Lucky Virgin

Hmm… I tried to bake the cream puff for the second time after my first successful attempt the other day. The first time I tried it come out perfectly fluffy. It was crunchy outside and soft inside. I’m very proud of myself. Well done !
Then I try it again today ….but HORROR ! It came out flat like the flying saucer. Even kodomo chan, our beloved Rottweiler don’t want to take a bite of it. Why ?? I’m very angry and frustrated, I’m very sure I used the same ingredients with exactly the same recipe.

Take a deep breath and try to figure out what wrong with it. The first time you try something new you will surely success. The Beginner Luck (Lucky Virgin). In the Alchemist, Paulo Coelho describes a principle of ‘favourability’. He says : “When you play cards the first time, you are almost sure to win. Beginner’s luck … because there is a force that wants you to realize your destiny: it whets your appetite with a taste of success.
Every search begins with beginner’s luck. And every search ends with the victors being severely tested.

The Second attempt, it will be a disaster. The failure served to test your persistence. There is a hidden force whose duty is to test people through all sorts of discouraging experiences. Those who pick up the defeat and keep on trying, arrive and then the world cries ‘Bravo ! I knew you could do it !' The hidden force lets no one enjoy great achievement without passing the Persistence Test.

So, I arrange everything in order and start again. Precisely measure the ingredients and follow step by step through the recipe. Yes, this time it came out as par to the standard. Pretty Good ! Although not perfect, but I’m quite satisfied.

Cream Puff was originally from France. In French it’s called Choux a la Crème. Choux is a cabbage in French. It because the outside crust resembled a cabbage! The outside of it was crispy yet curiously tender, and you need the perfect custard cream and layer of whipped cream for the filling, the cream would burst inside the mouth when you bit into them. They were just heavenly delicious to me.

I know to bake the perfect cream puff will takes a years of practice. I need to pass the persistence test to make it perfect. Aunty had been baking this for many years. That is why the Cream Puff is our no. 1 bestseller dessert in our café. Come and give it a try !

Oracle

Oh my God ! what am I thinking. How can I let Little Dragon put me into this. I’m in the room with fortune-teller and he is reading my destiny. It like in the Matrix when Neo met the Great Oracle. You in the right path of your life ….. so on and on ….

Little Dragon become very spiritual nowadays, a great believer in karma and stick to the practices religiously. In Asia superstition is still very much part of everyday life. Astrology, chiromancy, the art of reading the future in a person’s face or the sole of his feet or the tea leaves in his cup, play a very substantial role in the life of people and in public affairs, as do the practices of healers, shamans and the master feng-shui, the cosmic geometry. The name to give a child, the purchase of a field, the sale of a portfolio of shares, the repair of a roof, the date of a departure or a declaration of war, are governed by criteria that have nothing to do with logic. Those criteria determine how millions of marriages are arranged, how thousands of buildings are planned and constructed. Political decisions which affect whole populations are based on the advice is individuals expect in consulting the occult.

Fortune teller, shamans, bomoh, they all came in shapes and sizes. Many of the fortune-tellers were just colourful characters, the Sifu I’m seeing right now really surprise me. I’m kind of imagine him as a Buddhist Monk in a traditional orange robe but not! He really cool ! kind of fun loving guy but when he got down to business he was truly remarkable, an unusual psychic gift that enabled him to read other people’s mind. He left me wondering if indeed he had an extra sense. Is it possible ?

People have always searched for the meaning of life, trying to comprehend its mystery and find a key to the future, and to influence their fate. That is why the East, with its aura of exoticism, has again become a source of inspiration for many people, who look to Eastern religions and practices for the answers they no longer seem to find in schools. More that the great philosophers of the home-grown variety, Oriental mysticism, Buddhism and Asian gurus seem to be able to help those who want to escape the prison of consumerism, the bombardment of advertising, the dictatorship of television.

I find fortune teller prophecy is kind of interesting, chance to learn about the different ways in which people seek this kind of advice, to explore new paths of knowledge, to look into the mysterious world of intuition and suggestion that so often beckons to us but is seldom taken seriously. To be part of the ‘mysterious East’ is kind of cool to me. It offered something that can’t be explain in facts & figures. Perhaps in this world not all the problems are supposed to be solved by science alone. People are more perplexed that ever about their destiny and look for solace, understanding, friendship and hope wherever they can find it.

Anyhow in every possible way, the best is yet to come! by Sifu to Lucky.

De-humanizing

You got mail ! You just received a hug & kisses from Anne. Click to receive. You just received a chocolate cake from Harry, click to view.

Most of the things can be done by a few clicks away. Thanks to the globalization. We are all connected. The social networking services e.g Facebook, Twitter etc, with the motto “Giving the people power and to make the world more open and connected”. Business professional networking services e.g. Linkedln, Naymz is an interconnected network of professional from around the world, with billion members networking every second.

One of the paradoxes of a world in which we are all increasingly connected is that is makes it that much easier for us all to become disconnected. Because of more we are all wired and networked together, the easier it becomes for each of us to work alone, at home, from our beach house, tree house of from remotest Africa. The more we are all networked, the more we call all be freelancers.

Working moms and dads can now be home more. That’s good, in theory. But often means is that the workday becomes nineteen hours long. I have a friend who dad works from home as an independent consultant for government and industry. Even though her dad is at home in every two hours he is on the cell phone. She eventually got so upset with the interruptions that she finally said to him, “Dad, just stay at the office.”

Now everyone is E-lancers. We don’t have friends; we have contact. We become unreal, virtual.

Whenever you call for technical support or reservation services oftentimes you’ll be directed by the system and if you want to speak to a human being, press 1. What happen if press 1 is no longer an option ? Always being able to speak to an operator is essential for globalization’s success. Because at some level you need to feel that this system is built for human beings, not machines; otherwise it becomes deeply alienating.

The advances in online trading, the internet, satellite technology and the like. Some farmer using the internet, a web site –http://www.tomato.com/ and a visa account will surely set up a virtual farmers’ market where it will be possible to order the tomato from your home PC, charge them on Visa and have them delivered by FedEx the next day. But where does quality of life fit into all this stuff ? Being able to smell the fresh lemon and to buy fresh flower direct from the farmers market and being able to chit chat about the current issue with your neighborhood grocery’s will surely make your day.

How we learn to strike the right balance between globalization’s and humanizing will determine the evolution of human society. Our job as citizens of the world is to make certain that a majority of people always feel that globalization will benefit the society in each possible way. Only then will globalization be sustainable.

Surely we can have 1 millions contacts in our social or business networking, always connected with blackberry, text messages, e-mail and so on, but where is the fun when you can’t enjoy a quiet moment with real friends. I love going out to enjoy wine & dine to catch up with a few friends. Little Dragon, your birthday is next week, let’s just chill out at our favorite restaurant in Bangsar. The dinner is on me ! Cheers !

Nuts !

Customer : The coffee is too hot ! could you please make a not-so-hot coffee.
Me (inner thoughts) : My goodness ...... of course the coffee is suppose to be hot, just let it cool down for a while and drink it later you idiot !
Me (reply back to the customer) : I’m so sorry. Sure Mam, let’s me change the coffee for you.

Actual action : I came back 30 minutes later with the same coffee after it cool down a little bit and serve it back to that madam.
Case settle everybody happy and I don’t get sued by the eccentric madam !

But, come on people use your common sense, and try not to make somebody life miserable with your tiny problem. I remembered the case about the women who sue McDonald’s for serving her the coffee which she scalded herself. The women who burned herself with the hot coffee and McDonald was suit for selling coffee that was unreasonably hot ! Though there was a warning on the coffee cup, the jury decided that the warning was neither large enough nor sufficient. Similarly, the pant lawsuit, a man – a judge, no less – sued his dry cleaners for 54million for allegedly losing his trousers. A sign at the shop promised “satisfaction guaranteed” makes the owner closed the shop and considered moving back to South Korea. Pity !

What a crazy world – an important truth about human nature – that angry people can go NUTS ! Come on people, Sigh ! If you let this things going on you can’t even smile at people without thinking he/she will sue you of the sexual harassment or mentally distress.

Do you want this life to become miserable and people get skeptical to each other ?
Dear Mr Obama, good luck in your administration of the county that allowed this idiotic case in the court.

Too many rules squeeze the joy out of life. Do you want every place you go full of signboard BEWARE – ATTENTION – CAUTION . Where is the surprise of life when you were told what come ahead. Not Fun ! I always like surprise …. Good - welcome it of course ! Bad - try to settle and get over it. The basic in common sense is Sorry and Thank You.

Me, trying to be good and always hope for the better !
Sincerely Yours – Lucky …..