Fine Art Bento Boxes

I can't remember where I got this site from, but it suddenly popped into my mind after watching American Idol, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.

For all you girls (and boys too, if this makes you happy) out there who don't have 3 exams when valentine's is coming up and need a hobby, this is a mighty fine one to start on. And I promise you, you are not just giving away pretty edible things. This shouts LOVE. This shouts CARE. This shouts BOOMZ.

They even have tiny jello shots to go with it as dessert! Inspired from the very talented Luxirare.

DM, think bento boxes are dumb still? (:

Come Sunday night, I'll be leaving on a JETPLANE GREYHOUND to CHICAGO! Well before that will be going for Shane's CNY concert, Shank's birthday party, Chef J is returning home, REUNION DINNER WITH FOO FAM, bai nian bai nian, and lastly JOHN MAYER CONCERT on Sunday night!

Thank God for Reading weeks. For now, one more exam to tackle! Oh ho ho ho ho, I'm already periodically surfing Urban Outfitters for online steals during my very intermittent study breaks.

Links worth linking

Cute, tremendously creative video clip of a stickman getting attacked by the cursor!

Wanna video make an up to 20 people conference call? Use TokBox! I haven't tried it out yet but JP gave a pretty functional review, though audio is quite bad, but at least you can see 20 moving faces. This is what the interface looks like:

Just wanted to share the lobang (: Back to my law/crime/media books!

blogging hiatus

First of all, yay to MRAZ the man!

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance – Make It Mine

Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals – Lucky

Anyways, gonna be on blogging hiatus. How I Met Your Mother took too much of my time away and I've got 4 exams next week, again.

Anyways, think I'm drawing WAAY too many parallels of my life with the characters on that show. But hey, they gave me days and nights and meals of laughter (:

p/s: I'm a Barney Stinson big time, wait for it.... FAN!

haha, cmi lah (:

adios amigos

back in business

YAY! Kor's blog, the brother who i'm allegedly identical twins of, is back in business (: No more Lao Zha Bor rap, nor 'Thank God for the weather today'. Hopefully this entry will keep him accountable for his posts!

Wow I'm really trying to procrastinate here. Even visited xiaxue's blog only to realize she went to Phuket! Man, the sun. I yearn.

pooopoopoop.

p/s: Anyone free enough to help me search for a skin that's nice? I like big open spaces with words legibly large enough for human eyes, colour scheme warm and bread-like. If you see anything, beep me! Not urgent, just another procrastination tool

Emperor chicken and Winterlicious at Azure

Gotta study, so a quick post on food (: and for juicetine to see our brief brush with french cuisine.

Ma cooked emperor herbal chicken last night, had to steam for 2.5 hours.. but it was WORTH IT. Gotta cook it for DM sooon, hahah (: he'll be eating his own kind.

Ended up looking like this sexay thing. It was sooo sooo goood.

Spent Friday night watching how i met your mother, 14 EPISODES, till FIVE AM! really gave me a break (: yknow, i wish Barney Stinson WERE a real person just cuz he'd be so entertaining, though he'd probably be STD ridden by now. He's such a cutie, especially his little crush with robin. Hope they work out (:

Back to real life, we went for our first Winterlicious at Azure! Just pictures should tell the story. We thought we should dress for the occasion (:

But of course we had to start with the best thing on the menu:

They even had giant mutated olives hidden in there some where.

Appetizers:

Smoked Atlantic Salmon

Smoked Mackerel, Tobiko Caviar

Butternut Squash Purée

LOVED this, what DM and i got. Surprisingly I enjoyed the Mackerel more so than the smoked salmon though eating them both rolled together was second heaven.

Confit Quebec Duck and Fig Salad

Arugula, Green Bean, Clementine, Roasted Almonds

Red Poppy Dressing

Ma and Kor's dish. Have to say, Juicetine's duck confit win lor.

Main Entrees

[DM]

Roasted Pork Loin

White Bean Puree, Roasted Beet and Asparagus

Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette

This was kinda dry.

[ma's]

Seared Rainbow Trout

Fricassee Mussel, Clams and Root Vegetables

Lobster Broth

This was pretty good, but nothing awesome.

EEE-eyr, dunno why can't switch the photos around, we'll skip to ko's dessert first:

French Apple Tart with Cinnamon

And of course the best entree that [ko and i] ordered:

Braised Lamb Shank

Spinach and Red Pepper Papadella, Tomato, Oka Cheese

Twas so so so tender and succulent! Didn't at all taste like wool as someone warned. What does wool taste like anyways? This was table conversation for quite a while. The pasta disturbingly tasted like meepok, probably cuz it was so flat. Anyways! Desserts continue...

[ma and i] got our favourite:

Chocolate Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

This is way better than mine. I don't know how they get the firmness, though Ma says she prefers mine. Hahah, preferential association theory.

And DM's Churros with Caramel and Chocolate Sauces

Overall, I would say not bad, though pricey for $25. I thought that La Fourchette in Ho Chi Minh was better though, possibly cuz they refilled the bread promptly (:

Finally a picture that I don't look too pudgy in.

K mug mug mug.

Pursuit of happiness

I feel like I could get 90% for my developmental cardiovascular exam today. I hope to get at least 60% for my biological rhythms exam right after. I didn't really give a poop about my assignment today though it was 10%, and I did spend 3 hours before on it for 2 drafts, but I didn't bother finalizing it because I was tired. Maybe yesterday's media paper and studying sucked me dry.

Coming home, I wanted to just kick back and enjoy a good movie. I watched Enchanted with my family that planted all these fairy tale ideals of the world in my mind. With that, it made me realize I don't feel very happy now. I don't feel like I'm where I want to be, and whatever the reason, I have yet to find out.

Of course I know I'm comparing with Hollywood's grossly inaccurate portraits of reality. But really pam, I used to feel much lighter, spirited and happy. What happened? Did I take an overdose of reality?

Exhausted, cynical, hesitant, muted, disenchanted.

Oh that furtive pursuit of happiness, maybe I just need a good night's sleep, and more room in my heart for gratitude.

[Compliments to Renhui who took this photo from Toronto Centre Island.]

Oatmeal PB cookies

THESE shall be my reward after this detox programme (: Already have all the ingredients at home.

My weight is surprisingly volatile. Two days into the diet and I've lost 2 kgs?? I think it's mostly water and poop weight though. I know I still LOOK the same, and I still feel my three tubes of phat when I sit down to study.

The only exercise I've been doing are lunges, and calf contractions by tiptoeing, while I brush my teeth. And maybe walking up and down SS staircase when I go pick up my coffee, if that counts! I still don't feel like moving too much with such cold foggy weather outside. Plus, just knowing this Friday is going to be -14degrees, I'm starting to store heat now.

Back to studying! Scrolled through my pictures today and this tickled me (: DM turtle head version.

The best things

The best things in life are shared. -Carlsburg

The way money is acquired is a powerful determinant of how it is defined, husbanded and spent. -Shover 1996.

Husband –verb (used with object)

4.	to manage, esp. with prudent economy.

5.	to use frugally; conserve: to husband one's resources.

6.	Archaic. a. to be or become a husband to; marry. b. to find a husband for. c. to till; cultivate.

To use frugally?? Wonder why the English Dictionary people decided to use this word.

–verb (used without object), verb (used with object)

3.	Rare. wive.

And we get to be rare (:

The pursuit for academic respectability

1 Corinthians 1

21Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the widsom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

31 Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.

Michelangelo painted with a brush in one hand and a candle in the other to prevent his shadow from covering his masterpiece in progress.

Am I casting my own shadow on my canvas of life?

Good morning (: Sunrises seem more worthwhile than the few minutes of extra snoozing.

The BCC diet

WE'VE GOT GOOD TV! CAN WATCH JEOPARDY! Canada's switched to digital channels instead of analogue, so the reception is so much clearer now that we bought new antennas. Considering we live right under the CN tower which is the main tower emitting those channel waves, we should be getting this quality TV! Feels like we're in a TV showroom.

Ko was setting up the antenna and all while Ma and Juicetine took a snooze. Singapore, Canada, all the same, it's always the narcoleptic effect of the post-church Sunday snooze. Ko was trying to face the antenna towards CN tower. Haha (:

Rushed off to the Coach terminal right on time to catch Justin's early Greyhound back to Ottawa. Poor boy, he has to sit another 5 hours to compensate for the food galore weekend he had down here in T.O.

So yes, while Juicetine came back, we feasted nonstop that I gained 1kg over a weekend! What made me finally decide to go on a diet was this picture:

Eeks, the pudge. I feel like I have a 4pt beige border framing my face.

Anyways, no more BBC (buy bigger clothes) diet, it's time for the real thing! After 7 years of 'dieting' but snacking on peanut butter bread 3 times a day post-meals and squeezing in 3 tangyuans every other day for supper, I saw the effects all cumulate in my bread face, very aptly captured by BioEssence.

So the goal: LOSE 2 VISIBLE KGS BY FEB 12 IF NOT I HAVE TO GIVE JUICETINE $20.

I know that's a bit kiam, but c'mon, he has nothing to lose! So the next three weeks. Plan is for all lunches to be BCC - broccoli carrots corn egg. Sounds bad? Then look at this!

Awesome right (: Can't wait to eat it tomorrow. Felt like a primary school kid packing my bag after finishing my essay and cooking my lunch to pack. Feels good though, like I'm actually directing all this phrustration (phat frustration) somewhere productive.

Anyways, dinners will be white meats, but I haven't figured that out yet. Probably the subway oven toasted thing. Work out wise, static exercises/swimming.

I'm excited!

**Disclaimer: Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm obese, so don't beat me up for that, but you can beat me for being greedy. I just want a slender silhouette and my face to de-swell!

On another note, Ethel just went to HK! I dunno why but I'm so stoked for her!! Can't wait to skype with her =D