IMU REUNION DEC 07'

the bunch of us in front of the christmas tree.... was suppose to compare 2 christmas trees... :)
~dearest baaaa and shang~
'darlin and i'
jimmy (cangkerik) and jon (buffalo)
thai express - food was average but company was great. enjoyed
catching up with you guys. ;P

birthday pictures

dinner at hog's breath
the 3 brothers
the beautiful girls in my life
~manja bag~
abang zy and abang jimmy....
bunny my dearest friend here.... thanks for everything :)
huah shin dear.... beautiful cake... and beautiful house mate too...
irene, my swimming partner and david, rat killer and super annoying friend :)

mua birthday cake...

thanks to huah shin and bunny, my beloved hs mates.... recipe from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ice-Cream-Tiramisu-Cake/Detail.aspx... we added a oreo layer.... and used tiramisu and caramel ice cream instead. was an awesome cake. heaps of expresso for coffee lovers. :)

bunny's butter cake

haha... i m very pleased with this master piece of mine although i must regret taste wise.... the butter cupcakes were a tad better. use normal granulated sugar. raw sugar is a no no.... happy burfday, bunny dear~!

priya's alien cupcakes

decided to surprise priya with some cupcakes.... hehe... bunny said they looked like aliens in silver spacesuits.... thanks to culinary princess for choc mud cake recipe....

375g butter

1 and 1/3 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

2 cups plain flour, sifted

1/2 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup baking cocoa, sifted

3/4 cup milk

200g dark chocolate, melted

1 bottle of caramel

1. preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius

2. beat butter and sugar for 8-10 minutes

3. gradually add eggs, beat well

4. fold in flour, baking powder and cocoa

5. add melted dark chocolate

6. stir in milk

7. 1 tps of caramel for each cupcake.

8. bake for 1 hour

lamb stew

felt bored of studying.... made up this recipe cause i was lacking a lot of ingredients in actual stew recipes....

so basically

marinate lamb in

2 tps of minced garlic
3 tbs dry sherry
1/2 tps of paprika
pinch of salt
few sprinkles of black pepper
1 tps of oregano

keep it in the refridgerator overnight.

2 potatoes - cubed
2 carrots - cubed
3 stalks of celery - chopped into bite size
cayenne pepper
worchester sauce
5 tbs bolognese pasta sauce
2 tps of minced garlic
olive oil
salt
pepper
3 cups of boiled water
2 tbs of corn flour

1. Fry minced garlic in olive oil till slightly brown.
2. add marinated lamb and stir fry for a while.
3. add 3 cups of boiled water, bolognese sauce, salt and pepper.
4. add in potatoes, carrots and celery.
5. stir occasionally.
6. leave to simmer on low heat for 1 hr.
7. mix corn flour with cold water. add to thicken stew.

butter cupcakes

this recipe is awesome.... best butter cake ever.... recipe from http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,186,144161-235198,00.html

banana cake

due to request from certain ppl, i baked banana cake. 1st round was not dat great. 2nd round... was absolutely perfect... recipe from culinary princess with a few modifications.

Ingredients

125 g softened salted butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana

2 tsp of pure vanilla

300g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ cup buttermilk or ½ cup milk

1 tsp lemon juice

½ cup walnuts, chopped

Method

1. Butter and flour a 20 cm square cake tin, then line base with baking paper. Preheat oven to 180 C.
2. Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs, banana and vanilla
4. Sift dry ingredients and add to mixture, alternating with milk.
5. Fold in walnuts.
   
6. Spoon into tin.
7. Bake for 45 mins or until cake test clean
8. Cool cake in its tin on a wire rack for a few mins before cutting or storing in an airtight tin.

wanton mee

this is what i do when i m stressed.... cook.
recipe from http://www.malaysianfood.net/recipes/recipewontonmee.htm
didn't make any char siew... 3/5 stars for this recipe...

have CRAZY FAITH~!

today's WORD has been inspiring....

on the book of 2 Kings 6:24 - 7:19

the Arameans were laying siege on Samaria. it was so bad that people were eating donkeys' heads n their own children.... it was during the time of Elisha.... and the King of Israel in his helplessness said, "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?"

basically, the next day... the lepers went to the arameans camp and found that they had all fled in terror... and they left everything behind. and they went back to the city and reported this. and the king sent spies to check out the story and found it to be true. in their hurry to rush out of the city to the food, clothes and plunder.... the king got trampled by his people and died...

