Face It, Or Run Away?

I bet you've encountered this before, or heard of it from someone. A certain so-and-so is tasked to a certain role and responsibility, and is consulted on what the job would entail. And as with all jobs in this world, there are good clients and there are not-so-good clients.

The good ones make you smile and it's a pleasant experience to work with.

The not-so-good ones tend to make your life difficult, and might even be demeaning to your mental well being. Well, not all of them are like that really, most are just plain stupid and in need of some serious guidance. Only a handful are really fucked up.

Likewise in any job, you're bound to have to deal with a mix of good and bad clients. That's just the way things are. So what do you do? You find ways to deal with it. Build a good rep with the clients. The bad ones would probably take longer, and might even make you feel like shooting someone. But that's just the way the world works. Nothing comes easy.

Dealing with people is always the toughest part of any job. People are alive, they have minds and mouths and emotions and moods. Just because you come across one difficult client, doesn't mean it's the end of the world and you go crying to your mummy and say you can't handle the job. That only makes you look like you give up easily, doesn't it?

We deal with people everyday. Everywhere we go, we deal with people. Get use to it.

I know of a family friend, whose son chose to keep studying. Why? Because he doesn't want to find a job. He says he can't handle the idea of working with people. He would rather just hit the books and live off his parents.

Like... WTF?!

Some of the people I've come across, are pretty pampered too. Pampered in a sense, a little bit of challenge and hardship, could be just too much for them to bear. They would feel that reality is just too hard to cope, and would rather choose the easy way out of things.

I don't mean to generalize, but I have come across quite a few who fall into this category. They will show you this helpless face, like they just don't know what to do and want to break into tears. Oh woe is me~

All the As and certificates in the world don't mean a thing if you can't stand up.

Honey Mustard Roast Chicken

Most of the time mustard goes well with pork, but this recipe proves that mustard can also go with chicken (maybe not the most perfect combo, but still pretty ok). OK, I know the outcome is not very flattering, but that's because all the honey had caramelized a little during the roasting process. Don't be fooled by the look, it's actually pretty awesome ^.^

Mustard is known to have a pretty strong after taste. However, I noticed that when used for roasting meat, the taste is actually quite mild. You get the taste of it, but it's not overwhelming. Here's my honey mustard roast chicken recipe to share.

Ingredients

Half a chicken (for 2 pax)

1 tbps Dijon mustard

1 tbps mustard seed

1 tbps honey

1tps thyme

Drizzle of olive oil

Clean and pat dry the chicken. In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients up into a paste, and slather on the paste all over the chicken. Leave it to marinate overnight, or at least a few hours before roasting. Preheat the oven to 190°C for 20 minutes. You can place the chicken either on a oven proof dish, or in a pan. Roast for 40 minutes, or until chicken is fully cook. You can use a knife to poke the meatiest part of the chicken, and if the juices run clear, the chicken is ready.

Updates

I've been lagging in blogging off late. Sometimes I have no inspiration to blog. Sometimes I'm just lazy. Often times I'm preoccupied with other stuff to get to drafting a blog post.

So what has Oli been up to lately? Well, my workplace is abuzz with a hive of activities. Conversations of where to have lunch, trash talks, new projects, existing projects, how some clients are pure idiots and should just stay away from the computers, how some clients are really nice people to work with, how to lose weight, what to do during the weekend, where to shop, where to not shop, who's hot and who's not etc etc.

Oh yes, and a group of us has plans to climb Mount Kinabalu next year :) Huzzah!!!

We took advantage of the recent AirAsia sale and got ourselves really cheap flight tickets to Sabah next year. All of us being really gungho (Siong ahhhh!), decided to conquer the highest peak in Malaysia, and hopefully, live to tell the tale (and maybe boast a bit about our conquest to the future generation).

It's a fairly large group this time around, some of whom are going up for the second time (gungho!). We've been giving each other encouragements, and also telling each other to start training for the climb.

I don't know how many have actually started preparing for the physical aspects, but I've been keeping myself in check, and exercising regularly. I need to further build my stamina and endurance for the climb.

Over the weekend I (together with hubby) decided to join my colleagues at Kiara Park for an early morning run/walk. It was an invigorating morning exercise, and my calves are feeling it right now LOL! Running up the slopes wasn't easy at all. I could barely run one full round without stopping to catch my breath. Goes to show I still have a long way to build my stamina and leg strength...! The slopes were steeeeeep! The next 2 round we walked, before heading back downhill to grab some breakfast.

We also dropped by SS 2 mall to catch the cat show. One of my colleague was entering his kitten and we decided to just pop over and show some support. We saw so many pussies there, pun intended XP Some of the cats were just soooo pretty! I might just kidnap one home :P

Rawr... I'm the next Mac OS cat!

Oh, and this big guy you see here? He's a Main Coon, and he's GINORMOUS! I've never seen this breed of cat before, and he's HUGE! I thought he was a mini lion on display! I was telling hubby, if ever Apple runs out of big cats to name their OS, this is the next Mac OS cat!

And he wasn't the biggest Main Coon in the cat show. Over on the other side, we saw another Maine Coon, only 3 years old, and weighs 9 kilos. His name is Prince, and his owner says he hasn't reached his mature age yet, so he's still growing o.O If you can't imagine how heavy 9 kilos is, go carry a 10 kilo bag of rice, that's the closest weight I can think of.

Pasta Mania!

Sometimes all you want is a simple home cook pasta, no frills, no fuss. And this is what we wold usually whip up at home. A simple beef pasta, or you can replace it with minced chicken or bacon if you don't eat beef.

Ingredients:

Pasta of any kind (enough for two)

Beef cubes (bite size - marinate with some olive oil, salt & pepper for a few hours first before cooking)

A few cloves of garlic, minced.

2 tbps extra virgin olive oil

1 tbps butter

1 cup pasta sauce

Some dry herbs like thyme or dried parsley

Ground black pepper

Some fresh parsley for garnishing

Cook pasta according to the recommended time printed on the packet. When pasta is almost done, heat up another pan using medium heat. Melt the butter together with the olive oil (this is to ensure the butter doesn't burn). Sauté the minced garlic until fragrant, then add the beef and stir fry until beef is almost cooked. Pour the pasta sauce and stir, adding the black pepper and sprinkling the herbs in. Drain the pasta and add it into the sauce and stir until the pasta is all coated nicely in the sauce. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese. Noms~~~

Namo Amithaba Japan
The recent earthquake and devastating tsunami which struck the northern coast of Japan shock the whole world. The world was just buzzing with nonstop news about the catastrophic event, be it in Facebook, Twitter, your local daily bla bla bla. Bukak mulut aje, the topic is about Japan.

My colleagues and I were watching the live streaming via Al-Jazeera on Friday afternoon, not long after the first tsunami wave struck the coast. Watching the water engulf the lands, pushing cars, trucks and houses like little Lego bricks, leaving a trail of destruction in its path. A rampage. It was freaky just watching the live streaming. Gave me goose bumps to be honest.

As I was watching the stream, I remembered my cousin who is studying in Nagasaki, Japan. She had just completed her course and was on holiday, so she could be anywhere! I normally see her online in MSN, but that fateful day she wasn't online. I quickly text her, since I heard all telecommunication lines were down in Japan, in hopes she can receive my message and reply. Thankfully, she replied me about 20 minutes later, to say she's fine and safe.

And the worst is not over yet. The nuclear reactor's explosions are causing jitters everywhere. I pray for the brave employees at the nuclear power plant, sacrificing their lives and safety to try to contain the radioactive substances from contaminating the rest of the world. And yet we have some sohai FLOM who is saying the catastrophe was due to negligence and the implementations of non eco-friendly projects. Really mensiasuekan rakyat Malaysia, tsk tsk~

Namo amithaba Japan. You are a strong country. May your people overcome this horrific event and grow stronger by the day.

Darling, Carry My Bag
I'm sure you have come across such a sight:- You're in a shopping mall, and you see some couple walking past you. Nothing unusual really, except that the guy is carrying his girlfriend/wife's handbag, sling across his shoulders.

WTF...?!?

No offense to men out there, but seriously?! Why would you let your man carry your handbag? Why can't you carry your own bag? You have arms, right? You're not crippled, right? So why can't some women carry their own handbags? Why ask your man to carry it for you? And men, why are you carrying them?

Maybe some women find it adoring for their man to carry their handbags. "Oh my darling so nice, carry my handbag for me". Woman, have you any idea what sort of image you're giving to your man? It's not cute at all. You're turning your man into a wuss. A man carrying a Coach/LV/Gucci tote bag, or any other label for that matter, makes a man look wussy. What's worse is seeing a man carrying frilly handbags OMG O.O

It's just me, but I truly find the act of asking your man to carry your bag, a total wussy act of condemnation against the true nature of being a man. Let the man be a man. Carry your own fucking bag lah, you bought the damn thing to hold your purse and lipstick, right? And your arms are working perfectly fine right? If the man wants to carry a bag, ask him to go get a man bag.

Hubby says, these men that carry their womens' bags... they need to be "maninized" LOL. I so agree.

I will never let my hubby carry my handbag, nor does he want to carry it really. Unless I'm in the fitting room or my hands are really full, then maybe I'll ask him to hold it for a sec. But to carry it around while window shopping? I'll shoot myself first. Or maybe he'll shoot me first.

Only Time Will Heal
They say time will heal all wounds. Sometimes I feel even time alone may not be enough the heal all wounds.

A friend of mine lost her child in the second trimester recently. And it pains me to hear such news. Having gone through two miscarriages myself, I know the mental and emotional anguish one would go through when one is told of such sad news. Heck, it's been a few years since the 2 incidents and I'm still healing from it. Some days I can talk about it with ease, some days I can break down and just cry.

And to be honest, there are days when the news of some friends getting pregnant, or sometimes even the sight of a pregnant woman, can bring back some sad emotions, which I try as much to delete, but no matter how hard I try to forget, it will forever be in my memories. I've stopped asking questions which I know will never bring me any answers, hence that was one big part of my healing process. Although deep down inside, sometimes I do wish science can give me some explanation, to pacify me. Heh!

And you know what's the hardest part? When you hear words which were not meant to reach your ears. How some people would start commenting about your state and think there's something wrong with you, when there really isn't. Their ignorant and naive minds fail them completely, thus resulting in them uttering not-so-pleasant words. Even though they may not mean it, the words were spoken at the wrong time and just came out with a completely different meaning.

So yea, to those who think you know it all, shut the fuck up. You were spared from all that anguish, so consider yourself lucky. A miscarriage can happen at any trimester, at any moment when you least expect it to occur, right down to the the date of delivery and in the labour room. Have a heart, and if you have nothing to say, don't say anything.

To my dear friend, I hope that you are able to find the strength in yourself to weather through this difficult stage. If you need to talk to someone, do give me a call anytime and I'll try my best to comfort you. I may not be the best consultant in the world, but at least I can offer you a shoulder to cry on for a while.