Goodbye and Hello

Yet another one of our neighbours moving out from the estate.

Sean lives right below us, so the past few days, he has been conveniently hurling items over his balcony to save himself the effort to carry them down the stairs. He throws almost anything in this same manner-- last week he dumped a whole stack of magazines into the back of his pick-up. Then his 2 couches went crashing down. I guess if you can throw a couch down like that, it's no big deal throwing your clothes ( still in their hangers) down too!

Yifan thinks Sean is trying to meet the deadline (ie end of Aug), cos he was still moving stuff late last night. I feel sorry for him because he lives alone, and in times like these, you need all the help you can get to move house.

Clyde who lives right across from us is moving out too. So is Mr S2000( aptly nicknamed thus because he drives an S2000), the guy who lives next to Sean. And Mr Ya- Ya from ground floor had moved out a couple of weeks ago. ( as you can probably tell by now, I give nicknames to a lot of people. " Mr Ya- Ya" came about because he used to always walk around, sunglasses perched on his nose, in an arrogant way.... and he's a MAINTENANCE guy for the estate!!)

Moving on...

Food for tomorrow's trip.

Eating will not be a priority. Or rather, I don't know how convenient it is to buy food in the park so I thought I'd better bring some along, just in case it's too late to buy from Albertson's when we arrive.

Of trips and more

It's been 3 months, but pictures taken during our trip to San Francisco are finally ready in the Gallery





Come Friday, we'll be leaving for Jackson Hole, WY. I can't tell you how excited I am right now. Mountains and lakes are two favorites of mine, and cold weather too? I really can't complain.

I started a fire

Just read:


Coupon Girl by Becky Motew

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Finally got our new wok yesterday.


I know the wok looks really bad in the picture, what with grease stains and all, but did you know that you are not supposed to wash the wok after every use?? Yucks!

We bought an unseasoned wok, so had to do the seasoning ourselves. Basically, what seasoning does to a wok is that it creates a black patina on the surface of the wok ( that isn't really dirt but is actually carbon) and it is this seasoning that makes the food you cook with the wok tasty. And that's why the longer you've used a wok, the better the taste of the food you cook with it.

Anyway, seasoning the wok is no simple process. You have to coat the entire surface with cooking oil, and then heat the wok till it smokes. Then cool the wok to room temperature and thereafter, wipe away the excess oil in the wok. It is normal that the paper towel will turn black the first couple of times, so you would have to repeat the same process until you finally get a clean, blackless paper towel at the end. Now the wok is fully-seasoned.

It was during one of the many times of seasoning we were doing that the wok caught fire! I have to admit we were both not paying full attention because Prison Break was on tv at that time, and I didn't expect a fire to be possible since we use an electric stove. I was wrong!! One minute I was watching tv, the next I saw flames going up in the wok. And pretty big flames too. It was quite a sight. Things happened really fast then. Doors were opened, fans turned on at full speed, and the smoke alarm sounded!!

No harm done, thank goodness, and the wok, though not 100% seasoned, works great now.

We Love Meat!

Click, starring Adam Sandler and Kate Beckinsale



I usually stay away from Adam Sandler's movies. This wasn't our first choice, but tickets for Cars had already been sold out by the time we got to the cinema.

Click is one horribly stupid movie, but still everyone (except me) seemed to be enjoying themselves during the movie-- they laughed at scenes which I thought were just plain dumb. More slapstick than witty humour.

Thankfully we had a wonderful dinner after that to make up for it.





Red Hot & Blue is a Memphis-style BBQ restaurant, quite unlike the Texan-style ones we've had previously. The sides ( I had green beans aka french beans and BBQ beans, and Yifan's were red-skin mashed potatoes and coleslaw) were sooooo good!

The ribs were done in a different style from what we are accustomed to. Not the wet kind with bbq sauce on them. This was dry-rubbed the Memphis way. Lip-smacking good!!

Keep working it

Just read:


Party Girl by Sarah Mason
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Things weren't much better at yoga this morning. I still am not as flexible as I'd have liked to be, so it was more strenuous than anything. I wasn't the only one feeling it though. Yifan agreed that it was tough!

Here's a shot of him doing a little warm-up:

Take A Chance

It's Poker Night at the clubhouse today!


