Lunch incident :D

Bakmie Jakarta @Killney Road

After I posted the Indonesian noodle's photo last week on my Facebook, my two Indonesian colleagues went eating there for dinner on the day after that. They loved it so much as the taste was authentic enough, suitable to our taste buds. These few days they had asked me to go there again. Due to our busy schedules, we finally managed to arrange eating together this afternoon during lunch time.

The shop name was called Bakmi Jakarta and it was located in 117A Killiney Road. We took bus from our office then continued walking there on foot. It took us about 20 minutes to reach. On the way there, we all discussed what should we order later on and all of us felt that 1 normal portion of noodle did not fill our stomach enough. At the end, three of us decided to add the extra noodles into our normal portion.

When it arrived, we didn't expect that the portion would be very big! Even the bowl was bigger than the normal portion. Looks like it's double portions. OMG!!! (See the photo above for the difference). All of us put lots of chilli into our noodles. Nyummy.... And since it was such a big bowl, three of us ate slowly and eventually we all finished it. Hahaha....

Along the Killiney Road, there were also a lot of nice food shops ranging from famous Killiney Kopitiam, Suanthai (Thai) Restaurant, The Orange Lantern (Vietnamese) Restaurant, Warung M. Nasir (Indonesian mixed rice food stall), Senki (Japanese) Restaurant, The Chicken Rice Ex-Press, Teck Kee Tanglin Pau, and so on. 

 

Rice Roll w/ XO Durian (Cheong Fan Durian)

There was one shop selling Rice Roll with Porridge. They sold a unique and interesting menu, which was: Rice Roll with XO Durian (1 portion $5.20). I told one of my colleagues about it and she wanted to buy. At first she thought of buying it back for her husband, but didn't know why we ended up trying one portion and ate together inside the shop, right after eating the noodle. Huahaha..... (Before entering the shop, we still said, wah, our stomach was so full of noodles....) :D

Since the place was quite far away from our office and our lunch time was limited, we decided to go back by Taxi, right after eating the rice roll with durian. We entered into the Taxi and I told the driver our destination. Once the doors were closed, he immediately smelled the durian. He turned his head to the seat behind and asked us if we bought the durian into the taxi. We said we didn't, but we just had it. After that all of us kept quiet because once we opened our mouths, the durian smell would come out. He faster opened the window on his side to let the smell going out.

Then half way, suddenly my colleague who sat in front seat told us in Indonesian that she wanted to vomit. OMG!!! She ate too full la! So I faster asked the driver if he could stop near bus stop as my friend wanted to vomit. The driver's face turned black. He looked so furious and was not happy. Hahaha...Luckily he had a plastic bag with him and immediately passed it to my friend. Luckily she could endure all the way and cancel the vomit during the whole trip. Hahahahaa.... It was soooo funny!!! Once came out from taxi, I was laughing hard until my stomach pain... Hahaha.... I think it was his bad day today... Hahaha..... :D

After this incident, three of us won't go there to eat the noodle for months.... Hahahaha......

Can we accept people's flaws and weaknesses???

Below here was extracted from "Committed" by Elizabeth Gilbert. It's interesting for me that I decided to quote it here and share it with you:

"When I used to go down to Brazil to buy gemstones, I would often buy something they call 'a parcel'. A parcel is this random collection of gems that miner or wholesaler or whoever is bullshitting you puts together. A typical parcel would contain, I don't know, maybe twenty to thirty aquamarine at once. Supposedly, you get a better deal that way - buying them all in a bunch - but you have to be careful, because of course the guy is trying to rip you off. He's trying to unload his bad gemstones on you by packaging them together with a few really good ones."

"So when I first started in jewelry business, I used to get in trouble because I'd get too excited about the one or two perfect aquamarine in the parcel, and I wouldn't pay as much attention to the junk they threw in there. After I got burned enough times, I finally got wise and learned this: You have to ignore the perfect gemstones. Don't even look at them twice because they're binding. Just put them away and have a careful look at the really bad stones. Look at them for a long time, and then ask yourself honestly, 'Can I work with these? Can I make something out of this?' Otherwise, you've just spent a whole lot of money on one or two gorgeous aquamarine buried inside a big heap of worthless crap."

