Skye Soon
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Hey guys!

How's everyone doing recently?

I've been pretty interested in Numerology.

It all began because I kept seeing angel numbers.

Angel numbers are repetitive numbers that you notice in daily life. For example, you may find that you keep seeing 1111, 222 or 555 wherever you go. You get the idea. 

Why are these called Angel Numbers? Some believe that these are signs or messages that our angels are sending us. Each number pattern has a certain meaning to it.

For example, 1111 is a message that means that you are on the right path, while 888 is about karma and how your efforts will reap rewards.

Some guides suggest that angel numbers are only deemed so if they are seen repeatedly for say a minimum of three times. 

However, each time I see an angel number, I usually Google it immediately to find out what it means. I'm always feeling kind of uncertain of my path in life and the angel numbers have helped to reassure me quite a bit. 

I mean, just throw the dog a bone haha. Let me believe !!!

I see the numbers mostly when I check the time like so:

























I've also seen 444 and 4444, which means something positive is coming your way!

Now remember, I don't actually stare at the clock all the time. It's just a moment where feel compelled to LOOK.

And I'll admit, we might have some frequency bias here (where we start to notice things more often because we are attuned to looking for it).

And thus I now see numbers in really unexpected places too!

Like on a Zappy napkin.


I also see numbers at bus stops, or even when I tap out of the bus. 

But this milk carton really surprised me in the morning. 



Even on the Shopee app..

I see 111s and 1111 the most.

I'm really grateful for these little signs from the universe, because after I kept seeing angel numbers everywhere I went, I thought to myself: Oh, this might be how religious people feel like when they receive a sign or message from their god. It feels really nice and comforting especially when there seems to be so many unknowns in life.

I also forgot to mention a very important thing: After I see the numbers and if their associations are a positive, I usually experience something really pleasant. For example, I was thinking about how to deal with a tricky situation, when all of a sudden it resolved on its own by a major stroke of luck. Life suddenly becomes extra smooth. Someone steps in and tells me some wonderful news. I even receive things. Wow. When things like this happen, I can't help but feel grateful and lucky 🙏 , even though obviously this isn't really backed up by science.

To understand this a bit more, I also borrowed a book on Numerology. I now know how to draw a simple birth chart (Western), and a little bit about the symbolism of each number. The book also teaches you how to interpret the birth charts and how to use them. I also learnt about Ruling Numbers, peak dates etc. These centre on our birth dates. The book uses famous figures like Queen Elizabeth to illustrate their examples too. 

One major takeaway for me is how our names also involve the use of numbers and can kind of balance out your birth chart. For example, your name will be used to strengthen absences of numbers in your birth chart. This is really intriguing to me because I feel like this might be how the Chinese people use their bazi? Chinese astrologers use bazi to calculate auspicious timings, name children, match couples, as well as things like career success. I feel like this 'balancing out' concept might be used in a similar way, but I'll update on that because I have not studied Chinese birth chart readings at all.

Do I 100% believe in things like these? Let's just say I do enjoy things like horoscope, MBTI personality types and to some extent animal zodiacs and blood type. I think they are a fun way to interpret life's happenings and I'm totally fine to take these things with a pinch of salt. Humans have a need to interpret and understand life, and there may also be this innate need to categorise and 'compartmentalise' things. I'm no exception here.

But I mean it's always nice when we receive a little guidance or just a little helpful nudge from above, eh? Maybe it's a fulfilling prophecy kind of thing where positive energy will attract even more positive energy. Regardless of how 'scammy' and 'bogus' that sounds, I much prefer this positive energy in my life anyway~

Alrighty Imma sign off here.

It was fun sharing this topic with you!

Have a great week.

Love,
Skye

P.S. Told my family about this as well and my dad just told me to dream up 4 numbers for the 4D lottery. LMAO pls 

P.P.S New blog posts every Wednesday! :)

Hey guys!

Alright, I'm going to try to keep the blogging streak going and stay consistent. 

