Do you propose marriage in public or private?

Yesterday in the gym...

I was doing the weights, one, two, three...Then a male friend, D, walked over and popped this question,


No, no, he's not proposing to me lah...

D: "I got a question to ask you since you are a girl. Imagine lah..just imagine hor..your boyfriend is going to propose to you. Would you prefer he does it in public or private har? Have you ever thought of this question?"

Me: "Hmm...interesting, I've never thought of this question seriously..."

D: "No hor? Ya lor..You see that guy over there, he's planning to propose to his girlfriend. So he asked me for opinion."

Me: "Oooh...like that ar...I don't know wor..maybe I will prefer he proposes in private lah...I think it's more romantic gua.."

D: "Ya lor..at least the girl got chance to think mah, so many people looking and cheering, very pressured leh. Want to reject also easier gua..haha"

Me: "Haha..true also. But some people like the limelight loh..but let's say the girl agrees, then what's next ha? I suppose if you are proposing it in public say, over a dinner in the restaurant, then, then...how ah? very awkward wor..both of you sit down and continue eating? Ooo..not romantic at all leh...so potong steam."

D: "Ya wor..haha.."

Me: "If you want to go public, can follow the example like the guy who proposed during the flight & AA airlines rewarded them with free return tickets to Phuket. Not bad mah. Or else, some years back, a rich guy paid to display his proposal on a very big banner on some building along Federal Highway. Lots of attention. Romantic also gua."

D: "Ooh..ya meh? Last time got a guy who paid the guy who operated the projector in the cinema to display his proposal on the movie screen before the movie starts. That one also ok gua.."

Me: "Oo..really? whoa.."

........

Konnyaku Jellies for Mich's dinner gathering

Last Saturday, I was busy preparing some konnyaku jellies again for the little dinner gathering at Mich's place. This time around, I remembered to snap some pictures while I was at it.

I couldn't get the usual brand from the Giant supermarket I went to. So I resorted to this brand. It costs around RM2.19 per packet.



And I got this small bucket of Nata De Coco too (about RM5.49).



Then I prepared the jelly moulds (containers). I had asked lil sis's help to put in the nata de coco cubes into the moulds while I boiled the jelly mix.



Pretty easy, I just followed the instructions on the jelly packet. I had cooked 2 packets of jelly powder. I mixed the jelly powder with sugar (I had used 4 tbsp, but it wasn't sweet enough, I supposed 6 tbsp would be better). Then slowly poured the mixture into cool water (about 1.6 litre, supposed to be 2 litre, but it seems too diluted so I changed the portion). After that, I bring the mixture to boil, slowly stirring it while it simmers.

When it seems that all powder has diluted in the water and mixed well, I turned off the heat. Then using a ceramic soup spoon, I spooned the mixture into the moulds (with the nata de coco already put in). Stir the mixture whenever appropriate to make it easier to spoon it out. The mixture is abit glue-y.

Then leave them to cool. You can popped out the jellies from the mould after about 45 mins. Chilled them in the fridge before serving.



And oh, for those who missed the dinner gathering...we enjoyed ourselves with Mich's spaghetti and grilled chicken wings, red wine and pizzas. And we had good laugh watching her wedding video together. No pictures, sorry :P

Scarifices before marriage & why you wear the wedding ring on the 4th finger

Last night, I was doing idling surfing and read some interesting posts which I would like share them here.

I came across an interesting post about women by Twiggy. Speaking of which, makes me think about how much a woman sacrifices in her married life. I bet these sacrifces come along as we go about life, it's a continuous decision we've to make. Perhaps it's due to conventional perception of a woman's role in the family & the society, that these sacrifices are usually taken for granted. And failing to do so, that woman would be despised by the society.

As a woman, have you ever thought about :
1. How ready you are to make sacrifices?
2. If you are ready, what are the sacrifices are you willing to make? (eg. your work, time, dignity etc.)
3. Are you willing to compromise with your spouse?
4. If you are not willing to compromise or sacrifice your stuffs, are you going to "force" your spouse to do it instead?
5. If #4 doesn't work, will you think twice about getting married to the man you thought was your Mr. Right?

