SATURDAY
Wen to the Brothers in Ampang. Earmarked a few accessories i wanted to get for my car. This included a stabiliser and new mats. Another accessory would be new head-lights. Of course my trust-worthy consultant was with me to explain everything I wanted to know.
Went to SPCA after that. A long pending thing to-do. We walked around the kennels. Most of them were adult dogs. Some of the older ones who were not for adoption were left to roam around freely as they were harmless.
While we were on our rounds, suddenly there was a commotion. Every single canine was on full alert and was barking away. We were surprised and looked at the direction they were looking at. I noticed a man carrying one of the dogs out of his kennel. All the others were barking at him - the man and the dog he was carrying. He kept him in a cage at the back of his van and was getting ready to go. We approached the man and asked him what was going on, where the doggie was being taken to. He said that he is sending her back to where she came from - the Batu Caves neighbourhood. They usually pick up the stray females, spay them and send them back to their habitat so they do not continue multiplying.
All the other dogs were aware of this practise and were barking - in acknowledgement or distress or simply sending off. The guy in the cage was silent... And looked sad...
SUNDAY
Supposed to go for the Walk of Hope on the 26th of Sept at 630am! Confirmed with frens, Sunan and Sumi. Even called to check if they were both up and ready. unfortunately both took a rain check. I wasn't exactly looking forward to going there alone, given that the place was very new to me. I didn't feel good. I followed my gut feel and continued sleeping.
Woke up at around 9-ish and decided to go workout at the gym. A very good decision made as it was fruitful in the end. I started with a few warm-up rounds of yoga. Continued to running.
Completion: 30minutes + 230 KCal + 3.5KM on an average of 8.0km/h
I pushed myself on this one as a self-punishment for not making it for the 5km walk. It worked. I continued on despite a slight pain on my left. It went away after that. It felt awesome after that. A pleasant sense of achievement.
This was on Sunday morning.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Domestication era is here again - part 2
I've told myself tht I was going to spend my Saturdays cooking alongside mum to learn some basic culinary skills. Although I can cook to save myself, I am still a copy cat. I replicate recipes I find from the net, from AFC from friends etc etc. Never really tried to tweak recipes that much except to replace certain ingredients if the exact one is not avail.
An aunt who came over the other day told me something that got me thinking - or should i say - woke me up coz I still remember her words till today whenever I think of a recipe tryout. She said - the recipe is just a guideline. You should experiment with your own ingredients, adding and subtracting to create your own taste. Not all tastes are the same. A lil bit of chemistry there.. Add and mix and have fun! After all, cooking is a lot to do with chemistry lesson. The soda bicarbonate which gives rise and sodium which gives taste..
(Of course I added my own version into the line above)
It made a lot more sense and tracing back to my own cooking when I was younger, I think I was more daring to experiment compared to as I was growing older... It awaken some nerve in me which was the inquisitive, always trying to do something in the kitchen persona. Never someone who liked to watch and learn, I always wanted to do things my way. So much so that whenever I am going to cook that day, mum will stay out of the kitchen to let me do my own stuff. Of course she was always there as my go-to person when i've messed up.
Today, Saturday, mum made crab curry. I started to be the helper. After having my roti canai breakfast, I busy-bodied my way through the kitchen. Since the meat and stuff was still being cleaned, I was told to bathe the 2 babies. Had a good splashing time with the 2 and once done, I was back in the kitchen again. I observed all the ingredients she added into the curry. I asked her questions, tried to understand.
WHilst doing all this, we shared stories. It was bonding time for us. That was special. A time that is irreplacable. I should do this more regularly I thought. And above all that, mum was very sparing with her knowledge. And more than eager to share all that she knew... I think my love for her has grown so much more in the recent years. I think the thick that we go through is making us closer.
I will try to post the recipe in my next post. Didn't take any pictures this time. I sure will when i try the recipe again ... soon!
An aunt who came over the other day told me something that got me thinking - or should i say - woke me up coz I still remember her words till today whenever I think of a recipe tryout. She said - the recipe is just a guideline. You should experiment with your own ingredients, adding and subtracting to create your own taste. Not all tastes are the same. A lil bit of chemistry there.. Add and mix and have fun! After all, cooking is a lot to do with chemistry lesson. The soda bicarbonate which gives rise and sodium which gives taste..
(Of course I added my own version into the line above)
It made a lot more sense and tracing back to my own cooking when I was younger, I think I was more daring to experiment compared to as I was growing older... It awaken some nerve in me which was the inquisitive, always trying to do something in the kitchen persona. Never someone who liked to watch and learn, I always wanted to do things my way. So much so that whenever I am going to cook that day, mum will stay out of the kitchen to let me do my own stuff. Of course she was always there as my go-to person when i've messed up.
Today, Saturday, mum made crab curry. I started to be the helper. After having my roti canai breakfast, I busy-bodied my way through the kitchen. Since the meat and stuff was still being cleaned, I was told to bathe the 2 babies. Had a good splashing time with the 2 and once done, I was back in the kitchen again. I observed all the ingredients she added into the curry. I asked her questions, tried to understand.
WHilst doing all this, we shared stories. It was bonding time for us. That was special. A time that is irreplacable. I should do this more regularly I thought. And above all that, mum was very sparing with her knowledge. And more than eager to share all that she knew... I think my love for her has grown so much more in the recent years. I think the thick that we go through is making us closer.
I will try to post the recipe in my next post. Didn't take any pictures this time. I sure will when i try the recipe again ... soon!
Domestication era is here again
The past week has been filled with a lot of planning.. Planning for trips, things to do, pending follow up, this and that and everything else. Some of those plans took off, some well, and some others flopped.
One good day was Thursday - 16th Sept (Malaysia Day).
Planned to take the whole family to Genting and back - a short trip, an early one to avoid congestion and home by noon. Since the 2 kids were still below the minimum height required to play the games in the parks, we weren't planning to spend too long up there. All was planned well until the night of the 15th when mum decided that she didn't want to follow us. She wasn't keen at all with the idea! What a contrary to her reaction when she first heard about it. Well, i was frantic and upset and a host of mixed feelings came to me. Took a step back and said, never mind, I'm sure this' for a good reason and slept it off.
The day came, of course no one made any other plans. I had plan B to do some long overdue spring cleaning,.started with my car. Took almost an hour to get rid of rubbish and all sorts of things from the car. Thankfully no rats or roaches jumped out..
Sent it for a wash and even washed the carpets. Since the sun was really hot, we call it a good day :) , I left the mats out in the open to dry itself. Did my 1-week old laundry, made my long over-due butter prawns. Mixed a few recipes - Butter prawn + nestum. Turned out to be nice! I'd give it a 80% improvement from attempt 1 - in which i burnt the prawns.
I saw that i still had some time, another long overdue plan was to make some cookies. I bought a set of stencils for cookies, included an icing set in it. Bought the butter some 1 week earlier but haven't got around to doing it. So i started the preparation and the dough was ready to be baked. One BIG mistake i made was to not blend the sugar. The coarseness of the sugar was annoying to me. So, i crpss checked with mum a quick fix to the solution. SHe said - blend it!
Excellent, never tried tat before so let's do it. So i blended the dough, added some milk and cream into it for some liquid and took it out. Added another egg into it too.
Turned out to be a lot more liquid and adding a bit more flour didn't quite help the situation. I still used the cookie maker to get some shape but when i took it out of the oven, it has risen and became shapeless.
After 2 trays, i decided to dump the entire dough into a cake baking tray and put it to bake instead.
Turned out fixed eventually, some crunchy taste with a bit of choc cake moist to it. Well, not too sure of the adults but the kids love it. At least some1 does.
One good day was Thursday - 16th Sept (Malaysia Day).
