Dr.Feet

If you are a sucker for a proper foot massage like me, you can appreciate a true and proper foot reflexology which leaves your knees buckling.

You would also just know that a proper foot reflexology massage place can be such a treasure trove if only you know where to find them; especially here in Bangkok.

I came to know about Dr. Feet from a fellow Pilates classmate of mine. It comes highly recommended as they practice proper reflexology rather than just a Thai style foot massage. None of that foot rub nonsense of a Thais style massage - which technically can be given by anyone. The staff are professional and all are certified reflexologists. They focus on the pressure points of your feet and they actually KNOW what they are doing!

The place is rather small, with only about 8 chairs for foot massage at any one time. However, the turnover of customers at this place is really phenomenal, with an almost non-stop drop-ins.

Dr. Feet is located right  opposite Samitivej Hospital in Sukhumvit. I cannot imagine I missed this place before, and not even give it a second glance considering both Silver Bullet and myself used to go to this hospital for our ailments! With only 350 baht per hour for a PROPER foot reflexology, it definitely is worth the quality of foot massage anyone can ever get in Bangkok.

The blues

I would hate to admit this, but these past few days have been a little bit of a downer for me. I've been pretty low on energy and my overall mood has just been absolutely "bleeaaaahhh"!  I am, at best, apathetic; with little or no motivation to do anything while waiting for things to get going.

Unfortunately, a lot of things are beyond my control at this stage and I can definitely sense my already diminishing energy levels disappearing together with my almost non-existent enthusiasm. To be honest, I had none to begin with whatsoever, but had so far ride it out pretty well. Right now, everything just seems super "bleeaaaahhh" as my days get as uneventful as a lau ah-pek picking his nose and scratching his balls while staring into space. It's like groundhog day...

...except that Silver Bullet made a difference with his acute sense in noticing the changes in the air around me.

He came home a little earlier than usual and surprised me with a bouquet of flowers. While my initial reaction was "what do I do with a bunch of flowers now that I have them in my hand",  I can't deny the fact that it was such a sweet and loving gesture on his part. That brought a smile to my face, and before I realise it,  a lump began to form in my throat the moment I brought the bouquet close to my chest to literally stare at it. I could just feel the love just oozing relentlessly out of his pores. There and then, I can't help but gushed out incoherent thoughts in my head as to how much I really love and adore my husband.

Despite my usual nonchalant sentiments to flowers, I'd be lying if I say I did not appreciate such gesture. Silver Bullet even took the trouble to hand-write me a card, which, in my very vulnerable moment could have easily opened up the flood gate of tears (but I didn't!).

We both are not romantic type, but it really was one of the sweetest things he did to ease my  super "bleeaaaahhh" moments. I think I just fall in love with that man all over again!

Just morbid

There really are some sick people out there! Whatever compelled this baker to make gruesome dismembered body parts out of bread is beyond me. Why they even call it as "art" baffles me to no end.

I could hardly find those bread appetizing; let alone try to eat it as if we are some cannibals. It is morbid, disgusting and disturbing! What an insult to food!

Inception

This was really one of the more original and captivating movies I have ever seen. Inception is so insanely brilliant that I was literally glued to the cinema seat right from the start to the very end. I was left awestruck at the end of the movie; overwhelmed, yet intrigued with appreciation by the multi-layered plots that were so cleverly portrayed.

On the onset, the entire movie seemed like a simple plot of meddling with people's mind by entering their dreams. However, as you got deeper into the realms of the movie, the entire plot was nothing but a complex architecture of the sub-conscious mind. The intricacies of the movie was nerve-wrecking, yet I was so engrossed in its complexities that I cannot stop thinking about bits and pieces of the movie long after it ended. The layers were deep as one battles with being conscious within the sub-conscious mind hence opening up the possibilities of alternate realities, convolution beyond the conscious mind to grasp and most importantly, of the power of imagination to eventually question what was real and what was make-believe.

Reminds me of a song called "Sweat"  from the band, Tool:

"Seems like I've been here before.
Seems so familiar.
Seems like I'm slipping into a dream within a dream.
It's the way you whisper.
Drag me under.
Takes me whole."

