Politics

Never have been a fan of politics and never will be.

But even when you avoid something, it does not necessarily mean that you never have to deal with it. Sometimes, the issue sticks itself right under your nose.

In my idealistic world, everyone will express their dissent at the earliest moment possible to minimise the misunderstandings that are likely to occur. Why keep it inside only to express it later if what you are really wanting is for the best of everybody?

Sadly, it isnt so easy in reality. In reality, people might have different ambitions, different ideas on how to achieve their objectives (assuming their objectives are the same) and as usual, everyone is different.

That's where the mess comes in. I just hope this is settled as quickly and as amicably as possible. I really dislike being stuck in the middle.

English Class

The news article.

The comment:

I dont see what the big deal is. All men pay for sex and all women have sex for money. Prostitution is just the direct method of doing so. How many wives or girlfriends will stay with a man if she's not getting anything out of it? Sex is not a big deal for women, they can get sex whenever they want so of course they are going to want something in return. I would rather have a prostitute at a set price than a woman that is manipulating and using me in an attempt to get what she wants. Dealings with prostitutes is probably the only truly honest transaction most men will ever have with a woman.

My response:

(Mr Ananda, our new English teacher required us to give a written response on the matter)

The person who wrote that comment is clearly a man which has been burnt by a past relationship. His comment is very bias and does no justice to both men and women alike. It is not fair for him to generalize all men and women and accuse women of being with a man simply with the agenda of getting something.

To a certain extent, I am angered by his comments (I must assume he is male considering the things he has to say about women. It is highly unlikely that a woman would say those things about her gender) as they have no grounds and are merely accusatory. He may have been hurt before but this is no excuse for equating one tree to the entire forest.

Perhaps he has forgotten the countless of women who are stuck in failed marriages where they constantly face sexual and domestic abuse on a daily basis. Women that actually slave for their family while their husbands laze around at home drinking beer or gambling the hard-earned money away. Women that give in to their husbands decision simply because they LOVE and respect them. Women that continue to tolerate their philandering husbands while they patiently wait for them at home.

Of course not all women lead such unfortunate lives but I felt the necessity to point out the other side of the coin that he failed to point out. The person who wrote that comment did not consider many other unjust circumstances which are faced by the fairer sex.

He questions how many wives or girlfriends will stay with a man if she’s not getting anything out of it. He confidently states that sex is NOT a big deal for women. Dear Mr-Being-Hurt-before-and-is-now-out-to-get-all-the-women, not every wife or girlfriend stays with a man just to get ‘something’. Most would do it simply out of love! If you consider building a family together, sharing a life together, receiving love and tenderness from the one you love as getting "something" then, I shall concede. But it would then mean that it doesnt just mean that only wives and girlfriends are capable of being such people. It would mean that the entire of humankind is behaving in that sense too! If getting love can be considered as something, then why cant the fact that men seeking for sex (he admitted it himself) should be considered as getting something from women as well?! Clearly, it would be blasphemy to say that all women take and all men give. Because the actual fact is both men and women give and receive in a relationship. There is no fixed giver or receiver.

His comment is horrifyingly unjust and each sentence, I read with gross disgust at the injustice of the words he uses against women. Men can be equally cruel to women – taking advantage of the feelings some women have towards them. Why is he venting out such a one-sided perspective?

I would say of everything he said, the only thing that makes better sense than the rest of the comments is the last two sentences when he views prostitution more as a contractual transaction. But it is only to that extent that I agree with him.

My Ideal Guy

I think this is like the most inappropriate article to write about at this time, especially when all of us are still scrambling over which notes we are supposed to read up on to prepare for land law lectures, when ALSA UM is trying really hard to regain its former activism, and when Taekwon-do GTF Club has not even been established.

But I have been wanting to write on this topic for a looooooong time already.

*drum rolls*

My Ideal Guy.

I wrote something somewhat similar a few months ago.. but at that time, the post was supposed to be more for humour than for anything else. The past few months, what with all my little self-discovery projects (volunteer work, organising events, travel, participating in everything I can get my hands on) have assisted me in finding myself and I think I have a rough idea of what type of guy I would want, if I ever do intend on getting into a relationship again. Note: Not in a hurry, every thing will fall into place in good time.

1. He must be tall, at least taller than me when I wear heels *i'm 165cm btw

I mean business here. This might sound kinda shallow but honestly, I wouldnt want to be walking with my heels, half a head taller with my guy. Think of what it will do to his ego.. and I really cant do without my heels. I love high heels..

And I think this is fair enough. It's like how some guys like big boobs, or a perky butt, or even how some girls go gaga over K-pop stars.

