Breads

I am not an all-time bread lover, but i do fancy most types of breads. :) I love breads, ranging from the normal plain toast (like those in Siang Malam), to those with ingredients and toppings.

oh, provided, they must be fresh of course. :) I've never personally been to a real bakery where bread and pastry are prepared, but I once captured a video of Frau Grau (a german lady) baking fresh bread in a traditional German way. She does it not as a job, but she bakes almost every other week, and the amount she does is enormous, enough to last her whole family for many days.

Speaking of which, i find the practice very interesting. Firstly, there is no additives added (hence she bakes frequently to provide fresh bread supply for the family), it is cost saving (no electricity, no gas), and the bread can be prepared to one's taste (she has her own recipe for each type of bread, of course). On top of all, the most unique thing is that a huge stone-oven is used, instead of any other normal oven. I believe (and tried with my very own tongue!), the aroma and taste of the breads are unique their own!

Bread is said to be one of the oldest prepared foods, and it is a staple food in many parts of the world. I guess that's how the word 'breadwinner' is coined? :)

And now, time to for getting some real sleep. I need to work tomorrow and i cant seem to be bothered about not being sleepy yet at this wee hour.

My First Christmas Ornaments

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People say christmas ornaments are one of the simplest yet greatest way to express love and cheer of the season.

This year, WC greeted me with Christmas ornaments specially ordered from the Royal Selangor. I woke up today and decided to make a photo out of the 7 ornaments. The snowflake, Xmas tree, jingle bell, holly, pressie, candy cane and stocking... I truly treasure each of them because the beauty of the season is silently expressed in these sparkling ornaments. They create some sort of magical moments, deep in my heart. They bring memories of the past and they bring hope of the future.

And i told myself, "there is a reason to the season".

Merry Christmas. :)

The Starwalk: Dec 14, 2008

I am a speed-walking virgin, and the Starwalk 2008 was indeed my first experience of such marathon. Since i've only tried long-distance running during my undergrad years, speed-walking is definitely more strenous than I thought it is!!

My sister agreed to join the competition category with me. :) This year, there were at least 14000 participants at the Penang StarWalk. That was amazingly a huge crowd! There were quite a lot of professional speedwalkers, especially the males.

i well knew that speedwalking demands lots of motivation and stamina. With only 2 weeks of last-minute training, i was pessimistic about keeping my pace at a constant speed for the entire 10km walk. And so i thought it would be a good idea to spot some speedwalkers who were walking at a perfect pace for me to catch up with.

I spotted a young lady in her late 20's with a trim and spare figure of a marathon walker; I think she is even smaller than I am!! Her arm swings were swift, and she moved with a spectacular pace, well-coordinated with her feet movement. She didnt make giant steps, but one thing was that she kept to a constant speed, so she hardly slowed down. Her graceful movement really made me gazed in awe! I followed her pace and immitated her rhythm. It was pretty strenous at first, but after a while, i found myself walking comfortably at the pace she was walking. I tagged behind her closely, but never did overtake her.

I could only manage to follow her for the first 4-ish kilometres, until an Indian guy came tapping on my shoulder. The guy pointed at my right foot, and gahhhhhhhh, then did i realise my shoe lace was loose!!! I was so reluctant to make a halt, but i knew i had to. Hastily, i went to the side of the road and had my shoelace tied up. As i looked up, the lady whom i was tailing a while ago was no longer in my sight. I somewhat lost my motivation to carry on initially. I got up anyway and continued to walk, but i knew i was going slower than i was in the first half of the course.

Along the way, I continued to follow a couple of other speedwalkers, but at some stretch, i was merely walking at a leisure speed... It's really amazing how the true speedwalkers keep themselves motivated to go at a constant speed without much slowing down. I really admire those speedwalking marathoners.

I was already sweating from head to toe when i finally saw the finishing banner. As i hit the finishing point, i heaved a big sigh of relief. My time was 1:16:14.

To my surprise, i then realised that i was under the women junior veterans category. I actually did feel strange when i saw many women in their 30's or 40's in the same category i was in. lol! My sister reached shortly after, making it to be entitled the certificate of completion below 2 hours as well (I'm so proud of her, coz she hardly had time to train up prior to the walk!)

we then checked the list of winners, and to yet another surprise, I saw my number on the 13th placing. we were both really laughing our lungs out as i would be getting a medal for the wrong category; the Junior VETERANS' category! I guess there must be some confusion during the registration... That being said, if i were to be in the Womens' Open category, my placing could have been pulled down to 25th or so as there were more participants in that category.

