I have always been puzzled with the craze over the cupcakes sold in most shopping malls lately, be it sold at the modern and chic eateries or at the stalls set up by newbie entrepreneurs.
However, a couple of weeks back, my sister in law came home with these and I fell in love with the colourful designs of these cupcakes and began to understand the craze over these teeny-weeny sweet stuffs. They were quite tasty too!
After clearing all the unwanted, expired, long-frozen food stuffs in my fridge, I restocked a little just to make myself feel more secure. I dunno. I’m quite anal when it comes to empty fridges. I don’t feel secure if my fridge is empty. What if there’s a war tomorrow? What if friends come to visit? What if I crave for some fruits sandwiches in the middle of the night?
A couple of days ago, I got this particular craving for soup. Not those creamy frothy one. Not those whipped out within half and hour and definitely, not those powder mixed one from cans or boxes either. I wanted some nutritious soup which can make me feel revitalized. Especially those I’ve heard from the aunties and mommies. About how the winter melon soup can help detoxify the body or about how turnip soup can help cool and cleanse the body.
Until today, I don’t really know much about the benefits of Chinese herbs though I’ve been raised in a family where herbs are boiled in soups with the belief that these herbs and tonics would strengthen, improve ‘qi’, warm the body etc. So, I went to the market and talked to some herb seller. I actually got a lot of information on how to mix and match some of the herbs so as to create a wonderful blend of healing properties as well as tasty.
During my early years in my marriage, I tried to be the exemplary wife everyone thought I would be and tried to cook up some soup recipes myself. With the help from my mom and a dash of my own creativity, I boiled some soups in the past. However, most of the soups I cooked didn’t really taste as nice as my mom’s.
They say that the more you cook, the more experience you’ll get in the kitchen. It’s really true especially when it comes to boiling soup. No matter how exact I followed the instructions, the soup would come out slightly different in taste. I realized I put in too much or too little of something.
Anyway, I have not given up, yet. So, I made a couple of calls and roughly got the idea of which herb or vegetable to mix so that their taste would blend in well.
And yesterday, I boiled a very special soup. I don’t know what it’s called. Let’s just call it, The Naturally Sweet Soup.
TA-DAH!
Today, I swiped up some stuffs from my trusty old fridge and got the pot boiling yet another nutritious soup, the ever likable Papaya Lentil Soup. They say that papaya soup is meant for women who are breastfeeding. It’s quite true, but it’s actually a healthy choice of soup for all. My sister is drinking this soup more often these days as she’s breastfeeding my little nephew. Try this too if you are in for a tangy sweet soup! Great taste!
Didn’t realize I was tagged by Muks until I read her blog a while ago. She amused me so much with her answers.
1. Name one person who made you laugh last night.
My niece. She had a look at my old passport. I had a geeky photo there. My niece stared intently at me and asked, “Why last time, when you were not pretty, Ah Yee Pa Pa (which means, the hubby) married you? Why now, when you are pretty, he doesn’t marry you anymore?”. Aah…kids say the darnest things, don’t they?
2. What were you doing at 0800?
Hiding underneath my blanket.
3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Scratching my butt.
4. What happened to you in 2006?
Lemme see…a kid pulled out his tooth and gave it to me as a present. Yup, the bloody tooth held in his fingers dripping in blood. *slaps forehead* I bought my first car and I quit my 9-5 job.
5. What was the last thing you said out loud?
OUCH! ?
6. How many beverages did you have today?
Barley water and 3 bowls of soup.
7. What color is your hairbrush?
Black.
8. What was the last thing you paid for?
RM3.80 for my plate of Kon Lou Mee this morning. Dang! It’s only the 3rd day of the new year and all prices have hiked up. Where can I find a RM2.00 plate of Kon Lou Mee now?
9. Where were you last night?
At home, playing Starcraft in FB.
10. What color is your front door?
Lemon Yellow.
11. Where do you keep your change?
I give them to my niece.
12. What’s the weather like today?
Scorching hot in the morning and gloomy towards the evening.
13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor?
Mango Tango.
15. Do you want to cut your hair?
Yes! Yes! It’s so in-between now. Not long and not short. I look scraggly.
16. Are you over the age of 25?
Hmm…this year I’m 18. Last year, I was also 18 and a couple of years ago, I was also 18. Funny how time stays stagnant.
17. Do you talk a lot?
Who? Me? Who’re you kidding!?!
18. Do you watch the O.C.?
What the heck is that? Is it some kind of porn?
19. Do you know anyone named Steven?
Yes. In fact, we call him See-Tai-Fun (in Cantonese slang)
20. Do you make up your own words?
Er…not sure. But I do make up my own songs. I have a tuneless song about my sister. I also have a song for the hubby and for the expired yoghurt in the fridge.
21. Are you a jealous person?
Nah! *winking my green-coloured eyes*
22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’.
Anthony (He’s always the first to sit in the exam hall)
23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’.
Kenny (from South Park), no..seriously, Kenny, my cousin.
24. Who’s the first person on your received call list?
LGG (In other words, the hubby)
25. What does the last text message you received say?
It’s rather long. So here goes:
Mr. Chung and family will visit me during this Sunday. I’ll ask them to visit you too! His family members are Chung Ma Piu, Chung Tai Choi, Chung To To and Chung 4D. They’ll be there to wish you Good Luck for 2008. Don’t worry, one of the members will not visit you for the whole year. Chung Sa Man is out of town this year. Haha!
26. Do you chew on your straw?
No, I usually digest them.
27. Do you have curly hair?
How I wish for that. My hair’s been straight and limp no matter what. Even when I curled it, it stayed plastered to my face.
28. Where’s the next place you’re going to?
Dreamland. It’s late now. I’ve resolved to be in bed early this year.
29. Who’s the rudest person in your life?
Most people I know are well-mannered, except for the occasional nose-digging. Heck, who doesn’t need to dig their nose anyway?
30. What was the last thing you ate?
Yam cake made by my mom-in-law and my own cooked Apple-Corn soup.
31. Will you get married in the future?
Er..I don’t think the hubby and I will get married…twice.
32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks?
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. Watched it twice.
33. Is there anyone you like right now?
Oh yes, the funny man who sleeps beside me.
34. When was the last time you did the dishes?
After I drank my soup sometime ago.
35. Are you currently depressed?
Nope. I’m not having PMS right now.
36. Did you cry today?
No.
37. Why did you answer and post this?
For the sake of it? For fun? Out of boredom? Who cares?
38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey
Micheal (I don’t think he’ll do tags but what the heck)
I can’t remember the last time I was soooo pissed. I think it was the shitting incident at the gym, earlier this year. I ranted on about it for a week until the piece of news got stale and I fed it to the rats.
But anyways, last Sunday, I was feeling pissy again. This time, the hubby was with me as well as a couple of friends at the back of our car.
I didn’t blog about it immediately on Sunday night because I was trying to fume off and did lots of reflections on myself. However, this morning, I received an email warning everyone about bogus strangers trying to con the public. I bet most of you have seen these warnings in emails before and sometimes, I even deleted those emails without giving them a second look.
. . .
This morning’s email gave me a sudden jolt, like I could totally understand how the sender felt when he wrote those warnings. It’s all about AWARENESS and in our society nowadays, we really need to tighten up our alert meter and it would not hurt if we are more careful.
. . .
So, back to the incident on Sunday.
We were driving home from my parents place and were in Senawang when I asked the hubby to stop at the first petrol station we saw cos I needed to pee badly. So, he drove by a Petronas station and parked next to the toilet.
I scrambled out of the car and into the toilet while the hubby and another friend waited in the car. When I got back, I saw an Indian man on a motorcycle next to our car. The hubby was walking away and told me to get into the car.
I was puzzled that this Indian man kept saying that his feet was cramping or something. I got a good look at his feet before I hopped into the car. It looked totally okay to me, no bloody wounds, no scraped skins except for a little crooked toe. In fact, his feet looked fine to me and I suspect that his toe had always looked like this.
. . .
In the car, the hubby was driving off while this Indian man, still on his motorbike, looked (or trying to look) in pain or some sort.
My sixth sense told me to go but my conscience told me otherwise. What if the hubby really did accidentally squash his toes? The hubby was reluctant to stop but he did anyway. He kept saying that this man was trying to con us and that there were so many reasons why he said so. But I had no time to listen to him cos that Indian man, pushed his motorbike to our car.
Apparently, while I was at the loo, this Indian man came up behind our car. He knocked at the window and asked the hubby to reverse his car so that he could use the pressure pump. But when the hubby reversed his car, he suddenly heard a crack sound (which he told me sounded like the mudguard of our car hit against the motorbike). Then the Indian man, knocked our window and told him to get out of the car.
When the hubby got out and saw that the area between our car and the pavement was so big, big enough for his motorbike to get through to the pump in the first place, he was so furious and suspected that this Indian man was trying to con us.
That was the time I got back to the car and I didn’t know exactly what happened.
. . .
Anyway, when I wound down the window, the Indian man was shouting and making a scene, talking lots of nonsense about the hubby crushing his toes. Then, suddenly, he spoke in a more mellow voice, “Saya tengok awak orang baik hati. Tak apalah. Saya pigi tengok doktor sendiri. Kita settle sini lah. Awak suka bagi sikit duit, berapa pun boleh lah.”
