::Full Steam Ahead::

A change is coming...

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 07:24:00 +0000

Oh wow! What a year it has been! So many things, so many moments, so many people have passed through my life.

One of the bigger changes is I'll be moving this blog to a new custom domain (with Blogger) and off my current FTP host. Haven't quite decided on the new name but I know I want it to reflect these changes and what's to come. One of the biggest involves a special someone. More on this later.

This blog will be up till end July and I'll post the new url long before that.

So...what's everyone been up to?

The Best of Times!

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:04:00 +0000

1988 will always be fondly remembered by Mountaineers as the best year in the history of WVU football. We simply couldn't lose, not with a dynamo of a quarterback running and throwing all over the field. It has taken nearly 20 years to finally recognise Major Harris for his achievements with a 2009 induction into College Football Hall of Fame.

What a year that was! Blue & gold everywhere. Packed football games and alcoholic tailgating parties. Rabid fans tearing down the goal post in the dying minutes of the WVU and Pitt game in what has always been billed as a 'backyard brawl'. Every television on campus (and I believe the state) tuned to ESPN when WVU played. It was a magical year when Don Nehlen led his team and the college to victory after victory.

I remember 1988 as the best year ever for me too. That year, everything in my life fell into place and just clicked. I listened to my heart and switched majors. Ha! I knew what I wanted to do, who I was going to be and where I wanted to go.

It was truly the best of times.

Every now and then, I stumble on news of WVU, old college friends, the football team, and I get all tingly with memories. I guess it is true after all: once a Mountaineer, always a Mountaineer!

Be still my heart!

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:59:00 +0000

Pity that Adam's gay cause he's just soooo gorgeous. Quite unfair to all us women who'd love to have a chance with him.

I know... me bad.

The 5 Minute Chocolate Cake

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Sun, 17 May 2009 10:47:00 +0000

My sister sent me this recipe for a no-fail chocolate cake that can be done in a microwave. Perfect quick fix for when you're craving cake at whatever time of day. I made this twice. Once where I followed the original recipe (with the oil) and the second time where I substituted the oil with melted butter and a pinch of salt. Oh, the original recipe had everything dumped into the coffee cup to mix. I decided to split the ingredients and mix them separately - less messy, and I could also ensure everything gets incorporated properly.

And yes, there is a difference in taste! The second with the butter, tastes richer. However make sure you use good cocoa. I'm fond of Van Houten whose cocoa is richer and more 'chocolatey' then Hershey.

Finally, this cake is best eaten warm, with ice cream or cream. When it sits for awhile, it gets a little harder, liked most things cooked in microwave.

5-minute Chocolate Cake

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil (I substituted with 3 tbsps melted butter and added a pinch of salt))
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe)

1. Add dry ingredients in a bowl, and mix well. In a separate bowl, crack one egg and beat thoroughly.
2. Pour in the milk and oil (or the butter) and mix well. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and mix.
3. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Pour chocolate cake batter into mug.
4. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. (I'll cut down the time to 2 mins 45 secs.)
5. The cake will rise over the top of the mug and drip down the sides, but don't be alarmed!
6. Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate. it won't be the prettiest cake in the world, but it sure is tasty.

Don't feel guilty about not reading enough books

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 04:57:00 +0000

The general rule of thumb in the USA book industry is that 1/3 of the books bought are never started, and a further 1/3 are never finished, there is definitely room in most people's lives to be more choosy about which of the millions of books in print they should spend their limited time and hard earned money on...

Read rest of article on Too Many Books, Just Enough Time.

Update

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:37:00 +0000

What with the new job, this beastly hot weather (temps have neared 40C!!), and a really bad bout of flu (at least I think that's what I had or was it mycoplasma?) - I've not been online much.

For the past 2 weeks, I've had a chronic cough that's kept me up at night. It was the result of a severe congestion that affected my ears, nose and throat, along with general tiredness, a bad upset stomach, fever and body aches. Then it got so bad that I lost my voice for nearly a week. It came back last Friday but I've been coughing ever since. The coughs are particularly bad at night when I'm lying down. Bad enough for me to throw up. Finally saw my doctor again, and I've got a post-nasal drip that explains the itchy scratchy throat and coughing. Sounds sexy, right? *Eyes rolling* I'm now on some pretty serious meds that knock me out about 40 mins after I've taken them.

Instead of my computer (this is the first time I've touched it in 2.5 weeks), I've been using my baby, my iPhone and twitting. 140 characters of news, comments and rants have been all I could handle while in bed. Till now. Nearly 96% better now.