[rephrased] 2. He is able to effectively express himself in English.

Not expecting Mr. English Literature.. but the guy must have at the very least, a reasonable command of the English language and is able to understand puns and language jokes. Maybe it is the way I was brought up (being banana and all).. But I just find guys who speak English, more attractive. Besides, my mandarin is embarrassing!

3. Kindness and tenderness

I believe this would be a common prerequisite for most people. We all want to spend our time with people with a good heart, a kind soul.

4. Ambition and passion

Guys that know what they want from their life and enjoy what they do with it, no matter how mundane, are sexy. You can interpret the second limb howsoever you want. :p

I guess that's all, for me. I realise that as time changes, what I seek for in a guy has changed as well. No, my ideal guy doesnt need to be a dog lover.. it's enough that he is kind to animals (refer to number 3.)

Obsession and True Love

Obsession is everything true love isnt, when it comes to relationships and feelings.

Love is selflessness. You hope the best for that very person, even if the burden of the cost is on yourself.

Love is kind. You give and give - never hoping to receive anything in return.

Love is trusting. Constantly giving your loved ones the benefit of the doubt, even at the worst of times.

Love is forgiving. There will be quarrels and misunderstandings that crop up, but if there is love, they will eventually accept the other's mistake and love them just the same.

Love is understanding. You dont pick on the other's behavior because you know what it feels like to be in his shoes.

Love is empathy. You feel for him, just by the tone of his voice or his facial expression.

Love is respecting. Acknowledging that person has feelings just like you and never once behaving like you have the right to defame them, call them ugly names, or hurt them.

The circumstances may change and the phases through life may make it seemingly impossible to ever reconcile. People may move on, people might not. But I honestly believe that when you love somebody, the feelings will always remain.

I finally know what love is. But I learnt it at the expense of a break-up. I hope others can learn from my mistake. Because it is a regret that I continue to live with, even if it no longer haunts me.

Valentine's Day everybody.

Iced Sugar Cookies

Here's my initial plan: Bake a batch of cookies, glaze it with glaze icing, bring it to UKM for the meeting, and share it with my friends.

What really happened: I baked a batch of cookies the night before, glazed it this morning but took longer than expected, glaze was too runny as I added too much water, did a handful so I could at least have something to share with my friends, made my way to UKM, got lost on the NPE, ended up in Kuchai Lama, drove a little more and reached Bukit Jalil and finally arrived somewhere familiar - Bandar Kinrara, called friend for help, restarted my journey at the NPE, finally on the right track and reached UKM, wondered in the law fac for a good 10minutes before I realised they were in the lecture hall.

Cookies were alright but I know better on how to handle the glaze icing in future! Dont be so generous with the water!!!

Anyway here is the recipe:

Cookie dough

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar *can be reduced to 1/2 cup!

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in egg and extract and mix.

2. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Slowly add flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined.

4. When dough is made, chill for an hour or so. After that, sprinkle flour out and roll and shape dough. But what I did was, (advice given by Our Best Bites) roll out the dough into a sheet and then, only freeze it for like 10minutes. Then quickly cut out the desired shape and place the shaped cookie dough onto the baking tray.

5. Bake at 177C for 8-12 minutes. If you like it soft and chewy, bake it for about 8minutes. If you like it crunchy, bake it longer.

and ta-daaa... you have this. Refer picture below.

Glaze icing

1 1/4 cup icing sugar

3 tbsp milk

3 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine sugar and milk until smooth and not lumpy. Then stir in honey and vanilla.

Note: This was relatively easy but I messed things up by underestimating the power of milk/liquid. Because the sugar looked very much solid initially when i added the milk, i began to add in more and MORE water, without considering the recipe. That is probably where I went wrong because the icing became quite watery and I ended up adding alot more icing sugar to make up for the liquid. So peeps, if you ever make this, remember to only add any liquids bit by bit!

And you may also add any colouring to your liking. I tried yellow and red. Actually had plans to decorate them according to Valentine's theme but because my icing was runny, I had to do with a simple flower pattern. Do check out the way Our Best Bites decorated their cookies. This was what I originally intended to do. I forgot about the toothpick!!!! Could have decorated the icing using a toothpick. Nvm nvm, next time! I will definitely do this right! on a separate note, it is really therapeutic.

AIC2012 begins tomorrow! Looking forward to meeting lots of new people. Hopefully things will turn out smoothly.

Sneak peek: Iced Sugar Cookies

Here's a quick peek at what I have in store for the coming days. Will be making the glaze tomorrow. Really hope it works. Coz if they do, they will be really pretty. And it will be in conjunction with Valentine's day.

*Note: This entry was slightly edited due to present circumstances. :p

Cream Puffs

Just in case any of you are wondering if I got my phone back.. yes, I did. I have been told that I am one lucky girl because that doesnt happen very often in today's world. Perhaps.. I was lucky this time. We agreed to meet at IOI bus stop in the morning, she came driving with her kid in the car. She passed me my phone, and as a token of appreciation, I gave her an angpao. Very lucky indeed.

A friend even told me to send my phone to a service centre to check whether a GPS tracker has been installed into my phone. Very thoughtful of him, but I seriously doubt that it is necessary. hmm

Made cream puffs yesterday (before I lost my phone). The puffs were a success but the cream not so.

Puff:

1 cup water

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

Salt

4 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 218C.

2. In a medium pot, bring the water and butter to a simmer on medium heat. Add the flour and stir very quickly in one direction. Keep stirring to continue cooking the flour and cook off some of the water, another minute or two.

3. Let the pot cool for a while, until the dough is lukewarm, before adding the salt and eggs one by one into the pot. You dont want the eggs to cook too quickly.

4. Mix rapidly until each egg is combined into the paste. The paste will go from shiny to slippery to sticky. The pâte a choux can be cooked immediately at this point or refrigerated for up to a day until ready to use.

5. Spoon the dough into a piping bag. Pipe onto a baking sheet into little puffs, keeping the puffs 2-inches apart. With wet finger, press down the peaks. Bake at 218C for 10 minutes, then 178C for 18-30 minutes, depending on the size of your puffs.

They turned out better than expected. It was the cream that disappointed me but I guess it was my fault being a newbie and all. There are two usual ways to make the cream. The first being, whipped cream, and the other being making custard cream. Whipped cream will have a lighter, frothier consistency, whereas custard cream is thicker and creamier. I would have made the latter but since whipping cream was available at home, I opted for the former. But.. I forgot about the sugar! oh darn.. the cream puffs turned out to be savoury with some plain cream in between. Was ready to just dispose off the cream puffs but on second consideration, I realised that the cream puffs could do with some simple icing sugar for dusting and they will be just as delicious! heh.

And fortunately, that was the case. Brought it for a friend's steamboat party. Well, the host did say they were awesome! :)

Post-camp

Blogging this after a five day camp at Carey Island. What can I say? Place was beautiful, more than enough to eat, quality company, interesting programme pulled off by my sponsors. Perhaps, I went to this camp this year round with the mindset that I would give my best participation, and that is why I enjoyed it far better than the previous one. The first two days were meaningful and typical of a camp but starting with the third day there was a sharp increase in stress and activities. totally occupied from the moment you wake rightttt till the time you get into bed. This camp is especially meaningful as compared to the previous one as it led me to think of alot of things about myself. It made me ponder on my strengths and weaknesses. Made me appreciate the good within me but at the same time, made me realise that there is still plenty of room for improvement. Dont wanna sound like a blogging cliche, but I found myself discovering more about myself in this camo.

- This camp made me wonder if I am satisfied with where I am heading in life.

- It made me realise that no man is an island. We can never work alone. Even if we can, teamwork makes things so much more possible.

- I realise that there are so many more people, just as competitive as me, and probably that much more better than me. And because of that, I must always be humble, and continue to strive for the infinite betterment (even if it doesnt truly exist).

- The gift of talking and socialising is very important if you want to succeed in life. I really really need to learn to smile more. Smiling may seem easy for some people, but it isnt for me. It isnt because I want to project some cool arrogant image. I am really just THAT shy to smile and look at people sometimes. Not saying it is a good thing, it's something I really need to improve on. Must remember to smile and look at everyone in the eye, even if they are a stranger!

- One of the workshop sessions which measured my weight and other stuff made me learn that I have a reasonably hot body, even if it isnt a sizzling hot one. *Dont laugh, seriously...*

- Visiting the shelter for special children made me feel grateful to be blessed with a perfect set of limbs and brains.

- Seeing so many people who can speak better than me in public has inspired and motivated me to continue working on my ability to speak in public.

- Being able to write up an article on my own in one hour made me realise that everybody has different talents and different ways of expressing themselves. Some people might speak with much charisma, but I can definitely write just as well, even if i may not speak as well.

There's just so much to learn in this world. I could go on and on about how the camp was.. but I am really exhausted right now.

And to add on to it all, I still have so many things to sort out. ALSA International Conference begins on the 10th right up to the 17th February, classes commence on the 13th, medical and dental appointments all coinciding about the same time.

I wonder when I will ever get my rest, but if there is anything I have learnt from the camp, most things can be done if you have the faith that it will happen. So here's to applying what I have learnt into real life!