dear Diary...

Looked up the internet to see what could help ease the troubled me...

Apples, Oranges and Pears... Grains, Wholewheat and Oats....

Magical items that is said to reduce blood sugar content... To believe or not to believe...

Require to start this change in food intake ASAP..

Dear Diary....

2008-05-05T16:44:00.002+08:00

Dear Diary...

Went in to the clinic for a retest...

Readings for both the blood pressure and blood sugar didn't meet the Dr's standards... upset and worried that it would affect my application...

Got referred to a specialist in a private hospital... appointment set for Wednesday morning.

What am I doing to do?? What will the outcome of this med check be?? Am I diabetic??

Tears started to trickle down my face when I reached my office cubicle...

Couldn't help but think of all the possiblities that would come with me being diagnosed as such. Of course family history puts me in the spotlight of possibilities but then again...

Why now?? Why me??

I did so many things to prevent this from happening to me...watching what I ate, the amount of sugary stuff I took and exercise... guess it was not enough...

Waiting for Wednesday is going to be long... a friend said to look on the positive side of things since nothing has been confirmed...

Will try...

Dear Diary....

2008-05-04T20:15:00.001+08:00

Dear Diary...

Managed to get up after a 40 hour complete bed rest...

Tummy rumbling with acidic build-up, chapped lips from dehydration, tongue dry as the Sahara, throat thirsty from lack of liquids...

Poured the whole bottle of 100plus down my throat, took a warm shower and decided to boil myself a pot of bitter gourd and oinky ribs soup. The traditional method of bringing down the blood pressure.

Drove grandfather and mom to church service and headed over to the morning market. Held my composure from the hustle and bustle of my surroundings just to get my raw items.

Rushed back to church to fetch my family members and went straight back home. Passed mom the shopping and asked her to assist with the brew... then went back to my comfy bed to lay down my throbbing head whilst waiting for me bowl of soup.

Mom made a mean bowl of soup I tell ya... one bowl and I felt so much better. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise but moms are the best cooks! Managed to head out again to assist the kids for their jive routine at the club too...

Tomorrow... a rematch with the blood sugar and blood pressure meters!!

Dear Diary....

2008-05-03T23:00:00.002+08:00

Dear Diary...

Slept like a big fat tabby cat the last 9 hours... my head feels like it's going to split into two...

Told bro to get me a bottle of 100plus to ease the pain, thirst and slight fever running through me but never got to drink a drop as was too dizzy to even get up...though I did manage to get to the fridge and savour a few bites of plain bread and a slice of cheese...

Mom kept checking on me, to get up and eat more but all I could do was cover my eyes from the room light with my comfy pillow; just turn and face the other side... Someone save me from the pain...

Now I understand what a friend goes through when she experiences a rise in the body's blood pressure...

Dear Diary....

2008-05-02T14:48:00.001+08:00

Dear Diary...

Helped a friend move house yesterday and repainted her new 'lilac' coloured room to a nice rose white with heritage red borders...

Boy what an excellent work-out I had had in years!

Unfortunately my medical results for my blood sugar and blood pressure today showed how unhealthy and unfit I am!

Dr's orders to come back again on Monday to reconfirm the numbers again....

Reached home after a lunch appointment and went straight to bed as the world was spinning round and round....

2008-05-01T15:39:00.003+08:00

Kalau Tak Suka Pulangkan (If You Don't Like It, Return It)

2008-04-29T13:34:00.003+08:00

Here is a short story in Bahasa Melayu that a friend of mine sent to me. It describes about life and appreciating what you have around you and not taking things for granted....

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Kereta dihentikan betul-betul di hadapan rumah. Pintu pagar automatiknya terbuka. Perlahan kereta dihalakan ke dalam garaj. "Horey! Papa balik!" Kelihatan anak-anaknya berlari mengiringi keretanya.

"Tepi! Bahaya tau tak?" Jeritnya.

Anak-anak termanggu. Cahaya kegembiraan di wajah mereka pudar.

"Aimin bawa adik ke belakang." Arahnya pada anak yang sulong.

Pulangnya petang itu disambut dingin oleh anak-anak. Isterinya turut terdiam bila mendengar anak-anak mengadu tentang papa mereka.

"Papa penat. Aimin bawa adik mandi dulu. Mama siapkan minum petang. Lepas minum papa mesti nak main bola dengan kita," pujuk Laila.

Dia yang mendengar di ruang tamu hanya mendengus. Seketika kemudian terdengar hilai tawa anak-anaknya di bilik mandi. Dia bangun.

"Hah! Main air. Bil bulan ini papa kena bayar dekat seratus. Cepat! Tutup paip tu! Buka shower!" Sergahnya. Suara yang bergema mematikan tawa anak-anaknya. "Asal saya balik rumah mesti bersepah. Kain baju berselerak. Apa awak makan tidur aje ke duduk rumah?" sambungnya kembali bila isterinya terpacul di belakang pintu.

"Anak-anak pa. Diorang yang main tu. Takpe nanti mama kemas. Papa minum ye. Mama dah siapkan kat taman." Balas isterinya lembut.

"Fail saya kat depan tu mana?"

"Mama letak dalam bilik. Takut budak-budak alihkan."

"Boleh tak awak jangan usik barang-barang saya? Susah tau tak? Fail tu patutnya saya bawa meeting tengahari tadi." Rungutnya sekalipun di hati kecil mengakui kebenaran kata-kata isterinya itu.

Suasana sepi kembali. Dia menarik nafas berat. Terasa begitu jauh berbeza. Dia tercari-cari riuh suara anak-anak dan wajah isterinya. "Laila" Keluhnya Akhirnya dia terlena di sofa.

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"Saya nak ke out station minggu depan."

"Lama?" Soal Laila.

"Dalam seminggu."

"Cuti sekolah pun lama. Mama ikut boleh?"

"Budak-budak? "

"Ikut jugalah."

"Dah! Takde! Takde! Susah nanti. Macam-macam diorang buat kat sana . Tengok masa kat Legacy dulu tu&"

"Masa tu Amirul kecik lagi." Balas Laila. Wajahnya sayu. Dia masih berusaha memujuk biarpun dia tahu suaminya tak mungkin berganjak dari keputusan yang dibuat. Tak mungkin peristiwa Amirul terpecahkan pinggan di hotel dulu berulang. Anak itu masih kecil benar sewaktu ia berlaku. Lagipun apa sangatlah harganya pinggan itu malahan pihak hotel pun tak minta ganti rugi. " Bolehlah Pa ! Lama sangat kita tak ke mana-mana." "Nak jalan sangat Sabtu ni saya hantar awak balik kampung," Muktamad! Demikianlah seperti kata-katanya. Anak-anak dan isterinya dihantar ke kampung. Laila tak merungut apa-apa meskipun dia tahu isterinya berkecil hati. Anak-anak terlompat riang sebaik kereta berhenti di pengkarangan rumah nenek mereka. Tak sampai setengah jam dia telah bergegas semula untuk pulang. Bapa mertuanya membekalkan sebuah kitab lama.

"Cuba-cubalah baca. Kitab tu pun abah ambil dari masjid. Dari mereka bakar abah ambik bagi kamu!"

"Manalah saya ada masa.." "Takpe..pegang dulu. Kalau tak suka pulangkan balik !" Dia tersentak dari khayalannya. " Kalau tak suka pulangkan balik! " Kata-kata itu bergema di fikirannya. Dia rasa tersindir. Tahukah bapa mertuanya masalah yang melanda rumahtangganya itu? Bukan..bukan tak suka malah dia tetap sayang sekalipun Laila bukan pilihannya. Dunia akhirat Laila adalah isterinya. Cuma..

"Mizi, makan!" Panggil ibunya yang datang menemaninya sejak seminggu lalu. "Jangan ikutkan hati. Yang sudah tu sudahlah."

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"Papa! Makan!" Jerit Aiman ,anak keduanya sambil tersengih-sengih mendapatkan dirinya. "Tak boleh panggil papa elok-elok. Ingat papa ni pekak ke?"

Aiman menggaru kepalanya yang tak gatal. Pelik! Kenapa papanya tiba-tiba saja marah. Dia berpatah semula ke dapur.

"Awak masak apa?"

"Mama masak sup tulang dengan sambal udang!" jawab Amirul memotong sebelum sempat mamanya membuka mulut.

"Takde benda lain ke awak boleh masak? Dah saya tak nak makan. Hilang selera!"

"Papa nak ke mana?" Soal isterinya perlahan.

"Keluar!"

"Mama dah masak Pa!"

"Awak saja makan!"

"Takpe Aiman boleh habiskan. Cepatlah ma!"

Laila tahu Aiman hanya memujuk. Anak keduanya itu sudah pandai mengambil hatinya. Aimin tersandar di kerusi makan. Sekadar memerhati langkah papanya keluar dari ruang makan. "Kenapa sekarang ni papa selalu marah-marah ma?" Soal Aimin sambil menarik pinggannya yang telah berisi nasi. "Papa banyak kerja agaknya. Dah! Makan." "Abang tak suka tengok papa marah-marah. ." "Adik pun sama. Bila papa marah muka dia macam gorilla kan ?"

Kata-kata Aiman disambut tawa oleh abang-abangnya yang lain. Laila menjeling. Di hati kecilnya turut terguris Besar sangatkah dosanya hingga menjamah nasi pun tidak. Kalau ada pun salahnya, apa?

Syamizi menjengah ke ruang dapur. Kosong.

"Laila.." serunya

"Sudahlah tu Mizi! Jangan diingat-ingat. Kerja Tuhan ni tak dapat kita tolak-tolak. Bawak-bawaklah beristighfar. Kalau terus macam ni sakit kau nanti." Kata ibunya yang muncul tiba-tiba.

