Bothered..

Bothered, that's what I am. Bothered as in worried, disturbed or upset.  


Why exactly? Well I can't really tell you why but i'm pretty sure most people will come to a stage in life when you are just "bothered" by everything. 


I go to a church where my parents are "leaders". Boy, it's no fun. Church problems become my problem. Whether or not I asked for it. (p.s. I'm not even baptized) But then again, baptizism probably means nothing to many people. Oh well.. Life sucks.. Tell me what's new... 


Then there's optometry.. 
Do I want to be an optometrist? The answer is no. 
Is there anything I can do about it? I honestly don't know. 
I used to tell all my working class friends who complain about work to "change it if you're not happy with it". 
I would love to take my own advise. If my parents didn't pay close to a 100k for my education. Or if  I was in a public university. If I haven't spent the last 3.5 years studying and moaning about it. 


And the latest development in optometry school (my school anyways)
It seems like since my school is "new" we need to work under a registered optometrist for a year to get our license. Bla.. there goes my "dream" of joining culinary school after all is said and done. 


Then there's my weight.. that's probably the only thing I can control at the moment. And yes, I am going to take my own advise on this. I don't like my weight and I will change it. 


Steve Job said, "when you find something you love it will all fall in place, we need to have faith that everything will work out" 


I am still searching. 
In the meantime, I will enjoy the little pleasures life brings. Like stripey socks...

botheredpast participle, past tense of both·er (Verb)

Verb:

Take the trouble to do something: "nobody bothered locking the doors"; "didn't bother to ask why". (of a circumstance or event) Worry, disturb, or upset (someone): "secrecy is an issue that bothers journalists".

 

Best Time For Malay Food!

The best time for Malay food in Malaysia, (in my opinion) is during Ramadan! Ironically, Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting! In the day you'll probably wont find much food, however, as the sun is about to set you'll start to see people setting up stalls with the roads. These food and drink stalls usually start business at about 4pm till the breaking of fast and are known as Ramadan Bazaars. At these bazaars you can find just about all kinds of Malay food! The pricing are reasonable and variety is just endless. It's a great way to try everything in one place!

You'll find roti jala (rice cakes shaped like nets), mutabak (roti with meat filings), kuehs (traditional cakes), agar-agar, nasi kandar, satay (bbq meat) and the list goes on.

Ramadan Bazaars are only around during the Ramadan month!! So hurry and don't miss out. In my opinion this is almost the best time to visit Malaysia, as there will be many traditional shows and sales during this festive season!

Get them before it's gone! Photos from Bangsar Ramadan Bazaar

Kuala Lumpur - What to do?

So, my cousins just came back from the US of A for their once in 3 years visit. Understandably it's a HUGE this for my family. 3 years is a long time in the development of Malaysia timeline. So much can happen in 3 years, new buildings and places of "interest" can sprout out like little mushrooms all over town.

So it's no wonder that I have been scratching my head thinking of where to bring my cousins. The first thing I thought about was the endless variety of food that they have been missing out on having lived so far away from home. The funny thing was after one whole week I still can't think of any PLACES of INTEREST in KL that does not involve food.

Hehe... I thought of wanton mee, chee chong fun, yee mee, fried kuey teo, roti, nasi lemak, ikan bakar and the list goes on.
With the list of food, we set out to eat them all at the more famous places in KL.
My cousins being HUGE fans of WANTON mee we set out to find the best wanton mee stall in KL. Having live and grow up in Bangsar, we were pretty bias about the best wanton mee being in Lucky Garden. Unfortunately for us which time we went they were sold out! We decided that it wouldn't be a trip wasted and decided to try the other "famous" delicacy that was just around the corner. Sarawak Laksa, yummy... just the thought of it stimulates my saliva glands and increases my heartbeat! The laksa was super duper yummy, It came with 3 huge(medium) sized prawns, shred eggs, bean sprout, chicken and the yummy chewy beancurd and it was just peppery enough! Simply heavenly!

The next items on our itinerary for the day was Digital Mall and the Movies. Well Digital Mall for the obvious reasons (DVDs, Flash drives, hardwares). Ps if you are intending to buy original software make sure you go to the official dealers. After Digital Mall which was located at SS14, we went to Tropicana Mall for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Being Wednesday, we only paid RM6.50 (Extra RM0.50 because my bought the tickets through the Iphone app) per ticket which my cousins found CRAZY cheap as it was only about 2USD. They loved the theater so much that they want to schedule a movie marathon for next week.

After the movie, we did some shopping at Tropicana City Mall itself and followed by dinner at Grandma's. Half an hour later, my cousin(local one) decided that we should head over to SS2 for KTZ. They serve the best traditional desserts in town. From the famous icy MAT TOH LOH to the savoury delicacies such as loh mai kai and siew mie (dimsum). We had all the "Loh" and then the savoury seaweed roll and fried tofu. It was AWESOME! as if that was not enough, my uncle suggested we go for grilled sting ray and the works.

Just across the road was the famous "wai xie kai" (translate into the greedy street, pretty funky if you ask me). There we had the grilled sting ray, otak-otak, fried oysters and the chee chong fun. It was all good.

After a day of endless eating we decided to call it a night and continue the next day. After all, there's still the Lucky Garden Wanton Noodles to crave after.

YES it was that GOOD! Still is.

Fried Oyster and Otak-otak

Red Bean Loh

Lights! Camera! Action!

The big day draws nearer and nearer! Yay!!! As you can see I'm pretty excited! Hehe.. I know I'm supposed to be "studying" but I decided to make a like pre-wedding collage! 

Can't wait till I can bake and craft again!!!! Arghhhh!!!! 

I know Susan is starting to get nervous! The "little" Workaholic will be buzzing around on her wedding day trying to keep everything "perfect"! Rest assured Susan! "We" will try our very very best to make everything as "perfect" as possible for you :) 

And the count down begins... 

                                                              3 Days - and counting... 

Cupcakes! Facial! and Weddings!

I'm so freaking EXCITED and STRESSED at the same time! My finals and the wedding of the MONTH falls on the same FREAKING week!

I'm excited cause obviously weddings make me excited! On top of that, I get to make the wedding cupcakes!!!
It took us almost 4 months to decide on what cake base to use! And another 3months to decide on what "cup" to use!!  MADNESS if you ask me!

Unfortunately, last minute stuff keep popping up! GRRRR.. nothing is going MY way.. My exam schedule was supposed to stop on wed, meaning that I will have the time to bake the cupcakes on thu. ARgh! Just last week the new revised schedule was posted and my VIVA was schedule to thursday, 4pm!
Now I can't sit and I can't eat..
Then to the cherry on the topping, my thesis is due on Saturday and Dr A#$% wants me to present before that date! Does that mean I have to go back to school on Friday I asked? He reply ask your supervisor. Bla.. My supervisor used to be the director of the hospital and is a very very busy man! He see on an average of 100 patients daily! To schedule an appointment to see him is like waiting for the blue moon!

I really need divine help.

Taiping - Bukti Larut Experience

Last week, I went for the most remote church camp ever! In remote I mean the location.
The "entrance" to Bukti Larut is located just next to Taiping Lake and we were greeted with the sight of huge Land Rovers! Not a pretty sight as they were all OLD and RUSTY!

After 30minutes of torturous curves and winding road, we finally reached our destination. There was a bungalow waiting for us. I thought happily to myself "Yay!!! we're finally here! Time for a nice long HOT shower!". Unfortunately, my little bubble was popped when I was informed that the location we were staying at was another 15-20mins trek away!!! Up the stair and slopes!

Honestly, I was pretty upset and before I knew it someone screamed LEECH! Ewww! Oh how I hate the jungle! Fortunately, I must have done something right in the passed week, as I managed to evade all leech attack.

By the time I got to the peak, I was greeted by the sight of the most run downed bungalow ever! Well, since I've been to the national service camps I guess I've seen worst. Brushing my unhappiness aside I decided to go take a shower and enjoy the fresh air.