I was glad anyway and we had great fun that sunday. lots of free-flow drinks. lots of free gifts. plenty of lucky draw prizes, none of which were we able to grab home though. And to bring home a medal was not what i expected for at the end of the day, so i was really counting my blessings. More importantly is that i learnt to appreciate the art of speedwalking. I hope there will be a return to popularity of speedwalking among the people, so you won't get stared for walking with such awkward and strange-looking mode of locomotion!

Digress. After a tiring walk that Sunday, i thought i should just reward myself with the Elle dress which i was yearning to get earlier on. It was on sales anyway in Queensbay, so i made a second trip there just for that. :)

Some photos to follow:

December: weekdays' work and weekends' getaways

was on 'haji-shift' today, so i went to work in the morning with my senior-head of department. We had to compound special nutrition drips (technically, it's called TPN - total parenteral nutrition) for babies who require them in the ward.

I went to the neonates' ward one evening last week to clerk some cases with a colleague. At first sight of the babies, my heart smiled as though they were the prettiest thing i have seen after one whole day of work. But after a while, i felt a deep twitch in my heart when i saw some premie babies crying away. These little angels are so adorable, yet being born premature, it's a tough fight to begin their lives. Premie babies usually have a myriad of health problems, and they need intensive medical support.

Currently, there are a few babies in the ward who require TPN (total parenteral nutrition) so my job is to compound drips for them. It's already been one week since i was transferred to this department, and i find that i'm learning a lot of useful techniques from my senior and the assistant pharmacist in charge.. It's all about time management, familiarity of the aseptic protocol, compounding methods, calculations etc.. oh well, it can be quite stressful, but i love the challenge somewhat.

On a lighter note, I had a great night at the Jazz Festival in Ferringghi last weekend. Thanks to 5kor for the free tickets, we really had good fun that night. The stage performances were absolutely excellent, particularly the one by the Hungarian band, DJABE and the UK top guitarist Steve Hackett.

time flies, and new year is soon approaching. :) December is going to be brisk and busy for me.. That applies to both work and activities. Will be having another work-shift on the 29th. but on the bright side, each of my weekend is now occupied, so being busy at work is nothing to complain about if it is punctuated by having great getaways during the weekends.

A Bullfrog's Game

I used to play a lot of Theme Hospital when i was much much younger. The CD game went missing for a long time, and when recently my brother found it again in an old box, i was in fact silently beaming with joy!! then did i realise how much i used to love playing the game.

It isn't a game which is entirely thrilling, but as a child/early teen, i was really excited at the thought of serving and helping to treat or cure each patient who came in, managing a busy hospital, keeping the hospital clean and providing every facility possible.

To inject a dose of reality to the game, the game-maker designed it in such a way that the patients may lodge complaints.. eg: the hospital building being too cold? (extra radiators would be needed), the waiting queue being too long? (more rooms should be set up), or the staff being ill-mannered? (pay rise may be necessary to keep the staff motivated to work)..

the exciting part is that there are many departments which you can set up in your hospital, especially as you progress towards the higher levels.. the basic ones are the GPs' rooms, Diagnosis rooms, Pharmacy, Ward, etc.. There are other more specialised departments such as the Inflater units for the "bloaty heads", Slicer machines for slack-tongue patients, Fracture Clinic for bandages, etc... :)


you'll get to see each patient's diagnosis, thirst level, warmth level and general health condition. If the hospital is badly run, the patients may end up dying!!! I am not sure, but these patients usually die after taking their medications from the pharmacy. well, it could be due to any wrong diagnoses or simply, wrong medications given!! bad news? the death rate will be accounted into the annual statistics of the community that the hospital is serving to.. :)

in short, this would remain one of my few favourite childhood games. Now that i'm working within a hospital setting, it was as though watching the reality version of the game everyday. :)

VENICE: The No-Car-Zone

Venice was one of the places which i enjoyed most. perhaps it was because of the company i went with. three cranky boys (weichung, chicken-back-side and benni), as well as my cousin sister Lea.

Venice is all about rivers and canals...


Also, gondolas and vaporetti...



And not forgetting, those gondoliers at their service...



The whole island is in fact a strictly no-car-zone! Ohhh, with exceptions like this below:-

~the only car seen on the island throughout our stay~

Besides, Italy is famous for its gelato. And among all the gelati we've tried in the four cities visited, Chicken-Back-Side and I agreed that this particular shop in Venice offers the best choice. :) we visited this shop at least twice! The picture below shows how CBS swooned at the sight of the italian gelati!!

