A shoddy caffe latte

Please note the cream is tilted precariously to one side. This is how the latte arrived two nights back. There was no explanation offered nor was there any hint of apology in the waiter's watery smile. I think the floor was slippery and the waiter slipped just around the corner and THIS was the result. Either that ...or possibly the person who squirted the cream has a squint...or bad aim. Or a BAD day.

Thank you mum

When I took up the violin and chucked the piano to one side, I must have broken a part of my mum's heart. ( It's since healed...I'm pretty sure. Cos I still tinkle with the piano from time to time). Today...after simply months, I've reconnected with the piano...and have been playing my new music scores. I'm playing....

• Canon in G ( got a beautifully arranged score...which looks deceiving simple but isn't)
• Jesu Heart of man's desiring

Busy busy busy

The week has been busy. A combination of poor time mangement, and ugly surprises popping up along midweek has made it difficult to keep to schedule. The nadir of it all was the disappointed air during this week's violin class. I attemped to rectify the problem with a purchase of a new position 3 and 5 book only to fall asleep ON the book that evening. Chronically sleep deprived.

Friend or foe

I can't believe I let the entire week go pass without posting. I was going to post about how tired I got during the week...but I came across this cartoon. Almost everyone at work is on facebook. Which means, they have access to your gripes if you're not too careful about the privacy clause. So your moaning about work ....should be done politely. Lest the boss finds out. Any gossip is best left out of facebook. Whatever you write, be prepared for it to be common knowledge ..it is after all a public domain. Private thoughts should be kept strictly private ...between you and you non-facebook linked friends:)

Soba noodles

Ruth Reichl writes a very enticing entry on Soba noodles in Garlic and Sapphires, the secret life of a critic in disguise. I'm trying to remember her words, something about how smooth the noodles were as you slurped it down. Obviously her version is nicer than mine. You get a broth and some condiments at the side. Wasabi, an egg yolk and very finely minced radish. The condiments are to be scooped into the clear broth. You then dip your soba in the noodles and slurp it.( noiselessly). It was nicer than expected. So I'll probably have this again some time soon.

Bird cage decor

A vintage birdcage ( minus the bird in it) can bring life to a place. It must be true. This is the second restaurant I've been in which features these as decor. But, somehow I don't think a bird cage in my apartment will bring life and light. I think you need space for this...and a high ceiling. Otherwise you'ld walk into the birdcage intermittently.

To drink or not to drink

If you drink >330mg of caffeine per day, you may increase your risk of developing osteoporosis. The link between caffeine and osteoporosis varies. But just to be safe, I've cut back on my caffeine intake to a mere mug per day. It's hot chocolate for me please. (despite the odd look from the persons taking the orders..the transition has been smooth.) What I would like to know is this, what's the little cup of water served with this hot chocolate for? To dip the spoon after stirring? To rinse your mouth after drinking, to dip your fingers in...if so are you meant to do it before or after drinking....we would have asked the waitress,had it not been for her slight snooty demeanour when taking our orders earlier. Less coffee ...and don't forgot your zimmer frame:)

What we did for Easter Sunday

Mum's finger...pointing to the "fairy" of choice during grocery shopping session
Easter started with Mass at St John's followed by breakfast by which time I was already drained of energy.( I hear you say OLD lady...) I napped. Then we went to visit the IJ convent In Cheras. And then it poured and poured and poured. So we ended up doing grocery shopping nearer home. Just in case of flash floods. You can never be too safe.

Sight-singing

Hands featured in picture above are mine:)

When was the last time you had a sinking feeling in your heart?Mine was approximately 4:12pm yesterday. The violin teacher dropped a ( huge to me, small and insignificant to her) bomb-shell that there'll be apart, from sight-singing, an additional thing to learn .I would be required, after listening to come piano-playing for a bit to identify the period and composer. That and the other rythmn, dynamics and stuff. MORE TO MEMORIZE. The last time I opened up my theory of music to commit to memory the various composers was a good 15 years ago. Oh dear oh dear oh dear. ( I feel like Alice in Wonderland...free-falling down the rabbit hole)

Hungry Monk

Picture from keith's images

Pies from Ms Read.

In this picture, there lies two Banoffi pies ( one slightly squished en route from shop to home) . The chocolate pieces placed delicately are an attempt by he-who-must-not-be- named at decorating this dish. Have you noticed the title isn't Banoffi pie? In 1972, Nigel Mackenzie from Eastbourne created this pie. He got miffed when others tried to palm it off as theirs. He must have gone on to regret never patenting it. For a while, people were made to believe it was an American pie. And in 1994, he got an apology out of Marks and Spencers for selling it under the american range of pies. Mackenzie's restaurant is called the Hungry Monk:)And outside it, he's stuck a blue badge as proof the pie originated here and nowhere else. What a story indeed.

