Family Violence

I was bringing out a cheesecake from the oven in the kitchen, when sounds of a fight from my new neighbours were heard. These new neighbours consist of a male, a female and a baby. I have heard my dad comment previously that the local-male seems to hit the non-local female fairly often and she is always screaming and wailing as a result.

I stood in the kitchen and listened to her wails. Perhaps it's because she's not a local and I am unfamiliar with the 'norms' of her countrymen, but her wails were like bloodcurdling shrieks and soon after, the baby started crying. I heard the male scream something at her a couple of times, and her wailing grew in decimals with her saying something like "Don't want!!!"

Sometimes, hearing things like these make me wonder if I should be calling social services for the kid's sake. What kind of a future do you think the baby has when he/she starts to grow up? Is the kid gonna turn out to be violent or argumentative as well?

I have decided many times henceforth that unless I hear/see him battering the wife and kid, to leave this matter well alone. Afterall, I may not have the full facts of what is really happening within the house and I could be mistaken (what if this is their version of a foreplay? Har...won't I be embarrassed then!)

My conscience doesn't allow me to let it go though. All is good and well if nobody is getting bashed behind those walls, but on the ocassion that she is really getting bashed or the kid is really being ill-treated... could I live with myself?

That is another question for another day I guess.

Floggers and Me

I have recently decided that in a bid to distract myself, I will read, bake and resume my animes. I have since discovered the wonderful world of Food Bloggers, affectionately termed Floggers.

I have also realised something about certain Flogs I frequent. They have a deep seated emotion I empathise with. Isn't it intriguing how like seems to draw like together?

The more interesting discovery is that I am also reading a couple of flogs by gays. They opened up a whole new world to me. I realised that along with some common characteristics gay people all seem to encompass, they can be quite the opposite when compared to a relationship consisting of a girl and a guy.

With a gay couple, the roles are much more clearly defined. The dominant is the one who brings home the bacon and the submissive (are those the PC words in describing partners?) are the ones who experiment in the kitchen.

With a male and female couple, the females sometimes fight tooth and nail to be recognised for what she is, an equal partner. Gays seldom seem to have such insecurities. They respect each other for their strengths and there is no power struggle within, whilst dominant and submissive roles are observed.

I applied this internally and realised that I have much to learn in the ways of Power. Perhaps I could blame this on a childhood where I felt abandoned. Or perhaps it is time I did an overhaul. I digress.

My latest passion thus far are reading the more interesting flogs and then re-creating the receipes as best I can. No worries about an expanding waistline though, I seldom eat my creations, however tempting it might seem. At most, there is a taste test to ensure that no one falls victim to an innocuous cheesecake, perhaps laden with cyanide.

I created a separate flog to track my creations, selecting a name so far fetched, few who read my blog or know me, can ever fathom or trace back to me (I have an aggro reputation to upkeep afterall).

Next step would be to pray for a better digital cam so that the concoctions come out as good as it tastes. Yes, unabashed symptoms surfacing.

Uh Oh!

Just got back from a company retreat in Bintan. Whilst I can't say it was thoroughly enjoyable with the heat and humidity, I can't bring myself to say that I was miserable there either (Ok Ok I was miserable during the seminars).

I did however, realised a familiar feeling stealthily creeping up on me, over the past few days... the sinking sensation of an ominous feel that I have been trying to rid for quite awhile now.

Yep... that sinking sensation in the pit of the stomach, making its way up, is back. I won't give that sensation its due by calling it what it is...

Whatever the case is, it's back and I'm afraid.

Maybe I'm gonna just let it ride out and hopefully it will be gone soon enough without me having to do anything.

Pray for me folks...

Farewell Acey! Welcome Home You!

Looking back, of all strangers that I have allowed to cross my path, I reaslied one thing. I have always been fortunate to meet the good kinds.

Perhaps it's just my highly attuned EQ or even women's intuition (yes, I seem to be bragging) at work here, but I have never met a "bad" stranger. Those I have allowed into my life, have always been the opposite of me in character. They are always sedate, down-to-earth, mild temperaments, more sheltered in life than I, lack spontaneity in life, resolute and last but not least, passionate yet not emotional. Collectively however, we share common traits like fierce loyalty, trustworthiness and supernatural resilience.

Before I start giving off impressions that I am comfortable with meeting strangers, I am not. I am the most cautious person when it comes to meeting a stranger face-to-face. I do not allow strangers into my life easily. I do however, place utmost trust in my instincts when summing a person.

In my most despondent of times, I came across one such stranger. He amuses me the most to date, for I have never met/read one who's character and writing flair are as different as day and night. Maybe I have not really taken the time to know many writers but for someone whom I have had several communication misses with, he writes fantastically well. His writing flair has been something I have always sought but, given my character, will not be able to achieve.

His complete and sincere concern in my well-being, leaves me wondering sometimes why he cares when he has no hidden agendas in his motives besides wanting to be just a friend.

I can't say that our characters gel as complete opposites and we sometimes irritate each other no end, but I am pleasantly surprised that at the end of his outbound journey, we will likely remain friends for life.

By now, Acey has most likely stepped onto a homebound plane for the last time, leaving parting words for a few, including myself. Simple words with a deep resonance.

Well Acey... here's wishing you the very best in what you hope to accomplish back home and that you find what I cannot achieve for now. I am comforted that you will be embarking on a brand new journey very soon and that I may have the chance to witness a few of these adventures together with you.

Goodbye Acey... thank you for the light at the end of the tunnel!
Welcome Home you!

Snow in Prague

I was feeling the heat blast through me after having spent 10 minutes in the living room and all of a sudden, I was 'homesick' for winter.

It brought back memories of walking on the streets in Prague at about 3pm and all of a sudden, it started snowing moderately.

I am still not done with all my pics yet... but these are two of them that seem ok without editing. The pics appear to be nightfall because I had to use flash in order to reflect the light from the falling snow.

All in all, I am quite pleased with the result.

Animes and Japanese Wagashi (Traditional Japanese Snacks)

This is my latest craze (left pic)... *sigh*
Although this is covered with soy sauce, it is not savory in nature. It is in fact, sweet.

The one bad thing with having food craves, is that after I eat it, I will start to wonder how difficult it is to make the crave.

So ladies and gentlemen, I will be indulging my domestic side (and yes, that is rare) and venturing forth to create the above.

The down side of wagashi is... there are several trillions of sweet Japanese snacks. I find that I am not unlike a scientist. I tend to take things (in my case, receipes or food craves) apart in order to find out how I can re-create the object.

Once I successfully learn how to re-create my crave with relative ease, I will then be experimenting on the other trillion variations (right pic).

Wish me luck!