Tom Yum Gai (Chicken Tomyum Soup)

Hubby was craving for Tom Yum soup, and he told me that he planned to go tapau after he finished with his workout. I told him just to come home straight from the gym as I'm going to make him a Tom Yum soup. Here's the recipe which I modified a bit (sebab tidak banyak raw materials yang ada dalam dapur). You can get the original recipe here.

The Mirror Test

Jeffrey Hayzlett is an accomplished marketer, and a successful businessman. He was a Vice President and CMO of Kodak. He's not a novel in marketing, and I admire his vast experience. A friend from Goodreads recommends me to read this as he found out that I'm more interested in Marketing, and Management subject.

Noel Cruz's Arts

Noel Cruz is a Filipino artist who transforms mass-produced dolls to create stunningly realistic one-of-a-kind figures of celebrities. He is most recognized for his character & celebrity based dolls due to their uncanny resemblance to the people they portray. I'm very impressed with his artworks. Check out for some of his works below.

Cold Thursday

It's still raining outside and hubby still asleep. I wake up and make breakfast for us. I've decided to stay at home today as I've done with the works in the office. Dad has asked me to get ample of rest as I had a few OT last week. While waiting for hubby to get ready, I'm watching this funny Andy Griffith's Play The Game. A very funny movie about the ego between man and woman.

A few slices of Pandan Pudding Cake, and a glass of fresh orange juice for breakfast. It's pretty cold outside, anyway. Hubby has asked me to make Chicken Soup for dinner. It feels so nice to cook for hubby. It makes me happy when he had 2 bowls of rice last evening. I'm going to make Chicken Soup, and Vegetarian Shrimp for dinner later.

Chicken Curry with Potatoes

I went browsing to get some ideas for today's dinner and I stumbled upon a blog which has lots of recipes. That's why I love the month of Ramadhan! Banyak makanan dan masak-masak di TV. As for dinner, I make Chicken Curry with Potatoes. Here's the recipe which I got from Dapur Tanpa Sempadan. By the way, bahan-bahan kasi kurang sebab 2 orang saja bah kami ni makan. I also omit and replace some of the ingredients.

Raspberry and Blackberry

My mini bubble bath creme and body butter cream set is here, and I cannot wait to try it at home later. It has yummy raspberry and blackberry scent. I hope it would leave my skin fragranced. Gonna deliver the other 2 sets to Rita, and Hazloria later. ^_^

It's my half day in the office today. Have a nice day! ^ω^

Ginger Chicken in Black Soy Sauce (酱油鸡)

This has been me & my hubby's favourite, and I'm going to cook this for our dinner tonight. It's a very simple recipe, tidak terlampau susah. I found a simple recipe from a blog, and decided to replicate it with my own touch. Habis semua diubah untuk ikut sedap lidah sendiri. Sedap atau tidak itu belakang kira.

Ginger Chicken in Black Soy Sauce

For 2 pax (no need banyak-banyak unless you're a Godzilla)

Ingredients

4 Chicken Drumsticks

2-inch ginger (skin peeled and lightly pounded)

1/2 small bowl Black Soy Sauce (Thick)

1 tablespoon tomato sauce

2 tablespoon chillies sauce

1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce

1 red onion

1 brown onion

4 cloves garlic

Salt/Chicken stock

Sugar/Honey

Water

Cooking oil

Directions

1. Marinate the chicken pieces with soy sauce, ginger, red and brown onions, garlic, tomato sauce, chillies sauce, oyster sauce, honey/sugar and salt for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
2. Place the wok over medium high heat and add water, ginger and the chicken pieces
3. Bring to boil and simmer until chicken pieces are tender and the gravy is thick, about 30 minutes. Top up with more water if the stock dries up.

Ya. Ni malam mau masak. Hahahaha!

Ted Baker's Floral Printed Dress

We were watching E! when suddenly my hubby asked if I would like to go to the Church this Sabbath. I was so glad that he finally raised that 'Sabbath' issue, and remind me to go to the Church. I haven't been to the Church for months, and I'm so happy that he's willing to accompany. Thank you so much, dear. Hubby then asked me if I have a new dress to be worn (as he always see me wearing the same dresses to work).

"Let's get a new dress for you. No more mustard or pink dresses. My eyes can't bear to look at those colors anymore." 

