2009 - 2019

This is a really delayed post but it's something that I would like to put down for memory's sake.

2009 - Two years after I graduated, I finally got to wear my graduation gown and mortar board and take my pictures. It was also the year my family had the first wedding (i.e. first grandchild got married)

2010 - I finally went back to Singapore. It was just for the weekend but it was good to visit it again.

2011 - I returned to Bangalore, India again after my last trip in 2008 to Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu. This time I was there for a Tribunal. Once that was over, I traveled to Mysore then Kerala for a day trip. I took the opportunity to do so even if it was tiring and the journey was long, but since I was already there, what the heck right?

2012 - I finally visited East Malaysia i.e. Bintulu, Sarawak and got to stay in a long house, eat wild board and mouse deer, and learn about the struggles of the Indigenous Community.

2013 - This was a crazy year. I stepped foot in Europe!! I actually lived in Berlin, Germany for nearly 3 months (in winter) as I was the first Global Exchanger with ECCHR where I worked on Human Rights Cases. Then I went to Manila, Phillipines (yay!). And after that, I went to Uttarakhand, India where I lived at Bija Vidyapeeth (Earth University) a learning center located at the Navdanya Biodiversity Conservation Farm in Doon Valley, Uttarakhand, nestled between the Ganga and the Yamuna, the Shivalik and Himalayan mountain ranges. It was a great experience.

2014 - I turned 30 this year and I had a week-long celebration thanks to my sister who organised everything! I went back to India again at the end of the year after a whirlwind 24hr journey. It was to commemorate the 30 year anniversary of the Bhopal tragedy. It was an eye-opening experience and to meet and mingle with the survivors, listen first hand to their stories and struggles, it was an experience that I will never forget. Being the First Global Exchanger also made me part of an Alumni, and I got to return to Berlin for their Alumni gathering.

2015 - I went back to Berlin again for the Alumni Gathering and it was good to be back in Europe. Although I don't like the cold, I actually enjoyed winter and miss the snow! I actually went to Munich first, thanks to my colleague then who invited me to stay with her. I then took a train from Munich to Berlin to attend the gathering. 

2016 -  This was a decision making year. After 8 years in my NGO job where I learned so much and also traveled, I decided that it was time to move on. I quit my job in January without the security of a new job. I took a two month break and in April that year, I joined a GLC - the Penang Water Corporation. It was a scary decision to make but one that I do not regret making. I do miss the work and travel opportunities but it was time to move on. This was also a wedding year as a couple of my cousins got married.

2017 - This year marked a decade of me being in the workforce. This was also the year my sister and I traveled to Vietnam for the first time without our parents. We had a blast and we owe it to our friends who hosted us there. Another cousin for married this year, which lead to something quite unexpected happening - I met someone!

2018 - Big year indeed! I got into a relationship much to everyone's happiness (lol); and...my sis and I fulfilled our lifelong dream of bringing my parents back to Hong Kong! It was something that we had always wanted to do, and it happened! The long awaited family trip! We even went to Disneyland!! It was indeed a dream come true for my sister and I!

2019 - If the previous year was fantastic, this year was a bummer! Happy news were: I went back to Hong Kong although it was for work; I celebrated my one year anniversary with Ben; I turned 35; I was promoted at work; and I bought myself a new car. But....over the course of the year, we lost many loved ones - the most painful being my uncle (mum's bro) and Ben's mum. And that too, just a week apart.

That's a decade of my life. Here's to another decade of happiness, fun-times, travel, laughter and milestones. 

Budding Cook

So it's now June, which is my birthday month. I am usually very excited whenever June comes around as I have claimed it to be MY month. However, this year, the excitement was lacking. My birthday came and went; there was no celebration as the whole country was still under the CMCO (Conditional Movement Control Order). [I did get presents from my family and friends; plus Ben cooked for me]. The last I wrote, we were in the MCO period. As I write this, we have entered the RMCO (Recovery Movement Control Order) period which started on 9th June and will last till the end of August.

In my last entry, I had written that I started cooking. And this is something that I have actually continued doing, although not as frequent as I would like too. Among the dishes that I have cooked so far are:

> Kerala Prawn Curry
> Chicken and Tomato Spiced Curry
> Sweet and Sour Prawns
> Sambal Tumis Udang Petai
> Spicy Malabar Prawn Curry
> Ginataan Na Hipon (Shrimp in Coconut Milk) - this is a Pinoy dish
> Pancit (Fried Bihun) - another Pinoy dish
> Lumpia Shanghai (Fried Spring Rolls) - yet another Pinoy Dish
> Nasi Tomato
> Afritada - another Pinoy Dish
> Chicken Rendang

Now that I have listed out everything that I have cooked these past couple of months, it does show that I have learned much!! And, as you can see, I am trying to balance my skills and knowledge of both my Indian/Malaysian and Filipino culture.

I did indeed have help from mum in that she helped me with cleaning (chicken) and of course the taste test! Not forgetting my sidekick sister who also have had her share of cooking.

I must proudly say that there was no botched nor tasteless dish. But of course, credit goes to my mum for I asked her to taste the dishes multiple times just so that I would get the taste right. Even dad has given his seal of approval for all dishes!

To help enhance my Pinoy cooking, I joined a Filipino Cooking Group on Facebook so that I can get ideas or even easy recipes to try. So far, everything seems out of my reach! Lol! Plus, Pinoys eat innards and blood etc which is so out of my taste range.

Well, at least now, when people ask if I can cook, I can give a positive answer. No more shame in not being able to cook. Although, there is still the huge problem of me not knowing how to clean a chicken (which I tried and it was a horrible experience) or fish.

My next recipe is going to be Sinigang. I had excitedly bought the packet mix for this from the Pinoy Centre without realising that instead of the tamarind mix for Sinigang, I bought the Papaya version (Sinigang sa bayabas!) which has to be paired with preferably milkfish (bangus). I have tried bangus when I was in Manila and it was good. I managed to find the fish in Tesco and I was so excited until my mum accidentally cooked it thinking it was another fish. Now I am going to have to cook the Sinigang with another type of fish, so hopefully it turns out well.

I'm quite proud of myself for finally learning how to cook; and I must say, it's not as hard as I thought it would be.

Here's to more cooking adventures...