Phuket (July 2011)

A long forgotten trip... I remember that I made a last minute decision to participate in this company paid trip because I was flying back for my brother's graduation ceremony.

And that was the first time I spent all my miles to get myself upgraded just so that I can be in the plane. I have to admit though if one keeps getting business class seats, one may never be reverted back to normality. Thus I have to constantly remind myself that one must never get used to all these special treatment. One must stay grounded. Though it is becoming hard to do so after 2 years of such lifestyle.

Take for e.g. the room, a toilet so huge and which can be very romantic for couples. Sadly I travelled alone :( hee hee

And the view is so fantastic from the room that it makes me happy just to stay in the room.

Actually I did stay in the compound most of the time. Because I had to fly back Melbourne a day later so I did not get to go island hopping

nor indulge in any water sports... :(

 But I happily did try to catch some butterflies though all failed... except this

And I managed to take the hotel shuttle to the city for a sunset walk

Other than that, I guess my only memory is the fantastic swimming pool
which has a poolside bar
where swimmers can sit and sip their drinks...

 And before I know it.. I'm back into the clouds....

Faulpez makes Noodle casserole

Casserole - A kind of stew cooked slowly in an oven

I never knew what a casserole is till I chanced upon some recipe because I was bored cooking maggi mee. And as I don't fancy peas nor onions but instead prefer mushroom plus some leftover red cabbage thus this is the outcome of my dish. The sauce tasted like cream of mushroom. Slurp. Oh and for this version, I used canned chicken breast as I finished up the tuna version without taking a photo "p.

Recipe from : http://www.squidoo.com/tuna-noodle-casserole

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package wide egg noodles
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 +1/2 cup milk
1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese blocks
2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained
1 (15 ounce) can peas, drained
1 (6 oz) Can dried onions

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Coat a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
3. In a large pot of salted water, boil noodles until al dente. Drain well.
4. In a medium saucepan, combine flour, butter, and salt. Stir until butter is melted and ingredients are combined evenly. Add milk, and whisk until the sauce thickens (usually it is at the proper consistency by the time it begins to boil). Add cheese to mixture, and whisk until cheese is melted and mixture is well blended. Stir in tuna, peas, and noodles.
5. Spread evenly in prepared dish.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Faulpez makes bento

My first time trying to make a bento set. Was cooking chicken rice so decided instead of making the typical steamed chicken, I made ginger fried Chicken Karaage.

Actually I don't remember how I did it already haha. I only remember I added ginger and garlic into the batter to fry with the chicken pieces. Here's the close up.

Yum yum.

Then I tried to make the egg flower twice though I barely made it both times.
1) Thinly cook an egg omelette.
2) Cut lines in the middle of the omelette. Do not cut through it.
3) Fold the omelette in half.
4) Roll up the folded omelette tightly to form the stem.
5) Fan out the petals of the omelette flower and tuck into the bento box.


FYI I follow this How to make a bento box ham flower from Parenting.com.

Boiled my flower carrots and did some arrangement and I got a yummy bento box! Not sure if I want to do again because it takes too much time.....

Faulpez boils Adzuki Beans

Azuki Beans are particular popular among Chinese cultures. They meant good luck, and so is often included in festive meal. Being a good source of protein, iron and B-group Vitamins, they are also low in fat and cholesterol free, while providing good quality dietary fibre.

In Japan, the whole boiled beans are served over ice with fruit or ice cream as a desert and is used as a sweet filling for cakes. In China the beans are boiled with sugar and water and served hot or cold as a sweet soup and the sweeten puree is used as a filling for sweet buns and pastries.

My style? Red bean soup with orange peel!

 

Ingredients:
* Red Beans
* Big Cooking Pot
* Sugar
* Water
* Dried Mandarin Orange Peel (Optional)

Instructions
1. Wash a 16-oz (1 lb) bag of red beans and a small piece of Madarin orange peel. Pour the beans, about 15 cups of water, and the orange peel in the big cooking pot. Red beans have to be fully covered by water. Cover the pot.

2. Heat the pot till water boiled, and turn heat to medium. Be sure to stir the red beans when they are boiled to prevent over spill because there will be lots of bubbles.

3. Keep the pot covered and cook for about 2 hours till the red beans turn pasty. It should look like soup but not as thick.

4. Lastly, pour about one cup of sugar (more or less) into the pot. Cook till sugar resolved.

Skydiving

There was a parcel in my letter box when I came back to Melbourne after several flights and I immediately guessed it was my skydive video.

Re-playing the whole scene back again, I remembered my thoughts when I was weighing between a hot air balloon or a sky dive experience. Both equally important to me. One lasts a minute or two, one lasts 30 minutes. And staying at Port Douglas makes the sky dive very inaccessible unless we rent a car. Even then, we couldn't make it to Cairns city in time and had to drive all the way to the skydive site. And we couldn't make it if it did not rain which make them delay their sky dive trip till the weather turns better.

I was thinking would I be fated to attempt my skydive. And the answer from GA is, I can tick this off my bucket list. Yipee...

So it started with the interview where the guy asked if I have any last message and I actually replied Nope. In some sense I felt it is because I should be back alive so I don't see a need to leave any message. But yet I was the only one out of the 3 who had chosen to include the insurance as well. Because since young, my mum always inculcated to me that buying insurance is not about getting claims, is just to ward off the ills that may happen should you not buy at all. So I can't say I'm entirely sure I would be back alive, all I can do is to trust in my Tandem Master to bring me back to the ground safely.

And the flight up was super cold. I had left my jacket behind which was a mistake. So in the plane, I started to shiver while it escalates. In no time it went above the cloud level and the beautiful eagle-eye view was covered by white fluffy clouds. Before I knew it, it is time for the descent and I was the third in line.

I have no idea how I dropped off the plane. I did not even remember if I saw the plane above me. But I remember the full 360 degrees beautiful rainbow which one could only get because it had been raining beforehand. And this is when I have to appreciate the rain that had fallen beforehand and that had stopped timely for me to witness it while skydiving.

I did went weak during the descent and I wondered is it because of the empty stomach that caused my paleness. But I have no regrets trying it out because it really was an awesome experience... even though I look so distorted in the video that I'm wondering how much face fats do I possess... haha.

A Spoonful of Sugar

Jane (speaking): It is a game isn't it Mary Poppins?

Mary Poppins (speaking) : Well, it depends on your point of view. You see...

(kinda, sing-speaking)In every job that must be done
There is an element of fun
You find the fun and snap!
The job's a game

(now singing)
And every task you undertake
Becomes a piece of cake
A lark! A spree! It's very clear to see that...

A Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
The medicine go down
The medicine go down
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
In a most delightful way

(Robin starts Whistling)

A robin feathering his nest
Has very little time to rest
While gathering his bits of twine and twig
Though quite intent in his pursuit
He has a merry tune to toot
He knows a song will move the job along

(Robin whistles a bit with Mary)

For a Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
The medicine go down
Medicine go down
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
In a most delightful way

[Interlude where all the toys go about putting themselves away as the children snap and the Robin whistles away. It seems so magical and I wish I can spring clean this way too...]

The honey bees that fetch the nectar
From the flowers to the comb
Never tire of ever buzzing to and fro
Because they take a little nip
From every flower that they sip
And hence (Mary's reflection echoes: And hence),
They find (Mary's reflection echoes: They find)
(together) Their task is not a grind.

(the reflection alone) Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
(Mary spoken to the mirror) Cheeky! (now to the children) Don't be all day about it please

Michael (yelling from inside the closet): Let me out! Let me out!

Mary (spoken to the toys): Well, that was very... Thank you now... Will you quite finish! Thank you.


Bflygal comments: I have always wanted to watch Mary Poppins esp as I have been in Melbourne for as long as the broadway has been here... but I can never find the excuse to spend the money on a theatre ticket. So I did the next best, I chose to watched Julie Andrews' Mary Poppins and what fun I had. A spoonful of sugar is what I really needed to cheer myself up.

