Thursday, October 29, 2009

(500) days of Summer



One thing about Malaysian theater is that they censor everything and anything that almost seemingly portray inappropriate activity between a man and a woman, such as cuddling on bed or an innocent kiss on the mouth. I was at TGV cinema at KLCC yesterday to catch (500) days of Summer starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (of 3rd Rock of the Sun fame) and Zooey Deschanel as the main casts. TGV is the only cinema to screen this film due to its limited release, but am astounded by the “strict” censorship by the Board. Come on, rate it PG 13 yet imposing the snipping game? We’re missing the gist here dammit!

So, (500) days is a tale of a modern love story -- well, an atypical love story, the parallels of a modern courtship in which million’s of twenty-somethings today might have chanced upon. In the mainstream of love stories, we typically find the boy-meets-girl, falls in love, breaks up and makes up in the end, where one could envision My Sassy Girl or You’ve Got Mail. However, this movie is not love story; in which the narrator prompts within the first five minutes of the starting scene. It’s a non-parallel tale of a love story, vacillating between days {23} to {480} to {1} to {358} from their make-up, break-up, and initial encounters.

The story goes like this; Tom is a greeting card writer, falling asleep at one of their regular brainstorming meetings sees newly employed assistant, Summer (from Michigan) when she interrupts her boss for a phone call. He immediately sets his eyes upon her and begins his journey to unravel the mystery behind her pretty and likeable face. They began having brief encounters at the office which makes him even more certain that he wasn’t the one for her. He begins the “She’s not just that into me” routine, basking in advises from friends and sibling to subtly stalking her in the office. Then on one beautiful chance, they meet at the elevator and she strikes up a chat ending with a common ground. It starts from there. And ends from there. We really never know what makes or breaks a relationship that we find ourselves rewinding over and over the moments we had with the past. That’s the beauty of a relationship...and this movie.

However, both of them view relationship in a great vast of difference. He’s the Lover with a capital L. She’s the cynic and a non-believer. They begin to seemingly have an exclusive relationship, taking shopping strolls together, have shower s*x, share a favorite spot in the offbeat of Los Angeles and shares her accounts that “she-has-never-told-anyone-before”. Thing is, she has been around the dating block to know she doesn’t believe in love. And she’s honest about it with Tom. She and Tom hate the term boyfriend and girlfriend because frankly, they don’t know what it means. They enjoy time spent together but it is one those moments when it hits you; an epiphany or a realization. At day three-hundred something, Summer began to cry at a movie date watching The Graduate. We don’t know why she cried. Tom doesn’t know too. Perhaps it's Summer's epiphany. The camera pans to the scene where Dustin Hoffman elopes with Katherine Ross in her wedding gown at the back of a bus, smiling blissfully to himself, knowing that this was what he wanted in life.

It’s all downhill from there. She has talks like "let’s just be friends" and "I'm waiting to be friends with you again" over pancake at a diner. Like a mouse hunting for cheese snapped on a mousetrap, Tom is frazzled, and really pissed. He loses it at his job and embarks on an anti-greeting card manifesto. He self-proclaims the useless means of cards for expressing real human feelings and subsequently quits his job to pursue his primary ambition of doing architecture.

At day {488}, Tom and Summer come about with emotional honesty, and at the fruition, reconciliation between the two main characters. All hope’s not lost, when day {500} dawns a new journey for Tom, a promise of happiness after a tough bleak trough. (500) days provides many unexpected twist, yet it’s a either love it or hate it feeling. The movie is whimsical, where there is a moment of a musical sequence coupled with animation, expectation-reality parallel scenes, with very ambient grunge-rock soundtrack. It garnered 87% approval on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.2/10 on IMDB.

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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The Office S06E04

I will always remember Episode 4 of Season 6 of the hit t.v. series, the Office. I've always loved the Office since like I could remember and for this particular episode, we''ll be witnessing one of Office's best episode ever in this one hour special of Jim and Pam's wedding! Like Finally! Jim and Pam are the office couple of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and have evolved from being colleagues, then friends, a couple and finally, husband and wife. They made their way from Scranton to Niagara Falls (woohooo!) to hold their wedding ceremony and reception, not leaving behind their Office entourage. I totally cried when they got married - perhaps I shouldn't divulge in too much spoiler..but you gotta watch the end to really feel the heartfelt moment. I'm so happy for them! (yep, the tv couple!)

Jim is the man when expressing his tender feelings for his wife, Pam. His toast,
"A lot of people told me I was crazy to wait this long for a date with a girl who I worked with. But I think even then, I knew that I was waiting for my wife"


Awww....

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Sunday, October 11, 2009

man's best friend

The picture on the left is Blackie, my dog of nine years before I sent him to the groomers a couple of weeks ago, and the one on the right is the after product of the groomers, whom happened to shorten his fur to about 1 cm, as he caught some sort of skin allergy and is unusually scratchy. I hope he likes his new do because I paid RM100 for it =) To many more years ahead of good companionship, unconditional love and loyalty. To Blackie!
(Pray hope he hasn't swayed over to my neighbours for a quick leak)
blackie!

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Sunday, October 04, 2009

Mini Rival



Well, the Alfa Mi.To goes for roughly RM150k, compared to the MINI ~RM200k. Perhaps a consideration (way in the future..)

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

sweet tooth :)

So I went to the local organic store in Bangsar, the Country Farm Organic Store right at Bangsar Village mall. They operate a little cafe right next to the shop but that's not what I'm going to write about today (heard their organic rojak is d'lish!).

I was on a hunt for organic brown sugar to fill my sweet cravings - rather to sweeten my daily coffee fix at work. I like my coffee black, with a hint sugar. I'm quite wary of processed white sugar now and I'm in the whole "maybe-it's-okay-to-have-organic-sugar-instead" phase (refined sugar is wrong! let's go organic!). More clarity on brown-sugar-white-sugar debate can be found here. (They are both sweet nothings in conclusion, with brown having molasses attached)

Anyhue, I found out that this Organic store carries three types of brown organic sugar. One being the raw organic sugar (RM6.90 - 1kg bag), the Turbinado sugar (or Demerara sugar) (RM 7.50 - 1kg bag)and Muscovado sugar (RM7.50 - 1kg bag & incidentally what the Ultimate Choc Cake recipe calls for).

In the end, I picked up the packet of Demerara sugar which has larger granules than the other two and is darkest in colour (which contains more molasses). The order of colour intensity from lightest to darkest is raw organic sugar, the muscovado and then the demerara. Demerara (apparently so) is most suitable to sweeten coffee and tea due to its raw cane prowess and and mineral content. The Muscovado would be a better option for baking. Calorie content-wise, sorry, I am not able to provide you with my (unexpert) opinion.

Go organic guys! No pesticide, fungicide, insecticide, artificial fertilizers and no bleaching agent. Best of all, it's Brazillian made!

Country Farm Organics
LG7, Lower Ground Floor
Bangsar Village
No1, Jalan Telawi Satu, Bangsar Baru
59100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 603-2284 2094

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Sunday, September 20, 2009

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

ultimate cake

During this Eid Mubarak break, I decided to try this Ultimate Chocolate Cake, a recipe that I googled and appeared first in the search list. It is from BBC's Good Food blog and the recipe's definitely a keeper! Angela Nilsen rocks!

What you need:
* 200g good quality dark chocolate , about 60% cocoa solids (I used Cadbury Old Gold Dark Chocolate, I guess any brands will do?)
* 200g butter , cut in pieces
* 1 tbsp instant coffee granules
* 85g self-raising flour
* 85g plain flour
* 1⁄4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
* 200g light muscovado sugar (No idea what this is, sort of like brown sugar but has more molasses than the typical ones we find.)
* 200g golden caster sugar
* 25g cocoa powder
* 3 medium eggs
* 75ml buttermilk (5 tbsp)(Nooo, it makes no economic sense for me buy a carton of buttermilk when I need 5 tbsp, so I substituted it with milk and a dash of white vinegar. Works like a charm)
* grated chocolate or curls, to decorate

For the Ganache (I skipped this part :P)
* 200g good-quality dark chocolate , as above
* 284ml carton double cream (pouring type)
* 2 tbsp golden caster sugar

Method:
  • Butter a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep) and line the base. Preheat the oven to fan 140C/conventional 160C/ gas 3. Break the chocolate in pieces into a medium, heavy-based pan. Tip in the butter, then mix the coffee granules into 125ml/4fl oz cold water and pour into the pan. Warm through over a low heat just until everything is melted - don't overheat. Or melt in the microwave on Medium for about 5 minutes, stirring half way through.

  • While the chocolate is melting, mix the two flours, bicarbonate of soda, sugars and cocoa in a big bowl, mixing with your hands to get rid of any lumps. Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in the buttermilk.

  • Now pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until everything is well blended and you have a smooth, quite runny consistency. Pour this into the tin and bake for 1 hour 25- 1 hour 30 minutes - if you push a skewer in the centre it should come out clean and the top should feel firm (don't worry if it cracks a bit). Leave to cool in the tin (don't worry if it dips slightly), then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

  • When the cake is cold, cut it horizontally into three. Make the ganache: chop the chocolate into small pieces and tip into a bowl. Pour the cream into a pan, add the sugar, and heat until it is about to boil. Take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

  • Sandwich the layers together with just a little of the ganache. Pour the rest over the cake letting it fall down the sides and smoothing to cover with a palette knife. Decorate with grated chocolate or a pile of chocolate curls. The cake keeps moist and gooey for 3-4 days.

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Tuesday, September 08, 2009

a day in the life..

So I've been working for more than a year already at my current job at the Bank, whew, how time flies. My longest time away from the office was two weeks (study break), while I never took a holiday leave longer than a week. Well, let me describe a bit to you how my typical working day is like:

7.00am:
Time to hit the snooze button on my phone. Remind myself why I have to do this for the next 30 years.

7.06am:
Get off from bed, wash up and get a quick shower. Get ready with pressed working shirt, pencil skirt and a dash of makeup.

7.31am:
Have quickie breakfast, a glass of milk and slice of bread. Toasted. Have a little conversation with mom who's at the dining table already.

7.41am:
Shucks, need to leave for work. Get stuck in heavy traffic at Sprint hwy. Damn school-going kids and people living outside the damansara vicinity. The only way they know to get to town is the way I use.

8.25am:
Reach the office. 10 new emails. Boss needs figures for current month's insurance industry performance by 10am. Quickly scramble from the system and save as excel. No breakfast at the in-house Café for me.

10.30am:
Discussion on upcoming financial stability meeting sometime in November. How inefficient. No date set yet. Backlog since August. Chief will be away for conference in London, Indonesia and Korea in the month of October. Next best availability, November. Waste time deliberating which font colour to use for powerpoint presentation (no red and yellow fonts for the Chief). and discuss what and when to have annual Raya office celebration.

12:00pm:
Receives SameTime (instant messaging for office email client) from colleague for lunch out. One more hour to lunch. Decide to check what is up on Malaysia-Today.com and NYTimes.com to kill time.

12:55pm:
Head out for one hour with colleagues for fish head noodle at Jalan Segambut.

3.05pm:
Where is the hole punch when I need it!!

3:33pm:
Research papers get stuck in copier. Act handy and fix it up.

4.40pm:
Afternoon slump. Boss looks stressed. Looks like it's additional work from the Boss' Boss. Gets called by my Boss and is tai-chi-d the work. F*ck!

6:00pm:
Still not finished with work. Click on firefox, browse dilbert.com a little while, need a little office humor to ease the tension. Good to know I'm not the only deskjob employee who feels trap like a rat on a running wheel. round and round.

6.40pm:
Arghh...whatever, revert work back to Boss, hit the last send button for the day! Going home alas!

7:15pm:
Reach home in time for dinner! Blackie needs poo-poo. Walk him out.

8:05pm:
Shower, log on to Facebook and look through some pictures of friends' trip to a beach holiday. Redang was it? Oh I need a beach getaway.

9:00pm:
Head out for drinks with bf.

11:00pm:
Call it a night. Good night all!

Tomorrow is a brand new day.

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Thursday, September 03, 2009

On an ice-cream trail..

New York Times samples ice cream from 17 seasonal stands in Manhattan and Brooklyn, trailing a wake of plastic spoons in the barbarous heat.

I must head to NYC next summerrrr!

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Thursday, August 27, 2009

I think my gums are getting better...by the day. I can sort of eat now! No need to resort to porridge and oats...amen..

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