Saturday, November 17, 2007

Dancing shoes

Unworn dance shoes

A fractured structure of shredded soft lace,
Of fabric torn beyond comprehension;
Bloodied and stained in state of denial,
A smashed reflection of old broken dreams.

Of worn green glass no longer transparent,
Remnants of mottled phlegm upon its edge;
A past cascaded to lie in silence,
Upon the soles of unworn dancing shoes.

Confusion - a rampant player of dusk,
As darkness settles on mornings harsh loss;
And whispers converge into tortured hell,
Delicate hope crushed into nothingness.

Heated tears upon cheeks of disbelief;
Dark pit of loss, a labyrinth of regret.

~Lannet sept 5th 2006~


With this, I herewith bid the posh Latin dancing shoes adieu. May her past rest in peace upon her soles.....

And now, allow me to present the successor, the chic line dance boots

May u bring accomplishments and contentments throughout ur "tenure". Lead ur capacity well and thou shall be valued. Do not fail ur subject but lead her to greater heights...

Ye shalt deliver.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Buon Appetito!!

Today I’ve made a comparison between 3 brands of beef balls: imported, and locally produced from West and East Msia.

Kottbullar Swedish Meatballs (IKEA)
texture: chunky, rough
poached: √√
baked: √√√
price: RM15.90 (±500gms)

Marina Beef Balls (Bangi, Selangor)
texture: slightly rough
poached: √√√
baked: √√
price: RM6.29 (370gms/20pcs)

Beef Balls (Kudat, Sabah)
texture: smooth, springy
poached: √
baked: √
price: RM20 (≈61pcs)

The Swedish meatballs, which I was crazy over, turns out to be slightly dry when compare to the other brands if baked (then again, it could be becos of the quality of my oven, as tis is the recomm cooking method). However I do love the chunkiness as it feels real.
[Here's a trick tat I've learned: For baking by using the conventional oven, u could pour a little amount of water on the tray below ur cooking grill, or put into a little ovenproof bowl beneath ur cooking tray. This is too avoid the overdrying effect on the outer part of the food. Be mindful not to put too much water as it would create a steaming effect.]
My latest discovery is the Marina brand beef balls. To my delight, they are actually very good as the texture is just nice for both wet n dry cooking method. The beefy taste is still there, wat’s more – they are fairly priced. I suppose their qc is well maintained too as both the exact nett weight and quantity are printed on the packet, tho not tat I inspect all the product batches..
As for the beef balls from Kudat, I was somehow disappointed. I find it tad too salty. I always feel tat food tat is too spicy or salty usually kills the taste – and thus, no matter how good the food should taste, it’s simply disastrous. But for those who love ur meatballs to be springy, smooth and strongly flavoured then u would love tis product.
There is tis interesting recipe from the Martha Stewart show recently, which I've yet to try out...

To go with my meatballs, I love the Barilla spaghettini or the bavette, or perhaps Ronzoni’s. M not fond of Bella Italia, San Remo’s, nor Agnesi. They are rather soft and dun offer a good bite. On the contrary, Barilla’s perfect al dente.

Buon Appetito!!

Saturday, November 3, 2007

My Heart Is Broken Too...

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and coming Monday mornings are strictly line dancing mornings, if am not working. Today we did Stand By Me Cha and Zjozzys Funk, a repeat. My recent favourites are My Heart Is Broken Too and A Gigolo. Great steps! The former is a great number and one would be so captivated by the mesmerizing song and'll just dance away, while the latter is a fast n fun one. Oh and plus, need the extra practising for the coming line dancing party...heheheh.....must nail the 45 listed songs....(pressure...pressure...)

For My Heart Is Broken Too:





For A Gigolo:




After the class, I did my usual rounds of light workout. M still working on building some body mass especially the upper body part...with a lil help from protein drinks..anyway, m taking it slow n steady while enjoying it - wouldn't want to overdo things...
It's really great - having to sweat it all out. I usually do abt 7mins (never more than 10 as start burning then) on the treadmill for warm up n cardio, n go on with the rest. Then i go for a sauna or steam bath, shower - and i'm ready to face the world! Of course, everything's good when it's done moderately.. n for sauna, do notice some people just do it for the sake of doing it. But if u r to do it, why not do it right?

Thursday, November 1, 2007

The Big Fruit


Whenever I go to China or Taiwan during winter time, i'd buy their fruits. Eventho the fruits here are imported from those places, but probably becos of the transportation n the weather change, the fruits will taste differently. I love the cherries n lychees from Beijing - they're very juicy. Recently I just went to Kaohsiung n bought some fruits. Most of the fruits there are bigger in size. Look at the avocados! The fork is of common table fork size. You can either eat it with ice-cream, yogurt, sweetened condensed milk, toss it into ur salad or blend it up for an avocado milkshake. I prefer mine with the sweetened condensed milk. But this fruit prove to be too big for my greed, til I think, my avocado-craze is diminishing....