I also have to confess: I've not picked up a book in WEEKS! I hope to change that soon. I'm looking for a seriously fun book that's utterly without any merit, values or life lessons. Also known as trashy romance or page-turning thrillers. Recommendations welcomed.

So... what's been going on in your universe? Hope everyone's well and keeping cool (I'm so jealous if cold weather is still upon you!). If you have a spare rain cloud or two, send them my way. Singapore is baking in a furnace from hell!

Apologies

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 06:02:00 +0000

...for being away so long. I've just started another job at a new place, this time with a little bit of a learning curve.

It's still in design but in branding and packaging - quite different from the usual stuff I've done before. Terminology, processes and requirements take a bit of getting used to. Plus, I have a new set of colleagues to get to know, names to remember, and adapt to new personalities. And this is a much larger company. Egad!

Ah...such is the vagabond life of a contract employee! However, I'm hoping that this 6-month contract position (I'll be here till October) may turn into a full-time post. Crossing fingers and toes (although the latter is kinda tough when wearing sneakers)!

On a lighter note - I'm off to KL again on Thursday night for the long Easter weekend. What new stuff will I find from plundering the stores there, hmmm? I'll blog if I can and give full details later.

I've also been assigned by my crafty cousin at whose place I'm residing, to make an English tea for some visiting friends (from the UK, of course) this Friday. We planned the menu thus: Cream Scones with Strawberries and Clotted Cream, Cucumber (or Pate) Sandwiches, Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies (these maybe replace with store-bought) and pots of Tea. Simple, fuss-free and quite English, don't you think? And yes, I'll post some pics but only if they all turn out looking as good as they should.

Have a good weekend everyone (albeit a tad bit early of a wish).

UPDATE: My KL trip's cancelled. I've got the flu and am staying put this weekend.

Panic

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:01:00 +0000

I had my heart in mouth when it happened to me about a month back.

Thanks Flee, for the link!

On my bookshelf

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 06:08:00 +0000

Sixpence House: Lost In A Town Of Books :: Paul Collins

I scoured the net for weeks looking for this book. There were no more copies left on Amazon and I, living in Singapore, could not buy them from the Marketplace. Finally found it and a first edition hardbound copy too. Woohoo!

Then it was several months later, after I finished some books ahead in the queue, when I finally picked it up. It goes something like this: Man, wife and baby son move from San Francisco to Hay-On-Wye in Wales, UK, looking for a better life. It is a small village of 1500 people and 40 second-hand bookstores. Man finds a part-time job in a bookshop while working on book in the midst of publication. They meet interesting village people while looking for the perfect home. But after months of being unable to find one that doesn't need costly renovations, they realize that maybe they are not ready for the move after all.

I was and still am enthralled about a village bulging with books. I've now got a standing invitation to visit a good friend who lives "just down the road", to see and smell it for myself. Musty old books have the third best smell in the world, right after pineapple tarts at Christmas and the smell of new books, freshly bought. I looked forward to reading of Collins' efforts to assimilate to village life, and his adventures there but was left bereft.

The story of someone trying to adapt to life in a new country, with all the cultural and social missteps, is always quite entertaining. You know it works when you feel you're right at their elbow through their adventures. However I found that lacking here as well as any insight, the "meat" if you will, of really living in a bibliophile's idea of heaven.

Yes, there are LOTS of anecdotes about books and book-making and book buying and book cataloging and book dumping...quite enough and then some for the rabid bibliophile. It made me want to move there. BUT that was because of the village itself, not the author who after all the fuss, had another life-changing decision to make.

A good read but not worth the weeks I spent online to buy it. By the way, I got my edition from Alibris.com.

Now reading: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007, and with a few months to live, gave his 'last lecture' at Carnegie Mellon. It was a lecture on "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". This is his autobiography.

Serves Christie's and France right!

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:40:00 +0000

These bronze heads are at the centre of what's brewing to be a political storm. The rabbit and rat heads were part of a large fountain at the Summer Pavilion when it was plundered in 1860 by French and English troops during a humiliating period of Chinese history aka the Opium Wars.

They've been traded, legally or illegally, ever since. Until they landed into the collection of the late fashion designer Yves St Laurent. When they were put on auction just last month, the Chinese government stepped in to ask for their return. However, Christies and Pierre Berge (St Laurent's partner) refused. In fact, M. Berge offered to return them if China freed Tibet (which is an entirely different political argument altogether). The French court backed the sale saying China has little claim to the bronzes, since it was looted over a century ago.

