Too fast too soon - Better enjoy yourself while you can!

My attachment at Fajar Secondary School officially ended last friday. I miss the students and working with my friends though I absolutely abhor waking up at 5.45am. Michelle, Steffi, Shani and I went to United Square to buy Stickies for the kids. We bought 4kg of Stickies for $178 and repackaged it ourselves into mini packets. 

Freaking a lot.


We had udders ice cream!

Shani, Steffi and Me.

With Michelle.


Well technically I could not help cause Hao Chuien was still doing our project hence I had to focus on that first. Stickies were wildly popular with the kids I must say. I do not really enjoy it cause I find the sweets a bit too sharp or maybe I have a soft mouth.

Hard at work.



The kids wrote me a damn touching farewell note. :`) They included a gift too.


Bye kids! Hope you all remember my amusingly naggy ways and please do well in your studies (they don't know the existence of my blog)! :D


Our farewell meal at Pizza Hut the day before.

Family photo. Shi Hui was missing though.


Helped cousin buy Macbook Air and installed some programmes with her. What I can say is... I want one!

Antique beside the sexy one.


`
Ate at Tawandang Suntec City with my buddies last week and I must say, there are better alternatives elsewhere. The food is exorbitantly priced.

`
Went Universal Studios Singapore two days back with my university friends. It was fun but it was super hot that day.

Cleopatra that tried to put up an icy aura. Her job so easy, no need to talk to visitors, just act aloof.

I went bonkers when I saw this. This is like a dream come true cos I have been fascinated with Jurassic Park since I was little.

The Spinosaurus was quite real thought it was painted green.

Rapids Ride!

Roy was drenched while Lloyd and stef stayed completely dry.


Lunch at Goldilocks! 
I'm sure she can do better with the chickens. Stick with the porridge maybe.



The water puddle on the ground is their pee, really. 

With Betty Boobs. Her parting words were,"You guys better take care of the girl!"

Stef got despised (a bit of a strong word here) by a caucasian lady when she tried to climb over the railing to exit the queue for the Waterworld because the show was having some technical difficulties and the show was to be cancelled. Unfortunately she climbed into the "express lane" and was questioned by caucasian lady.


"Do you know this is the express lane?" and "Where is your express pass?". Such condescending words! She must have thought stef was an alpha tango. Poor stef.


Anyway, Jerel left at around 5.30pm and we went for a Monsters Show and I nearly fell asleep cause I was too deadbeat. After that Roy, Tuan Quan and I "spammed" Battlestar Galactica as it was nightfall and there were little people. Our conclusion: The front seat offers the best view and the back seat is the scariest. 


No idea why? Because if you are seated at the back, u get to experience more "out of your seat" feeling as you will start accelerating at the top arch while the people at the front seat only experience it after the arch. 



Charlie Chaplin!
He was really damn funny as he tried to amuse the visitors who were trying to take a photo with him. Salute!


Till then!

Time flies - She's got you high and you don't even know it

Three weeks of attachment at Fajar Sec flew by and I'm left with one week left. Gotta submit my two projects soon which I am quite worried about because we have not really offered any novelty ideas. Anyway, I enjoy teaching very much. The students are quite, unique. I rushed myself through the marking of a class's assignment before going out for Harry Potter and I must say the students are not prepared for 'O' levels examination anytime soon! I remembered I completed every practice papers diligently but I don't see it in any of the students. 


Anyway, I went to Joycelyn's convocation a week ago and here are the pictures which I had grabbed from facebook.

We look good here.

:)

Some day it will be our turn! 

I was so deadbeat that day cause I woke up very early for school, proceeded to the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) for a meeting and waited till 10pm for the presentation ceremony to end so that Joycelyn to come out. Thanks Pristine for buying our dinner.


Ok fast forward to this week. I had another meeting with the research team and I was late. I went to IMRE not knowing the venue was at S9, which was damn far away. Supposed to meet at 4pm but ended up reaching at 4.25pm. It was rather embarassing because the room was rather small and the presenter had to pause for me to take a seat, which was a table with a plant on it (there were no seats left).


