Overdue post no. 2? Time for love!

My long overdue post no. 2 was supposed to be about something I cooked weeks ago, something that I no longer remember now and something that definitely has nothing to do with what I am going to say starting from now.

It took me long enough to finally realise that it's not because of how little time I have nowadays that is keeping me away from blogging, but the fact that blogging isn't really at the top of my priority list. I am sure if I loved blogging enough, I wouldn't be chatting away on msn nor would I be spending hours after hours watching SATC on my 17in monitor, and not spending even a minute to sit down and type. But, it proved too, that I really haven't had any time to just sit down, rest and think for the past few weeks.

There were definitely the 'oh, that's too bad..'s when I told people my ski/snowboard trip was cancelled and there's pretty much no more plans left in my 2 weeks winter holiday. But honestly, I was kinda relieved in a way. And it brings me to wonder, maybe it is time to slow down, take a breath, and look around? Afterall, it's the holiday season! Time for family and friends. Time for love!

overdue post no. 1 - fishie fishie?

I rarely cook fish. This was one of the exceptions since the fish was fresh and cheap and definitely yummy to steam. So I microwave-steamed it! If you've never microwave-steamed fish before, you really should try it out!

Just use plastic wrap to wrap up the plate and slide it into the microwave. Timing differs according to the sizes of the fish. So I just used the reheating button, and it came out fine :)

For the sauce, mix hot water with soy sauce, a little bit of sugar, some 料理酒, sliced onions and some dried cut up chilis! Oh, and not forgetting to squeeze in some lemon!! And tada!! A less than 10 minutes dish! Great for those busy days when you don't even have time to blog! :p

Jingle jingle

Still a month to go before Christmas, but I could hear the jingles already. In the housing area I stay in, it's pretty much like what you see in the movie The Grinch.

Christmas illuminations is a BIG THING here. I have no idea whether it's just purely those I-don't-wanna-lose-to-you kinda neighbourhood thing or whether they are very much in the festive mood. But whatever it is, I cannot deny the fact that it surely does give the whole neighbourhood a romantic, christmas-ty feel, warming up everyone's heart in the bitterly cold season.

Glad to be here. :)

Little treats for the tired soul

It's been (what?!) almost a month now since my last entry. Yups, I have been that busy. Just like any other university student, it's all about rushing for deadlines, deadlines, and deadlines after deadlines. DEADLINES!!! *faint*

*declaration: I am not complaining here. Just the usual ramblings of a greedy piggy who wants to be successful, yet wanting things to be easy. So, yes, you can ignore me.

Anyway, it's just another one of those not-so-up days in life. And thus, I decided to skip class, come home, and give myself some treats. Flan, custard, pudding...whatever. Who really cares for the name as long as it soothes the tired soul? Baking really does take your mind off a lot of things. *big satisfied smile*

*ps: mr. ed, remember we used to bake this together when we were kids? the good old days.. :)

One of those good ones, again.

It's one of those good ones at Oon Yeoh's again. Rich dad, poor dad. Familiar as it may sound, but it's not the book. Go check it out! The joke was a good one. :)

Being a frequent reader of Oon Yeoh's (and not a very podcast person), it's quite sad to hear that he has decided to leave the blogosphere to concentrate on KLStream. But well, at least it had been quite some fun reading the previous ones. Thanks for the well written articles!! :)

*just a short entry before I leave for Tokyo. Hope it's gonna be a nice weekend for everyone! TGIF!!

Backpacking Netherlands III

I wanted to upload this windmill picture ever since I started blogging about Netherlands. But it just didn not fit into the Amsterdam nor the Rotterdam category. So here it is. Windmills of Netherlands. :P

Netherlands used to give me images of clogs and windmills. Of course it still does now, but the smell of marijuana in the air, fluorescent bikini girls in neon lighted compartments and the modern architecture is definitely here to stay too.

I find Netherlands a land filled of surprises. The three places that I went to, they were all just so different. One was quiet, one was funny, one was so full of life. It felt as if it was a country built up of independent little unique countries. And that gave us the more reasons to explore. I shall not elaborate more here and spoil the fun of those who plan to visit Netherlands in near future.

