Short shorts

Call me anal and conservative...but really! I balk in disgust whenever I see younglings who come to the office decked out in short shorts. I am, of course, conditioned in my entire working life that shorts (short shorts or not) are typical no-nos when it comes to office attire. While spaghetti-strapped tops are almost always allowed, some kind of decency and professionalism in attire has to be maintained by putting on a jacket whenever you go for a meeting.And that's usually something one can get away with when working in an office environment. Now, with shorts typically, it is hard to cover up; unless of course you decide to don on a sarong over it.

Maybe I come across as a tight wad when it comes to such things...but in my (professional) opinion, wearing short shorts to the office is just something we don't and should not ever do. I have in my time chided my staff nicely (and in private too) when I see them in short shorts....especially if we have to go for a client's meeting. Sad to say, the staff in question did not think I have the right to comment on her dressing even though I was her direct superior then and became extremely unfriendly to me thereafter. I did hear that she was not too happy about me commenting on her and told her peers that she did not like me very much for it. It was obvious that she thought she did not do anything wrong and that short shorts are perfectly an alright ensemble in a professional office environment. Obviously, my comments fell on deaf ears...
I bumped into this particular staff again today after not seeing her for more than 3 months since I moved to a new team. I was actually walking right behind her. Needless to say, she was wearing her signature attire. Without much effort, my eyeballs went a-rolling. It was a shame that I was just a tad too late in taking out my phone to snap a pic of her from behind in her short shorts!

Is it just me being a tight wad or do people of today's generation really think it is cool to go to the office in shorts and hot-pants? The office really isn't a runway or a beach front, is it.

Almost missed it again, but!

I finally made it to the long awaited pilates class on a weekday, Thursday evening!

I almost gave up trying to make it when I got pulled into an impromptu discussion into the boss's office as I was packing up my stuff to make my exit out of the office. Luckily it was a short one, but it did cut into my travelling time.

I ended up being late for 15 minutes when I could have easily been on time. But at least, I F.I.N.A.L.L.Y made it after 2 months of trying. I can now pat myself on the back for trying really hard to make it.

Funny Commercial

This commercial is quite funny.

Fudge oh! Fudge

This is Fudge's recent handiwork:

She first started her stunt last week by creating havoc in the store-room where we keep the cats' food by eating through the plastic. We were wondering why she made a hell lot of noise, as despite having quite a full-bowl of dry cat food, she just would not let up! She would not quit ransacking the store room and strangely, instead of attacking the cans of WET food we have in there, she went straight for one of the bags! Later on, Silver Bullet discovered that the reason why she did what she did was only because she wanted some F.R.E.S.H food... We could only shook our heads in amazement.

Just this evening, she created the ruckus again. When Fudge creates a din, boy!oh!boy! did she demand for some serious attention. And trust me on this,  she can be the most annoying thing in the world. We were wondering why she kept screaming her head off as Silver Bullet had already topped up her bowl with fresh cat food, only for her to sniff at in disgust and immediately walked away. She then started clawing and eating through one of the bags again. The only strange thing though  was that she did not immediately go for the first bag in line, a "Hairball Control" bag. The very same variant which we have been feeding the cats intermittently for a couple of weeks now.

This time though, instead of  attacking the first bag she saw, she picked out the one in between. Somehow, as strange and morbid as it sounded, she seemed to knowingly select one of the bags with an "Optimal Care"  instead of the "Hairball control" variant. While Andy and Donut could not care less, it was as if Fudge was trying to tell us something! We speculated on this for a while, and perhaps "Optimal Care" tasted better, but thought that it was a little bit too far-fetched. After all, this is Fudge we are talking about. She's a trash can. She eats anything, and hardly fussy about her food.

The more we ignored her, the more noise she made. She was becoming more than just a handful. She was just a relentless tyrant! Given the bag already had plenty of holes in it, we just decided to mix the 2 variants together and top-up the bowls with more of the "Optimal Care" variant. Lo and Behold! Fudge went straight to her bowl, ate enthusiastically and there was not a bleep from her thereafter!

I don't know whether to laugh or to cry at her antics.

Oh! and by the way, the cats DO shed their fur like crazy when they were fed with the  "Hairball Control" variant of the Science Diet brand.

Irukandji

Tiny but deadly.