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a coffee workshop as part of my dear friend's bachelorette's celebrations. 

So we surprised her and brought her to Dutch Colony at Defu Lane, which is their Roastery and Academy. 

Our workshop, 'Fundamentals of a Barista', was for 5 people and was led by our trainers Khai and Junnie.

Before we settled in to learn some theory, we were each given a nice cuppa (of your choice) to start the day off! :D That's an excellent way to make sure the students are paying attention...

I went for a latte as usual~ 

Next, we learnt some theory. 



I learnt that Starbucks and most coffee chains usually go for more of a French/Italian roast, while local coffees like Kopi are way more roasted and are off the literal charts (bottle in this case).

We learnt about types of extraction, the equipment used in making coffee, types of espresso based beverages, and also the skills a barista should have. There were also more technical aspects like the science behind the heating of milk and extraction etc but we are more of an experiential crowd so we focused less on these. Our trainer also touched a little on the coffee industry, the turnover rate or the usual career progression for a barista.

I think the workshop can be tailored according to the participants. You may have more casual learners like us who prefer a more hands on, 'fun' and 'one-off' approach (also good for team bonding), or this course can also cater to more serious baristas or business owners wanting to start a cafe.

Soon after, we put on our aprons and got to learn about how to work the espresso machine!

"We are called Dutch Colony not because we want to promote slavery." It's more about how the Dutch grew coffee bean crops in their colonies and spread the love of coffee. 

I've seen enough IG reels to at least recognise things like the 'tamp' or the 'basket'. But I never thought I would have a chance to actually work a machine on my own!!

After a while we finally got over our fears of the hissing sound from the steam wand, and got down to preparing espresso shots (counting down to 27s to stop the machine!), frothing milk to about 60-65deg and attempting simple latte art (the most basic is the heart). You learn about techniques like how you should hold and angle the cup. We also learn how to 'cleanse' the machine after each use and how different towels are used for food hygiene. 

Our first few attempts hahaha. Haha! I found these really amusing.

It was pretty hard for me to achieve a large 'surface area' at the start. Later I found out how much more extreme and sharp the angle had to be when pouring to create a 'large heart'.


I poured this silly looking turnip.


By the way, we were using *very* expired milk for all these practice cups, so it didn't feel as wasteful. The coffee smelled soooo good though... Also, I really love how swirling frothed milk makes it so glossy and shiny. Beautiful~

Here's my best attempt! (After maybe 6-8 times?) 



This was the biggest heart I had, but I think I didn't cut it sharp enough to make a clean image. Haha! I am satisfied with the progress though. When pouring the milk, you have to be brave and pour without hesitation. Practice also makes for fast yet steady hands.

I also learnt that a good, smooth frothed milk makes all the difference in latte art. Hope I have another chance to learn more latte art next time~

Here's one of my friend's best shots. She's a latte art GENIUS!! I love the heart 'rings' too.


Group shot. Haha! 



Big takeaways from the class: coffee making is a very serious business! (if you care about it enough...)

I definitely appreciate cafe baristas a lot more~ 

And the next time I visit a cafe, I will pay even closer attention to my coffee. 

It was a really fun experience for all of us! Big thanks to our trainers who were very patient and encouraging with us!

I really enjoy workshops and hope to get another opportunity to learn something new soon. Maybe a cocktail making session or art class is up next?

Love,

Skye

*Once again, this post keeps my friends anonymous because ~privacy~. 

Hey guys!

I decided to just use whatever free time I have to do quick, short blogposts. Better than leaving my blog here to rot in dust...

Today's Tea Time is technically a 'Coffee Time' but with a tea twist. Allow me to elaborate:

Saw these interesting coffee infusion bags selling in a Taipei convenience store. The illustration was cute and caught my eye.

The copy was also cute: English translation - Taipei girls are afraid of being poor, being ugly and failure.


Have you ever tried a coffee infusion bag?  It's basically coffee powder but prepared in a tea bag.

You can prepare it two ways - steeped (hot) or as a cold brew (8-12h).

I steeped it.


We have 100% coffee powder in each bag, with flavour notes of fruit pie, orange marmalade jam and earl grey tea. Cool!

Taste: I'm not the biggest fans of Americanos or black coffee, but this was light, mildly fruity and not too acidic. I think it tasted even better with ice! Maybe the Koreans are right- ice americanos ("ah ah"s), a wildly popular drink of choice there, taste great. 

It was rather fragrant and I think overall it was quite a novel experience and a cute souvenir to gift. 

Check out their website here: https://www.giveme5min.com/


 Till next time!

Love,

Skye

Hello friends of my blog:

It's been two or more months since my last post! Well, well, well. So much for the weekly Wednesday postings. I sure tried to continue it for quite a long time!

Anyway, here's my list of books read in 2022. If you're new here, we do one every year. Each year, the aim is 100 books.

I fell short this year and closed with 96/100 books.

I did contemplate trying to rush 4 books on the last two days of the year, but it just felt very unnatural so I decided against it. I'm not particularly disappointed that I did not hit my goal - I mean, I have been doing this challenge every year since 2011.


However, I had a lot of trouble trying to find books that I enjoy this year. I did not finish almost 10 books! Perhaps it is because I now almost exclusively read e-books on Libby. I need to visit a library...

Once again, just a disclaimer that these are my preferences~

My top 5 favourites

1. The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth series) - N.K. Jemisin
I believe I posted about this series before!

2.Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
I still find myself thinking about this book. I just really enjoyed the strange world though there wasn't too much of a story.

3.Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles) - Marissa Meyer
Usually I feel utterly bored by stories based on fairytales, but the imaginative retelling of it, without too many on the nose references, was creative and absolute fun. 

4.Sorcery of Thorns - Margaret Rogerson

5.Scythe (Arc of a Scythe series) - Neal Shusterman

Conclusion: Looks like I just really enjoy fantasy fiction. After all these years, why I am still surprised? 😑

A soul crushing book
Read if you like feeling hopeless and depressed

The Gods Will Hear Us Eventually -Jinny Koh

Disappointing 😓
When the hype doesn't translate into real admiration

The Last Graduate - Naomi Novik
This is the second book and I really have to say it lost the magic of the first.

The Honey Farm - Harriet Alida Lye
What kind of ending is this? I was so drawn till the end. I feel absolutely let down.

The Magus - John Fowles
The mysterious vibe of the book reminds me of some other books, but the story was... not as palatable or memorable to me. 

Iron Widow - Xiran Jay Zhao
There is so much hype about this. I was initially intrigued by the Asian elements, but in the end did not enjoy the writing as much as I hoped to.

Dragon Pearl - Yoon Ha Lee
I think I might just give up on these Asian themed books...???

Update: just added a few more into the Want to read list. My gut tells me I will probably be better of just reading actual Chinese classics or wuxia though. Some things just get lost in translation.

Update 2: I should probably give up. Read yet another book with an Asian Empress and let's just say I was not charmed. 

Notable ideas and premises

The Book Eaters - Sunyi Dean
Where characters actually eat books...

Harris Bin Potter And The Stoned Philosopher-Suffian Hakim
I found this silly book pretty amusing.

Non-fiction love 
aka geeky books that taught me a lot

Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World- Mark Miodownik

Books that left me with the feeling: ?????? What was this all about? 😪
aka books that were definitely not for me.

Mouth to Mouth - Antoine Wilson
The Empathy Diaries - Sherry Turkle
Second Place- Rachel Cusk

...and more. I feel resigned at this point. Perhaps feeling jaded comes with age too.

Please, I hope 2023 will be a much better reading year! 💛

Read more:

Last year's book list

My list in 2023 so far

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Skye Soon : lifestyle blogger in Singapore, street busker and enthusiast of chocolates and books

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