Of Exam and Stress and Sugar Bun ....

"Why did they make you the Chief?" Mom asked. "You are so careless .... "

Duh. Mom did not think I was good enough to lead a team of teachers to invigilate the public exam. Hmn ... it involved some clerical work, for which I was good at. But yeah, I do admit that I can be pretty careless at times ...

So exam came and went .... and I did the job ok;  I was thankful for S and T from the institution - they were on standby, ready to help me just in case; I was thankful for C who accompanied me to sign out the question papers. She was punctual and helpful and really dependable. I was also thankful that the candidates were really co-operative and did not cause any trouble .... so that when everything was over, I could wrap everything up and leave the premises within 20 minutes.

Well, it wasn't difficult at all a job to do, but I did feel stressful because there was a huge burden on my shoulders to ensure that everything went smoothly. I could feel the stress when I experienced terrible backache for days .... the treatment? A 2-hour massage. It's been nearly 2 years since I went for a massage .... and I headed for Borneo 101 Reflexology at Premier 101 .... a 2 hour Thai massage cost me RM95 ... but the Thai lady's firm strokes loosened the tense muscles on my back and made me feel so much better after that. Post-exam, I was lethargic for days! It's been 2 days now, and I still feel tired .... sigh ....

My cousin G came back from Singapore over the weekend ... and too bad for her, I was too busy to bring her out shopping as I would normally do; this time, I only brought her out for a short while to Vivacity Mega Mall where she bought 2 pairs of white gold earrings.

Now I realised that Kuchingites who come back from abroad (or even from West Malaysia) often want to eat at Sugar Bun ... lol. They have missed the flavours of childhood while they were away ... so my cousin G walked past Sugar Bun and decided that she wanted to eat something ...

2 pieces of chicken, savoury rice and pickles
RM14.30, inclusive of a soft drink 

G went for 2 pieces of chicken to eat with her rice and pickles .... "Haven't eaten this for a long time!" she exclaimed happily as she dug in .... I really hope that Sugar Bun would be able to maintain the quality of this food so that people could still reminisce the flavours they have so enjoyed in the past. But hmn .... is it just me or do you also think that the chicken pieces look smaller now? Heh ....

Chicken Burger, RM8.40 inclusive of a soft drink 

I had the chicken burger .... hmn ... I don't remember ever eating this before as I usually go for the fish burger; unfortunately, I did not quite like the chicken burger ... as I did not like the gritty minced chicken texture encased within the deep-fried crust; I think I prefer McChicken :))

So my colleagues and I were talking about fried chicken this morning, and I shared about my horrifying powdery chicken experience at one KFC outlet one time ..... and of course, Sugar Bun inevitably came up in the conversation ... many of my colleagues still think that Sugar Bun's broasted chicken is as good as or even better than KFC's. For this reason, I do think that Sugar Bun has a place in the fried chicken market in Kuching and other parts of Sarawak. So I do sincerely hope that they would ensure the quality of their products across all outlets .... and of course to ensure that the price matches the quality of the products sold. :))

Coconut Agar-agar

I've been wanting to make coconut agar-agar as I was inspired by this recipe from Hot Thai Kitchen. However, I did not exactly follow her recipe ....

Coconut agar-agar looking kinda pretty .... 

So I was just thankful of the fact that it turned out alright. I used about 30 grammes of agar-agar strips with 1.5 litres of coconut water - I used the pre-packaged ones; luckily they were not too sweet. So, I added some rock sugar to the mixture, and these I cooked with pandan leaves till the agar-agar strips melted and boiled. 

I used cooked 200ml of pre-packaged coconut cream and pandan leaves and 3 scoops of the agar-agar  mixture into a separate pot, and stirred till it boiled. 

What I did was to layer the agar-agar; I poured in the clear coconut water and agar mixture into the mould first ... and I waited till it became slightly solidified - think it took about 10 minutes and then quickly poured a thin layer of the coconut cream and agar mixture over it.

I made about 30 pieces, or rather, I only had enough coconut cream for 30 pieces; the leftover coconut agar-agar filled a tray. Hmn ... the pre-packaged coconut water tasted artificial (like I was afraid that it would!) .... so the agar-agar did not turn out so nice ...

I should try to make some with fresh coconuts; only they are so hard to come by ....  sigh. 