There is a place in Venice which nobody could have possibly missed. It's the Piazza San Marco. Here's a picture of cousin Benni, feeding the famous pigeons at the Piazza. (credit to cbs for the picture :p)


Oh, feeding the pigeons may seem exhilarating, but it can turn out disastrous sometimes!!

Seems fun at first...


Gradually, when you attract more pigeons, the number increases exponentially!! Like this...



And before you knew it, you are under attack although you have nothing else to feed them!!


And the flock will feed until NOTHING is left!!!

16th September 2008: First day of PRP life

Was so anxious that i kicked myself out of bed as early as 5am today. Took a quick 'bull'-shower, took a light breakfast and stormed to Ipoh very early in the morning. I was plainly anticipating my placement as a PRP!

What's a PRP? It stands for Provisionally Registered Pharmacist. Life of a pharmacist for the first year. It is going to be a tough year, but i will be earning lots of working experiences, skills, techniques and knowledge before i can be fit to be fully registered with the Board.

I could now thank my lucky stars for having able to work at my choice of placement. I asked for the Taiping Hospital and I'm very happy to get it!!! After receiving the letter of approval from the Ipoh department, I rushed back to Taiping and reported to the Pejabat Kesihatan and then to the Taiping Hospital.

Colleagues and supervisors are very nice ppl, i can tell from first impressions. :) Many familiar faces too! mostly are seniors from high school.

Will work hard, play hard & earn hard from now on! Man, I do start to miss the life of a student now! Good luck to all the other pharmacists-to-be!!! :)

Answers

When the whole world is sleeping,
I ponder,
What have I done today?
What have I said today?
What have I learnt today?
How did I feel today?

Then, I ask myself,
Have I done the right thing?
Have I said the right words?
Have I learnt a great deal?
Did I feel virtuous?

It's a self-reflection, and i know, i have these answers in my own world.

Priceless expressions

Animals are as interesting as human beings are.

They portray basic instincts. They strive to survive. And most importanly, they show gestures and expressions too!

These are some of my favourite inhabitants at the Wilhelma... Their exprssions and gestures truly speak a thousand words!

affection between a baby and mummy monkey

idleness of a baby polar bear

reaching out for the next step

The dominance of its own kingdom?

Meerkat looking steady and guardful

and lastly, this is my all-time favourite:

A frog, expressing his hopefulness to turn into a prince charming?

I heard the lakes calling

Will be back home very soon.. The lakes would be one of the first few places which i will go to when i'm home. I do miss them sometimes...

On the other hand, there are still much experiences in Europe which i would like to reminisce. And i know when i am finally home, I will start to miss this place a lot.

Going home can be a happy event for some, or a sad one for others. To me, it's neither. I just know that it's time for me to be home soon. to go back to where i am from. coz home is where i will do some self-reflection, to think of what i really want in my life, and to do what i need to do to achieve my life goals.

Cant wait to be home. cant wait to see my family. to see my friends. and all the folks back there.

The Goat kao-peh at me

Today got this goat beh-shiok me, (Today, a goat dislikes me)
On first look, it's veli chu-bee, (On first impression, it looks really cute)
Wa just ka the goat sio-chio-mui, (I just want to greet the goat)
Then it start to kao-peh me lor!! (Then it started to show its anger!)

He think he veli en-tao, (The goat thinks that it's very handsome)
In reality, he looks like a lao-kao, (In reality, it looks like a monkey)
He looks like he very tu-lan, (It looks as though he's very annoyed)
I see him oso I beh ta-han! (I can't even bear the sight of it!)

Ee suka show-off his horns, (He likes to show-off/boast his horns)
So excited, siang-ka ti kua porns, (so excited, as though watchng porns)
Blady sharp la, eh chiam-si-lang, (They were so sharp, can stab kill ppl)
Wa cuak sai la, kia-si-lang! (I was shocked, almost scared to death!)

*** Could it be that he's hungry for some sort of sexual intimacy? hint: note the female goat at the other side of the fence! ***

Schweizer Alpen

And I'm missing the Alps now. On that very day, the mountains were especially spectacular. they spoke to my heart. they sang to my ears. they dance to my eyes... They were simply beautiful.

My very first experience with the Alps was actually at the Untersberg in Austria, a place so fond to my heart thanks to the the Sound of Music. And this summer, I'm glad to be at the Swiss Alps, right from the bottom of the hill to the top of the Pilatus Mountain, overlooking other parts of the Alps range of mountains.