Grabbing my clothes and arming myself with my shower kit, I headed to the showers with a skip to my step! I hit the switch expecting the shower room to be bathed in light and the heater indicator to light up. To my surprise(NOT) nothing happened.

ARGHHHH!!! No ELECTRICITY!!! Disappointment!

Bla.. fine I told myself, time to entertain and enjoy myself while waiting for the power to return. I whip out my Iphone wanting to take some LOMOfied photos and cut some fruits. GRRR! Unfortunately the only sight to greet me was a warning sign "10% battery remaining" DAMN IT! Nothing is going right. Like adding oil to the fire, I was just told that since it was a Saturday TNB(electrical company) would not do anything about the power situation!

Imagine being stuck on a "mountain" far away from home with nothing to do, no phone/internet line and no electricity! ARGHH!!!

Before I knew what to do, it got dark and started to get cold! HECK I told myself, Just go get that shower. And so I did.

Amazingly as icy cold as that water was, I did not feel cold after the shower. I was amazing and as if God answered my city girl prayers, the power returned!!

I knew I was depended on electricity, but I did not know how much until that day! What I thought was going to be the hardest and most boring 4 days of my life, actually turned into one for the best 4 days of my life. I really have to say that it is probably one of the most enjoyable and memorable church camps so far!

I guessed being stuck in the middle of no where will make you "interact" more with the people stuck with you.

Amen.

Survivor Of The Froggiest!

I can't believe it has been more than a month since my last post! May has been a completely CRAZY month!!! I've been so completely occupied by everything that I've neglected my blog! 

Anyways, just a little update on my little "tadpoles" they've become frogs!!! 

When i came back from my church camp I checked up on my little froggy pond and to my surprise there was nothing left except for fishes!!! 

I went hunting around and found one little froggy! It was the size of a 5cent coin! 

So now I have a pet frog.. but I've no idea what to feed it!!! 

Hell to the NO!

Argh!!! Hell no! 

Can you please please please STOP asking people if they have a brother each time we go out!? BLA! I am HAPPY the way I am. I don't need a "BOY" to make me feel good about myself. 

Also, STOP offering your EXs to me! I don't care how HOTT they are. It's disgusting, you had them first, together with whatever disease they had. Yuck. No one like hand me down. 

Stop treating me like a CHARITY case! 

Stop trying to change me! If a person cannot like me because of my hair then they are definitely not worth my time! I mean come on HAIR? like hair no! U want someone with good hair go date a runway model or a movie star. 

Want me to look F*ing NEAT everyday? Do it yourself! I had ENOUGH! 

Please leave me be. 

Yes, I am going to start swearing. 

HELL NO to your controlling ways, LOVE me for who I AM! 

Alien Invasion

When I got home from Grandpa's on Saturday night I was surprised to see little strands of unidentified matter curled up around my lily patch.
After further investigation with a shove this is what I discovered!

Yes Ladies and Gentlemen, FROGGIE EGGS!

NO! This does NOT belong on SUSHI! 

A huge Ewww factor if you asked me. But because I did not want my "pond" to be invaded my tadpoles, I braved my fears of the eww and painstakingly removed each and everyone of them! 

The worse part was the shover wasn't able to pick up the loose strands! I had to use chopsticks!!! 

ARgh!!!! Imagine picking up transparent strands of  glass noodles that have tiny eggs in them!? Yuck... but I did it anyways. 

Now my little lily pond is free of tadpoles but because of that I had to sacrifice one of the plants that them wrap themselves on! 

sighs... 

My life or the lack of it

Some time last week I received a notification saying that I have to hand in 11 reports by the 3rd of May. This was last Friday, at the same time I received the notification that said I have 5 presentation due on the 26th of April. On top of that, my thesis presentation is "hopefully" the following week.
ps. this is the easter weekend. MAJOR BLA! the following is SAM's wedding!

I'm going crazy!

I know it sounds petty of me to be complaining so much but in my defense, my last presentation was 2 weeks ago. ARGHHH!

Yes, this confirms that I have no life.

