Friday, May 27, 2011

把手借我一天一分钟

major scare this morning when i couldn’t switch on my lappie. i would press the on button, and it would go off automatically after a few secons. so i unplugged everything and prayed very hard and when i pressed it it stayed on. =D

i think im just really bad at electronic stuff.

you know those microwaveble oats? well, i got a packet of those a few months ago, and since i’m such a lazy pig, i normally can’t wake up in time to eat it. these few days i’ve been waking up for breakfast in an attempt to eat more regular meals, and so i popped a bowl of the oats in the microwave for a minute while i was in the bathroom, when i came back, my oats had exploded. ==

so this morning when i did my oats, i did it at 20 second intervals so it wouldn’t rise too much. LOL

and when i was boiling potatoes just now, i put it in my kuali cause it was already on my table and i was too lazy to get my pot, so i put the potatoes and water in, set the flame high, and sat next to it while reading. i forgot theres a thing called condensation. == while it was boiling, condensation was gathering on the cover, and after about 10 minutes of boiling, the flame suddenly turned red and there was spitting noises. yes, water was dripping down. ==

i’m either a klutz or just epicly failing at becoming a housewife in the future. ==

xoxo

Joanna

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

you were only waiting for this moment to arrive

just a quick update before i write out my stats assignment,

*hops around room in joy*

all my quizzes are finally over! ok, technically no, i still have one stat quiz this week and next week. but essentially, i don’t count those. lols!

no more having to worry about waking up for econs quiz, which i totally missed once due to my piggyness. ==

hmmm, on another note, next week is the end of the sem. then finals until 16th and im free!! =D.

strategy to try and make myself study? using StayFocusd on facebook and youtube. it’s only been a day and i’m having withdrawal syndromes already. == and i’ve stopped buying so much eggs, to restrain myself from baking. XD

so if you need to contact me, no point going through facebook, cause i only get 5 mins there a day. lols. skype me at (joanna-yap-y-l) or tweet me, or msn me, email me, or sms me. ooo yeah, u can whatsapp me too. ROFLMAO

hrmmmm what else. oooo i;m determined to save money and get myself a lappie end of the year when i go back. =D so this winter break is work work work for the money to buy a lappie. hehes.

hmmm, im starting to really love it here. from the awesome people who make sure i’m ok, to the atmosphere and tranquility of the place. =)

xoxo

Joanna

P.S. post on yumcha at the scholar, dickson coming up soon. =)

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just a little preview. =)

Friday, May 20, 2011

darren criss!

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duntcha just love this? =p

xoxo

Joanna

Thursday, May 19, 2011

<3

wedding song list song number one! =p

xoxo

Joanna

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Vanilla yoghurt cheesecake~!

DSC_0960Springform Graham Cracker Base
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until well combined. Press into a 9-inch springform pan, pressing the crust slightly up the sides if you don’t wish to have a thick crust on the bottom.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set. Cool completely before filling.

Yogurt Cheesecake
8-oz cream cheese, room temperature
16-oz Greek-style yogurt, room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
pinch salt

Prebake a graham cracker base into a 9-inch springform pan (see recipe below); a 9-inch graham cracker pie crust should work fairly well, too. This cheesecake can also be baked without a crust.
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a food processor, blend cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and salt until mixture is very, very smooth.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, until the cake is set and jiggles only slightly when gently tapped.
Cool to room temperature before refrigerating.

Serves 10

* instead of using all yoghurt, i used 200ml yoghurt and 300ml sour cream

* i used 250 grams of biscuit crumbs for the base.