The Golden Round Trip was enriching, bringing us around with different modes of transportations.. from the ship cruise to the bus and to the world-steepest cogwheel and finally to the cable-car. The only thing that we missed out this time around was the Tobogan! But it was okay that we missed out the Tobogan, for we had a good slow ascent to the top of the mountain!
It was unforgettable, it was as though seeing the familiar Alps pictures coming alive with my very own eyes.

The summer crops

It's been many months since the last post.. It's a wonder how the days passed quickly since exam finito.

Have grown even more over the past two summer months. Many things happened. I witnessed many occasions for the first time in my entire life. I learnt a great deal, especially about my roots. about relationship, about family, about myself.

it's difficult to express these experiences verbally, it's difficult to let these kind of noble feelings to be manifested in words...

And today, my aunt and I stopped by the fields where the summer crops are planted. She was eager to show me the differences between the barley, wheat and oats. As the wind blew across the vast fields in all directions, the crops swayed freely, in sync with the wind... i stood silently and watched. the crops seemed so free and unimpeded.. But, it's amazing how the roots held them strong to the ground despite all the chaotic and unpredictable movements on the aerial part.


And now i know, how important it is to understand our own roots. I am the type who loves to venture out. to try new things. to witness new stuff. to embrace new experience. but at the end of the day, regardless of which ground I am on, I know that I must always hold on to my roots; just like how the summer crops do.

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Thank you for the music...

Little did i know that the Mamma Mia musical play was a hit at the Clyde Auditorium Glasgow until 16 of us attended the final night of the play..

Mamma Mia is a contemporary and whimsically comical play which exploits an essence of romance... The cool thing about this play is that it is interwoven from the ABBA group's songbook, and none of the story plots has anything to do with the group itself!

A little review of the recent Mamma Mia musical play in Glasgow:

Cast : Awesome acting and singing skills. i love Donna's character in particular!

Songs : What more can i say about ABBA's songs? :) I especially fancy the song "Thank you for the music"!

Orchestra : hmm. i noticed only a few stringed instruments and some musical keyboards. not a very extensive orchestra, yet the music and the songs were beautifully delivered. perhaps it's a touring musical, so i'm sure the Mamma Mia theatre in London offers an extremely good one!

Plot : Funny, romantic, catchy, ironic??. But i personally think mamma mia is not entirely about the plot, rather its songs!

Setting : hmm, rather mundane despite a pretty mythical Greek island.

Venue : SECC Clyde Auditorium is an amazing venue to hold plays like this. Apart from the long queue at the washrooms and the cafeteria, it was all good!

Before the play...

At a bridge which reminds me of the Penang jetty!

And some candids...

And... after the play... That's the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) Clyde Auditorium at the background!

The moon that we both saw that morning

The moon that we both saw that morning,
Has never left, nor will ever leave;
It may not appear during the coldest nights,
But we know that it's always there.

And the moon that we saw that morning,
Is your faith and strength;
Because your faith and strength,
Have never left, nor will ever leave;
They may not appear during the toughest times,
But I know that they'r always there in you.

A Change in Mood

I woke up on a March morning,
to a white brilliant snowfall,
It was indeed a pretty sight,
with snowflakes on my window.

As I stretched my palm out,
the feather-weight flakes landed,
and melted quickly in the blink of an eye,
while I smiled silently in my own bliss.

And before soon the snow was gone,
It was here as though to say goodbye,
on behalf of Mr Winter;
And now the azure sky's returned,
lined with bright white clouds,
It's spring, and yes it is.

Scotland Road Trip - Day 4

Total distance covered: ~760miles

Day 4 - And back to Glasgow

We had a hearty full Scottish breakfast today at Bill’s place (the white and black puddings were very tasty!) We drove off and made a short stop at the Neist Point, but the weather was a little too harsh for us to be out of the car! Neist Point is indeed a beautiful place. If not for the weather, we would have eagerly taken a stroll down to the light house and admire the highest cliffs in the UK as well as the sea views to the outer hebrides..

We made our way to the SkyeSkyns, a family business of sheep skin manufacture. The funny thing is that we thought we would be able to catch some hands-on experience to see how a sheep skin is processed etc, but we had not the slightest inkling that they don't do such activity until summer! For obvious reasons, the sheep perhaps need their fluffy skin to keep them warm in these few months? :p

We took the main road passing by Fort Williams and Glen Coe. Driving across the tranquil valley of Glen Coe reminded us of the settings in The Land Before Time.