One hint (advice?) though, go 'window shopping' not only at night but during daytime too!! It's quite different, not only in terms of the crowd but in terms of quality too! ;)

Backpacking Netherlands II - Amsterdam

In Amsterdam, you find...

kroket@croquette@コロッケ
*which I thought was originally Japanese! (o_o)*

tulips!
*in every colour you want!*

sex museum
*not much is needed to be said here*

clogs!
*I wonder whether anyone really wears them. hmm.*

waterways

and waterways
*you can get lost if you try to use them as landmarks*

and of course, window shopping!!
*of course here I mean shopping for ladies wearing fluorescent bikinis in neon lighted compartments*

Backpacking Netherlands I - Rotterdam

Streetlights

Pencil and Cubes

Funny windows

The pictures says it all.

Rotterdam is a place of modern architecture. I didn't really understand why, but I understand now. Fancy staying in a slanting cube? Go to Rotterdam! :)

*Special thanks to my friend whom I stole all these photos from. I couldn't gather any energy at all to take photos in Rotterdam due to food poisoning. *sob*

Backpacking Luxembourg

Look into the map, and you shall see Luxembourg tucked between France, Belgium and Germany. A small, yet beautiful country.

It particularly caught my attention when I came to know about the fact that the whole city was listed as a world heritage site. A certain building, or a certain spot, yes. But, the whole city?!

So, yes. Been there. Seen it. It certainly earned it to be added into the UNESCO list. The scenery of the valley from the fortress was near to perfect. And the casemates, interesting! Sometimes a little scary though. Given the fact that we were the only few visitors then, it can be a little scary venturing into the dark, unknown path.

Too bad we couldn't make it to the countryside which I heard is really beautiful if you like nature. But well, that gives me another reason to visit Luxembourg again, doesn't it? *wink*

Backpacking Belgium III

Streets of Gent

The Graslei, Gent

Brugge, Venice of the North

One of Brugge's waterways

Oostende at night

Yup, I'm finally back posting again about the way overdued europe trip. (^^;) Anyway anyway...

Instead of spending another day looking at touristy stuffs in Brussels, we decided it would be better off taking a one day trip to small towns around Brussels, going from Gent to Brugge and then to Oostende. And it was definitely worth the trip. Sceneries by the railways were superb. A much more peaceful and calm Europe that you do not see elsewhere.

As for Gent, Brugge and Oostende, they were great! One thing for sure, there were less tourists!! Streets were not packed, and things were definitely not as commercialised as in the big cities. And it was good to be able to just wander around, looking at the daily lives of the locals, and buy BIG, CHEAP strawberries! *big grin*

The people were VERY VERY VERY helpful and friendly. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I just left Paris where I met the rude lady who practically looks down at everyone at the bus counter. But where else can you find people who offers you help even when you never ask for it?

Anyway, in short, the small towns were nice. The people, nicer.

BACK!

Yes, I'm finally back!!! back in my own 'room-sweet-room', with my 30Mbps connection, happily stalking blogs that I've abandoned for 2 months now. And, I found this! Pretty funny piece if you follow the Malaysian politics. I like following Oon Yeoh's blog. Interesting, yet informative. Just drop by when you have the time, and you will know what I mean. :)

signing off now,
dreading that uni's starting tomorrow Sue

Frustrated Photo-less entry

As you can see from the title, I AM FRUSTRATED.

One of my aims during my trip back in Malaysia this summer, was to finish blogging on Europe and Phuket before I continue on to Australia, which I don't see is possible at all with the stupid internet connection at home. I do not know whether it is just the internet connection in my house, or is it so for the whole Malaysia, but I definitely know Telekom's monopoly has something to do with it. And obviously, I AM UPSET with it.

Come on, 2 months photoless blogging = B.O.R.I.N.G. *sigh*

So people, please please please bear with my boring photoless blog till October. I promise, I will be photoblogging like mad when I am back in Osaka, with my oh-so-trustworthy internet connection.