I must say though, I have started to warm up to Leonardo Di Caprio from the more recent movies in the last few years like  Catch Me if You Can, Blood Diamond, Body of Lies, even Revolutionary Road;  and most recently, this. I truly hated him in Titanic and The Beach to name a few of his earlier stint, and just refused to watch any of his movies thereafter. For now,I think he has, in my books,  nicely redeemed himself.

This is one movie I'll definitely watch all over again, just as intensely as well and probably a few times more. The casting were great and in my mind, it truly is one hell of a masterpiece. Cast aside any biasness or prejudice that you may have towards Leonardo before, for,  I highly recommend this movie simply because it engages the mind in a brilliant way.

Boycott!

If you have been watching AXN, Nat Geo or Discovery Channel often enough in the last few months, you'll probably notice the high frequency of Colgate ads aired on these channels.

There have been several versions of a pseudo dentist in white lab coat going around places (by the looks of it, the background seemed to be somewhere in KL or Singapore) asking people on the street to check for bacteria in their mouth. There was also a version of applying the toothpaste directly on any sensitive teeth or the gargling of mouthwash while dancing or something silly like that. All of those ads of course, brainlessly ended with all-so-gullible "consumers" telling the entire world that they now believe in the product so whole-heartedly and became an instant convert to Colgate. Their expressions, could not have been more rehearsed and fake.

All of the ad versions are terribly, terribly annoying. They are in my opinion, done in a bad taste and are an insult to the intelligence of consumers.The extremely high frequency of these ads on these channels made the ad exposure extremely unbearable as well. So much so that these Colgate ads annoyed the crap out of me and is the sole reason as to why we switch channels almost immediately every time we see the ads.

Silver Bullet went a bit further than just flipping the channel and cursing at the ads every time he caught the first 2 seconds of it. He has already decided to boycott all of Colgate's product and refuse to have any of them at home. Talk about turning off an irate consumer there!

Fudge sandwich

One of the up-side of working from home is being smothered by the resident cats. Of the three, Fudge seems to be enjoying human company the most and being the lap-cat that she is, will always, always find her way into my lap.

She really is one hell of a cat, this one. She literally wormed her way through my lap, and will not stop until she gets her way all comfy and dandy. She ended up napping away for a good one-hour, sandwiched by a pillow I used as a cushion for my laptop and in between my lap, rendering me immobile for the whole amount of time she decided to comatose there (OK...when it comes to a lap cat snuggling away, I'm a crumbling softy and will not have the heart to move her away!) After a while, she decided to move from her sandwiched spot and squeeze her way to underneath my armpit in a chair that's too small for even a cat to squeeze in.




Sometimes I wonder if she's just humouring me or vice versa.

Asam Pedas

In the mood for fish and missing my mom's home-cooked Asam Pedas...

 

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so, TA-DAAAAAAAA.........!

 

 

It tasted authentically fine, alright. A taste I'm so familar with and relish so much that I went for seconds. Only, I'm  kinda bummed about the colour. It should be dark, dark, dark red instead of brown-orangy. At least that was usually how my mom's Asam Pedas will look like...very dark red. I'm not sure where I went wrong here as any more chilli just to get the colour will put my taste buds on fire! Oh well...!

 

Here's the recipe I got off the internet:

 

Ingredients:

• A fish (Mackerel, Pomfret or Stingray..I used seabass as that's the only fish I have in the fridge!)
• 5 okras
• 10 dried chilies
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 5 cloves of shallot ( I ran out of shallots, so I used 2 big red onions instead)
• 1 cm of ginger
• 1 cm of turmeric
• 1 lemon grass (bruised)
• 1 teaspoon of fish curry powder
• 1 tablespoon of tamarind (put into a cup of warm water an squeeze the juice)
• Sprigs of vietnamese coriander (I used curry leaves as substitute)
• Palm sugar to taste
• Salt to taste

 Method:

1. Blend chilies together with garlic, shallot, ginger and turmeric.
2. Heat oil and fry the blended paste with lemon grass until fragrant.
3. Add fish curry powder and stir well.
4. Then add tamarind juice and two cups of water and wait for the  mixture to boil.
5. Lastly, add okras, fish and salt/sugar to taste.
6. Boil the fish in the gravy over a small fire for about 5-10 minutes

This dish really brings back memories of home cooked food right out of mom's kitchen.  So good to eat with rice, dipped in white bread or with saltine crackers. There's something about the taste that just lingers and keep you comign back for more.