"Sunyi pulak rumah ni mak,"

"Lama-lama kau biasalah."

Airmatanya menitis laju. "Kalau tak suka pulangkan!" Dia rasa terhukum. Hampir segenap saat kata-kata itu bergema di sekitarnya. Dia rasa terluka. Kehilangan yang amat sangat.

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"Papa beli apa untuk Aiman?" Soal Aiman sebaik dia pulang dari outstationnya.

"Beli apa pulak? Barang permainan kan bersepah dalam bilik belakang tu."

"Tak ada lah?"

"Ingat papa ni cop duit?"

Aiman termangu. Dia berlalu mencari mamanya di dapur. Seketika kemudian rumah kembali riuh dengan telatah anak-anak lelakinya yang bertiga itu mengiringi mama mereka yang sedang menatang dulang berisi hidangan minum petang.

Wajah Laila direnungnya. Ada kelainan pada raut itu. Riaknya tenang tapi ada sesuatu yang sukar ditafsirkannya. "Awak tak sihat ke?"

Laila tersenyum. Tangannya pantas menuang air ke cawan.

"Papa, tak lama lagi abang dapat adik lagi." Aimin mencelah di antara perbualan kedua ibu bapanya.

Shamizi tersenyum. Jemari isterinya digenggam erat. Tiba-tiba cawan berisi kopi yang masih panas terjatuh dan pecah di lantai. Aiman tercegat.

"Tengok! Ada saja yang kamu buat. Cuba duduk baik-baik. Kalau air tu tak tumpah tak sah!" Tempiknya membuatkan anak itu tertunduk ketakutan. Baju mamanya dipegang kejap.

Lengan Aiman dipegangnya kuat hingga anak kecil itu mula menangis. Pantas saja akhbar di tangannya hinggap ke kepala anaknya itu. Laila cuba menghalang tapi dia pantas dulu menolak isterinya ke tepi. Aiman di pukul lagi. Amirul menangis. Aimin mendapatkan mamanya.

"Perangai macam beruk! Tak pernah buat orang senang!"

Laila bangun dari jatuhnya dan menarik lembut Aiman ke dalam pelukkannya. Airmata mereka bersatu. Pilu sungguh hatinya melihat kekasaran suaminya terhadap anak-anak.

"Cukuplah pa. Papa dah hukum pun dia tapi janganlah sebut yang bukan-bukan. " Ujar Laila perlahan.

"Macamana awak didik budak-budak sampai macam ni teruk perangainya? Tengok anak orang lain ada macam ni? Anak kak Long tu tak pulak macam ni. Panjat sana , kecah barang. Gila apa?" Omelnya kembali.

Shamizi meraut wajah. Bukan kepalang salahnya pada Aiman. Padanya anak itu tak pernah dapat memuaskan hatinya. Ada saja salah Aiman di matanya. Ada saja yang kurang di hatinya terhadap anak-anak dan isteri. Tak cukup dengan perbuatan malah dia begitu mudah melemparkan kata-kata yang bukan-bukan terhadap mereka.

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"Tak boleh ke kamu semua senyap? Dalam sehari ni boleh tak diam? Rimas betul duduk dalam rumah ni." Laila menyuruh anak-anaknya bermain di halaman belakang rumah. Memberi sedikit ruang buat suaminya menonton dengan tenang. Malangnya tak lama kemudian kedengaran bunyi tingkap kaca pecah. "Celaka betul!" Sumpahnya sambil menghempaskan akhbar ke meja. "Abang!" "Baik awak tengok anak-anak awak tu sebelum saya hambat dengan rotan! Perangai satu-satu macam tak siuman!" Getusnya kasar. Akhirnya tingkap yang pecah kembali diganti. Cerita sumpah seranahnya petang itu hilang begitu saja. Laila berubah. Sikapnya yang pendiam menjadi semakin pendiam. Anak-anak juga sedikit menjauh. Tak ada lagi cerita Amirul di tadika. Tak ada lagi kisah Aimin yang cemerlang di dalam sukan sekolahnya. Aiman juga tak lagi mahu memanggilnya makan.

Shamizi terasa puas hati. Barangkali itu saja caranya untuk memberi sedikit pengajaran pada anak-anak.

"Pak Ngah, Eddie nak balik!" Shamizi terpana. Dia mengangguk. "Kak Long balik dulu Mizi. Sudahlah! Kamu muda lagi. Cari pengganti." Alangkah mudahnya. Kalaulah dia boleh bertemu lagi yang serupa seperti Laila. Laila tak ada yang kurang Cuma dia yang tak pernah puas hati. Laila tak pernah merungut. Laila tak pernah membantah. Sepanjang usia perkahwinan mereka Laila tak pernah meminta lebih dari apa yang dia beri. Laila cuma dapat gred B walaupun dia teramat layak untuk mendapat gred yang lebih baik dari A. "Laila"

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"Papa nak ke mana hensem-hensem gini?" Dia tersenyum sambil menjeling ke cermin meninjau bayang isterinya yang kian sarat. "Wangi-wangi lagi. Dating ye?"

"Saya ada makan malam di rumah bos besar. Dia buat makan-makan untuk staff." Ujarnya masih leka membetulkan kolar kemeja batiknya.

"Ikut boleh?"

"Dia tak ajak family. Staff only!" Terangnya sedangkan difikirannya terfikir lain. Kali ni dia akan pergi ke jamuan tu dengan Helmi. Helmi akan turut menumpangkan Maria dan Harlina. Staff yang masih muda dan bujang. "Dalam setahun papa selalu ke jamuan office tapi tak pernah pun bawak kami."

"Leceh kalau ada budak-budak. Bukan tau duduk diam Lari sana sini, panjat itu ini. "

"Papa pesanlah.."

"Nantilah besar sikit." Dalihnya.

"Kalau tunggu besar takut takde peluang. Nanti diorang tu dah tak nak ikut pergi mana pun."

"Lagi senang. Saya kalau lasak-lasak ni buat hati panas je,"

Laila terdiam. "Namanya budak-budak. Anak-anak papa tu lelaki.""Saya pergi kejap je. Lepas tu terus balik." "Mama tanya sikit boleh?" Dia mengangguk "Bos tak pelawa atau papa malu nak bawa mama dan anak-anak?"

Mereka dia tinggalkan di rumah. Di jamuan tu ramai staff yang membawa keluarga mereka bersama. Pada Shamizi dia mahukan keselesaan sedangkan hakikatnya anak-anak staff yang lain lebih lasak dan nakal. Semeja hidangan untuk anak-anak staff berderai bila ada yang bermain tarik-tarik alas kainnya.

"Never mind. Budak-budak memang macam tu. Kalau tak lasak tak cerdik," ujar Mr. Kwai, tuan rumah.

Shamizi sedikit mengakui kebenaran kata-kata itu. Anak-anaknya pun nakal tapi amat membanggakan dalam pelajaran. Namun dia rasa serba tak kena bila bersama mereka. Bimbang ada yang menyata yang bukan-bukan tentang anak-anaknya yang lasak apatah lagi tentang isterinya Laila. Bimbang dimalukan dengan perangai anak-anaknya. Bimbang jika dikatakan Laila tidak sepadan dengan dirinya. Dia lulusan luar negara sedang Laila cuma perempuan kampung. Tak pandai bergaya seperti staff wanita yang lain. Betullah jangkaan Laila, dia malu untuk memperkenalkan isteri dan anak-anaknya pada rakan-rakan.

"Kalau tak suka pulangkan! " Kata-kata itu semakin keras di fikirannya. Pagi itu anak-anak sekali lagi dimaki sebelum ke sekolah. Semata-mata bila Aimin dan Aiman bergelut berebutkan tempat duduk di meja makan menyebabkan air cuci tangan tumpah ke meja. Berangnya tiba-tiba menguasai diri. Kepala kedua-duanya di lagakan sedangkan perebutan itu tidak pula disusuli dengan perkelahian. "Kamu semua ni..kalau macam ni daripada ada elok tak ada. Menyusahkan! " Laila merenungnya dalam.. Matanya berkaca dan anak-anak ke sekolah tanpa menyalaminya seperti selalu. Laila juga tidak berkata apa-apa sebelum menghidupkan enjin untuk menghantar anak-anak ke sekolah. Shamizi dapat melihat Laila mengesat airmatanya. Dia terus menghadapi sarapannya. Sejenak dia terpandang hidangan untuk anak-anak yang tak bersentuh. Susu masih penuh di cawan. Roti telur yang menjadi kesukaan anak-anak juga tidak dijamah. Bekal di dalam bekas tidak diambil. Pelik! Selama ini Laila tak pernah lupa.. " Kalau tak suka pulangkan,"

Kali ini dia benar-benar menangis. Laila dan anak-anak terus tak pulang selepas pagi itu. Hari-harinya tak lagi diganggu dengan gelagat anak-anak. Rumah terus sunyi dan sepi. Tetap dia tak dapat tidur dengan lena. Di halaman belakang hanya ada kenangan. Kelibat anak-anaknya bergumpal dan berlari mengejar bola tak lagi kelihatan. Riuh anak-anak bila mandi di bilik air juga tidak lagi kedengaran. Dia mula dihambat rindu. Hanya ada kesunyian di mana-mana. Hanya tinggal bola yang terselit di rumpun bunga.

Selaut rindu mula menghambat pantai hatinya. Laila.

Benarlah, kita hanya tahu harganya bila kita kehilangannya.

Laila terus tak pulang sekalipun dia berjanji untuk berubah. Laila pergi membawa anak-anaknya pagi itu bila kereta mereka dirempuh sebuah kereta lain yang dipandu laju. Laila pergi tanpa meninggalkan satu pun untuknya. Laila pergi membawa Aimin, Aiman, Amirul dan zuriat yang bakal dilahirkan dua bulan lagi..