We had dinner at Superdog and the fish in the fish burger was really smooth, much to my surprise. Afterwhich we had some time so we went to Cold Rock to have some ice cream. 

Itchy nose.

Itchy head.

Strawberry Shortcake ($11.50)

Too close for comfort.

Caught Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows Part 2 with my army buddies yesterday. I must say the movie was really good. Like many people have said, it is the end of an era. We grow up watching HP movies! I found Professor McGonagall damn cute she summoned the stone soldiers. She exclaimed that she had always wanted to use this spell as she shook her fists in excitement. She was quite the pro when she battled Snape and chased him out of Hogwarts. There were a few touching moments like Harry witnessing Snape's unyielding love for his mum through the pensieve and Hermoine's desperate plea to accompany Harry to meet  Voldemort. The small bloodied body of Voldemort was nasty. Overall the movie was really impressive. 


Anyway I bumped into Alicia's clique at 313 before the movie and Ming han commented that I grew fat. Yes Ming han, please be my personal trainer will ya? Today is his birthday, so... Happy Birthday! He doesn't know I have a blog btw.


Thanks to Guan Zhong for sending me and David home again! 


Just finished watching 500 days of Summer.

It was an interesting movie because I actually could relate to some of the things inside. This is not a love story, but a story about love. The female lead looks like Katy Perry. Thanks Steffi for lending it to me! I'm having trouble watching the Kite Runner due to DVD region issues. Gonna watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soon. Oh yeah, I bought 9 dvds from Laserflair cause it is having a clearance sale as it is moving from Bukit Panjang Plaza.

What do ya notice abt the genre?

Three dvds are missing from this photo. Wolverine Origins, Iron Man 2 and Transformers 1. I wanted to buy something more intellectual but they were running out of stock for most of the movies. :/

Expectations - and reality.

One tub of durians and this is only a tip of the iceberg!


My mood is down today cause I did not do well for CM3291. The moment I reached home, I tucked into icy cold durian which lifted my mood somewhat. I hope the meeting with Prof Hor tomorrow will be smooth and finally friday is coming. Looking forward to the long weekend (Monday is Youth day) and the rest ahead! 


P.S: Now I'm really worried for CM3292. Need to do something about it.

Reciprocity - It's a non-optional social convention.

Dad has been contemplating about shifting house so that we each can get a room. Well the idea has been here for countless years but has not been realised so I'm not putting high hopes that it'll succeed this time. Besides considering the location of the new apartment, I think that the quality of the neighbours are crucial. We have established a very positive and healthy relationship with our immediate neighbour family as we have lived next to each other for the past 20 years and going so I thought if we were to move, the most basic thing we can do is to find a nice family to occupy our apartment. Sadly, it is not like we have any buyers to pick from. Anyway, when Mum and I came back home from Lot One the other night, we saw this.



What's this mysterious package?


Ok, actually I'd already known what was inside because our neighbour texted me to asked if we were home so she could pass us their home-made sushi. Since we were not in, they hung it outside our door as they were going out.



Home-made sushi.


The pork floss (brown hairy stuff) sushi tasted really good. Thanks neighbour! In exchange for their kind gesture, I made tiramisu using their tupperware for them. I hope they do not mind and like my tiramisu.



Dinner for last night. ($11)


I bought dinner from the japanese restaurant behind my house (Nihon Mura). The quality of the salmon seems to be improving and I like the spicy spider (crab) maki. I hope they continue to operate because many restaurants had been jinxed by the location.


It has been 2 days since my attachment to Fajar secondary school started. The Vice-Principal is very friendly and kindly brought us around for a tour of the school.



My card access.


OM2 (Operations Manager 2) and Mr Kuan (as well as the VP) have been trying their best to accomodate 14 (yes, that many) of us into a room which they had converted into a temporary staff room. I really do appreciate their efforts and we will put in our best to complete the tasks given.


I am still trying to adjust to waking up early in the morning at 5.45am because I am guilty of sleeping at 4am during the holidays. It seems as if I am suffering from the onset of summer solstice, having longer hours of sunshine and it messed up my biological clock again. As I am typing this, I feel like snoozing already. Gonna cook dinner (maggi cos I had a late lunch) now . Till then.