It's been a long time since I watched a show. Perhaps my brother leaving Melbourne has made my room a tad too quiet and thus today (the 2nd day of the quiet day), I decided to waste my bandwidth and watched Mary Poppins. At least is better than watching TV.. only he can take the humour of 2 and a half man and South Park and etc.

And as usual I like this song best. Although I always thought it was a spoon full of sugar haha.. And I did not know that Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious originated from Mary Poppins haha. Trying to say this word in a breadth really makes one lightened up tremendously.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! It is time for me to shower...

p/s: that was written in 24th Feb 2011...hmm I forgot to publish it till I watched it again on 7th Jul 2011 in SG as I came back for my brother's commencement. Realized I actually had a copy in my HDD when I was clearing space haha... 

and I was seeing this scene

Mr. Banks: Just a moment, Mary Poppins. What is the meaning of this outrage?
Mary Poppins: I beg your pardon?
Mr. Banks: Will you be good enough to explain all this?
Mary Poppins: First of all, I would like to make one thing quite clear.
Mr. Banks: Yes?
Mary Poppins: I never explain anything.
[exits]

Cool.. sometimes I wanna be just like that. Never explain anything. Do as I wish hee hee.. Just recently CL asked me why am I back in SG.. while I explained is because of my brother's commencement.. I thought over it a few days later and asked myself, is there really a reason why I must fly back? Just because my visa expects me to only be in Australia for max 90 days? And when my work visa gets approve, does that mean I am no longer expected to be back in SG? My Sri Lankan lady says it best when she told my PM, I do have the flyback option, I just don't utilise it.  Because she has her hubby with her in Melbourne. But my family is still in SG, thus going back home is something I should do, without any special reason.

Anyway the reprise of A spoonful of Sugar is also lovely

A Man Has Dreams

[George Banks]
A man has dreams of walking with giants
To carve his niche in the edifice of time
Before the mortar of his zeal
Has a chance to congeal
The cup is dashed from his lips
The flame is snuffed aborning
He's bought to rack and ruin in his prime

[Bert]
Life is a rum goal, guv'nor, and that's the truth

[George Banks]
You know what I think?
It's that woman, Mary Poppins
From the moment she stepped into this house
Things began to happen to me!

[Bert]
Mary Poppins?

[George Banks]
Yes, yes of course

My world was calm, well ordered, exemplary
Then came this person with chaos in her wake
And now my life's ambitions go with one felled blow
It's quite a bitter pill to take

It's that Poppins women, she did it!

[Bert]
I know the very person you mean
Mary Poppins
She's the one what sings
A spoonful of sugar, that is all it takes
It changes bread and water into tea and cakes

[George Banks]
See, that's exactly what I mean
Changing bread and water into tea and cakes, indeed!
No wonder everything's higgledy piggledy here

[Bert]
A spoonful of sugar goes a long, long way
Have yourself an healthy helping every day
An healthy helping and crubble if you ask me

[George Banks]
Do you know what she did?
I realize it now
She tricked me into taking Jane and Michael to the bank
That's how all the trouble started

[Bert]
Tricked you in to taking the children on an outing?

[George Banks]
Yes

[Bert]
Outrageous!
A man of all the important things you have to do
Shameful!

You're a man of high position
Esteemed by your peers
And when your little tykes are cryin'
You haven't time to dry their tears
And see them grateful little faces smilin' up at you
Because, their dad, he always knows just what to do

Like you say, guv'nor
You've got to grind, grind, grind
At that grindstone
Though childhood slips like sand through a sieve
And all too soon they've up and grown
And then they've flown
And it's too late for you to give

Just that spoonful of sugar
To help the medicine go down
The medicine go down
Medicine go down

Well, good-bye, guv'nor
Sorry for your troubles

And lastly, Mary Poppins taught me never to make piecrust promise.
Easily made, easily broken.
It took me quite a few months to finally realise that if some people is sincere to pass you the photos, they will really do it at the first opportunity like how my previous apartment owner did. And some people, when she said she would but forgot it the very next moment no matter how many times I asked... I decided, is not worth keeping the photos too. Hmm talking about that though, I got other people to chase photos for when I'm back in Melbourne again haha...