"Kinda like Trump's hair(piece) on a cupcake"

Woo hoo! I'm back to blogging bout food! Remember the cupcake mix gift I got from Boston? Well, finally found some time and help baking them just now. Was reading the tube and apparently it's from some famous cupcake bakery from Beverly Hills. Simple enough instructions were found inside the container. There you see the mix from the tube, and it's enough for a dozen cupcakes. And right here you have the new digital weighing machine, first time in action.

Anyway, popped them in the oven while doing the frosting. All right, while topping the frosting, I realised that I totally suck at it! They had this nice photo of a cupcake on the container and it really looked nice and smooth. I used a butter spread and mine all looked like it had some weird comb over or something. Slapped across and pasted on them. Kinda like Trump's hair(piece) on a cupcake.

The chocolate frosting tasted great! The cupcake was a tiny little bit too flaky for me but the whole cupcake was pretty decent. Not sure if it's anything like the original in Beverly Hills but I'm fine with it.

Oh, check out this cool cupcake stand I saw while I was buying my baking tray. I believe it can hold 38 mutherloving cupcakes!

"The all-booze, liquid diet version"

Was at the news stand the other day and noticed something funny. You know how the cover of women's magazines are always promising articles on how to achieve the perfect physical image. Bigger boobs, silkier hair, firmer butts, then you got the whole smoother, whiter skin package etc.. But when you look at guys' magazines, it's all about attaining only one main physical attribute. Now get your mind out of the gutter. I'm talking bout the 6-pack, abs of steel here.

That's right, folks. Guys' magazines only make one common promise on their covers, that the only thing guys need to look good is a washboard stomach and we got a gazillion ways to show you how to get them. Apparently you can bend, stretch, run, swim, dance, sing or (I'm waiting for this one) sleep your way to them in a week. There's probably some liquid, carbo, candy or (another on my wish list) alcohol diet in the works too. Yup, I'm just holding out for the all-booze, liquid diet version.

Just realized that I’m only a coupla more entries to my first 100th post. Kinda reminds of how comic books and TV shows always have something big planned for either their 100th issue or 100th episode.

So what do I have planned? I really don’t know. How bout some big revelation like an updated or clearer photo shot of me? Yah, like anyone would be interested in that. Maybe some deep dark kinky secret? Ought to have some lying around here somewhere. Or finally that long-lost secret origin story. Hmmmmm...

"Driven at least one co-worker insane"

Hah, saw this list of 6 weird stuff at Queen's site. Well, why not I guess.

1. Loop-de-loop
When listening to any favorite song, I'll usually put it on loop whether it's on my desktop itunes, old discman or latest nano. I can listen to the very same song looping for hours and hours. Have known to have driven at least one co-worker insane. Here's what I was listening to at work today and this too.

2. Too hot to handle
Despite my origins, I don't do chilli or spicy stuff. End of discussion.

3. Have we met?
I'm very bad with names. Most of my first meetings, the name just goes out my other ear even before I have stopped shaking the other person's hand.

4. Zzzzzzzzz
I'm gifted with the ability to fall almost instantly alseep on just about any sort of public transport.

5. Bullseye
Even though I'm right-handed, I aim with my left eye. That means when discharging any firearm (since army daze) or using a bow (which I used to do), I'll have to use my left hand. It's unusual cos most right-handed people aim with their right eye.

6. Royal pain in the butt
Apparently I have at least one foreign relative (my mom is half-chinese) who is married into royalty, that country's royal family. I'm not close to them at all, well, I am close to only one cousin, so I can't really say how accurate this little factoid is. But I have seen pix of this cousin's wedding and it does feature quite a stellar guest list. No, he's not the one who is supposed to be married into the royal family.

So there you go. Six little kooky facts about me. Now who's next?

"The one with Moses in it"

So I was mopping the apartment the other nite and watching the movie soundtrack channel at the same time. Yah, I was doing the whole mop-is-my-microphone gig too. Then came the instrumental piece from The Planet of the Apes, the Tim Burton's remake.

It was a heavy piece and had the apes running, leaping about, hunting down the humans. The make-up and SFX were fantastic, I know they were nominated but can't remember if they won an Oscar. Looking at them, I'm immediately reminded of the original version, the one with Moses in it. I saw that on TV when I was like about 10 years old, I think. And I was completely and majorly freaked out by the apes! Those mean talking apes, beating up the humans really spooked me as a kid. For a kid my age, they look waaaay too real for comfort! And I'm a huge sci-fi, fantasy movie fan. I mean, I'm used to watching ghosts, aliens and monsters on TV and in the movies, I love them but ... geez ... those damn apes were in a class of their own.

The other soundtrack video that came on a little later was this. "Old habits die hard" by Mick Jagger and Dave Stewart from the movie 'Alfie'. I love that song. Now this is the song that I did the microphone/mop routine! I could really relate to the lyrics and all. No, I sure as hell don't look anything like Jude Law at all, but there was a time when I would find myself going through one relationship after another ... er ... I may have said too much already.

Anyway, some pretty neat additions to the household. Gifts from halfway across the world.

"Thighs of Steel"

By now some of you might have heard about or even experienced the two tremors this afternoon. It's something I sure as hell won't forget anytime soon.

I was in the office when the first one hit close to noon. My colleague turned to me and said "FUCK!". I went "Huh? What happened?". Then I immediately felt it. No, not the building shaking but a wave of nausea. Giddy-like. Followed by a slight tremor, the room moving just a little. We immediately stepped out of the room and we saw everyone else, out of their rooms or cubicles, all anxious and worried. You know, I never knew the first thing to hit me would be the nausea, apparently everyone felt the same way, always thought it would be like the room or floor shaking or something. So we were all going, "Did you felt that?" "The building was shaking." "Leave the building now." "Take the stairs."

Oh yes we did, all 32 floors of it...

Once outside the building, I called my folks who turned on the TV and updated me on what happened. Earthquake in Sumatra, lots of other buildings here felt it. I think the official number is about 200 buildings here.

Well, we had lunch and about 1.30pm, most of us were already making our way back into the building. I was back at about a quarter to 2. Then it happened again.

I turned to a different colleague. I looked at her and she went "What?". I kept quiet cos I thought it night had been my imagination. Then came a stronger tremor. "Shit, not again!"

But this time we were all too tired to walk the stairs. The lift opened, some other colleagues were about to step out. We pushed them back it. And down we went.

All the sideway cafes, coffee shops around the area were filled with people from all the neighbouring office blocks. When I heard my other colleague had walked all the way down twice, I looked at him and said, "thighs of steel. man".

We all returned about 3pm cos the boss sent an SMS telling us to head back or else! Word came later that both quakes, about 2 hours apart were each 6.6 on the Richter Scale.

By the way, taking a page out of my current fav sitcom Two and a Half Men, decided to name each entry using a line from each post, kinda like how each episode of the show comes with a really weird title taken from the script (when it's read out of context), know what I mean?