The winner gets a very small percentage of his rent deducted for 1 month. Alas, Lady Luck was not smiling upon Yifan. Still he managed to outlast many other players. :-)

Food of the day:


Thai Green Curry

The All Essential Item in My Kitchen

I am in search of a new wok. This will be our 4th one thus far. We've used 2 woks ( one of which is now used for steaming fish only), and 2 frying pans.

I've always preferred to use a wok than a frying pan, but finding a good wok is no simple task. The stove we have right now is an electric stove, so we can only use flat-based pots and pans. Most woks are too rounded at the bottoms, and those that aren't are of the "wrong" material. They rust very easily.

Before all of this, I didn't know that there was so much to learn about pots and pans. For example, Teflon-coated frying pans are not exactly suitable for high-heat cooking. That could explain why our frying pans always lose the coating. Also, it is more difficult to stir-fry food more evenly on a flat-bottomed pan on the electric stove, because the flat bottom heats up faster than the rounded sides above it. Then, there are pans that are not exactly flat on the inside ie the perimeter of the inside is slightly indented so that whenever you pour oil to heat up the pan, the oil goes straight to the sides and not stay in the middle. ( Bad idea if you want to deep-fry a fish for eg)

From what I can gather from a little research I'd done, carbon steel woks are a better buy though non-stick coatings dun work very well with them. Non-stick coatings work better with a heavy gauge aluminium wok, like those made by Calphalon, which incidentally, costs A LOT.

Until recently, I didn't know that I would have to season a brand-new wok to get rid of the coating that manufacturers put on the woks. And even after you've used the work, you should coat it with a thin layer of oil to prevent rusting. That's a lot of work!

The search for the right wok continues...

Season 3 of Prison Break started yesterday!! woohoo. I'd recommended it to Joel who then bought half of season 1, and it's no surprise that he is now hooked and trying to get the player to watch the downloads. Heheh. I'm not 100% positive, but I thought Mediacorp was planning to bring the series into Singapore. So if you happen to catch trailers on tv or something, please give the series a try. I can guarantee that you'll love it.

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Just read:


Society Girls by Sarah Mason

Also, over the weekend, we managed to catch The Break-Up that starred Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston.



I loved the movie for its realistic take on life. The plot was simple, nothing too far-fetched and unbelievable. It's something that almost everyone will be able to relate to. There were moments that were so funny, like the scene in the bar where Vince was talking to his mate about Jennifer Aniston and the guy who came home with her. Then there were parts that were sad, like when Vince finally told Jennifer that he loves her, but it was already too late. The ending was unexpected too, cos there was no happy ending. Sigh.

Yoga: Take 1

Some of the poses I did this morning at yoga:










And two of my personal favorites:





Not too complicated, but it got pretty tiring after a while.

In the first minute of class, we sat in a cross-legged position with eyes closed and were told to clear our minds off thoughts. I never can do that. I was daydreaming as usual until the instructor said " clear your minds for the next hour". OMG!!!! One hour? I thought this was going to last just 30 minutes. Slight panic rising in me cos firstly, I wasn't mentally prepared for a whole hour of yoga cos I dun know how my body would take it. Secondly, I wasn't sure if I could last the entire time since I knew I would be feeling hungry soon. ( fyi, I had been awake since 7am without bfast even though class only started at 9. things like that, ie not sleeping well the night before, happen to me when I have something out of the ordinary planned for the next morning.)

As a whole, the class went very well, though my limbs are still aching at this point in time. ( it's been over 2 hours since class!!!)

I think I will be going for all the saturday classes from now onwards. Despite all the aches and my legs feeling like they are going to give up on me, it was fun.

There's a guy in the class today, so I wasn't the worst student, I think. At least I could stretch better than he could. My guess is that Yifan will give the guy a run for his money when I drag him to class with me next week.




Song of the day:

Last-minute Jitters

I'll be joining the early morning yoga class tomorrow. I'm not exactly the most flexible person around so feeling kinda anxious... and excited at the same time.

There's pilates class as well but from what little I know about yoga and pilates, yoga is the more "relaxed" form. Depending on how it goes tomorrow, I might attend the pilates class too.

Too bad Yifan has to work tomorrow, or he'd join me. That will be a comforting thought cos then I'll be relegated to being the "second least flexible person" in class. :)

Oooh and it's Poker Night this coming Thursday, and Yifan's just signed up for it. Apparently, the winner gets one month rent free!!! I would have signed up too just so we can double our chances of winning but I CAN'T play!!! Yifan wants to give me intensive lessons, but there is no way I am gonna be good enough in time for Thursday. I can probably give it a shot next month ( though I have absolutely no interest in poker).

