Chance meeting

Bumped into an ex-colleague outside my office and arranged to catch up over lunch. Over lunch today, he announced that he is flying next week for a 2 years assignment in UK. Apparently, package is not that great. Well, for the experience, I will jump at the opportunity too if I have no obligation on the family front. For him, it is easy. Spouse’s career offers choice of mobility, money is not an issue, siblings are there for parents.

Good luck, dude!

Recipe for Lazy Sunday

Not in the mood to go gym this sunday. Gonna try this recipe, have a lazy Sunday & enjoy the dvd I just got.

Penne alla Cesare (Caesar Salad Pasta)

Prep & Cooking Time:
Yield: 4 servings
Serving Size: 1.000 serving

1/2 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese, divided
Parmesan cheese curls, made with a vegetable peeler, for garnish
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, divided
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and zest of 1 lemon
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 large head romaine lettuce, cut into 1-inch strips
1 tablespoon anchovy paste (optional)
1 large can tuna, about 3/4 cup, broken into pieces
2 slices rustic bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pound whole wheat or regular penne pasta
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

Directions:

Serves 4

Everything in a Caesar salad is in this pasta: croutons, romaine, lemon, garlic and even anchovy (though you can omit it if you’re not a fan). I also add canned tuna to heighten the fish flavor and give it great texture. Sometimes I splurge and buy European tuna in a glass jar, but ordinary tuna will work just fine. Make sure all your ingredients are ready before you start cooking the pasta.

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add 1/4 cup olive oil. Add the bread and turn often so it doesn’t burn. Add the oregano, one clove of the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Continue to cook until toasted and lightly brown. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese. Remove from heat and, with a slotted spoon, remove the croutons onto a paper towel-lined plate; set aside. Don’t wipe out the pan; it will be used later to finish the pasta.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook according to box directions.

3. Meanwhile, place the pan back on the burner over medium high heat. Add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and when heated, add the lettuce, remaining garlic and the anchovy, if using. Cook until the lettuce is wilted. Add the tuna, lemon juice and zest and remaining salt and pepper.

4. Strain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Add the strained pasta to the pan and toss well. If more moisture is desired, add a few tablespoons of the pasta water at a time. Plate the pasta, top with croutons and sprinkle with remaining grated parmesan cheese and cheese curls. Serve at once.

Recipe by Rori Trovato; photo by Luca Trovato

“My hubby was very angry”

That is what I hear every thursday from the same person. There are many versions to it but after a while, they sounded the same. Doesn’t matter whether the hubby was angry/displeased/whatever.

Every thursday, I repeat the same internal monologue to myself, “Fuck! Your hubby needs to go get himself a sense of humour or just some normal male genes.” At this rate, I may just blurt my thoughts out loud someday. And I will become the story that she told someone else, ending with, “My hubby was very angry.” Poor wuss! It must be so exhausting to be so angry and displeased all the time.

Anyway, question to self: Why do I subject myself to this nonsense? Cos the wife is not too bad. Nice enough.

I will be the first to admit that I have a rebellious steak in me. I can be stubborn as a mule when I set my mind to it. I am neither submissive or docile by nature. But, I give myself credit that I have mellowed considerably over the years. And, I work much harder to curb my impulses and tone down my temper.

With my temperment, I do admit that I am not the easiest subordinate to work with. However, I am trying. By my own estimation, I will think that I am trying really hard. In fact, I thought I was being extremely submissive. Yet, one casual comment fm the colleague is enough to tell me otherwise. I was stunned by the comment, “Sometimes from the way you talk to him, I get the idea that you can’t stand him.” I guess that is a great difference between really submitting to authority and trying hard not to challenge authority. Somehow, there will always be tell tales sign when you are not truly convinced. And I thought I was being really meek in office.

Guess I should take some advices for my own good.

The Exposed Nest

You were forever finding some new play.
So when I saw you down on hands and knees
I the meadow, busy with the new-cut hay,
Trying, I thought, to set it up on end,
I went to show you how to make it stay,
If that was your idea, against the breeze,
And, if you asked me, even help pretend
To make it root again and grow afresh.
But ’twas no make-believe with you today,
Nor was the grass itself your real concern,
Though I found your hand full of wilted fern,
Steel-bright June-grass, and blackening heads of clovers.
‘Twas a nest full of young birds on the ground
The cutter-bar had just gone champing over
(Miraculously without tasking flesh)
And left defenseless to the heat and light.
You wanted to restore them to their right
Of something interposed between their sight
And too much world at once–could means be found.
The way the nest-full every time we stirred
Stood up to us as to a mother-bird
Whose coming home has been too long deferred,
Made me ask would the mother-bird return
And care for them in such a change of scene
And might out meddling make her more afraid.
That was a thing we could not wait to learn.
We saw the risk we took in doing good,
But dared not spare to do the best we could
Though harm should come of it; so built the screen
You had begun, and gave them back their shade.
All this to prove we cared. Why is there then
No more to tell? We turned to other things.
I haven’t any memory–have you?–
Of ever coming to the place again
To see if the birds lived the first night through,
And so at last to learn to use their wings.

- Robert Frost

Barely 10 mins into the conversation, the term “pompous ass” came to mind. Less than half an hour into the conversation, I was more than half asleep and trying not to yawn.

I can find nothing attractive about rich and pompous, especially when it is inherited wealth.

Beside work, there are boozing on Friday and food binges on Saturday

Been hanging out with fren and her hubby and their couple friends, boozing on Friday nights. (There goes the new year’s resolution.) Incidentally, I know one of the guys through work. Inevitably, bitching about work was one of the highlights. The fren commented wryly, “There is a reason why these guys booze so much. They are all from your industry. Like you, they need to de-stress.”

Not the best option for de-stress but it will do for now. Hanging out with these people are nice and casual. People come and go. The party breaks up pretty early after a couple of drinks. Light hearted chat, no heavy shop talk or heavy personal stuff. I like it.

And every couple of weeks, the usual food binges with cousins. We basically just hangout and make jokes at each other’s expense. Last week, the joke was at my expense, keeping us entertained till wee hours. I was quite amused actually.

The silly things I do for privacy

My facebook account has been disabled.

The obvious question of why has the most silly answer.

After learning that some members in the office spend their time spying on facebook’s accounts of people in the office, I did something really silly. In a bid to avoid being in the position to have to add them reluctantly or to have them report my personal details to the boss, I changed my name on facebook. Or rather, I breakup my name and remove my surname.

I know. Too silly for words. So now, I have no facebook account. Problem solved.

And since I am on this subject of protecting my privacy to silly extreme. I need to grouse. I find it disturbing to have the boss explored my phone without asking. It maybe harmless on your part but it is rude and an infringement of one’s privacy. I find it totally unacceptable.

Longan Seed

The tiniest longan seed I have ever seen.

The cousin makes me feel extremely touched sometimes.

One of the elderly uncle who had been living overseas passed away. The cousin’s first instinct was to fly over for the funeral. In times like that, he makes me feel rather ashamed of myself. The thought of flying over did not even cross my mind.

I feel sad over my uncle’s passing but in a rather detached way.

I had some flashbacks of memories with him as a kid. The first memory that came to mind on receiving the news of his passing was coming home after sending him to the airport after his 2 months’ stay with us and feeling an unfamiliar sense of loss. I remembered sharing my thoughts with mum who told me that she felt the same way. The feeling that something was missing and somehow the house felt very empty and vast without his presence.

In a way, that is how the news of his passing made me feel.