Hmm... I suppose if the Mona Lisa was stolen during Germany's invasion during WWII and spirited out of the country, and sold several times over the years, and then appeared on auction in about 100 years, France should just zip it because the last owner bought it legally. And Christie's would be allowed to sell it. HA! You know that that would never happen. By the way, she was stolen in 1911, and rediscovered in 1913.

So it gave me great satisfaction to hear that the Chinese collector who bought it, now has no intention of paying for it. He did it as a patriotic act to stop the sale, embarrassing France and Christie's in the process.

Christie's could always re-sell the bronzes but the unwanted media attention and notoriety will render them undesirable to collectors. Perhaps now they'll be returned to China.

Me on Flickr

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:00:00 +0000

I've re-discovered flickr. Thanks to the iPhone, I've been taking pictures and playing around with the fun filters available at the Apps Store. And also experimenting with my Lumix a bit more. Stop by for a look.

Movie: Slumdog Millionaire

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:48:00 +0000

I watched this yesterday, not really expecting myself to like. And I didn't.

I LOVED IT! Slumdog Millionaire is truly the BEST movie I've seen in a very long time. Well, actually since the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This movie has everything: action, drama, humour and romance. So many things about the film resonated with me, especially that of the young brothers who go through hardship and hell to find a better life, out and away from the slums. Some scenes were pretty violent but no nudity or coarse language (unless you find phrases like 'piss off', coarse).

I simply cannot recommend it enough. Slumdog Millionaire truly deserves to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

If it doesn't make it to a theatre near you, wait and BUY the DVD. It's a keeper and well worth every penny, I promise.

6 out of 5 stars

On my bookshelf

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:17:00 +0000

The City of Dreaming Books :: Walter Moers

A young septuagenarian dinosaur Optimus Yarnspinner is on a quest to uncover the author of a manuscript left by his authorial godfather. And it's to Bookholm he must go.

Bookholm, a city I'd call a bibliophile heaven. A city obsessed with books and everything about them. Only many of these books are not just for reading. Some are truly hazardous while others are just downright deadly. Some are even alive! All to be found in this city of strange inhabitants like Sharkgrubs and Murchs who live above enormous catacombs, filled with even more books of inestimable worth, and even stranger creatures. Booklings, animatomes, Harpyrs, and flora and fauna of the truly bizarre kind inhabit the caverns far below. But the strangest and most fearsome of them all is the dreaded Shadow King.

Optimus falls into the clutches of an evil book dealer, is hypnotized, poisoned and abandoned in the catacombs. What happens next is a rollicking adventure unlike anything I've ever read in a long, long time. Definitely not a children's book; too many bloody scenes and vicious books that could scare them out of picking up a book ever again! I raced through it in 5 days and enjoyed every word of it.

Highly recommended and a definite re-read.

On my bookshelf

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:03:00 +0000

Mirror Mirror :: Gregory Maguire

I've always loved fairy tales. Not the vanilla tales from childhood but tales written for a more adult audience, sometimes twisted and dark with a dash of the macabre. Discovering Gregory Maguire in 2007 at a B&N in Cordova, TN (only realizing later that HE wrote Wicked), made me want to buy every book in his oeuvre. Glad I didn't.

The tale is a retelling of Snow White, only Maguire sets his story in Italy at the time of the Borgias. Nearly all the elements of the original are here: magic mirror, dwarves, wicked stepmother, poison apple, a beautiful girl. And a father who has disappeared on a quest for a biblical treasure (no, not the ark or the grail). There are also the court intrigues and political machinations of princes and popes jockeying for power and wealth. All the right elements to make a great story.

I finished Mirror, Mirror, and felt... Not that uplifted feeling I get at the end of a really good book. Neither a sense of loss cause I've finished it. I just felt... flat.

While I loved the story, what I didn't like was its pacing and protracted scenes. I found myself rushing through the last 50 or so pages WANTING to finish it so I could start something else. Read this only if you're a Gregory Maguire fan.

To my darling...

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:22:00 +0000

Thanks for 25 wonderful years, Apple. Here's to another 25 more! Long live Mac! Woohoo!

On my bookshelf

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 08:24:00 +0000

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic In Disguise :: Ruth Reichl

"New York is the centre of the American restaurant world." And a job at the New York Times as its new restaurant critic could potentially make nervous wrecks of anyone, never mind the new upstart from California, home of veggie burgers and tofu salads. But New York throws out the welcome mat. Even before Ruth Reichl arrives, there are "wanted" posters of her in nearly every restaurant in the city, as well as substantial "bounties" for spotting her. So much for anonymity! Now how is "the most important restaurant critic in the world" to get her job done?

