The Melting Pot

The melting pot is a metaphor for the way in which homogeneous societies develop, in which the ingredients in the pot (people of different cultures, races and religions) are combined so as to develop a multi-ethnic society. In this post , though, the melting pot is Me, or rather to be more specific , its my tummy!

The last week had been yummy-licious where my palate is concerned. I had a wonderful combination of different food. Our multi racial country has provided me with a wide array of friends from every race , so i had the pleasure of savouring all the delicious food from each culture.

Being Chinese but a terrible cook, i always look forward to eat-outs! And when i was invited to a Chinese dinner by some friends , i was delighted. It was just a simple dinner , but the company was good and the food , though simple, was drool worthy! I think i ate like i was a starved refugee but then again i just got out from my gym ( which is alot like a boot camp!! Phew!) Steamed la-la, fried tofu with minced meat , fried long beans ( the shorter lean ones!) and fried rice were served and i gobbled all that down. My friends seemed to eat like birds , maybe it was cuz they saw how dangerous i looked and were afraid to venture into the food for fear that i might fork them with my utensils!!! Hehehehehe, sorry ah??? Greedy me! But thanks for the dinner , G! U know who u are :)

2 days after that face stuffing , i went for an open house ~ malay style!! Its the Raya open house and we sat on the floor around the mats. The food was totally malay in nature and i loved it all!!! The beef rendang was my fave and i had 3 helpings! Once again , pardon the PIG! The fried noodles , wahhhhh, very unusual .... with a strong aroma of serai (lemon grass) . MMMMMMM, love it! i asked for the recipe and even "tapow" that home! The malay cookies look too good to be destroyed in my mouth but pigs don't usually appreciate art! So gobble gobble! The curry puffs were to die for , and the girl who brought that said that her mum makes those to sell. So i know where to order divine curry puffs from now on .... and cheap too! ( 40 sen FYI) . Oh and one more thing that i cannot omit from this post ~ the home made cakes!!! WAHHHHH, the fruit cake ( most definitely steamed cuz it was so moist and succulent! ~ the fruits lah i mean , how can cakes be succulent!) I am the food expert u know! :P And then the kek batik , wow... soft but not too sweet with the sinfully rich layers of chocolate! AMBOIIIIII! ( i think i have to wear a bib now! ) Moahs to the GYM friends!

Another 2 days later, it was time for home made Indian food! AYOYO, ah-mama!!! One of my friends is married to an Indian and even tho she is Chinese , her cooking skills puts my other Indian friends to shame! Her fish curry was out of this world! We finished the whole pot of fish curry and one of us even sucked dry the fish head , spitting out all the tiny bones. Well , at least the fish died for a good cause!!!! The mutton curry was indescribable and the good thing was 2 of our friends were fussy eaters and they don't like the smell of mutton! SMELL , what smell!!! its all aroma la!!! BOD! Hehehehehe, less men more share, so its yayyyyyyyyyyy!! The rest of the food were some pumpkin chutney , this is the first time i had that , and i thought it was potatoes . I am not a pumpkin lover ~ i thought pumpkins were only for Halloween carvings!!! And there was the dhall curry , and fried veggies. Then came cookie time, and my sweet tooth never refuses these. The corn flakes/cocoa pop cookies were good but my fave was the choc almond cookies. The ladies were watching their weight so i "hantam" their share!!! Hey, come Deepavali , we are invited over there again :) Thank u, P!!!

Then yesterday night, ooooooooooo, my line dance student handed me a nice huge container and in it was scrumptious Apple crumble! I must have died and gone to heaven :) I ate half of it , topped with vanilla ice cream for supper , and finished the rest for breakfast this morning. Sigh, i am now watching my weight so apple crumble was WITHOUT ice cream this morning! HAHAHAHAHA! Hey, every calorie counts , ok???? wink wink! KONON!! .... Specially for Betty: A million thanks to Miss Sarawak!

E-lated tummy!

cooking porridge on the phone!

