New placement..

is exciting. I’m enjoying my role at the moment. The staff there are great. The children can be challenging (but so is their background). It’s quite messy at times but overall, I’m enjoying it.

My supervisors are really nice.. and I’hv been treated like a staff member more so than a ‘lowly student’. The teachers really appreciate any input which is a nice change too!!!

The children, although I have caught them in a ‘bad day’ (i mean serious aggression bad day), were lovely. Aggression isn’t scary when u know the intention wasn’t to harm anyone. It’s a natural reaction for people to run away, but the children need more positive regard and to remind them that positive behaviors r more impt than negative ones in that case.

I admire the staff there. The ability to remain so calm. The ability to speak in such quiet voices to calm a child.

Sometimes I fluctuate and wonder if working with children is really what I want. Afterall, I’m better with adults. The thrill, however, cannot be denied. Oh well, it’s the best of both worlds really… especially when the one of the parents turn out to have a personality disorder……

Chinese New Year Cookies!

Happy Piggy Year!

CNY in Perth is really quiet. It makes sense that CNY isnt just about the music, food, etc etc but about people. The lack of people to celebrate with makes a difference. Due to the lack of mandarins oranges in Australia (wrong season!), I took 2 ferrero rocher and wished granny a happy healthy new year! Well, the meaning is the same-the wrapper is GOLD in color and so they sound the same as the mandarin oranges in Cantonese. Also, they are sweet! Granny happily ate them up straight away too!

I baked some cookies to ‘enhance’ the feel of the CNY season.

Almonds Cookies
I knew I found a recipe worthwhile when granny said “At last! A cookie that I like!” These has the melt-in your mouth texture which makes it easier for her to bite and swallow. I have been searching for quite some time for a good cookie recipe so I’m really pleased with these.

Cheese and Prawn cookies

These are a little unusual. They are savory with a hint of chili powder in them. I was surprised by how tasty they were! Unfortunately they are not as crispy as they looked. I think it’s the cheese that made them slightly soft.

My V-day present to him

I have always wanted to make one of these. After seeing his face at Flutes at the Fort in Sg for his birthday celebration, I wanted to create a similar ‘feel’. The recipe itself isn’t hard, but the temperature control of the oven is frustrating (especially when the oven I used can be quite unpredictable!). Anyway, I was very very excited when the chocolate ooze out of the fondant! The picture itself doesn’t look very enticing as mr ar and I happily dig our spoons into this rich dessert. We had it with caramel swirl ice cream but I think vanilla will be better.

Chocolate Fondant- by Gordon Ramsay
Makes 1 big serve or 2 small ones.

50grams butter + extra to grease
2 tsp cocoa powder to dust
50grams good quality DARK chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
60grams caster sugar
50grams plain flour
ice-cream to serve

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C
2. Butter 1 (or 2) ramekins then dust liberally with cocoa. Shake excess out.
3. Slowly melt chocolate and butter in microwave (30seconds bust) OR over a smal bowl set over a pan of hot water. Stir till smooth. Cool for 5mins.
4. Using electric whisk, whisk egg, egg yolk + sugar till pale and thick. Incorporate chocolate mixture. Sift flour over mixture. Fold in gently using metal spoon. Spoon into ramekins.
5. Bake for 12-15 mins (check check check!).
6. Turn fondant out gently (tap it sharply on the top). Dust with icing sugar if desired. Serve with ice-cream.
7. EAT immediately…

Afternoon tea + granny’s birthday

Yup.. I’m back at baking. Granny’s birthday cake tasted dry but well…. i did try!

PS-granny loves muffins! She calls them “little cakes”. The banana and chocolate was her favorite.

Random pictures of KL/Penang trip

What I WAS up to Part II – Friends!

Yes! managed to locate the USB wire and my camera do have some battery left over! So here it goes!!!
___________________________

Previously, I posted about how you know you have found a treasure friend- when you havent met for ages, but talked as if it was just yesterday when we were apart.

I’m a blessed gal. God has been kind to me. You know who you are.

Qiaolin- It’s a great pleasure to be able to meet up with you again. You spoke about our friendship but little do you know that it’s your strength in Christ and how you continued on despite family objections that showed me what true strength is.

Grace- Ah, how fun was it to meet up again after all these years. I smiled everytime I think back to our college year. How innocent we were. How much we enjoyed ‘life’ then.

Sam- Thanks for letting me feel included in church. I miss your down to earth nature. Also, thanks for introducing me to WPC in Perth. We have so much to talk about but so little time.

Of course, how can I forget the glorious time we had in SWENSENS! BabEs.. these pictures tell it all!

Oops- I forgot to take pictures with Ting. Jon, Dave. Junwei and Justin! oh well, there is always a next time.

Out of place update (pun intended)

This is not exactly what I meant for Part II of “what i hv been up to”, however, I’m having “the case of a missing camera charger” and so I can’t d/l pictures from the camera to the computer yet. This is going to be an odd post as I will be recounting my trip to KL, Penang and SG later!

For those who have no idea that I have left Singapore again…

I”M BACK IN PERTH!

Some updates
Clinical Placement – is up in the air at the moment. The supervisor who confirmed the placement with me last nov has recently resigned and obviously will not be taking any students. Apparently, I have been allocated the ONLY child placement in Perth this semester so there isn’t any other places to go to. I’m waiting to see if there is a kind and generous Clinical Psychologist in the same hospital who might be willing to take me on. If not, I have to wait till July which will put my research + write up in a dangerous position.

Office Space– After sending emails to people involved and talking the the poor admin person who was caught right in the middle, we have finally been allocated a space for the year. Previously, they wanted to shift us to a place temporary and then to another mid-way through the year!

Due to lack of storage, the university is going to build cupboards for myself and a fellow coursemate. And i think because we were persistent enough, mobile phones will be allocated to us due to the confidentiality and sensitivity nature of our research (all in different areas). I learned that being assertive pays off.

Although, I wonder if it is a good thing to have an extra mobile phone! Maybe I should put a restriction on the times i have it on and switch it off in the evenings.

Granny is in Perth!– she has officially taken over the television, kitchen and garden. At least she allows me to use the oven! hehehe..

That’s abt it. I have so many pictures to post! Oh man, just thinking about the food in Penang makes me drool. Not to mention the relaxing RM120 spa treatment for mr ar and me,.. so worth it! I want to go back there….