28 Feb 2009 No Comments
in Human Nature
I shall end this month’s blog with one of my favourite quotes:
Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.
~Sydney Smith (English Clergyman, Essayist and Wit, 1771-1845)
27 Feb 2009 No Comments
Pakhuis is on our list since December of last year. Unfortunately, it was full on New Year’s Eve and closed whenever D and I remember to stop by. But we finally made it there yesterday evening…
Despite its enormous interior, the brasserie emits a certain kind of coziness. Modern organization blended nicely with the old cafe atmosphere. We were seated a few tables from the main entrance, so for the first time ever I felt cold while dining. D was fine though. It took a long time for our food to arrive and frankly the dishes were a little disappointing in terms of taste. My main dish was a tad too oily and D didn’t really like his special chicken dish. Maybe we had built our hopes too high?
The well trained servers reminded me somewhat of the I-want-bucket-loads-of-tips restaurant services I get in America. They are very accustomed to dealing with foreign customers for they can speak any major language and know how to turn people down nicely when the brasserie got full. And this is the first time that we were asked who’s paying.
Considering that Pakhuis is one of Gent’s best, I was a bit dissapointed by the dining experience.
25 Feb 2009 No Comments
in Happenings
There are only 30 pictures in my February folder. I usually have about 60 t0 100 each month. And 10 of those are FOSDEM pictures that I didn’t attend. In other words, it has been quite a boring month for me.
I didn’t go to FOSDEM because I have other things to do. Boyfriend and I didn’t go to Antwerp for the Chinese New Year Lion Dance like we did last year. Also, D and I agreed not to celebrate Valentine’s Day by emptying our wallets on cutesy foolish nothings. So, with me starting school and concentrating on learning a new language, we have neglected to make this month exciting and eventful.
Good thing we are in Gent. And good thing that we still have 4 days before the month ends. So, it will be after meal drinks at a pub tonight and restaurant tomorrow. There’s always a solution…
24 Feb 2009 No Comments
Now that I am on my krokusvakantie (Belgian pre-Lent school holidays), I finally have the time to read Don’t Make Me Think. This book has been hailed as a must read for all web designers, developers and anyone who work on websites.
I have just begun and already read something quite memorable:
Why are things in the last place you look for them?
Because you stop looking when you find them.~ children’s riddle
22 Feb 2009 No Comments
in Human Nature
The one question that has nagged me all my life. The one question that has been answered with actions that resulted in great adventures, unforgettable regrets, joy or sadness. The solution to the question is often a balancing game. First option is to act and face the music. Second option is to stand back and give others the freedom to face their own issues…
I have one major regret in my life. Because I held back, I will never know what my impact would have been. For not acting soon enough, I will forever be left with a bitterness that resides deep in my soul. Thankfully, I have some BEEN THEREs, DONE THATs to keep me emotionally afloat. Speak up, act or shut up… they all come with different consequences that one has to live with.
Often in life, there are really not much we can do on behalf of others. But then, the battles of life are often not fought alone. Quite a dilemma I would say.
20 Feb 2009 No Comments
I was recently told that peanut butter is something very Netherlands. Uh…but I thought America is land of PB&Js (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches)? Then, I was told that the Dutch might have been the people who brought peanuts to Indonesia and hence influenced the Indonesian cuisine. Eh?
Something about that just does not sound right. And thank goodness for the internet, Google and Wikipedia, I am able to find out more about the peanut and peanut butter.
The peanut originated from South America. Peanut butter was invented by a Canadian who acquired a US patent. It was mass produced and consumed heavily by the Americans. Do you know that the Portuguese introduced the peanut to the Chinese in the 1600s? That just amazes me! Those Portuguese traders changed Asian cuisine forever…
17 Feb 2009 No Comments
Hear me out…
Yesterday afternoon, I drank a big cup of tea. Last night, I dreamed that I was taking an exam. I was terribly careless and completely neglected one whole page of the test. Time was up before I can finish. So, you can probably figure that I woke up a bit annoyed this morning.
I think there is a connection between tea drinking and strange dreams. There must be something in tea that makes my brain react in such a way. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’m sticking to my theory for now.
15 Feb 2009 No Comments
in Health
Otherwise known as the chemical our bodies produce when we exercise.
According to a very detailed Wikipedia entry, Endorphin …
I think there is a market for gyms here. With the sad weather, high suicide rate, deliciously fat cuisine, and limited space, a big bright gym can be just what the Belgians need. Don’t we all want to be with healthy and happy people?
13 Feb 2009 No Comments
Quite a few bizarre events happened this week. A new and unoccupied Mandarin Oriental Hotel in China burned down. The cause was fireworks. Hardly 24 hours ago, a Twitterer reported an emergency airplane landing at the Vegas Airport. No one was hurt. Not so lucky for the Continental airplane that crashed into a home in Buffalo, killing 49 people.
These sudden and unpleasant events is a reminder that life itself is fragile and fleeting. Majority of us probably won’t know early enough how long we have left – living. And how many of us truly live?
Why have I left a high paying dream job at a fantastic workplace? Why do I use an old laptop that buzz like a factory machine when I can afford a nice quiet one? Why am I using an old second hand cellphone when I can easily get a cool iPhone? Why why why do I chose to love certain people and some I avoid at all cost?
I have my priorities!
12 Feb 2009 No Comments
in Belgium
Yeah, it’s Thursday! Last day of school for the week.
This week, I’ve started learning how to construct sentences. Dutch sentence structures and grammatical rules are quite different from the 3 languages I already know.
My head swirls with all the new words, the strange grammar and the challenging pronunciations. It was a good decision to learn the language from scratch and not based it upon English, Malay or Chinese. In doing so, I do not have to unlearn anything.
Today, I chuckled in class when I was forming some simple Dutch sentences. I realized if I think like Yoda, my sentences usually come out alright. Just think… my Yodish lessons are paid for by the Belgian government. Hehe!
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