My life: Hello from Amsterdam

Got another call for phone interview last thursday. Could still remember I was so excited when I got that call. Afterall, it wasn't something that I had dreamt of getting at the current moment.

This time around, I could relate more to the job descriptions. And I could guess why I was selected for the first round of screening interview. So the appointment was set at tuesday night, where I would receive the call from Amsterdam. Well, it's not that often that you get calls from some other parts of the world..haha

Since I had gathered some experience from the 1st phone interview, this 2nd time was not too tough for me. Except that I had to try to grasp the interviewers' accent. And a slight reponse delay due to the communication distance.

Personally, I think that I did okay. As usual, keep my fingers crossed. I shall be expecting the results within the next few days. Wow...I thought that's really quick. Well, they did sound like nice people over the phone, especially the hiring manager. We did manage to laugh a little over something, and it was not too tensed as the 1st phone interview I had.

Now I'm starting to think, phone interviews ain't too bad afterall. It sure saves lots of hassle and time travelling to the place. And you have the advantage of refering to your notes while you speak, and taking down notes when they speak. Of course, one thing I learnt, when the person over the phone is introducing themselves or saying something important, you gotta remember to note it down. And do utter words of response, e.g. yeah, urm, that's good, great to hear that, understand that... Why? because the other person can't see if you are thinking or listening over the phone! And that's what I call phone etiquettes.

Guys, if you do have these phone interview experiences, share with me too! ;)

My life: March forward to the battlefield!

Throbbing headache...feverish...tongue fighting...phew, what a way to spend half a day...

So nice just to lepak at home today. Ok, not really lepak...since I was taking the day off to attend a job interview :P

I didn't think I did well enough in my first phone interview the other day, so this time around I make sure I was better prepared, and did some ground work first.

The appointment was at 5pm, but to beat the traffic, and also because I was afraid I couldn't find the place...anyway, in the end I reached there around 4:15pm. Fine. Since I was early, I waited for 45 mins in the lobby idling away time before they called me for the meeting at 5pm sharp. Talk about punctuality.

Didn't quite expect to have 3 interviewers for the session. Anyway, now I know that fielding questions from 3 persons is not easy. Bcause first, 3 vs 1 leh...not fair...i one mouth, they altogether 3 mouths. I have to talk alot.

Second, your eyes have to dart here and there, focusing on the right person, and directing your answers and responses to the right person, while keeping an eye if one of them is getting disinterested in you.

Third, you feel like you are being scrutinised. Somemore they made me sat at the end of the table (the chairman's seat). Yalar...of course you feel like you are the chairman of the meeting, like a pro handling questions from your subordinates/fans/reporters...but hor..you also need to think fast and make sure your words don't come out before you think.

Roughly 1 hour in the "battlefield", I managed to come out unscathed, with just a throbbing headache to remind me how much thinking I just did in the room. The last time I did so much thinking was when I did the 3-hour Prince2 foundation exam 2 years ago (i think i almost fused the brain nerves). Felt so hot and feverish after that. But I'm glad I did it, and hopefully I did well enough to impress them.

Fingers crossed...hope to hear from them again in 2 weeks' time.

Makan-makan: Laksa Shack @ MidValley

What to eat: All kinds of laksa noodles, roti jala, nasi beriani, nasi kerabu, roti canai
Where: Laksa Shack @ Mid Valley Megamall (LG Floor, opposite The Chicken Rice Shop)
Food rating: 3/5 (Johor Laksa)

The Laksa Shack recently opened another branch at Mid Valley. It already had branches in 1-Utama and KLCC. It was quite awhile ago the last time I had laksa at KLCC.

This new shop interior design and ambience is just so-so, but it looks clean and bright. Although I think the table arrangement is abit haphazard, it gave me a cramp feeling.

We sampled their Laksa Sarawak and Laksa Johor this time. The Laksa Sarawak is spicy and looks a bit dark due to the spices and the pepper used. I had the Laksa Johor, it is made of fish gravy (similar to Assam Laksa Penang), but is not sourish, instead it's more curry-ish taste. Just be careful not to swallow the tiny fish bones if you are gonna have this. One tiny one got into my throat, and almost made me choke! Gosh...

One drink to note though...try the iced white coffee with cincau. Never heard of it leh...me too...kakaka... though it sounded weird, but it's quite nice acutually. Since the cincau taste plain, it goes well with the coffee. And I think the white coffee provides a little creamy texture to the drink.

Wanted to sample the roti jala, but we're so stuffed up that we gave up. :P

Makan-makan: Spicy taucu spaghetti @ home

Craving for something spicy? Look no further...


Spicy taucu spaghetti

Ingredients:
- spaghetti (for 4 persons)
- a can button mushrooms (halved)
- 1 tomato (diced)
- mixed peas
- baby corns (usually come in a packet)
- 2 pieces of tauhu (diced)
- spicy taucu paste
- 3-4 cloves of garlic (chopped)


Just got this Taiwan spicy taucu paste the other day from Giant. And then suddenly got this stupid craving for spicy food and spaghetti... so I decided to be a little adventurous and try some new recipe.

I ransacked the kitchen shelves and refridgerator for the ingredients...anything that taste plain and look colourful, like the mixed peas....hahaha... ok, first, I boiled the spaghetti the usual way and drained it for later use.

Then heat some oil in the wok, and stir fry the chopped garlics. Then add in the ingredients in no particular order, and put in 4-5 tablespoons of the spicy taucu paste. Don't put too much though, it can be quite spicy (trust me!). Stir fry the ingredients for about 7-8 minutes or until they are cooked. Don't need to add water, it will dilute the taste. Add a little salt if necessary.

Then scoop up the ingredients into your plate of spaghetti and ready to serve.

Dig in! Yum yum~

Oh...if you prefer non spicy version, I guess you can use the normal non spicy taucu paste instead. (But I haven't tried this, so you gotta let me know how it taste :P)

Makan-makan: Milo & Milk Bread Spread @ home

Ever wonder how much Malaysians L-O-V-E Milo?

We have Milo drink for breakfast, Milo-ais at mamak stalls, Milo-ping at kopitiam, neslo if you like a tinge of coffee to go with it, and of course, children's all time favourite - just eat it right out of the milo tin! hahaha...what do you mean you don't know the last one? Just take a scoop of out milo and put it in your mouth.

Milo is like one of the staple food in Malaysians' lives. And to show you one of the ways I enjoy my fav Milo, I like to spread it on my bread, and put a little condensed milk on it.... the taste is "heavenly"...hahaha...

Oh, there's another version...but this goes better if you have the bread toasted first. Then spread butter and sprinkle Milo on the toast. I read this version in the newspaper and tried it. It might sound weird, but once you tried it, it is quite tasty too!

For all Milo-lovers out there, share with me the ways you enjoy your Milo... ;-)

My life: Tattoo Artist at Work

08 July, Saturday

that fine saturday night, with nothing to waste our time on, and the WC third place kick-off yet to start. we're just itching to do something. Then somehow, the topic of tattoo came alive.

Well, to me, a real tattoo will always look fab on other's skin. (but definitely not on MY skin!) I can't bear the pain and the torture of waiting hours for the completion of the "artwork". Not to mention probably a few pricks of blood! oooh...let's not get nasty here... :P

Anyway, one thing led to another, and suddenly I had became the "amateur tattoo artist"..hahaha...well, having said that an amateur was at work, the working tools used then started with only a blue ink pen to draw the outline of the tattoo. And then since the draft piece of "artwork" was "quite deceptive to the eyes"...we migrated to use a black roller ink pen to fill in the areas.

Oh, did I mention what was the tattoo design? silly me...of course not, we're feeling a little adventurous, eventhough we're first timers...hahaha...and we decided a dragon would make a good tattoo on the shoulder :D

anyway, i guess you all must be dying to see how my first piece of "artwork" looks like.. so without further a due, deng deng deng... see for yourselft...not bad leh? hahaha...so anyone out there likes to be my second "guinea pig" ? muahahaha...

My life: Father's Day BBQ

It's been a long since we had BBQ party at home. And for this year Father's Day, we decided to pull out the old faithful BBQ stove and all our "ga-chang" (tools)..hahaha

And since sis said she's already an expert at organising BBQ during her days staying with her house mates. So I let her plan the whole thing, and I promised to go shopping with her for the food.

In the end we had chicken drumsticks, chicken wings, sweet potatoes, sausages, corns, vege salad, spaghetti "masala" (i used the sardines lah haha :P), watermelons, and oh, the delicious otak-otak from Muar sponsored by T. And extra watermelons and mangosteens from N just in case we get "overheated" from all the BBQ fun.

We had much fun from preparing to BBQ-ing and eating. Lucky it rained that afternoon, so it left the weather just cooling for the BBQ time. Well, this time around, I sure don't hear mom complains as much as she used to when we mentioned about organising a BBQ party. haha..probably that was because we did most of the work :P