My Superhero

In my school, our turns to invigilate public exams are by rotation basis. Our turns come after every 3 years. I last invigilated in 2014 ... and this year, I was due to be nominated. True enough, my Boss Lady approached me a couple of weeks back. There was no escaping. So I relented. In the nomination form, the Boss Lady suggested that I be the "Ketua" - that meant that I would be heading a team if the nomination went through. How dreadful. I wouldn't mind being an ordinary invigilator ... being the team leader came with much administrative work ... and it also meant bigger responsibilities. But I had no say in the matter. Boss Lady could not take no for an answer.

So finally, the day came when I had to attend the meeting as a team leader. We were briefed about what to do - the briefing took 4.5 hours. There was just a lot of information to digest ... and I believed that after I reviewed all the information, I could do the job well. I also knew I could seek clarification from my colleagues who were experienced team leaders before. So no worries there.

The true headache came from the software we would be using for our claims. It used MS Access - albeit an old version of it - so when I installed it in my computer, the software did not work. I tried so many times and it just did not work. I wasn't too familiar with MS Access .... and I did not know how to troubleshoot the problem. I was feeling exasperated all night! Not good for the blood pressure, really!

The next morning, I went back to school and installed the software in my Eee PC - I'd left this at school because I was too lazy to carry my computers to and from school, and carrying a heavy load left me with back pain, and because the netbook was already 8 years old and wasn't functioning properly and yet could handle simple word processing tasks and I figured it would not be such a coveted item to steal if I left it locked in my drawer at school - only to find that it did not have MS Access installed. So, another closed door. Sigh.

The next thing I did was to go to the library and loan a 10-inch netbook from the school. I had the software installed. It did not work. Darn. But after a few tweaks by the IT expert at my school, the software loaded. The problem was that the screen was too small and I could not scroll the page up or down. I tried changing the display settings but it did not work. Therefore, I could not use the software properly because part of the information I needed was beyond what was displayed on my screen. Darn. Yet another setback.

I was getting very worried by now because if I could not get the software to work properly, I would not be able to do the claims for my team members afterwards. It did not work on my computer. It did not work on the netbook on loan. So what do I do? I contemplated a few options :

1) Go to the exams office and have them look at my computer - my colleagues thought this wasn't a good idea as the clerks at the exams office wouldn't have the technical know-how

2) Buy a new computer? Nah .... new computers would not be able to operate that ancient software; plus I'd be crazy to spend a thousand or two thousand ringgit on a computer just to do this job which would pay me less than RM200.

3) Borrow my colleague W's laptop as he had the software up and running - he was one of those experienced few whom I consulted, my mentor. Earlier, he said that he would help me to do the claims ... heh ... how sweet, but I knew he was only joking.

4) Call our resident IT guy, Mr. T to come take a look at all the computers - this seemed like a good idea; Mr. T would be my final resort.

Back at home, I thought of one possible idea which would work - I would hook up the netbook to my laptop with a VGA cable, so that I would be able to see the display on my laptop which had a normal 14-inch screen; So I could work from the netbook while looking at the 14-inch laptop screen .. so I searched high and low for a VGA cable but could not find one at home. I was wondering whether I should go out to the store to buy one, or if I should just borrow one from the school - any projector sets would have one of these VGA cables.

Actually, besides the current 14-inch laptop that I was currently using and my Eee PC which I left in my drawer at school, I had an ancient Dell Inspiron circa 2006 - it's been retired ever since I bought the newer laptops. Let's see - I've bought 3 other laptops after the Dell Inspiron. Dell was 15-inch, super heavy laptop. It served me well in its time. So well used it was that its hinges were already broken. Did it still work? When was the last time I had it turned on? I had even wanted to send it for e-waste recycling this year.

There it sat at the corner of the spare room ... and so I took it out and fired it up. It still worked. It was covered in a layer of dust, so I wiped it with a piece of wet cloth. I scrolled through the programmes and uninstalled many which I would not be using anymore ... and that improved the speed. Then I plugged in my pen drive and copied the troublesome claims software to the C drive .... and there .... it worked perfectly. Heh! Ancient software for an ancient laptop!

I finished doing my own claims in 20 minutes and had them printed out soon after that. So much for the 20 hours wasted trying to install the unfriendly-high-blood-pressure-inducing software! I wondered if I were the only one facing this problem or whether it is just customary for the people in the public service to be perpetually using unfriendly software which never improved with time and technological advancement .... sigh .... it was just plain inefficient to me.

My superhero!
I nearly burst with exasperation and it saved me .... 

So ... my Dell saved the day. It would not be sent for e-waste recycling ever .... it would be kept at the corner of the spare room till I would need it again for the next outdated software which I would be forced to use. So the saying goes, OLD IS GOLD.

iPhone Ordeal 2017

I had just resumed my Zumba workout at my regular haunt. Last Monday - 13.02.2017 - was my third class after CNY. I had gone there about 20 minutes early. The Aerobics class was still in full swing, the upbeat music blasting so loudly.

None of my Zumba mates were in sight yet. So, I proceeded to register myself and then sat down at the lounge to wait. I tinkered with my phone while waiting. Gradually, my Zumba mates arrived, and then some of us got talking. A while later, the Aerobics class ended, and the ladies came up huffing and puffing, their faces red with all that physical exertion, soaked with their own sweat.

As they came out, we got ready to go into the studio. I put my phone into my carrier bag and trailed after the my Zumba mates, and our session began. An hour later, we were done. I was sweaty and tired and wanted to go off quickly. I called out my goodbyes and went out of the door. My hands searched my carrier bag for my car keys ... and somehow, it kind of felt empty. So I went back into the studio, emptied my bag at the counter - my purse was there, my car key was there ... but my phone was missing.

My friend, A, helped by calling my number - but the phone was turned off already. Then, a few of us searched the entire studio, but we could not find my phone. So we called the owner of the studio and also the Aerobics instructor to ask whether they had seen my phone earlier. The answers came back negative.

I myself had no idea when and how my phone disappeared. Had I dropped it while I was putting it in my bag, without realising it? Did I leave it on the table, thinking that I had put it in my bag? Nonetheless, if I had dropped it or left it on the table and people had seen it, wouldn't the right thing to do be to pick it up and return it to me? I mean, these were people I see at least twice a week ... familiar people. I couldn't believe that they would just take my phone away?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

I was surprisingly calm. Perhaps it was because I had been through it before. Back in December 2013, my purse was snatched and I lost more than just my phone - my iPhone 4. Because I lost that phone, I replaced it with an iPhone 5S. It cost me RM2499 at that time. Three years on, I was still using it. The phone was still in good condition - good screen resolution, good speed, and just to cut the story short, it served me well. It could easily serve me well for another year or two. 

Back at home, the first thing I did was to call my service provider to have my line barred. Next, I went to iCloud. I had 3 devices linked to my Apple ID. My iPad Air, my stolen iPhone 4 - its data had been erased on 23 December 2013, but I still keep the phone linked to my ID, and also my missing iPhone 5S. Its status was offline. So I set for it to be erased remotely. Though the phone was locked, just in case if the thief managed to get it unlocked, the data I had stored in the phone would get erased once the phone went online. 

I was quite confident with the security that iPhone provided. I was quite sure that the thief would not be able to get it unlocked without a passcode. And even if she did, she would not be able to use my phone as long as it was linked to my Apple ID. So why would they take a phone that they would not be able to use? Sell its spare parts? 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

14th February 2017. Valentine's Day. I spent the afternoon shopping at The Spring. I visited my service provider, and got my replacement SIM. Then I went to Urban Republic to enquire about iPhone 7. They assured me they had all the colours in the model and the size I wanted. I also went to Switch, and they too said the same thing. I spent over an hour at Switch and there was this Malay boy there who was really nice. He attended to me for the longest time and answered all my questions ever so politely ... and finally, I decided to buy iPhone 7 in silver and 128GB. He went inside but came out with the bad news. There wasn't any of that in silver and I had to settle for the other colours. I hesitated because I had liked the silver one the most. So I ended up NOT buying an iPhone on that day though I had really, really wanted to buy from that nice boy. That model and colour and size sold out in the entire of Kuching, he said. Wow ... I thought times were bad and people were tightening their purse strings .... apparently not, huh? 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

15th February 2017. I had been contemplating since the day before about iPhone 7 - should I have just gotten iPhone 7+ in silver? Should I have just bought iPhone 7 in jet black or gold? The thoughts just went round and round my head .... so finally, I went online that afternoon and made my purchase from the Apple Store. 128GB iPhone 7 in silver. Shopping on Apple Store was a breeze. A confirmation email sealed the deal ... and on the same day the phone was shipped. It would take a week. 

