Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Holidays















































It's school holiday time now and yet I have not been updating. So it's actually not the work that's keeping us from updating our blogs. If you really want to do it, somehow you'll find the time to do it. So how has the holiday been so far? Many people I meet ask me whether I'm going anywhere for holiday and I told them I'll be holidaying at home. I don't think they see my point because most people usually think you have to go somewhere to holiday. For me, staying at home without having to think about work, without having to follow schedules and spending time with my loved ones is already holiday.










Anyway, after spending a fortune for a week's holiday in Australia during CNY this year, I don't think I should go overseas anymore this year. Better save up for next year's trip. Actually I wasn't staying at home all the time this holidays. I have made 2 trips to KL and there'll be one more trip at the end of the month. This is the time when the girls are having their semester breaks, so it's the time for the family to get together. With the girls away for studies for most of the year, the best time to spend the holidays would be to be home together. Anyway, they missed their favorite Penang food so it's time to enjoy it now. With more people eating it will be more worthwhile to cook more elaborate dishes. With only two of us eating, it is usually some simple food (and healthy of course).

On the way back from KL, we made a trip up Cameron Highlands. This is my first trip there. We were told the "new" road is less winding, so I decided to give it a try. The trip up is still winding so I can imagine how the "old" road is! Anyway, coming down wasn't that bad. Maybe I expected too much when I went up. The place is nice and the weather is cool. There isn't much to do there except visit farms and buying fruits and vegetables. Luckily I only booked a night's stay. A friend recommended the Restoran Tringkap. The food was cheap and good. The owners did not try to fleece the tourists. In fact the bill was half the amount I estimated. We went there the next day for steam-boat and the boss even suggest we order for three pax even though there were four of us. Luckily we folowed her advice, the four of us could hardly finish the food meant for three.










Thursday, November 13, 2008

Hey, I'm still alive !!!

Oh my! I know it's been a looooooooooong time since I posted anything but I didn't realize it's nearly 5 months. How time flies. Any visitor would have given up coming here. I often wonder how people can find the time to update their blogs everyday. I know everyone's busy and yet they can find time to do it. I guess if you really want to do it you can. But then sometimes you also need to find your privacy to write. I have given up trying to do it in my place of work, even though I'm using my 'free' time. Once in a while somebody will pop in and ask what you're doing. When I told somebody I was updating my blog, she said be careful, somebody got arrested! I really don't know what to answer! To some people blog = politics. I guess they heard about blogs but never really visited any.
You can't write anything if somebody is peering over your shoulder. Even though it's for public viewing, it's no fun when somebody stands behind and reads what you write, correcting your mistakes, suggesting alternatives and so on. But somehow I will find a chance to write . First I must think of what I want to write. Haha. This update is to tell everybody I'm alive and kicking, just plain lazy..........

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Winter Sonata












Pictures from my Korea trip back in 2005

My Place of Work

This is where I work.














Some more activities.


Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Retirement Age

Visitors to this blog would have probably given up checking for new postings. I don't blame them. The last post was 38 days ago! What a lousy blogger I am. I marvel at those who can sustain the momentum of updating daily or so often. Where do they find the time? The last time I tried to update during my free time at work, I had to exit without publishing anything because I had to attend to something that cropped up. Somehow there are other things to look for when I'm online at home that I usually forget I have a blog to update!
This post is about the option for the government servants to choose whether to extend the retirement age from 56 to 58. From the responses we hear, one thing is for sure. All the men I know of have indicated quickly their decision of extending to 58. The women, however, are still thinking and undecided. Some women have declared without hesitation their firm decision of not extending. In conclusion, most men will work until 58 and many women will stop at 56. Any of you know the reason? Do post your comments, especially the women, and let us know why women are reluctant to work till 58 but the men are so eager.
I remember when the announcement was made by the PM on 10th May 2008, my friend quickly sent the news to my phone, knowing I'll be delighted to hear the news. Soon the news spread quickly and it was inspiring to hear my colleagues telling me they heard the news and there're happy that I will still be with them after next year. Some of my subordinates actually expressed relief I'll still be manning the reins.They didn't even ask me if I'll extend or not. They just know I'll extend and they say they are happy we'll still be working together. I hope they mean what they say because it's good to know your service and work is being appreciated and people are actually happy you'll still be around. On the other hand, they could just be trying to be polite and said some nice things. I don't really know what's in their hearts but I choose to believe what I hear.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Decisions

Making decisions is part of life. From trivial decisions like deciding what to wear, what to eat, which channel to watch, which route to take to save time and petrol to major decisions which affect our lifes, we are given choices everyday and we have to make decisions. My colleague lamented to me of the decision he has to make. Why must they give me the choices? Now I'll have a hard time choosing, he said. People sometimes do not want choices because it's not easy to choose especially if the choice is going to have a great impact on you or your loved ones. But sometimes we feel lucky that we have choices to make rather than being forced to take up something without alternatives.
But whatever decisions we make, we must learn to look forward and not keep looking back and wondering whether we made the right choice. We will probably never know the outcome of the other choice. So it's not good to keep thinking what if I had made the other choice. We should instead make the best out of the choice that we have decided on and go ahead to make it work.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Shenzhen, China



















