Raspberry "Frauds"

Look at these pretty little things.
All plump with goodness.
Doesn't it gives you the impression that juice will explode into your mouth with every bite?
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Hate to burst your bubble...
But raspberries are anything but the above description.
I know.
I was curious and bought 100grams of these.
They looked so good on the supermarket shelf.
They were calling out to me.
"Buy Me"
"Eat Me"
"I was grown for this very purpose"
"This is my destiny"
A bunch of frauds.
And I paid a pretty penny for it too...
Now I'm bitter about it.
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Anyways. Raspberries are not juicy at all.
There is hardly any "juice"
I tried one. No juice.
I tried 10 at one go.
Still not satisfying.
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I don't hate them.
But I do not think I'll be buying them from now onward.
They really are so deceiving.
If only they tastes 1/2 as good as they look.
Me. Bitter.
Maybe I ought to regurgitate and return them to the supermarket.

Tell Me What it's Worth?

Disclaimer: This is NOT my mid life crisis. I did NOT go and put a down payment on a Mini Cooper S. This was and still is a question - a heavy one - that I have been and still am pondering.
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Question: What do I want to achieve in this life that God has given me?
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The Christian right-winger will immediately insist that I give myself wholeheartedly to the clergy. No, I think not. There is no point pretending. Life is too short. If God meant for every male to be monks and every female to be nuns, then that in itself would not just contradict his word - "...be fruitful and multiply." - but would also inevitably bring about the extinction of the human race. You do not need a nuclear holocaust, a simple idea planted in the hearts and minds of people would achieve the same effect.
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Then I think. Do I go and try my very best to make lots of money? Set a goal to buy the fastest cars, the most expensive real estate, to obtain the rarest of time-pieces, to fulfill all my wants in my wildest imagination? If I move in that direction, with hardwork, wit and determination, perhaps, I might achieve that goal. But after I do (if I do) then what lies after that? In my work place, there is so much talk about how much others are getting paid elsewhere, but if I keep moving on to another job and another job just to get better pay, would that make me happy? Would more money make me happy? Or rather would the things that money can buy bring me happiness? I'm not sure, because I have never been rich enough to be confronted with that question. But I just know that there is more to life than getting stuff.
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I have been thinking. God told us to number our days. I have not done so. But If I did, I would not be surprised if He tells me that a big portion of it is wasted.
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So here I am thinking.
I have a lot of time to think now that I'm on a TV fast.
I have not reached any conclusions.
I just feel that I'm not satisfied with the way I'm living my life.
I just feel that a portion of my time is wasted on unnecessary things.

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On a completely separate note:
I had a dream. A funny dream. Maybe even a brief glimpse into the future.
I was a married man. I have a wife and a baby daughter. The conversation went like this:

Wife (talking to a friend): He (me) is just like Alice, he eats so much and sleeps right after, and when he awakes, he looks for more food.
Friend: ..(starts laughing at me)
Me: (bouncing the baby on my lap) Ahahahha .... see Alice... mummy says you are JUST LIKE ME. ahahahaah.

Then poof... the dream segued to a completely different scene.

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Maybe, I don't know for sure, but maybe I do have a higher calling, I sure hope to know what it is soon, but more so, I hope to be ready for it once it is revealed to me.

Embracing Changes... Baby Steps

Yesterday.
I got off from work.
I took the same bus.
To get to the same place.
Midway.
I got really edgy.
I feel like breaking out of this loop.
Week After Week After Week.
So I said...
Screw my plans. I'm not going to do what I usually do.
Forget about the bus, forget about the wait,
forget about the long trip home.
So I bought a packet of peanuts.
Sat down on a chair, in an air-conditioned environment,
ate my peanuts while watching the crowds go zipping by,
rushing off to their respective destinations.
When I finished my peanuts, I dusted the crumbs off my shirt.
Headed to the taxi stand and took a cab home.
It cost me 11 times more than a regular bus ride
but I saved 6 times the amount of time it takes for me to get home.
Sometimes you have to ask yourself.
What is more important to you?
Time or Money?
I would say time.
But I can only afford this "answer" for one day.
I guess I'm still the winner,
Because this time, money bought me some time,
as well as an ounce of happiness.

