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I'm lost for words. I don't even know what's the appropriate title for this post. Can anything go more wrong than this? I've tried so hard, oh how I've tried, and yet it's not enough. The worst thing is that I've tried hard to improve on another different aspect, and yet this is not the same aspect that is evaluated. Does that mean my efforts go to waste? Memories keep flooding me, my mind almost cannot contain them anymore.

I knew this was wrong from the start, there were too many uncertainties. But isn't that what life is? Uncertainties? What is the excitement when you know what is going to happen at every minute of the day? So then I persevered, thinking that this is nothing to be worried about. There were definitely good times, times that made me think that this was indeed right, that all my worries were pointless and without base. But there were definitely times that made me think thrice, that I should back out before it is too late. Now is one of those times.

I am at a loss. I think it is a signal for me to take a step back and to weigh out my options, but memories are dragging me back. Good ones, for that matter. How do you judge whether the good ones are outweighing the bad ones? How do you know whether the bad ones offset the good ones, so much so that the inevitable loss has to be faced? Oh these memories just won't go away. Everywhere I go and everywhere I look, I am attacked. These are bullets more potent than bullets themselves, shooting right through the heart. And they are invisible, so there is no way they can be retrieved. Only time will help. Only time will let the heart heal. And memories, please go away.

Aftermath of diarrhea

It has been 1 week and 3 days now, and I can't even say it's an aftermath yet because it's not over. This is horrible, diarrhea that is. It was last Tuesday morning when I had my first bout of diarrhea right after I got out of my bed. That's right, immediately out of my bed and I was hunting for the dear toilet, half asleep and delirious (it was 6.45am after all). The pain was close to unbearable and I was cursing for what happened to me just when I was about to start a brand new day. Well, after that episode, I went to work as usual, hoping that the worst had gone by.

But boy, was I wrong! The same pain attacked me again just after I reached the office. I was so grateful that I could walk to the toilet, ok maybe I ran a little, just in time before it was too late. You get my drift. Anyway, after that, I felt much better and there were no more such diarrheas for the rest of the day. I thought everything was fine, until at night I suddenly felt feverish. I was down with a temperature (how ironic, the way this sentence sounds).

Thanks to my trusty herbal tea which I drank and went to sleep after, I woke up the next morning feeling almost as good as new. I felt the normal, except that I didn't have much of an appetite. For the next few days after that, my stomach was occasionally making growling sounds, very uncomfortable, as if something was brewing within me, something not good of course. And it always felt bloated and full of air. Oh and that occasional diarrhea would just visit me at the most ungodly hours!

The worst part of this incident, in my opinion, is that I lost my wonderful appetite! That is just so awful. Imagine looking at ice-cream, yet having no desire for it? Or decadent chocolate cake desserts and STILL no cravings? Oh and don't get me started on rice, our staple food. I thought something went very wrong with me, until I had no love for rice anymore. A few days ago, I went out for lunch with my colleagues and what did I eat? A char siew dumpling, an egg tart and a char siew pastry! That was all and they made me feel full for the rest of the day, so much so that I did not even feel like having dinner at night. That, my friend, is something you would not want to experience. Who would want to be enemies with food? I know I wouldn't.

Until today, I still can't say I'm fully recovered yet. My grandmother made me my favourite and best-in-the-world chicken chop and fried shrimps and I already felt that I couldn't eat after 2 bites! Gosh, I used to be able to finish more than 1 chicken chops you know. Well comparatively, I am able to eat a little bit more but I still have no desire for ice-creams or chocolates. That is something incredibly wrong, if I might add. I hope that my occasional diarrhea would completely die off and my good friend called the appetite will come back to me again. Man ,how I miss having to crave for food!

A Place Called Here

After completing my first Cecelia Ahern's book, I was eagerly awaiting her new books. By the way, the PS I Love You movie never made it to Malaysia. What a disappointment! :( Anyone has the DVD?