It was conclusively a wonderful trip with a myriad of experiences and sights. During the four days, we moved from the coastal route to the highlands, and later on to the lakes, islands and finally across the grandeur valleys. Scotland with its rich unspoilt geographical features and breathtaking scenery, is indeed a paradise for any traveller in seek of pure serenity.

Scotland Road Trip - Day 3

Day 3 : Over the Sea to the 'Skye'

mooooooooooooooooooooo~~~~~~~~

Five of us had a good breakfast in the hostel before siu and jWerne left for their tour to Loch Ness. Sarah joined both of us and our first stop was the famous Loch Ness. The legend of Nessie has never faded away until now. Urquhart Castle was about 2miles away and it was a beautiful drive along the long narrow lake. One word for Loch Ness : mysterious!

ROAR!!!!!

Lochness

Urquhart Castle

After a pretty long stretch, we reached Eilean Donan Castle. Perhaps the most interesting about this castle is that it is situated on an offshore islet connected to the mainland by a footbridge. It is a spectacular feature of Scotland especially on a bright sunny day with its reflection shimmering on the surface of Loch Duich.

several shots of Eilean Donan Castle

We left the castle and entered the Isle of Skye from Kyle of Lochalsh. The scenery of Skye somewhat offered us a different feeling altogether. We made a couple of good stops at the east coast of Trotternish peninsula (the Old Man of Storr pinnacle, the Kilt Rock cliff and the waterfalls, just to name a few).

old man of storr ( just above WC's left shoulder)

Peeka-baaaaa

highlandcow

Kilt Rock Cliffs (behind the waterfalls)

I tried to write on our experience in the Isle of Skye but I found it especially a difficult task. Personally, I feel that Isle of Skye is a place of which its beauty is never complete to be described in words alone because travellers have to be there to experience the rapture radiated by the scenery themselves.

Some pointers to travellers interested in going to the Skye :
(1) you may need to consider your mode of transportation in the island because it is huge and we hardly notice public buses on the roads. Driving (or cycling if you have more time to kill) is perhaps the best choice on the Skye as you can just stop at any convenient point for the breathtaking views.
(2) There are many Bed&breakfast and other accomodations (e.g. hotels, self catering cottages, camping sites etc.) in the main places of Skye with reasonable range of price. But do book before hand especially in the summer!
(3) The crime rate in the Skye is basically close to nil and you don't have to worry about leaving your cars unlocked whatsoever.
(4) Just beware of the wind especially if you are standing somewhere near a cliff or the beach! If glasgow’s wind is able to blow and invert an umbrella into a “mangkuk”, Skye’s wind can perhaps blow an elephant off the cliff!

We had quite a good chat with Bill and Hillary (the owners of the B&B we stayed in) that night, and we exchanged many stories about Scotland and Malaysia. Their place was a cozy croft house situated in Glendale, and we really miss it now!

Scotland Road Trip - Day 2

Day 2 : Embracing the Highlands

Did not manage to catch sunrise today thanks to the cloudy morning sky. We left shortly after breakfast and we dropped by The Old Course for some tiny golf souvenirs...

The hallmark of St Andrews!!

The road heading west from St Andrews were dotted by small little villages. After passing by these villages, we thought that Perth was an overwhelming town to visit. It’s relatively a big town (but not any bigger than Glasgow), and it used to be Scotland’s capital back in the 12th century or so... We spent quite a couple of hours not only exploring the town, but also did some shopping at esprit (final of the final clearance which was simply irresistible!).

As we were moving on towards north, we conveniently decided to drop by the Edradour Distillery, the smallest distillery in Scotland (it’s awesome to take pride in the smallest things sometimes!). I bet that it’s not only the smallest, but also the prettiest distillery coz it’s quietly burrowed in the serene highlands valley, in the hills above Pitlochry. The free tour was both enriching and informative. It is in fact Scotland’s last distillery to produce handcrafted quality malt in small quantities!

The Edradour

Inside the distillery

Continuing on the A9 further north towards Inverness, there were many scenic places that were worth dropping by. There were not many cars (unlike the highways in Malaysia!) on the roads, but if you do intend to stop at any lay-by along the road, just becareful because some cars in Scotland do indeed travel on high speed despite the 50 to 70miles/hour limit.

We reached Inverness and had a hearty dinner with my three housemates (they reached earlier on by a bus). Five of us stayed in Bazpacker, a hostel near the Inverness Castle. Good credits on the accommodation in Inverness. :)

From left: me, Jin, Siu and Sarah

Inverness castle