the quirky way of @clauds.

That’s me!

I am quirky in some kind of ways. Like how I am scared of dinosaurs and stuff. So here’s another quirky fact about me!

I talk to insects.

Yes, I believe that they understand English/Mandarin and that there’s always a solution that does not involve my parents or the can of shieldtox in my room.

The most common phrase I use will be “..if you stay here, I am going to have to call my mum/dad and they will kill you. you don’t want to die, do you? so goo! window is that way!! *points*”

And when I start to panic, it will just be, “..*screams* baby, go away! GO AWAY!’

Oh, and all insects are male by default. I don’t know. It’s always, “Good boy!” when they decide to fly or crawl towards the direction of the exit!

Hmmm. Maybe that’s why talking to them won’t work most of the time. Cause they are boys! And boys don’t listen. Hmmmm.

the ways of a hakka (:

CNY is barely a week away and my mum has officially started making the 2 must-have for our annual CNY dinner – 算盘子and 娘豆腐. And today, I helped to make the former!

Do you know? In Hakka, 算盘子 (abacus seed)  is called “Wu Zi Ban” ? (:

算盘子 is basically made of tapioca starch powder and yam.

i didn't know what this is until i snapped it :p

First, you steam both the tapioca starch with the yam!

steamed!

Then you blend them together! My mum used a blender because she said that she’s getting old and has no energy. I offered to help but she said I have no muscles so I cant do it SO! If you want to do it the traditional way, knead them with your hands! Otherwise, a blender will do too.

blended 'dough'.

scooping them out.

After that comes the fun part! The making of the abacus!! First, you take out a small chunk then you roll them into a ball!

roll. roll.

Then, using your thumb and forefinger gently make a dent in the center!

press gently.

And VIOLA! You have one 算盘子 done!

It’s apparently wrong to have fingernails marks on your 算盘子. Lucky I cut my nails! Here’s some of my mum’s not so successful ones Note: No worries, we cleaned our hands and nails before making!

redo!

I was asking my mum why they call it 算盘子 when abacus seeds have no holes in the center. And my mum went, “..silly! there’s a hole in the center for the rod!” OHHHHH!  :P

Guess which is mine!

can you guess which plate is mine? Hint: my mum said mine looks like Halls sweet!

After making the 算盘子s, you boil them in water!

boil boil double boil.

dump them in!

Then you wait for them to float!

the early risers!

Before you scoop them up!

ding ding!

Pour abit of oil to prevent them from sticking to each other, let them cool and you can now store them in the fridge!

ready for storage!

Of course, 算盘子 is not just yam and tapioca starch! Before consuming them, you need to fry it with shiitake and erm.. *runs to take cheat sheet* bulb of garlic, minced meat, shrimp, chilli, pepper and soy sauce! If you are a vegetarian, fret not! Just fry with shiitake and minced tofu! Leave out the meat and shrimp (:

Mum will be cooking the first batch on Wednesday for the Social Media pals (: YAY! While I insist that they will be happy with half a box, she wants to give them ONE box. So guys, be prepared!

mum's back view! she said, "No pictures!"

We’re taking a break now. Mum’s off to buy more yam, I think. She’ll be making 娘豆腐 (yong tao fu) on Wednesday. If I can stand the stench of meat, I’ll make sure to take some pictures and post them up (:

More photos at Facebook! That’s 2 Hakka food I can cook now! 算盘子 and 雷茶！

Answer: The one on the left (:

teachers.

I’ve been wanting to write this for ages but alas! The procrastination monster got to me.

While walking to the MRT station on one hot sunny afternoon, I walked passed 2 teachers from my secondary school. I remembered one as the accounting teacher from next door and the other, the teacher who brought me down when I was in Sec 2.

Now, I don’t think I am going to rant or bitch about her. But instead, I am going to talk about teachers who has made a difference in my life. Who gave me that extra ohm-ed when I needed them. Who was there for me when I gave up on myself. Teachers that made me who I am today.

1. the pre-school days.

I was an extremely shy and quiet kid when I was young. And I cried for 6mths (yes, months! not weeks or days!) when I first went to nursery school. My teachers could have just ignored me and told my parents to bring me home. But nope! My principal and teacher then spent time to coax me. To make sure I was alright. Even till now, I can still remember crying in the principal room while both my teachers tried to sayang me (:

And even after I stopped crying, both the principal and teacher checked up on me regularly. To make sure I was alright. And I guess, it was from there, I grew a bit more confident of myself.

2. the primary school days.

Random: I can still remember my first day in P1. My parents were so worried that I’m going to cry. They stood outside of the classroom and kept waving at me. I remembered sitting in the classroom and telling myself, “..Nope. I will not cry! Brave brave brave!”  (:

Primary school was pretty normal. Nothing much there.

