So this year, for my birthday I get to move up a box. You know when you fill your particulars up in a form where they collect demographic information? Under 18, 18 – 24, 24-34, etc? Well, I get to move up a box this year. Oh joy.

So on my long commute to work, I fume. Who got into this whole birthday thing anyway? We go around, happy birthday this and that. The birthday person gets treated like a good green tea tiramisu. For what? Just existing? What did she do except get coaxed down the birth canal? Are we all just victims of archaic traditions? Bah, wishing someone Happy Birthday. For what?

But hey, I send out birthday wishes. Why do I do that? Am I a superficial-traditional following conformist?

OMG!!!!

No, when I wish my friends Happy Birthday, I want them to know I care enough for them to want them to be healthy and happy for years and years to come. I want them to love every minute of life.

And I trust that those are my friends’ wishes for me as well, then. They do so because they care for me, and suddenly, my perspective on life turns a rosey hue.

I do not just exist, I now live, because I’m adding value. Somewhere, someone finds it justifiable to wish for my continued existence and well-being.

Now the Confucian will argue that this is Mom’s credit. Why? Because according to those traditional roles, mothers assume the responsibility of child bearing and rearing, while fathers assume the liability of child rearing.

I do believe those days are over. My parents co-operated on Project Me; conception is not a one-man show most times, and while Mom took care of my physical and emotional well-being, my father focused on my education. So while my mom takes care that I exist, my dad makes sure I live. One is meaningless without the other.

That, my friends, is the definition of synergy.

And so, today I made sure to wish my mom a Happy Labour Day, I also IMed my dad to tell him “Good Job”. They were suitably impressed.

And with that, we come back to the original conundrum. To Happy Birthday, or not to Happy Birthday.

It is my opinion, after careful deliberation, that Happy Birthdays, are little pockets of affection, and though we bask in knowing people love us, we are loved because of others.

So yes, absolutely. Happy Birthday away, and know that deep down in my cold, black heart, I wish nothing else but your health and happiness every day, even if I only tell you once a year. And when I do send it, kudos to the people who made you, who care more for your affirmation than credit from me.

Happy Birthdays – the gift that keeps giving.

Happy International Genius Day, friends!

Somewhere down the line we tried to use it to get to a Costco in Milpitas. After circling for about 10 minutes in a Cisco parking lot, with Ah Teh laughing in the backseat, we figured we were had. It made for a funny trip memory, but our relationship with Magellan was never the same.

Magellan was a little slower than we remember, and we were a little more independent; I guess we grew apart naturally. So many times we were tempted to replace Magellan with a Garmin, but either never got down to doing it or couldn’t bring ourselves to do it. Magellan still sits snugly in our glove compartment.

Yesterday after work, I wanted to head to the Japanese supermarket in San Mateo on the way home, so we could get some tobiko (yumyum!), saba and maybe some kewpie mayonnaise – (grilled saba + yaki onigiri with fake mentai, anyone?). I wasn’t sure where it was, but Magellan was in our glove compartment, so I whipped him out and started punching it in. Uh oh, he couldn’t find it. I tried “Nijiya”, he only had the Mountain View location on file (and we were already past MV). I tried “Market”, it didn’t show. I knew there was a ramen place next to it – Santa Ramen – so I searched “Santa Ramen” – it showed nothing. I searched “Ramen”, but nothing close showed up. Perhaps I remembered the business name wrong, so I tried just “Santa”. Bam! Magellan found me the entry! “Santa Japanese Restaurant” on S. B Street, San Mateo. That had to be it, thank goodness for Magellan!

We followed the directions, and it looked good at first. But then we took a series of turns in a residential neighbourhood, and doubt started to set in. We finally turned onto S B St, and I said to KF, no this isn’t right. Where is the Nijiya? I remember a small plaza with shops around it, this is a standalone. Damn, we got Cisco-ed again, I thought. KF had a little more faith, and made the turn anyway. Where Santa Ramen should’ve been was a restaurant all right, and a ramen joint at that. It was a hole in the wall, but the hole was almost completely obfuscated from view because of the crowd standing about outside it.

We discuss it, I say, what now? KF says, come on, let’s try this. There are so many people standing outside, by Singapore standards, it must be a winner. The patriot in me found that terribly hard to deny. So despite the hunger, and the annoying change in plans, I figured let’s give it a go.

We parked a block away, and strolled over. The same people we saw just now, were still standing around outside the restaurant. Ramen Dojo, it’s called. Ewww. What a wannabe name. It had better not be one of those places opened by a bunch of weird Chinese kids. KF writes his name down on the clipboard hanging by the entrance; we’re about 24 people down a list. And we begin our wait.

The day is pleasant, not terribly hot, not particularly cold. The area seems pleasant, and most parties waiting along with us were couples or friends who patiently stood around and chatted. There were a couple of families, but not too many. A little Japanese lady came out to call a few names, and there was a little hullabaloo when some irate middle aged Caucasian fella claimed someone else was seated even though she called his name earlier. She apologised, and showed his party in. He said he had been waiting and hour. That was about 20 minutes into our own wait, and my heart sank a little. Do you want to go? I ask KF. He says let’s wait. We wait a little more. At least they seem Japanese, I thought, and tried to take my mind off the wait.

I watch the patrons milling about outside the store. They seem eerily like us, just younger, just more American. That is still a little disconcerting – but I think I’ve got it down. American born Chinese females in the 21-40 age group have a look distinct from their immigrant counterparts. The accent is tell tale, of course, but to figure it out before they utter a word is so much more rewarding. So how do they differ? They dress differently. American fashion vs Asian fashion is the tell tale sign. Most of the time they have Northern Chinese features (but there are plenty of immigrants with those features now), but their make-up and dress is American-school. They go lighter on the foundation, freckles are ok, and they prefer to emphasize the eyes. They’re big fans of eyeliner, and do a great job with it. They also do their brows differently, I think it makes them look mean, but it works for them. Immigrant females of the age group tend to do their brows a little softer, and they prefer the pasty foundation look.

There was ample time to check out the menu. There were only 3 variants of ramen broth – Shoyu, Garlic Pork and Miso. They list all the accompaniments that come with your bowl of ramen: 2 slices of roasted pork, wood ear fungus, chives, sliced chilli, a quail’s egg and some roasted garlic. The broth is made from minced chicken, dried shrimp, shiitake mushroom and chilli. They then list all the extras you can order, and there is a healthy list of appetizers as well.

An hour later, we are called inside and shown seats by the counter. It definitely is a hole in the wall. I’ve made my mind up, after all we had plenty of time to think about it. KF needed a few minutes, but with 3 main items on the menu, it’s not rocket science. We both get the garlic pork broth, and ordered sides of fried squid legs and boiled gyoza. We ordered our broths mild (vs regular spicy and very spicy).

It took maybe 10 minutes for the ramen to arrive. It looked great. Everything was neatly arranged in the bowl, but everything was to spec. It was piping hot – even the earthen bowl was hot to the touch – the only way ramen can be served. A quick initial taste test slurp, our eyes widened and met as the flavours in our mouths burst first with spicy aggression, but then retreated with a light, tender and clean finish. No way, this might actually have been, dare I say it, worth the wait?

15 busy and satisfying minutes pass without KF nor I speaking to each other. In the meantime, our squid legs and gyoza arrive, but we’re focused on what we have in the bowl in front of us. Slurping busily with the rest of the patrons in the restaurant, satisfaction runs through my veins.

The gyoza were home made, and satisfactory. But the squid legs were a winner. Crisp, with the alluring taste of the sea, each bite was playful and delightful. Loved that.

But the real winner had to be the ramen. All the ingredients were fresh and not overwhelming, they worked in harmony to exceed the sum of their total. If that wasn’t synergy in a bowl, I don’t know what is. Yes, I had to get through the bowl of noodles sniffling from the heat of the chilli and the broth, and I burnt my tongue with my overzealous attempt to slurp a good amount of broth, but it was oh-so-good. And oh so worth it. Best ramen I’ve had, ever: unassuming, simple and honest.

And we got there by mistake.

What do you call serendipity + faith + satisfaction? Friday night dinner with KF and the GPS.

I guess sometimes you have a better time when you don’t plan it to a T.

Funny how it’s been lying there collecting crap from the bottom of my handbag for a good ten years.

I think I threw it out this morning. I don’t know why it took me a whole decade, but it either just got to me, or I finally understood how to let it go. So while I went to sleep with a decade old piece of gum in my mental baggage compartment, I tossed it out like the piece of trash it is in my dreams last night.

Ah sweet dreams are made of these.

Dream more, and hang on less.