Making Tiramisu - Life can be simple at times.

Met David to hang out in town but he had to accompany me to NUS to submit my  SEP documents. On our way to town, the bus past by the Thai Embassy and was having a bazaar so we alighted in order to visit it.



Mango Sticky Rice ($5) and Soya Bean Drink ($1 each)

Contrary to my belief that mangoes sold in public are often sour, this mango is actually sweet. It is almost the same as what you can get in Thailand, I mean, how can get you go wrong with fresh mangoes on glutinous rice?

I must say the staff working at Topman in Orchard ION is very friendly.



Olive vine, which was highly recommended by VB.

Actually we had tried this restaurant already but I did not do a review then.



Cheese Fries ($5.50)


Olive vine's Cheese Fries is much better than what you can get in KFC, as the fries are firmer and crunchier than the latter. Thanks for the fries, VB.



Deep Fried Fish Alfredo ($9.90)


I added pasta ($1.00) because I was hungry but I could not finish it. I gave it to David  as the pasta that he had was too fiery for his stomach. Being too creamy, I would not recommend it to people who do not like dairy products. For me, I feel it is a good combination. The fish, though common, was good (as are all fried food isn't it?).



Fried Pork with rice, egg and curry. ($9.90)



VB and David.



Marvin and I.


The dinner was rather briefly organized at the last minute and only Tian shuo (with mabel) unable to make it while Jia jia had to work OT.


I had decided to bake Tiramisu! 

The ingredients.



No, that wasn't my hand but my sister's.


I am glad I heeded VB's advice not to buy the coffee alcohol because I found a substitute cognac in the kitchen. My sister was helping out because she is keen to bake. Technically, making a tiramisu does not constitute baking because only mixing is required.



The 1st layer of ladyfingers - Not the vegetable that you're thinking of.


On hindsight, we could have dipped the ladyfingers  slightly longer time for a more moist and coffee taste.



Covering the ladyfingers with a layer of mascarpone cheese mix.


Doesn't that remind you of brick laying? Ladyfingers = Bricks and Mascarpone cheese mix = concrete.

2nd layer of ladyfingers!


I sprinkled some cocoa powder which was optional. Kudos to VB for insisting I buy the cheaper cocoa instead of going for the more expensive one since I'm making tiramisu for the first time. The cheaper cocoa (made in malaysia) tasted good.



Final layering.



Viola!

The surface was rather uneven but well, as long as it tastes good, I'm satisfied.

Place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours before consumption!


Woke up this morning and tried it. Both my sister and I felt it was really good! Success! Below is the recipe:

1. 250grams of Mascarpone Cheese
2. 3 eggs
3. 1 packet of Ladyfingers (not sure if Fairprice has them but I bought this in Carrefour)
4. 2 Tablespoons of sugar
5. 2 shot of Cognac
6. 1 thick coffee (We made it from nescafe coffee)
7. Some cocoa powder
8. Muscles for mixing the ingredients (Optional: Electric Mixer)

Steps (My apologies if I sound like I am performing a chemistry experiment):

1. Make a cup of thick coffee and allow it to cool to room temperature. Pour it into a plate to achieve a higher rate of cooling effect. Add 1 shot of cognac and some cocoa powder into the coffee.
2. Separate egg whites and yolks.
3. Beat egg yolks and sugar until it turns creamy yellow.
4. Add marscarpone cheese, 1 shot of cognac and mix till well blended. Leave it aside.
5. In a separate bowl, beat egg white until super fluffy.
6. Fold beaten egg whites into the marscapone mixture. Ensure minimal mixing so that it is only sufficiently well-blended.
7. Dip the ladyfingers sugar side up and place it into the dish sugar side down. Layer with 1/2 the amount of marscapone mix, leaving the rest for the next layer.

So what should my next creation be? I should try as much as I can before my internship starts next week and before school starts. Anyway, I signed up for Standard Chartered Marathon with Lloyd ($75/pax). Freaking expensive but I've heard good reviews from it so far, with Sundown Adidas being the worst. Hopefully I am able to finish it at a decent time. If only I can have Chee Kong's timing, that will be perfect!