And I thought that the box jellyfish is the most venomous of all jellyfish, until we caught an episode of  "TV with Teeth" on Animal Planet which happened to  feature the Irukandji.

This particular species of jellyfish fascinates me. For the life of me, I never knew of their existence till today! They all are so,so darn tiny that it is really hard to believe that the venom in each Irukandji packs more than a punch. Apparently, its venom is 100 times as potent as that of a cobra, and 1000 times as potent as that of a tarantula. They will certainly make you more than dead!

A very beautiful creature indeed. So beautiful and mysterious that I think I can just stare and watch them the whole day if I ever get to it. Just look at those delicate and fancy tentacles.They literally got me, this one, and they pique my curiosity. I really can't believe I never knew about this before!

My foot!

There's one thing I don't understand about the concept of foot massage here.

A foot (or a pair of feet) by definition  as defined by the online dictionary, is essentially the lower extremity of the vertebrate leg that is in direct contact with the ground in standing or walking.

By that definition alone, if I go for a foot massage, I would naturally assume that the massage will be largely concentrated on my feet.What I don't get is why most  masseuse who give a foot massage would concentrate their effort on the calves and thighs rather than the feet itself.  99% of the time, the masseuse in most massage places  here will tend to focus 80% of their effort and time on the calves and thighs.It's a foot massage for crying out loud! Unless of course, you tell them upfront.
 
But then again, the moment you tell them to focus only on the feet, they look at you as if you are a moron, or got all confused by giving you more pressure on the calves and thighs. Sometimes, they just completely ignore you ever said anything and pretended they did not hear anything as they put your legs at their mercy.
 
There have been only a few times where some masseuse would acknowledge and obliged to my request of "more on the feet, please". However, they are very far and between. I can easily count the number of those who obliged to my request and did as they were told on my one foot!

M'sian Cuisine

5 years we fantasized about authentic Malay food in Bangkok. FIVE.FREAKING.YEARS.

We only have Vicvanvinkle to thank, for it was she who dropped me a line complete with name and address of the place, telling me about the existence of this place. And all because she happened to see it being mentioned on one of the programs on Singapore TV. How bizarre is that! Bless you, Vic!

Anyhow, given my recent craving for some authentic Roti Prata recently, we decided to do a Sunday lunch at this halal and authentic Malaysian Restaurant. I reckon, it probably is the only ONE here.

It's a small, cosy and a humble eatery. Not many people were there when we came in, but I was ready for some serious Malay-style food. The menu has loads of variety of food which I am very familiar with. So familiar that I could almost taste the individual dishes as I read the dishes on menu one by one. We ended up ordering 5 dishes: Nasi Lemak Special, Roti Canai Telur, Nasi Goreng Ayam, Chicken/Beef Satay as well as  Beef Rendang.

While it wasn't the best M'sian cuisine I have ever had, given I'm such a food snob when it comes to street-food, I must admit that the food experience was not all that disappointing either. Although the food is not something I would rave about, I 'll definitely come back should the cravings strike again. After all, there were plenty more dishes we have yet to try; and we definitely have to make several more visits to sample everything!

The teh tarik, though,  is one I'd die for. I just love that hot, raw, authentic and potent taste of a very good teh tarek capable of taking me back to the good ole days of teh tarek moments from a while back.

Just having that with a Roti Canai (or Prata) and I'm a very saisfied, happy camper for the day.

Fudge in inertia

in·er·tia [in-ur-shuh, ih-nur-]

Definition:

Fudge's physical mass at rest, giving the impression to her owners that she has had a rough day and needed some time out by importing herself to a different world.

State of mind:

In a serious contemplation of her impending next move of when and how to cause the next mischief.

Stuck in the carpark

The whole of Bangkok went shopping today. They ALL must have gone to Paragon.

What was supposed to be just a go jalan-jalan on a harmless Saturday afternoon for a no more than 2 or 3 hours of leisurely household shopping, turned out to be quite a joke. Not only were we stuck in traffic for more than half an hour to get to Paragon which essentially was a mere 10 minutes away by the BTS, we also spent almost TWO HOURS stranded within Paragon’s car park and circling within it while trying to find a parking space. Silver Bullet was getting rather agitated by it all and after a whole TWO FRIGGING HOURS, we decided to abandon the idea and drove out of Paragon. The decision was made without ever finding a parking spot or even got out of the car to step into Paragon. We decided to just head towards home. Even driving out of the Paragon’s car park took at least another half an hour before we hit the main road.