My churchie Friends

 

So right, ladies and gentlemen, presenting to you the "Churchies". Believe me it's not as bad as it sounds. Unfortunately more me, this means I hang out with a bunch of goodie goodie two shoes. Making me the "evil" one. Or the Wicked Witch of KuaLLs. 

But as you can see, they seem pretty crazy making me look normal so I guess that's a huge plus. Hehe, it's great to have GREAT friends but it's even better to have churchie friends. Wont trade them for the world. 

ps. YES, they are EXTREMELY churchililious. 

Gimme a call if you want me to set up a "date", and yes, i charge processing fees.  

Burden

Everyone's burdened. 

Some more than other. It may be financial, it may be relationships, it may be family.. the list goes on. 

What I'm trying to get here is, everyone has something to worry about. If you turn around and see a "smiling" person don't think that he or she has no worries. 

Some people are just better at hiding how they feel. 

Even the most happy go luck person has something to worry about. 

It really depends on how much we let this "worry" rule our life and yes, I do feel that we need to "proactively" do something about this worry. Sooner the better before it turns to fear. 

And if you need to SCREAM! it's totally ok! 

SCREAM

Glaucoma and Chinese Medication?

When I was preparing for my ophthalmology presentation, I came across a pretty interesting journal "Treatment of Glaucoma with Chinese Herbs".

3 and a half years in the National Institute of Ophthalmic Sciences and not one word about Glaucoma and Chinese Herbs.

Let's talk a look at glaucoma, what is glaucoma?
It is the damage of the optic nerve(disc) due to changes in the eye, with or without increase in intra ocular pressure. This disease is one of the leading causing of blindness in the world.
Intra ocular pressure can be controlled by tropical eye drops like Xalatan, Pilocarpines etc.

The Chinese view on health is all about balance.
The "Yin and Yang", no is not complete without the other. "Yin" being Water, while "Yang" represents Fire.
The Chinese believe that "yin" is the force that brings the water/wind downwards(think of water downwards following). While "yang" brings it upwards(think of hot air rising up). The also believe that, Dampness, Heat, and wind are the primary cause of discomfort and imbalance in the human body. Prolong stasis of water in ones body will cause "pressure" to more upwards.

Imagine a pile of wet leaves, the temperature in the center of the pile of wet leaves will be quite high. Under the right conditions, (the top leaves drying) the pile of leaves combust into flames. As seen in garbage piles. 

This increase in "yang" will push the water upwards against the "yin" causing headache, eye pain, and also increase intra ocular pressure.

A lot more "studying" needs to be done in order to really understand this journal. See you in part 2.
That's if you're still interested.

Oven Hot: Mini Irish Soda Bread

With presentations and research today, I've been completely "STRESSED OUT". What do I do when I'm stressed out? 

I bake. 

As I was searching the world wide web for easy and "idiot-proof" cupcake recipes for the upcoming wedding, I stumbled across this, "Mini Irish Soda Bread"

The recipe looked so simple and so quick! I couldn't resist, just had to try it. Also, This recipe's relatively health, no eggs, no sugar, no butter, no oil. This recipe calls for buttermilk which is quite low in fats, since buttermilk is the leftover milk from the production of butter. However, living in this part of Asian, buttermilk is hard to come by, and relatively EXPENSIVE. It's about RM17 for 500ml. I replaced the buttermilk with cream+milk, and it still turned out pretty good. So no complains here.

Read More For Recipe

Snack Attack: Marshmallow Rice Crisps

While I was "cleaning" the kitchen on Monday night, I found a whole bunch of left over marshmallow from the last BBQ we had. 

What better thing to make than marshmallow crisps? heehee.. 

These were chewy and crunchy, absolutely divine. yumm 

Read More for Recipe:

Wedding Prep! (Don't Worry Not MINE)

Highlight of TODAY!

Wedding Preparations! Wooohoooo!!! The process and preparations of a wedding really excites me! I love wedding preparations.. 

What I hate is the actual commitment of a "marriage". Doom forever to the same person. Scares me shit-less.. 

You must be CRAZY to get married. Like hollywood says, "Why ruin a great relationship!" 

Heeheee.. No offence S & S, I love y'all, but I think you're mad to get married! haha.. 

So right, since I absolutely LOVE baking.. I volunteered my help.. 

This morning after the bride and her entourage went printer searching, we journeyed to the world of the unknown. LOL. Nah.. not so unknown, We went to Mutiara Damansara to check out ICCA and City Baker for "confectioneries" idea. 

The only thing we achieved today was confirming that cupcakes will be on the menu and that bridesmaids are not "spared" from baking. MUAHAHAAAA... 

ps. JV will be "baking".. fingers crossed. I hope her house will still be standing tomorrow. ; )

After finishing with the cake business we "PIGGED OUT" at this new little Taiwanese Dessert House called "Snowflakes". As the name suggested we had a lot of ICE. Some Great, some not so great, but still edible.

Jv and I had the "Japan Combo" which was RED BEAN and MACHA BALLS, Vi had the GRASS JELLY with YAM and SWEET POTATO BALLS, unfortunately, I can't remember what Su had but it was good. The pricing was a bit on the high side, RM6.90 for a bowl of ICE and flour. 

The most interesting thing there was the "Baby UFO beeper". It's a little disc like device that, beeps, vibrates and lights up when our order's ready, signalling us to go collect our desserts! 

All in all, it was an interesting day.

My First! Pair of Spectacles

Today is a milestone in my life!

I did my first... wait for it... fitting of a FULL FRAME! yay!!
My first full frame, this marks the beginning of my long and *boring* journey through life as an optometrist. Just the first of the many many more to come (hopefully).

My first frame is a recycled metal frame with screws missing. I had to dismantle 2 other frames to get the correct sized screws! hehe.. scarifies have to be made.

The lenses used were rather thick,
OD: -5.00/-1.25x70
OS: ???

LOL I got too excited and forgot the power of the other side.
It was a rather large frame with a PD of 69, I had to decenter the lens 2mm in and 2mm up to get the wanted PD. hehe.

All in all it was a good beginning.

ps.I swear I thought the edger was going to blow! bla.

I think I'm in Love: Nick Pitera!

A picture speaks a thousand words, so what does a video say?
"Take my breath away"


The awesomeness of Nick Pitera! Oh-La-La..
Even better than the Sam Tsui Micheal Jackson Tribute Video! <3

The Kitchen Princess and The Pumpkin

Inspired by SC, I proudly present:

The Kitchen Princess and The Pumpkin:
Chapter 1

Oven Hot: Banana Pound Cakes in a cup!

Last Sunday, I made the banana pound cake for church. They loved it. YAY me! Su even said that this could be used for her wedding. Hehe... I am extremely pleased with myself. 

Fundamentals?

So here I am, sitting around starring at my laptop screen. It's been over 30mins and I've haven't tried a fucking word..

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am working on my thesis. "Visual Status of Elderlies Living in Old Age Homes in the Klang Valley"

Who knew it would be so hard to find "old people" in KL? bla..
Who knew they would be so hostile and "mentally" challenged?
ARGHHHH!!!
Who knew they would SCREAM and SHOUT and KICK if you went too close?

Where have all the nice old people? hmmm

Gleedio: Nuthin But A Glee Thang !

After watching Glee episode 14 and 15 of Season 2 I here by declare my new found love for Brittney and Santana!  


Anyways, as I was "googling", this awesome "Gleedio" surfaced! HA! Gonna find a way to download it!


This is probably one of the funniest "Gleedio" ever! 


Nuthin But a Glee thang lyrics:

Oven Hot: Banana Pound Cake!

I had some banana's laying around that were going to go bad if I didn't do something with them..  So, this is what i made. 

Banana Pound Cake

This was the first cake my mum taught me to make. I think I was 10 or 12. This recipe is super duper easy. I can it the "fail proof cake". Basically, this is the simple pound cake recipe only with a twist, there many variation you can try out.

Anyways, this is the basic pound cake recipe:
Equal parts of butter, sugar, eggs and flour.

Candy Alert! "Green Truffles"

Ohh la la! Look at what I found!
GREEN TRUFFLES! yumm!!