Anyway, I got this new book from Cecelia Ahern during last Christmas, and I only managed to get my hands on it lately. It is titled A Place Called Here and it is a uniquely told story, with a some interesting characters. Basically, it's a story about missing things, and a very curious girl. Have you ever wondered where missing things go? The girl in the story, called Sandy Shortt, is the type of girl who could never sleep sound knowing that something is out there missing. If she couldn't find one of her socks, she would practically turn the whole house upside down just to locate it. And if all else fails, she would end up miserable and even more curious. Hence, her parents are very careful with things around the house, to always keep them where they are supposed to be, just so they never go missing. Her curiosity and inquisitive nature really got to her, so much so that she ended up starting an agency to look for missing persons.

But really, have you ever wondered where missing things go? Sandy brought up a good point in the story. Things only go missing if you misplace them or if you FORGET where you placed them, but she does not forget where she puts her things. Knowing that she is so particular, she always makes sure she remembers where she keeps her stuffs. So, why do things still go missing? The story apparently led to a place called Here, where all the missing things and missing persons end up to be. Of course, this is a fictional story, but reading the book somehow makes me ponder. I'm sure in all of our lives, there must be at least ONE thing that we have lost and never found back. Where did they go? Does 'Here' really exist? Interesting read... :)

Random reviews of food

I went to TGIF in Queensbay Mall 2 weekends ago and ordered my usual Cajun Fried Chicken Salad. I think I'm absolutely addicted to this salad! The portion is really huge too, so even though it is just salad, it can definitely fill my tummy for the longest time. Best of all, it is also healthy! :) Oh and don't get me started on the chicken! In a way that words cannot describe, the chicken fillets are fried just perfectly right, crispy and tasty. Definitely giving KFC a run for their money, in my humble opinion. ;)

Cajun fried chicken salad - revisited



Salad comes served with a bowl of salad sauce and a big piece of garlic bread. I love garlic bread! But be warned, if you finish the garlic bread, you'll most probably not be able to finish the salad...

Salad sauce and garlic bread

I also ordered the Tomato Basil Soup as starters, seeing that it's one of the featured items in the menu. Look at how gooey the soup is, it certainly did not look like soup to me, more like paste! This was rather sour to my liking, which only means that they used a lot of tomatoes! Well, if you're a tomato-lover, I'm sure you'd love this.

Tomato basil soup

The good old cheeseburger did not disappoint as well. Although the meat could have been more juicy and tender, the overall presentation and taste won me over.

Friday's cheeseburger

Overall, I still find the food and service at TGIF satisfying. Gosh, I'm craving for the salad yet again!

Hop on to another restaurant called Church Street Cafe in Church Street, Penang. What a weird name huh? Anyway, this place is located at a rather quiet street in town, so much so that I would never have noticed it had it not been for Stan. The interior of the place looks somewhat like a pub, but it's more laid back with soft music in the background. I like the fact that the music is soft, so that one does not have to scream on top of their lungs to get their words across, like what happens in noisy pubs.

Church Street Cafe

As with most pubs, this place also serves food. No doubt, food is not their specialty so I did not expect too much from it. The Fish and Chips looked pretty normal, typical fried fish with potato fries.

Fish and chips

I ordered the boneless chicken which was nothing too special. Too much chicken skin with flour indeed.

Boneless chicken

Then there was the orange juice that I ordered. I tell you, the waiter must have been baffled because I ordered JUICE! I was in a pub for God's sake and I ordered JUICE? Oh well, it's really too bad I don't drink beer, or anything bitter for that matter. So, I had to stick with the good old orange juice, which was just cordial mixed with water. *argh*

Orange juice

The famous drink of Church Street though, is their Snow Beer. It is a very special way of preparing their beer using frozen mugs and icy cold beer, such that when the beer is poured into the mug, it will freeze into soft ice flakes, not unlike the ais kacang type of ice. So when you drink the beer, it gives you a very cooling sensation and it takes away the bitter taste indeed! I was amazed! This is really a must try, albeit just a sip. :P

Snow beer

Commendable attempt at Sushi-making ;)

After my beautiful and romantic Bali trip last month, I was invited by my friend doryfish for a sushi making session. In all of my life I have only made attempted to make sushi once and it was not exactly a very successful one. *frown* Therefore, I took this opportunity to redeem myself, seeing that I've grown up to be an older, more matured and hopefully more skillful person. :P When I reached her place, all the ingredients were already laid nicely on the table. They were just screaming out to be transformed from boring rice, into interesting sushi!