Dia menangis semahu-mahunya bila menatap wajah lesi anak-anak dan isterinya. Dia meraung memeluk tubuh Laila yang berlumuran darah. Hakikatnya Laila adalah kitab lama itu, lapuk bagaimana pun dipandangan harganya tak terbanding, dan kerana keengganannya Laila dipulangkan.....

Shamus and Murphy

2008-04-25T13:41:00.003+08:00

Shamus and Murphy fancied a pint or two but didn't have a lot of money between them. They could only raise a staggering sum of one Euro. Murphy said, "Hang on, I have an idea."

He went next door to the butcher's shop and came out with one large sausage. Shamus said, "Are you crazy? Now we don't have any money left at all!". Murphy repled, "Don't worry, just follow me."

He went into the pub where he immediately ordered two pints of Guinness and two glasses of Jamieson Whisky. Shamus said "Now you've lost it. Do you know how much trouble we will be in? We haven't any money!!"

Murphy replied with a smile, "Don't worry I have a plan. Cheers!"

They downed their drinks and Murphy said, "Ok, I'll stick the sausage in through my zipper and you go on your knees and put it in your mouth." The barman noticed them, went berserk and threw them out.

They continued this pub after pub getting more and more drunk all for free. At the tenth pub Shamus said, "Murphy, I don't think I can do anymore of this. I'm drunk and me knees are killin me!"

Murphy said, "How do you think I feel? I can't even remember which pub I lost the sausage in."

Men's Logic

2008-04-24T14:06:00.002+08:00

A man and his wife were in a court for their divorce case....The problem was who should get custody of the child.

The wife screamed and jumped up saying, "Your Honor, I brought the child into the world with all the pain and labor. The child should be in my custody."

The judge turned to the husband and said, "What do you have to say in your defense?"

The man sat for a while contemplating.... then slowly rose. "Your Honor, if I put a dollar in a Pepsi vending machine and a can of Pepsi comes out... whose Pepsi is it?? The machine's or mine?"

For Those Who Have Back Problems...

2008-04-22T11:42:00.003+08:00

BACK CARE IN DAILY ACTIVITIES

Back injury is one of the most common injuries at work and at home. Safe work habits can help prevent injuries as well as prevent problems resulting from overuse or incorrect use of the back.This aims to help you make smart moves to keep you healthy in your daily activities, so that you can enjoy everything else life has to offer.

• Maintain the natural curve of the lower back during bending and lifting
• Avoid twisting, bending and awkward postures
• No excessive pushing, pulling, lifting or lowering
• Maintain a good base of support during movement
• Avoid doing repetitive work tasks and take regular breaks
• When lifting, keep the object close to the body

PRINCIPLES OF BACK CARESITTING

SITTING - Do not slump or slouch in the sofa.. Sit forward and upright

LYING DOWN - Lie on your side with your knees bent, Sleep on a firm mattress. Do not lie on your stomach and do not use a pillow that is too high or too low.

STANDING - Do not bend over or slouch withyour legs straight, do not stand for long periods of time. Stand upright with your head up and back in its natural curve. Change your position often.

LIFTING - Do not bend when lifting, Do not lift heavy items above shoulder level. Squat to pick up objects and keep your back straight, keep items close to your body when lifting.

BED MAKING - Do not stand with your leg straighten and bend your back, kneel while making the bed. Maintain your back in its natural curve.

VACUUMING - Do not twist or bend your back excessively while cleaning, ensure that you vacuum or sweep in an upright and comfortable posture

Reference Information from :
Back Society (Singapore) www.backsociety.org.sg
Singapore Association of Occupational Therapists www.saot.org.sg

Very True and Thought Provoking

2008-04-17T10:21:00.003+08:00

One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big advise on the door on which it was written: "Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym".

In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself.

The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room.

The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up. Everyone thought, "Who is the guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he died!".

One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside they suddenly became speechless. they stood nearby the coffin, shocked and in silence as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul.

There was a mirror inside the coffin, everyone who looked inside it could see himself...

There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: "There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth - it is YOU.

You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.

Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life.

"The most important relationship you can have is the one you have with yourself."

Examine yourself, watch yourself. Don't be afraid of difficulties, impossibilities and losses... be a winner and build yourself and your reality. The world is like a mirror; it gives back to anyone the reflection of the thoughts in which one has strongly believed.

The world and your reality are like mirrors laying in a coffin which show to any individual the death of his divide capability to imagine and create his happiness and success.

It's the way you face life that makes the difference....

Irish College Entrance Exam

2008-04-16T10:06:00.002+08:00

Think about the answers my friend and let me know them.... will then tell you whether you passed or failed....

Embarassing Medical Exams

2008-04-08T15:17:00.002+08:00

Story 1

A man comes into the ER and yells, "My wife's going to have her baby in the cab!". I grabbed my stuff, rushed out to the cab, lifted the lady's dress and began to take off her underwear. Suddenly I noticed that there were several cabs --- and I was in the wrong one.
(submitted by Dr.Mark MacDonald, San Francisco)

Story 2

At the beginning of my shift I placed a stethoscope on an elderly and slightly deaf female patient's anterior chest wall. "Big breaths", I instructed. "Yes, they used to be," replied the patient.
(submitted by Dr Richard Byrnes, Seattle WA)

Story 3

One day I had to be the bearer of bad news when I told a wife that her husband had died of a massive myocardial infarct. Not more than five minutes later, I heard her reporting to the rest of the family that he had died of a "massive internal fart".
(submitted by Dr.Susan Steinberg)

Story 4

During a patient's two week follow-up appointment with his cardiologist, he informed me, his doctor that he was having trouble with one of his medications. "Which one?" I asked. "The patch...the nurse told me to put on a new one every six hours and not I'm running out of places to put it!". I had quickly undressed him and discovered what I hoped I wouldn't see. Yes the man had over fifty patches on his body! Now the instructions include removal of the old patch before applying the new one.
(submitted by Dr.Rebecca St.Clair, Norfolk VA)

Story 5

While acquainting myself with a new elderly patient, I asked "How long have you been bedridden?" After a look of complete confusion she answered, "Why not for about twenty years - when my husband was still alive."
(submitted by Dr.Steven Swanson-Corvallis OR)

Story 6

I was performing rounds at the hospital one morning and while checking up on a woman I asked, "So how's your breakfast this morning?" " It's very good except for the Kentucky Jelly. I can't seem to get used to the taste," the patient replied. I then asked to see the jelly and the woman produced a foil packed labeled "KY Jelly".
(submitted by Dr.Leonard Kransdorf, Detroit MI)

Story 7

A nurse was on duty in the Emergency Room when a young woman with purple hair styled into a punk rocker Mohawk, sporting a variety of tattoos and wearing strange clothing entered. It was quickly determined that the patient had acute appendicitis so she was scheduled for immediate surgery. When she was completely disrobed on the operating table, the staff noticed that her pubic hair had been dyed green and above it there was a tattoo that read "Keep of the Grass". Once the surgery was completed, the surgeon wrote a short note on the patient's dressing which said "Sorry had to mow the lawn"
(submitted by anonymous)

Story 8

As a new young MD doing his residency in OB, I was quite embarrassed when performing female pelvic exams. To cover my embarrassment I had unconsciously formed a habit of whistling softly. The middle-aged lady upon whom I was performing this exam suddenly burst out laughing and further embarrassing me. I looked up from my work and sheepishly said, "I'm sorry, was I tickling you?" She replied, "No doctor, but the song you were whistling was 'I wish I was an Oscar Meyer Weiner'
(submitted by anonymous)

2008-04-08T15:08:00.002+08:00

When cigarettes become too expensive......hmmmm.........

Climbing Up the Ladder in Age....

2008-04-07T16:05:00.003+08:00

Happy Birthday to Me,

Haaaappy Birthday to Meeeeee,

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yep folks... it's mah birthday (trying to speak in a western texas slang) and I tell ya I ain't getting any younger not to mention having the 3C's I've been a wanting since mah schoolin days!

Yep those 3C's everyone wants in this world (I think..)

1st C - CASH (ka... ching!!!!! I ain't earnin enuff...)

2nd C - CONDO (well I do have a roof over me head for the time being but I need mah own
space too... besides the other contributin' factor to me not having this is the damn cash I
ain't got enuff off too!!!)

3rd C - 'CANDIDATE' ( yep yep... candidate not a bloody iron shaped thing on 4 rubber wheels
that drinks gasoline like a drunkard!!)

Ok ok ... yes MY 3C's in life I guess. Of course there are the 6 C's in life that people tend to strive for : car, cash, condo, career, card and the last one - chair.

You must be asking what kind of chair do people want nowadays??? Well those big gigantic massage chairs that rub you the right way! Uh huh you read right...this is the latest addition to the C club ler... and if I add on my 'candidate' C, it would make it the 7 C's of wants ler...

We all have things in life we want; sometimes we get em and sometimes me get none of em. Whatever the must have or wants people say they need, I think at the end of the day should be what you need most (of course to each their own perception and needs la.. haiyohh).

I'm just glad to be here and enjoying my birthday with friends and family. This post is dedicated to all my friends (of course including family ... DUH) who have been there for me for as long as I can remember (age la... old = wiser so some say but it also equals to STML* and LTML*), through thick, thin, fat and all of the above - I LUV YA!!!!

Darn, now I'm getting all teary-eyed!!!

For you guys and gals out there who think that friends are just passing humans in your life, do think again coz I've met loads but these are the few that have touched my life in oh sooo many ways : Hema (my pet sister since primary school), Sean & Lau (the gentle MEN), Naleena (the dotting mother - pls don't tell her or she'll kill me), Corrine & Mai (the perfect couple of friends one could ever have), Daniel (the new daddy on the block) and Rizal (my ex-colleague who's born a few days earlier than me but a few years later than me - darn it.. =P).

