Passion of cooking

I did not know I love cooking until very lately.

A year ago, my cooking skill was limited to scrambled egg.

Then we moved to our new flat, the kitchen was big and nice and there was an oven.  Finally I had my own kitchen, not my mom's or my mom-in-law's or our helpers' kitchen - but MY VERY OWN KITCHEN.

I then started to cook, especially baking.  Once I started, I was addicted in it.

Since I quit my job at the beginning of this month, I bake or cook or make desserts almost twice a week.

I received praise from my family (even my father-in-law who used to be a picky person), my mom was so happy that her daughter finally could use fire to turn food edible.

I am still reading Julie & Julia.  It sounds a bit lame but it does inspire me.  Cooking is a delicious journey of self exploration, and it is also love expressing in an aromatic form.

Sometimes, recipes are my night time reading before bed.

I reminded my ex-bosses (or a suck country manager?  whatever) in the nut company mentioned that if you had passion in market research, you could do market research 24x7.  Sorry that I am not passionate enough in this profession.  I would not save a chunk of data from work and "play" regression at home and feel ecstatic when a beautiful trend line is form. I would not download market research 101 note from the web and read it until the midnight.  I have also never looked forward to get back work on Monday because I could not wait to write an insightful report to impress the client.

I think I had done some good jobs in the previous work, but they did not turn into 'excellent' because I am lack of that kind of passion I mentioned.

However, my point is, I do have the passion of cooking.  You know what, I enjoy eating much more than before, because I understand each delicious dish requires wholeheartedly dedication .

I am going to start a new category "Passion of cooking" in this blog.  I hope you will love it.

Everybody's fine

I saw this movie with my sister yesterday.


Thanks god we saw it in the afternoon, there were not many audience in the theater.  I bet no one noticed I cried from the beginning to the end (surely except my sister, I guess she was not better than me, I saw she used tissue).


Well, it seems no body was fine in this movie.  I don't mean the acting, I mean the life of each character.


It is about a widower, Frank,  who wanted to reconnect with his kids after his wife passed away.  He wanted to surprise his four grown children then he set off a trip to travel across the State in order to meet them.  


Frank's wife was a good listener and he was a good talker, she always told him the good news about the kids. However, in the trip, he discovered that the kids were actually facing many problems in their daily life, despite that were trying to cover them up.  The children felt awful to tell the dad the truth, because they did not want to disappoint him, they did not want dad to know end up they did not turn into the persons he expected them to be.


Well, I am just like them... Up to now, I did not turn into a successful career woman, I do not earn a big fortune, I disappointed my dad.


However, please give me more time, I quit my job not because I want to have an easy life.  Instead, I know what is the most valuable to me at the moment and I want to spend more time on it.  Please trust me, I believe my achievement will be more than what I made.


Anyway, since this is a Hollywood movie, there was a happy ending.  If you want to know, please check it out in the movie by yourself.

The world will totally be changed by this gadget

Apple is going to rock the world by iPad.


http://www.apple.com/ipad/#video


It's electronic book function is really appealing, I am dreaming I can read whatever book I want, just simply click a few buttons.


I am really wondering how our next generation's living with be with all these avant garde items.

Omigod

Oh dear....

My ex-boss Jelly asked me to work for him again. His offer is I can work at home, better title and better salary.....

Sigh.....it is very attractive... but I keep reminding myself why I made this decision.

Julie & Julia

This is the first English novel I read in 2010. An interesting, a bit chick-lit type, inspiring book.

This story was on-screened starring Mergl Streep and Amy Adams. I knew the movie while I was choosing cheese in City Super. I was rewarded 2 free tickets of this movie because I bought 2 packs of cheese. However, it was in last November, I was even lack of time for sleeping, let alone seeing movie. Therefore I skipped it.

I say it is an inspiring book because both heroines were not satisfied with their current lives, they were searching some changes, some new challenges, to gain back the self-reassurance, and to explore this world.

Julia Child, who resided in France with his husband, Paul Child, as he was assigned to be an exhibit officer there. She started to reach sophisticated cuisine. She then turned her favorite - eating to her career. Julia learnt cooking, then taught American cook French cuisine, by creating the cookbook "Mastering the Art of French cooking", and showing face in TV.

Julie Powell, a late twenty government servant who felt bored to her job, her life and simply herself. She was inspired by Child. She then challenged herself by doing all recipes in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" . Finally, she stuck with her plan and achieved it, and she felt she was no longer the old self.

Eric and Paul, Julie's and Julia's husband respectively, not only supported them but they were participating in their plans, they helped the girls to actualize their dreams.

When I was in the halfway of the novel, Jeff had downloaded the movie and watched with me one night. I knew this was not his favourite type, but he was willing to watch with me. He is so sweet.

Jeff is also the one who encourages me to pursue my dream!!!!