Some of the toppings we used we mashed hard-boiled eggs with mayonnaise, tuna, corn and crab sticks. Oh by the way, I did not know that the frozen crab sticks sold in the supermarket were ALREADY cooked and ready-to-eat! I always thought they must be boiled or steamed first before they're edible...

Some sushi toppings

Well then, it was time to start work! It was not such a difficult process really (well, not when all the ingredients were ready :P ). Start the process by making sure the rice is well mixed with vinegar and that it is cool enough. If the rice is still warm, it would make the seaweed all sticky and crumbled up. *eww*



Then, the rice is nicely placed on a piece of seaweed, not the entire piece-just half of it.


This would be followed by the addition of fillings, depending on individual preferences. I personally loved the tuna more so I made tuna sushi. ;)


Look at the intense looks on our faces. I was rolling up the sushi using the bamboo sushi roller. Rolling is another skill in sushi making. In fact, this was the main reason my first attempt years ago failed. You really need to use your force to roll the sushi as tight and firm as possible or the end product will not look nice.


Tadaa!


After that, came the cutting process. This was something I have not mastered yet, and we all got to eat nicely cut sushi thanks to doryfish. Whenever I tried to slice out once piece, the rice just stubbornly stuck onto the knife, and worse still, the seaweed just would NOT be cut off! I just had enough of it and decided I was much better doing the sushi rolling part. :P


After about an hour or so, we finally managed to have 2 big plates of nice looking sushi. =) Mind you, they might not look so nice but they certainly did taste good.


Final outcome

The sushi-making experience was a successful one for me this time, and I'm sure there will be more improvement with more practice in the future. ;)

Witch and doryfish

After eating a tummyload of sushi, we were all stuffed and satiated. 2 of my friends who also joined us for the sushi, brought lots of fruits and made us fruit juice. The big pot of juice actually consists of carrots, oranges, green apples and celery sticks. Very healthy indeed!

Yummy! =))

Fruit juice

Movie break!

I'm not sure about you but I'm definitely one big movie fan! I used to (past tense because I'm smothered with work these days) frequent the cinemas at least once a week and sometimes for the same movie! For those who know me, they'd know I prefer to watch on Wednesdays, simply because it's movie day! ;) True enough, it's on a weekday and most people might just be too tired after work to go out again. But I think that's what we all need in the mid-week for de-stress :) Imagine working the whole 5 days without taking any break, you'd definitely be drained of colors and of life at the end of it. So what better way to have fun than watching a nice movie, settle back and relax? Also, because Wednesday tickets are only RM6 *smirk*. To top it off, Golden Screen Cinemas is having their Fun Break promotion yet again!



For those who are not familiar with this, GSC usually has this kind of promotion every year during the school break. It is a Buy 1 Get 1 free coupon and in my humble opinion, really worthwhile. Just imagine, if you use this coupon on a Wednesday, you could get TWO tickets for the price of RM6, that is RM3 per ticket! Isn't that amazingly cheap? =) Now isn't that reason enough for you to go out and get the movie tickets now? *LOL* Remember to print out this coupon first!

Opposition wins in Penang!

Possibly for the first time since Gerakan's victory 40 years ago, the Opposition has managed to win the Penang state! According to sources from Malaysiakini, Lim Guan Eng is set to be the next Chief Minister of Penang. I'm so excited! I've never been in a state ruled by an opposition party before, and I'm looking forward to the changes that they will bring upon the state. As the tag line goes, "Just Change It!". I guess this victory has proven that the people has finally spoken and the democracy of the country is reflected. It is time for the Opposition to show the people what they have got and to prove that the people have indeed made the right decision.