To all these people and my family... I can't thank you enough for enduring these past pain stalking 31 years with me... I just don't know how I'm going to be managing the next few to come. You guys are in my prayers and hopefully this ole woman won't forget any of your birthdays ler...

STML* - short term memory lost
LTMT* - long term memory lost

The "Middle Wife"

2008-04-02T15:34:00.003+08:00

Here is a story a friend sent me on how a 2nd Grade student (Std 2 in M'sia.. I think) describes the birth of her baby brother. Her teacher repeats the story...

Take a read:

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch... stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it into school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl Erica who is a very bright and very outgoing kid takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds up a snapshot of an infant. "This is Luke my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday".

"First mum and dad made him as a symbol of their love. Dad put a seed in my mum's stomach and Luke grew in there. He are for nine months through and umbrella cord". She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

"Then about two Saturdays ago, my mum starts saying and going Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!". Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around the house for like an hour going Oh, Oh, Oh! My dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my mum to lie down in bed like this". Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.

"And then pop! My mum had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheewww!" This kid had her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!!

"Then the middle wife starts saying Push! Push! and Breathe! Breathe! They started counting but never even got past ten. Then all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from mum's play-centre, so there must be a lot of toys inside there".

Then Erica stood up and took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder just in case another "Middle Wife" comes along....

The Office Song

2008-04-01T18:21:00.002+08:00

This song is specially dedicated to all my working friends out there especially Daniel who is currently undergoing a slight 'under-current' from his work environment.

Hang in there my friend and enjoy!!

Why God Made Mothers....

2008-03-28T13:29:00.006+08:00

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions....

Why did God make Mothers?

1. She's the only one who knows where the sticky tape is.

2. Mostly to clean the house.

3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make Mothers?

1. He used dirt just like for the rest of us.

2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.

3. God made my mum just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredient are Mothers made of?

1. God made mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab

of mean.

2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your Mother and not some other Mum?

1. We're related.

2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mums like me.

What kind of little girl was your Mum?

1. My mum has always been my mum and none of that other stuff.

2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.

3. They say she used to be nice.

What did Mum need to know about Dad before she married him?

1. His last name.

2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?

3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your Mum marry your Dad?

1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mum eats a lot.

2. She got too old to do anything else with him.

3. My grandma says that Mum didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?

1. Mum doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a clot.

2. Mum. You can tell by room inspections.... she sees the stuff under the bed.

3. I guess Mum is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between mums and dads?

1. Mums work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.

2. Mums know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.

3. Dads are taller and stronger but mums have all the real power cause that's who you got to ask

if you want to sleep over at your friend's.

What does your mum do in her spare time?

1. Mothers don't do spare time.

2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mum perfect?

1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.

2. Diet. You know her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your Mum, what would it be?

1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.

2. I'd make my Mum smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.

3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

How to Be an Idiot in 5 seconds....

2008-03-27T10:33:00.005+08:00

2008-03-21T16:25:00.002+08:00

L A N G K A W I ..... here I C O M E!!!!!

Quotes for Deliberation

2008-03-19T17:43:00.004+08:00

Whenever I find the key to success, someone changes the lock
To Err is human, to forgive is not a COMPANY policy
The road to success?? Is always under construction..
Alcohol doesn't solve any problems, but if you think again neither does Milk
In order to get a Loan, you first need to prove that you don't need it
All the desirable things in life are either illegal, expensive or fattening
Since light travels faster than sound, people appear brighter before you hear them speak
Everyone has a scheme of getting rich which never works
If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you ever tried
You can never determine which side of the bread to butter. If it falls down, it will always land on the buttered side
Anything droped on the floor will roll over to the most inaccesible corner
As soon as you mention something; if it is good it is TAKEN, if it's bad it HAPPENS
He who has the gold, makes the rules ---- Murphy's golden rule
If you come early, the bus is late. If you come late the bus is still late
Once you have bought something, you will find the same item being sold somewhere else at a cheaper rate
When in a queue, the other line always moves faster and the person in front of you will always have the most complex of transactions
If you have paper, you don't have a pen. If you have a pen, you don't have paper. If you have both, no one calls
If you have bunked the class, the professor has taken attendance
You will pick up the maximum wrong numbers when on roaming
The door bell or your mobile will always ring when you are in the bathroom
After a long wait for bus #20, two 20 number buses will always pull in together and the bus which you get in will be crowded than the other
If your exam is tomorrow, there will be a power cut tonight
Irrespective of the direction of the wind, the smoke from the cigarette will always tend to go to the non-smoker

Why I Didn't Make it to the Olympics...

2008-03-17T13:32:00.003+08:00

The Invisible Letter

2008-03-14T09:37:00.003+08:00

It starts in the heart....

Sally jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room.

She said: "How is my little boy? Is he going to be all right? When can I see him?"

The surgeon said, "I'm sorry... We did all we could but your boy didn't make it."

Sally said, "Why do little children get cancer? Doesn't God care anymore? Where were you God when my son needed you?"

The surgeon asked, "Would you like some time alone with your son before he is transported to the university? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes."

Sally asked the nurse to stay with her while she said goodbye to her son. She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick red curly hair.

"Would you like a lock of his hair?", the nurse asked. Sally nodded... The nurse cut a lock of the boy's hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Sally. "It was Jimmy's idea to donate his body to the university for study. He said it might help somebody else. I said no at first, but Jimmy said "Mom, I won't be using it after I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his mom."

She went on, "My Jimmy had a heart of gold. Always thinking of someone else. Always wanting to help others if he could."

Sally walked out of the children's Mercy Hospital for the last time after spending most of the last six months there. She put the bag with Jimmy's belongings on the seat beside her in the car. The drive home was difficult. It was even harder to enter the empty house.

She carried Jimmy's belongings and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair to her son's room. She started placing the model cards and other personal things back in his room exactly where he had always kept them.

She laid down across his bed and hugging his pillow cried herself to sleep. It was around midnight when Sally awoke. Lying beside her on the bed was a folded letter.

The letter said:

Dear Mom,

I know you're going to miss me but don't think that I will ever forget you or stop loving you just cause I'm not around to say I LOVE YOU.

I will always love you Mom even more with each day. Someday we will see each other again. Until then, if you want to adopt a little boy so you won't be lonely, that's okay with me. He can have my room and old stuff to play with.

But if you decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn't like the same things us boys do. You'll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like y'know. Don't be sad thinking about me. Grandma and Grandpa met me as soon as I got here and showed me around some, but it will take a long time to see everything.

The angels are so cool! I love to watch them fly... And you know what? Jesus doesn't look like any of his pictures. Yet when I saw Him, I knew it was Him. Jesus himself took me to see GOD! And guess what Mom? I got to sit on God's knee and talk to Him like I was somebody important.

That's when I told Him that I wanted to write you a letter to tell you goodbye and everything. But I already knew that wasn't allowed. Well y'know what Mom? God handed me some paper and His own personal pen to write you this letter. I think Gabriel is the name of the angel who is going to drop this letter off to you.

God said for me to give you the answer to one of the questions you asked Him - Where was He when I needed him?

God said He was in the same place with me as when His son Jesus was on the cross. He was right there as He always is with all His children. Oh by the way Mom, no one else can see what I've written except you. To everyone else this is just a blank piece of paper. Isn't that cool?

I have to give God back his pen now. He needs it to write some more names into the Book of Life. Tonight I get to sit at the table with Jesus for supper. I'm sure the food will be great. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you I don't hurt anymore. The cancer is all gone... I'm glad because I couldn't stand the pain anymore and God couldn't stand to see me hurt so much either.

That's when He sent The Angel of Mercy to come get me. The Angel said I was Special Delivery? How about that?!

Signed with love from:

God, Jesus and Me

Dear Diary....

2008-03-13T14:15:00.002+08:00

Dear Diary,

Monday: Now home from honeymoon and settled in our new home, it's fun to cook for Bob. today I made an angel food cake and the recipe said, "Bear 12 eggs separately." Well, I didn;t have enough bowls to do that, so I had to borrow enough bowls to bear the eggs in. The cake turned out fine.

Tuesday: We wanted a fruit salad for supper. The recipe said, "Serve without dressing." So I didn't dress. But Bob happen to bring a frend home for supper that night. Did they ever look startled when I served the salad.

Wednesday: I decided to serve rice and found a recipe which said, "Wash throughly before steaming rice." So I heated some watter and took a bath before steaming the rice. Sounded kinda silly in the middle of the week. I can't say it improved the rice any.

Thursday: Today Bob asked for salad again. I tried a new recipe. It said, "Prepare ingredients, then toss in a bed of lettuce one hour before serving." I hunted all over the garden by my mom's. So I tossed my salad into the bed of lettuce and stood over there one hour so the dog would not take it. Bob came over and asked if I felt all right... I wonder why?

Friday: Today I found an easy recipe for cookies. It said, "Put all ingredients in a bowl and beat it." Beat it I did, right over to my mom's hourse. There must have been something wrong with the recipe, because when I came back home again it looked the same as when I left it.

Saturday: Bob went shopping today and brought home a chicken. He asked me to dress it for Sunday. I'm sure I don't know how hens dress for Sunday. I never noticed back on the farm, but I found a doll dress and some little shoes. I thought the hen looked real cute. When Bob saw it, I wondered why he counted to 10.

Sunday: Today Bob's folks came to dinner. I wanted to serve roast, but all we had in the icebox was hamburgers. So i put it in the oven and set the controls for roast. Must the oven, because it still came out as hamburgers.

Good night Dear Diary. This has been an exciting week. I am eager for tomorrow to come, so I can try a new recipe on Bob.

To Laugh or Not to Laugh?