I'm dying to try these out, I swear the moment I am done with my thesis I will go buy peanut butter and try this sucker out!! haha!!! My very own version of REESE! yumm, my mouth is watering thinking of these green treats!
Too bad I missed St. Patty's day.. Hmmmmm I wonder if I can find the recipe for green beer online...

http://ilovepeanutbutter.com/recipes/st-patricks-day-peanut-butter-truffles/

Going Way Back in Time: Two People I Miss the Most

Ladies and GentleMen, 

Presenting to you KY and JV! 2 very important people in my life, that are currently far far away.

These lovely ladies have unknowingly (well, they probably know already) sneaked into my tiny Grinch sized heart and built a fortress. They are far away but hardly forgotten.

Come home soon!

Missing you ladies dearly.

Fridge Cool: Green Tea Konnyaku!

Konnyaku is an increasingly popular form of Japanese "jelly". It is extremely chewy and has a fresh taste. Traditionally Japanese people eat it with porridge but now it has become a popular dessert!

And this is "My Take" on it on this traditional dessert/dish.

Green Tea Konnyaku

Start by preparing the green tea, powdered green tea is the best but it is pretty expensive. So as an alternative I use tea bags. The taste of the jelly will depend on the tea you use, so i suggest using a better quality of tea.

These are my favourite:

My Favourite Green Tea

Now that we have our green tea, follow the instructions on the pack of konnyaku jelly. Let's say the pack says use 1250ml of water, I will reduce the water by about 20%. 

1. So, bring 1000ml of water to boil then add in the green tea. You will need about 2 packets. Prepare the green tea as you would normally. I personally like the texture of tea so I will break one of the tea bags then strain the tea leaves out. 

2. Slowly add in the konnyaku jelly powder into the prepared green tea, keep stirring to avoid the konnyaku from forming lumps. 

3. Now bring the mixture to boil. Stir once in awhile. Once the mixture come to a boil you can turn off the flames. The mixture will look bubbly don't worry it will disappear once it cools. 

4. Let the mixture cool then mix in the citric or malic acid. This is very important for making the jelly chewy. Be careful not to add too much, the jelly will not set with too much.

5. At this point you can add in all kinds of fruits and flavoring but since I am making Green Tea Konnyaku, I will just let it be and pour then into the molds. The jelly will set once it is cooled. Chill in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours before serving for the best results. 

Preparing the green tea

Keeping mixing while adding

The mixture will look bubbly, don't worry!!! 

Final Product!!! 

Going Back In Time : Susan's Hens Night

Let's go back in time and look at Susan's Hens Night!

It was an extremely crazy time sooo much going on in such a short time(Chinese New Year was just a 4days away)! My beloved friend from the UK Chloe came home for CNY and we decide to throw a hen's nite party for another friend of Ours (Susan)! The organising/planing process whas nothing like I ever saw before! Almost Everything was planned through the internet! From the most crazy props to the food and drinks list! It was seriously weird for me, as it was my 1st ever hen's nite and I was in-charge of FOOD! haha! Too bad we started too late and everyone was ready for bed by the time we started!

I decided to bake red velvet cupcakes since it was a hit at my cousin's babies party! Who can say no to Cream Cheese??

Yes, I made cupcakes! 

Red Velvet Waiting in the Oven! 

Cream Cheese Icing with Some naughty fondant! 

We even borrowed Aireen's Instax! hehe Instant pictures are sooo awesome!

Instax Photos!  

The food was Good the Drinks were better and the props were GREAT!

Alcohol!

The Hen's Gift

Among the props were penis shaped straws and pin the "cucumber" game! Hehe.. It was a blast!! Can't wait for the next wedding!

Signing Off! Till the next event! 

A Fresh Start...

After years and years of hiatus, i decided to come back to blogging for my own sanity's sake! Seems like I've got some much to "pent up emotions (mostly frustration) but never the chance to express these feelings.

Also since I've started again to "manage" my school's student council's blog i decided I might as well give it a go and see where it takes me.

So whoever's reading be prepared for my "ramblings"!

The Biatch is Back!
XOXO