We shall wait and see ;)

Second long post on Bali

After looking at the magnificent terrace paddy fields in my last post, we were well on our way to another center of attraction that was Tanah Lot. We scheduled our time such that we would reach Tanah Lot (about 1 hour away) around 6+pm, to be in time for the famed sunset that everyone told us about. I was getting really excited during the journey because I would finally see the brilliant view that I was only able to see in pictures before.

Luck was really not on my side for when I reached there on the fateful evening, it decided to rain. No, it was not just rain, it was POURING and the wind was furious. We had to stay under shelter for a good 15 minutes or so to wait for the rain to subside so that we could at least walk out to see the raging sea.


The strong rain came pouring at regular intervals, so it was really a funny sight. Every 5 minutes or so, the rain would stop, and we would run with all our might from one shelter to another. Then, when it started raining again, we would stay put. Another 5 minutes more, and GO! we all moved nearer to the seaside.

Finally, we made it to the seaside albeit being wet. The sea looked angry and fierce, the waves were pounding off the rocks, like they were trying to knock the rocks down.



Look at the raging sea. No doubt I was not able to admire the beautiful sunset but I experienced the other extreme of it, which I could not say was bad. It really was not bad at all (Except for the strong winds). I've never seen waves go so high up, so much so that they could easily collapse any boats if they were unlucky enough to be in contact.




Even the Tanah Lot temple which was usually accessible by foot was drowned by the high tide. It was really unfortunate that I wasn't able to visit the temple itself.

Temple submerged in water

With another long look at the sea and the magnificent view, we decided to leave with a heavy heart (before the strong wind blew us away *LOL*). It was truly an amazing sight to behold and I would definitely come back again, this time to see the sunset! =)

Angry waves

We then headed back to have dinner in Denpasar night market. We wanted to experience the local food so the driver suggested to bring us there. The night market was not unlike the ones we find in Malaysia, except that they spoke rather different Malay. We chose one stall and sat down before ordering the famous 'satay kambing' or mutton satay. The same stall also served mutton soup, which we also ordered. I personally liked the soup more than the satay, because the stay was slightly burnt. :P
Mutton satay and soup

Our driver Ketut also recommended the sweet kuih for dessert, which was also sold in the night market. I absolutely LOVED this!

Sweet dessert <3

Then, we moved on to the next stall to try out the famous 'babi guling' or roasted pork. It is the specialty of Balinese cuisine that one must not miss. A set came served with soup and rice. I thought the dish was too spicy for my liking, since cili padi was used generously in the serving.
Crispy pork skin

That was our last dinner in good old Bali. The next day was our last day and we asked Ketut to give us a short tour nearby before sending us off to the airport. We went to Nusa Dua beach first since it was only 15 minutes away from the hotel. According to Ketut, Nusa Dua is a popular place for the Japanese. Sure enough, I managed to spot many Japanese restaurants when I was there. The beach was also breath-taking, with clear blue water and white sandy beach. However, we reached there near noon time and it was scorchingly hot to be under the sun!

Clear blue sea


We then headed to the coffee factory in Denpasar since Saucer was supposed to buy fresh coffee powder and beans from there. The factory that we went to was called Kopi Bali The Butterfly Globe Brand (weird!). Kopi Bali looked impressive and even provided a guide to talk us through the whole coffee making process.





Art produced using coffee beans!

After the tour, we were led to the coffee tasting room, yummy! We were given small cups of different coffee flavours.


Made from different coffee beans

Then, we were also shown the different beans that were sold, with Kopi Luwak being the most expensive type, with a price tag of USD150 per packet!
Expensive coffee!

We bought the normal range coffee, which retailed at USD30 for a pack of 6. They came in fine powder, medium grain and beans, depending on your choice.


This place is definitely a coffee lover's paradise! Unfortunately, I'm not one of them :P

Finally, it was time to go. Ketut was waiting patiently for us outside the factory. We reached the airport in good time and left Bali with a heavy heart.

Goodbye Bali!