2008-03-11T11:12:00.003+08:00

An old Italian lived alone in New Jersey . He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work , as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament :

Dear Vincent,

I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days.

Love, Papa

A few days later he received a letter from his son....

Dear Pop,

Don't dig up that garden. That's where the bodies are buried.

Love, Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son....

Dear Pop,

Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.

Love, Vinnie

You Gotta Love the Irish!!

2008-03-10T18:50:00.002+08:00

Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, 'Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!' Miraculously, a parking place appeared. Paddy looked up again and said, 'Never mind, I found one.'

*****************

Father Murphy walks into a pub in Donegal, and says to the first man he meets, 'Do you want to go to heaven?' The man said, 'I do, Father.' The priest said, 'Then stand over there against the wall.' Then the priest asked the second man, 'Do you want to go to heaven?' 'Certainly, Father,' was the man's reply. 'Then stand over there against the wall,' said the priest. Then Father Murphy walked up to O'Toole and said, 'Do you want to go to heaven?' O'Toole said, 'No, I don't Father.' The priest said, 'I don't believe this. You mean to tell me that when you die you don't want to go to heaven?' O'Toole said, 'Oh, when I die, yes. I thought you were getting a group together to go right now.'

*****************

Paddy was in New York. He was patiently waiting and watching the traffic cop on a busy street crossing. The cop stopped the flow of traffic and shouted, 'Okay, pedestrians.' Then he'd allow the traffic to pass. He'd done this several times, and Paddy still stood on the sidewalk. After the cop had shouted, 'Pedestrians!' for the tenth time, Paddy went over to him and said, 'Is it not about time ye let the Catholics across?'

*****************

Gallagher opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died. He quickly phoned his best friend, Finney. 'Did you see the paper?' asked Gallagher. 'They say I died!!' 'Yes, I saw it!' replied Finney. 'Where are ye callin' from?'

*****************

An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut . The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest's breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car. He says, 'Sir, have you been drinking?' 'Just water,' says the priest. The trooper says, 'Then why do I smell wine?' The priest looks at the bottle and says, 'Good Lord! He's done it again!'

*****************

Walking into the bar, Mike said to Charlie the bartender, 'Pour me a stiff one - just had another fight with the little woman.' 'Oh yeah?' said Charlie, 'And how did this one end?' 'When it was over,' Mike replied, 'She came to me on her hands and knees. 'Really,' said Charles, 'Now that's a switch! What did she say?' She said, 'Come out from under the bed, you little chicken.'

*****************

Flynn staggered home very late after another evening with his drinking buddy, Paddy. He took off his shoes to avoid waking his wife, Mary. He tiptoed as quietly as he could toward the stairs leading to their upstairs bedroom, but misjudged the bottom step. As he caught himself by grabbing the banister, his body swung around and he landed heavily on his rump. A whiskey bottle in each back pocket broke and made the landing especially painful. Managing not to yell, Flynn sprung up, pulled down his pants, and looked in the hall mirror to see that his butt cheeks were cut and bleeding. He managed to quietly find a full box of Band-Aids and began putting a Band-Aid as best he could on each place he saw blood. He then hid the now almost empty Band-Aid box and shuffled and stumbled his way to bed. In the morning, Flynn woke up with searing pain in both his head and butt and Mary staring at him from across the room. She said, 'You were drunk again last night weren't you?' Flynn said, 'Why you say such a mean thing?' 'Well,' Mary said, 'it could be the open front door, it could be the broken glass at the bottom of the stairs, it could be the drops of blood trailing through the house, it could be your bloodshot eyes, but mostly.....it's all those Band-Aids stuck on the hall mirror.

Saying Grace in a Restaurant..

2008-03-05T16:32:00.007+08:00

Last week, I took my children to a restaurant. My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!"

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a woman remark, "What's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!" Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?"

As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job, and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table. He winked at my son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer." "Really?" my son asked. "Cross my heart," the man replied. Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."

Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment, and then did something I will remember the rest of my life. He picked up his sundae and, without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman.

With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already."

The Time Has Come!!!

2008-03-04T12:12:00.004+08:00

Dear Friends, Bloggers and Fellow Readers

Just to inform you that our dear friend Daniel is currently at the hospital..... a nervous wreck.....

His darling wife had experienced major contractions this morning and he rushed her over to the Dr's for observation......

His 'little devil' is arriving waaaaaaay before time... hehehehehehe!

Hang in there my friend - BREATHE

Latest update : Congratulations Daniel & Yvonne!! Baby Ethan was born at 2.20pm today into the family weighing at 5.10lbs!!!

Daddy Watches Over Me Always....

2008-03-03T16:46:00.004+08:00

There are times when I wished that Dad didn't have to leave so early in my life. There were just so many things that he wanted to do with Mum.... but then again never managed to even start. I hope that Dad is watching over me.... in all the things I do, say and decide on just like this poem....

A drunk man in an Oldsmobile
They said had run the light
That caused the six-car pileup
On 109 that night.
When broken bodies lay about
'And blood was everywhere,'
'The sirens screamed out eulogies,'
For death was in the air.
'A mother, trapped inside her car,'
Was heard above the noise;
Her plaintive plea near split the air:
'Oh, God, please spare my boys!'
She fought to loose her pinned hands;
'She struggled to get free,'
But mangled metal held her fast
In grim captivity.
Her frightened eyes then focused
'On where the back seat once had been,'
But all she saw was broken glass and
Two children's seats crushed in.
Her twins were nowhere to be seen;
'She did not hear them cry, '
'And then she prayed they'd been thrown free, '
'Oh, God, don't let them die! '
Then firemen came and cut her loose, '
'But when they searched the back, '
'They found therein no little boys, '
But the seat belts were intact.
They thought the woman had gone mad
'And was traveling alone, '
'But when they turned to question her, '
They discovered she was gone.
Policemen saw her running wild
And screaming above the noise
'In beseeching supplication, '
Please help me find my boys!
They're four years old and wear blue shirts;
'Their jeans are blue to match.''
'One cop spoke up, ''They're in my car, '
And they don't have a scratch.
They said their daddy put them there
'And gave them each a cone, '
Then told them both to wait for Mom
To come and take them home.
'I've searched the area high and low, '
But I can't find their dad.
'He must have fled the scene, '
'I guess, and that is very bad.'
'The mother hugged the twins and said, '
'While wiping at a tear, '
'He could not flee the scene, you see, '
'For he's been dead a year.'
'The cop just looked confused and asked, '
'Now, how can that be true? '
'The boys said, ''Mommy, Daddy came '
'And left a kiss for you.'' '
He told us not to worry
'And that you would be all right, '
And then he put us in this car with
'The pretty, flashing light. '
'We wanted him to stay with us, '
'Because we miss him so, '
'But Mommy, he just hugged us tight '
And said he had to go.
He said someday we'd understand
'And told us not to fuss, '
'And he said to tell you, Mommy, '
'He's watching over us.'
The mother knew without a doubt
'That what they spoke was true, '
'For she recalled their dad's last words, ' ' I will watch over you.'
The firemen's notes could not explain
'The twisted, mangled car, '
And how the three of them escaped
Without a single scar.
'But on the cop's report was scribed, '
'In print so very fine, '
An angel walked the beat tonight on Highway 109....

The Chicken Story...

2008-02-29T14:31:00.002+08:00

Ben was a coal miner that lived in Boone County, West Virginia and had two fine strapping young boys by the names of Cleve and William. Ben not only worked in the mines, he had a few chickens and grew a small garden each year.

The boys weren’t too keen on working in the garden or taking care of the chickens, but they did what their father told them. William did all the chicken feeding and egg gathering until Cleve was responsible enough to take over gathering the eggs each day.

When it was time for Cleve to take over the job, Ben took his son out to the chicken coop to show him how delicately to raise the hens and take out the eggs that was underneath them. The hens laid one egg a day, but it was a chore just to retrieve the eggs regularly.

Cousin Neil came to visit the boys one summer with his father and stayed for about a month. Neil was a city boy and could tell some of the tallest tales that William and Cleve had ever heard. Whatever the coal camp boys had, Neil had more and better back in the city. Wherever William or Cleve had visited, Neil had already been there. Whatever the country lads had experienced or accomplished, Neil was already an expert on the subject.

Neil and Cleve were the same age and Neil followed his cousin around the whole time telling him all about the city. Neil didn’t like country life and couldn’t stop praising his own existence in “civilization” as he called the streets where he lived.

Neil’s father wanted him to learn dependability and responsibility and asked Cleve to show his cousin what good care he took of the chickens. Neil walked after the boy and talked and talked as Cleve did his chores in silence. First he fed the chickens by throwing cracked corn on the ground and then he cleaned the chicken coop. Last, it was time to gather the eggs. Cleve had about all he could take of his city slicker cousin and was a little annoyed by the time he was to gently raise the hens and get the eggs from underneath them.

When they entered the chicken coop, Neil was close at his cousin’s heels bragging as they walked. Cleve took one egg after another and put them carefully in the tightly woven straw basket. His cousin continued to boast how he didn’t have to do any kind of work where he lived. He bragged about how he just laid around, ate, slept, dated the prettiest girls, drove a fine car and on and on.
Cleve was fed up of his cousin. About that time, instead of lightly raising the hen to get the egg, he shoved the hen off her nesting box and the hen landed on its head on the concrete floor breaking its neck. The bird lay in the floor not moving. Neil immediately said, “There’s something wrong with that chicken.” Cleve could see for himself there was something not right with the hen. It seemed to be dead. He picked the chicken up and its head just flopped over to the side.

Cleve thought and said with dismay in his voice, “Oh my God, I have killed Daddy’s prized hen.” He was extremely worried. “What am I going to do?” he wondered out loud. Neil asked, “Is that chicken dead? Are you going to tell Uncle Ben?” Worry was written across Cleve’s face in capital letters. After a few moments, Cleve heard his father calling. What was he going to do? He didn’t have time to think and quickly shoved the hen under a wooden crate that set in the floor of the coop to decide later and went out to see what his dad wanted.

“Supper is ready, son. You and Neil come on in,” Ben said gleefully. Ben and his brother, George, sat on the front porch in rocking chairs. As soon as Neil saw his uncle, he shouted. “Hey Uncle Ben, Cleve just killed your prize hen!” A stern look crossed Ben’s face. Before Ben could open his mouth, George let out a big laugh. “Ben, you can’t believe a thing that boy says. Quit that lying Neil and get on in here and eat supper.” Neil looked at his father in wonder and said in a low voice, “Believe whatever you want, Dad.” Cleve was saved.

Later that night Cleve was feeling guilty and went to his father. He was almost in tears as he stood in front of his father with his hands in his pockets and his head hung low, “Dad, I did kill that hen,” he said quietly, “But it was an accident!” With a pleading expression in his eyes, he looked up at his tall foreboding father.

His dad touched his shoulder in a kind, loving way. He said, “Well son, you have had quiet a distraction these few weeks with your Cousin Neil’s fancy stories and we were going to kill a fine hen for Sunday’s supper anyway. You just made the choice for us.” The boy threw his arms around the lanky man and said, “I love you, Dad!” His father looked him in the eye and spoke very clearly, “Lying boys and cackling hens come to no good end."

Men Never Listen....

2008-02-28T11:09:00.003+08:00

In a Chicago hospital, a gentleman had made several attempts to get into the men's restroom, but it had always been occupied.

A nurse noticed his predicament. "Sir", she said.. "You may use the ladies room if you promise not to touch any of the buttons on the wall."

He did what he needed to, and as he sat there he noticed the buttons he had promised no to touch! Each button was identified by letters: WW, WA, PP and a red one labeled ATR. Who would know if the touched them?

He couldn't resist... he pushed WW. Warm water was sprayed gently upon his bottom. What a nice feeling he thought. Men's restrooms don't have nice things like this.

Anticipating greater pleasure, he pushed the WA button. Warm air replaced the warm water, gently drying his underside. When this stopped, he pushed the PP button.

A large powder puff caressed his bottom adding a fragile scrent of spring flower to this unbelievable pleasure. The ladies restroom was more than a restroom, it is a place of tender loving pleasure.

When the powder puff completed it's course, he couldn't wait to push the ATR button which he knew would be supreme ecstasy. As soon as he did, he was immediately knocked out by an excruciating pain.

Next thing he knew he opened his eyes, he was in a hospital bed and a nurse was staring down at him. "What happened?" he exclaimed. " The last thing I remembered was pushing the ATR button".

The nurse answered, " The ATR buttons stands for Automatic Tampon Remover. Your testicles are now in this jar, sir".

MEN NEVER LISTEN, DO THEY?

When God Created Fathers....

2008-02-27T15:11:00.002+08:00

This piece is dedicated to Daniel my friend, colleague and upcoming expecting father-to-be!!!

Congratulations my friend.....

When God Created Fathers by: Erma Bombeck, Sunlight of the Spirit

When the good Lord was creating Fathers, he started with a tall frame. A female angel nearby said, "What kind of a Father is that? If you're going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put the Father up so high? He won't be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending, or even kiss a child without stooping".

God smiled and said, "Yes, but if I make him child size, who would children have to look up to?"

And when God made a Father's hands, they were large. The angel shook her head and said,"Large hands can't manage diaper pins, small buttons, rubber bands on pony tails, or even remove splinters caused from baseball bats."

Again God smiled and said, "I know, but they're large enough to hold everything a small boy empties from his pockets, yet small enough to cup a child's face in them."

Then God molded long slim legs and broad shoulders, "Do you realize you just made a Father without a lap?" The angel chuckled.

God said, "A Mother needs a lap. A Father needs strong shoulders to pull a sled, to balance a boy on a bicycle, or to hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus."

When God was in the middle of creating the biggest feet any one had ever seen, the angel could not contain herself any longer. "That's not fair. Do you honestly think those feet are going to get out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries, or walk through a birthday party without crushing one or two of the guests?"

God again smiled and said, "They will work. You will see. They will support a small child who wants to ride to Branbury Cross or scare mice away from a summer cabin, or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill." God worked throughout the night, giving the Father few words, but a firm authoritative voice; eyes that see everything, but remain calm and tolerant.

Finally, almost as an after thought, He added tears. Then he turned to the angel and said, "Now are you satisfied he can love as much as a Mother can?"

The angel said nothing more....

Friends....

2008-02-26T11:58:00.005+08:00

Was scrolling thought the net reading and I found this litte piece that touched me. This short inspirational story is dedicated to all my friends; both virtually and all around me...thank you and love you guys loads!!

Friend And Acquaintance by: Author Unknown, Source Unknown

There is a difference between being an acquaintance and being a friend. An acquaintance is someone whose name you know, who you see every now and then, who you probably have something in common with and who you feel comfortable around.

It's a person that you can invite to your home and share things with. But they are people who you don't share your life with, whose actions sometimes you don't understand because you don't know enough about them.

On the other hand, a friend is someone you love. Not that you are "in love" with them, but you care about them and you think about them when they are not there. The people you are reminded of when you see something they might like, and you know this because you know them so well. They are the people whose pictures you have and whose faces are in your head regardless.

Friends are the people you feel safe around because you know they care about you. They call just to see how you are doing, because a friend doesn't need an excuse. They tell you the truth, the first time, and you do the same. You know that if you have a problem, they are there to listen.

Friends are the people who won't laugh at you or hurt you, and if they do hurt you they try hard to make it up to you. They are the people you love, regardless of whether you realize it.

Friends are the people you cried with when you got rejected from colleges and during the last song at the prom and at graduation. They are the people that when you hug them, you don't think about how long to hug and who's going to be the first one to let go.

Maybe they are the people that hold the rings at your wedding, or maybe they are the people who give you away at your wedding, or maybe they are the people you marry. Maybe they are the people who cry at your wedding because they are happy or because they are proud.

They are the people who stop you from making mistakes and help you when you do. They are are the people whose hand you can hold, or you can hug or give them a kiss and not have it be awkward because they understand the things you do and they love you for them.

They stick with you and stand by you. They hold your hand. They watch you live and you watch them live and you learn from them. Your life is not the same without them....

Jokes to Start the Week with...

2008-02-25T13:33:00.002+08:00

A male patient is lying in bed in the hospital, wearing an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. A young, student nurse appears to give him a partial sponge bath. Nurse', he mumbles, from behind the mask. 'Are my testicles black?' Embarrassed, the young nurse replies, 'I don't know, Sir. I'm only here to wash your upper body and feet.'

He struggles to ask again, 'Nurse, please check. Are my testicles black?' Concerned that he may elevate his blood pressure and heart rate from worry about his testicles, she overcomes her embarrassment and pulls back the covers. She raises his gown, holds his manhood in one hand and his testiclesin the other.Then, she takes a close look and says, There's nothing wrong with them, Sir!'

The man pulls off his oxygen mask, smiles at her and says very slowly, 'Thank you very much. That was wonderful, but, listen very, very closely......A r e - m y - t e s t - r e s u l t s - b a c k?

******************************

SuperBowl Seat

A man had 50 yard line tickets for the Super Bowl. As he sits down, a man comes down and asked the man if anyone is sitting in the seat next to him. "No", he said, "the seat is empty". "This is incredible", said the man. "Who in their right mind would have a seat like this for the Super Bowl , the biggest sport event in the world, and not use it ?"

Somberly, the man says, "Well... the seat actually belongs to me. I was supposed to come here with my wife, but she passed away. This is the first Super Bowl we have not been together since we got married in 1967." "Oh I'm sorry to hear that. That's terrible. But couldn't you find someone else - a friend or relative or even a neighbor to take the seat?"

The man shakes his head, "No. They're all at the funeral....

Baby Sitter??

2008-02-25T13:27:00.002+08:00

Well my friends, ain't this cute??? Saves one loads on cds doesn't it??? Heheheheheh!!

I Love My Job!!!!

2008-02-22T11:20:00.002+08:00

If you don`t laugh out loud after you read this you are in a coma!

This is even funnier when you realize it`s real! Next time you have a bad day at work think of this guy. Rob is a commercial saturation diver for Global Divers in Louisiana . He performs underwater repairs on offshore drilling rigs. Below is an E-mail he sent to his sister. She then sent it to radio station 103.2 on FM dial in Ft. Wayne, Indiana , who was sponsoring a worst job experience contest. Needless to say, she won.....

Hi Sue, just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother. Last week I had a bad day at the office. I know you`ve been feeling down lately at work, so I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make you realize it`s not so bad after all . Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first must bore you with a few technicalities of my job.

As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to the office. It`s a wet suit. This time of year the water is quite cool. So what we do to keep warm is this: We have a diesel powered industrial> water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment sucks the water out of the sea. It heats it to a delightful temperature. It then pumps it down to the diver through a garden hose, which is taped to the air hose. Now this sounds like a darn good plan, and I`ve used it several times with no complaints.

What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the hose and stuff it down the back of my wet suit. This floods my whole suit with warm water. It`s like working in a Jacuzzi. Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my butt started to itch. So, of course, I scratched it. This only made things worse. Within a few seconds my butt started to burn. I pulled the hose out from my back, but the damage was done. In agony I realized what had happened.

The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into my suit. Now, since I don`t have any hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn`t stick to it, however, the crack of my butt was not as fortunate. When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the jellyfish into the crack of my butt. I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator.