Some of my friends quite liked the photos I took during my trip to Shenzhen in 2006. Besides the tourist attraction "Window of the World" there's another similar attraction nearby called "Splendid China"> Here you can see miniaturised versions of tourist attractions from all over China. Like "Window of the World" , the place is huge and you have plenty of walking to do. If you plan to visit these two places, allocate a day for each place so you can take your time and move around. The ticket to "Splendid China" includes a cultural performance in the evening. This is indeed a spectacular performance, not the usual cultural dance show. The props and special effects are simply awesome. These two places are easilyaccesible by MRT. The furthest destination costs only RMB5. Shopping in Shenzhen is also much cheaper than in Hongkong. So if you plan to make a visit to Shenzhen, you need at least 3 days.

New State Government of Penang Awards Outstanding Students

The new state government continues to win the hearts of the rakyat by awarding last year's top SPM and STPM students. The people of Penang are indeed happy to see these high achievers being rewarded. Of course, I'm also very happy. I collected RM200 on Denise's behalf. There's also a certificate signed by the CM himself. We also had the honour of shaking hands with Lim Guan Eng on the stage. That's me receiving the award from Lim Guan Eng on behalf of Denise.

At the end of the ceremony the other receipients from MGS took a photo with the MGS Principal and the CM.
These awards were given to SPM students who got all 1A's and STPM students who got 4.00 for their CGPA. There were also 6 special awards given to the best 6 SPM students and best 3 STPM students. When one of the top 6 awards was awarded to one of the MGS girls, we were at first puzzled as to why she was singled out since the other 7 MGS girls did equally well, if not better . Later we realized that the awards were actually given to reflect the racial composition: 2 Chinese, 2 Malays, 2 Indians . That explains why someone with CGPA 3.92 was awarded the top 3 STPM students of Penang despite scores of others with perfect 4.00 CGPA. The top 3 awards were actually for the top Chinese, top Malay and top Indian STPM student from the state.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

More Cooking Suggestions.

Oven Dishes.
You can bake chicken, fish or pork. Try various types of marinating, just like for steaming. You can use oyster sauce, salt and sugar, sesame oil and pepper; or use chinese herbs (soak it in a little hot water before adding to the chicken, add salt for taste. The only difference is the cooking time. For baking, you need 40 minutes instead of 15 minutes for chicken. If it is boneless, 20-30mins is sufficient. You can also buy pre-marinated chicken or pork or beef from the supermarket. Or get the ready-made pizza or shepherd's pie and bake it in the oven. Its still very much cheaper than eating out.
Stir-fry Chicken Meat.
You can stir-fry with shitake mushroom, fresh button mushroom or whatever mushroom available. As usual, marinate the chicken pieces (bite size) with soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper and corn flour. Fry some ginger then add the chicken followed by the mushroom then add some water to make the gravy. Add a litte bit of oyster sauce, black sauce and salt. Instead of mushroom, you can use potatoes but the potatoes need to be pre-cooked by steaming or boiling or deep-fried. If you use onions and tomatoes also but its nicer to add some sugar, lime juice or vinegar. The gravy will usually thicken by itself because of the corn flour used during marinating.
One Dish Meals
Fried Noodles
Boil some water and pour it over some instant noodles.Fry some scrambled eggs, dish out first. Add some oil, fry chopped garlic, marinated chicken meat, bean sprouts (or shredded cabbage or shredded carrot) some choy sam. Drain the noodles and add to the ingredients (turn to low heat) Add oyster sauce, black sauce, soy sauce and mix well. Add the eggs and mix. Turn off the heat.
You can fry rice the same way.
For beehoon soup, add water to the cooked ingredients, add seasoning then add presoaked bee-hoon. (no need to soak in hot water- use cold water) No need bean sprouts or carrot. Add mushroom instead.
http://www.chinatownconnection.com/chicken_fried_rice_recipe.htm
Chicken or Pork Porridge
Use 8 ups of water for every cup of rice. Add some salt, chicken stock in the water. when the water is boiling, add the marinated chicken meat cut in cubes. Nicer to eat with garlic oil or sesame oil + pepper. For garlic oil heat oil in microwave oven on high for 3 minutes. Add chopped garlic and heat on high for another 2-3 mins depending on the amount. Always try 2 mins first, if not brown then heat again for 1 min each time until golden brown.
Chicken rice
Cook rice like usual but reduce the amount of water (less half a cup) Add some salt, ginger slices and chicken stock in the water.When rice is about to dry, add the marinated chicken meat (and mushroom) Cover and let it cook until rice is ready. Don't turn off the rice cooker too soon. Give at least 15 minutes cooking time. Sitr well before serving.