Of course there are more questions to think of, but it just got me thinking about the singlehood freedom I enjoyed currently. Of course there are certain sacrifices & compromises here and there, but I don't think it's not to a very serious of "magnificent" degree yet. But getting in a marriage is a big thing, it's a constant decision to stay true to your promises, to love your spouse and family, to be willing to give when the need occurs.

Also came across this interesting post by unknowngurl on why the ring (especially the wedding ring) is usually worn on the fourth finger. You may have heard of it before, it is basically :
1. Position your hands as if you are praying, all finger tips on right hand touching the matching finger tips on left hand.
2. Except for the middle fingers, you have to bend them in towards the palm of each hand, while making sure the other fingers stay in position as in #1.
3. While making sure the remaining fingers are still touching, try to separate these finger pairs in this sequence: thumbs, second finger, last finger and the fourth finger.

You will notice that it's very hard to separate the 4th finger no matter how hard you try. You will feel the pain when you force them to separate. And how does this relate to which finger you wear your ring? Here's the interpretation:

• Thumbs - your parents, you will leave them when you are independent, get married, and also they will leave you when they are of old age.
• Second finger - your siblings, you will separate when you are all grown up and have your own families.
• Last finger - your children, they will leave you when they are grown up and have their own families
• Fourth finger - your spouse, both of you stick together through ups and downs, and through your lives. And if you try to separate, you will feel the pain!

Got it? :-) Speaking of which, did u read the news about this man from China proposed to his girlfriend on AirAsia's inaugural flight from GuangZhou to Malaysia? I don't know if this sounds romantic to you ladies out there, but I certainly don't think I want that :P Think of what you are going to do and how are you going to react for the rest of your flight? Ish..nothing romantic about it at all. But something good did come out of it, the girl consented of course, and AirAsia granted the couple free return tickets to Phuket.

Guys, since you always say that you are the brainier lot, come out with better way to propose ok? ;-)

Mom's Fried Mihun

Let me set it straight before I start, I did not cook this. I only helped in preparing the ingredients, and a little of stirring and mixing the ingredients in the wok.

Mom was in her better moods on last weekend, so I helped her out in the kitchen. It was fried mihun for lunch. We had garlic, onions, cabbages, eggs, carrots, mushrooms, tomato, ikan bilis (anchovies) & of course mihun for ingredients. For flavouring, we used dark ketchup.

Some of the ingredients


Frying the chopped garlic, onions & anchovies. The scrambled eggs is shown at the bottom of the picture.


Throw in the vegetables and mihun, and stir fry.


More stirring & frying...


I realised I was too hungry at that time and proceeded to gulp down the mihun right after mom finished cooking. I forgot to snap a photo of the mihun serving :P

If you prefer something tomato-ish with noodles, you might want to check out tomato sauce mee.

KL-Putrajaya Highway Toll starts 17th Jan

Just got alerted by my colleague, the toll will begin from 12.01am on 17th Jan (Thursday)!

There are 2 toll plazas along the highway, and toll rates are as follow:
Salak Selatan : RM1.50 for cars
Putrajaya : RM2.50 for cars

Looks like one month FOC travel is over, I'll resume my old route to work tomorrow then... :-(

Related posts

• How to get on the KL-Putrajaya Highway from Cyberjaya.
• My test drive on the highway

Hainanese Cafe at Low Yat Plaza

I went to Low Yat last weekend, without the intention of buying any gadget. Ended up buying a wireless router, a headphone with mic, and a cd album. All these gonna cause a dent in my wallet this month. But I'm very excited and happy because I finally got wi-fi installed at home, yay! :D

So now I can surf and chat on my pda, any spot in the house. Haha..this is so cool! I kept shelving the idea of installing wi-fi at home, in the end the plan was realised through an impulse buy. tsk tsk... But I'm still problem with my work laptop connecting to wi-fi, probably some stupid security settings on it. Gotta try fixing it some day.

Before we got to the buying spree on that day, we had a quick bite at this Hainanese Cafe at the erm..it think it's the 1st or 2nd floor of Low Yat Plaza. We had almost walked past it, but the delicious roti bakar and aromatic hainanese coffee was too inviting. We sat ourselves down at high stools at the bar, which provided a good view of how the staff prepared the roti bakar and making the drinks.



We ordered a Special Hainanese Roti Bakar (RM2.50++) and Hainanese Ying Yong "Cham" drink (RM2.80++). The drink order came quickly, it's a mix of tea and coffee drink. The Roti Bakar came abit later, but it was worth the wait. The bread was soft, and a bit crispy at the sides, and slapped on with rich layer of melted butter and kaya. Yummy!



I also noticed they served other food here, they even have set lunches. I think this is a good place for a quick bite when you go shopping at Low Yat. I've also wrote about the Okonomiyaki stall at Low Yat if you crave for some Japanese fare.

Still toll free for KL-Putrajaya highway

I thought they were going to announced the toll price, but apparently not yet. I don't know what's holding them up. But it's good to know it's still toll free.

The KL-Putrajaya highway toll has not started yet as of today. The toll price is not displayed on the board yet, and no announcement from the government too. It was supposed to start this week. I shall keep on using it everyday free of charge :-)

Other posts

From thestar.com.my - Previous announcement of toll to start

How to get on the KL-Putrajaya Highway from Cyberjaya.

My test drive on the highway

It's finally ready!

Last Saturday I received a document delivered by courier service. I thought it was something I redeemed from my credit card points. But it turned out to be something better!

The studio apartment which I bought years ago is finally ready for vacant possession. Yes!!! Wait until my neck also long already :P And the new shopping centre located just opposite the road has just newly opened too.

I'm planning to get the keys next week with dad and step into the new unit. Ooh...I'm so excited! I don't plan to stay there, but it sure feels like stepping into your first house. I plan to snap some pictures of it, and post them here.

Homemade garlic bread

Mom bought lots of garlics on the recent grocery shopping trip. So she told me to make some homemade garlic bread. Since yesterday was a public holiday, I woke up early and set myself to it.










The only ingredients you need:
1. Garlics (I used 3 whole garlics)
2. Butter
3. Wholemeal Bread (you can use white bread or whatever plain bread you have)


Here's how to do it:
1. Remove the garlic skin - I smashed the garlic a little so that it's easier to remove the skin.
2. To save time and for better garlic spread, blend the garlics without adding water (use a blender lah).

3. Spread butter on the breads and lay the breads on a pan ( i suggest using a metal rack, later I'll tell you why).

4. Spread the blended garlic on top of the butter.

5. Put into oven/microwave. I'm still experimenting on the duration needed on my microwave oven. I'm using Pizza option, and I think it will better to put it for 8 minutes. If you are using oven, you might want to try 140 degrees for 6 minutes ?? (you try and tell me)

6. When oven timer goes off, remove the pan from oven and let the bread cool. Then EAT! (you can prepare some mushroom/chicken cream soup to go with it)

TADAaa...very easy right? The reason I suggest using a metal rack instead of a metal pan is because the bread get a big soggy at the bottom due to the heat which cannot vapourise from the bottom. A metal rack will allow the bread bottom to stay dry. You can store the leftover blended garlics in a glass bottle, add in some salt and sugar to preserve it. Then store in the fridge for next use. See below for the cooked bread. The colour is a little darker than the pre-cooked picture above.

Obesity surgery

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Planning and navigating your career

My mind is in a good planning mood today. I feel inspired, motivated and lots of ideas. But I needed to take some solid action, like putting my thoughts in black and white.

I want this year to be a good year for me, especially work wise. I want to map out which trainings I'm going to attend, any external conferences to join, any certification to achieve, and what are the great things I will deliver this year. Yeah..so that everything counts towards my year end appraisal and keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get a nice bonus.

I have been reading alot on personal development and planning your career. When I first started out my career path, I was naive in my thoughts and not sure where I'm heading to, or what could I do to go further. Few years down the road, you meet more people, read about stuffs, and you went through ups and downs, then you start to realise what are you going to do for the rest of your life? Then you start thinking...

I'm currenty reading How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. Though I'm still early parts of the book, but I think it's a good read for this new year. So far, I've learnt to take 100% responsiblity of your life, explore what is the purpose of my life and what I'll try to achieve.