Signing off,
sitting, waiting, wishing for a better internet connection Sue..

Another lil green thing

Summer's when all bugs come out and play

How well can you handle stress?

Check it out!

Never knew these optical illusion things can actually test one's ability of handling stress. No idea how true it is, but an interesting link for a break off studies or work. So now people, back to work! work work work!

moNSTer romping the blogosphere

I cannot live without the internet!

Although it's been internet-less for less than 24 hours, it has been hell for me. No, I don't have very important emails waiting to be replied nor do I have a very popular blog where readers will go crazy when I do not blog for one day. But, it just feels strange without it. Thus, the motivation to send in an entry once I have the connection back! :p

Anyway, it's an overdue entry. Most of the bloggers would have known by now about Monsterblog, but for those of you who do not know yet, drop by and have a look. Afterall, it's the first of its kind in Malaysia, following Singapore's Stomp. Brought to you by NST, penned by the popular bunch of Malaysian bloggers (Jeff Ooi not inside though, I wonder why?).

There you go, my overdued entry. Now, back to my books. Finals. *arghhhh*

A little visitor

I had a little green visitor today. Unlike centipedes, this handsome thing was warmly welcomed by my camera :)

Mouse Potato?!

Read it at dotKoyi's today that 'google' is finally declared a verb. Finally made official by Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. A perfect branding tool for Google is what we may think, but the search engine company thinks otherwise. Fearing that the name might lose its built up value, public use of the newly-declared verb has to be followed on by a little note stating that it's trademarked.

Linking on to a few more links, I found out about another new word. Mouse Potato, anyone?

Backpacking Belgium II - Mussels and Beer!

mussels!

Belgian fruit beer

Belgian mussels and beer. What else can you ask for after a long day of travelling? *grin*

Almost 70% of the trip, we survived on bread, sandwiches, paninis, baked potatoes, mcDs (yes we had McDs at all the citys. hehe. jz for the sake of it.). But once in a while, we still gave ourselves little treats along the 1month journey. And reaching Belgium, we could not possibly skip the famous mussels and beer, can we? :)

The food were nice, atmosphere cozy, waiters friendly. However take note that it can be quite an headache choosing which one to dine in when everyone tells you they give you free cocktail and beer to go along with the dinner, and that they have a built in fireplace (very tempting if it's still winter!), that they have the best mussels in town.

My advice? choose a place with the most local-like people dining in it. The locals can't be wrong ;) oh ya! and for those not very beer-ly people like me, the fruit beers are nice! Do give it a try! :)

Backpacking Belgium - Brussels' Grand Place

Town Hall

The King's house, Het Broodhuis

Grand Place

'One of the most beautiful town squares in Europe, if not in the world' is how Brussels' Grand Place is often described as.

I have no idea how true it is since I still have many places yet to visit in Europe but listed as a world heritage site since 1998, Grand Place is certainly worth the visit. Although not as grand as the name suggests, its ornate baroque and gothic guild houses are rather impressive. Walking through cobbled streets of Brussels, you would stumble upon this place without knowing it. And, there! in a blink of eye, you get transported back into the olden Europe.

One of the architectural gems of Europe, Grand Place is beautiful in the day, and fascinating when lit up in the evening. Even though I was not in time for the annual Ommegang nor the bennial flower carpet, I thanked the artist whose stall set up a perfect, artistic picture for my dear camera. dank u.

In touch with the web of life

Found this interesting article at Oon Yeoh's blog -

It is the malady of modernity. We have gone from the Iron Age to the Industrial Age to the Information Age to the Age of Interruption. All we do now is interrupt each other or ourselves with instant messages, e-mail, spam or cellphone rings. Who can think or write or innovate under such conditions? One wonders whether the Age of Interruption will lead to a decline in civilization — as ideas and attention spans shrink and we all get diagnosed with some version of Attention Deficit Disorder.

NYT columnist Thomas Friedman goes on to talk about his Amazon tour guide's (who carried no mobile phone) ability to be completely mindful and heard every chirp, whistle, howl or crackle in the rain forest. In short, he was totally disconnected from the Web, but totally in touch with the incredible web of life around him.

So, how long has it been since you just laid around, staring into the stars, doing nothing? or sat by the window, listening to the raindrops? Think about it.

Time to disconnect maybe? ;)

Izakayas in Japan

Kanpaiーー

Izakayas or in kanji, 居酒屋 are Japan's own unique bar. Found all around Japan, very popular place for after work drinking. No music nor dim lights, there's only rounds after rounds of Kanpais.

In Japan, unless you are allergic to alcohol, there's really no reason that you cannot drink. Drinking starts right after university for everyone. Club orientations, class parties, welcome parties, graduation parties, year-end parties, beginning of a new year parties. Everything resolves to Izakayas.

Not to say that I don't like Izakayas, coz I really really like them. With really yummy food and my favourite umeshus, how can I not like Izakayas? *grin* Besides, it's fun to see people get drunk and do stupid things too. haha. :p

It's Official!

It's official! I'm going to Australia this summer!

Just made my payment for the airticket yesterday. 1 more month to go, and I shall be back in Malaysia. Thinking of all the food, ooooooohhhhh.... can't wait! Patience girl, just another dreadful month of finals, and you shall be gone! *evil laugh*

2 weeks Malaysia, 2 weeks Australia, another 1 month in Malaysia. it's gonna be one long, relaxing, homely (and hot?) holiday*happy sigh*

Tips on not to be missed spots in Brisbane and Sydney, anyone?

Chocolate Rum Balls

I guess this must be quite a popular recipe in the western countries, normally prepared for Christmas dinner. Not quite sure how it would turn out to be, but looking at the simple recipe, I just gave it a try. :)

As the name suggests, it is really very rum-my. Should turn out to be a favourite for rum people (like my housemate, yurika.. hehe) , but not very much for me. Gonna try it with Baileys or Kahlua next time. Should be quite a hit for Baileys or Kahlua lovers like me. Coz trust me, 1/2 cup of liquer does bring out the taste in it. ;)

Backpacking Paris II - romantic?

My 2nd and final post about Paris. This shows how much (little?) I liked Paris. :p

It had always been a dream, visiting Paris. The well-knowned-to-be romantic city. Photos, movies, magazines, novels. Romantic stuff happened only in Paris. Even the air is filled with romance. Or at least that was how I've been brainwashed since young.

Visiting it has only proved that it was all only a myth. Yes, a myth.

No doubt, the architectures were beautiful. The art galleries had been amusing in all ways. Met Da Vincci's Monalisa too. Smaller than expected. And I guess the staffs were so sick of people asking where Monalisa was, arrows showing the way to her was ALL AROUND the Louvre. haha. The pastries were fantastic. Of course, never forgetting to promote my daily servings of toasted (grilled? waffled?) paninis, too. *yummy!* hehe.

oh. Moulin Rouge and the sex shops were fun too (if you don't compare it to Amsterdam, of course). BUT.... (There's always a but)

It might have stayed a beautiful fairy tale for most of the tourists who were there on tour. Staying in lavish 5 star hotels, chauffeured around, dining at the high end resarurants, they would never find out the ugly facts of Paris. Never knowing how muddy the road was when walking to Chateau de Versaille. Or how dirty the neighbourhood was at Mont Matre. Or how strange-smellng the undergrounds were. Or how unfriendly and rude the ticketing lady was at the bus stations. Oh and how scary the 'hand tying' people were at Sacre Coeur, too. I assume they know more languages than anyone else in the world, changing from Japanese to Korean to Chinese when seeing aseans like us.

And so, there goes my 'romantic' Paris. Down into the drain. BUT, of course, if you haven't been there before, by all means, GO! Just have your eye sticked to all the beautiful and tasty stuff, and Paris can still be beautiful afterall. In a way, romantic too. Maybe. :)

For me? I still want to go there again. To seek out the romantic bits of Paris.

Backpacking Paris

Eiffel tower, of course

Sacre Coeur

Behind the cross, Notre Dame

Candles and stained glass in Notre Dame

at the very main river, where all the tourist spots gather

Chateau de Versailles' garden

Arc de Triomphe

The Pyramid, at night

Les Invalides, from Louvre

Happy Birthday CY!!

Happy Birthday to CY!!! :) *HUGS*

Hope you are spending the best day of the year today dear! (why on earth did alms go back so early?! (0 0)) Anyway, sending you all the sunshine and love you need :) Know you still have to bake your buns and breads today, but don't work too hard ya! It's suppose to be your day! :)

love, sue

Cheesy Lasagne

in the oven u go

baking..baking..baking

Ready!

I was on sick leave today. Thanks to the extra time, I made lasagne! Unbelievably, I've only ate lasagne twice since I was born. Once in Pizza hut, once in Netherlands. But, I really really lurrrvvee the dish. With cheese and cheese and cheese.. it's a cheese lover's dish!

Thanks to A Self-Proclaimed Foodaholic's recipe, it was quite a success for a beginner like me! (even though I forgot about the top layer of pasta :p) Burnt my finger a little while excitingly tasting the white sauce, but it was certainly worth the while! :D

time flies

It's been almost 3 months now since my trip to Europe. And I've just copied the 'Paris' folder from the dvd into my comp to reorganise the pictures! I suddenly realised that, time does fly, doesn't it?

It took me 1 second to decide going to Europe, 1 minute to persuade my friend, 1 hour to book the ticket, 1 day to finish with the ticketing procedure, 1 week to plan it, 1 month to travel. Wonder whether it's going to take me 1 year to finish blogging on it? *grin*

Hope not.

Backpacking London IV

I miss Bird!!

It's been almost 3 months now since my stay at Flat 9, Holborn, London. But no doubt, memories are still fresh in mind.

Still remember borough market, which I still recommend the most in London!! foooooodd! Loved the scones, chorizzos, apple juice...... Which by the way, someone just told me I'm too indulged in food yesterday... (_ _ ;)

And the museums and galleries, it feels so typically London. But I can't deny it is nice, as long as you have the time to spend a day strolling though halls after halls. And also, unless you are in a clear state of mind. Or else, it's going to be just another boring day at the museum. I was mentally exhausted after finishing only half of the National museum. Will finish the next half when I'm there again. :)

One of my little discoveries during my journey - the cool education systems adapted in Europe. All the museums and art galleries I visited, I always bumped up with kids from school trips. Some of them had papers to do sketches of things that attracted them, some ran around finding answers to their quiz books. So different from the education system most asian kids grew up in, with only boring fact-based history textbooks, and exams after exams, I grew up hating history!

Another thing about London is of course the places listed in Monopoly, places that you haven't been to before but have heard of it hundreds of times. :) Trafalgar squares is one of them. Take note of the 4 very handsome lions. Be a kid, and climb climb climb! Everyone climbs up there just for a photo shot with it
:)

oooohhh.. and theaters! musicals! I was in luck to be able to catch up with the classical phantom of the opera. It was -- FASCINATING! I'm so in love with theathers.

All in all, London can be a great place to visit, if you have the time to go to the musem one day, the gallery another, and the theathers another. And if you can't live without Chinese food, go to London. Never visit Japan. *grin*


*special thanks to flat 9 roomies for letting me be parasite for a week. Really great getting to know u guys. Caryn and No. 1, the crazy ones, and yet sooo sweet.. :) And bird, just like before. Just like before. *hugzzz*

Backpacking London III - More pictures!

blue blue skies

30 St Mary Axe @ informally, The Erotic Gherkin

Some monument somewhere :p

North entrance of Westminster Abbey

demonstrations in front of the parliament houses

Tower Bridge

St. Paul's Cathedral

National gallery at Trafalgar Square

Backpacking London II - pictures pictures!

hmm.. where to go?

The Marble Arch

another angle

Behind the Marble Arch, in Hyde Park

At the park leading up to Buckingham Palace

Posing away

Guards at work

At the allegorical fountain of Victoria Memorial

London Eye

Big Ben and the houses of parliament,

at the other end of Westminster Bridge