Thursday, December 10, 2009

寧願完整;無須完美



世間沒有完美的人。如果,你的情人在你眼中十分完美,表示你對他的認識不清,你們還不夠了解彼此。愛一個人,是欣賞對方的優點,也包容他的缺點。 寧願要求自己完整地接受;而不是要求對方完美地表現。

和她相遇之前,他的戀愛經驗並不豐富。嚴格說起來,他並沒有交過真正的女朋友,頂多只是先後曾經和兩位女孩交往。而所謂的交往,也只不過是看電影、喝咖啡、吃一頓簡單的晚餐。印象中,曾經和其中一位女孩在過馬路時牽了一次手,後來就沒有什麼聯絡了。

感覺自己年紀漸長,不再是剛從學校畢業的男孩了,他要自己認真談一場戀愛,作為婚嫁的準備。對方是個年紀比他小七歲的女孩。初見面的第一印象,是她個性瀟灑、大方,很容易和身邊的朋友聊得很開心,不會像有些女孩子那樣忸怩作態。這些特質,正好也可以彌補他自己個性中不善言辭、不夠積極主動的部分。他喜歡她的活潑;她欣賞他的成熟。她算是他第一個熱戀的女孩,他的確曾瘋狂地愛上她。但是,她卻不知情。因為他不善表達,常把好話說成壞話。她常問他:「你愛我嗎?」得到的只是他點頭無語的回答。

‧ 禮物代表一份體貼的愛,並非貪圖對方的錢財

交往一年半之後,他們吵架的次數愈來愈多。最嚴重的一次,是他們在大型購物商場逛街,路過一家手機專賣店,她相中了一款新型的手機。「不要買吧!妳的手機才換沒有多久。」他注意到她的眼光,停留在那款手機上的時間,已經超過「隨便逛逛」該有的秒數,直覺到她又要「亂花錢了」,於是即時提出警告。

「你緊張什麼,我有跟你要嗎?」她的確很想買,甚至浪漫地幻想他會主動買給她。並非貪圖他的錢財,只是覺得這代表一份體貼的愛。如今被他直接戳破,她感到相當反感。

「我可以買給你,但我不希望你過度奢侈浪費。」他的男性尊嚴受到威脅,口氣變得不好。

「不買就算了,講那麼多幹嘛!如果你覺得我們的感情,值不過那個手機,我們乾脆分手!」最近幾個月來,「分手」這兩個字,經常毫無理性地從她口中竄出。

「妳真的那麼想分手是不是?」他也豁出去了,想直接逼她做個了斷。

知道自己是一時賭氣的她,深怕再說出什麼氣話禁閉雙唇,冰涼的淚水卻噗蔌蔌地流下。他沉默地送她回家,沒有再說話。

‧ 熱戀中愛上對方的優點,可能是日後翻臉時的缺點

隔天早上,他趕著購物商場開門,成為當日購買那款新式手機的第一位客人。並且請銷售人員把手機包裝成禮盒,親自送去給她。

「我們不要再吵了,好不好?」她像前一天一樣,淚流滿面,但是這一次的淚水是有溫度的,是喜悅的眼淚。

「妳可不可以不要那麼愛逛街、那麼愛生氣、那麼多情緒?」他溫柔地說。

「你可不可以不要那麼愛管教我?你可不可以常說『我愛妳』?」她鎮定地看著他:「當初你不是很欣賞我,說我『個性活潑』『很會交朋友』『笑聲很大』……」 他仔細想了一想,的確如此。人的優點和缺點,常常是一體兩面。「大方」的另一面可能是「浪費」;「熱心」的另一面可能是「愛管閒事」;「成熟」的另一面可能是「世故」;「人緣好」的另一面可能是「不顧家」……熱戀中愛上對方的每一項優點,都可能是日後翻臉時的缺點。

愛一個人,是欣賞對方的優點,也包容他的缺點。寧願要求自己完整地接受;而不是要求對方完美地表現。世間沒有完美的人。如果,你的情人在你眼中十分完美,表示你對他的認識不清,你們還不夠了解彼此。試著調整自己觀察對方的角度吧!完整地接受對方的優點和缺點,你們的戀情才會漸漸地接近完美。

Su jeong gwa (Persimmon Tea)

Dried persimmons – a preserved fruit snack that’s well loved across Asia. In Korean, it is known as gotgam (곶감). In Malaysia, the Hokkien community has given gotgam the rather endearing name of gu sai pneah which literally translates into… cow pie biscuit.

Have you ever had a gotgam? Well, it’s chewy flesh could either be pleasantly rich and sweet or as astringent as an unripe banana! Blegh! But perhaps we could escape that unsavory surprise of biting into an unripe gotgam by making su jeong gwa (수정과)!

