Friendship

I think one of the best memories I'll have of 2009 is of B and me scoffing down the remains of a Bakerzin blueberry cheesecake which H bought to celebrate the birthday of his and Jon's DL.

She, delicately shoving the candle-shaped plastic knife with a piece of cake on the end of it into her mouth; me, picking up the bigger bits left behind in the box with my fingers. H telling us to Please offer some to A's girlfriend also don't use the knife can?!, and B telling me You know I think we're really act cute, but I think they like it la.

And the knowing look we both gave each other as we happily ate blueberry cheesecake.

Boyfriends do like it - in small doses, anyhow. I think (well, I hope!) girlfriends themselves wouldn't be able to stand acting cute in large doses.

It's nice to have someone who understands these things, and who isn't afraid to say so in front of me, because I'm thinking the exact same thing.

It makes everything a lot easier, and I thank God for her.

***

More than a boyfriend, also a friend :)
When can we cut another cake? I want to go to Korea on you-know-what and stalk Lee Dong Wook and Lee Da Hae.

Ask No Questions
And I'll tell you no lies.

But wouldn't you like to know what resulted in this picture during my MSN conversation with Aunti L?

(Yes, that's "Aunti" to you. Many Malay names end with "i," ok? Just keeping with the theme)

glowie chloeie says: DONT WANT TO HEAR

Feeling Cakey

As I said to Abi, I was feeling "cakey" yesterday, i.e. I had a sudden, strong desire for cake - and I came across a recipe for Italian Brownie Muffins, and so I made them. Have oranges and olive oil, will make Italian Brownie Muffins. The recipe can be found here. I left out the orange essence, and added the zest of about one and a half oranges. I also cut the sugar to slightly less than one and a third cups.

They turned out good and light and wonderfully cakey, as one review promised, to my great delight. Not at all like a brownie-muffin.

Here is a picture of them, posing with the oranges which I zested. I'm sorry I couldn't pose them better.

They look ugly, as do most of the things I bake because frosting is dreadful to clear up, and I hate wasting things because it's tremendously difficult to scrape up all the last bits, which usually add up to quite a bit of wasted frosting.

But ugly food tastes good. These Brownie-Muffins which were really cupcakes tasted like good orange chocolate, which we all know can go horribly wrong if the orange isn't done right. Guess you can't go wrong with fresh Sunkist orange zest!

***
I've been watching a trashy max show called Hot Guys Who Cook, but it's quite entertaining listening to the guys featured shooting their mouths off about everything. Today's Channel 5 episode featured an Irish guy who came up with the following nugget of wisdom:

"Irish men and women, American men and women, they're all the same! Irish men, American men, they all like to watch soccer, whether it's just soccer or American soccer. And Irish and American women, they like to spoil it for them. I've learnt to just, you know, make comments like 'Yeah, chicken's great fo' dinner,' 'No honey, you don't look fat in that,' you know, that sort of thing."

Well, what were you expecting from a show with a name like that?

Maybe It's Just The Time Of The Month

I was thinking recently about why I love Jon, and tonight we had a conversation about why HE loves ME. Girls love to know why, I think, and maybe guys just don't do "whys."

Anyhow, this might make me sound like a horrible girlfriend, but our dates are becoming more and more TV-oriented, as I make him come home with me to watch telly, often with my father or grandmother. Or I'll even want to not have dinner out with him so I can rush back to watch BAD local television (I have no cable) with my mum after tutorials.

I'm serious.

Maybe I'm just becoming a TV addict?

Well, I had to ultimately accept that guys really don't do "whys."

But I know why I love him - and it's comforting, so I thought I'd share it with you.

Besides the fact that, among other things, he makes me laugh, and we can talk about the most unromantic things and I still feel like we're having a "couple" conversation.

It's because he encourages me to be a better Christian; to trust in God's transforming power and love, and I think he's inspired me more than anyone else in my journey to becoming the woman I believe God wants me to be. And he continues to so inspire me.

I know - even I find that a most unromantic thought. Sometimes it worries me that I don't feel all warm and fuzzy anymore, when I used to. But thinking about why I love him, and realising what the answer was, was immensely comforting in the face of my worries about the lack of warmth and fuzziness.

So, guys, knowing the WHY can be a good thing.

And just like a (very human) girl, although I think I'd be glad if his "why" matched mine, I'd still want him to say it's because I make him laugh like no one else. Among other things.

***
An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. Proverbs 31:10-12

Indirect Resemblance

This is a picture of me and Jon's youngest brother.

I think we look alike.

He looks like Jon.

Therefore, I look like Jon.

It's that annoying couple thing.