 

Asam Pedas is so traditionally HOME. The kind which you get only at your own abode and only from your own mother's kitchen and hardly ever outside of your own home. It is just not the same if bought from outside.

 

It really is a shame that Silver Bullet does not like fish...this is really one of the more traditional and treasured home-cooked dish around. Oh well..his loss; more for me! :D

Wakakakakaka

Remember this?

Recently I stumbled upon a comment on Shakira's official theme song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, stating that the chorus line of  "Waka waka eh, eh"  actually means....

... "my leg, my leg, short short"
.... in Hokkien (!)

How hilarious!

My knowledge of Hokkien is at best, all the swear words and vulgarities which were all duly inundated to me during my school years. Hence,  it does make me wonder if the literal translation of waka waka eh eh is for real. Any Hokkienites out there willing to verify?

Swahili

Watching some Animal Planet last night, I was suddenly reminded of a bunch of Swahili words which I picked up from our safari trip in Tanzania last year. It has been more than a year now, and I hardly ever use those phrases since we got back from the trip. I mean, seriously, when will I ever need to be speaking Swahili in this country?

Strange as it may sound though, some of those Swahili phrases really stuck to me.I reckon, the language is so cool- sounding that unlike Thai, is a much easier language to pick up. I still have some of the phrases on hand, and get this: I can remember them without much effort! Here are some of those cool sounding phrases:

• Habariah Asubuhi: Good Morning
• Kwaheri:  Goodbye
• Lala salama: Sleep well
• Jumbo:  Hello
• Habaria koh:  How are you (and to that you reply: Salama nzuri - Good)
• Moto:  Fire
• Maji:  Water
• Safi: Clean
• Safi maji:  clean water
• [Safi also means fine or cool]
• Karibu:  Welcome
• Mzungu:  European (as in white guy, or farang or ang moh)
• Mambo**:  what's up (and to that you reply: Poa - Cool)
• [I remember that these exchanges of Mambo--> Poa is only being used by the younger generations, and the older generations were quite embarrassed to use it since it will not be "cool" for them]
• Chakula:  Food
• Mbaya: Bad
• Badaeyit:  later
• Kima: Monkey
• Mbega: Colubus Monkey
• Asante: Thank you
• Sana: very much
• Asante sana: Thank you very much
• Chungu: Pot
• Pole - pole: Slowly, slowly
• Hakuna wasiwasi:  No problem 
• Twende: Let's go

Last but not least, one of my favourite words and one that everyone knows: Hakuna matata (No worries)

If only Thai is this cool-sounding and as easy...

Affection overload

The cats have all been extra loving today. All.Three.Cats.

They all took turns almost every half an hour to check up on me this morning. One by one, each came to me to snuggle and say hi. After a while, Fudge found a gap in between my pillow and me, and in her usual repertoire, parked her ass to my face, purring away as she napped. Somehow, the other 2 cats don't seem to mind she was in the way and continued to vie for my attention.

When I finally got out of bed, they made sure they were close to me, watching me like a hawk. It did not seem like they want food (their food bowls were full) or want their litter clean (litter still fresh). Yet, I'm being followed everywhere I go with Donut squeaking, Fudge howling and Andy wailing away in the distance  (that usually means she found a toy and she wants you to know and come to her!).

I feel so loved today. Is there such a thing as affection overload? :D

Wild Wood

Paul Weller's Wild Wood is indeed one of my all-time favourite tunes. I love his voice...rough on the edges, but extremely soothing to the ears and soul. As with most of my favourite music, lyrics will always be one of the key factors that always get me.

In this case, the song (especially the chorus) resonates with the way I see my live; how I have been living it, regardless the obstacles ... and eventually getting to where I should be going.

"Climbing forever trying
Find your way out of the wild wild wood
Now there's no justice
There's only yourself  that you can trust in
And I say, High tide - mid afternoon
Oh people fly by in and the traffics boom
Oh knowing, just where you're blowing
Getting to where you should be going"

There's a little bit of reflection to things of the past, topped with a tinge of soul searching which I feel is reflecting me as an individual who,with some sense of direction, is just trying to get by in life...while finding my way out of the wild wood (at times, with massive forest fires!).

The acoustic version is such a brilliant piece here. Enjoy!

Chicken Nibblets

Don't really know what got into me, but suddenly the thought of deep fried garlic and salted chicken nibblets  floating in my head sounds too good to resist. It started out from a harmless intention to make some deep fried chicken wings which I refrained, as it seemed too tedious to make from scratch on a Friday evening.

So, with an end goal of some simple nibbles in mind, I scoured the net for some deep fried garlic chicken recipe that don't require too much effort or time. I found a few interesting ones, but decided to improvise on the recipe there and then. You gotta trust me that these are really so, so good for when you have the munchies:

 

Ingredients:

• 3 pieces chicken breast
• 6 cloves of garlic,  pressed
• Sprigs of curry leaves, crushed
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tspn tumeric powder
• 2 tbsp Italian basil
• ½ tbsp ground black pepper
• ½ tbsp white pepper
• 1 tspn salt to taste
• Rice flour
• Some oil for frying

 Method:

1. Slice the chicken breast to bite-sized pieces
2. Combine all the spices (except rice flour at this point)  into a bowl and mix well
3. Add in the chicken pieces into the mixed spices and set aside for about half an hour to marinate
4. Heat up some oil when ready to fry.
5. Separately prepare the rice flour and dip in the marinated chicken (rice flour makes it crispy) 
6. Make sure that the pan is super hot and fry the chicken pieces till golden brown and drain excess oil.
7. Sprinkle more salt if you wish

These nibblets are certainly good enough to be eaten on its own. However, being the typical Asian who just cannot live without chillies, these savouries definitely taste better when dipped in some chili sauce.

 

Just a word of warning though: These chicken nibblets are quite addictive! Proceed with caution.

It's a tree!

The tumeric plant is just growing and growing relentlessly; so much so that I'm beginning to think that it's looking more like a tree!

The rate of how fast it is growing really amazes me. It's looking so healthy and getting way too big that I'm afraid it might just topple over...This is how it is looking now; somewhat a little brown at some of the edges, but bearing well otherwise.

The other pot however, has been a little stunted and not growing too well. Not sure why that is, though.

Intriguing

Apparently some kind of UFO was spotted in China recently, causing massive flight delays. Watch it here.

It does look pretty intriguing. There must be some kind of explanation for it, although I also do wonder how much of it is a hoax.

But regardless, it must have been quite a cool sight to be able to witness it in person! Wish I was there to see it.Then again, why would I be in China?

Calvin & Hobbes

You just gotta love the snowman series!

Chuffed to bits!

The word "Hugh Laurie" caught my eye as I scanned through the newsfeed updates on FB. Suddenly my morning became all that more cheerful!

I heart Hugh Laurie!

The snuggly one

It has been really hard to get out of bed these days. Especially so, when a 4-legged furry visitor checks up on you every 15 minutes as soon as dawn breaks; and that wakes you up in the process.

As if that's not enough and after several more "checks" later, the furry one then decides it woud be best for her to just squeeze into whatever available gap she can find and do a snuggly-woggly-woo with you JUST when you decide that you should be getting up already.

Tell me then you'd have the heart to just push her and walk away from a snuggly moment like this...

Fudge just knows when to pull on my heart-strings. She got me...all hook, line and sinker. Getting up was the furthest thing on my mind, and together, we snoozed a little bit more for another 45 minutes.

Sick

Vicvanvinkle shared some photos with me recently and the first thing that came to mind was: There really are some sick people out there! (Like we don't know already)

I can imagine the novelty and excitement behind dyeing your cats, but is it really necessary to do so? Dyeing your cats seems to border on animal cruelty to me, and I sure do hope those dyes are not toxic.

OK..I admit I had wanted to paint black stripes on Ah-Max before to make him look like a tiger, because he behaves like one and has a very orange-marmalade coat. But really, that was just joke which was never acted upon.

But, painting cats like these...? Cute as they may be, but Man! It just doesn't seem right. So, yeah! Sue me for being a tight-wad.