Some recipes online call for 20 gotgams. Like… whoa! I’m probably the only one who is going to drink this batch, so I’ve reduced and tampered with some recipes to make enough to fill 4 glasses, or several tea cups. Korean cooks out there – do share your tips with us!

Step 1: Ingredients!
5 dried persimmons rinsed and halved.
Some pine nuts. These are expensive little buggers!
Sliced Ginger, about 10 slices. More or less depending on what you like.
Rock sugar (8oz or 1/2lbs)
A stick of cinnamon. About 6 cups of water


Step 2: Boil!Here I’m using a clay pot I use to boil herbal teas with, but I think a heavy soup pot will do. Add water into the pot with the ginger slices, cinnamon and rock sugar. Some recipes online say that you should add the sugar later, but I was so caught up in the photo taking that I forgot that part, tee hee! I guess it should be okay.


Bring to a boil then lower the heat and allow it to simmer covered for 1 ½ hours. Wow, forget about air fresheners, your home will smell great when this baby gets brewin’!


Step 3: Cool down…Turn off the heat and let the liquid return to room temperature before adding the persimmons… ! I probably would have had to wait another hour for it to cool in that thick walled clay pot. So I waited 20 minutes.

Step 4: Forget about it.Yup, leave it and forget about it for 5 hours and allow the persimmons to steep. I suggest you surf K-popped! to pass the time. :p
Step 5: Cool it further.Take the persimmons out, strain the tea and store your brew in the refrigerator.

Step 6: Drink!Serve the su jeong gwa cold garnished with 3 precious pine nuts. Cheers!

And what does it taste like? Like a festival! The spice, the fruitiness - a holiday drink with an Asian flair! I think it would make an excellent drink for a Christmas or New Year’s party. But do make a small batch for yourself to test first and see if you like it. This perfumed beverage may not suit everyone’s palate.

Happy cooking and Happy Holidays!

Be True To Yourself

To be true to yourself means to act in accordance with who you are and what you believe.

If you know and love yourself you will find it effortless to be true to yourself.
Just as you cannot love anyone else until you love yourself, you cannot be true to anyone else until you are true to yourself.


Be who you are.

Do not take action or pretend to be someone else for the sake of gaining acceptance.

Many young people believe that when they do things to please their peers, such as drink when they shouldn't, or behave and party in inappropriate ways, they will be popular and liked.

They go against the advice of their parents or their own common sense only to find themselves in trouble and not accomplishing what they set out to do.

When you do things that are not genuine or a reflection of the real you, you will not be happy with yourself and will end up confused. You'll be confused because you won't know whom to please, or how.

Self-respect comes from being true to who you really are and from acting in accordance with your fundamental nature.

When you respect yourself, others will respect you. They will sense that you are strong and capable of standing up for yourself and your beliefs.

When you are true to yourself, you allow your individuality and uniqueness to shine through.

You respect the opinions of others but do not conform to stereotypes or their expectations of you.

To be true to yourself takes courage. It requires you to be introspective, sincere, open-minded and fair.

Being true to yourself does not mean that you are inconsiderate or disrespectful of others.

It means that you will not let others define you or make decisions for you that you should make for yourself.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Broga Hill aka 茅草山

Broga Hill is located in Semenyih, 5 minutes drive from the University of Nottingham. You may refer to the University of Nottingham map in order to get to Broga Hill.

On Saturday 21st November 2009, we (people of 14) woke up early feeling enthusiastic to hike Broga Hill. We departed at 4.15 a.m. (after waiting for 30 mins for a pair of couple, didnt turn up at last) from our office at Damansara Uptown and reached Broga Hill at 5 a.m. Broga Hill is fondly called as Bukit Lalang (direct translation: Weed Hill) - as the hill is covered with weeds resembling an African Savannah. The hill is about 350 meter in height. No trees are found up there due to the hard ground - with rocks. The peak of the hill guarantees a scenic view of the Broga valley and a glimpse of Semenyih.

We parked our car by the roadside of the oil palm estate. The place must be quite popular as there were already few cars when we reached.

It's an easy hike- took us less than an hour to reach to the peak. The trail is beautiful with rhythmically swaying weeds. At some crossings, there are ropes to help you trek - the trail is slippery in the morning due to the mist - so, we had to be careful as not to fall off. At the first peak, we took a break to enjoy the cool morning breeze - absolutely refreshing and calming - a good place to de-stress - and the greenery is truly a feast to the eye. It's good to start off early - to enjoy the morning breeze and avoid the scorching afternoon sun.






We descended at about 8 a.m. using the same route. The trail of the 3rd peak was actually quite steep and slippery due to the sandy soils. So we actually semi-slided down since it’s easier to slide.

