Cooking 101 #2

Though I'm not naturally talented in baking, it's still my passion once in a while when I actually have the spirit and mood to do so as my sedentary activity. And after failing in baking Muddy Chocolate Cake months ago, I'm back with chocolate cookies with almond and cream puffs. I'm not sure if I actually succeeded in both, but from their outlook, they do look edible. Tasting them, resulted in satisfaction eventually. Not heavenly, but just nice.

Anyway, here are the pictures...

It's always exciting to see the baking process in the microwave. From a dough it grows.


Then, it needs a little work to beautify 'em up.


Finally, the finished product.


And here are the cookies. Has finished half of the amount by now.

Jane to Sammi

Have been viewing some old movies lately (although I'm having a hard time finishing up my course work!), lining up from Plain Jain to the Rescue to the more recent, Everlasting Regret. So, allow me to talk about PJTTR first. The concept of this movie is just to create another comedy with daily and rather crude humors. Though it had a stellar opening till its suspense, the movie falls badly towards the end, resulting in a disappointment. Jane, the main character, did a wonderful job in coloring up the movie, or else it could have been dull, ordinary, and boring. Of course, it's a different case now. I think it will be worthwhile to watch it with family and friends during festive seasons. It has also been shown on TV (Astro Wah Lai Toi) for a few times already. Laughters guaranteed at times.

The second movie is called Laughters of Water Margins. The casts of the film doesn't belong to our generation, but it does features the notable Sam Hui and Lydia Sum. Basically, creativity and simplicity kept the movie going from the very beginning until the ending. There are hilarious scenes after one another, keeping one glued to the movie easily without much effort. I laughed hard for this one. Definitely highly recommended for those who are interested in ridiculous jokes! LOWM is undoubtedly another great movie to fill up those empty hours of our daily life. Won't even get boring if it's watched over and over again, but not too frequently in close intervals. So far, seen it twice. Perhaps, will watch for another time tonight if I have the time...

Last but not least, Everlasting Regret has been a movie for me to watch since ages ago. However, I wasn't sure to invest my money for a movie like this during non-promotional season. And zhooop, here comes the chance since the price has been marked down. The first thing to look up for is Sammi Cheng's improved acting skills in this movie. Even going a bit crazy in the crying scene, you have never seen her portraying similar characters like the one in the movie. Qi Yao is actually a Shang Hai lady who went through many predicaments in her life. Notably, her life ended due to her own carelessness I would say for developing a relationship with someone who's extremely younger (perhaps in his 30s) than her by the time she was supposed to be between 50-60 yo. The movie's in Mandarin, but has been also been dubbed to Cantonese with English subtitles, so that it will appeal to more audiences. Nevertheless, the movie is just okay, with its art and literature to be appreciated. Anyhow, watch this if you have liked movies like Perhaps Love, but you will have to reduce your expectations and don't even anticipate any musical acts.

What makes a good smile and otherwise?

So, y'all know that a smile is very important to a person. As what Joanie (from America's Next Top Model Cycle 6) has quoted, a smile is a sword to beauty... What makes a great smile? In my opinion, it has to be natural, not too wide, not too narrow, and with a clean, bright, white set of teeth. Nonetheless, it has to come with practices and good habits. Eating the right food is one of them, according to this article.

In the article, it concluded that the following food are smile spoilers!

• Soda, fruit juice and sports drinks - Damn, I love drinking juices, especially watermelon juice. As acidic and sugary drink, drinking with straw will lessen the bad effects.
  
• Sticky stuff - Gosh, bread is also one of them? Staying in our teeth for 20 minutes after consumption doesn't bother me much. Bread is too delicious to be ousted.
  

And the following will greatly contribute to a better smile...

• Cheese - Hehe, I just have to be cannibalized and start eating myself huh?
  
• Crunchy things - Apples and carrots are natural scrubbers! Yummy yummy!
  
• Tea - Most people would know that tea kills germs. Both black/green tea will do.
  
• Shiitake mushrooms - Heard of this type of mushroom before, but couldn't illustrate how it looks like. Anyway, it fights tooth plaque and the bacteria in it.
  

Lemme photoshopp

Just like the picture, I am getting sleepy this early, since I actually woke up at 8 o'clock, instead of hte usual 9 o'clock this morning. Been a very long day, with me not being at home from 10am to 7pm. Classes were actually quite interesting today, and I ate a wonderfully cheap lunch (chicken chop w/rice) in Medan. The funniest moment of a brand new Monday goes to Caryn actually. her facial expression right after our lecturer jokingly teased everyone that most of us failed our assignment was definitely priceless!

Last week, I borrowed this book on Photoshop. As I'm still quite illiterate in it, I can only perform some really basic features only. Ya know, cropping, resizing, changing colors, etc. Still have loads to learn and to master, especially the portrait creation and elements eradications. Anyhow, here are some of my ugly work.

Hmm, I don't like 'em at all.

JuECs

Yes, another week is over and I'm expecting a better, fresher, more exciting week to reign. Over the past week, I've been slacking quite a little since the holidays just ended with 2 assignment due on the first day of university. Also, on the very same week, I have collected back my Stats assignment, accepting a reasonable score for my much effort. I'm satisfied, and flattered.

On Friday night, went out to have a drink with Julia and Ee Vonn. Kelly was supposed to be there too, but she failed to make it after being stopped by her mom, warning her that she has been disappearing from home for quite a couple of times already. Bad girl, bad girl? I wonder where is she after these days, haven't hung out with her for quite some time already. Miss ya, gyal!

Anyway, we were in Ipoh Town Kopitiam, the branch in um, the new Hartamas in Connaught? The place near UCSI. (Anyone who does know the name of the area, do tell me!) It was already rather late by the time all three of us reached there. After chit-chatting for almost two hours, we had to end our yum cha session due to the fact that the operation hours for the shop is until 12.30am only. Damn. But, not wasting any time before we were forced to leave, we had a short camwhoring session. Finally, the King and the Queen are spotted with few new pictures!

Started off with usual faces.


Okay, it was late, so we needed some rest...


Look, we're doing funny faces (actually)!


Ugly me - blek! Note: The Queen indeed looks the same as compared with pic #1.

The Letters of Death; Dragon Reloaded 2

Oh my, I was diggin' into the story of the latest Thai horror flick in town, the Letters of Death. Even though it will be perceived as a total rip off of Final Destination and Shutter, the movie, nevertheless, worked. The flow of the story was rather good, I would say. The actresses are gorgeous, especially the actress who was portraying Nattaya.

The story isn't a bit confusing at all, making it a movie to be watched without pressure. Filled with blood and pieces of human, this movie is set to thrill, indefinitely. Some would find it boring though, which is what my friend's friend has thought. Anyway, the only turn off of the movie is the dying segments which was, as usual, cut off by our national censorship board. It could have been bloodier. Anyway, I rate it a ****1/2.

Moving on, was in time to watch this movie called the Dragon Reloaded 2 which was released long time ago starring Ronald Cheng as the lead actor. Although the humors did work, the movie lack of originality, making it bland here and there. A lot of unknown casts in the movie which created this unfamiliarity gap.

It all started out with the 3 buddies, who are policemen, getting involved in a tragedy that made them the enemies of a village in a stranded island off shore in HK. Well, they were then sent to that island to solve a crime which happened, partly due to their mistake. Being hated by the villagers at first, they soon gained their trust and acceptance after settling some minor crimes. From there, they are off for a bigger mission... And here's where I shall stop. :)

Thank You Don!

Finally, a week of holidays has finished and I'm back on track. Half of the semester has passed, and whilst I had completed 3 assignments and 4 tests during the past 8 weeks, there are 3 assignments on its way and another 7 tests and 1 mid-tern exam to sit for in the next 7 weeks before sitting for 4 final papers in June. After resting for a week, I feel totally fresh and ready to handle everything, am I not? :)

Anyway, had a pretty much interesting day yesterday. As I was printing my finalized assignment halfway through, there was a power cut in my area. Damn, I thought, since the assignment was due at 1pm. I thought of waiting, but it wouldn't help, since there was a notice saying that it will require another few hours before the power is back on. Reason being the change of cables. Argh, why didn't anyone tell me about it? And worst of all, I did not save my file in any portable drivers aka pendrive. Luckily, desktop is still portable, and I have to say HUGE thanks to Donkey (Caryn) for lending me her place and electricity to save my day!

The day didn't end just like that. On the verge of being late to my first class at half past noon, received a call and was being informed that the class has been canceled. All the rush for nothing, I thought, but heck, it gave me the reason to skip the lecture for IS (Information Systems). So, I found myself in Mid Valley afterall, hanging out the mall on a Monday evening. Bought a few VCDs to keep myself glued to the TV for this whole week from Speedy. Alright, that's all from me now! More updates soon!

No Eatin, K!

Finally, I have resumed my commitment to the dance classes every Saturday. One month hiatus is causing my bone ache everywhere over my body after 3 classes, which was approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes, covering the hots and spices of Line Dance, Latino Salsa and Hip Hop. There was supposed to be an extra hour for Hip Hop, but I was exhausted by then, and didn't join them. Anyway, the practice was held on the entrance level whereby can be watched by anyone passing by. I'm not up for that yet!

Left: The guy who helped me most in the class. Right: The dance instructor.

Anyway, rules are meant to be broken. Heard of that? That's the motto for those who loves to break rules. And I caught someone breaking the rule imposed in Monash IT Lab. Face has been heavily pixelated to avoid recognition.

Left: Holding a cup of yogurt? when... Right: The reminder is just about 3 meters away!