possible future career??

I read two very interesting articles today regarding psychological research (yes, even after I’ve finished my assignments, I’m still a total geek and read psych journals for entertainment). But please don’t stop close the window now, I swear, it really was interesting.

First one talked about false beliefs. We all have biases and false beliefs regarding certain issues. Apparently though, even when we are given the correct facts, there is only 30% chance of us actually changing our minds! I think that is really interesting. This goes to show that first impressions really are the lasting impressions! So if I see you and felt that you’re a jerk….even if you proved me wrong later on, I’ll still be 70% likely to think of you as a jerk. Well, sorry to those of you nice people who look like jerks. The science just isn’t with you today.

Second article was about brand names. We all know of a brand or two which just totally sucks, but is still super popular. Why? WHY? We’ve often questioned why people still buy crap like that….well, apparently!! Ah-HAH, see I wasn’t lying, it really is interesting, right? Apparently, it’s all in the brand names! Sometimes, the actual products might suck, but just because it has a catchy name, we will buy it. The findings showed that names with repeating syllables and sounds were the best ones. Maybe if I had a child, I’d give it a name with repeating syllables and sounds catchy and then maybe it’ll become president one day (Barack Obama is a pretty catchy name afterall).

I SEE STUPID PEOPLE EVERYWHERE.
WALKING AROUND LIKE REGULAR PEOPLE.
THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW THEY’RE STUPID. 

Well don’t you think these studies kind of prove how stupid we human beings really are?? We just go about believing false crap even when we’re proven wrong!, and buying even more crap just because the name sounds good when we don’t even know WHY we’re buying it - it’s all subconscious!! Just like now, we’re probably thinking…yea, well, I’m not one of those idiots!

I’m thinking of making a career out of this…. start my own business - who cares what I’m selling. As long as I come up with a nice catchy repetitive name and bombard you guys with false information right at the start … then I’m sure you will all be brainwashed into buying my sucky products….What do you say, anyone in on this with me?

Comfort food??

I’m curious to know….what are you guys like when you get a mild case of the cold/flu?

Here’s me:

Wednesday -
AM: I feel fine. A little cold.
PM: Extremely hungry. Extremely cold. Extremely tired. Oh…I’m having a fever.

Thursday -
AM: I feel okay. Extremely hungry. I crave terrible food. I go out eat McDonalds. Then a pie. Then a chocolate bar. Then a can of coke. I feel better.
PM: I’m HEALED.


Why do I get so hungry but just want to eat crap when I’m sick?? Do you guys feel that way too? Or is it just me?          

The Dungeon Gates of Thailand

Rewind back to about a month ago, when I went to Thailand with N. 

We decided to go to a museum on sunny day. We even took a motorcycle taxi to get there - it was N’s fabulous idea and I was so frightened that I gripped the driver so hard that he slowed to a near-crawl and turned his head around to ask me “okay?”; which actually scared me even more because he was looking at me and not the road ahead. Anyways, we got there and somehow we couldn’t leave the way we entered. We had to take a boat down the stream. Okay, he guy informed us that it will be a private boat ride and it will be cheap and we can take photos because he will go slowly. Okay, we get in. Okay, the guy who talked to us didn’t get in. Okay, the boat is moving and a random man is taking us down the stream.

OUR PRIVATE BOAT

It is all well and good and we enjoy the scenery — there wasn’t too much because it was a narrow stream with really polluted water. And then we come to a stop, about 30 minutes into our private boat ride. There’s a gate in front of us which slowly opened up — kind of like a dungeon gate almost. Our boat goes in and then the other gate doesn’t open but the gate behind us closes. 

Our driver stops the engine. All is quiet. We are in this trapped section of the river. All is fine until we look up and see men carrying rifles walking near the gates. Then we look the our left and see a Thai man talking on the phone whilst taking pictures of us. We turn around and the driver solemnly looks at us. 

Oh my god. What is going on? Why is that man taking pictures of us and smiling creepily at us? Why are those men carrying rifles? Why couldn’t we leave the museum the way we entered? Why did we have to get on a boat? Why is there no one here except us? 

I could not help but think — IS THIS SOME KIND OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING?! ARE WE GONNA BE PROSTITUTES?!? AM I GONNA HAVE TO ENTERTAIN SICK WESTERN MEN?!

But it was all just a figment of my imagination because before long, the gates opened up and the rifle men bid us farewell and we went along happily down the river. 

THE END.

PS. I sent out postcards from Thailand but apparently nobody received anything. Damn you Thailand. I loved you but you scammed me! Was it all a lie — that post office?? Was it all a lie?!

For the girl who likes Robots.

These photos are from my lovely friend Muoiy (pronounced as MU-OI-EE — you do realize it’s a pseudonym, right?). She knows I like ROBOTS.. and yes, I DO! They are sooo cute~~


Since I said in my last post that I WONT talk about food…but I do so want to! So, let’s talk about babies today. (No, I didn’t eat a baby — a quick recap on that story: I somehow said I would eat babies. Ok..don’t judge me…)












Babies. Toddlers. Little people. Things. Whatever you want to call them. They are often referred to as a gift from God, a bundle of joy, etc. But I firmly believe they are a PUNISHMENT from God for all the SIN we commit.

Last night I was in the proximity of a baby/toddler/thing/kid. I wasn’t even baby-sitting. I was just sitting near it. It was HORRIBLE. Why do they bother us real people like that??

I know, I know, I was once one of them too. Which is why I have a new found respect for my mother. What a GREAT woman she is.

That little toddler comes up to me — when I was clearly trying to play invisible — and asks to drink my water. I said, “Well, this is mine. Go get your own.” She snatches my cup, shouts, “Mine! MINE!” I take it back. “No, you can’t just take what you want.” She grabs my hand, splashing the water everywhere and proceed to LICK MY CUP. Then she smiles at me and says, “It’s MIINNEEEE.”


What a little bitch.



So there. Who wants babies? Things that go around stealing what’s yours and licking your cups.

This is NOT a food blog.

Yes, I do write about food quite often. But I stress…this is NOT a food blog! It’s a blog about ME. And well, food is a big part of my life so here’s just one more post about food! I promise to talk about something else soon (but I really do love food).

Knutsford Terrace. I love this place. You are in this super busy part of town where there’s shopping and dining and people everywhere, rushing to go somewhere. Then you walk up this steep flight of stairs and *LAAAAAAA* it’s like you step into a whole new world! It’s a narrow terrace with old school decor and trees and pretty lights. Restaurant after restaurant boasting the finest Italian, Thai, Mexican…oh and anything and everything that you want.

Maybe one reason I love this place so much is that it reminds me of Itaewon (you know that strip in the back with all the fabulous thai places??) Or maybe because all the waiting staff speak English and the place is bustling with English-speaking people! I actually had this weird epiphany the other day — when I’m in Australia, I always go to Chinatown to eat Chinese/asian stuff. Now that I’m in this Hugeass china place, I always go find western places to eat! WTF….

Anyways, that night, Soccerboy and I went to eat at this nice little placed tucked away in a corner. Tutto Benne. The food was amazing, the service was great (the portions might be small because my friend wasn’t too full afterwards). Photo time!

 First came the sparkling water and the bread basket and the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Mmm… the bread basket is especially worth noting because there was a great variety and even came with half a roasted whole garlic! It felt very organic, spreading the soft garlic on the bread! I don’t have a photo of it because I took a bite of each piece of bread (hey, I was testing to see which one was the best - they were all equally good) and so by the time I remembered, the basket wouldn’t have made a nice photo…..

Next came our starters. Mozarella cheese with tomatoes and olives and relish. The presentation was fantastic and the taste even better! I don’t know how they do it, but everything goes so well with everything else. Gahh….. this time, I only took one bite before I remembered to take a photo! 

 The main was a bit confusing because I had ordered the fish and my friend the pasta, but it came out that we each had a bit of fish and a bit of pasta. Definitely no complaints though, because the pasta was oh-so-delightful. It was perfectly cooked, with just the right texture and the sauce, OH THE SAUCE. I kept trying and trying to identify what the hell is in it because it is so damn good. Ahhh…… and the fish was great too! The pasta and fish actually went very well together. There were potatoes too and I guess that filled me up.

DESSERT!!! This may come as a surprise to you all but I’m actually not a big fan of sweet things. But the dessert menu looked enticing. With a name like Blue-flamed creme brulee? How could I not order it? And as it says, it did come out flaming blue…. I will be honest and I liked its appearance more than its taste - yah yah superficial, I know. First, I rarely eat creme brulee and the crunchy sugar was just too sweet for my liking. But it was pretty……….!!

Food. So much. Food.

Grandma’s hold a special place in everybody’s lives. They are sweet, warm and generous. The other day, my dear grandma calls me and asks me if I would go over for dinner. My grandma is an awesome cook and I’m always up for a free dinner. So I said yes. (Fellow American friends, I use the phrase “up for it” instead of “I’m down”. Yes, laugh all you want.)

Did I mention that grandmas can be scary as well? How so?

Plate after plate after plate after plate….. of food. For me.

And then comes the killer phrase, “They’re all your favourite.” 

BAZINGA. And now you have no excuse not to eat it all.

Oh….and by the way, it was just a “quick casual dinner….with nothing much to eat” in my grandma’s own words… and you may have already guessed that this was a dinner for two. Oh yea….

If I get really fat, you know who’s to blame.

The things I like...

One night I was out on the hunt for an iPhone cover. Ahh yes, I believe that once people get an iPhone, they inevitably HAVE to talk about it. I never understood it until I fell in the trap and joined the crowd. Anyways, back to my story….

Of course, knowing me, I would not buy the authentic real Apple cases. I mean, I myself am Made in China and it would hurt my strong national pride to buy something that wasn’t made in China. Not because they are cheaper. No, definitely not for that reason.

Upon looking stall after stall, I still hadn’t found anything I liked. So I went up to the man at probably what was the 7th stall and asked him, do you have anything with HaiBao on it? You know, the Shanghai World Expo mascot?

*If you guys don’t know what it looks like…..
it looks like this:

And this is the man’s reply:
"Sorry miss…we don’t stock anything on Hai Bao because nobody likes it. We only stock the popular items."

In my head: WHAT?! BECAUSE NOBODY LIKES IT? What does he mean? That it’s UGLY?

I find it to be the cutest thing!

I’ve told people this story before and I find it very weird that none of them seem surprised at all….. rather, they just look indifferent and tell me that the things I like are usually “weird” and that “nobody else likes it”.

GAHHH… the worst part is, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard this either.




*A quick shout-out to Sally Monaghan and Joseph Skewes ~ Happy Wedding to the two of you!*

How's that for classy?

A certain nice gentleman gave me two bottles of red wine as a house warming gift. I thanked him politely and put them away. Not having even looked at it, it just sat there on the table in the corner, lonesomely gathering dust. Having not had a drink in a really long time (okay, maybe not that long………*I’m thinking* okay, it was 7 days ago. Seven long days ago….and, in my defense, it was one little glass of some crappy watered-down beer.) So, with a little itch I impulsively grabbed one bottle and vigorously opened it. Ah-hah….

Ah crap. I momentarily forgot I had no wine glasses! I was out the other day hunting for some…but to no avail. Saw some really ugly yet overpriced ones only. I scoot around in my kitchen cabinet (which doesn’t take long because it’s pretty empty) and the closest thing to classy is just a glass mug. It will do.

I just thought it’d be some yucky red wine but I just needed some to hold down my cravings. Lo and behold, I almost scream in ecstasy. I swear it is one of the best red wines I have yet tasted! What a waste to be drinking it out of a glass mug!! Ahhh…..pity. What a pity!!

For other red wine enthusiasts like myself, here’s the name if you are curious.

Villa Negra 2001 Gran Reserva (Spain)….Not being an expert on wine tasting, I can just say that it has an oaky taste, deep fruity flavour and I think a hint of vanilla? Whatever it is, it is good.

I almost regret opening it on such a thoughtless act….but it tastes so divine that I cannot complain.

But what a pity! Oh what a pity!!

Interesting Choices

Sometimes, when you got nothing to do or you’re just too tired to go on, it might be a good thing to just sit down for a while. That’s what I did the other day. I sat down with R on some steps because we were really tired. We people-watched for a bit. The thing is, it might sound boring to just sit there…..but actually it could be the most fascinating thing you do all day. Often times, we walk around with a goal, an aim, somewhere to go, someone to meet, that we don’t really notice what is going on around us. However, once you’re sitting down aimlessly watching, you suddenly see a whole lot more. People are interesting. People make interesting choices. Well, it’s not like I can tell someone’s life story just by watching them walk by….but you can see what they wear, what they are saying (maybe mid-sentence), who they’re with…and sometimes I just wonder. What makes certain people do certain things? There must be a reason behind every choice….or can it be a mere coincidence? Or just a bad day? Or just a thoughtless moment? Hmm….interesting choices that people make.

Take this lady for example. Do you think she walked out the door that morning not knowing that her pants were somewhat see-through? Or that her underwear was deeply etched into her bum? Do you think she really didn’t know? Or that she knew, but didn’t care? Or did she think it looked sexy to wear semi-transparent tights with even tighter undies? Hmm……sometimes I just wonder. I can’t exactly know every reason, so for now, I’ll just have to accept that people sometimes make interesting choices. I guess I’ll leave it at that…..until I make a profound discovery (and then I’ll share it with you all).


*Another thing….please don’t talk about ethics or privacy issues with me. Whoever this butt belongs to….well I’m sorry I took your photo without your consent.*