Planned to take the whole family to Genting and back - a short trip, an early one to avoid congestion and home by noon. Since the 2 kids were still below the minimum height required to play the games in the parks, we weren't planning to spend too long up there. All was planned well until the night of the 15th when mum decided that she didn't want to follow us. She wasn't keen at all with the idea! What a contrary to her reaction when she first heard about it. Well, i was frantic and upset and a host of mixed feelings came to me. Took a step back and said, never mind, I'm sure this' for a good reason and slept it off.
The day came, of course no one made any other plans. I had plan B to do some long overdue spring cleaning,.started with my car. Took almost an hour to get rid of rubbish and all sorts of things from the car. Thankfully no rats or roaches jumped out..
Sent it for a wash and even washed the carpets. Since the sun was really hot, we call it a good day :) , I left the mats out in the open to dry itself. Did my 1-week old laundry, made my long over-due butter prawns. Mixed a few recipes - Butter prawn + nestum. Turned out to be nice! I'd give it a 80% improvement from attempt 1 - in which i burnt the prawns.
I saw that i still had some time, another long overdue plan was to make some cookies. I bought a set of stencils for cookies, included an icing set in it. Bought the butter some 1 week earlier but haven't got around to doing it. So i started the preparation and the dough was ready to be baked. One BIG mistake i made was to not blend the sugar. The coarseness of the sugar was annoying to me. So, i crpss checked with mum a quick fix to the solution. SHe said - blend it!
Excellent, never tried tat before so let's do it. So i blended the dough, added some milk and cream into it for some liquid and took it out. Added another egg into it too.
Turned out to be a lot more liquid and adding a bit more flour didn't quite help the situation. I still used the cookie maker to get some shape but when i took it out of the oven, it has risen and became shapeless.
After 2 trays, i decided to dump the entire dough into a cake baking tray and put it to bake instead.
Turned out fixed eventually, some crunchy taste with a bit of choc cake moist to it. Well, not too sure of the adults but the kids love it. At least some1 does.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Getting back on track
15th Sept 2010
7:15am
Checked in at the gym again today after a long week of being idle, or was it longer? I don't know, can't remember now. As you can tell, I've lost track. Went on a mission to do something / anything.. Ended up running. WITHOUT my knee guards!
I haven't ran without my knee guards since I last ran in school - some 18 years ago! Well, the result - wasn't bad at all. I did feel a slight muscle pull at some point after my 2km and i slowed down then but tat was it. I finished my run eventually!
Time: 12 mins
Distance: 2.5km
Calories burnt: 82
7:15am
Checked in at the gym again today after a long week of being idle, or was it longer? I don't know, can't remember now. As you can tell, I've lost track. Went on a mission to do something / anything.. Ended up running. WITHOUT my knee guards!
I haven't ran without my knee guards since I last ran in school - some 18 years ago! Well, the result - wasn't bad at all. I did feel a slight muscle pull at some point after my 2km and i slowed down then but tat was it. I finished my run eventually!
Time: 12 mins
Distance: 2.5km
Calories burnt: 82
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
My motivation has left me all alone
Life has taken a slow-pace this past few days. In fact, in the past 5 days! Roads are super clear.. Candidates are non-existant and my motivation has also taken a break! no mood to work or do anything else but cruise..
Yea - that's the right word - cruising. Thats' what I, together with the 5 others who are in the office been doing. It's considered a lucky day to have 5 people in. Most of the times, there is some casualty or another.
Flu, fever, car, late, mum, dad, sis, baby etc etc... the list can go on and on.
Can't wait for my motivation to come back now... The rest of the crowd can stay where they are. Those who are back in their kampungs can stay where they are.. Find jobs in your own villages even if it is has to do with farming.. Don't worry about coming back.. The city is doing excellent with the extreme decrease in traffic congestion and less pollution. Take a long deserved break... ;)
Yea - that's the right word - cruising. Thats' what I, together with the 5 others who are in the office been doing. It's considered a lucky day to have 5 people in. Most of the times, there is some casualty or another.
Flu, fever, car, late, mum, dad, sis, baby etc etc... the list can go on and on.
Can't wait for my motivation to come back now... The rest of the crowd can stay where they are. Those who are back in their kampungs can stay where they are.. Find jobs in your own villages even if it is has to do with farming.. Don't worry about coming back.. The city is doing excellent with the extreme decrease in traffic congestion and less pollution. Take a long deserved break... ;)
in a cross-road yet again
In a cross-road yet again.. Which route to take?
12 o'clock or 3 o'clock or 6 o'clock or 9 o'clock...
As wisely said - it's the walk that matters not the arrival..
12 o'clock or 3 o'clock or 6 o'clock or 9 o'clock...
As wisely said - it's the walk that matters not the arrival..
Monday, September 13, 2010
Hari Raya 2010? Or did it ever happen?
Raya is no longer the same as it used to be. Especially felt it this year. Awfully quiet, less advert and hype, everything has sort of quitened down. Many reasons to it I could think of, none I can verify...
Could it be the economy? Less money, no mood to spend?
Or the racial tensions around us has been brewing bad air and has remained?
Or could it be that I was simply not in-touch with the "hip" & "happening" issues around town that I only see the bleak side?
Either ways, the break was worth it. No regrets, no looking back.
Could it be the economy? Less money, no mood to spend?
Or the racial tensions around us has been brewing bad air and has remained?
Or could it be that I was simply not in-touch with the "hip" & "happening" issues around town that I only see the bleak side?
Either ways, the break was worth it. No regrets, no looking back.
Friday, September 03, 2010
Mc Donalds Breakfast crave
As usual, one of my crazy McDs' breakfast craze attacked me this morning. With a growling stomach and VJ on the phone I rambled about the lack of drive-thru McDs in my office area and more depressingly, there is a small until in Menara Summit itself but they don't serve breakfast unfortunately. So sad... But the good thing is that if they did serve breakfast, they will get good business from me & all my gym efforts will be washed into the drain of wastage.. :)
So it's a blessing in disguise.
They now have a breakfast special - Coffee / Tea + Sausage McMuffin = RM4 only. Okay the tax is about 20cents. (Minus Hash Brown)
I drove thru SS15 McDs - the nearest point according to my trust-worthy GPS. Asked for the usual set #3 & opted for the special breakfast option instead of the usual which comes up to about RM8. I'm not that BIG a fan of hash brown anyway...
Asked for tea but only realised that i was given coffee instead - once i got to the office. The only slack thing about this detour was that i ended up at Persiaran Kewajipan on my way back and the traffic was horrendous as usual. I couldn't resist or wait till i got to the office so i started biting into my burger in the car while waiting. Every bite was precious & satisfying... I satisfied my craving in less than 5 minutes.
Managed to reach the parking lot just in time & in the office at 830 sharp!
Conclusion - 30 minutes drive to arrive at a 5 minute craving satisfaction! Worth it...
So it's a blessing in disguise.
They now have a breakfast special - Coffee / Tea + Sausage McMuffin = RM4 only. Okay the tax is about 20cents. (Minus Hash Brown)
I drove thru SS15 McDs - the nearest point according to my trust-worthy GPS. Asked for the usual set #3 & opted for the special breakfast option instead of the usual which comes up to about RM8. I'm not that BIG a fan of hash brown anyway...
Asked for tea but only realised that i was given coffee instead - once i got to the office. The only slack thing about this detour was that i ended up at Persiaran Kewajipan on my way back and the traffic was horrendous as usual. I couldn't resist or wait till i got to the office so i started biting into my burger in the car while waiting. Every bite was precious & satisfying... I satisfied my craving in less than 5 minutes.
Managed to reach the parking lot just in time & in the office at 830 sharp!
Conclusion - 30 minutes drive to arrive at a 5 minute craving satisfaction! Worth it...
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
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