Friendship to Love

I always love it when two long time close friends get together romantically. In the past year, I've had two such friends who decided to get together after 10 years of close friendship. Basically, he's been in love with her for the entire duration of the friendship. When most of friends finally found out about it, they started asking questions about lifelong commitments, such as buying a house, getting married, who is moving to where. I was very surprised to hear them ask about it, even more surprised to even hear from said couple certain plans they might have in place about it.

My first thought was, "What? They haven't even been together for a year. And they are talking about taking such big serious steps." I'll be the first one to admit, I do have a fear of commitment. Despite being friends for 10 years, being in a RELATIONSHIP is most definitely different than being in a friendship.
1. In a relationship for less than a year.
2. In a long distance relationship
3. Honeymoon phase not yet over
4. Pressure to commit

Let me elaborate, in Singapore, couples who are ready to commit and get married can apply for a government flat. However, new flats are cheaper than resale and there is a subsidy couples can apply for, only for new flats. New flats has to be built first which generally takes about 3 to 4 years. Once the couple has gotten the papers and the keys to the flat, they have another 6 months to register their marriage. But it is the waiting period for the flat to be built that has caused a trend in making couples commit before they can even consider why they are getting married.

A lot of people nowadays are already getting married because they think they ought to, after a certain number of years together. Added on the constant pressure that comes with Asian cultures (worried parents and busybody relatives will always keep asking when the younger generation are getting married and when they are, when will they have kids), and now the mentality to have a house of their own when they are married, it makes people jump the gun.

Maybe people will say that I'm thinking too much or it's my fear of commitment which is making me paranoid. But think about it, if you were the one in a relationship which is, let's say, around 2 years, you probably wouldn't even be thinking about such big steps to commitment. A lot of people have forgotten how their relationship started. Feelings, emotions, hormones even. But of course these are just the foundation and it has to be reinforced with other things. How many people out there actually think about these anymore.

I really wish that, when it comes to me, I don't think or act like I mentioned above. How about you?

Ciaos~

It's December

It's December 2013. And this year has been very... unusual. I'm currently in a job where no 25 year old Singaporean would actually contemplate doing. 

Please note that is a rant/thoughtless/formless post. Just for the sake of writing something since the urge did come over me. The phrase "Growing old is compulsory, growing up is optional." I refused to grow up after I quit my sales job, whiling away my time. Pursuing small hobbies (which are not value adding). Now that the fact I'm 25 has hit home and hit pretty hard, I can no longer baby myself. But, working in a cafe, doing what I do, is very eye opening. It has displayed all my flaws and shortcomings. It also let me see a different side of people and exposed me to a variety of people. F&B in Singapore is very hard work. People talk about how some places if you're a service person, you just serve. It really isn't. You do everything. Unless you've already stated very clearly your 'jurisdiction', so to speak, there is a sense of guilt that everyone else is busy while you are playing along the time. Of course, this is only when you do have a sense of guilt, because it comes with a sense of responsibility. There are a lot of people out there, who have no consideration towards other people. Some just come in for the fun of it without regard to how their actions affect others. I admit it, i was like that but I never saw how the operations worked. How is it that a single person is essential to the overall works. That's the problem with big corporations. You are so seperated from everyone else. In a smaller environment, it really is different. You see a lot of things from beginning to end, and the work and effort people put in. Or not. 

Oh well, I'm tired of rants. I'm done here. LOL. Ciaos.

PS. I miss reading, baking or cooking for myself. >_<

When Mixing Batter

Did you know, that when mixing any batter, DO NOT OVERMIX. It is amazing the difference in texture and how much it fluffs up.

Just a little post today. =P

Yum! Baked Soft Japanese Cheesecake.

I have always wanted to make the cheesecakes that a Japanese chain, called Fiesta, in Singapore sells. I've always had it since I was young but it was considered a luxury when I was younger. Even armed with the recipe which a friend, Janice, passed to me, I still find that it's a luxury. It can be a lot of work, and the cream cheese isn't all that cheap. But, I am very proud and happy to say that I MADE A SOFT JAPANESE CHEESECAKE. I took a look at it and found it familiar but thought that it was only because I have searched so many recipes and they all start to look the same to me.

So I started on the process with the following recipe and instructions.