3. Secondary school days.

Ahh. Sweet sweet memories (: Where should I start?

Mrs Ang. My form teacher from Sec 1. I don’t know where to start! I guess, the best example would be when she told me, “..I like the way you read/speak. Very engaging..” and after that? I have no problems with speaking in front of a big crowd. She was always dishing out words of encouragement at the right time (: A teacher who was always there. Writing journals is like writing a letter to her. She reads every single one of them and replies to you. A teacher and a friend !

Mrs Chu. My biology teacher. I don’t like that she sets really hard Biology test sometimes. But when I first started making morning announcement, she gave me tips on public speaking and told me when I’ve improved.

Mrs Ong. My cousin! heh. Well…..You know lah For the pep talk in Sec2. For checking if I am alright. For being a role model. For showing me that I can be as RAA-RAA as I want to be (:

Miss Lau. She was there for me when my mum went for an op near my O’levels period.

4. the JC days.

I only have one person to thank. Mr Nandwani.

Out of the 12 years of studying, I encountered the hardest obstacle in J2. I failed my prelims and I totally gave up.

But Mr Nandwani didn’t. He started making me write Econs essay once every week then twice every week then thrice every week. After that he’ll mark them and then find time to go through everything with me. I still remember there was once he asked, “..I know you are feeling tired and a little depressed. But don’t give up. Push just that little bit more!” Somehow, that gave me the energy to fight really hard for myself (:

Happy to say that I shot from a F to a B within 2 months! And when I last saw Nandwani, he said, “..You could have got an A. WRITE FASTER!!” LOL! Yes, I write like a tortoise.

OHOH! And I also want to thank BERNICE! When I failed GP, my GP tutor came to me, “..You are the 2nd lowest in the ENTIRE cohort..” and gave me that sad look. Like I will NEVER pass my A’level. But but! Bernice went home, highlighted and flagged a book of essay and told me to read them (: And guess what? From having the 2nd lowest score in the ENTIRE cohort (which is a D7), I got B4 for my GP for A’level!! WHEEEE~

Oh and when I saw my GP teacher, she went, “..Good..” and waited. Like she’s waiting for me to thank her. BOO! NEVER! You didn’t even help ONE bit.

5. the moral of the story?

Teachers make a great impact on their students.

As a teacher, you should not be refuse to help a student just because it’s TOO MUCH WORK. All the great teachers that I have met, they inspire me. I want to be a teacher because I want to make a difference (omg. i sound so MOE). I want to make someone feel the way my teachers made me feel (: I know I can’t help ALL. But one is enough! Ripple effects, yes?(:

Okay, I cant remember what else i want to say :X

my favorite flower(:

I am not a flower person per se. I think they are almost always a waste of money! So up until 2008, I never had a favorite flower.

When my mum was in the hospital, back in 2008, flower baskets from friends and relatives all contained one single flower. And that’s gerbera -

flower basket from the sister's boss (:

And I kind of fell in love with it (: No idea why though! And to cheer me up, back in 2009, Ridz surprised me with them!

orange!

And I guess, it’s the only flower that you can give to me without me nagging and yelling at you for wasting money!

The Deyi-gang also bought me a bunch for my convocation (:

convocation bouquet! (:

And yups(: Just googled and apparently, gerbera signifies/mean -

..gift of cheer. innocence and purity. beauty. cheerfulness.

Heh. And since CNY is approaching, I’m thinking of getting a few stalks to place in my room (: But first, I need to head to IKEA to get a pretty vase!

I love gerbera ! <3

Uniquely Singapore Clipper – the bimbotic account!

Now that I am done with the ’serious’ post, I can now do the candid and more bimbotic post! (: This is where I write everything I cannot write in the article! Because if I write them in, I am sure *cough cough* will give me hell. URGH.

ANYWAYS! Everyone knows I am photoblogging for STB right? (: And because of that, I was invited to go on board the Singapore Clipper for a ride/shoot!

The morning started off pretty bad. Waited half an hour for the cab, feminine problems and just plain old cranky! But when I reach Marina @ Keppel Bay, KABOOM! Mood began to change just that little bit (:

(:

As we climbed up the Clipper, I tell you…I nearly fainted. Okay, clear your mind of all thought! Imagine climbing up a ladder, and with every step you climbed, you see more of what’s above. And then KABOOM! You see guys with yummy arms in red t-shirt flanking both sides of the clipper! HOT! I was totally speechless that I didn’t know what to do! So when the skipper said hi to me, I dumbly reached out my hands and introduced myself. MALU!!!!

But you CANNOT blame me! I was the only girl on board! I almost hyperventilated Sexy arms *drools*

victor coming on board!

ANYWAYS! It was such a beautiful day (: The sun was BRIGHT ! And the sea breeze was cooling (: So many of us had shades on that, we started taking pictures of our reflections!

me, evon and victor!

When we first set sail, the girls were pretty much screaming. Especially when the Clipper was turning or when the wind blew so hard that the Clipper leaned towards one direction! But after awhile, we got used to it! Some of us even tried our hands at steering the Clipper! No, I didn’t try! Claudsification index was undetermined that day!

evon trying her hands at steering!

the boss addicted to steering!

And then, we went down to the cabin where I had to used the toilet! I tell you….if you are claustrophobic, you better stay away from the toilet!

the TOILET.

First, the ‘door’ is just denim-quality cloth and it ZIPS. Yes, like a skirt, you ZIP it up to close it! And once it’s closed, it’s DARK! You cannot turn without knocking into the toilet bowl. And with the boat rocking all the time, it’s hard not to knock into the toilet bowl! It was a good thing I didn’t need to use the toilet toilet. If not, I need to pump 20 times to flush the toilet! TOUGH! Washing hands can be quite challenging too! You had to step on pedals and then try to wash your hands. Since your feet is on the pedal, your balance is koyak! So, it’s quite hard and almost impossible to wash your hands in peace :X

Of course, we had a fun time cam-whoring! While walking to the front of the Clipper, I have no idea what came over me! I guess I was tired of holding on to the railings and walking like a granny. So I just let go of the railings and CHARGED forward. HAHAHAH! One of the crew member saw it and went, “BRAVE GIRL!” *bows* For a klutz, I think that’s a HUGE compliment!

Camwhore time!

pose!

pose!!

and again!

The (recovering) emo princess at work!

my prince will come!

what lies ahead for me ?

bullied and made to take picture hahah.

But the best pose has to be Ben’s!

I CAN FLY!!!

Sexy leh! *hands over bucket to readers*

Oh! And I absolutely love this (candid) shot of me! The photographer quite zai!

whee~

OH! And one of the crew member is the same age as me! How cool is that?

cant remember his name:X

All in all, we had an EXCELLENT time. Well, at least I did (: I got a mini-tan that I love too!

So, thank you, Ben, Lionel and STB for the invite (: I LUB YOU!

group shot!

Confession of a Shopaholic(:

I missed this in the cinema. How can right! It’s like THE chick flick of the year or something. I loved the book up till Rebecca Bloomwood gave birth (at which point I grew sick of her bimbo-ness).

Storyline is slightly different from the book. Not the major story but the small ones like Luke Brandon’s background and Rebecca’s best friend (if my memory serves me right).

And of course, Rebecca Bloomwood looks less glamorous in the movie than she was described in the book. While Luke Brandon is much more yummy than he was described in the book.  NOT! That I am complaining. HOWEVER! I am going to complain that for a show about shopping, the fashion is kind of a FLOP. Even the shoes can barely make it! I prefer the clothes and shoes in “Sex and the City” or “The Devil Wears Prada”. Too much ruffles in my opinion.

ANYWAYS! Pretty much a chick flick. Except that the story woven into it is rather different. In a typical chick flick, the story revolves around the couple. You know, girl+guy (GG) falls in love, they fight and they get back together. This movie, however, focuses on the girl (: How Rebecca Bloomwood, a shopaholic, ends up working for a savings magazine. Got famous before everyone found out she’s a sham. If you read the book, you know the story!

I quite like how she paid her debt with coins (: And the auction! Even though you know that the secret bidder for the green scarf is Luke. Of course, I loved the ending when Luke shows up and gave her the green scarf. Happy ending *sigh*

In a nutshell: Read the book, then watch the movie You will love both but reading the book first might help you catch on to the movie faster(:

4 popcorns out of 5 (:

[Note: Wonder if they are making a movie for  "Can you keep a secret?".]

beautiful sunrise(:

I really dont know what to say (: I thought sunrise will be the same today as it is everyday else. But I was wrong.

Went to bed at 5.45am and woke up at 7am. Almost stayed in bed cause I thought it was too cloudy but I’m glad I woke up in the end! (:

This was what I saw first -

very red (:

I was so excited and happy that I almost danced in my own room :X Stood and look for awhile before realising I should probably capture some photos Compact failed me for once. It was too overexposed but I always have d300 to count on

The dad was quite surprised to see me awake too! When he saw me he was probably thinking I am going to rant at him but instead I went, “..THE SUN IS VERY RED TODAY!!! *dash off to take picture*” LOLS!!

trying to sneak some shots from the living room window(:

I think maybe I should sleep earlier this week and actually go for a run and take some shots. I am pretty sure the shots will be nicer a few blocks down and a few level up (: Maybe, just maybe

Now I am having ideas of capturing the first sunset of CNY Hurhur. I will most definitely look like a panda

Anyhoos! GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE! Happy Tuesday (:

so very happy (: