Attacked by virus...

Weak all over my body. Throat hurts whenever any form of liquid travels down my throat. Head is spinning. Can barely open my eyes. Developing signs of flu. Sick when I am on leave. What can be worse than this? Seen the doctor, took the medication regularly, gargle with salt water and still no signs of recovery. My company dinner and dance is around the corner and I have yet to get myself a new outfit for the event. Most probably, I will wear the same dress I wore for my dinner and dance last financial year. No one will notice I guess. Too broke to get a new dress. I pray that I will be well in time for my firm's event.

Canteen food

Look at this... The kind of food served at the canteen in a factory. I had this ( some of the dishes change almost daily) for 2 whole weeks except for two days where my engagement team took a bus out to eat at a coffee shop and another day where we ordered delivery. Food tasted bland maybe becoz they have to sell them cheap to the workers in the factory and couldn't use more salt and soya sauce in order to achieve a higher gross profit margin. I am confident that I can cook much better than the cooks in the canteen. I wasn't the only one complaining, the rest of my team complained too. We always finish our lunch within 30 mins and chat abit for around 15 mins if there is anything to chat about. It is difficult to utilise the one hour lunch break we are entitled to. Worse still, there is no internet connection at client's place. Arrgghh!!!! So lunch is purely lunch for us. Morning-- work--lunch--work--home. I'm glad it is all over. Though the food sucks, my team was great!

Thanks, P for this lovely overdue birthday pressie!

My good friend, P aka my godbrother sent me a present from Australia. In fact, he asked his sister to get the gift for me in London, thus the overdue birthday pressie. I received the gift on 18th October 2007 when my birthday was on 20th August. I always wanted a card holder. I never think he was so observant. I was moved by his sincerity in making sure that he got the right stuff for me and that he honoured his promise.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today's my dad's birthday. Older and wiser. Best dad ever. Bought him a Belgian Chocolate Haagan Daaz ice cream cake. Gave him a red packet. Not sure what to give him, so I supposed money is the most practical gift. We went for a birthday lunch. My elder bro paid for lunch. My youngest bro gave my dad a red packet too. Our family car came in just in time before his birthday. I got to start practising on my driving so that I can drive my friends around and my mum for shopping. It gonna take months. At least in time before my good friend, P comes back from Australia next year.

Pâtissier

I offered the cheesecake to some of my colleagues. They like it. One of them even suggested that I should stop being an auditor and to commence selling baked goods. Another added on to say that she is willing to pump in capital if I am serious in this baking affair. I was pleasantly surprised and overwhelmed by their confidence in my baking skills. I feel that there're still room for improvement, especially in the area of beautifying the end product. Currently, I am contented that my family and friends enjoy the cookies/brownies/cheesecake I baked. Next challenge: molten chocolate cakes / muffins.

Venturing into the baking business seems probable but it won't materialise within the next few years. Honestly speaking, the idea of being a baker and having my own bakery shop have been swimming in my mind. In fact, I don't need a shop, just a counter to display my baked goods for sale. And say even if I don't involve in this baking business, I can always bake for my kids next time. The thought of kids + baking thrills me. All the time. Right now, I still enjoy my job and baking will remain an interest until further notice.

Cheesecake

Baked cheesecake for the first time with my friend, J. It was successful. The steps were easy to follow through. The preparation didn't take long. Baking time was long though. Approximately 1hr 10 mins. J and I were happy with the outcome for it tasted like cheesecake. Duh! Of course it tasted like cheesecake for it is cheesecake we are baking. Used the recipe from Kraft website. Rather reliable. http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf . Gonna try other cheesecake recipes next time.

Oh Shoes, I love them!

Last week, I went to a sale during my lunch time and grabbed 3 pairs of shoes. Before the sale started, I've already tried on the sizes. As I've only 1 hour for lunch, I need to use my time effectively for this crazy sale. The discount ranged from 20% to 30%. At first, I planned to get 2 pairs of shoes, i.e., the black-colored ones seen in the picture. But the red shoes caught my eyes and I fell in love with them immediately. So, I ended up with 3 pairs. The dark pink shoes were bought in Taipei and they cost a mere NT490 (S$25). Oh shoes, I love them!

Motherly love

Lately, I've been baking brownies and chocolate chip cookies. I offered them to my engagement team. The girls loved them. One of the girls, C, said that my cookies looked just like her mum's but mine tasted better. Soon after, the girls told me that I possess motherly love. That's so hilarious! They were amazed that I can cook too and that makes me even more motherly. One reason is because they can't neither cook or bake which is why they find me motherly. I just felt so appreciated for the first time for a very long time. My colls attacked on my cookies and brownies ( baked on 2 separate occasions) the moment I placed them on the table with the rest of our audit papers. By the end of the day, all were consumed with only puny pieces of scraps left.