Recipe

• 140g fine granulated sugar
• 6 egg whites
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 50g butter
• 250g cream cheese
• 00ml fresh milk
• 60g cake flour (can also use plain flour)
• 20g corn flour
• 1/4 tsp salt 

1. Preheat the oven at 160°C. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. Cool the mixture. Fold in the flour, the cornflour, salt, egg yolks and mix well. 
2. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form. 
3. Add the egg whites to the cheese mixture to and fold well. Pour into a 8-inch round springform cake pan or removable-bottom cake pan (lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of the pan with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper). Wrap the base of your cake tin with aluminium foil, to prevent seepage ... although I never do, and it has never seeped! ;) 
4. Bake cheesecake in a water bath for 1 hour 10 mins or until set and golden brown at 160°C. 
5. Leave to cool in oven with door ajar, about 30 mins to 1 hour. Sudden changes in temperature may cause the cake to cool too quickly and collapse.

And here are the pictures...

Milk and butter first	Then the chunks of cream cheese
After sifting	After baking!

On a side note, I cut my cream cheese into smaller blocks and chunks because I thought that will yield a smoother mixture. But as I was doing my method of "double broiling" the cheese, butter and milk, I realized that the mixture was still very lumpy. So I whipped out my sieve and put the mixture through it. Let you in on a secret. I hate to waste stuff, so when there were lumps in the sieve I push them through the sieve. Heh. So it's no waste and still no lumps. Am I the only who does that?

I finally put it into the oven to bake and I couldn't stop peeking in the oven to have a look at it. It smelt delicious and looked heavenly. By the way, the water bath is VERY IMPORTANT. It helps to keep the cake moist and not dried out, and prevents cracks across the top of the cake.

Unfortunately, when I finally pulled it out of the oven, the soft and light and airy texture was only achieved on the top and the bottom was too dense. Most probably because of the way I tried to fold in the egg whites. I didn't have a big enough bowl and by the time i tried to fold in all the egg whites, the mixture was overflowing. LOL. Oh well, no matter, the taste was still heavenly. 

After the whole fiasco, I went to search through my list of bookmarks whilst I was researching on soft japanese cheesecake. And, bingo! I realized it was the same recipe as the one on The Little Teochew. And one of her tips about the lumps was the sieve although she didn't press the lumps through. Hahah.

So I'll say this Japanese Cheesecake is not quite a total success but well on the way there! I found another variation on a blog called Cuisine Paradise, that uses less eggs and maybe I'll try that next time. Here is the recipe, and let me know how yours go when you try either of the recipes!

Till then, cheers and adios!

Chel-Min

The Story of Languages of Singapore

This was something that I helped my friend write for her school and I found that I really enjoyed it. It speaks about what we call the Singaporean identity. I have had people call me angmoh-sai, someone who speaks English like caucasians, cheena kia, someone who can speak chinese rather fluently, hokkien peng, a typical hokkien always flaunting about their language. The fact of the matter is, I am Singaporean and I speak all of the above because of my environment and exposure. I hope you enjoy reading the below as much as I enjoyed writing it. =)

Cheers!

*all non-English words will be attached with meaning in the appendix

“So let me tell you what happened to me when I was on the way to work today. It was a bit paiseh and without a doubt gu niang.” says a radio  DJ one fine afternoon trying to recount an incident. This, my friends, is but just a small example of a language aptly named Singlish.

Let’s get some facts straight. Number 1, English is mainly used for most official bodies, documents and instructions. Even in the educational system, English is the forefront of how the children are being taught. For the record, the national language of Singapore is Bahasa Melayu. Similarly, there are also the other languages recognised in Singapore which are Tamil and Mandarin. However, despite all the official methods of the above, one has triumphed and emerged the winner as Singapore’s unofficial main lingua franca. Cue the drum roll please... It’s Singlish! So where in the world did Singlish come from? No, it’s not from outerworld space. It is just the plain old citizens of Singapore who unwittingly created and amplified it. A cultural melting pot of early immigrants from the Chinese, Indian, Malay and British has unequivocally created this mixture of English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil, Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese in this day. In fact, Sir Stamford Raffles would have probably considered Singlish to be a blasphemy and proceed to prevent its creation and evolution. But, is Singlish truly a monstrosity? Languages have been evolving ever since any form of communication has been created. So, given that Singapore is such a small island with people coming from all walks of life, it would be impossible for the English language not to evolve.