So that's that for life in Bella. Enjoying ourselves and getting fitter ( and hopefully richer).

It's Pamper Time

Just read:


Lola Carlyle Reveals All by Rachel Gibson
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Shiseido at Foley's is now giving free face massages for customers. I went for mine today. I loved it!!! Throughout the entire 15 minutes, I kept my eyes open ( save for those few seconds when the lady applied some stuff to my eye area) cos I was worried that I'll get so comfortable that I'll fall asleep.

Then there were moments where I had to stop myself from giggling because I remembered Yifan's joke yesterday about asking the lady to massage my face for " 5 more minutes".
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origin of joke

Yifan gives me a face massage once a week that lasts 20 minutes or so. And everytime he says he's done massaging, I will grab his hands and place them on my eyes and say " just 5 more minutes".

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So just when I was all relaxed and enjoying myself, I had to be reminded of the joke, and then I had to dig my nails into my hands to stop myself from laughing out loud. Ridiculous, I tell ya.

You have heard - Northern Sky

Perseid

Just read:


Full Bloom by Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes

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Last weekend was when Perseid Meteor shower was at its peak.





Beautiful, but I don't think anything can come close to what I saw that night on the Swiss Alps.

QVC

I watched QVC for the first time today. QVC is America's version of Sellavision in Singapore. Until today, I've always wondered about the effectiveness of selling on air. Especially when the things that are being sold usually look dubious-- unheard of brand names ( to me), cheap-looking items that aren't selling cheaply etc. But mostly, I thought who would actually sit around and wait for something to catch his/her eye?

I thought I should give the channel a chance and sat down to watch for 15 minutes today.

This was one of the items they were selling:



Birkis!!!

And all this while I thought they just sell junk on tv.

The response was unbelievable. The rate that the birkis were flying off the shelves was faster than the seconds that ticked by. ( there is a timer next to that to show the amount of time left). People even called in to give their two-cents worth about the footwear!!!

p.s. Yifan said that when he was living in the dorms, he knew people who used to stay home to watch QVC!!! He even has a Singaporean friend who buys stuff from them.

National Monument...

NOT.

This is hilarious.



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Just read:


Why Not? by Shari Low

There Are 5 Stars Arising

Out of the stormy sea
Each is a lamp to guide our way
A lamp for all to see

Looks familiar? You may remember the words as the lyrics to one of the songs you had to sing as a primary school kid every august.

National Day used to be one of my favourite holidays. Actually, it's the celebration of National Day in school that I miss. I enjoyed the various song-and-dance items that we students had to put up for the entire morning( or afternoon) session, but mostly I liked the part where the teacher would give out the National Day souvenirs. I think my love for freebies was probably nurtured then. Heheh.

Have a great birthday, Singapore!

And here's to you all the way from across the world,

Aroy

In the mood for Thai food:




xiao bai cai cooked thai-style, chicken with basil leaves, tom yum soup, and a side of kimchi. oh, and there's the sambal belacan ( without belacan since i couldn't get my hands on any) that I just made this afternoon.

The meal wouldn't have been possible if I didn't manage to get some kaffir lime leaves today. I was at a thai restaurant for lunch, and the owner was nice enough to spare me some kaffir lime leaves after we got to talking. :-)



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Just read:


Almost Perfect by Julie Ortolon

Almost A Habit

It's been awhile since the last bbq in our balcony...

Friend in Peggy Sue

Of all places, we actually bumped into Wenny in Peggy Sue's.

Here's a furtive pic I took of Yifan and Wenny:

Talk About Luck

Just watched:


She's The Man, 2006

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A funny incident took place today. Well, it's funny only to me that I laughed till tears came out. Yifan was pissed when it happened.

I should start off by laying the basics. I handle all financial affairs of the household i.e. making sure that bills are paid on time, banking in checks from the company etc etc. I also withdraw cash for the both of us when I notice that we are running low. (credit cards being our payment of choice and yes you can buy $0.50 worth of candy with a credit card if you want to).

What I usually do is every now and then, I slip a couple of bucks ($20) into Yifan's wallet, in case he needs to use cash instead of credit card. Only place you ever need cash in this country is in a chinese restaurant. It's probably been a while since I last checked, and hence it led to the unfortunate event this afternoon.