His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he, along with five other divers, were all laughing hysterically. Needless to say I aborted the dive. I was instructed to make three agonizing in-water decompression stops totalling thirty-five minutes before I could reach the surface to begin my chamber dry decompression. When I arrived at the surface, I was wearing nothing but my brass helmet.

As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to rub it on my butt as soon as I got in the chamber. The cream put the fire out, but I couldn`t poop for two days because my butt was swollen shut. So, next time you`re having a bad day at work, think about how much worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your butt.

Now repeat to yourself, "I love my job, I love my job, I love my job." Whenever you have a bad day, ask yourself, is this a jellyfish bad day?

May you NEVER have a jellyfish bad day!!!!!

Shortcuts in Life....

2008-02-21T17:30:00.002+08:00

Funny but true...

WHEN GIVING A CUSTOMER BAD NEWS
Britons: I'm sorry, Sir, but we don'tseem to have the sweater you want in your size, but if you give me a moment,I can call the other outlets for you.
Malaysians: No Stock.

RETURNING A CALL
Britons: Hello, this is John Smith. Did anyone page for me a few moments ago?
Malaysians: Hello, who page?

ASKING SOMEONE TO MAKE WAY
Britons: Excuse me, I'd like to get by.Would you please make way?
Malaysians: S-kew me

WHEN SOMEONE OFFERS TO PAY
Britons: Hey, put your wallet away,this drink is on me.
Malaysians: No-need, lah.

WHEN ASKING FOR PERMISSION
Britons: Excuse me, but do you think it would be possible for me to enter through this door?Malaysians: (pointing the door) can ar?

WHEN ENTERTAINING
Britons: Please make yourself right at home.
Malaysians: Don't be shy, lah!

WHEN DOUBTING SOME ONE
Britons: I don't recall you giving me the money
Malaysians: Where got?

WHEN DECLINING AN OFFER
Britons: I'd prefer not to do that, if you don't mind.
Malaysians: Don't want la...

IN DISAGREEING ON A TOPIC OF DISCUSSION
Britons: Err. Tom. I have to stop you there. I understand where are you coming from, but I really have to disagree withwhat u said about the issue
Malaysians: You mad, ah?

WHEN ASKING SOMEONE TO LOWER THEIR VOICE
Britons: Excuse me, but could you please! lower your voice, I'm trying to concentrate over here.
Malaysians: Shut up lah!

WHEN ASKING SOMEONE IF HE/SHE KNOWS YOU
Britons: Excuse me, but I noticed you staring at me for some time. Do I know you?
Malaysians: See what, see what?

WHEN ASSESING A TIGHT SITUATION
Britons: We seem to be a little bit of apredicament at the moment.
Malaysians: Die la!!!

WHEN TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED
Britons: Will someone tell me what has just happened?
Malaysians: What happen? Why like that?

WHEN SOMEONE DID SOMETHING WRONG
Britons: This is n't the way to do it. Here let me show you..
Malaysians: Like that also duno how to do..

WHEN ONE IS ANGRY
Britons: Would you mind not disturbing me
Malaysians: Chilaka you!!!

Life is a Reflection

2008-02-20T17:11:00.004+08:00

Many times we need to remind ourself that how lucky and wonderful life we have besides all the unfortunate catastrophe that happen. But how ofter have we blame, lament and grunt when something 'not so smooth' happens to us. How often......

Have we not remind ourselves that whatever that happen to us is a reflection of what we have done or shall I say our life is simply the REFLECTION of our actions. (ponder) Does the person on the other side of the mirror smile to you when you stood there with an 'ugly' face? Life is a Reflection.

Things that happen around us are NEVER a coincidence! Do understand this! Life is a Reflection. This applies not only to you alone.

"A son and his father were walking on the mountains.

Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain:"AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"
He receives the answer: "Who are you?"
And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"
The voice answers: "I admire you!"
Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"
He receives the answer: "Coward!"
He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"
The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."
Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"
The voice answers: "You are a champion!"
The boy is surprised, but does not understand.
Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.
It gives you back everything you say or do.
Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.
If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.
If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.
This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;
Life will give you back everything you have given to it."

Your Life is not a Coincidence. It's a Reflection of you!"

So before you sleep tonight, ponder !

Simplicity in Entertainment

2008-02-20T15:28:00.005+08:00

Don't you think this would save every all parents loads of cash??

Dangerous Acts??

2008-02-19T16:06:00.003+08:00

How does one change a flat and get themselves into other predicaments??? Well the above shows you all the ways possible.... hahahahahaha.................

Imagine this big guy running up to you and then end up chewing you up..... eeeeeeeeeee

Travelling Superstition... To Believe or Not to Believe??

2008-02-18T11:31:00.004+08:00

Do you follow certain believes when you go travelling? Are you the type of person that scares easily? Do you believe in the supernatural of things around us?

Here are some beliefs of the hoteliers:

Every single hotel, there shall be at least a permanent room which should be left vacant at all times. No matter how full the hotel is, they are not to sell that room(s) to any guest. It was said that special room was "reserved" for those "special visitors". So, if you plan to stay in some hotel, always book in advance. Try to avoid walk in. If the receptionist told you there's no more room available, do not insist one anymore or try to bribe them to give you a room. If you do that, most of the time the room you have will be that "special room".

Sometimes those "special visitors" might go to other rooms also, so here's some tips on how to protect yourself:

* Before entering your room, always knock on the door first, even if you know the room is vacant.
* After you enter the room, if you felt very cold suddenly and have "chicken pores", leave the room quietly immediately and go to reception to request to change room. Most of the time the receptionist will understand what's happening.
* After you enter the room, immediately switch on all of the lights, and open the curtain to let the sun light in.
* Before you go to bed, arrange your shoes so that one of them is upside down. Some say this is representing yin& yang to protect you while you're asleep.
* Always leave at least a lamp on while you're sleeping, preferably the toilet's lamp.
* If you're staying alone and they have give you a twin bed, do not sleep with the other bed vacant, try to put your things like luggage on the other bed before you sleep.

Another tip to protect yourself.... When you enter your hotel room, look for the Bible. Most hotels place the Bible inside a drawer. However, if upon entering, you see the Bible on the table, DON'T STAY IN THAT ROOM! It means "special visitors" are there. If you see the Bible opened up on the table, LEAVE THAT ROOM IMMEDIATELY and request a change of room!!! It means the "special visitor" is really creating trouble in that room!!

And here's some tips on protecting yourself in the cinema... Do not attend the first screening of any movies in the cinema. By the first screening, I mean the first time the movie is shown in that particular cinema. Reason? The first screening is meant for the "special visitors". However, if you insist on going, then sit somewhere in the middle. The first and last rows are reserved for "them" !!!

Be warned....!

Jokes to Close the Weekend....

2008-02-15T12:52:00.010+08:00

Yes yes... this instant noodle is back from a 2-day medical leave of absense. Boy were some of my colleagues running all the way to the Magnum 4D, 1+3D Pool and Toto shops coz I've been away for 2 days!!

Just because poor old me has never taken an MC in her whole entire 5-year working career in this company!!! Sheeesh!!!

Anyways, here are a few jokes to share from moi to all my friends, colleagues and those who drop in ...

When the Hot and Cold Elements Colide.....

2008-02-12T10:30:00.000+08:00

Sigh.... what a way to start the new year with.... FALLING SICK!

You must be wondering what's the connection of falling sick with the title above, well let me tell you what miss smarty-pants here did during the long weekend...

It all began when a friend who invited us to her house for our new year gathering wanted me to make coconut jelly. It's not that I'm complaining having to make it for her; I'm happy to anytime a friend wants something whipped up!

The previous few days I had been stuffing my face with loads of mandarin oranges given to my family from our neighbours and friends. Mandarin oranges are what we call a 'heaty' type of fruit. Plus the weather was being terribly unbearable, one could even fry an egg on a car's bonet without oil and it'll not stick!

Then comes the coconut, a 'cooling' type of fruit and when you put two and two together... the body is unable to comprehend which to do: heat or cool.... lo' and behold arrives the fever and flu! What to do... people like me are unable to resist the thought of a chilled to perfection tray of coconut jelly and a mountain of mandarin oranges.....

So next time folks, beware of the deadly mix of the above... muahahahahahha

Men and their Tools....

2008-02-11T12:59:00.000+08:00

No wonder they take so long on the roof.... go figures...

Working from home??

2008-02-06T10:31:00.000+08:00

The whole shoot says a thousand words.....

Happy Holidays my friends...See you again on the 11th of February as the office will be closed from tomorrow for Chinese New Year!

A Vegas Story....

2008-02-05T13:22:00.000+08:00

Would like to share this joke sent by a friend of mine....

A Vegas Story

For anyone who didn't see David Letterman's take on this: (And it's a true story...)

On a recent weekend in Atlantic City, a woman won a bucketful of quarters at a slot machine. She took a break from the slots for dinner with her husband in the hotel dining room. But first she wanted to stash the quarters in her room. "I'll be right back and we'll go to eat," she told her husband and carried the coin-laden bucket to the elevator.

As she was about to walk into the elevator she noticed two men already aboard. Both were black. One of them was tall...very tall...an intimidating figure. The woman froze. Her first thought was: These two are going to rob me. Her next thought was: Don't be a bigot; they look like perfectly nice gentlemen. But racial stereotypes are powerful and fear immobilized her.

She stood and stared at the two men. She felt anxious, flustered and ashamed. She hoped they didn't read her mind but Gosh; they had to know what she was thinking!!! Her hesitation about joining them in the elevator was all too obvious now. Her face was flushed. She couldn't just stand there, so with a mighty effort of will she picked up one foot and stepped forward and followed with the other foot and was on the elevator. Avoiding eye contact, she turned around stiffly and faced the elevator doors as they closed. A second passed, and then another second, and then another. Her fear increased!