When the Europeans came and started doing tradings in Singapore, the locals realised that the Europeans had major spending power. They saw that it was a great opportunity to trade and earn their living from the Europeans. However, the downside was that, the only way they could have any proper footing in the trade was to learn their language so as to start the communication and the business dealings. And so, they saw the value of learning the language. Of course, as such, trying to overcome the difficulty of learning a new language, they start to infuse their own language to make themselves better understood and hopefully have a better grasp of the new language. As Singapore progressed, schools were built to provide the children of Singapore an education. It was also at this point of time that the locals realised the importance of education. The Europeans had placed special emphasis and tended to give prospective desk jobs to people who could write and speak English well. The locals saw that their future generation would be better provided for with an education and thus started to send their children to school. This gave Singlish a boost as the educated children in English try to grasp the concept of multilingualism and communicating with the older generation. Once a way to attempt to communicate in more than one language has now evolve to one of the most criticised, most identifiable subset of the English language. Singlish has evolved so much that it has become a way of life, a culture, an identity. There is a reason why it is called Singlish. Created in Singapore, "developed" by Singaporeans, used to identify Singaporeans no matter where you are, this language is the epitome of our identity.

Whether you’re in Vietnam or Nigeria, the moment you hear someone say “Wah lao eh”, it is instant recognition that they were likely either a) from Singapore, b) picked up the slang from long term exposure, or c) are true born and bred Singaporeans. In Singapore, there are ‘unofficial’ groups of people. You have the attas people (people who are not from the the upper class but act as though they are), the people from the upper class, the middle class, the blue collar people and last but not least, the foreigners. But all these classifications do not and never will matter. Whether you are a factory worker, a National Servicemen, a hospitality manager or even a hotshot CEO, Singlish works and is spoken across the board. So long as you say something along the lines like “Sorry ah, I catch no ball” the label “Singlish speaker” just sticks to you, much like a shadow.

Singlish is one of the most eclectic mix of languages all rolled into one, much mentioned as before. However, there is more to it than just injecting some random hokkien words into a sentence. Such an example would be “He kena lottery leh!” or “Time to jiak!” Some call it the replacement method. In most cases, Singlish is simply used in day to day conversations whereas in other situations, it emphasizes the point even more than it would be in plain English. Ever so creative, Singaporeans have even come to start creating more words to the constantly growing vocabulary of Singlish. It is strange why is that Singaporeans instead of saying, ‘He’s having the runs” or “He has food poisoning” or even, "He has diarrhea", choose to say and at the same time coin a new word, “He at home laosai-ing.” This would indeed be one of the highest level of Singlish. The loss of grammar, the invention of a new word which is actually a cross between hokkien and English, the breakdown of sentence structure... The truest form of Singlish. Singlish is often used to exaggerate a certain action or emotion or to even better explain a context that just doesn't seem to cut it when described in English. There is an effect on Singaporeans and a mutual understanding when using Singlish or even when coining new words for the first time. To us, saying, "He won first prize in the lottery!" just doesn't quite cut it, in comparison to saying "He tior beh pior leh! First prize!"

In Singapore, the local government strongly admonishes the use of Singlish. They keep saying that it makes us look as though we are not properly educated despite our first world status. Is Singlish really so astonishing? Language is subjective, and is always changing its form to adapt to the circumstances and environment. The dance of words, the flexibility and the flow, it is the only thing that can evolve that much faster than any known pathogen in the world. What people use to communicate has become something more than just words. It is emotion and expression. It is just different from what other countries have adapted in their own culture. It is not to say we cannot speak proper English. We are more than capable to do so and we do it in the right time, place and situation.

In her encounters overseas, Megan once said, “It is like you can go anywhere in the world, and expose yourself to any and all the colourful cultures of the world. But the moment you hear someone say 'Don't like this leh', it is like the light just switches on. The rapport you feel is instant. The sense that you are not the only one who is different is just gone. It doesn't matter if this is a person you probably will never talk to in your life whilst in Singapore. You will never feel lonely, and you will realise, Singlish is something that brings people together and bonds them.” At a networking event, out for drinks and all, we landed on the discussion of accents and languages and such. An acquitance, Jeremiah mentioned, "I can speak chinese, even perfect English or the Queen's English. But speaking in that way in Singapore, makes you come across as very pompous and fake. Unapproachable even. Singlish is the language where you can make people feel at ease, where you do not have to be exactly perfect. It helps people to bring down their barriers which, of course, in turn smoothes things out."

Languages are beautiful in the sense that it can be anything you need it be, anything you want it to be. The main point is to make people understand what you are trying to say. In Singapore, Singlish does this perfectly because, it makes people comfortable no matter the level of your command in English. That is the power of Singlish, uniquely ours.

