today's :D

this one abit not in focus, but i like the composition leh. heh..

got improvement hor hor horr? haha!

loving photography more and more !!
♥

slightly amused.

after a few missed calls, and my rather late SMS replies... heres wat i got from dear mr. j :
"...and dun jus anyhow lay yr hp, u got good friends who wanna call u"

haha, i get the idea. thanks for the reminder :p

a c t i o n

i have a whopping 644 photos...out of which probably 600 (conservative estimate) of them are crap :( i cld have taken much better photos, IF i had Sb900 you knowwwww..... :p havent had time to go thru all the photos yet- eyes still feeling tired after a whole day of snapping~ heh.. who wants to get me a book on sports photography? haha. iheartmacro too. :p

so anyway, our club hosted the first CKC Cup tournament. and i was there neither as a participant, nor coach. my shifu called me down to be the 'official photographer'. zzz.... i got a dressing down from him first, cos i MIA-ed the first day. i think i will get a 2nd one when i show him the photos for 2nd day.....bleahz.......

brought back lotsa memories abt the past. haha. maybe i shld stop thinking, and just pluck my bigfatass off the chair and start going down for trainings? loL zzzz. heh.. if i pass my assessments+interviews... i'll really start training and represent PSA for tkd in the near future. wah then i will feel like a traitor. haha. where shld my alliance go to? lOL...my own club, or SPF? train at my own clubs but represent SPF for bonus maybe. wahaha.. BTW, I havent been running !! ohmytian.... will i get to see the sunrise on the last day of May..... ? zzzzzzz

incy wincy spidey..

cant do too much macro in a day.. :s tiredy eyes.... O_o

so, can someone tell me wat species this is? i cant find it here

whats with those "what dynasty warrior chraracter are u".."what hero are u" tests thingamajig on FB. sheesh... don't understand the point of people doing them either. like u seriously believe ur guan gong, or zhouyu...liubei? zzz. *wakeup wakeup...* comeon, the fact that ppl do 10 of these pseudo tests a day tells us more abt the person than the results... at a glance...u get to see rubbish like "Strong and powerful, you tend to overshadow those around you.Your soul reflects: deep love, fascination with life, and a distinctive persona...." I, for one..am not interested in all those shitt... its flooding the newsfeed page. wonder how i can turn it off or sthg. well not that i check fb often now anyway~ *yawns.... jus an avenue where i upload n share photos for now, and keep in touch with some frens abroad. if not wld hav deleted the whole damn account.

btw, im peeved today ! which explains why i ranted on random topics..loL~ well, not like super, jus rather irked. grarrrh. $%^$%^$#%^&#& i hate it when i hear anything abt this ..this...this..... THING! pollute my ears.

and i wonder why different activities from different grps have to be so irritatingly scheduled on the same day. then i'll be like free on other days...and have to force myself to choose which ppl to meet on a particular day. sheesh! and it so happens tmr has to be ONE of those days~

psst, its so HOT today...i jus wanna stay IN~ haha. zzz. -_-" hope tmr's weather is goood ! haa, doesnt matter, all indoor activities tmr~ LOL~ yippee yay~ then again, i shld enjoy this warmish weather now uh..ahah. not long from now, i'll be freezing at high altitude levels.. woooooHoooHhoo~ :D

life is colourful, because of

:D

love!

aizai aizai aizaiii !!

Jing zia zaiiii~ lOL~ whooosh !

peace out +

~ BMX, i heart !!

hokay, pretty disorganised entry..haa. just some photos to end the day~ pretty packed schedule this week... so it'll take sometime before i can organise/photoshop those pictures. hehe..

goodnight!

before the day ends,

*waves* Hello welcomer!
so u've been introduced to my site today..loL~ just a note to officially welcome you. *throws confetti* haha :p

hokay, i better sleep.....and be prepared for tmr !

aizai signing off! :D

caught some bmx action too...heh..

i'll sieve out those photos and post at a later date...preview first :p

was playing ard with the exposure settings, and i got this...hmm, somehow...i just like the effect. gives me a dreamy feel... wanna photoshop and see how i can transform this photo...but rather bushed now... heehe

okay, u do realise im blogging in a reverse chronological manner. hahaa...too tired to sort the pictures out now. hokay, mini catchup on my dvds time. haha. adious amigos.

btw, i've been contemplating a proper photography blog/site for quite sometime liow...sheesh.....shld i get down to it? pay for hosting? hmm....not very ex... but hmm...which shld i go for uh....

aribba aribba and awayyy...

was a rainy day....

on my first flight :p

caught abit of sunset :)

no amt of rain's gonna stop aizai from having fun !
photography is funfunfun !! :D

batch ♥ t w o

tried my cookies again today, and it tasted much better ! haha...not kidding. lOL~ the texture kinda changed. chewier and softer..without the wierdish feel to it~ heh..so i was encouraged, and decided to place somemore refrigerated dough into the oven! wahhaa...tonight's batch came out nicer too!! how come everything i do today seems better ah!? whaha. i likey likey likeyyy~ yeah! i have 1 more log of cookie dough.. loL~ maybe can try sthg funkier with it..like combine to make some ehmz.....cheesecake filled choc cookie dough!?~ or sthg like that. how does that sound? whaha... idea hor!? starting to generate some funky recipes for TeaCo Pte Ltd liow.. biscotti to go with coffee, then we'll have cookies and cakes to go with tea! *wooT* i want a sandwich bar too~ i loooooveeee sandwiches~ hmm. then i'll have my signature soup ....

heh...... jus awhile ago, mum asked how im gonna name my cookies... then i tot hmm, decadent walnut choc cookie sounds boring~ boo. loL...and she cldnt understand wat decadent means anyway.... so i jus named it aizai cocopiah for her..haha. or how abt JING ZIA ZAI cocopiah? loL..

hokay...i noe some of u wanna bash me up liow. lameness to the max. byeee!

just felt compelled to say..

I treasure you ALOT BRADHERRR~ :D
think its amazing we've come this far.. considering the things we've been thru, and after all the things i did, we still have a beautiful friendship gg on.. of which im grateful for.. thank you for being able to forgive and for your genuine concern all these years. even though there were certain times when u were silent, your action spoke multitudes.. *heartsmuch

你不计回报的付出，对我也从来没有半丝怨言 (other than ur constant suanings of my roundish figure...这个账会跟你慢慢的算.... *glares)，更没有因为我伤害过你而对我说出任何苛刻的话, 真的让我很感动... :)

Now, time to cut the longlong story short.. arboh someone's head getting too big.....i no $ buy u new XL helmet. :p
...just a reminder that im always willing to lend u a listening ear too okay!!? hmm, then again, maybe change the 'always' to off-peak hours la........HAHA !

谢谢你, 我的 one and only offpig hour friend...i will continue to take u for granted...loL...*skips*
psst..whens our next blading session. ginnzzz leh ahpek!! wah...feels better, i sound normal now.

Vietnam: Cu Chi Tunnels

One of my favourite destinations in Vietnam ..

mini crawled thru the intricate, extensive, and extremely claustrophobic Cu Chi tunnels network... i think the tunnel tt we crawled thru had already been widened for us... O_O haha.

then theres the weapon exhibits..how the weapons were constructed and how they're carefully placed and concealed. ingenious. i was really impressed with the ppl who designed them...along with all those booby traps they setup~... eerie~

really highlights the resiliency of men

the preparation

1) melting choc+butter 2) mixing the batter

3) wrapped-up dough for refrigeration 4) ready for baking!

seriously, the dough taste so much nicer than the cookie. haha.

veryyy yummyy dough (at least)!!! :p

the finished product.

turned out....ok laa. mai hiam..its ok..... -_-

its v chewy actually.. not too bad a soft cookie. but hmm, the texture does feel a lil weirdish...

next time will be MUCH BETTER! haha

wei wei wei 来一点鼓励 horrr!

too much choc, not enuf flour to firm up the cookie... haha..so it became 1 MEGA piece

whoever im meeting these few days....让 AIZAI 来疼一疼你们吧!! haha...qiah u all eat !

this is AIZAI's 爱的代价 ...lOL~ be my guinea pig

SHUCKS !

realised i used twice the amt of chocolate needed for my choc cookies !!!!!!!!!!!!! ohmybuddha!
500gm i used 1KG~!!! -_-" and i was wondering how come need so much choc while melting it away...... so now the dough is settling and firming nicely in the refrigerator................................

no wonder it looks.........weird, and fudgy....albeit quite nice consistency... shld i jus bake it as a ehmz, brownie instead...?

we'll see what it turns out to be after i bake.. :s

looking forward !

iphone users, check this out :D

:D

Vietnam: random tidbits

this restaurant is listed in the "1001 places to go before you die" book~ heh.. Cha Ca La Vong serves only one dish - cha ca (which means grilled fish). the fish is cooked and served in a claypot thingy..with the oil still spluttering ard while ur eating.. loL..yeah its like an oily stew...very verryyy yummy nonetheless~! u eat that by scooping the oily stew+fish into a bowl of rice noodles mixed with some other sauces and lotsa vege~ dun think i did the dish much justice with my description..haha. u'll hafta try it for urself. its SHIOK! be sure to make a visit there if yr in Hanoi.. i was abit surprised though when i got there..cos its situated at a rather 不起眼 location with a rather 不起眼 shopfront. ahah..

the hotel where we were 'tokked' till quite jialat~ dun book this hotel! loL
booked a day tour from this hotel's reception...and we didnt get wat was promised~ no breakfast (my poor starved tummy.. forced to eat 7 bananas that day!! ended the day with the yummiest instant noodles + egg at the domestic airport...wahliews...really 'yau dio' on this trip)...no local tour guide.... :( thankfully things worked out pretty well thereafter~ :D



water puppets programme..and my ticket !
not bad...found it quite interesting

here i come!!!!

thankew you QQ!!!

YAYY!! ai ni oh~ loL :p

so exciting !
♥

Vietnam: first impression

one helluva crazy traffic

First meal in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh @ Pho 24

Pho Ga~ yummy so very !!

Anh and me

Made a viet friend even before touchdown~

sitting beside me on the plane...and oh boy does she has endless to say... O_o

so heres a photo for remembrance :D

HCM's townhall ... i think -_-"

hmm.. loL

starting off with a cuppa

so i havent had time to write about viet yet. nopes, im not doing it now either. hehe just a few photos of my favourite buy from Viet first. haha...slowly slooowlyyyy.....just like how the viet coffee drips... 一滴滴的精华.. 好的东西是值得等待的 :p

bought 2 small and 1 large stainless steel coffee filters

dripdripdrip... O_O

for some of you who havent try this before (you really should!), the coffee glass is served to you empty, with the metal thingamajig on top tt slowly drips the aromatic coffee into the cup. one needs time to enjoy such coffee.. i mean, it does not take THAT long...approximately 2 minutes. but considering how everything is available almost instant, think most of u can't really be bothered right, add the chore of scooping coffee powder, depressing it gently and stuffs...haha. but its defintely worth the effort!

can you spot the crema!? its the thin layer of coffee oil on the surface of the coffee. super good stuff! the presence of crema signifies freshness and quality of the coffee grind, and a sign of good/proper coffee extraction~ basically crema helps to retain the aroma and flavor of the coffee. okay..keke, hope im not boring u out here with all these details. haha. bo pian, my favourite beverage..plus i find the whole process from harvesting to how the cuppa is placed right infront of me intriguing. keke~ so anyway Viet coffee...its stronger and has a distinct taste actually...and the fact that i see it dripping right infront of me feels appealing~ :D

one of life's subtle pleasures...stimulating yet comforting, and definitely satisfying (when done the right way) :D so anyone interested to have a cuppa.... and watch the world go by with me? :D

make a guess.

okay, i just need to spew.

i havent paid for the masters course fee YET! and i need to get that done latest by 16th March before the offer will lapse. sighs.

so the story goes... yesterday as i was about to head down for payment and submission of documents for masters, SPF called me regarding my application for SPO. and then i hesitated and thought i'll think for another day.. then i finally came to a decision that night, and decided to just go for masters. so then the next day (oh which is today), before i head down for payment, i received an email from MOE asking me to furnish required documents for teaching position. SIGH~ and im hesitating again !

so now im back to square one. in a dilemna again. why do things always happen at the same time leh? but i guess im frustrated with myself also la. i dunno why im hesitating so much taking up this masters course. partially, im really not keen in spending my parents $ anymore. although my mum has been urging me to take up the course, and is willing to bear all the cost.. im very thankful for her supporting me all these years in my educational pursuits. but to go for masters again using their $... i jus dun feel good. i love studying, and i wld want to further my studies (eventually)... but counselling.....? not too sure if its my cup of tea. my hearts desire wld be NIE's applied psych if i were to do masters locally... next intake for that is January tho... sheesh. then, what ah? cant rem the other reasons now. eh...mind blank out. too tired now.

anyway, now i hav to decide whether to just register for Masters, and guai guai go study, dun think abt work 1st. OR, let this Masters offer lapse, and wait for MOE & SPF's interview. im more interested in teaching la....but policing has been a childhood dream. equally passionate. so both feasible altho job scope is worlds apart. but then i run the risk of not getting both jobs!? end up missed the chance to study, and no full time job. im not one with little confidence, BUT economy damn bad now...everyones like trying their luck on almost any job openings..and frankly, shit happens la. somethings are unpredictable and unavoidable~ sheesh. and then ah...we all noe .."gahhh-ment" admin damn slow....sighs, dunno hav to wait how long b4 they'll schedule for an interview, then wait another ~2 mths for interview results....... ?? *pukes*
sighs, not that its a big deal la... still got things to do, still hav some income, still quite filled with activities... but i jus dun like the unsettled feeling.. dun like the feeling of not knowing.....hazy hazy blur like sotong.

any comments? anyone? i've had ppl telling me not to wait and jus go further studies first, and ppl telling me to try for MOE teaching position.. more supports the former though. oh, apparently i din get any encouragement for the SPO position..haha..zz. oh, im hesitating abt the course also, cos im doing it part-time..and from what i know, and have learnt..part time masters like not v recognised in gahhment sectors leh. rather limiting. altho i do argue on the point that i'll learn alot during the supervised practicuums la...

so who knows me best? wanna make a guess...wat my final decision will be?? or maybe some wise guy out there, can help me 分析分析 abit? before 16th march please. which means i only hav this weekend to think! or, maybe...it doesnt really matter which decision i make...haha, at the end of the day, both will turn out jus fine? im sure. haha. aizai spirit. steady bompeepee! i just need your support in watever path i choose!? :p

maybe maybe~ sheeesh. so much uncertainties. so....................exciting hor. :s

oh and sthg random..i often get asked...do u regret leaving DAS? haa.... ppl close to me can at least answer this question in confidence? shame shame if u dunno! :p the answer would be a resounding no. wanna know why ah...ask me in person la. i wanna slp now. jialat, tmr sure damn tired~ ops.....

btw, i applied for HCA volunteering liow..and they got back to me today also. very fast response. anyone else interested to join me? (:

so the saying frequently goes "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away"....but i think life is definitely measured by all moments, good and bad...hence, might be more apt to say "Quality of life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away" my point being? haha..spare u guys the long version for now...jus kinda explaining why i chose hospice out of so much organisations for volunteering. my own take and preference at the moment.

ok...i realllllly shld stop now.

wicked wednesday.

bit of a mad rush today. time to relax and enjoy some metime.

aizai's in a dilemna again.. or rather.. was. but quite decided now. aizai's going back for studies again. got the letter of offer for Masters in Counselling. deliberated quite alot..many factors to consider, including personal goals + home stuffs.... and also wondering if counselling is really for me...nyeah not going indepth here. all these were on top of some other issues that weighed me down... so many things just happened together at the worst of all timings. but its still good..its all good. i still have a very positive outlook on life in general and the path that i'll be taking. no doubt about that. aizai !!

so anyway, tmr i'll be settling the forms and payment stuffs~ one load off my mind.. starting to psych myself, and getting quite excited abt the whole idea now. not gonna make it a purely paper chase task..shall make the best outta it. do some relevant volunteering work while at it..and prepare myself well for the practicuum.. hopefully~! meanwhile, continue with private tutoring for income...yeah plan's still rather sketchy. but im anticipating quite an eventful year ahead with a few other ideas running in my head~ will talk abt those at a later date. first thing's first- come april...aizai's gonna 背着书包上学了！

and.. before sch starts....planning at least a mini getaway to genting! and another longer trip to Japan! heh..hopefully both feasible. so uhmz..yeah..thats probably my life right now. :p

so ppl, lets paint the town red before i switch on nerd mode again! :p hokay hokay..i've toned down alot, not so wild la... kopi and dinner sessions will suffice...more photo shoots, more workout sessions, more night blading at ecp...more of this n that..loL~ wooohoo~ hokay poks~ call 我 call 我 ohh~

tv time now. bubbye.

aizai is back !

miss me !? hehee.. :p

Hanoi

i last blogged wishing for the weather to be a lil more cooling, i think. but.. its 18degrees celsius here! got a little bit more than i bargained for :s not good. no jacket. loL... luckily smarto me took the blankie from vietnam airs..and i survived the 2 day 1 night junk boat at Halong bay, wrapping myself with the blankie...yeah..literally walked ard in that. pictures when i get back~ sheesh. back in the city now, so not as cold ~ comfy weather~ hehe. but anyway, i love Hanoi~ nicee! travelled from south to north of vietnam..and each place had a unique characteristic. think Hanoi's easily one of my favourite. good and cheap food..and hmm....i jus like the overall feel of it. the shops and the streets~ cool stuff. Halong bay was awesome (less the bone-chilling wind :s)..scenery was good, loved the limestone cave..the stalatites+staglamites thingamajigs~ pretty cooL~! so i guess im more of a scenic person..hehe. i love the phong nha caves too~dunno if i got the spelling right..heh....okay poks, thats all for today folks~ aizai tiredy bees signing off~

same same but different.

seem to hear alot of this phrase in viet..dunno where that originated though, or what the viets are referring to. interesting anyhoos..~

first thing that im amazed by...the traffic~ quite stunned by the amount of motorbikes on the streets and pavements. apparently they have 4 million bikes in vietnam~ at least thats wat the guide said. O_o rather intimidated at first when crossing roads..but kinda used to it now. dun really hafta wait till coast is clear..it'll take forever, just cross~ the bikes will jus weave past u. its fascinating.

and the weather now.......its scorching h o t. im turning into bangalajing. hot and dusty~ fwahh. at the end of the day when i bathe..the water literally runs down....blackish~heehe. can't wait to feel CLEAN again~ like seriously~~ sheesh! but not too bad, my first time in viet..i love visiting new places. trying different food, experience different living conditions, observing different way of life.. its all good. makes me view life from a wider perspective. learning to look at things from a different angle.

travelling with mates for the first time as well.. helps me understand them and myself more. what is acceptable for them, and what is not. though i feel, in a trip, at the end of the day...everyone should be happy. no black faces, no standing in the middle of the road bargaining trishaw prices over SGD$1... i dunno man, though the people here arent exactly honest in their dealings with us..i think since we're on hols..dun hafta spoil the mood and argue what is right or wrong... how happy are we gonna be even if we get our way? i always believe tui yi bu, hai kuo tian kong. we travel not only to gain more insight and knowledge abt the world, but i believe also to broaden our capacity for tolerance and understanding for others. $5 cant get us a MacDonald's meal...but they earn $5 ferrying us on a rickshaw thingamajing~ toughiee.

so anyway~ its all fun..but seriously wish the weather to be a lil more cooling~ i'd appreciate that! hope Hanoi's weather is better~ my luggage is abt to burst, and i havent buy my kopi lohh~ zzzz. viets are quite friendly too..maybe indepth review of viet trip at a later date. heh..i need to bathe now. :p