My 8 year old little tiger and old pal in S'pore, Ah-Max

Why Japan Can't Win The World Cup

I remember this being quite an old ad from Pepsi. This particular one made its way round again in conjunction with the World Cup Fever 2011. Still hilarious. I don't think they have the Octopus Oracle then...:p

Sugar Rush

The state of my desk, post my newest addiction to soft chocolate toffees...

That was easily a cluster of 10 toffee wrappers all gobbled up within 5 minutes or so. I blame my colleague for introducing me to these evil stuff. So evil that I ended up finishing most of his toffees and eventually feeling guilty about stealing his candies that I ended up replacing his, as well as buying a whole packet for myself.

I realised what a state my desk was in after I came out of my sugar high, that I just had to take a picture of it. I have been such a mess these days...!

No Parking?

Shamelessly brilliant! This 2:33 minute video showcased what one girl in China did to get herself a parking spot. Click link here

Courtesy of Vicvanvincle.

Oooops!

A funny thing happened this morning...

I was googling for kooky images for my presentation by using the words "schizo" & "funny". Just as I was clicking on one of the images to download a clearer picture, my boss came over to my desk to check with me on some stuff. As my focus was diverted, I quickly forgot about the image I was downloading or what I was doing at that time. When she was done talking to me, she did a double-take on my screen with a funny look on her face. Then I realised why, as this was the picture that came on to my screen...

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Bwahahhahahahahhahahahahhahahhahahha!!!! I could hardly keep a straight face when I looked back to my screen as she stood beside me looking perplexed; both of us guffawing out loud.

Not that I hate my boss to the core, but the timing just seemed too perfect. She could easily misconstrued that the picture was meant for her as she happened to be at the right place, and the right time. Besides, it was the perfect statement meant only for THE boss or somebody you hate. She must be thinking I was nuts.

Quote of the day

"I used to be schizophrenic, but we're all right now."

Of iPhones & Blackberries

It is now official that I am probably the only one in my entire office who neither owns an iPhone nor a blackberry. Everyone who was in the same meeting as me today and everyone in the office  has it. And I mean E.V.E.R.Y.O.N.E. And you know what? Not having either one really does not make me a lesser human being! Is that news or what!

Don’t get me wrong though. It’s not that I reject technology…far from it actually. But I draw the line when it comes to iPhone or BB. Despite being a hard-core Apple fan years ago, I had vehemently refused to succumb to an iPhone just because everyone else has it. For BB though, I don’t see the need to be tied down to my email 24/7, and to be honest, I don't see the need for it. It is something I really can live without. .

Besides, I don’t really want what everyone else has, just so I “belong” to the group. I'd rather spend the money on something else. I don't need them to give me an identity so to speak. I don’t belong and I don’t conform; and that my dear friends, is no secret. Never have, never will. I am the rebel and it IS OK if I am just not as cool or “in-the-know” like the rest of the human race wired on iPhone & BBs.

As Silver Bullet once put it, he did not think he is important enough to have a Blackberry. Inspite of the industry I work in, I second that notion. All in all, I am simply not important enough to be needing a BB or stylo enough to own an iPhone.

I guess I am really just not "part of the crowd". It's not really a bad thing, is it?

Sugees are addictive

If there is one thing you need to know about these cookies, they are nothing more than just evil, evil treats that will keep you coming back for more after that first bite. As far as I remember, Sugees have always been my childhood favourite;  usually made during the festive season of Hari Raya. It is really one of my personal favourites.

 

Armed with a recipe given by my sister-in-law, I decided to spend my Sunday afternoon baking away. Silver Bullet has a thing for these since he discovered Sugees, and has, several times dissuade me from making it...

 

But, I like to keep myself busy, and I just had to try baking it! It was worth the effort and I really love how each of them just melts in your mouth. It sure is gonna take a lot of will-power for Silver Bullet to refrain from dipping his hand into the cookie jar!