That evening at about 7.00 p.m., A called me. She said that the Aerobics instructor had found my phone, behind the sofa seat at the studio. What?? I had never sat there. How did the phone end up there? Nonetheless, I was thankful that whoever had taken the phone had decided to return it to me. She could have just kept it or sold it for scraps. 

Now, I had an Iphone 7 on its way, and my iPhone 5S back. Sigh. From having 1 phone to having no phone to having 2 phones, all within a week! So, I decided to give the 5S to Dad. It's a better phone compared to Dad's current Redmi.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

17th February 2017. I got my iPhone 5S back that evening. Phew. I turned it on immediately, keyed in my password and had it unlocked right away. So glad to have it back. I thanked the studio owner for returning it. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

21st February 2017. My iPhone 7 finally arrived. It took me a while to set it up .... and then I erased my iPhone 5S and set it up for Dad to use. iPhone 7 was slightly bigger, but it's a powerful phone - clear and fast and I know I will look forward to using it. I must also make it a point to take good care of it since I now know that iPhones are attractive items to steal. 

Goodbye Mr. R

In the staffroom, he sat 2 tables away, in front of me. When he was free, he would turn and talk to me. I was a new teacher. I did not know many people. I did not really have anyone to talk to. So I appreciated it when someone did want to chat sometimes.

It did not take long before the ice thawed and we could talk about anything and everything. He always seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say, and I found it easy to open up about myself, my work, my family, my friends. He too, did not hesitate to share about himself, his wife and children, his siblings, about God and religion, about work - the students and school. He was an older and wiser friend, a mentor.

Perhaps we were able to forge a friendship easily because he knew many of my family members. Second Aunt was once his colleague for many years before she retired. Second Uncle was actually responsible for his S&P agreement when he bought a house. Fifth Aunt went to his church. He knew my Youngest Uncle. And he must have taught my brother and cousins in his 38 years of teaching career.

At school, there were a few older teachers who called him "The Saint". He was a man of God. He served an elder at his church. He regularly preached during Sunday service. Sometimes, he invited me to attend his sermons, but I never did go. He also led a Bible Study group at his house - what he called "house group". Even at school, he would be the one to recite prayers at any official school functions. Every month, during our prayer service sessions, he would be the one teaching and preaching and sharing. One time, he taught the students to sing the song "Holy of Holies". Now, the song is sung at our prayer service sessions from time and time. And every time I hear this song, I would remember him.

Not long after I was transferred to the school, a few Christian teachers decided to do a Bible Study at school. So during a free period on a particular day of the week, we would gather to discuss the book of John. He would be the one teaching us. Indeed, he was an anointed teacher. Later on, a group of us decided to gather together outside of school, and for a whole year, we would meet up to study the book of Revelation. He was our teacher, he led us in our study.

He retired late in 2015. He fretted about no one organising a proper farewell for him. So, I did a small one for him. A few colleagues joined me and we bought him lunch at Hoi Tin Lau. Eventually, there were 2 more farewell makans organised ... and I attended all of them. Heh. Though he was not in school anymore, I got to see him from time to time as he was teaching at the private secondary school behind our school. Of course, I also got to see him during our Bible study sessions. I always looked forward catching up with him every time. Sometimes, I would send him home after our study ... and he was terrified of my driving skills! Lol!

In April 2016, we happened to be at another retirement dinner. There were many retired teachers at the dinner, including him and also my Second Aunt. In fact, because he lived near Second Aunt, she had asked him for a lift, for which he obliged. When I greeted my Second Aunt, she asked me if I missed him. "Yes," I answered. I genuinely missed his presence at school, in the staffroom.

Late in 2016, we celebrated his birthday. A few of us got together and had a hi-tea at Madeleine's ... and at this time, we got to meet his cutesy newly-born grandson. It was approaching year end, and we got busy .... and though we meant to give him a treat before our trip to Japan, somehow we never got to do it.

We met up for our study on 14 Jan 2017. Both of us reached there at the same time, and while waiting for the others to arrive, we chatted - about my trip, about our schools, about our colleagues, about his grandson, about the upcoming CNY ..... And that was the last time I spoke to him.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

10 February 2017. It was Friday. I got to school early as usual. There were only 4 of us early birds there at the time. I was unpacking my bag at my table when my colleague, S walked in. "R passed away."

"Who?" My first reaction.

"R." she said, tearing.

"Who?" I asked again, unable to register the name.

"R. Our R," she said.

"No!" I was shocked. I did not believe it. My friend, R. What happened?

It happened at 2 a.m. that morning. S had received a text message from R's wife who had asked her to inform our colleagues. S insisted that she had called and talked to R's wife, and that the news was true.

I was shocked. So was everyone else. The whole day, we were sombre ... and very soon, news arrived of the wake and funeral arrangements.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

S, ME and I went to see him at the wake. My hands were trembling as I signed the condolence book. His wife wasn't there. I'd imagine she must have been so shocked and so sad and so exhausted by the recent events. I spoke briefly to his eldest daughter and his sister, and proceeded to pay my last respects.

At the wake, we learnt of what had actually happened. Apparently, he had complaint of having chest pains a few days prior to the incident. Somehow, he did not think to get himself a check up. That night when it happened, he did tell his wife of his discomfort. Then, he vomitted. After that, he felt better and thought he'd go to bed. And he never woke up again.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

The funeral just concluded. The many people who filled up the church was a testament of how his life had touched others, just like how he touched mine. I was certain that he had been a blessing to many people, including myself. I was also touched by the presence of many of his students there. I think they took up nearly half of the hall. The funeral service was short and simple, but profoundly meaningful. His daughters shared about their papa, and drove many to tears. The pastor spoke of hope in times of grief.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Sometime last year, ME and I had been meaning to treat R to chicken rice. Roasted chicken rice, to be precise. Somehow, we never got to do it. Sigh. Now we won't be able to buy it for him anymore.

Source : http://www.thequotepedia.com/quotes/bible/page/51/

Goodbye, Mr. R. Until we meet again. 

Laksa Feast

At times, Mom craves for laksa - Sarawak Laksa, that is - she decides to cook it. Heh. It so happens that I crave it too today.

Early in the morning, I helped Mom to pluck the tails off the beansprouts - which I enjoyed doing because I found it therapeutic. Lol. Next, I fried the egg omelette and cut them into strips. I also shredded the steamed chicken. Mom cooked the rest - the prawns, the noodles, the broth.

Every time Mom cooks laksa, I help myself to a big bowl .....

Yummy

With those juicy plump prawns and the other fresh condiments available for my laksa, I couldn't help but get greedy and serve myself a large helping.

My bowl of laksa 

And so ... after today's laksa feast, I would have enough of it to last me a few weeks. Happy CNY Day 9.

Reunion Dinner 2017

This CNY, I contributed 3 dishes to our reunion dinner, and all the dishes turned out very well. I made ....

 Japchae

This is my second attempt at this dish. The last time I made it, the noodles got a bit soggy, and the flavours did not come through. This time, I repeated Maangchi's recipe, and took more care in preparing the dish. And well, it paid off as it turned out really yummy.  The noodles cooked just right, and all the condiments were balanced in flavour. My Fifth Aunt liked the noodles so much that she asked for the recipe. Heh. 

Corn and Cucumber Salad

Well, this one was from Hot Thai Kitchen; I first at this at my friend C's house, and have loved it so much that I've made it myself for a couple of times already. So, I decided to make it for the family for our Reunion Dinner. Bro liked this tangy and refreshing salad, which was punctured with the rich yet slightly pungent flavour of the salted egg. 

Deep-fried Chicken Wings

Well, this one was a cheat. All I did was to marinate it with ginger juice. Then, I dipped the wings into the Kentucky flour batter. After that, I coated it with more Kentucky flour before deep-frying it. I guess it's not customary for us to have deep-fried chicken wings during our Reunion Dinner. Fourth Aunt seemed perplexed and asked me why I wanted to cook this as there were already many meat dishes. Anyway, she ate 1 piece and said that it tasted good. Hehe. 

Here was what we had ..... 

Left : Thai Cucumber and Corn Salad, Radish pickles, Cucumber Pickles, Rojak, Deep-fried prawns, Steamed fish, Deep-fried chicken wings, Midin salad, Meat rolls, BBQ meat and braised meat platter, Homemade braised duck, Mixed mushrooms and vegetables, Beef Rendang and Japchae.

Rojak and Midin were made by Fourth Aunt. Fifth Aunt brought the Beef Rendang. Mom cooked the rest. There was also Fish Maw soup, which Mom hadn't dished out when I took this photo. An abundance of food to kickstart the Year of the Fire Rooster! Let the celebrations begin! Happy CNY!