Appendix

Paiseh - Embarrassing

Gu niang - Effeminate

Wah lao eh - Similar to ‘What the hell’

Attas - People who pretend to be from the upper class

I catch no ball - I do not understand

He kena lottery leh! - He struck lottery!

Jiak - Eat

Laosai - Diarrhea

Laosai-ing - Having diarrhea

Tior beh pior - Struck lottery

Don't like this leh - Don’t be like this

Kitchen Misadventures: The One With Salted Caramel Fail

I havent been exactly been cooking and baking for a long time but I have had my fair share of mishaps.

A few days ago I tried making salted caramel sauce based on the recipe by Brown-Eyed Baker. Well, to say that it was not successful is some kind of understatement of the year.

As you can see all had been going well. I had my ingredients (you can see my dog's butt in the first picture. =P) and I was all ready to cut my butter into cubes as mentioned in the recipe. But the thing was, I hadn't copied down the steps after the recipe and when I wanted to try it out, I couldn't access the website! I was almost in a state of panic. And then I thought, oh, there are plenty of other sites. I researched those that required heavy creams (a lot of them used water to melt the sugar and let it brown). I tried it and it looked so delicious! So I let it cook and cook and cook. Until it was the beautiful brown color all the sites I researched  on looked like. You could see that I stopped taking pictures because 1)The camera was banging against my counter top and the stuff I was using, which can't be good for the camera. 2)All the sites said that I need to keep a super close eye on my brew, taking pictures was distracting me =X

Finally it turned the beautiful color, I poured it out into a bowl. To my horror, as I was cleaning up some of the bowls and such, the leftovers in the pot started to solidify and harden! I was so hoping that it was because of the amount but I checked the bowl, the sides started to harden. =( All my hard work! I quickly asked my dad for help and he said "Let's make candy then!". Ok, those who know my dad know that he doesn't talk like that, but his suggestion was genius. So we got down to it, and here is the result.

Ok, seriously I'm ashamed that I only have this picture to prove I *attempted* salted caramel and came out with candy. It looked so beautiful when I laid it out. Oh well, it seems like I can only be contented with this blob of 'the thing'. 

So I looked it up and I read up! It was supposed to be a lighter brown than what I let it cook till. Or that my heat was not high enough. These were tips offered by Recipe Girl, stated here.

Well, I'd like to end off with a note, nothing ventured nothing gained. At least now I know. Oh! I forgot, if you're wondering what that yellow stuff in the bowl in first picture is, it's substituted heavy cream. Here's the recipe. I couldn't find any heavy cream in the supermarket, how sad is that. =S

Songs I listened to while I blogged about this: 

1. Pink ft Nate Ruess - Just Give Me A Reason
2. Billie Myers - Kiss The Rain
3. The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
4. Maddi Jane - Breakeven (cover version)

Oh so shameful

It has been nearly 5 months since my last post. I am so ashamed. I have not done ANYTHING handicrafty at all. I think it's basically because generally Singaporeans are just too busy to do anything by the time they get home from work. It's just sad. Plus, I changed my job, so it's even more hectic. (PS my boss is a workaholic and kinda expects us to be like him. -.- but he's still nice enough to give leeway and such. =) )

Current projectSSSSS

1. Lacey shrugs for 2 friends
2. Mega pillow case
3. Scarf for another friend

Hmmm.... LOL.

Some ideas...

Alright, so, I do have some projects on hand. But my over active brain is still throwing some ideas that I want to play around with, if I ever find the time. =P

You know how wall decals are on the rise in popularity? I absolutely love those but I have a mega problem. My walls are the kind where it's textured with bubble-like thingys sticking out. I googled a search and found that it's called the gravel wall.

It looks really rough right? That's a big problem. If I stick my decal on, it's going to be hell removing it at later stages. I cannot stare at something for too long, I get really sick of it. So... my solution? I love photoshop. There are tons of photoshop brushes out there. I have paper. And ta-da! The idea? Do a measurement of area I want to 'decal', do the photoshop brush thing and trace it out! Yay! Splendid idea no? Saves me money and it'd be really easy to remove too. Hopefully this will come to fruition when I actually do find the time to do it. =S it's gonna be a big project. Because not only do I have to trace out the pattern, I would also have to spray paint or paint it by hand. Sigh... But once it's up, I was thinking of intermixing it with hand selected photos of this huge collection I printed out a long time ago. =P Should look fab right? Will defo post pics up when I do finish it =D