With the help of wigs, makeup and vintage clothes, Reichl morphs into Molly, Miriam, Chloe, Brenda, Betty and Emily, fooling every sharp-eyed waiter and restaurateur in the city. Her personas are hilariously funny even as her reviews are mouth-wateringly delicious. Unlike the previous critic Bryan Miller with his penchant for French, Italian and Continental establishments, Reichl is an equal opportunity critic - dining and reviewing even Asian, Indian and Latino restaurants, leading her readers into hitherto unknown territory of the city's culinary map.

I admit to being a fan after reading her earlier novel Comfort Me With Apples. And I thoroughly enjoyed this book which not only has some of her best restaurant reviews and recipes from her own kitchen but also anecdotes of her life in New York and her time at the paper. Highly recommended indeed.

Now reading: Walter Moer's City of Dreaming Books. I'll be posting another review in a couple of days, of Gregory Maguire's Mirror Mirror. Two books read in January!

Look out for...

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:20:00 +0000

Keith Donohue's new book due out in March 2009 - Angels of Destruction. After getting totally lost in his first book The Stolen Child, I've eagerly waited his next. And now it's almost here.

Happy Chinese New Year

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:08:00 +0000

Or Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone! We were invited to my aunt's annual Chinese New Year reunion dinner. This is the dinner that's held with family and close friends on the eve. My aunt uses this as an excuse to get everyone together for a steamboat/bbq dinner. There are 2 tables - one of which is halal for her brother-in-law who is Muslim (although he's not picky as long as he's not actually eating pork). Thankfully it drizzled some so the air was cooler - almost perfect steamboat weather.

There were plates of vegetables, tofu, meat and fish balls that go into the soup pot in the middle while the meat (pork ribs, Korean-marinated beef and thickly cut streaky bacon) usually gets grilled in the surrounding hot plate, along with mushrooms, eggplants and prawns. All this is eaten with several flavourful dips like chilli and garilc, fermented tiny shrimp with chilli, onions and lime, and soy sauce. It's actually rather healthy IF you don't use too much butter/oil on the grill and IF you don't eat too much of the delicious chicken rice (rice cooked with chicken stock, garlic and ginger).

But we did eat too much (as usual!) and took a long pause before my aunt brought out her sticky toffee ginger pudding (thanks Delia Smith!), and my mom's own chocolate blacmange. We left, tummys full and sides splitting from laughter. There'll be more parties in the year, but these Chinese New Year ones are a hot, raucous affair, and will always remain my favorite.

Note: It must seem insane how Singaporeans can eat hot, soupy meals regardless of the hot, humid weather. I admit it takes some getting used to. But oh boy, the soup at the end of a steamboat is delicious, after cooking the vegetables and meat in it. Worth every bead of sweat, I promise you. And the perfect steamboat weather? Oh, that's when it's pouring buckets, like during the monsoon.

My Mac is sick

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:26:00 +0000

I'm sneaking in this post at work to let you know that I'm looking after a rather sick Mac. Will be back (in a couple of days)as soon as I can get it fixed. I'm hoping it's nothing serious, and that I don't have to get a new Mac yet - holding out till end February.

Are you on Facebook?

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 08:46:00 +0000

I'm one of the hold outs. I know I could use it to reconnect with everyone I've ever met but I'm still not 100% sold.

At last count, there are 150 million users around the world keeping track of each others activities, uploading photos, sending pokes, making new friends; generally connecting to people they would otherwise would not be in touch with, keeping friends and family updated on their very busy lives or general networking. It all sounds so easy and fun but that has not quite made me jump out of my seat to sign up.

I already have an online presence: I've got this blog (which I've been quite delinquent sometimes in updating), friends HAVE found me by googling my name, clients have found me by dropping by my website. I'm starting up my Flickr photos again (thinking of going pro), read several online magazines and newspapers, drop in as often as I can at my favourite blogs, am a member of several sites, and surf to lots more when I find interesting links. And this is just my online activities! In real life, I work a regular job, do freelance writing, try to read regularly and often, crochet (halfway to finishing a granny square blanket), sketch, beadwork, cook & bake, take photographs, hang out with friends, regularly call and email friends and family, and veg when I can. With all this on my plate, how on earth am I to find time to even BE on Facebook?

It's not just a 'no time' issue - I don't see any direct benefit for me other than it might be fun. And then it'll become just another online thing I have to maintain, and a possible drag.

I could be eating my words before the end of this year is out, but I'm stubbornly refusing to budge despite friends urging me to join. I've never been a 'groupie' - I did the whole Greek thing in college but never felt a true fit, joined various groups in school because I HAD to (school requirements), and didn't enjoy those either.

I need ONE really good reason as to why I should be on Facebook. And until someone gives me that, I'm staying right here.

It's back!

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:58:00 +0000

The madness has started all over again.

American Idol is back. With all the bad singers, so-so singers and the really great ones. Not to mention the crazies, the disillusioned wannabes and those rude, cocky ones with non-existent talents. I love watching the first few episodes to see them all appear. Then settle down for the long haul as the chaff is slowly tossed out.

This is going to be a fun ride.

First Singapore Tattoo Convention

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:20:00 +0000

Click on picture for a better view.

What an amazing event! There were over 100 artists from China, Taiwan, Philippines, US, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Australia and Singapore, including Miami Ink's Chris Garver. There's a distinctive whine in the air the minute you enter the hall. Every other person there sports some kind of body modification art. What blew me away was the artistry of the tattooists. It's one thing to see such tattoos in magazines or online, but quite another to see the art taking shape one someone's body. These guys are fantastic illustrators whose medium is the needle and ink. And their art is gorgeous. There were also tattooists employing the more traditional techniques from Borneo and Thailand - needle, ink and hammer. MAJOR OUCH! It looks super painful. Think I'll just enjoy the art and admire it from waaaaaay over here.

I was so tempted to get something - anything - the excitement and creativity were infectious. But those needles...I'd need general anaesthesia first!

Friday - Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:52:00 +0000

J, his mom and I spent the afternoon in Chinatown. We toured Jalan Petalin - a street popular for fake brand name anything. Watches, bags, shoes, belts, they're all here for a fraction of the real stuff. They even had fake Tiffany silver jewelry for goodness sake! There were also stalls selling fruits, roasted chestnuts, souvenirs, and lots and lots of food.

I sampled some Chinese herbal jelly at a traditional Chinese dessert stall and promptly fell in love. It comes delightfully cold and you can add as much (or as little) honeycomb sugar syrup as you like. It has a rather pleasant bitterish after-taste but oh! it was smooth. The perfect thing to eat on a hot, muggy, sunny day. Local Chinese believe this jelly to have a 'cooling' effect on the body, and when eaten regularly, can help relieve excema, psoriasis and acne.

J later insisted I try these famous Chinatown curry puffs (similar to Cornish pasties). These curry puffs have a mildly-spiced filling of chicken, potatoes and a large piece of hard-boiled egg, wrapped in a thin skin of dough and deep-fried. O-la-la! They were piping hot and delicious.

Other yummy things spotted but not sampled were the roasted chestnuts and peanut pancakes. The chestnuts are roasted with sugar and some oil in a big pan with hot grains of coal tossed among them. The meat of these chestnuts are flavourful and sweet.

The peanut pancakes are a perfect snack, filled with chopped peanuts in a pancake that's crisp outside yet fluffy and chewy inside.

Then, it was time for lunch at Madras Lane - a dirty backalley with 4-legged stools and rather rickety tables under a zinc roof. If you can ignore the surroundings, plug your ears to the loud shouts of food orders, put up with the sweltering heat (no fans or airconditioning, mind you), you'll be in for a feast of some first-rate local dishes. Like KL's famous 'yong tau foo' (vegetables and tofu stuffed with meat, and eaten with piping hot soup and several dips), 'chee chong fun' (light as air rice pancake that's shredded, topped with sesame seeds and eaten with chilli and a piquant black sauce) and more. The best thing to wash all that down? A cold glass of homemade barley drink. I nibbled a bit of everything J ordered but couldn't eat much after all the earlier sampling.

*click on the pictures for more*

New Year's in KL

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:45:00 +0000

This was the view from our bedroom window - the magnificent, one-time tallest building in the world - the Petronas Towers. J's aunt kindly got him, his fiancee and myself a room to share at the Mandarin Oriental in the heart of the city for the evening. It was within walking distance to all the shops and right next door to one of the biggest malls in the country - KLCC aka KL Convention Centre.

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (purplefugue) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 09:39:00 +0000

I'll be taking a break from blogging for the next couple of days as I'm flying off to my cousin's place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia tomorrow. We'll be staying at the Mandarin Oriental for one night to catch the New Year's eve celebrations downtown including fireworks! Then it's just a few days of chill-out fun except for some shopping to catch the sales.

See you all in 2009!