NZ Trip Planning and Other Things

Alright, so we are going to New Zealand for our vacation! It will be a 11 day epic journey! (may not be as epic as Lord of Rings but then again I'm not yet prepared to sacrifice myself for the good of human race) I can't wait for all the hiking, seeing the beautiful scenery, breath in the fresh air and in general just having a good time. I hope to incorporate some horse riding, mountain bike riding and perhaps jet skiing in the trip too. I've literally been counting down the days and thought I should note down how excited I am now because as a mere human being subject to the enigmatic human nature, the excitement of the wait and build up can sometimes overwhelm and diminish the excitement during the actual thing...

I'm watching the Joy Luck Club, I've been meaning to see this for quite sometime! It's a story about the lives of 4 Chinese women raised in China and their daughters who are born in America. The movie does stereotype a few things but there are many things that are very realistic. Like how Chinese families tend to show off their worth through the achievements of their children and the general public display of self criticism. The mother-daughter relationships are portrayed I think almost perfectly here. The parts about why a mother took opium and suicided and why another gave up her twin daughters - when you find out the reasons behind them it will leave you stunned and in awe of the wonderful moms that they are. The significance of 2 sides to every story is depicted very well here! And by the way, all of the men-women relationships here are flawed and so complicated that it makes me happy that I'm not in a relationship. The real reason is probably because I can't afford to get my heart broken. Anyway back on track, all in all, it's a beautiful and candid movie. I will surely watch this again and I do highly recommend it.

On a side note, I fell for the 3rd time while horse riding today. Florida spooked again and I fell off (she was the culprit behind one of my other falls too). I was doing cantering and my instructor was telling me to slow down a bit, which I tried but the spooking process has already began and she didn't listen, we came around a corner while she was doing her kicking thing, I lost balance and fell. I landed on my side and used my arm as support. It didn't really hurt but now I understand what it means to get winded from an accident, because I tried to stand up immediately and discovered that I could hardly breathe! I had to sit back down and take some slow deep breathes! My arm was bleeding a bit, after tacking Florida up etc I went to wash up and sprayed some alcohol ahhh how it stung!

Chocolate/Nut/Fruit Cookie Recipe

I'm glad to say that the cookies I'm baking now are made from scratch. And damn! do they taste good! I realized that the main problem I was having was that I didn't add enough butter (for health reasons of course) but the perfect amount of butter is essential.

So here I have my eclectic cookie recipe. I don't have a measuring cup - so I've described everything in terms of handfuls (very rudimentary I know)

Ingredients
1 stick of butter
1 egg
3 handfuls of normal unbleached flour
1 handful of walnut pieces
1/2 handful of dried fruits (I used mixed berries - cranberries, cherries and blueberries)
1 handful of baking chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)
a generous dash of brown sugar
a tiny sprinkle of baking powder

melt butter and mix with egg, add everything else and mix together thoroughly, separate into 12 portions on a baking tray and flatten them out (otherwise you will end up with ugly looking golf ball cookies), stick them into a preheated oven at 350oF and bake for 12-15min.

very simple and delicious! mmm

Another year has gone by

I'm writing this on the eve of my 25th birthday. I remember when I was 18 I thought I was already getting old and made a decision that I shall die at the age of 40 because I didn't think I could deal with aging both in terms of appearance and deterioration of health. As I look back on this now I can't help but laugh at my nativity and narrow-mindedness in viewing life.

For the past few birthdays, I've been feeling somewhat bitter-sweet as each one comes and goes. Bitter in that I hoped I have accomplished more than I have in the passing year and also as I come to a greater realization of just how fleeting life is. Sweet in that I have gained more life experiences and hopefully became a better person. Yes, I'm always trying to become a better person, although I can't exactly pin-point what makes one a good person. I guess that definition is rather subjective. But the acknowledgment of one's imperfections is a start and humbleness in dealing with others is also important.

Life is but a dream - time flies by just like that and sometimes you look back and regret the things you've done or worse you haven't done. Yet unlike dreams, we have control over our own paths in life and so my motto for the coming year is, learn from the past, live in the moment and hope for the future....