Directions from K.L: Follow the signboard to Sg. Besi - Kajang - Semenyih. Once you reach Semenyih, make a left turn about 2 km away from the town centre - heading towards Nottingham University Malaysia campus. Continue from the University's main road till you come across a Rabbit Farm on your right. Park at the opening of the palm oil plantation. When we reached the palm oil plantation, we were baffled at the number of cars parked at the roadside - we didn't expect to see that many people . On a hindsight, it's good to see families with children waking up early for hiking - a healthy and active lifestyle.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Wedding Dress by Tae Yang
























Why?? Why do I have to cry still even if I already know what's going to happen? Taeyang... Poor Baebe... The story was good although it's predictable but it was still good. The other guy keeps on appearing every time YB is with the girl he likes while they're having so much fun, even on the day where's going to confess/propose. Ahh. The pain that you've been holding for so long, even at the end, you haven't let it go.


Romanization
niga geuwa datugo
ttaeron geu ttaeme ulgo
himdeureo hal ttaemyeon nan huimangeul neukkigo
amudo moreuge mam a-a-apeugo
nijageun misomyeon tto damdamhaejigo

niga hoksina nae maeumeul alge doelkkabwa

nan sumeul jug yeo
tto ipsureul kkaemureo
jebal geureul tteona naege ogil

Baby jebal geuui soneul japjima
Cuz you should be my Lady
oraen sigan gidaryeo on nal dorabwajwo

noraega ullimyeon ije neoneun
geuwa pyeongsaengeul hamkkehajyo
oneuri oji ankireul
geureoke na maeil bam gidohaenneunde


nega ibeun wedingdeureseu
geuwa pyeongsaengeul hamkkehajyo
oneuri oji ankireul
geureoke na maeil bam gidohaenneunde

nega ibeun wedingdeureseu
nega ibeun wedingdeureseu
nega ibeun wedingdeureseu


nae mameul mollajwotdeon
nega neomu miwoseo
gakkeumeun nega bulhaenghagil nan baraesseo
imi nae nunmureun da ma ma mareugo

beoreutcheoreom honja neoege malhago

maeil bam geureoke buranhaetdeongeol bomyeon nan
ireoke doelkkeoran geon aranneunjido molla
nan nuneul gama
kkeuchi eomneun kkumeul kkwo
jebal geureul tteona naege ogil


Baby jebal geuui soneul japjima
Cuz you should be my Lady
oraen sigan gidaryeo on nal dorabwajwo

noraega ullimyeon ije neoneun
geuwa pyeongsaengeul hamkkehajyo
oneuri oji ankireul
geureoke na maeil bam gidohaenneunde

nega ibeun wedingdeureseu
nega ibeun wedingdeureseu
nega ibeun wedingdeureseu

budi geuwa haengbokhae
neoreul ijeul su itge
nae chorahaetdeon moseupdeureun da ijeojwo
birok handonganeun
 no oh
na jugeul mankeum himi deulgetjiman no oh


neomu oraen siganeul chakgak soge
hollo babocheoreom saratjyo
ajikdo nae geunyeoneun nal bogo
sae hayake utgo inneunde

nega ibeun wedingdeureseu
nega ibeun wedingdeureseu

nega ibeun wedingdeureseu



Translation
Some say it’s not over ‘till it’s over
Guess this is really over now
There’s something I gotta say before I let you go
Listen

When you have a fight with him
Sometimes you cry
And feel sad and blue
I become hopeful
My heart aches secretly
Then just a hint of your smile
Can make feel fine again
To keep you from figuring out how I feel about you
Coz then we would drift apart
I hold my breath, bite my lips
Oh, please leave him and come to me

Baby, please don’t take his hand
Coz you should be my lady
I’ve been waiting for you for so long
Please look at me now

When the music starts
You will vow to spend
The rest of your life with him
How I prayed every night
This day would never come

The wedding dress you’re wearing
It’s not me (next to you)
Oh, the wedding dress you’re wearing, oh, no

You never knew how I felt about you
And I hated you so
Sometimes I wished you would be unhappy

Now I have no more tears left to cry
When I’m by myself I talk to you like you’re here
I’ve felt so restless every night
Maybe I’ve known all along this would happen
I close my eyes and dream an endless dream
Please leave him and come to me

Baby, don’t take his hand when he comes to you
Coz you should be my lady
I’ve been waiting for you for so long
Look at me now

When the music starts
You will vow to spend
The rest of your life with him
How I prayed every night
This day would never come

The wedding dress you’re wearing
It’s not me (next to you)
Oh, the wedding dress you’re wearing, oh, no

Please be happy with him
So that I can forget you
Please forget how miserable I looked
It’s going to be unbearably hard for me
For a long while to come

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Witch Amusement / Witch Yoo Hee / A Witch in Love

I finished another great drama this week. Hmm, i would give a A+ for this drama, I like this drama.