Lunar Eclipse

Ok, I’m going to get real depressed soon. The end of 2010 is imminent, and not only is it the first year of the decade (sorry, but if you counted 2000 as the start of the decade before like most people did, the 2009 was the last day, so I guess it is one less thing to be sad over), but that for the first time in years I’ve to get back to work on Jan 3. How tedious. After the festivities and the abundant celebration at Christmas, it seems absurd to make people go back to work in January.

I hate the first few days of January. Not only because you’ve to get back to work, but when you’re in school, it means the end of your holidays and back to school with new classmates, or a new school. Very unsettling. It’s the 0 part of the year, and you’ve to edge yourself through to maybe July or August before it really starts to feel like the tide is turning. More often than not, you start the year knowing if it’s the PSLE, or the O Levels or the A Levels, and you know how crap the next 12 months is going to be.

It’s pretty much the same at work, except perhaps things change pretty quickly, so you don’t really have to endure the whole 12 months of crap. The only way to get around the beginning of the year fallout is to focus on the tasks at hand. However, sometimes it’s months before you de-focus and really feel like you can take stock.

But ahead we’ll go, there’s no where else to go but forward anyway.

Happy New Year, and may 2011 bring peace, happiness and prosperity to everyone.

We had Christmas dinner at a cousin’s, and I signed up to bring dessert, and so fretted over what to make for about a week. For one, the nephews don’t like chocolate. Add to that, adults who don’t like a whole lot of butter or cheese. So I decided on an elaborate sponge cake – the swiss roll.

After some to-and-fro over Orange, Lemon, Chocolate or even Vanilla, last night I decided on Green Tea or Matcha. It was to be a surprise hit. I tried adapting a chocolate swiss roll recipe, but I had a little bit of a mishap with the parchment paper. So I eventually busted out my trusty 6″ round cake pan and went for just a plain Green Tea Sponge. The proportion was a little too much for a 6″ pan, I had enough for 4 cupcakes on the side; I think it’d do for an 8″ pan. Here’s the recipe.

Green Tea Sponge Cake

1 cup flour (sifted)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup matcha (the matcha I have was a gift from a friend from a visit to Japan, it was already sweetened, so I just used 3/4 cup of sweetened matcha powder instead, and did not add any other sugar to the batter)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
pinch of salt
1/3 cup water

Preheat oven at 350F.

1. Cream egg yolks and sugar until fluffy and lemon coloured (because I used the pre-sweetened matcha, I creamed yolks on their own till thick and lemony, then added the matcha powder and creamed it some more – 3 minutes on an electric mixer)
2. Gradually add flour, salt and baking powder, alternating with water, and beat it in well
3. Whisk egg whites in a clean metal bowl until stiff peaks form (4 mins)
4. Fold in egg whites into the green tea batter 1/3 at a go – use a balloon whisk, it does the job well
5. Pour batter into a 8 inch round pan
6. Bake for 35-40 mins, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The top should also spring back when lightly pressed

If you like you can serve it with some whipped cream. I whipped up some cream with the intention of adding it in my swiss roll, instead piped it onto the top of the cake when the swiss roll plan went out the window.

Cake topping:

1. 50mls of heavy whipping cream
2. 2 teaspoons caster sugar
3. 1 teaspoon of green tea powder aka Matcha

Add sugar and green tea powder to cream, and whisk until peaks form (about 4 minutes). I then piped it out of a bag, and added canned tangerine segments to the top of the cake.

Some tips:

• Bring eggs to room temperature – room temperature eggs hold more air than cold eggs
• Balloon whisk works better for folding in egg whites than a spatula
• Line pans with greaseproof baking paper for sponge cakes – buttering and/or flouring the side of the pan does not help

Hope that works for you!

• It doesn’t matter where you go, the corporate setting is just a microcosm of life – if you run into less than effective people and processes at the bank, supermarket, post office or cafe, it stands to reason that you’ll run into the same thing at work. Just because you work for your dream company, doesn’t mean it’s not human.
• Just as you are a reflection of your parents, at work, you are also a reflection of the person that made the decision to hire you. It’s not always the hiring manager. But people gravitate towards their own kind.
• Your project team/group/department/organisation/company is only as effective as its leader. He sets the tone and pace, and the standards.
• Leaving the baggage behind makes the world of difference.

I feel a lot more positive at work these days, and mentioned how I wasn’t sure whether it’s just the time off, or age taking the edge off my angst. But I find the work challenging, and the team environment competitive enough for me to want to do better than I can, and so far, it’s been a blast.

The two things I’ve done that made the biggest difference in my stint this time around:

• Contribute towards a solution, not to noise. That makes things work better, and move along faster, the upside is not having to deal with a sticky situation for longer than necessary.
• Be nice first. 忍一时，风平浪静。退一步，海阔天空。Pearls of wisdom in 14 characters; ahhhh, four thousand years of civilisation certainly has a fascinating effect on language.

What do you think? Agree, disagree, have something to add?

Except for turkey. It’s not a very appetising meat at all. And cranberry sauce is weird. The only part I really like about Thanksgiving dinner the whole thing is roasted potatoes and carrots bit. If I’m lucky, I get some celery thrown in too.

We started our Christmas shopping early this year. My niece turns 9 this year, and I figured it’s about time to introduce her to the world of good music and proper English, so this year my gift to her is a little iPod shuffle that will get loaded with my favourite music and audiobooks: some are my favourite books (Alice in Wonderland and the Sherlock Holmes stuff), some of Neil Gaiman’s work (my favourite author) read by Neil himself, and my personal favourite, Ralph Fiennes reading Rudyard Kipling. To borrow an expression from Netjackal, Ralph Fiennes can “read me the phone book”, I’d still be enchanted. I suspect her taste in music is already somewhat damaged by my brother and his being partial to sappy songs. I do not aim to replace, but to augment — for I am a realist.

This year KF decided to partake in the whole Christmas present pleasantries, so he’s in charge of getting presents for his cousins and his nephews and nieces. I stand by the sidelines, offering advice here and there, but for the most part, he’s left to his own devices. It’s going well, I think he’s enjoying shopping. You should have seen his disappointment when he tried to go shopping yesterday – on Thanksgiving Day – and the stores were closed. We did, however, go back today, and came back with a decent haul.

So be happy, and be thankful this season. I don’t know about you, but I’m already looking forward to my favourite Chinese festival – the Winter Solstice – and the Christmas break. Yay!

autumn drops

In the few weeks I slacked off from updates, the following happened:

• I went to work
• I got home from work
• One Friday when we got home from work, we found the modem died while we were away
• We replaced it with a new modem, but then the Ooma gave trouble
• It rained a lot (by Autumn in San Francisco standards)
• The San Francisco Giants won the World Series, beating the Texas Rangers (and Cliff Lee!) 4-1
• I had a sudden craving for shortbread cookies
• I made and consumed said shortbread cookies
• I also found, in the process, that perhaps a micro-grater isn’t the best way to grate your chocolate (it makes it into chocolate powder) – chopping the chocolate makes for more satisfying chips
• Good butter makes good cookies, leaving the butter out for a day makes for easy creaming
• I am still searching for the perfect everyday jacket – when I find it, I’m getting 2 of it
• I found the comfortablest pair of shoes, ever: the Reebok Easy Tone

And that’s the long and short of it. Halloween came and went too, but it was relatively uneventful. Anyway, 2.5 weeks to Thanksgiving, and more importantly, 3 weeks to Black Friday and Cyber Monday! Can’t wait!

The bad news: I’m so tired by the time I get home, and the commute is so long, I grab dinner, hit the shower, and go straight to sleep.

The good news: there’s wifi in the bus.

The bad news: everyone and his pet cat in the bus is trying to do all sorts of bandwidth chomping crap (in the name of work, right!) so it’d be close to impossible to watch it on hulu on the bus.

The good news: there’s always mobile broadband.

The bad news: it costs an arm and a leg, and they quite possibly write it in the contract to name your first-born “Verizon”.

The good news: I can always read in the bus instead.

The bad news: it makes me sleepy, or want to throw up. Either of which is quite unglam.

This can go on and on, but I trust you get the picture.

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

I’m tired as heck, but it only happens once a millennium, and it’s my birthday to boot. For someone who appreciates perfection, it’s a sweet coincidence for me. So sweet, I dragged it out over two timezones.

Crazy much?

This year I got myself a new cellphone (Nokia E63 – cos I’m cheap) and a new watch (Citizen Eco-Drive, cos I’m not a big fan of changing batteries). I’m contemplating a new iPod, since my Nano 1st Gen is 5 years old.

Greedy much?

Well, I figure now that I’m back to work I should treat myself. Just to make getting to work palatable. Anyway.

I’ll leave you with what I was thinking when I took that picture:

忍一时，风平浪静。

退一步，海阔天空。

]]> http://blog.lilacdrive.com/2010/09/08/happy-8-9-10/feed/ 0 qoo Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe