Happy Birthday Nicole!

This posting is kinda late...sorry Nic! :)

It was Nicole's birthday on 8 Jan and a surprise mini celebration was organised by Meng Ger. We were in the midst of updating our BD activities to Kai Hock when Meng Ger came thro the door with a cake and candle. That really took all of us by surprise! :)

Cheese!! :D

I wish for....

Crab-e-licious!!! (@ Eng Seng)

Thanks to i.luminate & Amos, we were treated to a sumptuous meal of juicy black pepper crabs last Friday!!! Venue is none other than the ever popular Eng Seng restaurant along Still Road. This rather run-down eatery serves one of the best black pepper crab which is finger-licking good. :p

Anyway the whole group was all psyched up, with "carefully" planned logistics of reaching there by 4.30pm to "chope" seats & crabs.

Amos gave us the go-ahead to order 12 crabs (plus other sides such as mee goreng, fried hor fun, fried you-tiao, rojak etc)! While ordering with the infamous auntie, I could hardly contain the drool that was spilling out of my mouth. *slurp*

We all had a hearty meal, no small parts of the crab was left uneaten (or unexplored?? - quote David). Our table which had more "macho" eaters (James, David, Jimmy, Wee Yong & Amos) were casting furtive glances at the opp table (predominantly female except Ronnie) so that we can help "clean up" their crabs! All that was left on our plate was traces of black pepper sauce cos we had David who was busy lapping up most of it.

I vote David as the NEATEST crab eater! He piled all that's left of the crustacean in a shell which looks good enough to be reconstructed (see pix as proof). The rest of us had crab shells littered all over our plates & table. :p

What a great way to relieve stress!! Thanks Amos!! :D

Carrots, Eggs & Coffee

I just read this which I found it thought provoking...here's sharing it with everyone...

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee... You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again. A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled 3 pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.' 'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean , mother?' Her mother explained that! each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. 'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain & adversity do I wilt & become soft & lose my strength Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened & stiff ? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter & tough with a stiff spirit & hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean?

The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

MAYBE WE CAN ALL BE COFFEE.... :D