She who eats's little fundraiser

She who eats (Chika) is a talented Japanese food blogger I follow regularly... She takes lovely pictures and whips up all sorts of lovely treats - mostly from fresh produce she finds in Japan... Now, Chika is doing a little fundraiser for the disaster relief efforts; and at the same time giving away some sakura goodie sets to 3 lucky donors at the same time! If you'd like to try your luck at winning one of these cool sakura sets while doing some good, do drop by her blog here. Funds raised will go to the International Relief Committee - whose strategy for the disaster relief is to "give direct support to Japanese organizations that have immediate access to the affected areas and that have the appropriate capacity and experience"...

Good luck!

It was really unfortunate that such a catastrophic disaster hit Japan - so suddenly and so horribly. Monica-san (the Hakuba Yamano hotel co-owner) broke the earthquake news to us on our way back from Happo-one ski resort. That was about 3-something pm on 11 Mar; and we cldn't quite believe our ears until we stepped into the hotel lobby and there it was LIVE on TV - the terrifying tsunami fast advancing towards the coastal region at Miyagi prefecture, quickly sweeping away houses, cars - igniting fires and perpetuating fires as it engulfed anything and everything in its way. It felt all too surreal - until I saw the damage the tsunami had caused close-up later that day and repeatedly on tv over the next few days.

We were lucky not to have really felt it in Hakuba - except for like a cold draft that hit the slopes when skiing (which according to Monica-san was probably due to the earthquake). Another 6. something magnitute earthquake did hit close to where we were though (in the Niigata/northern Nagano region) ard 4am on 12 Mar - but thankfully nothing worse than the brief shaking of our hotel building was felt.

The rest of our trip became a lil 'out-of-whack- but it was really not that bad already. I consider it amazing how the JR service and Tokyo metro subway around our area resumed almost the day after... and most of the train lines were pretty much in operation ard Tokyo. Contrary to some somewhat misleading reporting on CNN, the 'wiped out' kombini stores sight was likely only limited to the Sendai area (At one pt, I got a little annoyed how CNN kept playing up the extent of damage and horror of the whole episode without giving viewers that much detail on the specific areas affected/ where the scenes/ photos were taken. But I suppose that's what catches ppl's attention/ glues them to the TV - rather than the mundane and un-newsworthy fact that ppl's lives in many parts of Japan also went on pretty much as usual).

In fact, much of Tokyo seemed so normal that I would scarcely have imagined that a huge earthquake had hit the country just a few hundred kilometres away... It's heartening though that ppl appear to all be chipping in to reduce energy usage. Some shops were closed/ dept stores had shortened opening hrs - and McDonalds at Narita airport even removed their electronic menu display and guests only had paper menus to refer to.

I hope that Japan recovers from the disaster soon. News of the nuclear crisis at Fukushima is rather disturbing - really hope that the worst is over. It's sick how some folks exploited the earthquake/ nuclear crisis to spread false rumours about radiation leakage:
http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/577284/its_a_hoax_radiation_from_japan_nuclear_leak_spread.html

Some folks created a 'facemap' and placed it near the Meiji-Jingu bridge near Harajuku station in Tokyo for people to leave encouraging messages.

Maybe we can all do our part by giving a little to help the people in need in Japan:

Donate to the Sg Red Cross via Groupon: http://www.groupon.sg/deals/singapore/support-emergency-relief-efforts-in-japan-and-other-affected-areas-all-donations-will-be-given-to-the-red-cross/715829794

You can also give a little via global websites such as Global Giving: http://www.globalgiving.org/

ありがとう。

Just a very quick update -arrived safely back home 2 hours ago :) Thanks to all who msged/ emailed me to check that I'm alright. Very touched by your little messages/ gestures.

Cannot believe that the first thing my Dad asked me to do upon arrival was to go for a 'radiation check'....

Off to Japan!

After a little boo-boo this morning (tried to check in at the wrong terminal and got scolded by my mummy. the super efficient & fast sky train was a life-saver) erm I am off to Japan in less than an hour and hopefully no more boo-boos for the blur me.... :)

Otogicco

I have a recent fetish for this Japanese red riding hood called Otogicco... She is really cute! The mini love affair started when someone gave me a Otogicco-in-sitting-position clip (for holding pieces of paper upright)... Actually I have seen her previously in specialty stationery stores like Wood Would - but I have long gotten over my sec-sch-buy-cute-stationery phase. Plus - these stuff are always quite ex, so I have not made any rash irrational decision recently by spending say $10, $20 on a little notepad/ stickers and such... But maybe I shall hunt for some Otogicco paraphernalia when I go to Japan next week!!! :D

I have blatantly capitalised on Otogicco's cuteness for a mini office b-day celebration mailer heh. Yes, our COS is over!! (Not like I was part of the core group of long-suffering souls... but I think I will benefit from the less tense atmosphere in office from tmr onwards)

I turned 28 over the weekend... just 2 more years before the big '3'...! Was ill most of the week; but thankfully semi-recovered on Sat... Nice sis got me a relatively atas-looking little cake (which I chose) from a neighbourhood mall in Tampines on Fri night. It was a breakfast cake :)

Didn't end up doing anything particularly special; but sometimes being able to enjoy simple things in life is a blessing too... Only on my bday do my parents and sis crowd around a little piece of pastry to sing in unison FOR ME! And on this day you suddenly hear from and receive well wishes from many friends; but there are also some you hope to hear from but don't... heh.

I never really know beforehand what to wish for before blowing out my candle. This year it was the same. For now I still have the luxury of time to wish that I will figure out what to do with my life soon...

My summer lemmon mousse cake! I kinda liked how the lemon slices resembled bicycle wheels heh.

Tulips from someone special :)

Woke up with a bad sore throat this morning and decided to take one-day MC... there's so much work to do but v little motivation to get to them... bleah :(

On a brighter note, I have been taking Illustrator online classes the past few weeks, and am discovering how powerful and fun this program is! Alas, it is extremely extremely expensive and have yet to figure out a way to get hold of the software after my trial version expires :(

A simple homework piece I did for this week! The jap characters just read "Pretty flowers!" haha. These few simple Japanese characters have made the whole picture look a lot more poetic-looking... isn't it? Maybe I am biased.

Cooking Class @ TOTT

Pre-Valentine's, we took a cooking class together at Tools Of The Trade (TOTT) at Dunearn Rd. The class was called Cooking To Seduce: Kamasutra in the Kitchen, but obviously it was nowhere as suggestive. The only faint association with the title was the supposedly aphrodisiac nature of the dishes we were taught.

The class was pretty packed (we were typically given only up to 15/20 min for each dish) but quite fun. The cooking studio was really new and well-equipped with modern and chio kitchen utensils (which could be bought next door at their in-house store). The electric stove was also a bit too high-tech for me and I cldn't quite figure out how to operate it without assistance from the staff. Or maybe not that it's high-tech, but just that I seldom cook!

I realised that chopping is an essential and important skill to acquire... Cos we had to chop up stuff for practically every dish, my hands got a little achey at the end after chopping lotsa spring onions, leeks, lemongrass, ginger etc.

Our tom-yum soup... actually it isn't that difficult to make this after all :)

Oyster fritters in batter form. I was terrible at deep frying these - and transferred my frying duties to D halfway after a blob of hot oil leapt out of the pot onto my right forehead!

Time to savour the rest of the dinner! (The greenish looking thing is actually our ginger-crusted salmon; while the bowl of brown liquid is raspberry choc sauce for our fruit spring rolls. The oyster fritters with pomegranate chilli jam were gobbled up during class :P)

There was quite a bit of washing up to do throughout the class... but luckily kitchen assistants helped to do the more mafan parts...

Happy Valentine's!

Yoshitomo Nara@SAM

Just a bite-size post today about a talented Japanese artist who draws cute little girls with evil streaks... Though they all display some kinda rebellious behavior/evil gleam in the eye, they still somehow manage to look so cute. How come he so genius...

Year of the Rabbit

I received a bad piece of news on the last day of the Tiger year... my favourite colleague has decided to call it quits and she broke the news to me minutes before we knocked off on Wed afternoon. Her announcement came as a shock to me as I wasn't quite expecting it. Not that the thought of her quitting never crossed my mind (and in fact I've ever planted such an idea in her head...) but I suppose these events took place a couple of months ago so when 'disaster' finally struck, I found myself feeling rather upset. Hai... but hopefully, my fav colleague will move on to a more fulfilling job that makes her happier :)

That aside, the long CNY break was pretty good. Had a one-day staycation at HFC, during which I had a mini museum-cum-photo outing... Also exercised on Sat morning, followed by a nice (though brief) meetup with C & J, Jap classes and other self-enrichment activities. The thing that spoiled my weekend though was an urgent request for talking pts that came in yesterday night, which I had to get out by tonight... Boo!

Here's a pic I took secretly in the Singapore Art Musuem (SAM) shop... Of a rabbit coaster. More pics to come later - hopefully later this week...

Naruto!

I was digging up the songs I used to have on my school laptop.... and discovered several gems... including drama serial/ Anime theme songs... This is the anime show that got me really hooked for a while... the only anime I watched close to 100 episodes... the anime that got me sobbing for no reason in the middle of the night once/ twice(?) in Washington DC... (which got C pretty concerned) For the uninitiated, Naruto is this anime series about ninjas (quite popular I think abt half a decade ago? there are Naruto movies too, i think) - it looks a bit violent, but it's really not that bad. Aside from the cool ninja moves, the show was also about friendship, determination, perseverance and such...

This version I found seems to have the clearest graphics... But I think whoever made this prob liked Lee a lot (the green guy with the bowl-shaped hair and 'bandaged' limbs) though he wasn't the main character in the show. If I didn't remb wrongly, I my favourite character could have been Hinata... this soft-spoken timid girl with short hair... (some semblance to my own character could have been part of the reason why I liked her. I must have liked her for other reasons too, but my memory fails me now) Nonetheless... listening to the opening song again gives me a warm fuzzy feeling...

Beautiful Life

My sensei coincidentally posted the theme song of one of my fav Jap dramas... brings back fond memories... I think I went and bought the DVDs in Sg; then finished most of the drama while snuggled in bed at night while I was in Berkeley... I shall rewatch it some time soon heh.

"Disfigured" for now... :(

I just met with a tiny mishap at Netball class just now... the first 'sports accident' in 3 classes... and I am now disfigured by two reddish scratch marks on the right side of my face (the area in btwn the nose & upper lip)! Someone wanted to intercept a ball thrown to me and accidentally swiped her fingers/fingernails across my face! The pink scars look roughly like ">"(just that the two lines dun meet)... I look a bit like I got into a cat-fight with someone bleah :( I hope they heal soon and leave no trace.

I baked a little cheesecake yesterday... using a Muji instant cheesecake mix :P It tasted pretty alright, but the surface turned out a little pockmarked and speckly. I was also expecting a fluffy moist Japanese cheesecake - but mine turned out pretty solid bleah. Aiyah, I think I prob did something wrong somewhere... shall try again next time!

And yeah, my cake had a snaking fault line that cut right thru the middle...

Time-out Tanjong Pagar

Over lunch today, I decided to give myself a lil break from work and from my colleagues. I had my little me-outing to the Duxton hill area for lunch and some book-shopping - while everyone else headed to PS Cafe@Ann Siang Hill for expensive overpriced lunch. The plan was to go to this new bookstore Littered with Books at Duxton Rd after checking out a new crepe place in the same area... and maybe pop by Flor bakery and treat myself to a cake or some freshly baked cookies. However, I also stumbled upon a newly opened photography school two doors down from the crepe place, and climbed up some creaky steps to walk into a shophouse full of nice photos... What a nice little adventure!

However my lunchtime outing plan was a tad too ambitious. Turned out that I was stuck in Littered with books for a good half hour or so and ended up having no time for cake. The books at Littered with Books all look so pretty it I felt like buying every single title! There only seemed to be a couple of copies of each book so each book felt particularly unique and it made me feel like I was picking them off someone's home bookshelf, not a bookstore. I ended up buying a C. S. Lewis book and a cheem book by A.C. Grayling that is supposedly a good read and will hopefully inspire me to reflect about the meaning of life... ;) I am building up a stash of unread books in my already cluttered room bleah.

My Monday Horoscope said...

You are focused on creativity and should find that ability to dream up new ideas and plans is equalled only by your ability to bring them to life. Show the world what you can do.

Not that I am a fan of horoscopes... but mum is..! (more for fun lah) So she showed this to me this morning when I was gulping down my milo... The english a bit convoluted, but uncannily today's msg actually spoke to me somewhat. Show the world what I can do eh...

Today was a depressing day... so had to have music therapy at night.

10,000 hours to become an expert at anything...

I just had to log in a short post about this 10,000 hr-rule cos for some uncanny reason I was told this twice today by 2 persons under pretty diff circumstances... Yesterday I was just reflecting on how I have not become really good at anything so far - be it tennis, photography, Japanese, baking etc although I like and enjoy doing all these things. I tried to figure out what the reason might be... and concluded that I am just not a very determined person and get easily distracted by new things :(

So this morning, it was somewhat consoling when a guest pastor, as part of his msg about it being human to err, shared this interesting piece of trivia. Then when chatting with Y just now, she highlighted this to me too! So Y pointed out that this implied that someone who practices XX for 8 hrs everyday...wld take abt 4 years to be an expert. If you're more normal (and devote say 8 hrs a week to this activity) - you will become an expert in... 28 years! When things are put in that perspective, it really feels not that bad that I am not an expert at anything... heh.

p/s: did a google of the 10,000 hr thing and it's apparently a common theme in Malcolm Gladwell's book - Outliers. Maybe I shld go read that some day :)

It's cool how some things turn out well though you totally didn't plan for them...

So I ended up taking Japanese lessons again - this time focusing on Japanese conversation. Was just catching up a little with an ex-colleague via sms this Monday - when she shared that she was currently taking Jap conversation lessons... and after a few emails with the one-man show sensei, I signed up and went for my 1st lesson yesterday!

I was slightly apprehensive initially 'cos my Jap has been deproving ever since I stopped classes 2 years ago... Thankfully class was small and setting not that intimidating; our friendly sensei also prompted everyone to speak up by asking leading questions etc... Though I was terribly unfluent, I cld still largely understand what went on and it turned out pretty alright in the end. Yesterday's lesson was about how to describe lost objects... and I learnt what polka dots are called in Japanese - mizutama (水玉 - literally "water balls")! I thought that was really cute cos it's so literal and visual...

And so I discovered that Japanese is one of those things I have some unexplainable affinity for - even after having abandoned it for a while, my interest in learning it hasn't really waned and it remains as enjoyable as before. Though I was never good enough, learning it is just a very happy-fying thing to do :) Hopefully, one day, I will be good at it..

The other KK

There really isn't very much to do at Kota Kinabalu if you aren't climbing the mountain, we realised... during the trip. So it was a tiny relief that our 2nd night was spent in the city area, at a hotel right next to supposedly Borneo's largest lifestyle hypermall - 1Borneo. And that's why I could stroll to Starbucks on a Monday morning to enjoy green tea latte and banana choc muffin and have the whole 2nd floor of seats to MYSELF. Heh. This was an urbanite's failed attempt to connect with Mother Nature...

Though there wasn't a whole lot of stuff to do, I totally didn't mind it. We were still sufficiently entertained throughout the trip... I watched a Twilight movie (the first one) for the first time - on cable TV from a not-so-cosy-but-passable chalet room in the middle of the Borneo rainforest... and found myself empathising with Twilight fans... I think I was quite taken by the interesting idea of dating a vampire and the neat stuff they cld do tog in the forest, like flying around etc haha. D cldn't quite get what was so cool with that pale vampire named E but got quite enchanted by the vampire family's house. We later discovered (after cheapo-ly flipping thru some Twilight movie book at a Harris bookstore) that the whole house was just a specially constructed movie set... a really nice one though.

The uneventful holiday ended with a mini drama when we were stuck in the rain and jam on the way to the KK airport. And just when we thought all traffic had cleared, we found ourselves getting stuck in a most nasty jam leading all the way up to the departure terminal... Thankfully, the rain caused havoc not just outside but also within... so flights were delayed and we found ourselves quite early for the flight despite arriving only half an hour before...

Here are some pictures (pretty irrelevant to my lil trip summary above) from the trip to show! :P

Pretty nice dining area at our Mt Kinabalu hotel

Lovely flowers at the hotel "garden" - the chalet was somewhat dismal (mainly cos it was cold and damp), but the landscaping at the hotel was done up quite nicely

We managed to get a good view from our hotel as it was perched all the way up on a little hill too :)

The peak of the mountain seemed to be permanently obscured by huge clouds

Seafood dinner the 2nd evening - Grilled tilapia with belachan sauce. Fresh and delicious!