He had to go on a stretch of tollway on his way to meet a customer. Now, normally, there would have been people manning the toll booths. However, this being a small exit, the booths were all automated. In place of the guy manning the booth is a fairly large basket where you have to throw the coins for the toll into. Thing is the basket only accepts coins.

So Yifan happily drove up to the booth, checked and only found ONE DOLLAR in his wallet, and no coins!!!!! There is not much you can do in a situation like that -- either you get some coins ( in this case, toll was 40c) one way or another, or you just drive off and wait for the summon to be sent to your house.

Now came the hilarious part (to me). Yifan told me that at that point of time, he first panicked, and then was cussing while getting out of the car, walked all around it, looked on the road, and lo and behold, he actually managed to find enough 5c coins for the 40c toll. Hmm, thats like 8 altogether. Those were the coins from previous drivers who accidentally dropped on the ground while trying to throw into the toll basket and didn't bothered to pick up. Amazing!!! I mean what is the probability of you finding 8 five-cent coins, no more no less, on the road??? That saved the day. ( While all this was happening, drivers behind him were all tooting their car horns).

He called me right after to complain. His first question:" when was the last time you gave me money?" Uh-oh. I totally forgot.

Anyway, while he was relating the story to me over the phone, I was laughing non-stop. What made it funnier was that he still sounded fed-up about it. Didn't he see how ridiculous the entire thing must have been? Hahha.

It's So Hot That...

Did you know that you can actually bake cookies in your car???

No kidding. This woman in New Hampshire baked an entire tray of cookies just by placing the dough on the car dashboard. Apparently, if the temperature outdoors is at least 35C, and if you have the doors and windows of the car closed, the temperature inside will rise to 94C. Enough to bake cookies!

Hard to believe, but it's true.



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Just read:



Playing House by Patricia Pearson

Red Hot Alert!

Currently:


It is HOT!

Nature At Its Best

Just read:


Asking For Trouble by Elizabeth Young

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Visiting National Parks

I just planned a trip in Sep that might very well be the most difficult trip to plan EVER.
We'd decided over the past weekend that we want to visit Yellowstone Park and Grand Teton National Park this coming Labor Day weekend. And today, just 2 days after, nearly everything about the trip's settled -- from purchasing the air tickets, to mapping out (in a general fashion) the route for the 5 days, to getting accommodation sorted out. I am pleased. After all, this is pretty much the way we've always done stuff. We'd have an idea just pop into our heads, do some quick calculations, and off we'd go. It was like this 4 years ago when we were exploring Europe ( go to the train station, see some destination that we'd never heard of, get the tix and set off). Things haven't changed much.

Anyway, the sheer size of Yellowstone Park made planning tedious. The park spans 3 states-- Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. So comes the important question. Which airport/city to fly into? As usual, yifan has been there before (there aren't many places left in the usa he has not been to). I had to search for the airport that still had flights with seats available, while at the same time making sure that the air tickets alone wouldn't push us over our budget. Then I had to juggle the flight times to accomodate yifan's work schedule.

After all that ( which already took me a couple of hours, not to mention hours that were spent reading up on the basics), I came up with a rough travel route. We would fly into Jackson Hole, WY, stay over in Grand Teton, and explore Yellowstone Park for the following 3 days. Looking for suitable accomodation wasn't easy too.

When it came to lodging, there were a couple of alternatives we could take. We could stay outside of the park, in one of the surrounding towns, or we could stay overnight in Grand Teton. Then, we had to decide if we wanted to stay in a lodge/cabin or do outdoor camping. That plus searching for the best accomodation in the various places took up so much of my time. Imagine then having to do the same thing for Yellowstone Park.

This afternoon, I finally managed to work everything out.

Bearing in mind that we have to balance practicality with experience( of living in the outdoors), here's what we came up with:

1st night: Signal Mountain Lodge in Grand Teton where we will wake up to views of snow-capped mountains and the lake. Well almost, we'll just need to take a short walk round the bend, that is.

2nd night: Canyon Lodge Cabin in Yellowstone Park. The log cabin is in a wooded area, and about 1 mile from the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

3rd night: Living it up like a true hiker. We are gonna sleep in a campground!! IN OUR CAR!!!! heheh. otherwise, we'd have to buy tents and bedding stuff which is a lot of work, and most likely just gonna be tucked into the closet after that.

4th night: Haven't thought about it yet, but very likely to be spending that few short hours in the car again since we have to catch the early flight back.

Beautiful pictures will come after Sep 5. For now, feast your eyes on these: