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Is it even worth to study in this age?

When I was 15, I distinctly remembered reading in my geography textbook a chapter about population.

Yup, rinaz is a total nerd
Big glasses were totally fashionable then

According to the book, there are some countries which had homogeneous population. Homogeneous meant that the entire country consisted of only their own race. And two of the most evident examples are Italy and Japan.

However, as globalization becomes increasingly common, the textbook is now a relic rather than a book of facts.

Just a regular walk to the market for example, and I’d see a multitude of nationalities. Just today, I bought some chicken from an Egyptian guy and a few steps away is a Bangladeshi guy selling me some Thai rice.

Market in Piazza Giovanni da Dio

And if you’d browse through Wati’s blog, you’d see the same phenomenon in Japan.

What I studied years ago doesn’t hold true for the situation now.

In fact, its even common for a subject newly taught in schools to be obsolete right when the student graduate. And it makes me wonder, in this day of age where nothing is constant any more, is it even worth to study?

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Come see my henna painting bideo!

Yikes, trying to blog about the wedding is more daunting than I thought it would be. So I wont blog about it for now. Instead I’ll blog about henna!

For a Malay wedding, it was a custom for the bride to have their hands and feet decorated with intricate henna drawings. Unfortunately, because of how tight Cart and my schedule was – with the registry of marriage interviews, the embassy, the ministry of of foreign affairs et all, I missed the appointment with the henna artist.

So prior to the solemnization, my mum decided to decorate my hand, herself.

rinaz mum using henna on my hands

She crushed fresh henna leaves into a paste and pressed it on the tips of my fingers and feet and commanded me not to move the entire night as I slept on the floor. This was so that the henna would last longer (and it did because my toe nails still have the henna mark now) as well as not stain the bed.

That was probably the most uncomfortable night that I’ve ever had in a long time. I think I was probably a little bit stoned the next day for my solemnization.

But in any case, the lady who did my henna came back to finish the decoration.

I did a livestreaming over on ustream but I think thats its better to have it sped up from 2 hours into 10 minutes!

Putting on Henna from rinaz on Vimeo.

Isn’t it pretty? What do you think?

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Delicious Indonesian food at Pagi Sore

Updated : Pagi Sore has relocated to Far East Square

I only knew about Pagi Sore when my ex colleague, Sumi recommended the place and brought me there for lunch. I love the food there and I think that its worth to travel all the way to Jurong for it.

Pagi Sore

The Place

Situated in Jurong Superbowl, Pagi Sore might be a bit cumbersome to travel to for those without their own transportation. On the other hand you could reach here easily by taking the SMRT and then taking the 240 bus.

Having said that, the surrounding area invokes a sense of retro 80s feel that is getting harder to find in Singapore. Apart from the occasional few shopper around probably heading to Sheng Siong, the area is mostly tranquil.

Jurong Bowling

Jurong Superbowl brings memories to me during my school days – it was one of my stomping grounds. Countless of days I spent too much time in the arcade playing Golden Axe till my dad had to drag me back home.

Jurong Bowling

Loads of things have changed since then. The arcade is no more, and instead is replaced by food kiosks and restaurants.

It was lunch time when Sumi and I arrived. Inside, there were already a number of people having their lunch.

The Service

We were greeted by the usher and soon after, we were seated.

Pagi Sore patrons

Personally for me, being the first time there, I was not too sure about what to order. But the staff were very friendly and gave suggestions of to what to order. Sumi, already being a regular at the place, knew beforehand what to order.

We had a basket of keropok to munch on while waiting for the food, which arrived about 15 minutes later.

The Food

I like Indonesian food and love my food spicy! From Ayam Penyet to Gado gado, I enjoyed everything that I had that day.

This was the Cumi Goreng Istimewa.

Sotong

Literally translated as Special Fried Cuttlefish. This was extremely tasty to me, the marinate was lovely, with a sweet smoky taste, while the cuttlefish was tender and juicy. Its just too bad that it was not stuffed.

This was the Tahu Telor

Tahu Telor

This is a very common dish for Indonesian restaurants. While this might not look spectacular in picture, but it was lovely. Tahu telor is a dish made by deep fried bean curd with egg and then showered with a savoury peanut sauce.

This was the Terong Tau Chio

Terong

This was brinjals in soya beans. I’m not too big with dishes with whole soya beans and this dish is pretty good to eat although personally for me, I didn’t think that its anything too special.

This was the Udang Mentega

Udang

These were the stir fried buttered Prawns. A tad oily, but still yummy!

Sumi was a little surprised to see this dish appearing on our table as we did not order it. We were pleased to find out later that we got it for free for ordering the number of dishes that we did.

This was the Ikan Goreng Balado

Ikan

I love fish and whole fried fish is like a special treat to me. This dish uses whole sea-bass which is deep fried and then lathered with a special chilli sauce. The fish was wonderfully crispy and succulent with the sauce has sweet and hot mix to it.

And finally Ayam Panggang

Ayam

Spicy grilled chicken with herbs, this dish, as the rest of the dishes was delightful. Smoky, rich sauce with tender and juicy chicken meat. I loved eating this.

The rice was served all wrapped in a coconut leaf to make it smell fragrant.

Nasi

At the end of our meal, we were both very satisfied, full and happy women. I was blissfully happy and was looking forward to eating here again. Pagi Sore is a little bit on the expensive side with each dish ranging about $6 to $20 but to me, it was worth it.

Sumi

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Seasons Change

January

Rome in January

May

Rome in May

Almost 5 months I’ve been here. Slowly easing in. The homesickness pangs are not as bad as before.

I still miss Singapore though.

I wonder how everyone is doing. Wish I could be there with you all.

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A day in Circo Massimo

At first glance, Circo Massimo might not be of any interest to any foreigners visiting the area. While its true that first thing that you would see is mainly a large and uneventful patch of land but I think that there is more that meets the eye.

Circo Massimo, Rome
Large plot of land where there used to be horse races

The first time I was here was with my friend Narima. We were walking towards the Circo Massimo subway when I noticed an area full of roses. I was intruiged. However, as Narima and her friends were in a hurry to return back to their dorms, I did not get a chance to admire the flowers.

Now that it’s spring, and flowers were appearing, I thought that it would be a good idea to visit the area again. Thus, last weekend, Cart and I headed to Circo Massimo.

Circo Massimo, Rome

It was a lovely and cool day in Rome. Circo Massimo felt peaceful and tranquil. Cart and I were fooling around the statues when we noticed a large group of priests and nuns. And then we walked towards the gardens.

Circo Massimo, Rome

The entire area was full of beautiful roses of a multitude of colours. It was breathtaking to see.

Circo Massimo, Rome

There were already a number of people were there, admiring the roses. Unfortunately for all of us, the gates were locked and we were not able to enter the gardens. We could only peer at the roses through the gates. It was only with closer examination that the gardens only be open on the 10th May.

Not wanting to leave so soon, Cart suggested to explore the area a little more. Initially, I was a little doubtful. What could possibly be anything interesting besides this? But I was game enough to explore and together, we walked towards an almost hidden small road beside the gardens where we found a very charming area.

Circo Massimo, Rome

We had a very tranquil and relaxing walk past regal looking buildings and I noticed a couple of people wearing formal clothes. There must be a wedding going on.

And finally I noticed the bride and groom. How romantic 🙂

Circo Massimo, Rome

As much as I wanted to gatecrash the wedding, Cart was feeling self conscious in his very casual clothes. Hence we continued walking where were saw something very curious.

What’s this? A queue? What could possibly be so interesting in the keyhole?

Circo Massimo, Rome

Circo Massimo, Rome
Poor Joan of Arc, she rescued France and yet got burned at the stake

After queuing up, I found out that inside the keyhole, was a long row of trees and in the foreground was the dome of San Pietro.

Circo Massimo, Rome

Too bad that it wasn’t picked up by my Ixus but It was still pretty cool to peek in anyways. This lady managed to take a better picture 🙂

We then entered the Santa Sabina Church nearby. What was interesting to me about it was that there were decorations on the floor. Cart tells me that they were tombs for the priests and we were careful not to step on top of it.

Circo Massimo, Rome

The inside of the church was large, with huge pillars and lights streaming in. It feels somewhat like Saint Peter.

Circo Massimo, Rome

Right at the far end of the church, I saw a small locked gate which lead down.

Circo Massimo, Rome

We then headed to Aventine Hill right next to the church where there were a bountiful of trees with bright oranges.

Circo Massimo, Rome

It was such a lovely day, almost like a Magritte painting.

There were people strolling along and when we reached one end, you could see Saint Peter and the Vittorio Emanuele monument in the distance.

Circo Massimo, Rome
In the background is the dome of Saint Peter

Circo Massimo, Rome
This dude is pointing to Vittorio Emanuele monument

And that pretty much concludes our exploration.

Probably seems very mundane, but it was such a lovely lovely day and we enjoyed ourselves. It was just something that you have to experience for yourself. Circo Massimo is an interesting place to explore, regardless of what some people might think.

Moreover I found a Porsche! Lets just pose and pretend that it was mine!

Circo Massimo, Rome

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The day I cooked Asian food for my Italian guests

My mother is one of the most admirable women that I know.

She could single handedly cook for dozens of people and still look as fresh as a flower afterwards. On a regular basis. And she was happy and proud to do it! I still remember how she orchestrated Cart and my wedding solemnization, wedding lunch and dinner. Just looking at her burst of energy made me feel very tired.

rinaz's mum!

So when Cart asked me to cook for his colleague and his family, I felt genuinely excited at playing host. I thought about the recipes and decided to share some of the foods that I loved eating in Singapore. Besides, Italians know and are better at Italian food than I would be 🙂

Rinaz marketingli

Getting the ingredients for the dinner however, posed a challenge to me. With the help of my in laws, while I was able to source out a couple of Halal butcheries, and Asian vendors. But there were a few ingredients which was shockingly absent and I had to make do with substitutes or go without it.

