Rat ... CNY ... 3rd day

3rd day of the Chinese New Year. Supposedly a time of great fun, of family gathering, of friends getting together... was pretty quiet though.

Had a nice 2nd day at my maternal grandma's side, playing a little with the children of my aunts and uncles. It is like the "change of tides", since about a decade ago, the paternal grandma's side was more happening. People do grow older and families grow apart when they start nuclear families of their own... and then the things that we share and want to talk about reduce with time. Facts of life? Or just the lack of will to maintain close relationships?

Remembered that I had told myself last year, that I would try to skip out of the relative visiting this year, so as to avoid 2 things: (1) the specific question that would make me grimace ... and (2) receiving of angbaos. But of course, without a valid reason to siam, the least I can do as a form of respect to my parents was to turn up. I was proud that I did not repeat my low-EQ outburst of "关你什么事" to some of those pesky relatives. And this year, against tradition, I decided to dispense angbaos to some of the kids! That was actually kinda fun.

A "home-rest" over the past 2 months is finally becoming tiring for me, despite my saying that I do not look forward to the upcoming trips. Perhaps the work trips are a perfect way to remind me of what I like here at home. Some say that while work trips can be a real bitch, it can also be addictive... and a perfect way to escape the mundaneness of everyday life at home. Well, the crazy life is going to start again for 2008!

a hurt back ... and a forgotten face of the past

It was like a relapse, with great pains felt at the lower back, making it difficult for me to move around. It was almost like the back sprain experience a couple of years ago, though not as bad. Anyhow, it decimated any plans for a more active weekend, and relegated me to staying at home to have "complete" rest.

Instead of just rotting at home, or even doing some work (yes, there is some work to be done), I decided to go through some of my old photos and scan them into the computer, as I had promised that I would do for the longest time. Should do the loose photos that are not already sorted into albums... and I had left a lot of photos in the original envelopes, or as loose pieces... It was fun to see the old photos, to see how young everyone looked then, and to realize that I was so very skinny in the past. Uni photos, photos from various trips, and army photos...

And that was when I saw a couple of envelopes. The names on the envelope are people whom I was supposed to pass the photos to, before I left the army about 10 years ago. However, due to the timing of the last overseas trip (where the photos were taken) and my ORD, I did not have the opportunity to pass these photos... and I let it slide. The names of all these people are familiar, with the exception of this "Saw Yong Kee".

Apparently, we might have been quite close, at least during the trip. We had a photo taken together, with one shot of him having breakfast (must be during the R&R?) and another at a temple. The wierdest thing is that... I do not recall knowing him at all. None of the scenes in these photos were even familiar to me!!! He could not have been with the battalion, as far as I can remember. So where did he come from? And why was he there? The mystery is bugging me ... ...

いちご と マスカポネ

Took a day of leave on wednesday, and did the necessary shopping for an attempt to bake something new, out of a recipe book given by a friend. Fun. Strawberry mascarpone cake... how hard can it be?

I was taken by surprise when I saw the price of mascarpone cheese at Cold Storage, even though this was not the first time I had bought it. But it just came back as a rude shock... wow... it is probably cheaper to just buy ready-made tiramisu, etc...


Anyhow, the fun of baking is in the process, as much as in the results, and it was fun to do some of the steps and come to realize that there are plenty of things that could have been done better. Like using a better gauge for measuring out 70 grams of sugar (think I put too little), using more mascarpone (but I was too cheap to buy more anyway) and not using so much strawberries that the whole cake looked strange (oops).

Well, the end-state was quite presentable, and tasted okay. Not the kinda dessert that you may crave for after a taste, so I wouldn't call this a success... yet. Now, the only thing left is to bring this cake to some unsuspecting friends... hee hee...