BTW, Julia Powell is a real person, she started blogging since 2005. Her blog plays an important role in this story: http://juliepowell.blogspot.com/

It's still not too late to make a list of new year resolution

Three weeks passed in 2010, but it is still a good time to make the new year resolution.

My list is as below... some items had been repeated for several years but not been achieved:

1. Do more exercise, try to stop the continuous weight-gaining.

2. Learn Chinese character typing.

3. Have body check once a year.

4. Read more books.

5. Listen to bbc radio in order to polish my English

6. Be a happier person, achieve a work-family balanced life (wakakaka, that's why I quit my job, but that sounds too aggressive because now I put 100% weight on my family... that is not a balance.

7. Learn something new, pursue my dream (therefore I applied a script-writing course).

8. Train my cooking skills (I'd love to)

精靈婆婆

我的外祖母八十九歲,日前要進醫院動手術,我們有點擔心,畢竟她年事已高°

我、謝菲、媽媽、姨及姨丈在手術室前等候她°婆婆出來時躺在手術床上,雙眼仍然盼左望右,看起來很清醒°後來我到病房看她,我跟謝菲叫了她一聲,我撫她的臉一下,她「哦」的一聲便睡了°

麻醉師曾說老人家手術完後要一夜甚至數日才能清醒,他不瞭解婆婆了,她精靈得很,從手術室出來已認到我們了°

翌日早上,媽說婆婆已經回復原來一樣,說很多話°那天晚上,我、妹妹和表妹一起去看她,她還說眨眼間很奇怪地看到三個差不多樣子的人行過,再看清楚就知道是我們來了°她還迫我們吃掉一袋青提子呢!

前面有路牌麼?

終於我有時間沉澱下來,思考我將來的路可以怎樣走°

這絕對是奢侈和幸運的,試問有多少人可以不需為口奔馳,而可以花時間去沉思未來的路?

我很珍惜這段時間,更高興的是我跟孩子們的關係比以前更親密°每天哄著寶寶午睡時,他們抱著我的手臂,甜蜜地微笑,套用香港功利的思維說句:「值回票價!」

我報讀了演藝學院的話劇編劇課程,很期待呢!希望這讓我踏上寫作人的路邁出一小步!

Basketball

Have you ever imagined how a place under a basketball court will be?

I know it now... It is because a primary school girl living upstairs practices basketball in every single weekday. She runs around her flat and bounces and throws. Based on the vibrations and noises from the ceiling, I can tell when she jump up for a slam dunk.

Thanks god she doesn't have rope jumping workout at home, otherwise it would be worse.

吾愛夢工場

我的奶奶是蔡瀾的小粉絲,他說甚麼好,奶奶就認為是好°

我不是蔡瀾的粉絲,但我很欣賞他的人生態度,他遊戲人間,但做每件事也全力以赴,百分百投入°我覺得他是一個值得學習的人°

謝菲買了他的新書<吾愛夢工場>,那天想讀點有趣的東西,便順手拈來,看了第一篇後,未至於欲罷不能,但一有時間,總拿起來看十數頁°

這本書講述他多年來當監製的軼事,身邊的電影人,香港電影業的發展等°在書中,蔡瀾再三強調,作為一個電影人,必須不停閱讀,提昇自己的修為,製作出來的東西才曾有深度°

我不是電影人,但老人家的說話,我也要牢記!

八十後

我不喜歡標纖效應,但我愛煞「八十後」這一詞°對我來說,這是一個褒詞°

可惜我是七十末出生,拉極車邊也談不上是「八十後」°

我也經歷過青春無敵時期,最討厭那些所謂的成年人對後生一輩說三道四,說我們如何不濟,一代不如一代°言談中你不難發現他們都帶有一種以踐踏別人而提高自己的酸溜溜,以及那種青春不再的無奈°

請大家真心聆聽「八十後」的意見°

還有那群自稱「五十後」「六十後」的人,拜托!不要表現那麼幼稚,別人叫XX後你又自稱XX後,一點創意也沒有,像跟小孩鬥嘴般低莊°

Hello!! I am a full time mom now

Okay, 2010 is arrived, a brand new year, a brand new life.

And a brand new role - I am a mother, a full time mother, no longer a night time and weekend mother.

This is my third day of being a FT mom. Everything is great, except the annoying drilling noise downstairs, someone renovate their home....

The real estate market in Hong Kong is always active.

Every second I feel blessing when I look at my two chubby little ones. Now I can sing songs when they are taking naps, read them stories, go jogging with them.

Yesterday, I baked fluffy cupcakes for them, they took them as snacks and breakfast.

My future planning...... I am figuring out my path. After all, I still want to continue my career life, may not be traditional full time way, but freelance, part-time etc.

You just don't need to walk the path that everyone does, or people ask you to, right?

And I promise myself, in my next job, I won't take it as serious as previous ones. It doesn't mean I would be lazy, but just take things easy.

Otherwise you cannot fully enjoy your life.

Wish everyone a blissful 2010.