Puji-Pujian

I had a conversation with my dear friend a few days ago. So, adalah ni satu cerita pasal pujian ikhlas, pujian 'epidermis', dan pujian 'berduri'. We use 'specific' terms to describe these kinds of pujian... Pujian ikhlas tu memang yang pujian lahir dari hati, memang tidak tipu dan pure macam cinta ikhlas kenen... Pujian 'epidermis' pula yang di kulit-kulit saja, yalah, pujian yang tidak ikhlas dan sekadar untuk kasi jack up supaya tu orang perasantut, or manusia yang memuji ni jenis puji di depan tapi di belakang dia umpat. That's Pujian Epidermis. Untuk Pujian Berduri pula, bagi definisi kami, this one is the most dangerous one. Why? Because pujian ni yang jenis menyindir atau mengejek, and very straightforward. Contoh-contoh kenen...

Situasi

Terserempak sama kawan satu Gereja/Office/Kuliah/Kelas yang makin lawa badan dan muka pun halus.

Pujian Ikhlas

Depan Kawan: "Eeee... Sia tinguk ko sekarang makin lama makin lawa tu body oh, tu muka pun makin halus ni..."

Dalam Hati Sendiri: "Eeee... Lawa oh badan dia sama muka dia... Sia mau oh ada badan macam dia & muka halus macam dia..."

Cakap Sama Kawan Lain: "Si anu punya badan sekarang lawa oh... Muka dia pun halus ni... Sia harap-harap sia ada badan lawa macam dia and muka halus macam dia oh..." OR ni orang diam saja inda kestau sepa-sepa (kalau dia jenis inda suka bergossip)

Pujian Epidermis

Depan Kawan: "Eeee... Sia tinguk ko sekarang makin lama makin lawa tu body oh, tu muka pun makin halus ni..."

Dalam Hati Sendiri: "Jangan perasanlah ko saja bulih dapat body lawa dan muka lawa begitu. Masih juga bah sia lebih lawa dari ko."

Cakap Sama Kawan Lain: "Si anu bah... Perasan konon dia makin lawa! Macamlah sia tidak tau apa dia guna. Dia pigi Botox baitu! Dia talan Slimming Pills lagi ah... Manada orang yang dari berjerawat tu muka, body pula macam babi terus tiba-tiba jadi lawa gitu. Fake! Betul-betul Fake! Sia tidak suka body dia. Macam walking skeleton! Ko tinguk tu pipi dia, masuk dalam. Ceh! Bagus kalau bulih manang ratu cantik macam sia. Sia masih lebih lawa dari dia bah!"

Pujian Berduri

Depan Kawan: "Wah Wah Wah! Sia tinguk muka sama badan ko macam berubah sudah ni. Ko pakai botox untuk kasi runcing tu dagu ko kah? Slimming Pills apa ko talan sampai dapat body begini?"

Dalam Hati Sendiri: "Ko fikir ko lawa lah sekarang? Ceh! Masih juga bah sia lebih lawa dari ko."

Cakap Sama Kawan Lain: "Si anu bah... Perasan konon dia makin lawa! Macamlah sia tidak tau apa dia guna. Dia pigi Botox baitu! Dia talan Slimming Pills lagi ah... Manada orang yang dari berjerawat tu muka, body pula macam babi terus tiba-tiba jadi lawa gitu. Fake! Betul-betul Fake! Sia tidak suka body dia. Macam walking skeleton! Ko tinguk tu pipi dia, masuk dalam. Ceh! Bagus kalau bulih manang ratu cantik macam sia. Sia masih lebih lawa dari dia bah!"

Memang lumrah manusia ada yang suka bagi puji-pujian kan? Tapi, ada kalanya orang yang bagi pujian tu sekadar di kulit saja. I'm sure kamu pun ada pengalaman kena gitu punya pujian. I wonder kalau masa menyanyi lagu puji-pujian di Gereja tu, adakah dari hati yang ikhlas atau sekadar menunaikan kewajipan sebab semua orang pun berdiri untuk menyanyi dan memuji Tuhan. Kita kasi general sikit lah kio, adakah anda berdiri tegak sambil menyanyikan lagu Negaraku, Sabah Tanah Airku tu hanya sebab memuji di kulit saja ataupun memang dari hati yang ikhlas? Wakakakakakak!

Kuat Komplen

When you're attending to a dinner, and the tickets are paid by your boss or sponsored by your family members, you pula sana complaint because the foods tidak sedap. Bersyukurlah sebab someone bought for you the tickets.