Disturbing Images

No, not of war-torn nations, or the sad faces of rape victims in the DRC, and the like - but something potentially more disturbing, I think:

(pictures courtesy of marthastewart.com)

How are these "adorable baby costumes" for Halloween?! At least the baby in the Lobster picture, who also appears to be the baby in the Turkey picture, has a real baby smile. In the Turkey picture he just looks plain terrified of being eaten.

And is that a HUGE offset spatula I see next to the baby's head in the Pie picture?

More Inside Information Required

A recent encounter led me to think of the following poem from What Katy Did At School (that's when Katy goes to boarding school. Res ipsa loquitur, really):

Who ran to catch me on the spot
If I the slightest rule forgot,
Believing and excusing not?

Who lurked outside my door all day,
In hopes that I would disobey,
And some low whispered word would say?

Who sternly bade me come and go,
Do this, do that, or else forego
The other thing I longed for so?

. . .

Who is our bane, our foe, our fear?
Who's always certain to appear
Just when we do not think her near?

Who down the hall is creeping now
With stealthy step, but knowing not how
Exactly to discover -

If you've read the book, you really ought to know who I'm talking about.

If you don't, here's a link to a summary of the next book in the series, which mentions certain characters from the book before. It should be pretty easy to see who I'm referring to.

***

In other news, my Snotty Trekkie father has finally condescended to watch the Star Trek movie, which he has pooh pooh-ed as not being "in the spirit" of the original - too Hollywoodised, he says.

All I can say is, it hasn't stopped him from finding it Extremely Engrossing.

The Essence of Irreverence (and Friendships formed on exchange)

Shangren in a Must-Be-Zen-When-Pouring-Tea frame of mind

Shangren's "Receiving Birthday Present" Ceremony

Nevermind!

Heroes

I'll admit it - I've decided to follow Boys Over Flowers (rather late in the show but nevermind, I still know what's happened. I mean, it isn't exactly That Difficult), and will be trying to convince Jon to watch it with me next Saturday once I rush back from worship practice. Even though the story is getting a tad ludicrous. But what were you expecting? It's a Korean drama, and I shall be sorry when it ends.

And watching it is much more enjoyable now, because yesterday, wonder of all wonders, my father actually managed to use the old remote control to work the "DUAL-SOUND MODE" and I can now watch it in the original Korean!!!!!!!!

Though I must say Koo Hye Sun sounds slightly better in the Chinese, because They got rid of that horrible high-pitched female who did the dubbing for Hearts of 19.

My father is a hero!

Much Good

Right now I'm feeling like I did the night after I had my commencement ceremony.

Abi came over to "celebrate," and she ended up helping me clear out all the gunk stuck in the bathroom sink pipes - I remember it was the first free night I had to do it, and my father had been nagging at me to do it for days. And so we did.

I remember asking her, how many graduates does it take to clear a choked bathroom sink?

Today, enticed by the description of the Apple Cake in Tasty Home Cooking (I can't remember what the recipe book was called!), we attempted one. Or rather, I convinced Abi that we should attempt one. The fact that it called for half a teaspoon of ground nutmeg should have set alarm bells ringing at top volume in both our educated minds, as should the strong smell of nutmeg when we opened the jar to spoon out the required amount.

Alas, there are many things they don't teach you in university, and this is one of them.

We now have a rather good-, homey-looking cake with "moist and tender" pieces of apple in it, which unfortunately just tastes of nutmeg.

The Beginning of Wisdom

Jon had his last two wisdom teeth out last night, and today he actually REQUESTED that I go over and visit him, the invalid.

I declined at first because I wanted to watch TV in the comfort of my own living room, but due to his PERSISTENCE (for once he milked his invalid status for what it was worth!) I went over after all.

Notice how I'm calling it "PERSISTENCE" and "REQUESTING" and not "whining."

But it makes you wonder whether the male species is capable, after all, of learning the tricks of the trade.

Waste of Time
I shall stop worrying about whether Singapore will be consumed in an earthquake. Because Life Still Goes On. That's the funny thing, isn't it? No matter that thousands of people are now homeless and displaced, and experts interviewed in the newspapers are giving dire warnings, and my overactive mind will not let me stop thinking about certain passages in the Bible (Matthew 24) - Life Goes On.

That's actually the way it should be, if you think about it. If not people like me would be stuck at home, paralyzed by fear and unable to just - Live. It's also how I believe God would want us to be.

AND now that Jon has deigned to wake up and book our tickets to the AMIT World Tour 2010, I am well-pleased to share this information with you. You can click on the link to book your tickets too.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Sufficient unto each day is the evil thereof - Matthew 6:34.