Good Luck to JJH

11.11.2011. What a nice date. It is also the date when Ju Jihun will finish his military service.

Last year, Ju Jihun's promising career halted when he was caught up in a drugs scandal. The whole drama is now over, and it was reported in the forums that he had served out his 120 hours of community service.

This February, Ju Jihun was enlisted in the military service, which was compulsory for every abled Korean man.

Despite his tainted reputation, he is still well-loved by his fans. There was a huge turn-out at his sending off last Tuesday, to wish him well. Ju Jihun appeared to be touched, for he shed a few tears himself!!

To me, the most humbling moment was when he took off his cap, and showed the world his crew cut hair. Now, this was a Korean heartthrob, with millions of fans idolising him. His crew cut hair told the world that he had stripped off his vanity and his celebrity status, and was now just an ordinary Korean man, serving his country.

(Source : http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4656&st=40180)

I wish Ju Jihun the best of luck in his military service. I do look forward to his presence in the Korean entertainment industry after 2011, as I do think that this young man has a lot of potential!!

Aja, aja!! Fighting!!!!

Airflown Subway

First of all, I want to congratulate my friend, S**** for receiving an achievement award from her company. I guess all the hard work paid off in the end, right?

S**** was flown all the way to KL to receive her award. And on her way home, she decided to buy some sandwiches for dinner ;-).

Unfortunately, her flight was delayed. So our dinner turned to supper. Lolx.

My airflown sandwich

Unwrapped

S**** got us custom-made roast beef sandwiches. Custom-made because she picked and choose the ingredients that went into the sandwiches. She bought them in the afternoon, at about 4 p.m., and so the sandwiches had to last a few hours before it reached us. Condiments were also a no-no, as they would just make the whole sandwich soggy.

Yum

It was at least 8 hours before I got the sandwich. S**** chose the oregano and cheese bread. In it, there were roasted beef, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes, spiced up with freshly ground black pepper. The combination was awesome!! The roasted beef were sliced paper thin, and were tasty. The cheese rich and salty. The pepper spicy and robust. The vegetables fresh and crispy.

I must say that this is a one of the best cold sandwiches that I've eaten for a long time! Anybody going to KL? Can you help me buy a sandwich? ;-)

Cafe 21

An advertisement on the radio prompted me to write this post :)

Well, I'm a coffee drinker. A cup a day is common. Sometimes, I even have 2 cups, though I seldom drink more than that.

Whenever it is raining, I will be tempted to make myself a cup of coffee. I do not know why, but I do love the smell of coffee on a cold day. Hmn .... perhaps the cold weather enhances the aroma. Whatever it is, there's just something about a hot cuppa on a cold, cold day. It definitely makes me feel warm and comfy.

Avid coffee drinkers do not go for instant coffee. But for me, instant coffee is a staple. There are many brands of instant coffee in the market, from Nescafe to Indocafe to Kopiko and so on and so forth. Everyone has their favourite brands, with Nescafe being a household name. But for me, my larder is always stocked with Cafe 21.

Have you ever heard of Cafe 21? Over the airwaves of Hitz FM this morning, a Cafe 21 advertisement was broadcasted. And it somehow prompted me to blog about it. Lol.

Well, Cafe 21 is one of my favourite instant coffee mixes. It is a two-in-one coffeemix, which means that it is sugar-free. It is manufactured in Singapore.

Cafe 21 was first introduced to my household by my Aunt A******. Aunt A******, who lives and works in Singapore, loved this instant coffee. And when she came back one time, she recommended it to the whole family. Soon every single of my relatives started drinking this coffee mix. Dad, who has gastric problems, only drinks Cafe 21, as it didn't cause him to burp excessively.

Cafe 21 is not widely available in this part of the country. Only certain supermarkets in Kuching stock this coffeemix. Hence, Dad sometimes gets his supply in Kuala Lumpur. Currently, in Miri, I can find Cafe 21 at Ng Sian Hup and at Giant Supermarket, and hence I will purchase a few packets at one go.

I like the fact that Cafe 21 is sugar-free. Other brands in the market are mostly sweetened. Nescafe did come out with 2-in-1 sachets. But what makes me dumbfounded is that the 2-in-1 is more expensive than the 3-in-1.

At my neighbourhood supermarket, 25 sachets of Nescafe 2-in-1 costs RM11.60. While, 30 sachets of Nescafe 3-in-1 regular costs RM12.30. This makes each sachet of 2-in-1 5 cents more expensive! Minus sugar. Increase price. Erm. Where is the logic?

Cafe 21 sells at only RM8.90 for 25 sachets at Ng Sian Hup. Being cheaper doesn't mean that the this instant coffee lacks in taste. In fact, Cafe 21 is fragrant, rich and smooth. Yum. So why don't you give it a try today?

Yummy Fried Kueh Tiaw

I like this Penang style fried kueh tiaw a lot.


This stall is now relocated to the Pelita Hai Ma coffee shop. Before this, they sold at Seng Guan Cafe. Seng Guan Cafe is now non-existent. And so the fried kueh tiaw vendor, together with the ban mian vendor moved to Pelita Hai Ma.

The fried kueh tiaw comes with cockles, thin slices of chinese sausage, prawns and eggs. The kueh tiaw is moist, yet fragrant with wok hei.

Highly recommended indeed.

Forsaken

so minute
that is none in people's eyes
that even the great one
does not bother
so insignificant
hence being left to own devices
to suffer in silence
so lowly
that is passed but not looked at
thus shrink even smaller
and return to the empty shell
locked up
in pain
forsaken
and
even death will not help

Learning To Conduct

I'd never learned conducting. I do not know the basics of conducting. I never knew how to teach my students to conduct, even when I was handling the school choir.

This weekend, the opportunity came for me to learn conducting. The teacher was imported all the way from Singapore, even though she was originally from Kuching. Her credentials were colourful, and I had looked forward to learning some basics.

I'd indeed learned a lot this weekend. I came to know terms that I had never heard of before - home base, rebound, ictus, direction. So technical! But then it was not enough to know the jargons. Practice was important. And we had opportunities to put into practise what we had learned.

It may have looked easy. But it far from easy. Everything had to be taken into consideration. The posture was important. There mustn't be movement for the head and the body. Yet you could not be tense. The movement of the hands have got to be precise, and any unnecessary movements were forbidden. Phew, it was so difficult. Even more so, my hand co-ordination has always been quite poor.

However, the workshop had rekindled my interest for choral music. It had been a while since I sang in a choir. Though practice sessions were tedious and time-consuming, the music was always beautiful. I wondered if I could be committed enough to re-join to the city choir?

Back To Work

Today is my third day in school, despite it being the second week of the academic year. Today, I was suddenly enthusiastic about work. I feel more positive and more enthusiastic, and am really driven to teach my students and to teach them well.

This morning's lesson was great too! Perhaps the number of students in the class is now smaller and it is not difficult to command the attention of every student. I vow to help the students relate to the subject matter they listen to, speak about, read and write about - even though the materials are very academic. Only then will it capture their attention.

There are plenty to do. I have to slot in "Research" for the Form 6 students. That is something new that I have to look into. According to my colleague who attended the Form 6 teachers' meeting on my behalf, Form 6 secondary schools in Sarawak and Sabah are left behind as we have yet carried out any.

According to the new Form 6 blueprint, each Form 6 teacher must carry out a research. And each student must have gone through the process of carrying out a research. I am much blessed as my Principal is an enthusiast in action research. No doubt he will help the teachers where they are lacking.

Anyway, back to work for the year, as my work with the exams officially concluded yesterday. I'm much relieved, and I do plan to do the best I can this year!