When someone offered you the dinner tickets, you asked the price, bila you know the cost, price, and menu, you complaint the price MAHAL. Don't complaint, when you know the harga ticket begitu, you know begitu laitu costing for managing an event. Orang bodoh saja yang complaint walaupun dia sudah tahu dan ada experience managing an event. Bersyukurlah because you have that knowledge and information, orang lain tu bukan semua ada tu knowledge, and ada yang minghahali tau semua benda.

When someone invited you to a wedding reception di hall or rumah, you tidak datang because you bilang jauh or 'no class'. Be grateful because ada kana invite. Jangan sampai nanti tidak kena invite lagi then you komplen sebab tu orang lupa kawu sudah. When you attend a wedding, please lah bawa angpau. At least show respect to the families, kalau ko rasa itu bride and groom rapat betul sama ko sampai ko inda perlu malu-malu kestau warna santut ko. *heheheheh... Saja*

When someone tidak invite you to a wedding reception di hotel, or ballroom, or luar negara, jangan terus-terus merajuk lepas tu mengumpat atau komplen. Maybe you previously pernah kena invite but you tidak datang (and tidak kestau pun sama the family), you tidak pernah bagi angpau (at least RM50/pax for hotel/ballroom, pigi google utk mau tau 'market price' orang bagi angpau sekarang supaya tidak kana kasi malu), ko mengumpat di belakang itu families/bride/groom, or the invitation list kena urus by the parents. Remember that itu cost is very high, and space is very limited.

Jangan sebab tiada aramaiti (which you're expecting ada dalam setiap wedding reception), trus komplen the wedding tidak siok... It shows you have no respect towards other people punya religions.

Jangan terlampau kuat komplen, nanti kamu jadi kuat kantut... K.K kan...

Respect is Earned, not Given

When someone passed away, we should pay respect. It's not because that person has more contributions that yours, or achieve higher than you. It's because our religion taught us to respect the life of that person in which one has no power to control. Our 'mohoing/molohing' also taught us to bow down, and pay our last respect to those who 'walk' earlier than us. We cannot actually do anything but put 'off' death, so we ritually acknowledge that we, too, will someday join the dead, Rest in Peace, Respect to my dead Homies, etc.

Foreign Exchange = Forex

Jangan bilang Forex tipu duit kamu. It's either you tak reti main, or you're too tamaha, or ko terlampau pintar sampai simpan Stop Loss untuk minimize kerugian ko (hahahahahah!). Pigi dulu ambil kelas Forex baru main. Bukan sekadar ikut cakap kawan atau baca artikel saja. Dan teda strategy atau software yang boleh menjamin ko akan untung sampai berpuluh-puluh pips!

Yang sioknya main ni barang, pa macam sekalipun ada orang mau kasi buruk ko, income masih masuk dalam poket sebab ini bukan melibatkan you and orang lain, but between you and how you respond to the change of market. Orang cakap ko teda guna kah, sombong kah, mulut tiada insurans kah, harap duit bapak mamak kah, etc. you still earn income. Padulilah sampai muntah darah pun diorang cakap pasal ko, you're going to shine~

If there's someone yang pigi bagitau other people yang you harap duit mak bapak you, just ignore it as long as you takde hutang sama tu manusia. It's a blessing kalau kana bagi Nissan Skyline atau Mitsubishi Evo X from parents (itu kalaulah kana bagi). Apa sahaja yang kena bagi dari parents, itu laitu rezeki ko, mau tolak pemberian dari molohing adalah sama dengan ko kasi luka hati diorang. Selagi bukan ko minta, selagi itu terima saja apa-apa pemberian dari molohing. Just be grateful, bukan banyak 'buts'...

Kaki 'Jual Nama' Orang

Sometimes bikin hairan ada orang yang suka jual nama orang untuk kepentingan diri sendiri. Selalunya di kalangan kawan sendiri dan paling teruk bila orang itu adalah kawan yang kamu selalu bawa untuk pigi makan. Sia bagi situasi, dan kamu nilai sendiri sekiranya kamu berasa dalam situasi tersebut, apa kamu akan lakukan.

Gelaran Teruk

Jangan menggelar orang yang rupanya tidak seberapa cantik itu 'babi', 'wogok', 'kunta kinte', atau orang yang bersaiz besar itu 'gajah', 'wogok', 'gemuk', 'bakas', etc. Remember that God is there, manatau balasan daripada mengejek, mengulu, dan menyindir rupa paras dan bentuk badan adalah to turn you into yang lebih teruk daripada diorang. Yalah, kecantikan dan ke'slim'an itu rezeki dari Tuhan. Kalau sembarangan saja salah guna, satu hari nanti diri sendiri jadi macam tu gelaran yang kamu bagi sama orang lain. 

