Let's see. Last day of holidays for uni students, except I'm not one anymore! Though I really should start finding out how to apply for masters next year ^^'' BUT ANYWAY, a proper entry, one typed on my trusty keyboard rather than on the phone (and my cat is complaining really loudly for some reason... must be the rain and cold, poor thing)

Talking about cat... look where she was today:

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

Sitting on my mum's chair as usual... ^^'' When she came back home and found Latti on her chair, she got mad and chased them out of the house, but then Latti started complaining outside, so dad told me to let her in again =D

Still on the thought of cats, my keychain is looking extremely adorable.

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

It used to be this knitted teddy bear with a coat and scarf, but then it couldn't stand the abuse it got within my 4D bag and fell apart... so it's been replaced by this cat =D Does it look familiar?

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

... and got this from Kino. Clothes for keys! OK, I know it's been around forever, but I never actually got one because... well, I only have 3 keys- two to the house, one to the studio in Balmain. The two housekeys are distinctly different, one being gold and the other being silver, but studio's key is also silver and I do get the two silver keys mixed up. Now the house keys have got shirts on them =D Ingenious, the people who created such things =)

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

New key added to collection! No one can look at this key and not think it's cute because it's the cutest key I've ever seen.

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

The back is different! I took my set of keys out on the bus once and this girl just kept staring at them... yea, I know, they're the cutest set of keys =)

(Aww... my dad's talking to Latti and comforting her after scolding her for eating a bird and leaving parts of it in the garage... hm.. ^^'')

More food experiments!

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

This is a homely meal- with chicken katsu (nugget, haha), hayashi that turned into onion curry and.... QP mayonnaise plus sweet soy sauce! Those two are seriously all you need to turn any dish into a really delicious meal. After looking at Kewpie, the tarako song got stuck in my head again... (#Tattara tattara taratara tarako.. tarako tarako tappuri tarako...^^'')


There, click it and get it stuck in your head like it got stuck in mine. Go on~ =P

(For those who don't know about the Tarako CM in Japan, dw! Best you don't know how weird Japan can be...)

Anyway, Wednesday was a really warm and sunny day, so we decided to head to The Gap, Watson's Bay~

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

Before that, we needed energy, so, junk food! =D Soft shell crab sushi, teriyaki chicken sushi, KFC! ^^'' Yea, we planned to burn it all off... hm... *takes a bus*

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

We got lost on the bus and ended up at Rose Bay... but we did walk (to burn off the KFC) towards Watson's Bay and it was actually pretty hot with the sun glaring down on us like a grill.... Look! 海だ！！

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

Imagine living in one of those houses ^^ facing the waters~ it must smell so nice all the time =)

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

It was a really really nice day actually...

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

Nearing The Gap- aka Suicide Spot because apparently people go there every week to... well, throw themselves off the cliff into the rocks below and have their bodies smashed. I don't understand why anyone would want to suicide, so to me, that's just pure stupidity, but... still tragic I guess...

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

It looks far, long, tedious to walk across and overall quite a nasty path to be on, but it wasn't bad, really, quite fun =D It leads up to the Gap.

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

Waters and rocks ^^

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

360 degrees view from there~! OK, this was taken using TT's phone camera, so obviously this panorama going to have the different shades and I haven't experimented enough with ps to discover how to fix this... hm...

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

Sitting in the shade because it was getting quite hot... got slightly sunburnt actually =( but it's ok, people just think I'm flushing, but I'm not. It's gone now =D Anyway, nice boats.

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Shadows, just for fun =D

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

Oh look, I came home to find this on the floor. It's home-grown and extremely small~ it's a tiny pineapple! It's still sitting on the floor, ripening...

On Thursday, we went to Chatswood to meet my brother for lunch, because he's a lonely guy and work isn't all that interesting.

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

We went to this newly opened Korean restaurant in the westfield that's next to yum cha restaurant... this was their beef sashimi I think?

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

Their pork belly. Quite nice, though we all agreed it was overly strong in flavours and, typical Korean food- lots and lots of garlic. TT met this friend he knew from high school, who kept jumping to our table in hope of some feedback. Friendly guy, but a bit... hm... how would one put this nicely... ...
I don't know, but it's like someone watching you eat. That kind of uncomfortable feeling, haha.

And Friday.
Dinner was a buffet held at Four Points by Sheraton... a rather stressful but enjoyable night ^^ As previous entry was about this night, I shall just post some wonderfully delicious-looking photos.

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

Lobster with cheese on top =P

From 2009-07-26-2101-15

The photo from the previous entry was a crappy photo uploaded straight from my phone. Here's a better one ^^ The shot glass is NOT alcoholic- it was apple jelly with a raspberry on top. Very nice~ shall have to try to make that next time, it can't be THAT hard right? Apple juice+ gelatine, done~?