The other idea is jewelry holder. My god, organising my accessories is a bitch just because I love dressing up and I like have TONNES of them. My brother in law once asked me 'Are you selling metal?' Soo... if they're like not put away properly, it's a HUGE mass of a lump of metal, findings, chains, hooks, beads, charms etc. My solution? Old shoe box or cardboard box, whatever, basically something pretty hard but still able to cut up. Wrapping paper, cellophane tape (commonly known as scotch tape. But scotch tape is a brand, not the name itself. Just like maggi mee, kleenex, tupperware... and I'm deviating. LOL) must be transparent. Hole puncher - to make the holes to hook the earrings. I hope to make it like this kind of holder but the hanging type.

Except mine will be in a square shape instead and like I said, gonna be hanging I guess. If that fails I can just flat it out and make more layers =P We'll see if I *do* get to that. Wahahaha. However I must say, this jewelry holder is more likely to happen than the wall decal idea. LOL. Oh btw, if you are looking for ways to hang necklaces, go to daiso (Singapore), and grab one of the wire racks thingys. Erm... It's basically a flat metal rectangle with sectioned off squares of about 24. Something like this....

Yeah... so grab some S-hooks and ribbon. What I did was attach the rack to some wall shelves just below them, so it's parallel to the floor. So, after that, hook the S-hooks on, and start hanging your necklaces. And wah la~ That's it. You get to see all the stuff you have! If that rack isn't enough just get more and start doing some layering! LOL.

Alrighty then. I guess that's all for today. Maybe when I do post up the pictures, it will inspire you guys to something DIY-ish. =D

Cheerios~!

Please Press Play

First of all, this isn't the first time I've had a blog.

Second of all, it wouldn't be the first time I'm documenting any handicrafts I've done or doing or going to do.

Thirdly, it won't be the last time I would drop my hobby, take a leave of absence from both.

Lastly, it definitely won't be the last time I would pick up again. I always will. =)

As such, pray for me to always find time to do this because I love it, no matter how bad the outcome may be (and I've had some pretty bad ones. LOL).

Oh btw, I actually have no original idea. Sooo... if you're looking for resources, you can stay tune, I surf around a lot for ideas to do. ;)

For now, I am 'The Homey Chic'. Why did I call myself that? I want to hide behind an anonymous name for one, so if my stuff does turn out bad, no one will know better. =P And if it does, well, we'll take it from there. I also love staying home. Going out some times is fine. Having company is great. But some times, because work is like an illness for me at the moment, staying home is like my remedy. =)

I live in Singapore, am in my early 20s, a girl/woman, tall, love heels, clothes, accessories, make up, movies, music,singing, documentaries, kickboxing, belly dancing, MTV dances. TV shows are a must in my life, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Grey's Anatomy. I blew through HIMYM seasons 1 - 4 in a week. Heh. I read, quite a bit (chick lit =P). My record, Twilight Saga New Moon in a day, The Mortal Instrument 1st Trilogy in 4 days. I dream of being a singer, or an actress, or a business woman, or professional baker, or owning a cafe with millions (ok maybe not millions, but at least a couple hundred close to thousand) of books for customers.

I love fooooooooooooooooodddd~~ Chicken rice is the ultimate. Explains my height and weight. Hahaha. Not a chocolate girl, but a potato chips babe. Oyakodon, ramen, kimchi fried rice, ban mian, salted egg prawn/crab (whichever), black pepper chicken chop, soupy bak chor mee, oyster egg (not oyster omelette), satay, otak, siu yok... OMG. I have to stop. I'm hungry. =S basically, no veggies. Heh.

I knit, crochet, make jewelry, paint shoes, reconstruct clothes, make clothes, bake, cook, bounded books before, delved into scrapbooking, tried fashion designing workshops, mend clothes, cross stitch, was halfway through an embroidery item, tested my hand at beading, made flowers from ribbons, origami etc. I try to do more, but obviously, working adults in Singapore rarely have the time nor the patience to do so. =(( But there is one thing good for handicrafters. It makes one very patient, detailed and a good planner. I'm a very stingy person, so I'd rather do it right once. Even though over the years, my clothes have turned out more disastrous than successful. But rectifying it squeezes your brain juice to come up with creativity too. ;)

All in all, I think I've already said too much about me, too little about crafts and I'm getting lazy already. =P soooooo, till next time, cheerios~!