The main road of Sukhumvit is getting really ridiculous. One advice: Always, always, always take the BTS and avoid driving as much as you can if you intend to go to the big malls along Rachaprasong.

What another exciting way to spend a Saturday afternoon in Bangkok!

State of being

Patience...NONE.

Irritability....HIGHEST HIGH.

Tolerance...FADING FAST.

Sensitivity...ACUTE.

Temper...A LOOSE CANON.

Empathy...LOST.

Kindness...NOT HAPPENING.

Sanity...SCREWS LOST.

...that pretty much summed up my state of being in the last few days. Having a lingering cold post the food poisoning incident has not been much help either.

Believe you, me...they definitely ain't the most wonderful feelings in the world. But, I'm not about to get used to them; rather, I just need to get over it.

And F.A.S.T!

Time for cat therapy.

Not meant to be?

It has been weeks after weeks after weeks since I put my mind to attend one of those Pilates classes during the weekday to complement my Saturday session. It used to be a near impossible mission to commit myself to go during the weekdays simply because they commence class at 5pm. Unless I’m a tai-tai who can afford not to work, there is no way in hell I could make the 5pm classes on any weekday of the week due to work commitment.

In the last 2 months however, I was informed that they shifted one of the weekday classes to start at 5.45 pm instead. That sent me over the moon as it makes for a decent time for me to just able to make it. Truth be told, I tried very hard to make it to class on every single Thursday of the week for the past 2 months. Every single time.

To date, I still haven’t gone yet.

The very first time I decided to go was hampered by an unforeseen crisis at work, which left me pretty pissed off. I was already packing up to leave when I was requested to attend an urgent meeting that over-ran for a few hours more and I ended up staying at the office a little later than usual.

The next few subsequent weeks were again disrupted by the because of the political crisis in Bangkok, followed by another week of work commitment (again!); and then, before I knew it, I was taken ill last week.

I was supposed to be able to go today…but just as I was about to pack up and head out of the office, I received a call from the Pilates Studio informing me that the class has been cancelled for the day. It seemed like the instructor has taken ill and having severe diarrhea. There goes another well-intent plan.

It really was probably just a case of "not meant to be".

What I would give...

to sink my teeth into a a hot, freshly-made yet soft, fluffy and light dough of prata telur dipped with fish curry.

It really isn't too much to ask for, is it?  Sigh...times like this, I wish I'm in Singapore to be able to satisfy my craving for an egg prata, which can be found almost anywhere. Afterall, just ONE prata telur is all I would need. I guess I will be thinking about my prata telur for a long time to come now...

*sob*sob*

From the lens of Silver Bullet

Shots as seen from the lens of Silver Bullet from our last weekend getaway:

a) View from the pool


b) Silver Bullet's dinner of cheese platter
I went into this cheese room and while I was amazed at the wide range of cheese available for consumption, I could not, for the life of me, stand the piercing smell of cheese which completely engulfed the air-conditioned room! I started gagging within seconds while kaypo-ing on the type of cheese I might like that were available for consumption. Only an ultimate cheese-lover would appreciate such stench...

c) Pillows, pillows and pillows!

These ultimate softness pillows were the centre of my life for 2 consecutive days. It so happened that Silver Bullet caught me canoodling with 6 of these pillows while I was watchingTV as he walked out o the bathroom; and he could not help clicking a picture or two while laughing at my silliness. Forget about the fact that I've got my face up here. That wasn't the reason why I put them up,; rather, my main reason was more from a photography perspective. I just thought that the composition looked right and that Silver Bullet had captured these nicely.

Mid-week "adventure"

There is always something "exciting" happening in my life one way or another. There really is no other way to describe the adventure...or in this case misadventure. Like the cats' strange affinity to the vet where we used to spend most of our weekends for either a check-up, a jab or some other emergencies, I also seem to also have the same strange affinity for either the dentist or the hospital for an emergency visit. Most of the time, an involuntary one.

