my last 'rotting' day at home

9.30 am was at MTV office
to sign my appointment letter
their staff benefits are GOOD!
annual leave is 18 days
additional 3 days of Family leave
so i get 21 days a year!
wow!

now i know why the lady
from HR has such a 'thick' accent
she is wearing dental braces
ha! no wonder..
sorry about that
i will get my staff pass tmrw
and yes stationery are provided

had a brief meet up with jack
who walked me thru the dept
introducing me
jack said bee lan, my friend
is my appointed buddy for lunch and all
hahahahah, that is great!
tmrw Omar will come onboard too
and i reports to him
knew Omar briefly thru
Cartoon Network
but not well
dont think he remembers me
but my name should ring bell

all that settled in my new office
i sped down to The Arcade
to do my medical check up
as required by the company

the wait was brisk and orderly:
registration, urine test, chest x ray,
blood test, eye test,
weight & height measurements
and finally meet the doctor
test results will be sent to office

strike by hunger pangs
headed for the dingy HAN'S
at the basement for quick lunch
and my caffein fix :")
the lunch crowd was begining to fall in
better get out now

sms cousin gillian
who's office was nearby
and we ended up meeting
to jalan jalan abit
i am really not a shenton way gal
so i am not interested
to hang around the area for long
the afternoon heat, the LUNCH CROWD
eeeeewwwwww, i better run man!

got back home
did all the laundry
got on the net
to finish up
all my unfinished blogs
for the last 2 days

ok, gotta go
loads of form to fill in
to be handed back to HR tmrw
and loads of materials to read
Spongebob, Patrick, Dora, Diego, Kai-lan, Avatar,
and other friends whom i can't recall now
see you all at work tmrw!

catch up on saturday & sunday

SATURDAY 28.06.2008

pandan cake baked on friday: worst crack ever!

remember in my Friday's blog

i mentioned i was baking

Pandan cake for 5th aunty

instead i created an EARTHQUAKE! :"P

the top part was so badly cracked

that ah lim said it looked like

Volcano craters!

hahahhahah...so bad! :"P

but luckily

apart from the ugly 'topping'

the cake is still very much edible

pandan cake baked on saturday, still cracked but taste not affected

orange chiffon cake baked on Saturday: beautiful!

so i decided to bake a new one on Saturday
together with another orange chiffon cake
for my regular family gathering on Saturday
sad to say, the pandan cake still cracked
but better than Friday's
taste wise also not affected
but the surprise was
the orange cake baked in
a round cake tin instead
of the tin with cone
and the result was good too
YEAH! 5th Aunty liked
she said this orange cake
better than the previous one
that she complained too 'egg-gy' taste
of course la
cos that previous one
i 'hamtam' only
use Pandan cake recipe
to bake Orange cake!
Hahahahahah....
i have also attached here
lydia's peach & apricot cake
baked on Saturday
Nice!
she said i should try bake this
ok i will try on my off days

lydia's peach & apricot cake

National Day 2008 rehearsal at Farrer Road:
air display - heartshape

air display : fan (i think)

National Day is nearing
9th August
and Farrer Road's skies
will be swarm with
air fighters and helicoptors
practising for their air display
BEST SPOT to catch
all the spectacular display

SUNDAY 29.06.2008

saw this new BABY G : nice!

went for hair cut this morning
my 'nest' up there need a trim
and relaxing the curls on my fringe
will be good too
as for colouring
i will save it until 2 weeks later
to do it with lydia
(must save $$$ first) :"P

while getting my 'nest' fixed
i was reading some magazine
saw this latest Baby G watch
red face, like rubber strap
and analog face
kinda like it
wonder how much
time to visit Lorraine again
at Prestige Watch :"P

New discovery for great passport photo-shoot

told Chris i needed to take
some photos to make staff pass
so gave me that extra touch
to my nice haif cut with hair spray
she and the shampoo girl Alfie
both strongly recommended
this small photo shop at Lucky Plaza

so i went
the shop so tiny
i almost walked pass it
the price board says:
$10 for 8 copies (passport size)
additional $3 for photo touch up
additional $10 for soft copy on cd

the 'studio' is so small
that when u r taking your shot
you get Filipinas looking at you
they were all over the shop
this you must be able to overcome
the photographery uses a pro camera
no light effects
and you have to hold
the reflection board yourself
NO HAIR & MAKE UP PROVIDED
hahahahah...

i chose to touch up the photo
cos of my OBK and
that irritation brown sun spot on my cheek
all in i pay:
$10 - 8 copies + $10 soft copy
touch up FREE he said
so 'ho kang' (hahahaha)
ready for collection
within 10 mins
the result of the photo
VERY SATISFIED!

here's the address to share:
ALLAN CHENG PHOTOGRAPHER
#B1-107 Lucky Plaza
Mon-Fri: 10 am - 7 pm
Sat: 1 pm - 6 pm
sun: 9.30 am - 6.30 pm

day FIVE, letter of offer

safety helmets?

no la, these are jello-like cake mold!

comes in nice colours too!

so i 'demoted' myself
to a lower level
Jack called this morning
they agreed
so now i am a
Brand Assurance Senior Executive
no more a Manager
a huge weight off my shoulders

HR called after that,
an ang mo lady
whose accent is so 'thick'
i tried very hard
to catch her 'ang mo'
so monday morning 9.30 am
i will sign the L.O.A
eerrr....i didnt catch her name
**smack head**
never mind la
monday then see how

so with that all done
left for brunch
went to shop n'save
and those rubbery cake mold
caught my eyes
looked like safety helmets to me
so colourful like lego
but so soft
how to bake?
and they cost $10 each!
eeewwww!

came back and started
sorting out my stationeries
don't know if they do supply
but better bring my own
must remember to pack in
my sweater too
the office is kind of COLD
when i last went
BBbbrrrrrrrr.....

told lydia i will use
a Mac at work
she offered crash course
next weekend at her house
ON LA!

i will also need
to polish up my powerpoint skill
actually have long gone
forgotten how to use

baked 5th aunty a pandan cake
she liked it the last time
but her daughter greentea
only gave a small bite
and finished up the rest
all by herself!
and mind you
greentea alone finished
5 pcs of the cake!

again the ever 'sensitive' chiffon cake
didnt turn out a beaut today (wats new?)
the top cracked again
this time like EARTHQUAKE! very bad
i had already reduced
the baking temp by 10 degree
sigh! i guessed will need
experience and practice
to perfect it

hmmm... wonder wat's greentea up to?
she havent been blogging since Monday
must be really busy with school work
and extra CCA - park tor! **LOL**
never mind
see you tmrw la!

day FOUR, YEEESSSSSS!

lunch today: deep fried silver fish

me & bao: the colour, FAILED! **we laughed**

true enough its HORRIBLE!

the prawn paste wings saved our day!

AMK mrt station

can you imagined the frus!
i accidentally deleted
all my blog for today!
BL***DY H**L !

now i have to start all over again!
ARRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..........
**pull hair**

10.54am my mobile range
6420**** appeared on my screen
my heart went
thud-thud, thud-thud......

took a deep breath : hello?
yes Jack's jovial voice
came from the other end
he asked: have you already found a job?
me: no, not yet
he asked, are you still interested in the
Brand Assurance job?
me: Yes
at this point
i knew i got the job!

but i didnt expect more to come
he is offering me the position
of a Manager and not a Rep post
which i initially was told
he said the Manager post is offered
to me to do me 'justice'
given my experience and maturity
he asked if the salary offered was ok too
YES YES YES i said
no need for me to bargain
he has done
more than 'justice' to me
so next tuesday
i start work

went out after the call
to meet Bao for lunch
at AMK HUB (my first time there)

12.17pm Bao sms me
she passed her final theory test
12.26pm cousin gillian sms me
she passed her driving test!
WOW! TRIPLE HAPPINESS TODAY!
must buy TOTO
HUAT AH!

took a train from cck to amk
the long journey gave me time
to digest Jack's call this morning
the more i think about it
i more i felt the Manager post
is too big a hat for me to wear
at this point of time
(though Indra kept assuring me
i am up to the position
she is always so full of faith in me)
**thanks**

i have been out of touch
with Brand Assurance and
i have not worked
outside my own company
for the last 5 years or so
i will need time
to adjust and tune myself
to fit into a
whole new work environment

i know myself very well
if i know i am not
going to do a good job
i would rather reject
and start low
i will learn through
the process until i am ready
or the company sees
for themself that
i can take on a higher level
for now if feel
the manager position can wait

met Bao and we walked
to the Hub for our
bi-monthly fix
of yaks and gossips
**hahahaha**

told her about my new job worries
she understands me
know that i am
not out to deceive anyone
i just want to be fair
to both parties

so i called Jack back
explained my reasons
for turning down
the good offer
i asked if he can offer me
Brand Assurance Administrator instead
and i gave him
a fair salary expectation
he said he would discuss with Indra

you may say i am stupid
for turning down
such a good opportunity
i will consider myself silly
if i take up the offer
but i will not be happy
i'd rather be happy
with what i am doing
then go for something
that i am not ready

thanks Indra and Jack
for having the faith
and confidence in me

so the wait continues
day FIVE, tomorrow

day THREE, 2 more days to go...

secret weapon #1 : mix egg whites to stiff peak

secret weapon #2 : fresh orange & lemon juices + zest

this time, its really soft!

has it ever happened to you
that when you are most 'broke'
you suddenly like have
so many bills to pay
and mind you they are not
shopping bills

and this scares me
cos it made me
start to think
when i am old with
no savings or
no retirement plans
how am i to cope
with all these!
**scared with cold sweat**

saving money is a virtue
that is if you have
extra money to keep
my present scenerio
is very 'dangerous'
so to speak
as i flipped through
the classified ads
little did i realise
until then that all
i have with me is only
years of working experience
but no skill
my job options are
none other than
administrative positions
(with NO accounts knowledge required)

my advantages are i am
very self motivated,
meticulous, independent,
competent, competitive,
great interpersonal skills,
and rather 'kia-su' :"P
yar, say until ownself so good
but still got job limitations
**haiz**

tmrw meeting Bao
my ex staff now turned friend
at amk hub in the morning
she is taking a day off tmrw
to take her final theory exams
so we are meeting up
to catch up with
non other than 'gossips'

i just baked her
an orange chiffon cake
this time following
the exact recipe
no more my own 'invention' (LOL)
the cakes are now cooling off
and by far they looked perfect
in shape and 'taste'

taste verdict: the best so far! and SO SOFT

shifu, 我成功了!

**clapclapclap**

till tmrw, day FOUR
its time for ‘美人鱼'
aka ‘同心圆' on ch 8 again

day TWO, oreo muffins for consolation

the secret weapon #1

the secret weapon #2

the oreo muffin batter

ready for the oven

ta-da!

day TWO, nothing happened
decided to console myself
by trying to bake the oreo muffins
didn't feel like
cleaning up the kitchen today
so opted for this easy
no need electric mixer
oreo muffins to bake

i must say this is
the simplest and
cleanest baking so far
i needed yoghurt
as one of KEY ingredients
and of course Oreo cookies
the confusion however was
did the recipe ask for
plain oreo cookies (got such things?)
or oreo cookies n' cream

Yoghurt was easy to get
but can't find any
plain oreo cookies
so heck la,
cookies n cream then

mixing the ingredients
was a breeze
becos it is important
NOT TO over mix, stir or beat the batter

no need electric mixer
or whisk
just a fork and
an ice cream scoop will be handy

comes the oreo part :
to add in the white cream
or just the cookies
after not much struggle
decided no white cream
cos me don't have
sweet tooth
but my hubby do
but i guessed he can
always spread jams
over his muffins
or for me
i can always spread
with butter
or dip into my cuppa

the new muffin paper cups
and 12 pack tin cups
bought at phoon huat yesterday
were put to test
the baked muffins
turned out in good shape
and nicely browned at the top
however i need to bake
for 35-40 mins in my small oven
instead of 20-25 mins

presentation:
passed
texture:
passed
taste verdict:
not sweet ley
confusion:
so is it must add the cookies' cream too??

think i will write to the
author for this recipe
to 'investigate'
will let you all know soon

sigh! now have to think
what to eat for dinner
everyday is a chore
to think of what to eat
chin-chye la
think will just cook
tom-yam soup with rice
and settle that
for today

time to watch
my re-run of ‘美人鱼’now on ch 8
i mean, ‘同心园’
pierre pang did a good job
in playing da yang
傻得可爱

till then
to day THREE tomorrow :"P

day ONE, no good news

day ONE
NO good news today
friends who know me
knows wat i am referring to

today is yet another
same old gloomy weather day
if i dont get out
i will end up rotting at home
and you will probably
be reading an exact same copy
of last nite's blog
as today's entry
cos same weather same mood

sms-ed lydia to tell her
will meet her for lunch
at her office at aljunied
she ewplied ok even though
amidst her busy work schedules
for this week
thanks old pal!

so i made my way to aljunied
first by lrt to bk panjang bus interchange
to take bus 700 to whitley rd
from whitely i will take bus 154 to machperson rd
from macpherson rd i will take bus 100 to aljunied rd
all these take me less then an hour to complete
take mrt la, you all must be saying
but i love bus rides on top
of all the public transports here
cos i like to look at the sceneries
while i am commuting

holland, the cat mascot
didnt receive me at the office today
lydia said she was sleeping
in ah lim's workshop behind
so i went in to 'disturb' the diva
she was half asleep when i saw her
but she woke up half sleepy eyes
to accept my 'sayang-ing' and stroking
her ball of tail is active today
hitting my palm with it even while
she was snoozing away

ah lim was busy a usual
repairing a piece of musical instrument
long enough to look like a rifle
i think its a long trumpet
(ah lim correct me if i am wrong, sorry ah :"P)

lunch time at a revamp hawker centre
the afternoon breeze coming through
was a challenge for us all
holding on to our hair, bags and cutlery (LOL)
ah lim suggested the black pepper chicken chop
so good that i forgot to take a snap (smack head)
the kopi-c siew tai was just as GOOD!

heh heh heh best part of today
phoon huat made my day!
there is a big outlet
just across from lydia's office
at sim's lane
luckily this one is not at holland v
otherwise i 'pok gai' to the brim

bought some 1000 pcs of paper cups for muffins
YA 1000 pcs for only $6.10
so gave half to lydia
also bought the cheese cream
at buy 2 get 1 free (1 for $2.30)
and gave the free one to lydia too
good things must share
hahahha...she my shi-fu mah! :")

reached home around 4 pm
nothing much to do at home
no baking no cooking
and dad made my day
by calling to say
the choco swirl cheesecake turned brownies
taste good!
i should make him
the real brownies this Sat, maybe

actually the bus ride today
made me think
of my late 阿公
thought of blogging
my fond memories of him
but decided not to
cos it will dampened me surely
cos i still miss him though
he was gone for more than 10 years
another day maybe
when i get hold of
some of his photos from mum
happy photos with
happy memories
of him and us
all the grandchildren

till then the wait continues
day TWO tomorrow

gloomy weather moody me

started to rain
early this morning
hubby sam has to work today
so reluctantly
he crawled out of bed
its sunday
a day to sleep in late
but not today for him

i got up a little later
attacked by hunger pang
but so lazy to walk out
in the rain for breakfast
so i settled down with
mum's fried noodles
packed home from last nite
so guilty cos the noodles'
rather oily
so no coffee for me
just tea

i watched the re-run of
japanese version 花样少男少女
i think the japanese
actors and actresses
are really cute
in both outlook and acting
loved the white face
golden retriever Yujiro too
i think i preferred the
japanese version more
compared to the taiwan's

cousin gillian wanted
the recipe to make
cream sauce/white sauce
so i dug out another one of
my 'antique' recipe book
100 great recipes pasta
YES 100 recipes!
and found what she wanted
its simple to make
i think she managed

2.30pm i decided to
walk to fajar
to eat a proper lunch
and to grab some food
for dinner
ended up eating chicken rice
(guilty*guilty*)
cos i cant resist the smell
but i had chicken breast meat
so not so bad la
(**guilty**reduced by 1 degree)

ended up buying can food
to stock up at home
don't know why
but i think today
is just one of those days
that i have no inspirations
to cook

came back and started
browsing through
yesterday's Straits Times Recuitment ads
and searching the nets
for job opportunities
gotta plan ahead
in case i dont hear from
*TV by end next week
sigh!

its not a good feeling
staying home for
the last 3 months
though i said i wanted
to take a break
but 3 months to me
seriously
is too long
for one i am getting bored
for two it's not healthy to the pockets
for three am afraid 'my engine' cannot start
if a job comes along (getting too slack lah!)

really lousy mood today
think 'big aunty' coming
so am feeling edgy
ache-ky all over
and damned sleepy too

told hubby to settle
his own dinner
and all i had for dinner
was a can of minestone soup
with garlic breads
part guilty for the oily breakfast & lunch
but mainly not much appetite

minestrone soup & garlic breads

hopefully tomorrow
i will wake up
to a beautiful day
and better mood
the wait for the
'good news' starts tomorrow

我没把得失看得太重
所以即使失败
我也能欣然接受

never go against the "recipes"

cake mixture turned out too watery

fresh out from the oven

nice golden colour

today i decided
to bake the orange chiffon cake
lydia has give me
the ACTUAL recipe for this cake

thinking i had all
that were needed
i didnt do any marketing
this morning

and as i was laying
out all the ingredients
then i realised
i didn't have
the MOST VITAL ingredients:
orange juice, lemon juice
orange zest, lemon zest

think i didn't 'study'
the recipe in depth
must have thought
pandan chiffon cake
and orange chiffon cake
can't be THAT FAR OFF
the most is to change
the pandan paste to
orange paste lo
Ya, SO i thought

little did i realise
the orange chiffon cake recipe
is SUCH A FAR CRY from
the PANDAN chiffon cake! :"(

so the 'never say die' me
very 'cleverly' improvised
my own recipe by
baking orange chiffon cake
using pandan chiffon cake recipe!
thinking all i need
to do is change
the flavour paste only

the only thing i see not right
is the defrost
coconut milk
it has became
2 separate bodies:
fine grated coconut-like
floating in oily water-like base
it longer looked like
white opaque liquid
but i still went ahead to use
cos it has not gone bad

however it has made
the whole cake mixture
rather watery
and my heart turned'cold'
i think there is
a problem here

so i popped in
the 2 cake to bake
one MAMA, one BABY
ya i bought another
super mini mould
so cute!

anyway i waited anxiously
the cake didnt rise
as it should
but all else looked ok

taste verdict:
the orange flavour
is not obvious
but the coconut taste is
the cake felt moist
but is dry
even my mum commented
its wet and dry

so i sms-ed lydia
to tell her the verdict
she laughed and replied
she: OOps...next round you follow the recipe exactly
me: ya, so proven cannot anyhow use pandan cake recipe to bake orange cake :"P
she: told you so! i give you full marks for bravery thou!

hee, ok next week i follow
also i target to
bake the choco swirl cheesecake again!

DISASTROUS, is the word

this step is correct: choco & cheese mix

disaster: mess plus messed up ingredient
**sob**sob**

final product - FAILED

still failed!

make over, YEAH!

dear cousin greentea,

today i set hand to try
bake the choco swirl cheesecake
thinking it should be
a piece of cake!

boy, was i being deceived!

all when well
during the ingredients mixing
all went wrong
during the pouring
of the choco
and the cheese mixtures
into the baking tins

firstly, the choco
and cheese mixtures
were rather liquid-like
secondly, my baking tin
was too small to start with

this cake required me
to layer the choco mix first,
then the cheese mix,
and finished off the top
layer with the remaining
choco mix
sounds easy?
YES it is
BUT NOT when you are
half way through pouring
the cheese mix then
you realised
your baking tin
IS TOO SMALL!

so the transfer process starts...
into another bigger tray

**PISSED**

COMING UP....
disaster #2

i popped the cake
into the oven
150 degree for 50 mins

and just 5 mins passed
MY GOD!
the cake mix started
overflowing from the tin

**SHIT**SHIT**SHIT**

quickly i took
the cake out
at this point
i knew
this cake is deemed
a FAILURE
not that it has overflowed
but wat i was about to do to it

so the mess starts here
frantically
i started scooping
out some of the mix
into 2 other small foil trays

the scooping out process
has mixed up
both the choco and cheese
they no longer
are in layer

the scooping process
also dripped the mix
all over the worktop
and the floor

**MORE PISSED**

i really can't bear
to see the result
cos i know
i have messed up
the baking procedures

**SOB**SOB**

4.10pm the first tray
has come out of the oven
its not a sight
like i said
the layers been messed up
all i see was
more choco
and little traces
of the cream cheese mix

i will know the taste
when the cake
has cooled down
just popped in
the other balance
2 foil trays into the oven
nothing to look forward to
i must say
except for the taste

5.12pm taste verdict:
the taste is good
though not much
cheese flavour
must be the mixed up
thats why the choco taste
has overpowered the cheese
the cake turned out
moist (thank god)
but failed in the outlook

so i decided to do
a make over
to the unsightly outlook
by cutting them into squares
and then individually
wrapped in foil

so now its both
presentable and tasty
i am happy
and i think the cake
is happy too! :"P

am giving away
a tray to my Taiwanese neighbour
and the other tray
to you, cousin greentea tmrw
together with the cds
and cookery books.

shopping at Ikea

lunch at ikea: poach salmon & wings

baking bowls from ikea

went to ikea at alexandra
to look for my baking bowls
lydia told me they may have
what i needed

weather's gloomy
and i am hungry
have saved my lunch
to eat at ikea

bus 961 from bukit panjang
is super crowded
and noisy
kids playing
women yakking
on their cell phones
indian mum & daughter
arguing in their lingo
and a weird uncle
blasting his small radio

glad that it was a smooth ride
can't wait to get off
i made it to ikea
before the rain

headed for ikea restaurant
alamak!
it's lunch time again
the crowd and the queue
never mind
i tahan first
so i started my shopping

found the oven safe
baking bowls
for my baked or gratin recipes
hubby will be happy
becos he loves gratin food

the bowls are rather affordable
to my surprise
those i bought were
rather lowly priced
from $3.90 to $5.90
thanks lydia
for the good lobang

its pouring
cats and dogs
headed to the restaurant
to try my luck again
2nd time lucky
the restaurant
is rather empty

i zeroed in

to have the poach salmon
with my wings of course
and not forgetting
my FREE coffee
on the way

finishing the poach salmon
is a victory
but looking at the wings
i surrender
cos the potatoes
have filled my stomach
to the brim

so i packed the wings home
possible for my dinner
hmmm...
time to think
wat's for dinner

no baking adventure today
cos its a wet day
making my way home
i got wet along the way

glad that i didn't
over buy today
only bought
what i went there for

tonite maybe
i will try to bake
penne of bacon in cream sauce
ok, that's set
shall be my dinner
for the night

**UPDATES**
dinner was changed
to baked rice
with breaded scallops
discovered there are
leftover rice in the fridge
so decided to change menu

i first fried the rice
with butter, garlic
onions, corns
mushrooms, bell pepper
& scrambled eggs
seasoned with salt
pepper & mixed italian herbs

My Recipe:
the fried rice is then
filled into my new
ikea oven bowls (hee!)
topped with defrost breaded scallops
& grated chedar cheese

oven baked at 180 degree
for 20 mins
*ting* goes the timer
rice is ready
to be served

if you are a lover
for cheese
you can add more
otherwise
go slow on the
grated cheese
or else very 'jelat' la

Super 'Bo Liao' today

my next projects: chocolate swirl cheesecake and brownies

photos courtesy from: http://amandalwh.wordpress.com/category/recipes/cakes/

super bo-liao day
super 'withdrawal symptom' day
cos NO baking today :"(

spent time surfing
for my next baking targets
this website above
is very interesting
great sites for
amateur self-taught
(ahem) baker like me
**puke

shared the recipes
with shifu lydia
and some 'discussions' later
maybe tmrw will try
either one above
am a fan of cheesecake & brownies
i think
my cousin greentea
will LOVE them too

hubby just sms-ed me
'wat you baking today'
aiyo, stressed ah
told him not today
becos our fridge
has no more space
hahahaha......

meeting my ex-staff
now friend, Bao
next thursday
at amk hub
after her 2nd
final theory papers

maybe i will
bake her a
pandan chiffon cake
or orange cake
since she 'ANTI - butter'
and 'ANTI-cheese' cakes

received some
positive news about
my long-awaited job
verdict will be out
end june

meanwhile
will make full use
of my remaining holidays
baking all i want
before the work maddness starts
in july
***cross my fingers, cross my toes***