So far, I have yet to see :

  • Fresh or canned baby peas
  • Fresh or canned baby corn
  • Curry leaves
  • Mixed dried whole spices
  • Kara coconut milk
  • Pandan leaves

Now how would I make Nasi Lemak?

rinaz cry

But coming back to the dinner, I started at about 4 pm with the preparation of the food – washing, cutting, frying, all before starting to cook. And Cart was busy with tidying the house. Together, we were so engrossed that we did not realise that time was flying by. All of a sudden, it was already 8 pm and the guests were already here.

And I still wasn’t ready! And I looked completely unglamorous in my t-shirt and track-pants. And the kitchen was like a war zone.

But at length, all the food was ready and I was ready to serve.

Lorenzo and family

And for dinner I made Chicken Curry!

Chicken Curry

Actually, its a fallacy that all Caucasians are not able to take hot food. Italians for example, enjoy eating Arrabbiata where one of the main ingredient is chilli. Cart’s colleague and his wife in fact, enjoyed the Chicken curry. Unfortunately, their daughter found it a tad bit too hot.

Roti Jala without the jala

And I made Roti jala which was supposed to be eaten together with the curry. In Malay, Roti means bread while Jala means net. Roti jala is supposed to have a lacy pattern. Unfortunately, my batter came out too thick and I couldn’t make the pattern.

sweet and sour fish

And then I served Sweet and Sour fish with some basmati rice where the family enjoyed a lot. My mum taught me to use tomato sauce and chilli sauce together but can you believe that I did not see even one bottle of chilli sauce in the supermarkets of Italy?

Chap chye

By the time I served Chap Chye, everyone was already too full to even touch it. I’m not too happy with how it turned out anyway since it was lacking in the baby peas and baby corn. It doesn’t look as colourful as it was supposed to be.

And since Cart was vegetarian, I made vegetarian versions of the Curry

Vegetarian Curry

I substituted the battered fish with battered eggplant instead for the sweet and sour fish. Turned out fine since Cart liked it 🙂

Sweet and Sour Eggplant

And for dessert, I made bananas in santan. Forgot to take a picture of it though. In any case, all of us were too stuffed to eat any-more. I think I was a little bit too ambitious in preparing the dinner.

Nevertheless, I was happy that the dinner went smoothly and we all had a lovely time.

After the guests left, I still had to clean up and do the dishes. And I went to be exhausted. It was tiring! How on earth does my mum do it on a regular basis?

Guests

But it does gives me the confidence of hosting more in the future. And I’m looking forward to host more. But the next time, I would definitely be better prepared.

Finally I feel more adult and actually married if that actually makes sense.

 

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Hooray! My computer is here!

Cart is so very very sweet.

SDA, Rome
It costs 230 euros as taxes to retrieve the computer. Ironic when its a gift

After all the hassle with the delivery service, he took the time during his lunchtime to drive all the way to the post office delivery headquarters to retrieve back my computer and my boots. Twice! On two separate days.

No unboxing video for this :P

I was so excited that I leaped at the box and pulled the computer out. How long I’ve waited!

Rinaz is totally extatic with her HP Touchsmart

As you can see from my huge grin, I’m really happy to have finally have my computer with me. Can you believe that it took over 4 months to have it shipped here from Singapore? I still remember the HP Touchsmart unboxing livestreaming that I did with my brother in August 2008. 4 months is a long time and this makes me feel rather unconfident of having anything delivered overseas to Rome.

But regardless, I’m relieved that the computer arrived in one piece. And now it’s sitting pretty in the study room right next to Cart’s compy! We would probably evolve into a non verbal relationship where we communicate solely by plurk and msn even when sitting next to each other, but no matter!

Rinaz HP Touchsmart sitting pretty

Doesn’t it look good? Took some time to re-explore the interface all over again as it had a MS Vista OS instead of XP which was something that I was used to. Moreoever there were a number of installed programs that was very amusing to me.

Rinaz playing with youcam in HP Touchsmart

One of them being the Youcam function which allowed me to take pictures like the one above. It was similar to my logitech webcam as well as the Mac Photo Booth.

Diner Dash in HP Touchsmart

There are also other games that are distracting me like Diner Dash. And very soon I’d like to install Premiere Elements! It has been a while and I’m looking forward to do some video editing. I’ve missed that 🙂

And I finally got my Ugg Boots!

Rinaz Ugg Boots

I’ve been jonesing it for the longest time after the first time I laid my eyes on them. After fruitlessly searching for them in Rome, I bought them online. It’s a little daunting when there were so many fraud websites that was really hard to tell if the website is offering genuine merchandise or not.

Possibly fakes

I saw a number of websites selling branded shoes, bags and designer jewellery. While some was easy to tell that it was fake, there are others which are not so easy due to the pricing. Fakes should not be so expensive right?

So I choose a respectable looking website and when it arrived, thank goodness it was a perfect fit. There are furry insoles which are rather nice to touch. But putting on the ugg boots feels strange, though comfortable, it doesn’t feel as if there is support at the base. When I walk, it feels as if I’m walking with flip flops rathter than sturdy boots.

With how rough I am with shoes, I’m not sure how long these will last