That's it! I think it'll be a while before another one of these entries... uni starts for tt, I'm back to working 4 days plus.. music practice ; ;

Yay for mobile blogging? I was going to update yesterday, but I didn't have all the photos I needed so, I planned to do it today. Unfortunately, by the time I get home, it'll be time to sleep.. So while I'm in the car, waiting for my dad to finish his meeting and take me home, why not do some blogging? =D though seriously, I think a blackberry will be so much easier to type with than this old not-made-for-blogging sony ericsson phone.. ^^"

Photo above is the dessert selection at Four Point Sherinton at 161 Sussex Street (I think??) It was a pretty nice buffet, with lobster, balmain bugs which tt consumed at least 6 whole ones of, and crabs, hot food and also a huge range of desserts. Only thing missing is the creme brulee from Shangri La and it'll win hands down when it comes to rating. Really thank tt and his parents for bringing and treating me to a nice place like this ^^ And I have just attempted to defeat a pretty big monster in the world map.. while losing half my life too. Maybe that's why I'm feeling so drained of energy at the moment.. Time to sleep and recover. Have to say though, tonight was fun. Tomorrow is back to another day at work.. Uni for many again soon.. Time to get my act together too.

[It took me almost half an hour to type all this on my phone.. If only I can connect a keyboard to this phone, won't things be so much easier?? ><)

Life is short

Unexpected things can occur any moment and ~poof, life gets extinguished just like that.

Was talking to J.T at work about the murders that happened at Epping. Actually, it was TT who told me about it first, because I haven't heard about the news till this morning. JT was saying how in Jakarta, back in the 1997 or so, there were riots everywhere. You can open a letter box, and a bomb will go off on you. You can be strolling in a shopping centre, and a bomb can wipe you out just like that. If you're a Chinese girl- fear and avoid the public toilets, for there will be men waiting to rape and disfigure your face with knives. When Jakarta was in such a chaos, JT was happily out on the streets interviewing homeless people for her school assignment. (JT, if you're reading this, you're one lucky girl!! Keep safe!!) Sounds scary, but in the end, if something were to happen, it will happen no matter what.

Still, it's pretty horrific. Murderer roaming loose. Family ties? It sounds like such a... well... Chinese thing to do... to kill the whole family off rather than target one man. And with Chinese families and their big extended relatives, there are bound to be complications, ill feelings and grudges. Maybe the murderer's already fled the country and went into hiding in another country. Maybe...

I guess when you really realise how fragile life is, that no matter how much one tries to be as healthy and fit as possible, avoid danger and lead as safe a life as possible, it really doesn't take much for all that to be bypassed and destroyed... you start to think what it is in life that is actually worth your time and attention. Like TT said, why bother getting angry, upset, or getting into arguments, when there's so many other things in life to enjoy? If there's someone you love, tell them; if there's something you've always wanted to do, go for it; if there's someplace you've always wanted to travel to, go.

Moral? Don't waste life on petty things like arguments or hold on to hard feelings. Instead, enjoy the life that has been given to you =)

/emo entry.

From 2009-06-18-2205-35

Went to meet brother and TT at Chatswood because brother said he hasn't had yum cha for a long time [because he was lonely at work], so we went to the gum fok at Chatswood Chase for a quick yum cha session...

Despite it being a Thursday, it got crowded really quickly and at around 12:30, there were queues outside already. Thank goodness we went there at around 12 and grabbed a table.

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Tofu fa~ hm XD

From 2009-06-18-2205-35

Sick of seeing pies? Well, this is Apple/Cherry Pie III, and this time, I actually bothered to fold the lattice top properly. Made it last night, gone when I came back just now from work. I swear, my brother's a machine when it comes to consuming apple pies. Welp, this one will be the last one for a while- all crappy apples used up! =D

From Fi+S' Pottery Class

Congratulations and happy birthday to FL and SM~ this was their birthday cake... ice cream cake! =D Was really really good. I only spent about an hour and a half or so at the party because I had to go to work in the morning, but it was still really fun. We were all given a block of clay and set to mould it freely.

Won't post it all, but here's a few:

From Fi+S' Pottery Class

Clay hamburger, complete with fries, pickles on the side with lettuce.

From Fi+S' Pottery Class

Very creative... a hand? And... an elephant coming out of the hand? ._.

From Fi+S' Pottery Class

Tarantula turned into a scorpion.

From Fi+S' Pottery Class

No prizes for guessing whose this one was.

Yay~ next time I work will be the weekends, so I get four days off... relax relax! =D tt!!!!

Currently drinking: Triple Flowers Jasmine tea
Currently in oven: Apple pie #2
(Also currently frustrated at the slow internet... we're capped! Thank goodness I've already watched Saki for this week on crunchyroll... but it means no more streaming sitcom for me...)

My mum requested a second apple pie because we've still got those crappy apples to use up. This time, rather than melting the butter (which you're not meant to do for pastries because butter is supposed to be as cold as possible) and mixing it with the flour, I used the mixer to cut the butter into the flour. Took less than a minute =) Let's see if it really makes a difference to the pastry shell.

Anyway, my sister's gone back to Singapore and it's all peaceful and quiet in this house again. Back to the usual "children in front of comps while parents do their own work" routine. While she was still here, she went with my brother to this patisserie in Balmain called adriano zumbo. Apparently it was really good, but I had to go to work, missed out =(

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Some chocolates they bought

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Inside the box

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Cherry cola cake- inside was cherry cola syrup with layers of chocolate

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Passionfruit marshmallow I think? Wasn't that great

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Titled Escape from... um.. some kind of forest, this alien looking cake was killed on its way home.

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One of the chocolates cut in half- look at the layers =D

And while they were enjoying themselves at the cafe having cakes and desserts, I was having this at Franklins:

From 2009-06-18-2205-35

It was pretty bad. I'm not on a diet, but Weight Watchers were the only kind of cheesecake we had in the freezer and... it looked nice. I think I was hoping it'd be like a chocolate mousse kind of cake, but cheesecake, especially frozen ones, don't work. And not low-fat ones at that, because it was tasteless ._.

What was nice though, was what TT and I made yesterday. Made this as a request to make something else other than dessert:

From 2009-06-18-2205-35

Title: "White Carrot Cake". It was surprisingly hard to find the radish- our main ingredient for this radish cake, but finally found it in the Asian supermarket at Market City. Does that look good or what? =D Tasted "even better than the one you get outside", according to a review we got =P

Enough advertising and showing off there, time to check on Apple Pie II. Dad just proclaimed that it's raining outside. Cold....

Small entry before I go upstairs and... sleep/talk~ ^^''

Didn't want to be too confident before I got my results, but now that the results have all been released, I can safely say that... L will be graduating from Usyd! =D This last semester has really been quite a learning process. My last semester being in the same class as good friends like JC and doing essays (and panicking) together with TT, and quite a lot of things happened, like, my first time walking into a quiz without actually knowing there was a quiz on (my gosh, that was a shock, yet surprisingly the results were better than one that I actually studied for... why??? o O) and... gained some confidence in my own academic achievement I guess...

Small story back into L's past:
Being the youngest with an elder brother and sister, one might think that I must be spoilt silly, with both my siblings looking after me and all. Those who are the youngest will understand: siblings set the standard- the bar, for it is in everyone's nature to compare and rival, and for me, both my siblings are smart. They do really well academically and of course, my parents are proud of them. Me? Well... haha, my parents understand that I'm not good academically (though my dad likes to think otherwise and say I'm smart but lazy... partial truth there, but... let's just say, my brother can churn out a philosophy essay worth a HD in one night... me, it'll take a few weeks. That's the difference) and they say I'm more creative, musical, etc etc. Just to make me feel better ^^ My sister is good in the way she deals with people, my brother is eccentric but an amazing writer and editor. We're all different and good in separate areas.

Last semester, all the subjects I took required writing. Essay writing. I had no exams, only essay after essay. When it comes to writing, of course, I would think of how good a writer my brother is, how he scored HD in his philosophy classes and journalism subjects, how he could do his take-home exams in a matter of hours and get those great marks.

What leads to one's downfall?

Lack of confidence.

Sure, I couldn't do my essays in a few hours (gosh, I cannot imagine the marks I would have gotten if I did that- most likely I won't even pass my subjects) but tried anyway. It's not like I had a choice really ^^'' had absolutely no confidence I could get anything above a pass for my essays.... and I was right. I failed my first essay (ouch, why am I admitting this on a public blog??) and it was a Japanese one. Double ouch. Thank goodness I handed in my second essay before I got my first one back, because I would have lost all incentive to write anymore and given up if I did. Second essay- philosophy. Was fairly certain I was going to get a crappy mark. TT would know- I was whinging the whole way to collect it. Had no confidence, but he did in me and we had this bet going about my results.

He won. I like to think it's because he ALWAYS wins in bets, or that it was a good day for the marker and he was in a good mood when he was reading my essay.

It got better from that point, and yay, to cut a long story short, my other essays came back with better marks than an F or a pass. End of long story.

Moral: Have confidence in what you do. Oh, and support others too, because you never know when you'll need support yourself.

Realised how important and how relieving it is when there is someone there for you.

Small entry became a long one.. hm... I shall stop being so emo now.

Graduating! Mixed feelings there, but I'll be back in uni next year! (Hopefully...)

It was my parents' birthday back a few days ago, and we got them two really nice cakes, both from 85 degrees (I know, it's expensive there, but hey, once [or twice] every year!)

From 2009-06-18-2205-35

This was Dad's. It was strawberry mousse inside with a sponge roll.

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This was Mum's. It was tough bringing this one on the train and I was so scared it'd die or get deformed because the train was really hot. Fortunately, it arrived home ok... only to be...

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... cut open at the back of the head.

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I was going to cut right between the eyes, but my family was shouting murder and yelling for me to stop, so, here's a slice of the back of its head ^^ No, I'm not sadistic, really.

From 2009-06-18-2205-35

TT and I actually baked mum a cake, but I stupidly forgot to take it home with me =( It was nice, though there was one major error in the making of it. Recipe as follows:

Sponge Cake Ingredients:
3 Eggs
60 gm Sugar
75 gm Plain Flour (sifted)**
60 gm Melted Butter/Corn oil

Sponge Cake Method:
(1) Preheat oven to 160° C. Grease and line a deep 7" round baking tin.
(2) Whisk eggs and sugar at maximum speed for 5 minutes until ribbon stage.
(3) Fold in sifted flour.
(4) Fold in warm melted butter or corn oil, until batter is shiny.
(5) Pour into baking tin and bake for about 30 minutes.
(6) Turn cake out from baking tin onto wire rack to cool. Cut the cake into 3 layers. (I did two layers)

The one major error was that we followed the recipe, despite it looking wrong. Why? Because there's no way this cake can rise. It doesn't have any raising agent in it, like, self-raising flour, or bi-carb soda, or baking powder (yes, they are different stuff, those two). So, I think rather than plain flour, the author really meant self-raising, because the cake did not rise and became dense and quite hard. Still an edible cake though, just not spongy.

Durian Mousse Filling Ingredients:
250 gm Durian Flesh, blended
150 gm Fresh Milk (I use full cream UHT)
125 gm Non-Dairy Whipping Cream, whipped
20 gm Gelatine
5 tbsp Water

Durian Mousse Method:
I disregarded the method the site had, and just did it the simple way-
1) Whip cream till stiff and add durian flesh. Whip all together.
2) Tried to desolve the gelatine (we used powder form) in water, didn't work, so added the whole clump of gelatine (plus water) into the milk and put that to the boil while stirring. Not all the gelatine dissolved, but enough did, and we just poured the mixture through a filter to get rid of clumpy gelatine bits.
3) Wait for that to cool before pouring the whole lot of cream/durian in and whipping it for a minute or so.

Assembling it is easy: cut the sponge cake in half (diameter) and spread half the durian cream mixture on the bottom layer. Cover it with the second layer and top it with the remaining cream.
Refrigerate.

For original recipe, go here. The only thing is, use self raising flour for the cake part. Or add baking powder.

From 2009-06-18-2205-35

From 2009-06-18-2205-35

Tasted pretty good though. The durian mousse was so nice, and the gelatine made it set really nicely too. =) Those who hate durian... hm... I'm pretty sure you can replace durian pulp with... say... strawberry... or mango... or passionfruit pulp... =| Never tried it, don't know, but I'm almost certain mango will work.

Project #2! We worked hard that day!

From 2009-06-18-2205-35

This~ apple pie! This was actually made by TT, cos I was being adhd and cleaning up instead of helping... ^^'' Can't be bothered posting the recipe here, just go on google and search up "wikihow apple pie" and it should be the first link. Or just click here.

I made my family one just yesterday, and since my sister's back from Singapore, we had 5 people in the family. It was gone before dinner, and I made it at around 1pm (when I woke up... at around 11 ^^'') Big success? Thanks TT for the recipe =) It was really nice and received compliments from everyone (including dad, which is extremely extremely rare, because he's such a good chef, and everyone compared to him is like, pfft)

From 2009-06-18-2205-35

Tada~

There's still a whole bag of really bad apples here. My dad thought they were cheap and got them from the fruit barn, but they were... not really edible. Time to make another apple pie? ... Might leave it for a day, think everyone might get sick of it ^^''

Ok, I'm done. Been actually itching to type a blog entry up since last night, but had to sleep to wake up for work at 6:30 today. Gosh, it was insanely cold this morning, and absolutely dangerous on the road. My sister drove in this:

From 2009-06-18-2205-35

Can you see anything?

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Can you?? The fog was super thick and we crawled our way to Pennant Hills.

While my sister's here, we did a whole lot of stuff together, like going to Olympic park to barbecue sausages and bacon (love bacon!) and going for a second round buffet to Shangri La for my parents' birthday, as well as yum cha at Canterbury League Club (that place is awesome! Looks really nice and has really good food too!) We took heaps of photos and sister made this:

From 2009-06-18-2205-35

From 2009-06-18-2205-35

Scrapbook pages? ^^'' Blurry, for a reason =P Anyway, just showing off my sister's artistic talents =D

Next week... looks like my hectic work schedule is back =( It'll be hard to get back to the "fanatic worker" mode after this relaxing week. Monday... don't come... ><