Details:

Title: 마녀유희
English Title: Witch Amusement / Witch Yoo Hee / A Witch in Love
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Episodes: 16
Broadcast network: SBS
Broadcast period: 2007-Mar-21 to 2007-May-10
Air time: Wednesday & Thursday 21:55
Theme Song: Oon myung eh jang nan by MC Jinri (feat. HaHa)
Insert Song: If by Jun Hye Bin



Synopsis:

Ma Yoo-hee is the executive of an advertising company. She would never be caught dead wearing make-up and only ever wears black. Her hairstyle and glasses are severe, her only enjoyment in life appears to be the times when she's criticizing everything and anyone. All of her employees and co-workers fear her and she is constantly talked about when shes not around. Her stern and harsh nature has earned her the nickname 'witch' When it comes to romance she is hopeless. No matter how many blind dates she has, not one has ever led to a second. The reason for this is her negativity and her inability to loosen up and express herself. She however is completely oblivious of her faults and cannot comprehend why she is so bad when it comes to love.

Choi Mu-ryong is an aspiring chef with a passion for French cuisine. He has an innate ability when it comes to taste and perfection. Every piece of food and every plate he prepares must be perfect. However this tends to get him into a lot of trouble as when working in a kitchen every moment counts and there is not possibly enough time to take so much care in preparation and decoration of meals. His criticism of a head chefs cooking causes him to lose his job. His parents have never really approved of his aspirations and dreams to be a famous chef and insist he return to medical school. He decides to enroll back into medical school but changes his mind at the last minute and decides not to.

Mu-ryong discusses everything with his best friend and ends up going on a blind date to pretend to be someone else who backed out at the last minute. He declines at first since he already has a girlfriend, but his friend offers him money, and warns him however that the woman he will be meeting is rather different.

The woman he meets is Yoo-hee, and while under normal circumstances she would be rude, brash and boring, she tries to be nice and happy in an attempt to succeed on the date. However, her pretending is not very convincing and Mu-ryong figures that it would be a matter of time before she loses it. The date ends when Mu-ryong falls asleep for a moment, resulting in Yoo-hee throwing a glass of water at his face and calling him rude. He retorts back to her also, telling her to take care of her appearance the next time she goes on a blind date. The two then leave on bad terms.

While delivering food from his father's Chinese restaurant, Mu-ryong becomes involved in an car accident, coincidentally with Yoo-hee. They exchange insurance information and Yoo-hee learns that he lied to her on their date, realizing that his name is different, he is a year younger than her, and that he met her only as a favor to a friend.

Yoo-hee demands the money for the damage to her car to be paid within a week. However, Mu-ryong doesn't have any money, and yet Yoo-hee is unwilling to compromise with him. He decides to use his school tuition, which was given to him by his parents, to pay for her car. However, he loses the money after being mugged on the way to pay her.

Mu-ryong tells Yoo-hee he doesn't have the money but is willing to work it off, no matter how long it takes or what he must do for her to pay her back. Yoo-hee decides that Mu-ryong could repay her by working as her house keeper, since she continuously looses her previous keepers.

Meanwhile, Mu-ryong's girlfriend Seung-mi, who works at her father's restaurant, is expecting a new head chef: Johnny Kruger, a world renowned chef, who also happens to be Mu-ryong's idol and an acquaintance of Yoo-hee as well.

Cast:


Han Ga In as Ma Yoo Hee
Jae Hee as Chae Moo Ryong
Jun Hye Bin as Nam Seung Mi
Kim Jeong Hoon as Yoo Joon Ha
Dennis Oh as Johnny Kruger
Extended Cast
Ahn Suk Hwan as Chae Byung Seo (Moo Ryong's father)
Song Ok Sook as Moo Ryong's mother
Sung Dong Il as Lee Tim Chang
Hwang Ji Hyun as Han Sae Ra (Yoo Hee's friend)
Byun Hee Bong as Ma Yoon Hoon (Yoo Hee's father)
Jo Kye Hyung as Chae Song Hwa (Moo Ryong's brother)
Choi Eun Joo as Song Hwa's girlfriend
Jennifer Bae as Alison
Han Young Kwang
Moon Ga Young
Baek Hyun Suh
Kang San

Production Crdites:

Chief Producer:
Director: Jun Ki Sang
Screenwriter: Kim Won Jin, Kim Min Jun

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Google Logo
















Lately, i am falling in love to the Google's logo.