 

Hot from the over, here's the recipe:

 

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of plain flour
• 1 tin of Ghee (apparently the QBB brand is the best to use) 1 pound/454 grams
• Fine sugar or icing sugar (wash the empty can of Ghee and use it to estimate the sugar - not too full or it'll be too sweet)
• 1/4 tsp. of bicarbonate of soda

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 Degree Celsius

 

2. Mix ghee and sugar in mixing bowl and whisk well till it form like cream.Add in baking powder

 

3. Add in the flour bit by bit, and knead the mixture into a dough. The dough should be slightly sticky on your finger. However, If  the dough is too sticky, add more flour

 

4. Then roll them into small balls and put them on a baking tray

 

5. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the bottom turn slightly brown.

 

6. Leave to cool before storing them in an air-tight container

 

7. Pop them in your mouth without regrets! :)

The one with crossed paws

Andy's signature pose.

The only cat I know so far who would cross one paw over the other whenever she decides to take on a stance that says she's closely W.A.T.C.H.I.N.G you. This pose would usually be accompanied by a look of disgust, with complete aloofness while she stands on guard just a distance away from your feet. I think she'd like to believe that she's a princess and she's got control over things.

Unfortunately, the other 2 cats didn't think so and usually a few minutes away from pouncing onto her...

An unusual morning call

At about 11 am this morning, I got a rather strange phone call from the Building manager of our apartment building. As soon as I picked up the call, Ms Building Manager asked me if we have 2 or 3 cats at home this morning. I thought the question sounded a little strange since I thought she is very aware of the number of cats we have running around, and she likes all of them.

At the same time, I immediately went “uh-oh!” in my head as I thought they might, all of a sudden, going to be making a racket for us keeping cats in the apartment building as pets are generally not allowed. So far, they have been kind enough to turn a blind eye on the first cat…then came #2 a year later, followed by the latest addition of #3 last year in a hush-hush manner…

I thought she sounded a little frantic at the end of the line when she asked me if we have 2 or 3 cats. She quickly went on to say that she couldn’t find one of the cats as they were about to do some pest control in our apartment. T hey looked everywhere and they were not too happy when they could not find the 3rd one. I had to laugh and told her that yes, as of this morning, there were still 3 of them when we left the house. It could also be that one of them could have been accidentally locked in one of the cupboards as they have a habit of sneaking in when you try to retrieve clothes to get dressed. At this point, I started wondering who the culprit was…it should either be Fudge or Andy. While I wasn’t too worried, I called Silver Bullet to just double-check with him if he saw 3 cats, as I was sure I did and told him the story. We had a good laugh about that phone call for that one cat that went missing!

20 minutes later, I got another call from Ms Building Manager telling me she found one of them who decided to make herself inconspicuous by hiding behind one of the curtains. It was Andy.

What a story for a hearty laugh at 11 am in the morning while I was in a middle of a meeting. On the hind sight, happy to also know that the people in our apartment care! It really is not every day you get a service like this here in Bangkok.

No more hairy fruits?

It is looking like the rambutans are approaching the end of their season. I hardly see any vendors piling up those hairy fruits on their mobile carts anymore when I walked towards the office these days. I managed to spot only 1 vendor yesterday selling rambutans and I refrained from buying them as they looked rather small and pathetic.

My guess is, the season for hairy fruits might just be over very soon.

I have yet to see those longans in season too. It's about blardy time!

Sleep Poking

Apparently I had single-handedly woke Silver Bullet up all startled, thus interrupting his sleep for the rest of the night when I unwittingly managed to poke him in the eye in my sleep last night. Or so I was told, when I asked if he had slept ok. I had slept like crap and was really hoping that I had not annoyed him with my constant tossing and turning.

As soon as those questions left my mouth, Silver Bullet slowly replied in a wary, hesitating but purposeful tone, “Uhmm…well..I could have, if you hadn’t poke me in the eye while you are still asleep.”

Oh oooops! I felt terrible but could only laugh out loud as I thought it sounded quite hilarious. Oh my poor husband got poked in the eye. By Me. In My Sleep. And, even though I slept terrible, I have no recollection of it. How bizarre!

I can only conclude that my actions were not my own. I was barely conscious.

Colours of the sky

A lovely view from the balcony as dusk set in...

It was a sight I would not have otherwise seen, had I not been forced to walk home because of the insane traffic yesterday. The colours, while not the most spectacular I have seen, still took my breath away.

It was a sight that made me smile.