48 hours

No man is an island
No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

-John Donne-

Went for  short trip to my second home over the weekend which I thought would only involve 2 things. Catching up with friends and aikido. It turned out to be much more than that.

I managed to do both but because I only had 48 hours time management was abit of a problem. So on short trips like this I only tell a few of my friends. But then again which is worse, telling your friend but able to meet up or not telling at all and they found out later? It all depends on your discretion and conscience really. Maybe at the very least you should call?

First thing after arriving I went for dinner and a stand up comedy performance by the local up and coming comedian by the name of Kuah Jen Han. He first appeared as Rambo Tan and then by himself in his first solo act. He takes the CinaPek approach and speaking Chinglish. It was a night of laughter as I find myself relating to things Asian, Chinese and Malaysian. It was drinks after and I met a new acquaintance and a good friend whom I met from diving. The acquaintance was occupied with a personal matter. Good friend came over a little later and that is where the fun begins! First of all he commented on my slack in consuming standards but hey, I never did have a chance to practice back home. As the night went on it gets more and more interesting. We spoke about boundaries and innuendos. I don't think I will dwell into my mode of communication but suffice to say that the words "too straight, naive and blur" ruled the night. 

I felt bad for making the same mistake but am glad that the conversation happened. Sometimes it is very important who you interact or choose to surround yourself with. I realized that sad as it may sound, you can only interact with a person only in a confined situation, or specific situation. And yes, I am very glad for that night. Alas, after the analysis and diagnosis it was time to go before I could speak more to my good friend about his happenings in life. Next trip I shall make a better effort. I will call on you when I next come over buddy!

The next day I managed to have a short chat with my SM and caught up with her. Soon it was time for me to get ready to meet up with my aikido friends and off I went. I met another friend who was the taxi driver that SM introduced to bring me around. Very chirpy and friendly Punjabi who spoke fluent Cantonese. 

The afternoon spent with some very good friends in my aikido life followed by an instructive training lesson. I also got a very nice gift: a kuro obi with my grandfather's name on it. I will leave the aikido part for another post. 

For the evening I was supposed to cook dinner and make chocolate fondant for SM but..ahem...that did not happen. I feel very bad about it but then again I can't really do all that much in 48 hours. I should not have been overly ambitious and promised SM. So once more I did not live up to my promise. I shall make it up to her in a few months' time. This time it will be a much longer trip and I will feed her silly! Hehehehe.

Catching up with E over dinner was wonderful. I apparently amused her husband with some of my recent happenings. To his joy he found out that SM is also a Manchester United FC fan and the European Champions finals between Manchester United and Barcelona FC was due to be aired in a few hours' time. I watched it with SM and boy Barca outclassed Man U. Man U just could not keep up with Barca and I felt a lack of spirit among the Man U players as a team. Oh well I only watch soccer once every 4 years and occasionally with SM so I should just congratulate Barca for a winning the championship.

Although the 48 hours were exhausting it ironically injected me with some positive energy. It was because I was around some good people with some really good energy. People who love and people who care. People who take relationships seriously.

Thank you friends for being part of my life. 

A return to my baking days?

I started baking at the age of 15 and stopped after I went to university. From baking I worked on my cooking skills to keep myself properly fed. I don't really like eating out and still don't.

Chocolate pudding/chocolate fondant is one of my favourite desserts. Actually most deserts with chocolate tickles my fancy. Of course that would mean eating out. One day I said to myself, "why do you have to eat out when you can make it yourself?". So I decided that I will start baking again. 

What you see in the picture was my first attempt at making chocolate fondant after a long break. The taste was good but the batter ended up being too thick although I followed the recipe. What was missing was the vanilla ice cream.

My next project is apple pie. I have made the dough which is now chilling in the refrigerator. Will post up pictures of the pie, if it turns out ok. Have a great weekend!

The 7 dollar Dutch butter

The last time I went to Indonesia I was requested to look for a certain Dutch butter which supposedly is top quality and wonderful for baking. I bought a couple according to the picture she showed me but it ended up not being the one that she wanted because the cans I bought were not meant for baking. Oh well, can bake with it but I can still consume it.

Here it is.

The front view.

The content.

I happened to have some chocolate raisin bread in the house so I save myself from having to "kahwin" the bread with another spread. That and a glass of nice cold milk. Nice.

The butter has a strong fragrant and is rich in taste. But somehow it is also telling my heart something too. Hahaha. An enjoyable breakfast :)

Good day everyone!

Seminar by Horii shihan May 2011

I had the opportunity of attending a seminar by Horii shihan again after the first time 2 years ago in Malaysia. I first met sensei in Tanabe in 2008. I was pointed out to sensei by Z sensei who told me to take the opportunity to train with him. Being very much a baby practitioner then I was very shy but when I eventually mustered up the courage to move myself across the mat to be near him, he got "booked" by a regular. Nevertheless, my chance came a year later when Horii sensei took one session at MAA's 15th Anniversary seminar. I wanted to learn more and my chance came when I found out that Horii sensei makes his rounds in Malaysia and Singapore at certain times of every year. 

Although the seminar was only for a day, it was worth the trip. Made some new friends along the way too!

Looking forward to my next seminar in Jakarta!