Contohnya (perlu contoh juga kah?), kawan kamu tu ada masalah jerawat dan kamu pula mengejek kawan kamu (yalah, muka sendiri kan halus mulus) dan tulis di FB atau cakap sama orang lain begini, "Sudahlah muka berjerawat, perasan cantik konon! Cermin lah bah dulu tu muka sendiri!" Trust me, one day God will give her kulit yang cantik dan halus mulus, dan you pula dihiasi dengan jerawat yang susah mau sembuh unless you go minta maaf sama orang yang kamu cakap begitu (mesti dari hati yang ikhlas, kalau tidak, itu jerawat tidak akan sembuh). 

Contoh kedua (perlu juga kah? Hahaha!), kamu tahu kawan kamu tu berbadan besar dan kamu pula berbadan slim atau average sahaja. Janganlah kamurang pigi gelar macam-macam sama orang tu. Macam biasa, Tuhan itu kan adil. Dia cipta ko, dan dia cipta tu kawan juga. Mungkin kawan kamu tidak akan slim, tapi God will make you susah untuk slim pa macam sekali ko berabis sampai terkapus-kapus, atau separuh mati, dan sini sana try workout (Insanity la, HIIT lah, Gym la, Zumba la, Tae Bo la, etc.)... Dan paling teruk, bila ko berabis beli slimming pills or fat burners (sebab ko ternampak kawan-kawan yang lain consume itu barang), ko pula inda pandai slim tapi makin 'Larger Than Life'. Bila semua tidak berkesan sudah, maksudnya kamu kena minta maaf sama orang yang kamu gelar dengan gelaran yang tidak bagus. Mesti dari hati yang ikhlas. 

p.s. Tiada kena mengena dengan mana-mana status yang muncul dalam Timeline sia. Sia buka FB saja turus baca notifications sia saja. Cuma, sia teringat kes dulu-dulu yang heart to heart sama kawan-kawan. Tulunglah bah kawan-kawan kalau diorang ada masalah, dan bukan mengulu'. 

Monday

It’s Monday and I’m in the office just to get all jobs done before sending them off to ‘somewhere’ later. I deal with numbers, and I investigate any discrepancies in ratios, percentage, and record. Forex is just another playground as I view it as a long-term investment; not a ‘get-rich-speedy-fast-scheme’. Economics is just a place for me to get new vision if any suprises might tick me to do SL or TP. The jargons may only be understood by those who are in the same wagon as saya. Blessed Monday.

Life as We Know It

Love is what binds us, respect is what unites us. To have love and respect for all life forms guarantees you an excellent quality of life because you will be walking around in sheer reverence to all you come across. There will never be a dull or uninspired moment.

In life we do things. Some we wish we had never done. Some we wish we could replay a million times in our heads. But they all make us who we are, and in the end they shape every detail about us. If we were to reverse any of them, we wouldn’t be the person we are. So, just live, make mistakes, have wonderful memories, but never ever second guess who you are, where you have been, and most importantly where it is you’re going.

We can never turn back the pages of time, though we may wish to relive a happy moment, or say goodbye just one last time. We never can because the sands of time continue to fall and we cannot turn the hourglass over.

Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that & living alone won’t either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You’ve to love & feel. It’s the reason you’re here on Earth. You’re here to risk your heart, to be swallowed up & when it happens that you’re broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree & listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could.

Fernanda Brum – Há Um Rio (There’s A River)

Há um rio

Fernanda Brum

Há um rio cujas águas,

Alegram a cidade de Deus, 

O santuário do altíssimo.

Onde o Rei está 

Assentado a destra do Pai 

Poderoso pra derramar 

Águas que saram 

Águas que lavam 

Águas que refrigeram 

Águas que quebram maldições 

Águas que moldam 

Águas que purificam 

Águas que santificam 

Água de paz

This one is translated from Portuguese into English. I’m not really sure if it’s accurately translated but the lyrics sounds a bit like this lah… Correct me if I mistakenly translated it as I used Google Translate bah. One of my favourite Christian song.

There’s a river

Fernanda Brum

There’s a river whose waters

Cheers the city of God

The sanctuary of the highest one

Where the King 

Is seated on the right of powerful Father 

For the spill of 

Waters that heal 

Waters that wash 

Waters that refrigerated 

Waters that break curses 

Waters that mold 

Waters that purify 

Waters that sanctify 

Water of peace

Left Without Turning Back

Life is pretty busy these days as I have to juggle between works, and studies. I'd like to thank all who have wished me on my birthday (and 'after' my birthday). Thank you for spending a few minutes (or seconds) to write a nice birthday message. I hope I've replied everyone, I really appreciate all the wishes, and even printed them out to put into my scrapbook.

It doesn't matter if the birthday wishes come from a total stranger, as long as it's sincerely wished. Friends are blessings from God, but those who are just mingling around to knock you down are lessons that not all people can be your friends, because some of them would come and teach you about life. Yet, being sincere and honest can sometimes misunderstood by some people. Being misused is another issue, yet, this taught us a very good lesson of who to trust, and who are worth to be ignored. This reminds me of the advices from my late grandpa (before he passed away), "Apa macam sekali orang lain kasi ketuk ko sampai jatuh, ko jalan terus saja." (Never looked back when people knocked you down.)

For people who have called me as one who have mental problem or crazy, I'd say 'Thank you' for addressing me like that. I'd like to quote an article (shall I post journals or research, too?) for people who love to address me (and the others, who knows?) as 'crazy'...

"...You could make a very long list of all the supposedly “crazy” business leaders who accomplished truly great things. That list would have to include people like Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Howard Hughes, Richard Branson, and Ted Turner. In the world of literature, that list would have people like Allen Ginsberg and Sylvia Plath and Vladimir Nabokov on it. In politics, your list of crazy people would have to include Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi..."

The 'wrecked' ship may shrink and pollute one part of the ocean, but that won't turn the whole ocean into a place that cannot be wondered and awed by others who still appreciate the mysteries of the ocean. And over time, the 'wrecked' ship may just stay down there, deep under the ocean, admired by a few, and a home for the others. The ocean, on the other hand, will still be awed, amazed, and feared for its beauty, and power to destroy.

Last but not least, never looked down on others... If you're the one who brought them up there. Why? Because you never know what you've taught them, and you never know what are their SWOT. LOL! Once again, thank you for all the birthday wishes, and I pray that God showers you with blessings and happiness. I got birthday wishes from Whatsapp, LINE, WeChat, Private Messages, Twitter, SMS, and calls. Last but not least, to the one that never fail to lend his shoulder, I love you so much, Mr W.

p.s: Wine and cheese get better with age. Yet, some people get better and others get wiser. Growing old is inevitable and one has to learn by themselves through their experiences.

Beneath the Façade of Friendship

A true friendship is a feeling of love, sharing and caring. Friendship is not a façade for someone to play 'hide-and-seek'. It is a feeling that someone understands and appreciates you as you are, without any exaggeration, flattery and pretensions. Moreover, a true friend stands by you through thick and thin, and they will never stab behind you.

Friends don't do things like lovers usually do. They don't kiss passionately. They don't have sex. They don't do things 'romantically'. Yet, some people are squeezing out the advantages out from their friends, especially those who have close friends of opposite sex. It cannot be blamed when one has the fear of losing his or her close friends. We all have that 'fear'. It's not novel, but sometimes we are unconscious with the actions taken due to that 'fear'. For instance, some guys would tell others that they had sex with his best friend. The reason is obvious - Either because he doesn't want to lose her, or it's because he wanted to keep his ego or pride on the line. The consequences of such action might be intolerable as this involves downgrading the dignity of a woman, and a friend. He might have a 'temporary' winning cup, but once the secret is revealed then the game is over. A 'true friend' would forgive and forget, but does that still make a friend to stick with you after all the trusts have been broken into pieces? It happens around us, everyday. Sometimes, we do hear this thing happened to our dear friends, yet, we are unable to help them. Instead, we would keep distancing ourselves from this kind of people. The disappointment is there as the trust has been broken. Think thoroughly before you say a thing or even share the stories of your close friends to others. You might need to consider that not all of us would love to listen to the story, but having a juicy gossip is enough to make us considered as updated.

What would you do if you heard when one of your friend badmouthing or making a false statement of his or her close friend? Who would you trust after you've listened to both sides of the story?

Beneath the Covers

It has been a long time since I stopped blogging as life has been pretty busy when the age is crawling up. I missed blogging so much that sometimes I 'tweet' nonsensical things over my Twitter and Facebook. I don't know how long this would be but I hope this space won't be left unattended for aeon. I will start soon (when?). Perhaps, a few days after all my works are done? Yet, I'm adding another 'time-consumer' into my 24-hour lifeline. I hope it won't go wasted. It's 4am and I really need to get my forty winks or I might get a lecture from 'the-love-of-my-life'. Will be back later.