(In English : “I can see that you are kind-hearted people. Never mind. I will see the doctor myself. We settle it here. If you like, you give me some money. How much also can lah.”)
Then I told him in (Malay language) that we would bring him to the doctor and pay for the fees, but then, he has to follow behind our car. I didn’t trust him.
He got all angry and started rambling nonsense about how the car was so near his motorbike and that the hubby didn’t see him. When the hubby told him that there was ample space for him to pass through in the first place, why knocked on our window. Why did he insist that the hubby reverse the car (he did that two times) when his bike could have gone through easily. That man did not answer our question but when on rambling loudly with no points at all.
Suddenly, he soften his voice and started saying that we settle it there and all we needed to do was give him some money. I told him no and that we would bring him to the doctor. He was startled for a while and then, replied me, saying that it would be very tedious. In his words, he said; “What if I need to visit the doctor 3 times? What if I need to go for X-Rays? Aiyah…no need to bother you people, you just give me the money now and I’ll go myself.”
When I persistently told him no, he got all angry once more as if he lost patience and keep rambling like an idiot.
In the end, when I wrote down his number plate, he was shocked for a while again as if he was afraid. He got really furious and looked as if he wanted to hit me through the window. He started cursing me loudly and I raised my voice to ask him to listen to me first. When it looked like he wasn’t really interested in any other options except that we give him some money for the doctor, the hubby just drove away.
I was FUMING and spouting fire! Really! What a f@$%tard!!!
.
.
.
I really hoped that we didn’t hurt him. But after going through all the facts, I really think that this idiot was trying to con us.
1. Why would he insist that the hubby reverse the car when there was an empty slot on our right? Isn’t that obvious that he purposely wanted the hubby to reverse his car and that he was just behind the car?
2. Who would be stupid enough to wait behind a moving car and how could the tyre of the car squash your toes before hitting the bike’s tyre? Unless, you put your legs right up in front of the tyre, of course. And nobody does that!
3. If his toes were really broken, why was he still able to push his bike over to our car and start a heated argument with us? Wasn’t he supposed to be rolling on the floor in pain or something?
4. If he really was in pain, why didn’t he jump at our idea of sending him to the doctor? He kept insisting that either his brother take him there or he get into our car. Oh, I’m not that stupid to let a healthy looking stranger into my car. What if he pulled out a knife or something?
5. Why did he look startled when I told him that he could follow us to the doctor? Unless, there’s nothing wrong with his toes, right?
6. He kept mentioning about ’settling’ the matter and that we compensate some money and that we are ‘orang baik hati’. Was he trying to manipulate the compassion and generosity that most Malaysians possess?
BAH! The list goes on. I trust my instincts even though I chose not to listen to it until my conscience confirmed it. Well, I have tasted the medicine of nearly conned by some stupid stranger who probably waits at random petrol stations to stage his act everyday, so that he could earn some cash. He might as well be a robber!
. . .
Anyways, I know it’s not something new in our society and that we hear news about this almost every other day. The reason why I narrated about it is that I find that many of us are still very gullible and trusting. Not that I’m saying that these qualities are bad or what, but it wouldn’t hurt if we are on our guards, especially when we are driving or walking. Worse still, when we are alone. There are lots of weirdos out there. People without any handicap, people who are capable of earning a living by having jobs but people who choose to take the easy way out.
Do not take for granted that we are living in a harmonious and safe society. We are not. A little bit of awareness would help us along the way.
This incident has opened up my eyes and served to be a lesson learned. Listen to your instincts and sometimes, it’s not wrong not to be kind. In return, we may have saved our own lives.
If those of you who had taken a peek at ‘Something to know about Blusher’, you would know that I have had my beloved for 22 years now.
As I turned 31 last Saturday, I made a silent vow that it is time.
So, I gathered all my courage, my strength and my emotional wits as I made this final decision.
While dusting my room yesterday, I lovingly picked him up and peered into his shabbiness. Sigh! He has certainly aged so much the past six years without me noticing, even though I have had him by my side every night.
He has accompanied me through my colourful childhood, my crazy teen age years and embraced me gently into adulthood.
I have cried with him, talked with him, confided in him, drooled onto him and wiped my tears on him. Now, just a shabby and frumpy looking piece of what the hubby called, ‘A Bag of Germs’, it is time that I let you go.
Good bye my dear. My heart is heavy but a woman’s got to do what a woman’s got to do. All I can say is that the hubby will be one HAPPY man after this. His greatest love-nemesis is finally extricated.
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