Our local Telco has been advertising their "puas puas" talk package and i didn't really pay much attention to it. i am a very sceptical person and don't really trust any new, free or special offers. But when they happened to call me up to tell me that i should try out this package, i was not even home to take the call. My oldest girl was home tho and she took the time to listen to all that blah blah involved. She took down notes and said that she will calculate the savings i can make IF i do take up this offer. It took a while to move this stubborn procrastinator but i did eventually move my butt to the local Telco office and got some stuff done. I had procrastinated a long time ~ but i finally cancelled one unused phone line that i pay 25Rm for every month, terminated my very old dial up line that i pay 20-ish RM for annually, upgraded hubby's office Internet and last but not least , i got this new "cooking phone porridge" package all for RM68!This new move meant i can make free and unlimited local calls till like forever , i think !!! As for nationwide calls, i can make the same unlimited and free calls too , from way up north to down south Johor :) inclusive of sabah and sarawak. This will only be applicable till the end of the year. So i have about 2.5 mths to enjoy that.My first free nationwide call was to my mum and dad who are up north. That call didn't even last 4 min cuz they had guests to entertain. My next victim was my sis , also up north , and she was at work . That call didn't even last 2 min!!!! Sigh, so much for cooking porridge!!!! My sis called me back later on her mobile phone and we talked for 15 min ( she paid for it !!!! nyah ha ha !) Later that night, i phoned my dad again and he picked up the phone and just laughed!!!! He said that he knew it was me when the phone started to ring! Yeah yeah, that's the free-phone-calls kiasu one! He said he would make a list of people i can call all over the country ~ most of them would be relatives. I am sure all of them will be wondering what got over me and why i am harassing them!!!! So needless to say , up till now, i have not called anyone yet. i don't want to be a pest!!!Its been 11 days since i activated this package and the porridge isn't cooked yet!!! Ah well, as long as i am paying less for my phone bills every month , its ok. Cooking rice is just as good a reason to get a new offer package!

E-xpect a call from me!!

things back to normal

hello,,,, hello..........

Sorry for making you all worried over me when I was blogging earlier. I just need an outlet to release my "garbage". Anyway, thank you for your concern and kind thoughts. F, you are on your winning streak, ah ?? Every session you are the top sole winner... :-P

Well, the long weekend is coming soon...... with Hari Raya Puasa just a few hours away. I dont have any special plans or anything line out. It will be another quiet weekend with housework to do and probably some spring cleaning before Christmas. Yeap, Christmas is also coming up soon and soon Chinese New Year.... Time does fly very fast. :-(. Most of the national schools are already on Raya holidays since yesterday. My kids (chinese medium) has just completed their final exams today and they will be on 1 week break. From this saturday, 13 Oct - 21 Oct, 07. So they will be enjoying their freedom for the next 10 days and me another break as well. I dont have to wake so early in the morning for the next 10 days... YAHOOOOOOOOO.... and no need to rush my morning chores as well.

Today's work is so so as most of the offices are already closed and most of the Malay staff in the office are "celebrating" their raya. Only left those non malays with some work to finish. Even if there are work to be done but most of us are already on the holiday mood including me as well. Just got wind, that we are allowed to go home 1/2 hour earlier. Well some complain, aiya 1/2 hour only, ah ?? Well better than nothing lor........

F n E is thinking of going up to Genting for F to try her luck on winning some from Uncle Lim and perhaps with F winnings, may sponsor us to the "Black Pea" concert. BTW, the ticket price is rather steep lah unlike MLTR which is affordable to us. F as I have mentioned earlier - On winning streak each time we play so........ F.... all the way, Yes !!!

Well, c u all 2moro evening for the dinner......

S

Wellllll,,, goood morning,, everyone. Last week and beginning of this new week has been very eventful both for me and also for Malaysia.

Malaysia - The heart transplant girl, Hui Yi have been given life twice, within the 24 hours. Her 1st transplant was successful unfortunately her system rejected the new heart. It must be divine intervention as the very next day, they managed to get another donor for her and managed to replaced it. The team of doctors and donors were god send. Hui Yi has waited for a year before they manage to find donor for her. Hope she will cherish and enjoy her life to the fullest as I believe God has plans for her.

My dad will probably be going to IJN for check up next month. Doctors at Klang GH has recommended that it would be best for him as IJN has all the facilities and moreover, should he require an operation for his heart, IJN is the best and the price is reasonable.

Like F says, there are too many things to attend to and to please everyone is not easy. There are other events that happen which involve me as well and sometimes, I wish I could just say out loud.... ENOUGH !!! Please dont tell me about this and that, I dont want to know but I cant do that. Sometimes, I feel that I am losing it and will probably have a nervous breakdown but I have to hold on as I have one too many responsibilities. I thank God for the strength within me and for always keeping me sane.

As for me, like F says in her blog, it is one of those days. We work as an employee for the sake of getting paid and bosses (when they had a bad day), they will unload all the "garbage" on you !! Well, that was exactly what happen to me last week. When you do the right thing or does something right, no one remembers. But if you do one thing wrong..... hell break loose...... :-(
As the chinese saying goes.....yan, sabar, lun (in hokkein), patience. Sometimes, we tell ourselves, enough is enough..... Y do we have to take the "garbage" from them. Well at times, I do feel the same and must say, I honestly have enough and would like to say " I QUIT" but I cant as responsibilities are aplenty. So, maybe the next best thing to do is to move on.......... I am comptemplating for that move.

