| Listmaking |
[20 Mar 2009|04:23am] |
As you may already know, my last 3 months have been a constant state of preparing for tests, mainly because as soon as one is over, the next one has already loomed.
Even now, as I type, I am procrastinating, avoiding studying for my 2nd year finals which are in 10 days.
I've been channeling my procrastination against my other procrastination...
So I proudly present to you my list of "Ridiculously diffucult/complex/ambitious cookbook/internet recipes that I have been putting off making...until now"
Thomas Keller's
Lobster Mac N Cheese
Heston Blumenthal's
Perfect Blackforest gateau
Perfect Spaghetti bolognaise
Perfect Steak & salad
Perfect Fish & Chips
Perfect Sherry Trifle (but simplified)
Pierre Herme's
Inside out puff pastry (but failed)
Momofuku's
Roasted brussel sprouts
Nobu West
Beef Tataki
Sushi rice
Magnolia's
Vanilla cupcakes and icing
Spotted pig's
Ricotta gnudi
A.O.C's
Parmesan stuffed bacon wrapped dates
Joel Robuchon's
Eggs coccote with mushroom and Parsley puree
Justin Quek's
Cromesquis (failed)
You know how you tell yourself once you've finished with all these, then you'll concentrate on studying? Lies.
|
|
| I ate it |
[10 Nov 2008|10:48pm] |
Today I baked an angel food cake.
But there are no pictures because it turned out ugly and I am vain when it comes to my pastries.
|
|
| Wifi party (Ting, you're gonna love it here) |
[29 Jun 2008|10:52am] |
Today is day 1 in Providence, and I'm loving it. The weather is gorgeous, sunny-warm in the day and cool in the night. The streets are pretty and clean with quaint little houses here and there, and lots of red brick. I live in a really nice dorm at 15West, right on top of RISD's amazing Library.
Checked in this morning and realised I should have brought a pillow and some sheets so I went down to bed bath and beyond and bought some. In the evening went out with flatmate Terry and his friend Donica to go see the waterfire.
What's waterfire? Water, and fire. Doh. It's a hundred fires on the water, which sounds pretty lame but looks pretty cool. That and the carnival atmosphere made for a great first day in Providence.
And now I'm in Donica's room leaching of somebody's internet. It's like a little lanshop here.
Can't wait for school on monday!
|
|
|
[13 Apr 2008|11:47pm] |
Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep
go the horns in the cars in the street
we walked away from the lover's leap
opposite directions
synchronised feet
wait wait wait wait wait wait wait
for the time it takes a heart to mend a break
how many moons are reflected in the lake
can you wait forever if time is all it takes
despite all the warnings
I landed like
a fallen star
in your arms
beat beat beat beat beat beat beat
goes my heart on the side of my sleeve
whispering something I can hardly believe
"let me take the lead
cos love is all we need
|
|
| Sunday morning |
[13 Apr 2008|07:14am] |
Stepping out onto my balcony, the birds twittering, the air comfortably cool and moist smelling. The sun bleeding color into the clouds. Dew covering just about everything. That soft milky light photographers use to flatter the most flawed subjects, making everything for a while seem uncharacteristically gorgeous. Such an unfamiliar feeling.
Studying lately (and not having to get up for school) has seen my day invert itself, sleeping at 5am and waking at 3pm. It's just easier to stay awake in the nighttime.
Unfortunately papers are still in the morning and I have to rehabilitate myself for the diurnal world. Tossing for 2 hours, I gave up. I'll just have to stay awake till tonight.
|
|
|
[11 Apr 2008|10:30pm] |
|
Don't judge.
|
|
|
[06 Apr 2008|01:09am] |
|
Studying is student and dying put together.
|
|
| I haven't left the house since tuesday... |
[06 Apr 2008|01:00am] |
And Love in the time of cholera was a terrible movie!
I can't speak for the book, but the film was just painful to watch. You should know that I AM a patient film-watcher. But the progression was so agonisingly pointless, and the protagonist was... so feeble and pathetic!
Like omg seriously. Seriously.
|
|
|
[04 Apr 2008|03:57am] |
|
I'm tired.
|
|
| Misquoth Jipson: |
[21 Mar 2008|02:25am] |
"Names of ingredients stick in my head like anatomy terms do" should read as "Names of ingredients stick in my head like anatomy terms stick in yours"***
***Note snide backhanded slap intonation.
|
|
| Cupcakes |
[27 Jan 2008|08:04pm] |
Friend: "Gwee! I want to marry you!"
Me: "Yea, I get that a lot."
|
|
| Opium |
[18 Jan 2008|10:26pm] |
"Everything one does in life, even love, occurs in an express train racing toward death. To smoke opium is to get out of the train while it is still moving. It is to concern oneself with something other than life or death."
-Jean Cocteau
|
|
|
[30 Nov 2007|08:32pm] |
Lost in cheap delirium
Searching the neon lights
I move carefully
Sink in the city aquarium
Sing in the key of night
As they're watching me
Take me somewhere we can be alone
Make me somewhere I can call a home
'Cause lately I've been losing on my own
Wrapped in silent elegance
Beautifully broken down
As illusions burst
Too late to learn from experience
Too late to wonder how
To finish first
|
|
| on:sloth |
[10 Aug 2007|01:04am] |
Sometimes it's just so hard to get up.
I (very) often complain about how annoying and stressful it is to be mixed up in so many things, making appointments, calls, sorting things out, not having time for myself to pursue my own ends. Yet now when I do have a pause, a bit of free time, I can't bring myself to do all the things I meant to do. The other day I was sitting at my computer, intending to work on my photos and stuff, but the mood just wasn't right. I ended up staring at the ceiling.