"It's the same with relationships, I think. People always fall in love with the most perfect aspects of each other's personalities. Who wouldn't? Anybody can love the most wonderful parts of another person. But that's not the clever trick. The really clever trick is this: Can you look at your partner's faults honestly and say 'I can work around that. I can make something out of that?' Because the good stuff is always going to be there, and it's always going to be pretty and sparkly, but the crap underneath can ruin you."

The quotes above was emphasizing whether we could work out something or accept the other person's fault and weakness rather than focus only few good things that the person has.

In the beginning of a relationship, usually people would naturally behave and show the good qualities of themselves. Only over time, when they got closer, they started showing the other side of their personalities. The faults and flaws would slowly appear. That's why it required some time for people to learn about each other before they could decide whether they should go on with the deeper relationship.

So, the interesting part would be: How many people could accept not only the good things that the person has, but also including their flaws and weaknesses? Because at the end of the day, this person would be the one whom they choose to spend the rest of their lives with.

For those who is married, have u ever thought this way before you got married? Or would you just blindly accept everything and just go with the flow? Have you ever regretted not considering these things before?

And for those who is single, would it be one of the reasons on why you decided not to continue the relationship because you could not stand the flaws and weakness of your partner and decided to give it up before it went for further step?

Think about it!!!

A true soul mate

Starting my new journal :)

'A journey of thousand miles start with a single step.'

After reading the book by Robin Sharma, I finally start writing a journal this morning. Hehehe.... Hopefully I'll be able to spare at least 15 minutes daily, sitting down and retrospect and think of what should I write. I will include some quotes too, some lovely quotes that will guide me along in my life journey.

When writing a journal, it has given me chance to talk with myself, with my heart, on what I feel, what I'm lack of, what I want to do, what my dreams are, what action should I do, etc. Hopefully it gives me courage to do something that I always wanted to do and kick my butt to get into action! Hehehe... I have to eliminate laziness in me in order to live life to the fullest, seriously!!!

I don't know why, but I'm loving it :) You may want to start yours too... It is fun!!! So, go get a notebook and start doing it!!!

Meine Kamera

 

I bought my first camera when I was in Beijing in year 1997. It was Canon Prima Super 135 (No. 1). My Israel friend, Jonathan, who loves photography, recommended me to buy that. I purchased it at US$330. It was a bit bulky, but had a great quality of photos at that point of time.

Usually when buying things, I'd go for quality. So even though the price was slightly higher, I would rather spare those money on quality stuffs rather than spending it at impulse (not necessarily needed) clothing, bag, shoes, make up, as what other woman prefers to buy. (I always think I am not like other woman, who loves to spend their money on those stuffs.. Hahaha.... :D)

I was super happy with my first camera. Canon was my choice, as it was made in Japan (at that time, Japan product was trusted for its quality and technology). The battery used was lithium, which costs slightly expensive, but it could last for quite long. And I had to fill in the camera roll into that camera. I'd bought and used lots of camera rolls. I had lost count as I used that camera for quite some time.

What I loved about this camera, I could put in some words to be printed into the photo, such as: I love you, Happy Birthday, and so on. Hahaha... At that time, not many camera had that function. It had been a great accompany to me as it had helped me shooting many precious moments of my life.

After getting married, I bought my second camera. This time, it's digital, and it's Canon again, Power Shot S50 (No. 2). Hehehe... This time, the price was very high at that point of time (beginning of year 2003). It was transition time between camera roll to digital camera. I went with my hubby to choose the camera and like usual, I chose the good quality one. Kekeke....... So, although it was quite expensive, I bought it happily :)

This camera has also been used for few years. I had recorded lots of photos and videos of my son since he was still a baby, also my traveling adventures to many different countries. It was still a bit bulky compared with Canon IXUS and those other compact cameras, but again, I went for quality, so it didn't matter if it's slightly heavier and bulky as long it worked well :)

I got my third camera, Canon Digital IXUS 100 IS (No. 3), for free as I won a lucky draw from a liquor contest. It was really unexpected, but I won the second prize. The first prize was Ipod touch and my other colleague won it. We sent the lucky draw together and we were lucky enough to win those top two prizes :D I got it in year 2009, not long after I joined back my company.

It was small, very compact, easy to carry, and captured good quality photos as well. I love it very much, as it was simple but usable. Only that, I've used it for about three years, and now the quality has started to decline. It was slower when taking photo. Not sure if it's because the battery has deteriorated, or was it the quality inside the camera that has been deteriorated.

Since my Canon Power Shot S50 had aged quite some time, and I had greater interest in photography, I finally bought my first DSLR camera (No. 5) in March 2009, after I collected my bonus from the previous company that I worked at. It's Canon again. Hahaha... I love and trust Canon so much!!! It never disappoints me hehe... I consulted my ex-colleague who had just bought DSLR camera and he asked me to buy Canon EOS 450D (that was the latest one at that point of time). I purchased it during IT Fair in Suntec together with EF S18-55IS lens and another lens.

It's been 4 years now and it still works well, although the latest model has more advanced quality and has video function, this one still functions well. When I passed by a roadshow on Friday, I almost had a thought of replacing this with the latest model, which is now going on promotion. But I decided to think over it again if I really need to replace that and went back home.

I consulted this matter with my chatting brother who also loves photography. He never bought Canon though. Hahaha... He plays with higher end camera, such as Leica and Nikon DSLR. He said, now he is using Olympus OM-D E-M5. He advised me to keep my Canon DSLR and save the money for buying higher end like Canon D5. But I told him, I am not good in using such complicated camera like D5, and I don't want to bring heavy camera for traveling. That's why he recommended me to buy Olympus Pen E-P3.

It's not as bulky as my Canon DSLR and has as good quality as my 450D. So I did a quick research on the price and just nice there was a promotion which is valid until today. So, this afternoon, after work, I went to the electronic shop, asked many question about different cameras, and as personal preference, since I don't buy Canon this time, my second preference brand would be Olympus. 

The seller recommended me Panasonic Lumix and Sony, but like I said, my own personal preference on camera would be these two brands. Well, don't know if someday I will change my mind though. Hehehe.. 

There were two choices to buy the Olympus Pen E-P3 (No. 4). One was with twin lens, and another with three lens. After consulting with my chatting brother, he asked me to buy twin lens. That should be enough as the other lens, although cheap, has limited use. And I also didn't want to spend so much although it's different by S$200 more. 

It is good bargain still though! One of the lens was called Pancake lens, M.Zuiko 17mm f/2.8 (if you want to buy the lens itself, it costs S$528) and another one was M. Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II R (lens alone costs $498). But I got the camera with these two lens for only $748 (promotion price, which valid until today only), inclusive of free battery, free memory card 8 GB, the bag and additional 3 more months warranty on top of one year warranty.

Well, hope this camera will be a good accompany for few years too... I still keep all those cameras with me. Not sure if the old one can still function well, but I just keep it as it has so much sentimental value hehehe.... It's such a fate to be able to have them with me and I'm glad of having them with me for so many years :)

Although I myself not a very good photographer, but I love capturing beautiful moments, those moments that passes by and will never be the same again..... What remains are the beautiful memories....

101 Life Lessons From the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma

Below is 101 Life Lessons as derived from the book above (Those in "purple" means - 'I am glad I have been doing that', "blue" means 'I'm working on it', while nothing means.. no comment.. hehehe...):

1. Discover your calling (There is a purpose of life to each one of us. It's up to us how we want it to be)
2. Everyday, be kind to a stranger (It's said, if you made even one person smile during your day or brighten the mood of even one stranger, your day has been worthwhile)
3. Maintain your perspective
4. Practice tough love (Life-discipline isn't easy but I'll work on it!!)
5. Keep a journal (Started doing it few months back and loving it!!!)
6. Develop an honesty philosophy (I seldom make any promises as I know it's hurt when promises were made to be broken. But I mean what I say)
7. Honor your past (Learn from mistakes and get stronger!)
8. Start your day well (Fresh new day. Forget all the things happened the day before and grateful for a new day that comes. Be positive!!!)
9. Learn to say no gracefully
10. Take a weekly Sabbatical (I always provide time for myself to do my own things, no matter how busy I am)
11. Talk to yourself (Love having 'me' time)
12. Schedule worry breaks (Never done this before)
13. Model a child (I wish I can...)
14. Remember, genius is 99 percent inspiration (High inspiration with no action done means nothing)
15. Care for the temple - physical temple (Do the best I can!! Jia you!!!)
16. Learn to be silent (Just discovered how important silent is)
17. Think about your ideal neighborhood
18. Get up early (Is 7 considered early? Lolx! Sometimes get up as early as 5am going for cycling ^^)
19. See your troubles as blessings
20. Laugh more
21. Spend a day without your watch (Sometimes I forgot to bring my watch, but I used hand phone to get the time)
22. Take more risks
23. Live a life (Feel the pain and savor the happiness)
24. Learn from a good movie
25. Bless your money
26. Focus on the worthy (Focus on the good things :D)
27. Write Thank-You notes
28. Always carry a book with you (So long as you live, keep learning how to live)
29. Create a love account
30. Get behind people's eyeballs
31. List your problems (Feel much better after doing this)
32. Practice the action habit (Need lots of determination to do this....)
33. See your children as gifts
34. Enjoy the path, not just the reward (I enjoy in everything that I do, like it or don't like it, I enjoy them all)
35. Remember that awareness precedes change
36. Read Tuesdays with Morrie
37. Master your time
38. Keep your cool (Still working on this)
39. Recruit a Board of Directors
40. Cure your monkey mind
41. Get good at asking
42. Look for the higher meaning of your work
43. Build a library of heroic books (Still prefer to just borrow from library or otherwise give it to others after reading rather than storing it)
44. Develop your talents (Walk very slow but doing it)
45. Connect with nature (Loving it!)
46. Use your commute time
47. Go on news fast
48. Get serious about setting goals (Often giving excuse to myself)
49. Remember the rule of 21 (develop the new habit in 21 days)
50. Practice forgiveness
51. Drink fresh fruit juice (Started doing it few months back and loving it!!!)
52. Create a pure environment
53. Walk in the woods (Love doing this whenever possible ^^)
54. Get a coach (Everyone can be my coach)
55. Take a mini-vacation
56. Become a Volunteer (Hahaha.... I'm very bad on this...)
57. Find your six degrees of separation
58. Listen to music daily
59. Write a legacy statement
60. Find three great friends
61. Read The Artist's Way
62. Learn to meditate (Tried to... but laziness overcome it :P)
63. Have a living funeral (in my mind only)
64. Start complaining and start living
65. Increase your value
66. Be a better parent
67. Be unorthodox
68. Carry a goal card
69. Be more than your moods
70. Savor the simple stuff
71. Stop condemning
72. See your day as your life
73. Create a master mind alliance
74. Create a daily code of conduct
75. Imagine a richer reality
76. Become the CEO of your life
77. Be humble
78. Don't finish every book you start
79. Don't be so hard on yourself
80. Make a vow of silence
81. Don't pick up the phone every time it rings
82. Remember that recreation must involve re-creation
83. Choose worthy opponents
84. Sleep less
85. Have a family mealtime
86. Become an imposter
87. Take a public speaking course
88. Stop thinking tiny thoughts
89. Don't worry about things you can't change (Since it can't be change, why worry?? Pray hard instead)
90. Learn how to walk (Be aware of the surrounding when walking.. Love it!!!)
91. Rewrite your life story (Sometimes in my email, sometimes in my blog...)
92. Plant a tree (I wish I can do this... Not in this country that scarce of land)
93. Find your place of peace
94. Take more pictures (Love doing this.. It recalls back lots of memory from the past...)
95. Be an adventurer (Still not doing enough)
96. Decompress before you go home
97. Respect your instincts
98. Collect quotes that inspire you (Dunno since when I have this habit...)
99. Love your work (I'm happy so far I'm enjoying what I do at work)
100. Selflessly serve
101. Live fully so you can die happy (My purpose of life)

"Live your life by choice rather than by chance, by design rather than by default."