There are staff that mislead the company and also funds instead of terminating their services for their wrong doing, they are rewarded with company amenities - like company car and the management will pretend as though nothing has happen. Even though these people are caught red handed with proof. ! What the %$#@ !! It is frustrating to know that management reward staff with wrong doing and the good ones... well.... bless you !! It is like having two side of the coin, either you are the head or the tail. Guess I am the tail. Work like "siao lang" and get &^%$ garbage. Maybe this would be a blessing in disguise for me to wake up and move on.

I didnt sleep well last night, worrying about the loading of one of the sets which was in load port for the last 7 days waiting. About 4 am, I woke up to check if there were any sms or news for this particular set but nothing. As the saying goes, No news is BAD news. Oh boy, as I lay in bed, thinking, today is gonna be another %$#@ shit day as probably I will be getting another load of garbage. Thank and praise God this morning, on my way to work about 7+, I have received some good news...loading have started early this morning at 2 am. What a great relief and I could actually breathe easily and felt some huge relief has lifted from my chest.

I am looking forward to the long weekend to ponder over my next move and what I would do or say should I decide to move on.


S :-P

Just one of those days .

Some days ago, E placed me on a guilt trip asking me why I was not contributing to the blog when I seemed to be quite free.(told her I was choosing & buying books on line when she 'wei-ed' me and asked if I was busy.) I said that after such a long absence, I’ve forgotten how to blog. Sigh! Of course, a lack of topic doesn’t help. Days just fly by and the past few weeks have been uneventful yet filled with all sorts of problems at work. @^%%^* *^#~o (That is me cursing!)

Thanks to S for trying to keep our blog alive despite her tight schedule. She contributed at least 2 posts while E & I were away. Reckon she’s the busiest amongst us as her other half is still based in India. (He’s back for a short holiday though so she’s having her own ‘merdeka’ now.) What with work commitments, family obligations, household chores and what-nots, I wonder where she gets her energy and time to juggle and manage everything? You drink Malta-kah, S? My sis swears that if you are feeling lethargic, a can of Malta will invigorate you for sure.

For the most part, I enjoy my work. I am actually quite a workaholic ahem! i.e. without going overboard like some people I know. Towards end month when its almost payday, are the best part of working life. The anticipation of yearly bonuses is also an added plus.

Sometimes though, as S often says, ‘it’s one of those days! Everything seem to go wrong and more often than not, it doesn’t just last for a day but could stretch on for days or like now, weeks. Aiyaaa…fed-up man!

Being a Christian, I‘m not supposed to be superstitious, but each time problems pile up at work, I look with disdain at the Chinese flutes hanging at my office. In my mind I’m thinking, “your magic is not working.” My ex-colleague hung a couple of these flutes, for exactly what purpose I’m not sure, one over her head and one above mine as our desks are situated just below a beam on the ceiling. There is a belief that people whose work desks are beneath a beam will be bogged down with problems, as tho’ crushed by the weight of the beam. The solution, seemingly, is to either place a statue of an elephant, the bigger the better, on your desk or to stick a mirror on the beam. First time I hear of people hanging flutes though. Till today I am not sure what the flutes are supposed to accomplish but if it is to ‘buang suay’, doesn’t seem to be working now.

This inauspicious phase is causing me to go around with a perpetual sour face. So if we happen to meet and you see a scowl on my face, you know why-la- "It's one of those days".