I've been feeling a tad listless these days. It's not that I haven't anything to do, just that I haven't anything I have to do, and maybe I'm just not used to it. Which is sad really, if indeed I've been conditioned to need pushing. What happened to self motivation?
It's so easy to say, I haven't enough money, or in my case, I haven't enough time, but look now that I do. I'm really into notebooks, I'm brimming with ideas. I write them down, and they never again see the light of day.
|
|
| Stoned in a lonely town |
[15 Jul 2007|01:23pm] |
| [ |
music |
| |
The beautiful ones - Suede |
] |
Hoooo. It's 1pm in auckland and I just woke up late. Technically, it's cos of jetlag, it's about 9 in singapore :P Or it could be beccause i got back at 3 last night.
Met up with a friend from last year's LIYSF and crashed this random house party. It wasn't the kind with black music and not much space between the bodies and the wall, more like the we don't have anything to do so let's drink kida party lol.
We played circle of death! Totally have to bring that game home. The best part was someone had to scull a mix of pepsi, bourbon, beer and milk. That's rank eh. And in the middle of game 3 someone's flatmate bursts in shouting where's my cock? Picks up this ball labelled cock, smashes a light and shouts it felt the wrath of my cock!
3am, stumble back to room and try not to wake roomie up. Fail terribly as i fumble in the dark for my stuff.
Okay! off to Waiheke island! hopefully!
|
|
| Insomnia |
[13 Jul 2007|01:17am] |
I used to worry, thought I was goin' mad in a hurry
Gettin' stress, makin' excess meth in darkness
No electricity, something's all over me, greasy
Insomnia please release me and let me dream of
Makin' mad love to my girl on the heath
Tearin' off tights with my teeth
But there's no release, no peace
I toss and turn without cease
ARGH. I need to stop stretching myself so thin. Losing track of things! Ahhhh!
|
|
| Doubt |
[11 Jul 2007|02:25am] |
| [ |
music |
| |
If you don't, Dont. - Jimmy eat world |
] |
Hello world. It's been a while hasn't it?
I feel weird writing without an intro. but wth, this is raw and it needs out.
Last week, I was out with T and G, and we were a little sober after drinking. (Booze+black music=high, booze-black music=sobering clarity)
So we were walking down this street, and talking about the future, the paths we'd been set on, and circumstances governing our fates. Shaun, who wanted to sign on as a pilot, but didn't make the cut. Shawn, who wanted to do econs, doing chem-en because it's what he's better at, and hence all his parents will pay for. Myself, 4 weeks away for starting med school, still not sure what I want to do.
If you asked me what I would want to do most, if money, lifestyle and anything else wasn't a factor for consideration, it would be food, writing and aesthetics(art, design, and the like) in that order. Even better if I can combine them.
Tonight was my last night interning at iggy's, an awesome experience.
Being in a kitchen like at Iggy's is like being in a protracted state of orgasm. I see, taste and smell things non stop, and everything is inspiring. Nevermind I have to spend hourse cutting leathery seaweed or peeling miniscule grapes, burn my hands on plates etc. I walk past and catch a whiff of a new scent - I could turn that into a sauce! I dip my spoon and take a lick - I start to crave raspberry sorbet, the thick sticky kind hagen dazs makes so well, it would make a perfect chaser for that dish. Ohmygad those caneles taste gorgeous, crunchy outside and so creamy inside, do i detect notes of banana and honey? Well they aren't amongst the ingredients in it. How does that happen?
Going out for a last supper with the other chefs (they all pull up in front of the regent like a little bike gang, then speed off leaving the sound of revs, and an exhaust trail. I take a ride in A's car. he's a trainee, and i could tell he was a little different from the other chefs. many in the industry see it as temporary, something they do in between. I'm not talking about the chefs in ig's, but just generally in the interview. A I could tell, was there by choice. Talking to him I found out he quite his econs degree and job in finance and joined culinary school. He was sick of the life and wanted to do something that really meant something to him. He tells me of his classmates with whom he meets up to cook with, outside of class. I sigh. It must be nice having friends who share your passion the way you do. Closest I have to that it EK. love you long time <3)
Reminds me of L, whom I met in the propaganda machine. Studied architecture, quit, was on his way to being a musician, got derailed, realised he wanted to do architecture at last. The thing I'll remember him most for, was what he said on my last day. Ultimately, we all die, so achievements mean nothing. It's how you did what you did.
Oddly profound cos to me it means 2 things.
You should enjoy life, screw trying to save the world.
Make your passion your work, and do something with it.
I think he meant the latter, to me that means slogging it out with my passion, taking it as far as it will go, devoting my life to it, nevermind social life and family life and money and leisure.
The other, I've actually begun to give some thought to. This really goes against a lot of the things i stand for, to just make work work, for the money, just give the minimum, and enjoy your leisure time, rather than try to achieve anything. Basically enjoy your personal life. You may not go far, but you would be happy, not in the deep i did something meaningful way, but in the I had genuine simple fun rather than the twisted "we went through trials and tribulations and are better people for it" type of happiness. I'm starting to sympathise with the ambitionless people out there. The people happy just to get by.
Honestly, medicine wouldn't be doing things my way. If I were brave enough, I would go out and do culinary arts. Problem is, I know I can do well at med. The rest, I'm not so. But no, I'm lulled by the siren song of compromise, "you can have a job and pursue your passions on the side" it cajoles. Stability is surprisingly seductive.
One thing those two had was the experience to know what they didn't want. I wish I had that clarity.
I suppose I'll be getting some soon.
I take consolation in knowing there's more than one way to an end.
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
|
|
|
|