* i also baked it about an hr cause it wasn’t setting enough yet.

original recipe from here!

http://bakingbites.com/2009/04/vanilla-yogurt-cheesecake/#more-3085

did a cheesecake the other day cause i had some sour cream and yoghurt that was gonna expire soon.

xoxo

Joanna

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

food : Bak Kut Teh!

so the bunch of us holed up in canberra are missing lots of food that we can’t find here. hehe, ok maybe thats not true, im probably the one who complains that i miss the food the most. haha

so last sunday what did we do? we cooked something that i was missing a lot. hahha. like a lot a lot. =D

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BAK KUT TEHHHH =D

yums~ hui yin did most of the work. <3

ok so some people would not know what it is.

according to wikipedia (just cause i don’t quite know how to express it)

Bak kut teh (Chinese: 肉骨茶; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bah-kut-tê) is a Chinese soup popularly served in Malaysia, Singapore, Mainland China, Taiwanand the Indonesian island of Riau (where there is a predominant Hoklo and Teochew community) and also, cities of neighbouring countries like Batam of Indonesia and Hat Yai of Thailand. The name literally translates as "meat bone tea", and, at its simplest, consists of meaty pork ribs simmered in a complex broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic) for hours.[1] However, additional ingredients may include offal, varieties of mushroom, choy sum, and pieces of driedtofu or fried tofu puffs. Additional Chinese herbs may include yu zhu (rhizome of Solomon's Seal) and ju zhi (buckthorn fruit), which give the soup a sweeter, slightly stronger flavor. Light and dark soy sauce are also added to the soup during cooking, with varying amounts depending on the variant. Garnishings include chopped coriander or green onions and a sprinkling of fried shallots.

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the rest of us contributed some way or another. =) and if you were wondering, chili cost so much here we ate it with chili sauce instead. XD. and yenchi boiled the awesome rice, and karyen did vege =)

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nom nom nom. =D

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one last picture~. =)

oh and if your wondering how we did it, we bought the packet mix. so basically is just cleaning and washing and cutting all the things, then boil together in water with the mix. =)

xoxo

Joanna

Saturday, May 14, 2011

50 bits of advice for a uni student

came across this in en’s blog, and thought it was worth sharing with more people. =)
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"50 Things"

Dear Class of 2010,

This will be my last entry written specifically for you; beginning with the launch of our new site in early September, I'll begin focusing on the future class of 2011. I hope that you guys won't be strangers; stay in touch either in person (come visit us!) or online (please drop by the blogs from time to time and say hi).

As you begin your college experience, and I prepare for my 10-year college reunion, I thought I'd leave you with the things that, in retrospect, I think are important as you navigate the next four years. I hope that some of them are helpful.

Here goes...

  1. Your friends will change a lot over the next four years. Let them.
  2. Call someone you love back home a few times a week, even if just for a few minutes.
  3. In college more than ever before, songs will attach themselves to memories. Every month or two, make a mix cd, mp3 folder, whatever - just make sure you keep copies of these songs. Ten years out, they'll be as effective as a journal in taking you back to your favorite moments.
  4. Take naps in the middle of the afternoon with reckless abandon.
  5. Adjust your schedule around when you are most productive and creative. If you're nocturnal and do your best work late at night, embrace that. It may be the only time in your life when you can.
  6. If you write your best papers the night before they are due, don't let people tell you that you "should be more organized" or that you "should plan better." Different things work for different people. Personally, I worked best under pressure - so I always procrastinated... and always kicked ass (which annoyed my friends to no end). ;-) Use the freedom that comes with not having grades first semester to experiment and see what works best for you.
  7. At least a few times in your college career, do something fun and irresponsible when you should be studying. The night before my freshman year psych final, my roommate somehow scored front row seats to the Indigo Girls at a venue 2 hours away. I didn't do so well on the final, but I haven't thought about psych since 1993. I've thought about the experience of going to that show (with the guy who is now my son's godfather) at least once a month ever since.
  8. Become friends with your favorite professors. Recognize that they can learn from you too - in fact, that's part of the reason they chose to be professors.
  9. Carve out an hour every single day to be alone. (Sleeping doesn't count.)
  10. Go on dates. Don't feel like every date has to turn into a relationship.
  11. Don't date someone your roommate has been in a relationship with.
  12. When your friends' parents visit, include them. You'll get free food, etc., and you'll help them to feel like they're cool, hangin' with the hip college kids.
  13. In the first month of college, send a hand-written letter to someone who made college possible for you and describe your adventures thus far. It will mean a lot to him/her now, and it will mean a lot to you in ten years when he/she shows it to you.
  14. Embrace the differences between you and your classmates. Always be asking yourself, "what can I learn from this person?" More of your education will come from this than from any classroom.
  15. All-nighters are entirely overrated.
  16. For those of you who have come to college in a long-distance relationship with someone from high school: despite what many will tell you, it can work. The key is to not let your relationship interfere with your college experience. If you don't want to date anyone else, that's totally fine! What's not fine, however, is missing out on a lot of defining experiences because you're on the phone with your boyfriend/girlfriend for three hours every day.
  17. Working things out between friends is best done in person, not over email. (IM does not count as "in person.") Often someone's facial expressions will tell you more than his/her words.
  18. Take risks.
  19. Don't be afraid of (or excited by) the co-ed bathrooms. The thrill is over in about 2 seconds.
  20. Wednesday is the middle of the week; therefore on wednesday night the week is more than half over. You should celebrate accordingly. (It makes thursday and friday a lot more fun.)
  21. Welcome failure into your lives. It's how we grow. What matters is not that you failed, but that you recovered.
  22. Take some classes that have nothing to do with your major(s), purely for the fun of it.
  23. It's important to think about the future, but it's more important to be present in the now. You won't get the most out of college if you think of it as a stepping stone.
  24. When you're living on a college campus with 400 things going on every second of every day, watching TV is pretty much a waste of your time and a waste of your parents' money. If you're going to watch, watch with friends so at least you can call it a "valuable social experience."
  25. Don't be afraid to fall in love. When it happens, don't take it for granted. Celebrate it, but don't let it define your college experience.
  26. Much of the time you once had for pleasure reading is going to disappear. Keep a list of the books you would have read had you had the time, so that you can start reading them when you graduate.
  27. Things that seem like the end of the world really do become funny with a little time and distance. Knowing this, forget the embarassment and skip to the good part.
  28. Every once in awhile, there will come an especially powerful moment when you can actually feel that an experience has changed who you are. Embrace these, even if they are painful.
  29. No matter what your political or religious beliefs, be open-minded. You're going to be challenged over the next four years in ways you can't imagine, across all fronts. You can't learn if you're closed off.
  30. If you need to get a job, find something that you actually enjoy. Just because it's work doesn't mean it has to suck.
  31. Don't always lead. It's good to follow sometimes.
  32. Take a lot of pictures. One of my major regrets in life is that I didn't take more pictures in college. My excuse was the cost of film and processing. Digital cameras are cheap and you have plenty of hard drive space, so you have no excuse.
  33. Your health and safety are more important than anything.
  34. Ask for help. Often.
  35. Half of you will be in the bottom half of your class at any given moment. Way more than half of you will be in the bottom half of your class at some point in the next four years. Get used to it.
  36. In ten years very few of you will look as good as you do right now, so secretly revel in how hot you are before it's too late.
  37. In the long run, where you go to college doesn't matter as much as what you do with the opportunities you're given there. The MIT name on your resume won't mean much if that's the only thing on your resume. As a student here, you will have access to a variety of unique opportunities that no one else will ever have - don't waste them.
  38. On the flip side, don't try to do everything. Balance = well-being.
  39. Make perspective a priority. If you're too close to something to have good perspective, rely on your friends to help you.
  40. Eat badly sometimes. It's the last time in your life when you can do this without feeling guilty about it.
  41. Make a complete ass of yourself at least once, preferably more. It builds character.
  42. Wash your sheets more than once a year. Trust me on this one.
  43. If you are in a relationship and none of your friends want to hang out with you and your significant other, pay attention. They usually know better than you do.
  44. Don't be afraid of the weird pizza topping combinations that your new friend from across the country loves. Some of the truly awful ones actually taste pretty good. Expand your horizons.
  45. Explore the campus thoroughly. Don't get caught.
  46. Life is too short to stick with a course of study that you're no longer excited about. Switch, even if it complicates things.
  47. Tattoos are permanent. Be very certain.
  48. Don't make fun of prefrosh. That was you like 2 hours ago.
  49. Enjoy every second of the next four years. It is impossible to describe how quickly they pass.
  50. This is the only time in your lives when your only real responsibility is to learn. Try to remember how lucky you are every day.

Be yourself. Create. Inspire, and be inspired. Grow. Laugh. Learn. Love.

Welcome to some of the best years of your lives.

-B

http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/life/workplay_balance_at_mit/50_things.shtml from this webbie.

xoxo

Joanna

Friday, May 13, 2011

disney-glee!!

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en en showed me this pic. btw, im just focusing on the bottom left part right now. mike chang is so hot!!! like look at those abs. o.0

xoxo

Joanna

P.S bread baking = phail

Thursday, May 12, 2011

food : spiced sour cream chocolate cake

DSC_0949

hey! so decided to bake today, cause i have some sour cream in the fridge thats gonna expire soon. =)

Ingredients (serves 8)

  • Melted butter, to grease
  • 180g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 155g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 x 300g carton sour cream
  • 80ml (1/3 cup) milk
  • 225g (1 1/2cups) self-raising flour
  • 30g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
  • 3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 200g good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a round 22cm (base measurement) cake pan with melted butter to lightly grease. Line the base with non-stick baking paper.

  2. Use an electric beater to beat together the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until just combined. Stir in 190g (3/4 cup) of the sour cream and milk until just combined.

  3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, nutmeg and cinnamon over the egg mixture and stir until just combined. Spoon mixture into prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake in oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven. Set aside for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

  4. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure bowl doesn't touch water). Use a metal spoon to stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining sour cream until well combined. Use a round-bladed knife to spread the cake with icing and create swirls (take care not to overwork icing).

=), frosting was a bit sweet though. ok not a bit, quite sweet, but the cake was ok. quite happy with the texture. =)

original recipe is here http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/2438/spiced+sour+cream+chocolate+cake

xoxo

Joanna

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

harlow~

hellos pretty people!

just a quick update to let you know i’m still alive. and yes, i changed my blog layout. like? =) jie-en gave me the link. hehes =D. so haunt her if u want awesome blog templates too! ok i was kidding, don’t haunt her. wish her good luck instead for her a-levels exams! =)

speaking of which, good luck to all sitting for their a-levels exams as well as others sitting for other exams! =)

ok, so what have i been up to?

first up, the ever-so-annoying business assignment is finally over! *does glory dance around room* actually it was ok, i just blame procrastination. lols.

errmmm what else, due to lack of sleep, i slept through my tutorial yesterday. roflmao.

errr, did cleaning last night and today i vacuumed! so happees. the carpet is like, clean now. lols!

been job hunting. cross your fingers for me kays! =)

oh yeah, been you-tubing loads. like loads! cause it loads really fast. lols.

trying to save money this month! so i can spend more next month and the month after during holidays =)

and yes, referring to my last statement, i’m having winter holidays in mid june to end july. lols.

oh yea, it is so so so so cold here nao! like so so so cold! i hope the many so’s have convinced you that it is very cold. roflmao. and it’s only autumn, i’m gonna be a human popsicle in winter. haha

errr don’t know what else to write now. i’ll write again soon, when i bake. =)

for now, it’s dinner time! then finance discussion time. lols~

Picture 13Picture 14

this is in case you have forgotten what i look like! hahahahha =D and thats my dinner. =)

xoxo

Joanna