Click here for one of the many recipes I found in the net.

Birthdays

Spring is in the air..., originally uploaded by DeliciousDelights.

It's the time for birthdays in our family. My dad's was last week.( He got a present and was suitably pleased with it.) The brother has a birthday next month and the niece has a birthday this month. ( I'm not quite sure but I think it's THIS month rather than next month.) I think cupcakes are a good substitute for a whopping birthday cake.Easier to transport.( Cakes tend to lend on one side sometimes...during transportation from shop to home.) Easier to divide. ( one cupcake each..no arguments. And when you have anything weeny, it automatically fulfills the criteria to be called cute. My friend H. has gone on a rampage of cup-caking....hers are gorgeous. Her latest have this saying on it " I hate Mondays". How cool is that?

Happy Easter:)

Happy Easter to everyone. These eggs look so delectable I had to post it. I didn't paint them. ( I wish I had cos they're gorgeous aren't they?) We used to paint easter eggs ...but they were a messy task and mine always ended up looking blue. ( or was it tepid green I forget now.) Easter is about hope. And as we welcome our new premier, I hope for a peaceful and prosperous Malaysia.

Retrospective entry

I must have been so tired I up-loaded a picture..and nothing else yesterday. Jeepers! A combination of slow-internet connection and a distracted mind. Would it be wrong to say the koreans love these post-its as a way of expressing themselves? I've seen these in two other s places

1)the first is from a scene " Lovers in Prague". Korean drama serial.

2)The second was at the "little korean" place in Ampang. There were simply loads of little messages stuck on the wall.

Tiring Toosday

When you have ordered ice-cream, don't dawdle. Seat yourself comfortably ( if you are going to both eat and walk...be warned..there's a chance of bumping into something or someone) and savour the taste. Ice cream is meant to be eaten. It has no other worthy contribution that I know off. Avoid green-tea ice-cream. They do tend to leave a slightly metallic "green" after taste. Anything chocolate is safe. Everyone's in a panic these days re expanding waistlines and clogged arteries. What the hell???

In Japan, 2 in 5 adults eat ice-cream at least once a week. And nobody gets fat. Maybe its wasabi ice-cream that they consume. Maybe it's genetic. If so, there's nobel price to be won for successfully identifying the "thin" gene.

The mood today...

The joy of listening

I found this youtube link...with what I think is a very good intepretation of Pachelbel's Canon. Now all I need is to get the CD...so I get to listen to it in the car. ( The player in the apartment has gone bust on me).

Excuse me...I need to go practise my scales..

Created by Madconductor.

Do you know them?

Apparently I'm not quite as hip as I want to think I am. Everybody ( and I mean everybody ) seems to have heard of the Jonas Brothers except for me. A quick visit to Rock Corner at KLCC rectified this. For RM29.90, I got myself this album and will be listening to it on the way to work and back for this week. If you're going to listen to them on youtube, I suggest Love Bug.

Spanish Dance

This was taken in the Dewan Philharmonic Petronas ....going against the rule " no photography allowed". I could not resist. ( Please don't judge me) The lady to my right attempted one shot with her handphone after she saw me brazenly taking this shot. She and her date left after 10 minutes of the show. I'm going to tell you why in a minute.
A group of us watched this Spanish Dance performance last Wednesday. There were 7 of them altogether. 3 women and the rest men. It started with a marlon-brando body habitus man in unkempt hair-do yodelling away. All this time, a single ( slightly overweight dare I add ) lady attempted some clicking of heels intermittently. They kept saying "ah-lay" from time to time. Not in unison..but one after another, which made it seemed unrehearsed. I felt sorry for them the first few minutes. Of course much later in the programme, I realised this was all intentional.

The programme consisted of dancing ( never in unison) and the men got away lightly. Their role apparently was to sing ( marlon brando man ) click his heels ( adrien brody body habitus but certainly not nearly as good-looking ) and playing the guitar. One other guys was the "ah-lay" man. And they ALL clapped...a few nanoseconds apart...so you can this effect of rumbling clapping with a low droning conversation in the background.

I will sound mean when I say this, the ladies were rotund. ( possibly in girdles ) And one change of outfits saw two of them in pokka-dotted monstrosities. ( Don't you wish I had taken a picture now...?)

A top less ordinary

Bishop sleeves are in. ( I have a reliable source for this....) I'm still in the pursuit of the perfect top teamed with them sleeves.