1. do we sometimes scoff wat God can do like this King? those who scoff will not inherit the promises of God. those who disbelief will not taste the goodness of God.

2. so we have CRAZY faith like Elisha? like the man in the new testament who said, " Lord, I believe. Help me in my unbelief." in the same way, I want to have CRAZY faith that God can bring back to life the dead, open the eyes of the blind and cast demons out... Faith doesn't make much sense and it may all seem ridiculous. logically, these things would sound totally outrageous. but God is bigger den my logic. He is able in all things to do the impossible... what more change my life, reach the lost, help me in exams, heal relationships?

Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Am i crazy enough to believe....

i can be more than i am today.... in my studies, in my relationships, in my spiritual walk with HIM....

YES~!!! :)

the few things that pastor danny said last nite which i really liked. he is such a great preacher. but greater is He who is in him who preached. :)

` God is a not a God of black and white. He is a God of colour.

` Love the Maker before the ministry.

` He reveals, He reverses, and He releases.

` We are called to be FRUITFUL not to perform.

` There is a PRICE for the PRIZE.

` The jacket of FOLLOWSHIP before the jacket of LEADERSHIP.

` Many are CALLED but few are CHOSEN.

` Be a people of revelation. Lead by the TREE of LIFE. not the TREE of KNOWLEDGE of
GOOD and EVIL.

feel really inspired today....

God spoke... and my heart moved....

went for young guns conference today... pastor ashley and pastor danny spoke.... it was....wow...... 2 mighty men of God. the presence of God shook the place.

i realised i don't have the gift of writing or expressing myself very well cos i tend to beat round the bush a lot. so will try to get straight to the point.

pastor ashley spoke on:

how we are all like seeds and we have huge potential in us.
to grow we need to be planted in the right environment.
and it is the environment that determines the outcome of our lives.
so choose wisely our environment.

principle 1
- a seed contains more than you can see.
there is more to us than wat meets the eye. it is in us waiting to be released to its full potential.

principle 2
- each seed hs the potential in itself to produce a 100 seed harvest.
however a seed by itself will never grow. it needs the soil.

principle 3
- when the seed remains out of the soil, it cannot grow.

principle 4
- it's the soil that produces the end result.
it is the environment that produces the harvest.

principle 5
- the soil is misunderstood and underestimated.
if i knew how great the environment is, i would plant myself so deep, no one can pull me out.

principle 6
- the 1st thing the seed does is to put down its root.
the deeper i put my roots, the easier for me to get rid of rejection, hurt and other negative emotions,

principle 7
- the soil becomes more fertile everytime something dies.
when we die to our selfishness, laziness, we add fertilizer to our environment.

henley beach outing....

had an awesome time, girls.... fish and chips, smith's, ice cream.... good food, better company.... feels like holidays.... even though it's swot vac.... :)

what do i want for my birthday?

a very good question....

today yen asked me.... and guessed wat? i want:

1. blender
2. penguin waffle iron - sunbeam 1
3. cute cute cookie cutters
4. apron + mittens with my name embroidered on them
5. ice cream maker
6. voucher to go for spa n facial
7. new books to read - CS Lewis and Max Lucado
8. big tiramisu cake - huah shin said she'll make for me :)
9. good friends to spend the day and sayang me
10. God to bless me with penty of sunshine and love - would be sad to rain on my b day.
11. a hair cut
12. good food.... would someone be so nice to cook me.... actually i want william's chilli mussels. o well, fat fat will take me when i go back... jus keep dreaming...

even though technically i might not get anything... life is still pretty good. i thank God for all the people who care to make my life more beautiful each day.... :)

p.s: this is not a big hint to get me presents.... don't mind me rambling...

goldilocks peach crunch

Ingredients:

1 can (29 oz) peach slices; drained 2 tablespoons Granulated sugar 1/3 cups Orange Juice 5 tablespoons butter; cold but cut into pieces 1/3 cups Brown sugar; packed 1/2 cups Corn flake crumbs 1/2 cups Flour 1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the baking pan.
Arrange peach slices in bottom of dish. In a small bowl, combine granulated
sugar and orange juice. Pour over peaches; set aside.

In bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, corn flake crumbs, flour, and
cinnamon. Sprinkle over peach mixture. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until
golden and bubbly.

Notes: This is also good served cold, with a big dollop of whipped cream on.

love of God

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help answer these
questions:



If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z



Is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.



If:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K

8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%


And:

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E

11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%


But:

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:

L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D

12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%


Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will
get you there, It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!




Have a nice day & God bless!!!

su ling's version of peanut butter cream pie

had left over ingredients so jus modified the recipe, this taste so much better den the original recipe... basically same peanut butter layer with 2nd layer...

Cream filling:
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons margarine (solid) - i used butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
powdered sugar (optional)
whipped cream (optional)

CREAM FILLING:
Combine 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt in saucepan. Gradually add 2 cups milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is very thick. Blend 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into 2 eggs that have been slightly beaten; add back to saucepan. Cook 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Blend in margarine and vanilla.

chocolate banana cream cake...

i think my deco looks cute.... altho the cake was not suppose to look like this, like a dome i mean, it's supposed to be flat but oh well, rise too much in the middle, taste overall 2 outta 5 stars, a tad too dry but adding on the cream compensated for dat and the bananas gave a nice taste to the chocolate...

southern peanut butter cream pie

unfortunately it didn't taste as good as it looks. mainly cause the peanut butter layer was quite melty so needed to be refrigerated in the freezer. overall, 2 outta 5 stars... recipe from http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/getrecipe.zsp?id=103391 recommend to put less milk and more cornstarch to thickened filling. peanut butter soup is nice though. :)

nasi lemak...

hehe... we are so hardworking right? notice d sunflower pediatrics book... it's bunny's. i think this looks pretty impressive. *pats myself on the shoulder* +++plus to bunny on food art. she did an excellent job. recipe from lily wai sek hong.... when it comes to food, i am a true blue malaysian...

mamak mee...

sudden craving for mamak mee.... i miss bangkok lane.... anyways, this will have to do for time being... recipe from lily wai sek hong... i think i add bit too much lemon juice, was bit more sour than i would like it. food art by bunny dear.

Praise You in This Storm - Casting Crowns

I was sure by now
That You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen"
and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God
Who gives and takes away

Chorus:
I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For you are who you are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise you in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

Chorus

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth

Repeat

Chorus

double choc cheese cake...

bit sad that it sunk a bit... but it taste really good, for chocolate fans, this is a real CHOCOLATE cake.... recipe frm http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,166,150181-249207,00.html

lamb shepherd's pie

this is huah shin's pie. made specially for me. very happy with it. it's very nice and hehe.... influencing her to cook is definitely super plus point. then i get to eat and chill for once... la la la...

assam laksa

jus had this craving for assam laksa for ages and finally caved in and decided to make it. had delia, fuilin, david and willy over for dinner.... i'm pretty happy with my 1st effort of assam laksa. recipe from lily wai sek hong. used rice vermicelli instead of laksa noodles cause i couldn't find any here. picture by bunny.

egg tarts

jus updating on my recent food adventures.... actually this was more than a week ago, was jus too busy/ procrastinating... recipe from culinary princess and the pastry can be bought ready made.. pampas is a good brand. all very easy and good to serve if you have guests for dinner.

praise you in the storm - casting crowns

roti canai and tomato chutney

made the tomato chutney 1st and had no roti to go with so decided impulsively to try making roti canai...

tomato chutney recipe from culinary princess, very nice although a bit sweeter than i would prefer.

roti canai recipe from http://www.malaysianfood.net/recipes/reciperoticanai.htm

food art by bunny. with my little blue heart as deco.

kuih ketayap and bubur caca

bubur caca by bunny. thanks for all d chewy things... serai as deco... :)
baya made this. food art by bunny. was awesome... loved the sweet gula melaka coconut inti.

nasi ayam

saturday was a good cooking and eating session. nasi ayam dedicated to baya ( my baby) and irene....

recipe for the nasi from http://resepi.mesra.net/Detailed/2472.shtml

and malay fried chicken

for the marinade:
1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup coconut milk

Marinade overnight/ at least 2 hrs befoe frying..
Fry on the first side until golden brown and crispy, about 10 minutes; the timing will depend on how hot the oil is. Turn the chicken pieces over with 2 forks or a pair of tongs and continue to fry them. You may need to raise and lower the heat a few times to maintain the proper frying temperature. The oil should always be bubbling vigorously. It should take 20 to 25 minutes total to fry the chicken. If you're not sure if the chicken is cooked through, test it by poking a fork into the thickest portion and then pressing down on it. The juices that are released should run clear, not pink. Remove the chicken pieces to wire rack or paper towels and let drain for a few minutes before transferring them to a serving platter.

Serve with rice.

brownie

truthfully i am a bit disappointed with my brownie.... my fault too, cause i smartly did not follow the proportions in the recipe and added milk. so lesson learnt, do not add milk, while modifying recipes, it takes a few tries... taste is fine, but looks bit ugly, cos the top is slightly blacker than what i would like it to be... recipe from www.culinaryprincess.blogspot.com. thanks ko, for your recipe and support in baking....

loh mai kai

just felt like cooking today... it's therapeutic, and well good for procrastinators like me too. bored of studying, just cook. found this recipe on lily wai sek hong. that woman can really cook. just click on her link on the right if you wanna look at more recipes.

Ingredients:
250g glutinous rice2 cups water/chicken stock100g chicken meat
100g Char Siew(bbq pork) - slice1 Chinese sausage (lap cheong), - didn't use these but would prob taste better if you do.
slice10g black Chinese mushrooms, soaked and cut into thin slices

Seasoning (A):
1 tsp light soy sauce - used superior mushroom black sauce instead
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp ginger juice - i used slice ginger
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Shao Hsing Hua Tiau wine - dry sherry will do as well, i added 4 tbs. smell nicer.
1 tsp oil
1 tsp tapioca flour - didn't have this so omittted.

Seasoning (B):
1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce - used superior mushroom black sauce
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder - if you don't have this, you can make your own (providing you have a herb grinder) recipe from http://www.foodreference.com/html/five-spice-powder.html

Method:
Wash glutinous rice, then soak it for two to three hours.Steam it for 30 minutes. - I used normal long grain rice. cook the rice bit soggier.
Cut chicken into slices. Marinate with seasoning (A) for about one to two hours. I cooked chicken in a small pot together with mushrooms.
Heat oil in big glass bowl and microwave for 2 minutes.
Add the chicken and mushrooms, microwave on high for 2 minutes , stir and cook for another 1 minute more.
Mix cooked glutinous rice and seasoning (B) - cooked the rice together with seasoning. the taste absorbs into the rice.
Grease six small-size rice bowls.Arrange mushroom slices, a few slices of Chinese sausages ,chicken and bbq pork slices.Top up with glutinous rice and press down with a ladle.
Fill the bowls with water/chicken stock, make sure the water level is above the rice.Steam for 30-40 minutes. - easier, put in microwave for 30 secs. just put 2 0r 3 tbs of chicken stock if you using microwave.
Alternatively, wrap the bowls with plastic wrap , poke the wrap and microwave on high , 3 bowls at a time for 20 25 minutes.
Repeat with the other 3 bowls.
Turn over the rice bowl onto a plate and serve or leave to cool before wrapping tightly with wrap and then foil, leave in the freezer. When you need to eat them, remove the foil and microwave until heated through.
Loh Mai Kai can be eaten with chilli sauce.

nasi beriani

have been cooking.... reviving my hobby, it makes me happy.... this is my first attempt at nasi beriani, had this craving to eat it.... and too stingy to eat at indian restaurant... too ex, so the best solution? cook myself!! you can find the recipe at http://www.bawarchi.com/contribution/contrib2739.html - for the curry, i used lamb instead of mutton. Make sure you use ghee, smells a lot better. And to figure out the spices, use wikipedia.

made the rice differently though....