F

My own Busy-ness

Hello Helllloooooo :)
On many many occasions i had been online and wanted to add a post in here, with a million topics to blog about. When i am not on the PC, my mind is full of ideas, but once i sit here i hesitate for fear that i may say the wrong stuff. Some things are too personal ( not for me but for the ones i blog about ) and i do not wish for a 3rd party to think i am talking about them. Not that what i say is offensive but it may be too personal. Some topics may seem too judgmental , some topics may make me look bad cuz i can be quite opinionated at times :P Thus i had been quiet for a while, trying to get a happy medium, stay on a safe topic and not "teck chooi" (hokkien) anyone !!!
Lots had been happening in my life but i have to sieve thru what i can say and what i cant cuz it somehow involves some other people. Hmmmm, maybe i can tread on some thin ice here and just say a bit about my life superficially , without mentioning names at all. If u think its U , then u are wrong , cuz i think the people i mean do not read this blog and have no right being in here ! Hehehehe, no lah , that's a bit too harsh and judgemental again ! Yikes!!!
OK , i do my share of part time jobs that i like and enjoy. A little bit of pocket money and a ton of fun is what i get from my classes. THAT i have no complaints about .... ermmm, except for one particular snag lah! The Kiasu and competitive attitude of the instructors leave much to be desired. The bitchiness and gossips are all part of the package but i managed to stay clear of those undesirable elements, and i am blessed that i can be indifferent and DIFFERENT ( from all the rest!) ...if u know what i mean ! i just do my stuff and leave the rest alone. In other words i dont care what u do and say! ( as long as its not about me!!)
My other very part time job pays a whole lot more but its as erratic as a menopausal woman!!! ( again i am not referring to any woman in particular Heheheh) One minute i get a good offer and i say OK i will take it ,even tho the stress of driving to the location is humongous! Then i sit in front of the Pc and cram a day's work into 2 short hours ( phew) , send it of via email and wait for the approval. After the approval i wait for a confirmation that does not come and the date line draws nearer and i still don't hear a peep from the people involved. i cant just jump at the drop of a pin and get ready for work in a day! This needs preparation and lots of "tools" . So the waiting sort of takes away the joy and the fun. And it makes me sit and think of the down-side of the job. So now i am secretly hoping that it wont be approved , nyah ha ha !!!! Then i can plan a holiday in November and December :)
My 3rd grouse this month is about some high flying occasion that i dread going to . So i was secretly praying AGAIN ( looks like i am doing a lot of that lately!). I know any fellow Malaysian would love to get an invite for this "do" but not me, i had been to a few and don't like to be among the elite. Dressing up and making small talk is not my idea of a fun night. Sigh! I was asked to provide them with my address and phone number via email but i waited till the last possible moment to get back to them. By then i had a number of SMS's sent my way asking me for this and that and if i remember so and so. I waited till 2 days b4 the big event to reply and said "oops its too late for the invite to arrive. "So i am safe. My close friend is grumbling about this and calling me a bloody cow !!! ( pardon the french!) So as of now, she is still trying to get out of it as well,. Let's see if she is successful. Its 4 hours away from NOW!

I have more stuff going on in my life..... but better stop here or else it will be endless! sigh!

E-longated breath ( hehehee! Something like Cheong hey !)

hellooo.... again... looks like E n F has not got their touch back to blog lah. E has been having problem with her PC and also the internet line since last month. Most of the time when we MSN, E seems to in, out, in, out... and we are not sure if it is really her or maybe the internet connection is not running well and we always sees her in, out, in, out.. As for F, guess she is busy too with work like me.

Anyway, some update as nowadays i dont have the time to go online and MSN with E,F,M. As I have mentioned last week, M is looking around for contractors to do up her house, semi D which she has purchased earlier. Th other day, I "kei poh" and went over to see her house while the contractor was there with her friend, J. Looks like M is going to hack almost the whole house, including replacing all the piping and electrical wiring as well. According to the contractor, the work is most likely takes about 4 months to complete. Price ?? Dont dare to imagine........ Honestly, the house needs a complete make over and of course, with the sign S and II, anything is possible. Well, lets see how much M has to fork out for her house make over. I was informed the 1st contractor has quoted est. RM100K just for hacking and other works not including the tiles and the 2nd quote RM90K+ for the same work. Dont know if M will get another quote to compare. Anyway, it is not gonna be an easy task. Good Luck, M.

F and me have been planning to Tj. Sepat since our last trip there and seems everytime we tried to plan but never seems to materialise. Wonder Y ?? F did tried to plan with her other group of friends but tak jadi also. In fact, last weekend, both of us were planning a trip there with my friend, M as tour guide also tak jadi. As F said, Tj. Sepat and us "boh yuan"..... :-( Dont worry, F, we will plan again.

Time flies and now it is October. Very soon November - school holidays, December - Christmas, and January - New year and then chinese New year. Like the picture, it is a long, long road but we will be alright. :-) The picture was taken when we were in BKK, on the way to the Tiger sanctuary which is run by the monks that walk freely with tigers. Mind you, the tigers are NOT caged up and tourist can just walk around the park. Dont know if the tigers have attack any visitors, though. The interesting thing was, we spent almost three hours on the road to visit the place but didnt get the chance to go in as it was drizzling at that time and the sanctuary was closed to visitors as the tigers were afraid of thunder and lightning. What a blow to us.... F if you intend to visit the place, please check on the weather first...... :-p

Hope to see you gals soon.......

From : S