Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Do you untie knots?

Friendship bands were the 'in' thing when I was in secondary school. I remember going to the sewing shop at AMK central after school to buy a colourful assortment of threads and then running home to make these bands for my friends.

The thing I dreaded most from this whole process wasn't the time involved to painstakingly make these friendship bands. The most stress-inducing part was in fact, disbanding the thread, which was held together by two questionable pieces of paper at its ends. Sometimes, when you pull it right, the thread comes off effortlessly in one swift motion. At other times, a simple tug could wedge the thread into a clumsy ball of knots. The more you pulled, the more entangled it gets. And when that happens, I have to sit myself down to delicately try and figure out how to untie the knots I've created. If I'm lucky, I find the problem areas and wriggle the thread out of its predicament. When the knots seem more complex than it looks, I find myself exasperated and edgy, and I simply dump the now-deemed-useless thread aside and use a different colour instead.

As with all other gimmicks, the trend slowly died off and soon, my friendship band making days were over. Earlier this month, while trying to inject some creativity into Hil's birthday present, I revisited my art & craft box (yes, I do have one) and found the remaining threads comfortable nested in the corner - with the knots still intact.

Life can be full of knots. Some are easy to untangle, others are slightly more complicated. I thought about the knots in my life and how I intend to untangle them. Some are easy and require simple problem-solving skills. Others are more complicated and require more head-banging deliberation. I certainly don't want to dump these knots aside and rediscover that they're still here 10 years later. But truth be told, these knots can be a toughie.

But when it's all said, I seem to have forgotten one thing - To ask for help.

Jesus sat beside me as I delicately try and figure out how to untie the knots I've created. Little did I know that all I had to do was ask, "Do you untie knots?"

We all know the answer to that one.

Posted by Jo at 10:36 PM

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Watch me smile

After a streak of what I'd loosely term as bad luck, I finally have something to smile about today. A few things in fact.

I had my appraisal done this afternoon. Following a lousy couple of months at work, which I was sure left a bad impression on my new boss, I wasn't expecting much flattery from him today. So much so that me being fashionably late for work and all the rubber-timing lunches were becoming rather passé in itself. Turns out that he had many nice things to say and I even hit an 'exceeded expectation' score which, hopefully, would lead to a bigger paycheck! Fingers crossed. You can probably imagine how I was trying to hide my flabbergast and cheeky smile while trying to maintain a 'professional' and I-am-a-good-worker-and-was-expecting-nothing-less kinda look.

Truth be told, that was a much needed boost for me, considering how demoralised I have been feeling lately, to a point of searching for a new job, something which I wasn't even planning for (at least until end of the year). Perhaps things are finally starting to look sunny for me in Paragon, especially with some upcoming changes in the office. We'll see, we'll see.

Oh yes, here's a joke before we move on to the next topic. When we were at the punctuality section of the appraisal (which of cos, I expected to fail terribly), my boss said that I should try to come to the office before 9.30am. (I start work at 9 btw). In self-defence, I told him that I'm always there before 9.30! Then, he said, "Oh, ok, try to be in the office by 9.15am then." And I was like, darn, why did I open my big mouth?!? Anyway, he passed me for that section.

Hmmm...On hindsight, I think my boss is being extremely generous with his scores.

So, today, I also emailed a certain editor to ask him/her to be a guest speaker for our next M-Media input session. Well, it turns out, (this is the moment that really defined my day), that he/she is a parishioner in church and he/she has already seen the first issue of the magazine (and loved it) and he/she is willing to give a talk! What a small world! I was so happy after receiving the email that I practically skipped along Orchard Rd on my way home.

And I know that God really has His hands in this publication because He sends all these lovely people to guide and teach us so that we can be better equipped to do His work! When I got home, I received an email from another person who kindly volunteered to give me some tips and guidance along the way! Woohoo!

I think I'm going to smile in my sleep tonight. Whatever happened today will certainly go down as a good day, which is an affirmation of a bible passage which I read two days ago and have been waiting for a miracle since.

"...For nothing is impossible to God." (Luke 1:37)

Posted by Jo at 10:05 PM

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Gurkha Palace

In a spirit of adventure, Hil and I went in search of a North Indian restaurant which our friends took us to a couple of years ago. When we arrived at Little India last Saturday evening and saw the rows & rows of eateries, we were not so confident that we'd find the place after all. Fortunately for us, as we were about to settle for one of the eateries, we spotted a picture of Jesus in one of the shops and decided to check it out. While the menu for that particular restaurant didn't really entice us, we continued walking along that same street and finally found what we were looking for - Gurkha Palace.

The decor and setting of the restaurant was unmistakable. Nothing seemed to have changed since the last time we were there. The tables were lit with a traditional-looking lamp and covered with Indian-ish maroon table cloth. The place is distinctively coated with a strong and heady scent. A perfect ambience for an adventurous meal.

Papadum

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Before we even place our orders, a basket of papadums was placed in front of us. You might be thinking, papadum is papadum is papadum. Well, this one's different from those you'd find in your typical prata eateries. The papadums here can remain crispy a lot longer when left in the open and it has a fragrant taste to it that keeps you munching non-stop. A side dip of mint sauce is provided which adds a refreshing dash of flavour.

Himalayan Tea

This exotic cup of tea is what I'd term - acquired taste. It has an alluring aroma which draws you to take a sip but its aftertaste is strong, smelly and downright weird. Who'd have thought that an innocent cup of tea would stir such intense emotions? Funnily enough, it grows on you and by the time u can see the base of the cup, you'd wish that there's a refill for more.

Kukhura Pakora

These bite-size pieces of deliciously marinated chicken is a perfect appetiser which would bring many of our fast-food joints to shame. The chicken is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, there are no bones and it has the right mix of spices for the taste buds. It is accompanied with the same mint sauce which was used for the papadum and strangely enough, it brings out a totally new and unique flavour which accentuates the aftertaste of this dish.

Jhol Wala Kasi

In simpler terms, this is mutton curry. The good thing about this dish is that it has a generous serving of chunky mutton. And as the description suggests, I had expected the meat to be chewy and difficult on the jaws. Fortunately, it was as tender as a medium-cooked beef steak. Apart from that, there was nothing memorable about this dish. I'm quite certain we'd find a place with better mutton curry.

Palak Paneer

Don't be fooled by its appearance. For a veggie nitpicker like me, I would have never ordered this bowl of blended spinach by choice. The first time I tried it, (when my colleague ordered at another Indian restaurant), I was pleasantly taken aback by how delectable this dish was. Since then, it has been a regular on my menu. There is no strong distinct veggie smell in it. Instead, it is skillfully mixed with Indian herbs and spices to exude a subtle yet tantalising flavour, sprinkled with a trace of cheese cubes to break the flatness of the taste after eating for awhile.

Garlic naan

This is a traditional Indian bread for dipping into the gravy of the mutton curry and blended spinach. Nothing much to rave about though. I'd have preferred it to be warm, slightly crispy and smelling of toasted garlic. A disappointing but necessary dish.

Himali ice cream

Ah, finally, we're at the desserts section. What you see in this picture is not ice cream. The chocolate ice cream is snugly buried under this heap of toppings (which I have no idea what is it). The topping is relatively tasteless and chewy, the ice cream itself is mediocre. Ben & Jerry's wins hands-down.

Gulab Jamun

Those delicious-looking balls are actually milk, kneaded in a dough and deep fried until it's golden brown. It is served with thick warm sugar syrup and sprinkled with almond flakes. Perfect for those with a very sweet tooth.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Gurkha Palace - 51 Chander Rd. Tel: 6292 4316