Ingredients

450g/1lb basmati rice (for a more authentic flavour and texture it is best not to use easy-cook rice; however, it will still work and be very tasty if you do)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
large knob butter, plus extra to serve
4 cardamom pods ( used bout 8)
8 cloves
1 cinnamon stick ( give it a wack so it breaks into a few pieces)
pinch saffron threads (too ex here so I used immitation saffron to give it a nice yellow orangy colour)
2 bay leaves ( i put 5 or 6)
600ml/1 pint hot chicken stock, vegetable stock or watersalt ( chicken stock is recommended)

Method

1. To make sure you get lovely fluffy rice, wash it in several changes of cold water, then leave to soak for about 30 minutes in fresh cold water. If you don't have time for this, place in a sieve and wash under the cold tap for a minute or so.
2. Cook the onion in the butter for around 5 minutes until softened. Add the spices, saffron and bay leaves and cook for a couple more minutes. The spices will give a wonderful fragrant flavour to the rice. Add the rice and stir until the grains are coated in the butter before stirring in the stock or water and salt. Bring to the boil and then cover with a tight-fitting lid. If the lid isn't very tight, cover the pan with aluminium foil before putting the lid on. Turn the heat down low and leave to cook for 10 minutes before turning off the heat. Don't remove the lid; just leave the rice to continue cooking in the pan for about 5 minutes until you're ready to serve.
3. The rice should have absorbed all the water and will just need fluffing up with a fork. Add a knob of butter before serving.

Tried cooking the rice like the 1st recipe, but it didn't work, rice was too undercooked. her curry recipe is good though.

Overall, a very successful cooking session with 5 happy and full people after. Daryl gave me 99% for my nasi beriani and lamb curry, said it was better than restaurant standard. Whether he was trying to flatter me into cooking more for him, that's debatable.

today i feel like an unkind person....

beware of what you ask for.... you might jus have your prayer answered in ways you did not expect. i m reading A Love Worth Giving by Max Lucado, and i feel there are areas in my life when it comes to loving people that i NEED to change... so there, reading and then applying... so i asked God for situations where i may love people and put others before myself... and find that it wasn't so easy after all.... to put myself 2nd and consider them 1st...

1st scenario... dirty, dodgy looking man ( look at the judmental words ) came up the bus, sat in front of me, started to talk to me, telling me he's from Darwin, has been staying at the salvation army for a couple of months, got his own palce now, started asking me bow to speak bahasa malaysia... after a while took out a bottle of beer and started drinking beer at 1pm in the afternoon.

my reaction: cringing inside, oh no!! still got long way to go before my stop, pls let him get down soon... he's so weird. might be intoxicated. mentally tried to do a mental state exam on him ( good patient to practise on k?) okie, try to be nice. jus talk to him. but don't be too friendly. so it was all so weird, trying to look sideways to indicate, i don't really wanna talk. half thinking, if this were one fo God's angels, i have just failed the big test. i wonder how Jesus reached out to those who were beggars, ugly, dirty.... and not feel that stranger awareness and protect yourself from these weird people feelings. God, help! i know Love is Kind. i am so not kind or nice... i need a mental revamp!! i didn't realise such things so much before, but after reading the chapter on love is kind.... i'm so not it!


2nd scenario... patient in a wheelchair in the hospital's lobby. spilt milo/coffee on the floor. he could have waited for someone to come and clean it, everyone would understand. he was wheelchair bound after all. but he wanted to clean up the mess himself, so there he was with a bunch of newspapers trying to wipe the mess. from the wheelchair. i was there. just walked out of the bank. wondering should i help him? and decided then that i had other things to do. how mean is dat!!! i half kept an eye on him to see if anyone else would help him... and this other bloke came and help him, i feel better for him, worse for myself. you could have been the one who ran there n helped him cleaned up the mess. selfishness.... preoccupied with my ownself... Love is not self seeking. i think i was pretty darn selfish.

got other scenarios as well, but since this is not beating up myself session, i shan't go too much into them.... just to show me reality of my own soul and character, i have to change. i want to change. i am going to change.

step 1 comes from realising, why I wanna change. because He 1st loved me.

CLICK TO VIEW THE FLASH CARD.

amazing grace was awesome... it's movie by the way for those who are wondering what th heck i am rambling on about... about a man who fought long and hard to abolished slave trade.... it is titled amazing grace because it's the story of the man who wrote the song "amazing grace". He was the captain of a slave trade ship. the cruelty, inhumane suffering that he witnessed led him to write this song i believe. the description of being traded like animals, shipped in cubicles the size of standing coffins, with no proper sanitation or waste disposal.... dying of despair or dysentery.... it all seems a vague and faraway... yet it is the brutal fact of life that it all happened... and how evil and deprived men can be... an inspiring movie that a few men and women can change what seemed a hopeless act of cruelty into a crusade of hope, justice and freedom for people who were undefended.... some day i wished i could do the same... fight for something i have a real passion for, do something to make this world a better place....

          The U in JesUs

               Before U were thought of or time had begun,
               God even stuck U in the name of His Son.
               And each time U pray, you'll see it's true
               You can't spell out JesUs and not include U.
               You're a pretty big part of His wonderful name,
               For U, He was born; that's why He came.
               And His great love for U is the reason He died.
               It even takes U to spell crUcified.
               Isn't it thrilling and splendidly grand,
               He rose from the dead, with U in His plan?

               The stones split away, the gold trUmpet blew,
               and this word resUrrection is spelled with a U.
               When JesUs left earth at His Upward ascension,
               He felt there was one thing He just had to mention.
               "Go into the world and tell them it's true,
               That I love them all - Just like I love U."
               So many great people are spelled with a U,
               Don't they have a right to know JesUs too?
               It all depends now on what U will do,
               He'd like them to know, But it all starts with U.
                                                --- Author Unknown

Is God calling you to do something difficult? Perhaps to take a missions
trip to help people in need. Or to witness to someone throwing her life
away with bad decisions. Or to show kindness and love in a relationship
that needs encouragement. If you aren’t sure you can do it, ask God to
help you. Then, trusting your loving heavenly Father, dive toward that
goal. It could be the best play of your life. —Dave Branon

Prior to ripping out the wires of relationships, we could check to see if patience and forgiveness are connected in our own heart.

It’s good to look inside our heart—to check the obvious first—even when it feels as if all our problems are caused by others. —David C. McCasland

I’ll check within my own heart first,
The obvious to see,
That faults I find in others
Are really faults in me. —D. De Haan

this is so true. seeking God's will in my life was more a out look searching for things that are external. and today's daily bread devotion reminded me, i should do some soul searching, look inside my heart and check what's obvious rather than to look outward for something obscure. hoping God will show me some sign however small. I should check the condition fo my heart whether there are any issues that are obviously wrong or need to be brought before God.

And i somehow know, i could be more patient, i could be more forgiving.

i m down....

more down that i've ever been in a long time... i don't want to talk bout it.... yet in my blues,
i see the people who cares for me, and i am touched that in my darkness.... people who i take for granted around me really care and love me... maybe this is God's wake up call for me.... i need to see things differently... i need to have a different perspective of my life....

sayang and big pot of nasi beriani that we made together.... was delicious.... hehe.... we ate nasi beriani for 3 days.... (he said he looks as sweaty as a pork belly?, got meh?)

with the phillipinos at EN 07.... can see the letters in the background?

gluttony at krispy kreme's, bonifacio high street.... manila... yen n i being "tam ciak kui"

open mouth BIG-BIG!!

i m back from manila... at my relative's house now.... so dat's why so free and nothing much to do.... blogging.... has now turned into my remedy for boredom... and jus to pass time and ramble bout random stuff... okie... i m suppose to blog bout manila....

1 thing is for sure.... i feel so blessed to be back in m'sia.... no where better than home.... the conference was great and all.... but i think i m starting to hate travelling and sitting around airports.... bout 30 hours of flying and hanging around airports for the past month or so is getting to me..... i still wanna go places.... but i think not in a long while.... i need a break....

Manila.... was pretty excited to go, didn't sleep much the night before... cos was afraid i'd oversleep.... zzz at 12 woke up at 2 stg... dozed till 4.... we were all quite zombified. yen, foon n i.... went to the airport... only half the people were there... okie.... so we were quite early.... 5 stg n d flight's at 7 20am. well, i always like to be on d safe side of things... nvm, the many "nyek nyek nyek" from nick saying i'm not a seasoned traveller bla bla bla and only need to turn up 1 hr before hand and only crazy ppl would turn up so early at the airport.... oh, nvm.... no point arguing.... at 5 am in the morning, there were many crazy people at the lcct.... like hundreds....

4 hrs of flight.... tried to catch some sleep... guess wat? the seat wouldn't recline.... grrrrr..... dumb air asia, and when they made the announcements, "please put up your seat...." excuse me.... cannot even recline. well found out later on, some of the other seats could recline and some have to really wack it real hard only can... probably was too stiff... anyway caught some winks here and there.... reached at 11 stg, no time difference between manila and here.... met some of the people from the KL church and a pair of twins from every nation new zealand... took a shuttle bus to Manila, the airplane landed in Clark which was bout 2 hrs away.... Clark is like Kelantan or Kedah.... goats, kerbau, paddy fields.... you get the idea.... zinc houses.... entering into Manila, the traffic gets heavier.... see more jipneys(pic above) - open air vans that are the cheapest form of transportation around.... many colourful ones with different patterns and funky graffiti on them.... look sorta cool, but we didn't sit on 1.... for the fact, it only goes short distances then you have to get off and get on another 1 (too troublesome), it's open air and the air is really polluted...

okie now on the conference.... anyone who is interested in listening to the msges at http://www.everynation07recap.com/ everything's there so jus feel free to leech of there. jus checked, the msges not out yet.... gonna be up there soon hopefully... the pictures are up though...

going out soon.... and suddenly feel slweepie.... zzzz.... it's 11 stg and i am slweepie? i need someone to zap me....

heading to manila tomorrow!!! i'm so excited ... actually now i am quite free, already packed everything.... where are my twizzers? they are missing somewhere, i m sure i packed them in.... anyways, no worries... it will turn up. me hopeth so. already marinated the chicken wings n dough is out for pizza for dinner tonight. cleaned the room. nick's out at col. i wonder what do housewives do in their free time? i already boiled the water, cooked chicken porridge for lunch. made d bed. checked my mail this morning. did some last minute packing now. now waiting for yen n foon to get their butts here. that's why i am blogging. maybe i should study... doesn't seem to be the best idea somehow. i can't wait... time seem to pass oh so slowly.... faster LAH!!!

well, i hope i don't last minute forget to bring my toothbrush or glasses. jus a worry wart, i should be alright, after all i did pack all in less than half an hour to come back from adelaide, with help from bunny of course, she's a dear, what would i do without a good housemate? *pengsans*

expecting a lot from God in manila.... n really hoping i won't be so broke - till super broken.... when i come back, thus d mee in my mug n julie's biscuits to snack on... RESIST the temptation of shopping..... blergghhh.... i still need to buy souvenirs right? n mommy's present.... mampus!!!( good news is can share with sis for family presents, haha.... kiam siap nya) i hope it's cooler in manila, sweat sweat sweat.... i SWEAT.... not perspire.... i'm not very ladylike ...

sayang, faster come back from col!!
yen n foon, cepat terbang la.... air asia memang teruk.... change flight time twice.... *hit their head!*
time, faster pass pls....

I M BORED!!!

this is so funny.... noticed the rose??

I have been in hibernation for the past 2 weeks besides going back to Adelaide for the weekend and clinic sessions on weekdays. Think I sort off enjoy the hermit life. Like Yen and I said…. “umang umang” supposedly with orange shell and small yellow flowers… well, it’s sort off nice to ignore the world once in a while and jut do my own thing, not have to worry bout others but just pleasing myself. It’s certainly a selfish way to live in the long run but for short breaks…. It sometimes is a relief… I think sometimes I just want to ignore the entire world including God, everything and just shut up from everything. It is however not possible to do that without people around trying to break into my “umang-umang” shell…. And it does get lonely, thus my online relationships on msn with people… they are safe, they don’t make me feel like I have any obligations to pretend to be anything… oh well, I could look like crap in my pajamas n still yak on msn…. And yet sometimes some people break into my peace and quiet and make me deal with issues I would rather not deal with…. For e.g., family problems, friendship issues, this and that…. May be minor or major… disturbing my currently really quiet and boring life…. and it forces me out of my shell… which is uncomfortable, can see why “umang umang” like to hide in the shell. It’s hard, it’s safe, the world out there is a dangerous place for a softie…. You will get hurt….

Nothing drastic has happened…. I just like my alone moments… and yet not be lonely…. Which is not entirely possible. There was no one in d house for the past 3 days and I was totally fine. I cleaned the kitchen, toilet, baked, plucked oranges…. Watched my Korean shows… as I have been for the past 2 weeks…. And it kills time. It takes up so much time actually just waiting for it to stream, I think by the time I finish watching like 3 korean shows it’s time for me to sleep…. Man, this life certainly is as if I am so super free and need not study… which isn’t true…. I should be studying…. But this GP rotation has been really chill, the docs are nice…. I read up a couple of things… but otherwise, I really don’t see the need to study that hard…. I tried, 1^stnd week, clinical problems in general medicine and surgery… week… oxford clinical handbook. I finished ecg part n some cvs stuff… 2 I think I studied bout 5 cases…. Or better, mostly bout lumps in the neck, groin, breast etc. all my surgery knowledge flew off after hols last year. Might be earlier than that… blerggghhhh… post holiday syndrome… it’s hard to jump start myself to study, I even brought my books back home to study… I didn’t even touch them….my procrastinating self…. I am an expert at wasting time… there should be a Procrastination Competition… I m sure I qualify and have a good chance at winning too, on the other hand, might have a lot of competition… *_*

Looking forward to going back to Adelaide in 4 days times… and even more to going back to KL to my sayang… listening to Disney songs now…. Mulan – a girl worth fighting for. It’s quite funny… at times like this listening to some funny weird songs, just suits current mood…. 4 days I hope it passes soon… but 3 weeks please pass so super slowly… really hope Manila will give me a big kick in the butt and get me moving for some time… you know sometimes when life becomes too mundane, need something different to happen to shake me out of this procrastination… it’s something that is a big problem for me…. When there is something really urgent for me to, I will just do it all out… but then if nothing much turns up after that… I will be taking this break…. Trust me can be quite prolonged… until the next something turns up…. And if it doesn’t I go into this slow mode…. Really kemalasan terserlah…. Nick said… you like a cat, can sleep for 20 hours… I don’t think cats do that. Koalas do that… well, ya…. In super procrastination mode, I probably can laze for 20 hrs… n only have 4 productive hours a day…. Of well, eating, msn ing, watching anime or Korean movies… seeing friends, going out….. I suppose it’s a good thing I m studying medicine as well… need to always study and be on my toes, if I were in one of those courses where can skip a lot of classes and exams twice a year… I think I would be lazing through my year….

a picture says a thousand words..... hehe.... i like this one....

this was how it looked like.... delicious right? hehe.... look at chu yao char... this so so deliciously fattening.... oh well, it's still the best char koay teow I've ever eaten!! lorong selamat ckt!!

sigh... i wanted to put a picture up showing God = Comforter.... well not exactly the blankie punya comforter.... but well, it's nice to have God around me like a comforter on a cold winter's day... with a mug of hot chocolate and mashmallows... n ended up finding something like 15, 000 images that are irrelevant.... showing blankets and other things... well, as a consolation... i found a very nice mug of hot chocolate.... however, i didn't wanna make it seem like God = hot chocolate.... somehow didn't seem very right. though hot chocolate is really good n comforting as well.... it's not dat cold here in penang...actually quite hot and rainy....

think i will need a lot of hot chocolate when i go back.... ( i really don't wanna go back yet- especially maitland)

after lunch....

life has jus improved.... hehe... God is good ya. funny way of improving my life. i got a haircut!! n d best part my mum paid for it.... so la la la.... happy, jus a trim but happy anyway..... n went for lorong selamat char koay teow. good thing the queue not dat long.... but wow.... so oily.... n jonathan (godma's son) ate 3 plates plus 2 ice kacang.... keng chao!! i ate 1 plate n half n ice kacang la.... dun wanna be a ta fei po la.... anyway not dat i can stuff dat much oso.... dat's crazy.!!

so well free haircut.... happily full and officially in a nice aircon room.... outside is super hot.... i am a happier piggy.... :)

yen is gonna kill me... one reason y this pic is not on my friendster... she seldom reads my blog.... hee hee *evil luff* cute mua.... sad yen face.... sulking... ( i m such a nice best friend )