i wish..

I think i was thankful for the absence of ants too soon. While i've only seen an occasional lone ant or two in hall since i last complained abt them and tried to eradicate the colony, there are now ants at home!
I can't believe the ants at home are more blatant than those in King Edward Hall. Those in my room cross my desk, over books and files in a single file fearlessly like some major exodus. ARGH. What i hate most is how they love to find gaps in between my old furniture and call them home.
It doesnt help when i hate the smell of insecticide (and i certainly do not want my room to smell of it) and each time i try to eradicate them carefully, the few that survive will find another gap to start a new colony.
Believe it or not, i think there are more than 1 species at home. From my observations, the ants i see in the kitchen and my room crawl at different speed and differ slightly in size!

WHY AM I WASTING TIME KILLING ANTS?

I paused for a while and thought abt a million other things i'd rather be doing.
Especially now that facebook updates me about my friends, i'm unbelivably envious of those who get to travel so often.

I want to travel around the world and see the world!

I paused for another while and thought about the places i'd love to go. Today, there's a new destination added to the list. I was suddenly reminded of the unique architecture of chicago and now i want to see them!

If only i had the time, the money and skills, i'd design my own house.
Honestly, i feel that that's too big and greedy a wish.

So, maybe i should dream abt designing my own room and my KITCHEN when i have the money.

In summary, Ivy wishes for a holiday, an opportunity to design her own functional kitchen and room today and of course, ALL THE ANTS TO DISAPPEAR.

:) :( :) :(

今天又是个悲欢交叉的一天

Thanks Kor, for the wonderful ikea walk and talk:)
To matt, sorry for the abruptness over the phone :(
Hope we get to talk proper soon:)

Music And Lyrics Clips

No wonder the clips didnt appear! I havent updated my new blog settings with youtube after blogger upgraded :)

Anyway, here they are! Clips i so want to show everyone who want a laugh or listen to some gd songs :)

Such a hilarious movie! I especially like the part when

Grant: Did you ever hear of the band Pop?
Drew: Ya of course, everybody has. They had those ridiculous hair, those ridiculous outfit. OMG you're one of them!

Surprisingly, i like the demo version of the song better :)
The background music is somehow more catchy.

Nice song. Simple lyrics which you have to watch the movie to understand the meaning behind the words :)

sillily happy me

I realise that i'm so used to posting photos with my entries that i havent learnt the proper way to post a youtube clip.

Hmm...I really wonder how long it takes for the owner of the clip to authorise me to put up the clips i can't wait to share here.

Y'know, i'm so thankful for the 2 songs from Music and lyrics that i first heard on Gab's page. While there are so many things that threaten to upset me and overturn my world, the catchy tunes kept me smiling sillily. I especially like the demo version of "Way back into love" The conversations never fails to make me laugh!

Two examples:

Drew: Oh God, I'm getting really nervous.
Grant: You'll be fine, just use your normal, nice voice I've heard so much of in the last three days.
Drew: It's like my throats closing up it’s like -COUGHS- anaphylactic

I LOL when i heard drew said the word "anaphylactic". I've always thought it's a medical jargon

Drew: “That’s your serious Oh, Oh, Oh Face
Grant: “I know I can work with that much that is my Rock n’ Roll face millions of women find that very sexy, Oh you think That’s funny.”

The tone of which "millions of women find that very sexy" was said is just hilarious.

Let's hope i can post the trailer soon :)

Knowing myself Better

I bake to make myself happy.
It's tremendously satisfying for me, somehow.

I like romantic comedies, even when plot is very important to me and romantic comedies usually have little to offer

I haven't watched a movie alone.
Maybe i should try :)

People forget that i do not have siblings
I dont behave like an only-child?