Just this week alone, I have already gone to B.O.T.H the dentist and the hospital for an emergency visit on two consecutive days. The dentist visit on Tuesday was yet another impromptu visit as the filling which was done on my tooth about a month ago broke when I was having lunch. That obviously annoyed the hell out of me...but I was glad that it was nothing damaging. A fix was all I needed and they did not even charge me for it.

The visit to the hospital yesterday, meantime, got me an immediate admission to the ward. While I have had rather active bowel movements in the last 3 days at least, I did not think anything of it. At least, nothing too serious. Only when I started experiencing severe diarrhoea, stomach cramps and vomiting, did I finally walked my ass off to the hospital from the office. It appeared that I may have had some kind of food poisoning or a stomach bug. Hence, the doctor strongly advised to put me on a drip for 24 hours as my body was practically expelling every single thing I consumed. This made it my second hospital stay-over in my 5 years in Bangkok, and truth be told I hardly ever fall sick when I was in Singapore; let alone being warded overnight!

It wasn't fun to say the least. The first time they tried to find a vein on my hand hurt like hell. It hurt so much in the middle of the night that the nurse had to try to find another vein on the other hand. TWICE. All while I'm feeling extreme fatigue, nauseated and having intermittent cramps. I hate those drip machines.

Needless to say, I was put on a strict liquid diet. While I realised I don't have that much of an appetite to eat anything and everything under the sun without anticipating as as much as a projectile vomit, I don't see why a liquid diet really had to taste bad. SO BAD. They already looked bad enough, and the taste! My oh my! It was like food for refugees. I'm inclined to think that refugees' food might taste better. 

I don't know what that white stuff was supposed to be, really. It was a cross of boiled rice and some kind of oats, maybe, but  had no taste whatsoever. That yellow stuff is meant to be some kind of chicken soup and it was served to me 3x throughout my stay there. Needless to say, I can't even swallow more than 2-3 spoonfuls of those. Just looking at this picture here reminded me of the horror of taste and smell of that yucky, yellowy, piss-looking soup. Did they actually call that soup?!

The entire experience was not really pleasant, but right now, I'm glad I'm feeling slightly better and that they have allowed me to go home. At least, there's my version of sick food at home, lovingly prepared by Silver Bullet who patiently kept vigil (i,e snoring) by my side throughout the entire night at the hospital.

What a nasty, nasty bug I caught this time! 

Sambal Goreng (Pegantin)

Don't really know what got into me, and it wasn't craving that compelled me to try to make Sambal Goreng to be honest. It is usually served up in Malay weddings or some festive occasions and while I do like it, this is one dish where I haven't given much thought to even try making it.

Flipping through my recipe book trying ot decide what to cook for the evening, I thought that Sambal Goreng seems like an easy enough dish for an attempt. I guess one of the reasons I haven't thought much about making it is because of the type of meat being used. Some of which I have no idea where to find here in Bangkok.

Here's my version of Sambal Goreng with a little improvisation.

Ingredients A:

• 100g cow's heart - I omit this because I don't like inerts!
• 100g paru (cow's lungs) - Paru is the ONLY type of inerts I really like, but had to exclude it because I simply don't know where to get here
• 200g lean beef
• 200g tiger prawns
• Tofu - sliced (optional)

Ingredient B (paste):

• 10 dried red chillies (cut into pieces and soak in hot water for 10 minutes)
• 1 big red onion
• 10 shallots
• 5 garlic
• 2 lemongrass
• 1 cm galangal

[blend all of the above and set aside]

• 3 tspn sugar
• 50 ml coconut milk
• some oil

Method:

1. Boil all ingredients in A (except Tofu)
2. Heat up some oil in a pot. When hot, add in the blended ingredients of B. Fry till fragrant then add sugar and coconut milk.
3. Lastly, add in the meal ingredients in A. Stir well over a small fire till it dries up just a little.

I have only initially used beef and added in some tiny slices of taters and Silver Bullet thinks it is worth a repeat. I made another portion just for me with prawns in it, which is, in my opinion, much more yummy! Wonder where I can get some paru here. I honestly cannot believe that it is so simple to make!

Now in season

We have had more than a month-long season of rambutans and lychees. These days, I've been greeted by carts after carts of fruits on wheels on a daily basis as I made my way to the office every morning.

It always is a nice sight, and I hardly ever pass up on an opportunity to buy at least 2 kg of rambutans and/or lychees on an almost daily basis when I walked by these mobile carts.Hey! For 20 baht per kg (SGD 80 cents) of rambutans (lychees, on the other hand, can cost up to 4x as much per kilo), these babies are definitely worth it!

I really like the fact that we get to have these juicy fruits as a healthier dessert alternative at the dinner table for the past month. It won't be long before the longans would be in season too, I hope!

Nasi Lemak

Nothing like good ole comfort food as an accompaniment to a glorious weekend at home. Similarly, nothing I enjoy more than being able to serve up some hearty and good old fashioned Nasi Lemak in the name of gastronomical pleasure.

It's all in the sambal and the fragrance of the rice, they say. So wise, and so true.

While it can be quite a challenge to control the spiciness of the chillies, it now is looking like I may have just perfected the taste of my sambal! I have to admit that I'm also ecstatically elated of being able to use the freshly grown pandan leaves right from our own very balcony for the rice. It is such a cool concept to be able to grow your own herbs for immediate usage as and when you need it, I tell you.

I like my Nasi Lemak to be decadent by adding more sides dish such as fried fish, fried chicken (I have to add chicken because of Silver Bullet's resistance to seafood), fried omelet, boiled quail eggs, as well as fried ikan bilis (anchovies). With the coconut rice and yummy sambal in tow, I assure you that it could not have been a more satisfying meal!

Ingredients for Rice:

• 3 cupful of rice (preferably long grained)
• 2 shallots
• half an inch ginger
• 6-8 pieces fenugreek seeds (biji halba)
• 1 tspn salt or to taste
• 300ml coconut milk
• some pandan leaves (knotted)
• 1 bay leaf (optional)

Method:
Pound shallots, ginger and fenugreek seeds until mushed. Wash rice until clean then drain. Put rice, pounded ingredients (shallots, ginger, fenugreek) and salt in a rice cooker. Pour coconut milk over the rice. (The level of the coconut milk should be 2cm above the level of the rice.) Add in pandan and bay leaves into the cooker. Cook rice until dry then use a wooden ladle to loosen the grains.

Ahhhh.....!And that's all the comforting yummy love you'll ever need in your tummy.

Been a while

Finally a weekend of N.O.T.H.I.N.G! It must have been a while since we have had a free weekend, because I simply cannot remember when the last time was when we don't have to be going some place or do something because we just had to. It must have easily been 6 months ago since we have had a free weekend at home, for the whole day, and with no plans to do anything or errands to run.

It is a nice feeling to have as we while away the weekend, in the comfort of our own home and the company of three crazy cats.

Tumeric: The Final call

After almost 6 months since it first began sprouting away, a few more months later mulling over if the plant actually supposed to be looking like this and then getting confused yet again with version #2 growing in the same pot, I think this is finally it!

I have no idea what it was that we have been growing in our balcony before this, where the leaves looked kind of funny. The scary thing was, I have even used some of those leaves for my rendang and other dishes, smelling as fragrant as the real tumeric leaves. God knows what the hell they were.  Silver Bullet was speculating that they could just be weeds. Hence, the reason it grew and grew and grew relentlessly.

Silver Bullet has since dug out those so-called tumeric plants, and left the other version in the pot. It has thrived since. Currently, one of the pot is looking like the

tumeric plant is finally looking just like what a tumeric plant would look like; an uncanny resemblance to the many images we have seen on the Internet. It has taken a while, but it seems like we are on the right track. Even the other pot has started sprouting tiny shoots of tumeric leaves. At least one of us has THE reliable green thumb!

It's so cool to be able to use fresh ingredients right out of our own balcony!

Sugar and spice...

...and everything that's nice.

While it's not unusual, it is also not everyday that Silver Bullet would offer to make me breakfast; especially when I have to wake up earlier to go for my Pilates class on a weekend.

This morning, I was greeted with French toast dusted with cinnamon powder and icing sugar, accompanied by a warm glass of hot chocolate. My morning could not have gotten off to a better start! :D

Kelps

Me-thinks there's something so irressitable about bugsy-eyed furry little animals. Especially one with a look like this:

Pictures of Kelpie courtesy of Aunty Antsie. Really cannot stand that cute, cheeky little face. She looks so irresistable that I just have to put them up. Wondering if that's a piece of worm being fed to this cheeky bugger? She looks kind of loopy too, actually. Pictures like this never fail to warm my heart. I wish  I could keep a hamster too!