Then yesterday I read about a senior people development staff in my company who wrote about navigating your own career. It got me thinking, apart of updating my resume once in a twilight, having appraisal and planning my development plan end of the year, I don't think I've done pretty much navigation in my career, much of it are probably lucky landings or call it timely opportunities if you must. So today I sat down and stared at a blank spreadsheet on my monitor... here's what I did...

I inserted a few tables into the spreadsheet with these headings:
Professional Trainings
1. Trainings/Courses attended
2. Professional Certifications
3. Conferences/Seminars attended
I listed out the above, with few details : types of training (classroom/online etc.), Organiser, and when attended.

Academic Background
I listed out my secondary till my last education level, including any special awards I received during those years.

Career Path
I listed out my career history till my present position, I also made a note of the salary I got for each position.

Assignments
In this section I listed out what are the notable assignments I've handled. I included the assigment name, role description, duration, responsibilities/deliverables, achievements/track records, manager-in-charge, teams/depts.

I agree it is quite similar to your resume, but the difference is that this is going to be a very detailed resume for yourself. Think of it as your X-file, your ultimate information are to be in this file. And I plan to review this file monthly and keep the contents evergreen. Also remember to incorporate them into your new year resolutions.

I will tell you why this file will come in handy.
1. Good for work appraisals - just whip out this file, extract a fit-for-purpose profile and voila! Show it to your appraiser on your achievement over the year. This will save you alot of time and effort rummaging through old emails, or any reports you have. Speaking of which, I will add the compliments and feedbacks that I received into this file too. Trust me, words from other people sound more convincing eventhough you may think you have not done much. Everything boils down to EVIDENCE!

2. Navigating your career - when you have whole career path drawn out before you, you will get to see where you've came from, your progress, your gaps and your strengths. Use this for your own SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities, threats) analysis. Then you will know where your next step/position should be. When you know where you want to be, then you will also know what you need to develop, and how to build your people network/relationships.

3. Ever ready to apply for a new job - enough said.

This is just my personal realisation and thoughts which I've chanced upon and read about over the years. And I hope this will help your planning in whatever way possible.

Smell the grass

I woke up late this morning, then I lost one of my contact lenses while putting it on. Everything seems to be in a rush because I was late.

But as I was driving along the new KL-Putrajaya highway, the road was clear, no traffic jams. The weather was lovely, everything was at peace. I winded down the car windows, and breathe in the fresh air...I could smell the freshly cut grass..and the wetness of the after shower air...aaah~~ everything seems nice.

What a lovely start to a day, all the rushing just dissappeared.

Pan Mee @ Taman Miharja

Food: Pan Mee
Location: Taman Miharja (the housing garden opposite Jusco Maluri)
Price: RM4.80 (small)
Side Order: Pork balls (RM2 for 12 balls)
Type of Eatery: Road side stall

I've been itching to try out the Pan Mee at Miharja for the past few weeks, ever since my sis told me about how tasty it is. And I was working from home on last Friday. So I took the opportunity to cari makan on that Friday's lunch.

I picked up my lil sis from school, sent her friend home, then got stucked in the jam for 20 mins before getting to the Pan Mee stall. I obviously do not know what's so special about this stall's pan mee, but I was determined to try it out. With my sis as the navigator, getting there was a breeze. If you know where PGRM or Jusco Maluri is, then locating this stall is pretty easy. See the self drawn map below. Coming from main road in front of Jusco, turn left when you see Caltex station. Then turn into the 2nd street on your left. You can start to find parking. The stall is in front of the flats, just beside the curb corner, under some big trees. You'll see the auntie and uncle manning the few big pots of soup. And you'll know it's the pan mee stall.

We ordered the pan mee (soup) each and add on a bowl of pork balls (zhu yok yun). Aaa..the pork balls are yummy. The pan mee soup is normal stuff with the vege and minced pork etc. But the differerence is, they add on the parsley (the garnishing leafy vege you normally get in the restaurant dishes). The parsley add a different kind of flavour to the soup. Personally, I think the pan mee is nothing special. The Pandan Indah pan mee would be better than this. Oh, the chillies...it was supert hot! See the pics I took of the food.

Give it a try and tell me if this stall's pan mee taste better. You can also see this blogger's review and more pics of this pan mee stall.