I'm amazed by how i used to play scales with ease
Tried playing today and i got some fingering wrong

Crunchy Jumbles

I baked Crunchy Jumbles today. I've been searching for a recipe for crunchy cookies, but i think this one is too crunchy for my liking.
I guess i have to keep experimenting to find that perfect* texture:)

Way back into Love

Nice song! Enjoy! :)
(Give the song some time to load. It should play soon :))

Way back into love
From the movie Music & Lyrics

I've been living with a shadow overhead
I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed
I've been lonely for so long
Trapped in the past, I just can't seem to move on

I've been hiding all my hopes and dreams away
Just in case I ever need em again someday
I've been setting aside time
To clear a little space in the corners of my mind
All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love

I've been watching but the stars refuse to shine
I've been searching but I just don't see the signs
I know that it's out there
There's got to be something for my soul somewhere
I've been looking for someone to shed some light
Not just somebody just to get me throught the night
I could use some direction
And I'm open to your suggestions

All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
And if I open my heart again
I guess I'm hoping you'll be there for me in the end
There are moments when I don't know if it's real
Or if anybody feels the way I feel
I need inspiration 
Not just another negotiation

All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
And if I open my heart to you
I'm hoping you'll show me what to do
And if you help me to start again
You know that I'll be there for you in the end

efeu loves

Sorry for the hiatus. It wasnt that i was lazy to blog or anything, but i'm so thankful for the well-deserved break after CAs.
I totally heart the nightcycling trip and it was awesome to be able to cycle along orchard at 4 am and take photos with the expensive labels at Paragon! Not forgetting all the fun poses we tried to form the word v-i-v-o-c-i-t-y :) Fun.



So what have i been busy with?
Check out .efeu loves.
It's been fun playing with macromedia flash all over again :)


... and I hope to make some ice cream soon!

Earthquake in Sumatra, Tremors felt in Sg

I've been having this throbbing headache and the usual package with nausea and head spinnings since Sunday. While doing work this morning, i thought my headache suddenly got worse when i felt the things ard me moving. It was marginally terrifying cos i was afraid i was imagining all that!
So what i did was i quickly filled a glass of water and place it right in front of me to see if it's the building that's shaking or i'm really ill.

The water level stood still.

So i quickly log on to channelnewsasia.com to check for earthquake reports

No, none.
Oh dear..

Finally after refreshing a few times, there was indeed an earthquake in Indonesia.

I realised that for the first time, i was truly up to date with the news. There were updates on the website by the minutes!

Anyway, Here are the links.
Singapore Tremors
Powerful Indonesia quake kills at least 70
Tremors felt in Singapore after quake rocks Sumatra

开车

I watched the medical drama 白色巨塔 with my grandma last night and i thought this song is pretty interesting. Driving alone can be quite lonely sometimes, but when there's nothing bothering me, i always enjoy driving alone at night, esp when there is nice scenery to accompany me :)



上
上一次的快乐是多久了
你
你走了我的计算变差了
微笑在我脸上
又被僵住了
那是第几次又说起你了
开
一个人开车是最寂寞的
但是别
别扭开收音机来听听歌
因为有些歌曲是很伤人的
太容易就会
想起你了
如果那天病了
约会换了
我们就不遇上了
或许就能够微笑幸福靠着
比你更好的另一个
有时爱像开车危险又快乐
遇上红灯就停了
勉强是不对的我们都知道的
差别的是
谁会先下车

伤
再伤的伤口都会痊愈的
难
再难的难过也能走过的
一个人的下午
也是美好的
只是聊天的人又少了一个

Heart - Stars

This song has been playing on my page for wks. It's amazing that i still like it :)



Time can take its toll on the best of us
Look at you you're growing old so young
Traffic lights blink at you in the evenin
Tilt your head and turn into the sun

Sometimes the T.V. is like a lover
Singing softly as your fall asleep
You wake up in the morning and it's still there
Adding up the things you'll never be

Alright, I can say what you want me to
Alright, I can do all the things you do
Alright, I'll make it all up for you
I'm still in love with you
I'm still in love with you

Time can take its toll on the best of us
Look at you you're growing old so young
Traffic lights blink at you in the evening
Tilt your head and turn into the sun

You disembark the latest flight from paradise
You almost turn your ankle in the snow
You fall back into where you started
Make up songs you used to know
So...

Alright, I can say what you want me to
Alright, I can do all the things you do
Alright, I'll make it all up for you
I'm still in love with you
I'm still in love with you

The hard luck god
You never had a chance you know
Incurable romantics never do
He held a flame I wasn't born to carry
I'll leave the dieing you stuff up to you

You get back on the latest flight to paradise
I found out, from a note taped to the door
I think I saw your airplane in the sky tonight
Through my window, lying on the kitchen floor.

I'm still in love with you...

You make me wonder

My new love, my stethoscope! I was quite proud to be one of the first few to like this colour! You may not like it, but dont you think it's more interesting than black, less common than blue, definitely more acceptable than hot pink?
Quite a few people were wondering why i didnt get green, afterall, it's my favorite colour. Hmm.. but i guess there's some shades of green i dont like as much :)
Anyway, colours aside, when i looked at my stethoscope today, it made realise how far i've come since the day i knew i wanted to be a doctor. The entire journey has been amazing and i feel that it's as if everything is planned.

It's a long story, but I must admit that i'm a very fortunate girl.

Someone reminded me about some of my favorite books recently. First, the alchemist. Though i was told "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it", i was immediately reminded of my favourite line in the book,"The language that everyone on earth is capable of understanding in their hearts, is love"
My fave line probably has less profound impact on most people, cos when i searched online for the exact line, i cant seem to find it:(

Next, 5 people you meet in heaven. I was so sure that one of the 5 people i'd meet is this person who has played such a pivotal role at a very critical point of time in my life until my friend brought to my attention that people the narrator met were people he least expected. Whoa, so who will i meet?

Sometimes i get reminded that plenty of things lies ahead.
As time marches on and things slowly unfold, sometimes i wonder how much time was spent planning my life. It's interesting isnt it?

and I wonder, What kind of doctor will i become?

Perfectionist

Why am i such a perfectionist?
Cant believe my mind drifted a few times today to ystdy's neuroscience paper
Cant believe i didnt read the question properly
Cant believe i didnt answer that question fully
Cant believe i'm not forgiving myself even when there's nothing i can do abt it

Actually it's not so bad :)

I know that it's God's way of not allowing me to become arrogant from my own ability.
How true it is when we christians have to remind ourselves to lean not on your own understanding

I'm glad that at least i DID know how to answer that question fully:)

Happy Birthday Sammie!

-Takes a deep breath-
Finally. I can finally take a break after 3 days of CAs.
Unfortunately, break cant last for long cos i've got another one next wk! boo :(



Anyway, last wk was Samuel's Bday and i couldnt believe when i he told me the pary details. His party was held on the same day and in same condo as the place i give tuition. It was so convenient! I took the lift down and walked to the poolside right after tuition. What a coincidence!

Anyway, i'm glad he likes the cookies i baked.

I have to make several mental notes.. cos i seem to owe a lot of pple cookies!
Cant wait to bake when MICROBIOLOGY is over. rarr..

人间一大享受

人间一大享受 is to able to sip freshly brewed hot tea on a cool day and on the eve of neuroscience exams.

I love these 西湖龙井茶 tea leaves i bought from hangzhou :)

Does anyone like tea as much as i do？

SHARP EL-546L

My beloved SHARP EL-546L calculator has officially died. I think it's been with me since Sec 1 and that's 8 yrs?
No wonder i have trouble moving on even to it's successor SHARP EL-546VA.
Surprisingly SHARP EL-546VA has fewer functions and with some of the buttons re-positioned, i inevitably have to pause and look for the buttons!
Honestly, it can be quite irritating and time-wasting.
But i better get used to my new calculator than never.
I was curious and i went to the sharp website to take a look at the new calculator models. It seems like the whole world has moved on and like qiantai says, 我们都老了. What happened to the WHOLE SHARP EL-546 series?
My SHARP EL-546VA is not exactly new either (even after all these yrs with it sitting in my drawer, i still prefer my old SHARP EL-546L and i nv got used to EL-546VA and that's how much i love my SHARP EL-546L!!!). It's just a spare calculator cos my 546L has died before.
Sigh.. imagine SHARP EL-546VA dying after i get used to it.
Fortunately, i wont need the calculator as much as an engineer!