Happy weekend!

Boredom

There is really only so much Thai food I can take for now. I have indeed been bored out of my skull with Thai food that McD meals are definitely looking more appealing than the more of the same types of Thai food currently available within the vicinity of my office.

So bored that I'd rather grab McD's burgers for lunch and I did just that over 3 lunches this week. Bad right?!

I know it is not the healthiest thing to do, but that's how bad and bored I have been of Thai food lately...

A Thai Opinion

Looking inward to criticise oneself is simply rare and far between. When I came across this article on the physical newspaper last week, I actually tore off the page from the newspaper itself with every intention to scan it and share it. Fortunately, Silver Bullet found the link later which saved me a lot of unnecessary trouble.It was, in my opinion a very well-written piece by a local Thai. It also may well be the exact sentiments of the majority of foreigners living in Thailand.

The second last paragraph could not be further from the truth. It carried a lot more weight coming from a Thai, with a lot of self-awareness and humility.

Unfortunately, this column was written in English for an English newspaper, mainly circulated in Bangkok. That being said, majority of the readers are mostly foreigners with only a handful of well-educated Thais reading it. The vast majority of Thais in Thailand would prefer the local newspaper in their own local language. The chances of them actually seeing this article is, my guess, close to nil.

It makes me wonder if it served the purpose of creating self-awareness for the majority of Thais who may have been completely oblivious to this opinion piece. Unless of course, that wasn't the intention in the first place for fear of offending the good majority...

Comfort in familiarity

Pea-brained me forgot about a bunch of pictures we took of the cats when got evacuated to Soi 39 a few weeks ago.

While they weren't too happy about the sudden change that was imposed on them, there were moments when they found solace in each other for just a short moment in time. For Andy, she sought refuge in the familiarity of her toys, but was careful not to let us out of her sight by being the door stopper.

Images like these make me smile. It's as if nothing else matters and time just stood still.

Nostalgic Weekend

Last weekend was the last of a long weekend due to a Buddhist holiday. That means that there won't be another long weekend coming up till end of July. Given Thailand's many public holiday, with almost at least one public holiday in a month, an almost 2-months hiatus without any free vacation day would seem...erm...almost wrong!

It seemed like a long wait before another long weekend arrives. And if it does come, we wonder if we will ever have time to savour the much needed time off. With that in mind, we decided to treat ourselves to a short hotel stay by the riverside. It really isn't so much of having to be by the riverside. To be fair, there is nothing spectacular about the muddy and superbly brown Chao Phraya River. Rather, the decision to book a hotel stay at the Millennium Hilton Hotel was based on a nostalgic one.

A short 2-night stay was all we could afford really, and nothing beats a lazy weekend of lazing around at the poolside and stuffing our faces in a luxurious setting to relax our mind, body and soul. The hotel is equipped with gorgeous pool with a beach-like setting overlooking the skyline. Even the water in the pool was more salty than chlorinated. I must admit, they really do have one of the prettiest pool I've ever seen. It's unique.




For Silver Bullet, he could not have been happier when he was presented with a cheese buffet for dinner. He was literally grinning from ear to ear with his nothing but cheese dinner, having been able to stuff his face with more than 30 types of cheeses over a 2-hour course meal. That sent him on cloud nine! You could have annoyed the crap out of him and he would not be pissed at you. That was how happy he was.

For me though, the best part about this hotel was really the bed and pillows! I swear this is the only hotel where I cannot rave enough about the ultimate comfort of the bed and the softness of the pillows they provided. So much so that I made up my mind to purchase those pillows from the hotel (but they ran out of stock!). There is no question that I will and I.WILL. get my hands on those pillows and, into our marital bed. I'm already a pillow freak, so the no-stock issue ain't gonna deter me from getting them. Eventually.

It is good to be able to spend sometime together, just Silver Bullet and I. Given also the nostalgic moments we had with the place, it could not have been more apt to spend our time there until the next opportunity presents itself again.

Oh! And not forgetting, the encounter with the ultimate softness pillows made it all the more worthwhile. Just heavenly.

P.S: More pictures coming this way as soon as Silver Bullet processes his photos!