So anyway the texture isn't great, it looks like ice lol.

But most importantly it wasn't too sweet for my dad and he gave a me a thumbs up! Hurray! Parental validation for the win! I could blend it further for a finer texture though so it melts even more easily in the mouth. Like a proper sorbet.

You'll need glutinous rice flour for this. The matcha powder I used the same as for my matcha cookies. Planning to use the matcha powder to make some ice cream after learning how to make ice cream from the workshop too! #excited

Something very interesting happened in the oven... some muffins went crazy! Haha! I added chocolate chips to half of the muffins, they held their shape better.

A close up! I enjoyed the chocolate chip ones!

Gonna give a big thumbs up and recommendation to anyone who wants a quick mochi x matcha fix with VERY minimal fuss!!!

Enjoy :)

Love,
Skye

Hullo!

Nothing much to watch in cinemas lately, so I guess it's time for another Korean movie at home!

This time we're going to check out A Taxi Driver.



Duration: 137 Minutes
Genre: Historical, Drama, Political

The main actor is Song Kang Ho, the dad from Parasite.

The movie is about how a taxi driver sends a passenger, a German reporter, into the the fray of riots in Gwangju, a countryside village in Korea in 1980. The movie is based on the interactions of a real German reporter and his taxi driver who braved the journey. According to Wiki: "Hinzpeter was reporter for the ARD and the only journalist to film the massacres during the Gwangju uprising."

It's a movie of deaths, hope, camaraderie. There are always shining souls that are willing to sacrifice themselves for a higher order of things - to reveal the truth, to right things. To stand up for others, to help others even when it comes at a personal cost. The movie delves into much of this - and humanity shows itself to be both cruel and kind. People will do what they can to protect what they love - their family, their country, their freedom.


The more Korean movies I watch, the more I learn of its political history. When I visited Seoul a few years back, we visited museums but it was mainly about things like the invention of Korean language and Korean culture. The nice, glossy things nobody can find fault with.

Even then, there were people setting up huge tents in a big public square and passing flyers about the Ferry incident where many students drowned. When I was in Hong Kong maybe 4-5 years ago, I remember people camping out on the streets - I think for the Umbrella Revolution. It was my first time seeing protests in real life, and I was both curious and scared.

I can't imagine how life must be for people that witness or participate in protests or riots... all I see is carnage and dead bodies. I hope the destruction can be stopped.

A Taxi Driver is a very chilling movie, and so extra startling because of what's happening in Hong Kong right now. Without pointing fingers, I just think human loss of lives is just the saddest thing and I hope everyone can find peace.

I'll just end this post on a serious note.

You can read more about the Gwangju Uprising 1980 here.
You can stream the movie here.

Turns out that making a pompom is easy! You can do it with kids too!

You just need a few materials:

• Yarn
  (I got mine from Daiso.)
• Cardboard to make a template
• Sharp scissors

This was the first pom I made. Can definitely make a neater and denser one! Used this to make the fox tail in the end.

My second pom with two colours! Improved eh?!

I ran out of cardboard for the second pom's template, which is supposed to be the body of the box. So I did a trash audit and cut a template from a plastic box that used to hold highlighters. (The templates are the circles on the left, not the ring looking one in the middle of this picture)

I actually preferred this plastic template, it's easier for me to slide the yarn in and out. Seems to hold the shape better.

When I was done with the second pom, I made some ears! You'll need to needle felt or use regular felt here. I have all these supplies on hand because I once went through a needle felting phase (also fuelled by Daiso kits, lol.)


The final product! I love my Floofy Baby fox! Kawaii desu ne?
Attached a little string loop on his head and now he hangs on my desk light :)

Here are some cute pics from the book! I love these animal poms. They look so fluffy!

Heya,

Today I just wanna share a bit on my ongoing declutter process! I actually list down everything I own for clothing, shoes and bags, and number them, so I know if there have been any changes over the months. I derive some satisfaction from this haha.

Clothing Count 
Shirts, Tops, Skirts, Shorts, Pants, Dresses, Jackets
(I didn't count PJs, socks, sports wear, winter wear)

Start of the Year: 63
Now: 44

Bought 6 new pieces of clothing this year - two dresses for weddings, a cute shirt from my Thailand trip, two Uniqlo basics, and a casual striped shirt.

Donated/threw out some items that I do not wear, found uncomfortable, or was too short.

Shoes Count
Sneakers, heels, flats, slippers, boots

Start of the Year: 8 pairs
Now: 7 pairs

A pair of new sandals broke after just a few months. Ugh.

Bags
Totes, slings, backpacks

Start of the Year: 19
Now: 17

Bags are so difficult to declutter! Haha. Maybe because they all seem so useful. Any tips?! Do I just have to harden my heart?! I have so many cute totes.


I have also embarked on digitalising some of my documents, scanning with Adobe Scan (free) as some apps have a watermark. It takes a loooong time but I tell myself to be patient as it would really free up some shelf space and make it easy for me to print next time! :)

How is your declutter process going? It actually gets more difficult for me, after my first ten purges. You then have to be really ruthless if you want to whittle down your belongings.

Love,
Skye

Picture from: m__carty /Twenty20

Recently I picked up this book, called Good Question, Good Answer from the donated books shelf at the library.

It's a little handbook about basic questions people may have about Buddhism but are too afraid to ask, or when they do ask, nobody knows how to answer them. It's written by a monk who has lived in Sri Lanka and Singapore. His name is Venerable Shravasti Dhammika.



The questions, asked in full candour, can sometimes come across as aggressive! But I found the replies useful. I shortened some of the answers here because the pages can be very long! My own thoughts and comments in italics.

Was Buddha a god?
No he was not. He did not claim that he was a god, the child of a god, or even the messenger from a god. He was a human being who perfected himself and taught that if we follow his example we could perfect ourselves also.

Do Buddhists believe in a god?
No. One of the reasons Buddha did not believe in a god is because there does not seem to be very much evidence to support this idea. Buddhists suspend judgment until evidence is forthcoming. (Super long answer with various reasons why, I didn't type them all out.)

If Buddha is not a god then why do people worship him? 
There are different kinds of worship. One type is when someone worships a god, they praise him or her, make offerings and ask for favours. This is not the Buddhist way. For Buddhists, they worship by showing respect to someone or something we admire. A statue of Buddha reminds us to strive to develop peace and love within ourselves.

But I have heard that Buddhists worship idols.
All religions use symbols to represent their beliefs. Buddhists do not believe that Buddha is a god, so how they can possible believe that a piece of wood or metal is a god? Therefore, to say that Buddhists worship idols is as silly as saying that Christians worship fish or geometrical shapes.

Buddhists should be vegetarians, shouldn't they?
Not necessarily. The Buddha was not a vegetarian. (He ate what he was offered.) He did not teach his disciples to be vegetarian and even today there are good Buddhists who are not vegetarians. Many people, however, find that as they develop in Dhamma that they have a natural tendency to move towards vegetarianism.

It is true that when you eat meat, you are indirectly or partially responsible for the animal's death. But the same is true when you eat vegetables. Insecticides kill insects so your veggies can arrive on your table. It is impossible to live without in some way being indirectly responsible for some death of other creatures. This is part of the First Noble Truth- where ordinary existence is suffering.

Consider this. If there was a person who was a strict vegetarian, but was selfish, dishonest and mean, and another person who ate meat, but was thoughtful, honest and generous to others.

Which of the two would be the better Buddhist?

What does Buddha say about the origin of the universe?
Buddha's explanation of this corresponds closely to the scientific view. In the Aganna Sutta, the Buddha described the universe being destroyed and then re-evolving into its present form over countless millions of years. All these processes, where first life formed and evolved from simple to complex organisms, are set into motion by natural causes.

If Buddhism is so good why are some Buddhist countries poor?
If by poor you mean economically poor, then it is true that some Buddhist countries are poor. But if by poor you mean a poor quality of life, then perhaps some Buddhist countries are quite rich. (Long explanation about how rich countries can have high crime rates etc.)

Monks and nuns do nothing but meditate. What good are they to society? (lol I wasn't kidding about the straight shooting questions.)
You might compare the meditating monk to the research scientist. Society supports the scientist in the hope that he will discover or invent something that will be for the general good. The community supports the monk because it hopes that he will attain wisdom for the general good. Also, the meditating monk also serves as an example that one does not have to be rich to be content. A simple and gentle lifestyle has its advantages too.

Becoming a monk is all very well but what would happen if everyone became a monk?
One could ask the same about any vocations. What if everyone was a dentist? What if everyone was a nurse? There will be no cooks, no drivers, no teachers. The Buddha did not suggest that everyone be a monk.  (Haha this clapback)

The Second Noble Truth says craving causes all suffering. But if we all stopped wanting altogether, we would never get anything or achieve anything.
True. But what Buddha says is that when our desire, craving and constant discontent with what we have and our continual longing for more and more does cause us suffering, then we should stop doing it. He asked us to make a difference between what we need and what we want.

The First Precept says not to kill living beings. But surely it is good to kill sometimes, like disease spreading insects.
It might be good for you but not the bug. They wish to live like you do. Sometimes it may be necessary to kill but it is never wholly good. Buddhists strive to develop a little more respect for all life.

What did Buddha teach about magic and fortune telling?  (Think magic charms and doing activities on lucky days etc)
He considered these to be useless superstitions. The Buddha teaches that it is far more important to develop our hearts and minds. (ie. It's enough to have a pure heart! You don't need special charms, necklaces etc)

I find it difficult to read the Buddhist scriptures. They seem long, repetitious and boring.
While some of Buddha's discourses contain considerable charm and beauty, most resemble philosophical thesis with definitions of terms, carefully reasonsed arguments. They are meant to appeal more to the intellect than to emotions. When we stop comparing Buddhist scriptures with those of other religions, we will see that they have their own kind of beauty.


The book also has a huge chapter on Rebirth and Nirvana. There are also chapters on the types of Buddhism today, the differences between them, and also about the history of Buddhism.

I really enjoyed this book and I will continue to study more of Buddhism! (I also study other religions when I can get my hands on related books. Just a curious bookworm, religions are fascinating.)

Peace,
Skye

• Try a New Cuisine - Peruvian Food
• Going Somewhere New - Jurong Lake Gardens

Granny says, WASSUP?!

Park Min Jae is our main male lead!

Ahjumma learning English late into the night. She lives alone :(

Granny adopts two boys - one teen and a 33yo man. Haha! Now she has people to feed.

Look at how happy she is :')

:')

Our baobao tearing up because he is moved too.

Labels 
In the same vein, it's useful to label bags with masking tape. For example: 'Overnight Bag - to be brought to suite' , 'Photos for reception table' or 'Laptop: Bring to *location*' so things get to their correct spots. Make sure the electronics have their passwords removed so that hotel staff have easy access to hook up your videos and music to the AV system.

Hair Changes
Video the process if the MUA is not around later. This helps you remember how to attach a hair piece, or fix up the bride's hair or veil.

Coffee
If you can, help arrange or prepare some coffee (canned is easiest) for the group especially if you have one of those 4am call time for gate crashes and early morning ceremonies. Breakfast is nice too, even if it's just bread.

Cars
Please help make sure that the cars can help fit the photographers, videographers, make up artists etc on top of the bridal team.

Flower Bucket
Flats/slippers
This is more for the after-wedding recovery experience. You will probably be so sore after a day in heels.

6.30am sunrise

Self-Guided Volunteering

One thing to note is that you may not be given clear instructions here, so many times you just gotta take initiative or figure things out on your own. You can also try to find someone in charge and clarify things. Sometimes, someone may shout out 'I need people to help me unload boxes,' and people will just get up from their stations and help. There are no fixed roles. All very flexible.

I think it's difficult for them to do a mass briefing because everyone turns up (and leaves) at different times. Hence, existing volunteers at a station usually teach and 'hand over' to newer ones as the day goes on.

Cutting Station 

So we just grabbed a hairnet and gloves (both provided) and joined the cutting station. There, we cut head after head of cabbage into one inch pieces, and also peeled and cut sweet potatoes. A lot of the donated sweet potatoes were mouldy and gross haha but we managed to salvage some of it! We really had to QC each potato strictly. The golden rule for us was: If you wouldn't eat it, throw it away.

Many hands make light work though! It's satisfying to see big baskets fill up with cut vegetables :)

Side thought: I wonder if these rotting vegetables can be composted???? Would be nice if organisations with different aims could link up with each other haha.

Knife Work

Not everyone is familiar with a knife, so if you are thinking of volunteering (and preparing meals) at a soup kitchen, maybe watch some videos like this to prepare yourself and be more efficient.

For example, watch this video to see how you can cut a head of cabbage (easily).



Sharing this video because not many people cook nowadays haha! You can also watch this video about how to cut a bell pepper. We saw a teen having a lot of trouble cutting the sweet potatoes, and was quite worried about him cutting himself. (We tried to help him of course)

There are lots of cutting boards and knives to go around, so you can just grab a stool and start cutting. There's also a sharpening stone for knives at the sink.

(Side thought: haha professional chefs can probably get through baskets of vegetables in a blink of an eye! I hope to be able to cut like that one day.)

Thoughts

Overall I am pleased that we managed to be here and contribute a little to the day's work. It definitely made our Sunday a whole lot more meaningful!

I hope to try a different station next time, and I think I'll continue to go for the early morning slots because the 8.30 or 12pm slots are more popular and it can get a bit crowded. When they are overstaffed you may find nothing to do and feel useless. Haha.

I want to learn more about the organisation to better understand their needs (do they require more money, more oil, rice, vans, or kitchen supplies like peelers?) Would posters on the wall help instruct newbies on what to do? Not every one knows you have to cut the vegetables to a certain size. There are some bad reviews of Willing Hearts on Facebook, but for us, the people we met there were all friendly and good-natured. The people in charge may seem more wrung-out and 'fierce' probably because there are so many sections to supervise (Cutting, Washing, Cooking, Packing, Delivery etc).

There are only six full-time staff and the charity relies on donors for food and rental.  Willing Hearts delivers to more than 6000 beneficiaries every day, ranging from elderly to the jobless. So if you have no time you can also consider donating to them to help pay their rent and support their efforts :)

Pictures and videos are not permitted in the kitchen, so if you want to get a sense of what the kitchen is like, you can check out some of these articles below.

I only snapped a pic of the outside of the building, which is the first building, straight after the security guard house. The compound, just opposite Kampong Ubi CC (nearest MRT : Paya Lebar or Eunos), also houses APSN and MINDS.

More articles on Willing Hearts:

• For The Hearts that are Willing
• 'Quiet, abiding dedication' to sharing food wins Willing Hearts founder Tony Tay the Magsaysay awards
• Willing Hearts (Soup kitchen) - anyone can volunteer!
• Food for 5,000

Erlin squeals 'wo bu yao'! when paired with one of the guys in class.

Ratna's cute face when she receives this 'confession'.




Thoughts:
Galih and Ratna is a nice addition to music teen films such as Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. It has a pretty good movie soundtrack, including a original theme song called 'Galih and Ratna' by GAC. (Gamaliel, Audrey and Cantika)

It's really funny because when the song played, my eyes lit up in recognition. That's cause I already heard the song years ago when the movie was released - I'm a fan of GAC!!! Used to watch Gamal & Audrey (siblings) on YouTube. They were soooo cute. I loved how the sister-brother duo made it so far now!!!! (Also, YouTube was so much simpler and wholesome then. Miss these no-production videos.)

Previously I didn't understand why they added Cantika to the group, but I'm glad they did because Cantika has a really deeper, smoother, and overall more mature and polished sound as compared to Audrey. This really adds depth and power to the group.

I guess cassette tapes were chosen for their nostalgic factor. Also, it is romantic to receive a mixtape, no? The funny thing is that its successor, the CD, is kinda on its road of demise too.

Overall, I'm gonna give it a 6.5/10, because the movie is rather predictable. At times, the pace can be plodding or draggy.

However, its a cute teen movie with many current references that may resonate better with younger audiences. Older audiences will enjoy the music selection and walk down memory lane.


Galih and Ratna is available on Netflix. Enjoy!

Love,
Skye