Tabletop BBQ: Failure to Launch

I tried organizing a unique dining experience for my family tonight. Tabletop-BBQ. I went out and bought a disposable BBQ tray that was filled with heat-beads. I bought a whole range of nice - EXPENSIVE - mushrooms, along with chicken, pork, Japanese sweet potatoes, squid, prawns, fish and sukiyaki sauce to coat the food.
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I meticulously cut the meat into thin slices so it would cook faster. I par-boiled the sweet potatoes so it'll be crisp on the outside after grilling it but fluffy on the inside. I made some dipping sauce. Everything was set.
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Then it all went downhill from there.
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The instant BBQ pit was such a hassle to ignite. It created a lot of smoke. The box said it would so I was not surprised, however, all the smoke was rather unpleasant. After the smoke died down, I placed the BBQ onto the table and ask everyone to tuck in. We placed what we want to eat onto the grill and waited.
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And waited.
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And waited.
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And waited.
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The bloody grill is taking too bloody long. One lousy piece of THINLY sliced meat took 20mins to be PARTIALLY cooked. What the....
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So everyone was impatient, and then the jokes came about going out and buying a few packets of fried rice. I gathered all the meats and cooked them on a stove. I gathered all the mushrooms, placed them in a tray and baked them in the oven. All was cooked in 10 minutes. We finished eating in 5 minutes and that was that. Zip Bam Boom.
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I thought it would be nice to sit around the table, grilling the food, coating it with sauce, turning it over, that sort of thing. I guess I forgot that this was Singapore. The land of I-Want-It-Yesterday.
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Bleh. Stupid Instant BBQ. I knew it was too good to be true when I saw the price. Seriously man, Caveat Emptor. $5.30 my aunt fanny! Bloody cheats. The damn grill went out of steam in less than 30mins and the box dared to claim that it could last for as long as 3hours. 3 hours my foot. I am damn pissed now. What's worse, my root beer became luke-warm from all the waiting. Stupid instant BBQ. I have instructed My Negro Amigo to put a hit on the makers of that cursed product, to snuff them out of their sorry existence.
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Yes. I do get dramatic when my dinner plans are messed up.

More Scones

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Cranberry/Scorched Almond Scones & Chocolate/Scorched Almond Scones.
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I think I'm done with baking scones for a while. Time to move on to other things.
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Lets See:

1. Biscotti....... Done
2. Brownie....... Done
3. Baked Cheesecake....... Done
4. Muffins....... Done
5. Scones....... Done
6. ???

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I think I will try to better the muffins I've baked so far. I'm still not satisfied with them. I love the corn muffins that are sold at Kenny Roger's Roasters. I think I will try to make that. Alright then. Next Bake-off....... CORN MUFFINS

What a way to start the week

I've got to send someone packing tomorrow. That's right. "You're Fired"
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Turns out that while I'm away, this little mouse really ran astray. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it is times like these that one must protect the company's interest.
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So here I am wondering. How do I terminate a guy? I've never done such a thing.
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1. A simple. Your services are no longer required. Thanks for all your past contributions. ??
2. You went too far this time, I'm afraid I've to let you go. ??
3. You do not have to turn up for work tomorrow. Clear your desk. ??
   
4. Management has decided. Your services will not be retained. ??
   
5. You're Fired. ??

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So difficult.
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And to top it off. I've decided to take Bambi's advise and cut down on TV. So as of today, I'm going on a TV fast. For one month (till 8th Nov 07 0000hrs), I will not watch more than 1 hour of TV per day. (and all unused hours cannot be brought forward to the next day. I used this loop hole the last time I tried fasting. BIG mistake.)
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Damn. It's really difficult. It's like asking a lion to eat salad for a month. I think I'm gonna be one grouchy beast. GRrrrrr.

Yo... You Trippin Bro?

So. My 8 Day Getaway concluded. Relaxing. Rejuvenating. Saddening.
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So many have moved on. So many will.
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I love you Bambi. Wherever you may decide to go, I will stand by your decision. Because no matter where that may be, I will hunt you down, and hug you into a million pieces.
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I think I had better embrace some changes too. I do not want to look around and find that I'm the only one who is still stuck in the past.