OMG!

Indeed... as i always tell my kor,"New day new discovery"

It's always interesting when i can learn sth useful for my family and myself while reading my medical books.

Vitamin B3 aka Niacin found in legumes and nuts now have a different meaning to my family.

Maybe it's time we cut on our nuts and legumes :)

On a different note, i happen to chance upon this pic that reminded me so much of my europe trip (Naples in particular). Xiaoxuan, Weixiang, Ningqi and Yang will know why!


Some other Naples pic :)

tiramisu day

Y'know, all these while since i last posted, i've been thinking about my first cookbook and dreaming of starting a mini baking sch. Since i'll be so busy, perhaps my plans to compile the cookbook will only materialise after i retire.. and that's so loooong from now! Been thinking about the "baking/cooking sch" idea and i thought that need not wait till retirement. I can always start small and have a couple of friends over to learn some of the things i enjoy making.

Tuesday was a good example. We made tiramisu! I started my prep to teach them way ahead by illegally squatting in borders to flip thru the italian cookbooks to find the most authentic and at the same time easy-to-make recipe. It's so funny, cos i sprung up so quickly when the security guard told me not to sit on the floor that i got myself a carpet burn beside my ankle in the process.

More pictures...

Notice there's a smaller and heart-shaped tiramisu! That's kenny's vday effort for his very lucky sweetheart :) Looks pretty right?

I kopped the next few photos from gabriel's page (hope u dont mind!) I thought the photos were very well taken. Not sure why i wasnt in much of photo-taking mood tt day.


Step 1: Friends learn how to separate eggs


My new electric whisk. I still prefer my philips whisk, but i guess it had overworked :(


Beating of egg white. This is why i prefer my philips. The container was transparent and i didnt have to stop the whisk unnecessarily to see if it's done cos i can see right through from metres away while doing sth else.


I thought them what is meant by "folding in" which is commonly mentioned in recipes.
Very important step!


Topping the marscapone cheese on top of the coffee&liquer-soaked lady finger
(hey eurotrip pple, we ate this in italy rmbr? I think ningqi likes it)

Anyway, besides tiramisu, we tried making so truffles and moulding chocolates too:)


I cant rmbr who made this truffle, but note more of the truffles in the background.

I just hope tt after tuesday, my friend went home knowing tt baking and choc making isnt as daunting or difficult after all :)

ALSO, i hope kenny's sweetheart liked the tiramisu :)

Oh, on that note, thank you kendrick for the pretty flowers and choc :)

Tulips really make my day. Stimes i wish i can grow them on my balcony!

Creative Mind

My friends were real amused with a dream i had last wk and interestingly, i had another pretty interesting dream last night.

Dream #1:
There's been much talk abt the donut factory in town and it's very looooong queue. I had this dream abt my friends on this ulu thai island which surprisingly has a donut factory too! The best part of it was there was no queue! Then kenny came along wanting to verify the autenticity of the donuts. In the end, we were all very happy that kenny and qiantai declare the donuts to be as gd as those of raffles city basement :) haha

Dream #2:
I dreamt of a german exchange program in san francisco. How is that possible right? But i really enjoyed it cos my host live in a very beautiful house overlooking the san francisco coast. It's amazing! I rmbr looking out of the window to see the waves and seagulls at different time of the day.
It was just amazing how pple in my dream were all conversing in german.
I guess i miss german and san francisco :)

greenbean

Any idea how much i love my greenbeans and soybeans?

I think stimes we take those packet of beans we get so conviniently from supermarkets for granted. One of my greenbean pod is finally ready for harvest and guess what? There're only THREE beans!





The beans are so small that i cant even take a proper close-up pic!
So pple, please appreciate the hard work of the farmers who grow our beans and grains!
Like what the chinese say 粒粒皆辛苦！

Anyway, i really really like flipflaps and i'm glad that wenhui and christelle like them too!
I was so happy that christelle bought one for her car :)