Leftovers.. Again

This is my char kway teow. Or what is left of it.

When I came back from Taipei on the 2nd Jan, I went to the hawker centre, across the highway, to buy my supper. I had about half and stuck the rest in the fridge. Two days later, on the 4th, I took the leftovers, zapped it in the microwave and voila .. an instant meal! That's what it looks like after two days in the fridge and two minutes in the microwave. (please refer to pic)

I know that some people consider it bad. Gross even. To eat food that's been kept for too long. Like that Cantonese belief .. don't drink "overnight water". What the heck is that? Apparently you're advised to drink freshly boiled water and not water that's been kept overnight in the kettle. But... but ... I don't like to drink hot water. If I need to let the water cool down before I can drink it, I'd just rather grab a can of drink, readily available and chilled. And anyway, chilled water is overnight water, right? But apparently overnight in the fridge is OK??!! Go figure!

Get Smart !!

This is one funny movie! :o)

I don't care what the critics said but I liked the movie. The critics bombed it and said that it wasn't true to the original. I never watched the original series so I wouldn't know - it was in the late sixties?? when it was first aired.

This movie was a little slapstick and silly at times but hey, it's a comedy! There were some really classic scenes that only Carell, with his no-nonsense, stoic face and his comic timing, can pull it off. The Rock as Agent 23 - for a chunk of hunk, he's really funny too! Check out the stapler-incident! I'm still laughing :o) Even Masi Oka, Hiro from Heroes, has a small role!

More importantly, the movie wasn't over-exaggerated. I get so annoyed at Jim Carey's facial antics or Jackie Chan over-used, signature "shocked" look, that I prefer not to watch their movies. I hated Borat - I'm still trying to forget the memory of Sacha Baron Cohen in that string bikini!

So GET SMART!! Check the movie out!

Make-Up CLEAN-UP!!

Five clumpy mascaras and 2 almost empty eyeshadow pots.

These were sitting in my make-up pouch for the longest time! They took up space but I never bothered to throw them away because simply, they were still usable! I could still get a little bit of mascara from the tubes if I dug hard enough. The wands are no longer straight, by the way. And the eyeshadows .. just scrape the sides .. use my nail if I have to and I could always get enough to cover my eyelids. So why waste, right? If still have, then keep loh!

I got the Dior stubby mascara from a sample set. I can't remember where I bought the Rimmel. No7 in Black - I bought this in London Oct 07 when I met up with Adrian. I was getting some things for a friend at Boots when they gave me a voucher for $5 pounds off any purchase above $10 pounds. Adrian said that it was a tactic to get people to shop more. Well, it worked because I bought a mascara. Not that I needed it. I just didn't want to waste the voucher.

The Loreal was one I picked up at the airport duty-free. Anna Sui - I saw a colleague with some pretty lashes and she recommended this. It was S$40 at Robinsons. Probably the most expensive mascara I have ever bought. Tried it. Didn't help. I guess the only way I will ever have Japanese-kawaii-like lashes is if I put on extensions or falsies.

Eyeshadows - Silver Kose one was from Japan. It was shiny and sparkly, used as a highlighter. I like sparkly!! Bought the green Mac from the Internet. I thought it was a good deal - a regular eyeshadow costs about $25 from the counters. This was selling for $16. When I received it in the post, I thought, "Hey, Mac has a new packaging. Cool." Under the color, there was a little mirror and a tiny compartment in which you could stow a tiny brush. Anyway, I liked the green color and used it regularly. So one day when I passed the Mac counter, I asked if I could get a refill. They took one look and told me that it was an imitation. A fake. Petaling Street export. I should have known .. things that sound too good to be true, usually are!!

Anyway, with the new year here, out goes the old, used and almost empty!!

A New Year Dinner

My dinner on New Year's day in Taipei!

We get New Year's dinner when we're away. Part of our "welfare". I don't know if our company or the hotels pay for it though. Sometimes, the dinner is a 3-course affair - soup, salad and main. One year in Narita, it was a 10-dish buffet with karaoke! All I could remember from that dinner was the awful singing!

We had just checked into the Taipei hotel at 6pm and the dinner was at 6:30pm. We didn't even have time to shower as we didn't want to keep others waiting. One girl did not have the proper shoes, one only had a polo-tshirt. But we all went in the end and we didn't regret it at all.

This year, my colleagues and I were treated to a fantastic buffet dinner : 2 choices of soup with warm bread, cold cuts and salad, 20 mains, cut fruits and tons of yummy dessert! All that food for 45 of us! We just ate and ate and ate! I did, anyway. There goes my new year resolution! My favourites were 1) Jelly fish with beans 2) Kung-pao prawns 3) Sliced marinated beef with black beans and chilli 4) Drunken chicken.

Besides, the food, I was impressed that the wait staff kept topping up the buffet although we were already half-way through. That's service for you. I did my first good deed of the year - I sent the hotel a thank-you email right after I got back to my room.

Good service should never go unappreciated.

My High School Sweetheart

It was the first day of 2009. My past appeared in my present.

Today, I bumped into my high school sweetheart, WS. He still looks the same - a little older, trendier hairstyle, different glasses - skinny as ever.

We broke up 13 years ago after dating for six. WS is now happily married to K, with a son Jarrell, to carry on that all important family name (WS has 4 sisters) Jarrell is a very handsome boy, almost 6 this year and going on to K2. He will break many hearts when he grows up. WS says he takes after the mother.

He also showed me a photo of his family back home in Ipoh. Family members whom I used to know.

* Father is much older but healthy.
* Mother just had hand-surgery for a tendon problem.
* Ching-che's oldest daughter is now in Form 5. Her son looks exactly like Hong-Kor.
* Fun-che has a son and a daughter. She's a housewife in KL. Hubby is a partner in a law firm.
* Yee is married - I think she doesn't have any children. I forget.
* May is still single and has now taken over the family business / shop.

* All is well in the K family.

Looking back, it turned out for the better. For WS. If we had remained together, he would have been hen-pecked as I was always bullying him. And throwing my siew-cheh tantrums. He gave in to me - that was his nature. He was a really, really sweet guy. And he deserved someone much better than me.

Till the next time we meet again..
I wish you love.
I wish you happiness.
I wish you all the best.

My Baby Pineapple

For the first time ever, I hung a festive decoration on my door..


Ok, it's NEXT to my door. And a small pineapple, the size of a 20c coin, is hardly festive, right? But I like it. It's small and cute. And not too over-the-top. And I can use it next year too! Recycle! That is if it doesn't get stolen over the next few days! Chinese New Year is 26 days away ... Fingers crossed!




This year, it's the year of the Ox. Year of the Bull. Kerbau. Lembu. All the same ... they all go Mooo .... And almost every decoration on sale, has a smiling cow, or two. We have cows clapping their hooves together. Cows holding angpows. With all 4 teats in full glory! And all these cows have a really cheerful, almost sneaky-obscene grin .. as if they were getting some action "down there" ... and I'm not talking about the udders-region either..

So yah, I'm sticking to my baby pineapple :o)

Happy New Year !!