The elevator didn't move. Panic consumed her. My God, she thought, I'm trapped and about to be robbed!

Her heart plummeted. Perspiration poured from every pore. Then one of the men said, "Hit the floor." Instinct told her to do what they told her.

The bucket of quarters flew upwards as she threw out her arms and dove to the elevator floor. A shower of coins rained down on her. Take my money and spare me, she prayed.

More seconds passed. She heard one of the men say politely, "Ma'am, if you'll just tell us what floor you're going to, we'll push the button." The one who said it had a little trouble getting the words out. He was trying mightily to hold in a belly laugh. The woman lifted her head and looked up at the two men. They reached down to help her up.

Confused, she struggled to her feet. "When I told my friend here to hit the floor," said the average sized one, "I meant that he should hit the elevator button for our floor. I didn't mean for you to actually hit the floor, ma'am."

He spoke genially. He bit his lip. It was obvious he was having a hard time not laughing. The woman thought: My God, what a spectacle I've made of myself. She was humiliated to speak. She wanted to blurt out an apology, but words failed her. How do you apologize to two perfectly respectable gentlemen for behaving as though they were going to rob you? She didn't know what to say. The three of them gathered up the strewn quarters and refilled her bucket.

When the elevator arrived at her floor they then insisted on walking her to her room. She seemed a little unsteady on her feet, and they were afraid she might not make it down the corridor.

At her door they bid her a good evening. As she slipped into her room she could hear them roaring with laughter as they walked back to the elevator. The woman brushed herself off. She pulled herself together and went downstairs for dinner with her husband.

The next morning flowers were delivered to her room - a dozen roses.

Attached to EACH rose was a crisp one hundred dollar bill. The card said: "Thanks for the best laugh we've had in years."

It was signed.....
Eddie Murphy & Michael Jordan

Gong Xi Fa Cai

2008-02-05T11:19:00.000+08:00

To all my Chinese friends and readers

Wishing you Gong Xi Fa Cai... May this year of the Rat bring you health, wealth and happiness in abundance!!!!

Dating Different Types of Chics....

2008-02-04T10:22:00.000+08:00

Yes folks, loooooove is in the air with Valentine's Day around the corner.....

Just another 11 more days from today when Cupid decides to start shooting arrows at those 'already' couples to move another step up the ladder of love and lucky singles who happen to be in the right place and the right time look across the floor to have their eyes lock in with each other.

What is love??? For someone like me who has no experience what so ever in this category (yah... I'm what people here call a 'andartu' which means anak dara tua or old virgin)... I'm still waiting for my knight in shinning armour to come and whisk me off into the sunset on his white steed. Yes yes... I've been watching too many fairy-tales and reading too much romance novels but what can a girl like me do la...

Anyways, to all those 'single' and 'available' here are some pointers on dating different females of different races....

Chinese Piaomei

First Date - You get to buy her an expensive dinner but nothing happens

Second Date - You buy her an even more expensive dinner. Again, nothing happens!

Third Date - You usually don't get up to third date because you are smart enough to realise that nothing is ever going to happen.

Indian Minachi

First Date - Meet her parents

Second Date - Set the date of the wedding

Third Date - WEDDING NITE

Malay Minah

First Date - You get to kiss her good night

Second Date - You get to grope all over and make out a bit

Third Date - She moves in...... One week later her father, 4 mothers, her 18 sisters, her 20 brothers, all of their kids, her 16 grandmas, her father's girlfriend's mother and her 268 cousins ALL move in.

But don't worry - You can repeat this 4 times... ;-)

White Mary

First Date - You both get drunk and have sex

Second Date - You both get drunk and have sex

20th Anniversary - You both get drunk and have sex

Arab Al-Khatijah

First Date - Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Friends and the entire Arab community finds out

Second Date - You are shot dead

Third Date - Not Applicable

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!! (hehehehehehehehehheh...)

p/s - this is just a joke...no harm intended to all my chinese, indian, malay, english, american and arabic friends and readers....

Babies - What You Can Do and What You Can't

2008-02-01T14:47:00.000+08:00

This is dedicated to my dear friend and upcoming daddy - Daniel ......

A Woman's Poem

2008-02-01T10:51:00.000+08:00

He didn't like the casserole
And he didn't like my cake.
He said my biscuits were too hard...
Not like his mother used to make.
I didn't perk the coffee right
He didn't like the stew,
I didn't mend his socks
The way his mother used to do.
I pondered for an answer
I was looking for a clue.

Then I turned around and smacked the shit out of him...
Like his mother used to do

Laughter is the best Medicine....

2008-01-31T15:10:00.000+08:00

The Jewish Chinese Drycleaner

Walking through San Francisco's Chinatown, a tourist from the Midwest was enjoying the artistry of all the Chinese restaurants, shops, signs and banners when he turned a corner and saw a building with the sign "Moishe Plotnik's Laundry." "Moishe Plotnik?" he wondered. "How does that belong in Chinatown?"

He walked into the shop and saw a fairly standard looking dry cleaner, although he could see that the proprietors were clearly aware of the uniqueness of the store name as there were baseball hats, T-shirts and coffee mugs emblazoned with the logo "Moishe Plotnik's Chinese Laundry." The tourist selected a coffee cup as a conversation piece to take back to his office.

Behind the counter was a smiling old Chinese gentleman who thanked him for his purchase. The tourist asked, "Can you explain how this place got a name like 'Moishe Plotnik's Laundry?'The old man answered, "Ah...Evleebody ask me that. It name of owner."Looking around, the tourist asked, "Is he here?" "It me," replies the old man. "Really? You're Chinese. How did you ever get a name like Moishe Plotnik?" "Is simple", said the old man.

Many, many year ago I come to this country. I standing in line at 'Documentation Center of Immigration.' Man in front of me was Jewish man from Poland. Lady at counter look at him and say, "What your name?" He say, "Moishe Plotnik." Then she look at me and say, "What your name?" I say, "Sam Ting."

Middle Eastern Conflict

Two Arabs boarded a shuttle out of Washington for New York. One sat in the window seat, the other in the middle seat. Just before take-off, a fat, little Jewish guy got on and took the aisle seat next to the Arabs. He kicked off his shoes, wiggled his toes and was settling in when the Arab in the window seat said, "I think I'll go up and get a coke." "Don't worry about it," said the Jew. "I'll get it for you."

While he is gone the Arab picks up the Jew's shoe and spits in it. The Jew brought back the coke, when the other Arab said, "That looks good. Think I'll have one too." Again, the Jew obligingly goes to fetch it, and while he is gone the Arab picks up the other shoe and spits in it.

The Jew returns with the coke, and they all sit back and enjoy the short flight. When the plane was landing the Jew slipped his feet into his shoes and knew immediately what had happened. "How long must this go on?" he asked. "This enmity between our peoples...this hatred... this spitting in shoes...and blowing noses in Cokes?"

The Accidental Clergy

A rabbi and a priest are driving one day and, by a freak accident, have a head-on collision. Both cars are totally demolished, but amazingly, neither of the clerics has a scratch on him. After they crawl out of their cars, the rabbi sees the priest's collar and says, "So you're a priest. I'm a rabbi. Just look at our cars. There is nothing left, yet we are here, unhurt. This must be a sign from God!"

Pointing to the sky, the rabbi continues, "God must have meant that we should meet and share our lives in peace and friendship for the rest of our days on earth." The priest replies, "I agree with you completely. This must surely be a sign from God!" The rabbi is looking at his car and exclaims, "And look at this! Here's another miracle! My car is completely demolished, but this bottle of Mogen David wine did not break. Surely, God wants us to drink this wine and to celebrate our good fortune."

The priest nods in agreement. The rabbi hands the bottle to the priest, who drinks half the bottle and hands the bottle back to the rabbi. The rabbi takes the bottle and immediately puts the cap on, then hands it back to the priest. The priest, baffled, asks, "Aren't you having any, Rabbi?" The rabbi replies, "Nah... I think I'll wait for the police."

The Lie Clock

After a long life, and a tumultuous marriage, Stan Herman dies and arrives at the Gates of Heaven, where he sees a huge wall of clocks behind him. He asks an angel, "What are all those clocks?" The angel answers, "Those are Lie-Clocks. Everyone on Earth has a Lie-Clock. Every time you lie the hands on your clock will move."

"Oh," says Herman, "whose clock is that?" "That's Moses' clock. The hands have never moved, indicating that he never told a lie." "Incredible," says Herman. "And whose clock is that one?" The angel responds, "That's Abraham Lincoln's clock. The hands have moved twice, telling us that Abe told only two lies in his entire life."

"So where's my clock?" asks Herman. "Your clock is in God's office. He's using it as a ceiling fan."

You Are What You Eat

An old Jew lives in an apartment building in an otherwise Catholic neighborhood where all adhere to the restriction of eating only fish on Fridays. Every Friday afternoon, however, the Jew bakes chicken for his Shabbos meal.

The tantalizing aroma week after week is too much for his Catholic neighbors. They convince the local priest to deliver an ultimatum to the Jew: either he convert to Catholicism and eat only fish on Fridays, or he has to move. The Jew agrees to convert. Three times the priest sprinkles holy water on him declaring: "Born a Jew, raised a Jew, now a Catholic."

The ex-Jew's first Friday night as a Catholic comes around -- and the perfume of baking chicken wafts through the neighborhood. A neighborhood mob charges into the old man's apartment demanding, "What's with the chicken? You're a Catholic now!"

He says, pointing to the roaster on the table, "That's no chicken; that's a fish." "Who are you kidding!" they protest. "It's a chicken!" The ex-Jew walks over to the sink, wets his hands, approaches the table and sprinkles the chicken three times, saying, "Born a chicken, raised a chicken, now a fish!"