Another Classic Use of Leaves

Recently, I back into the hobby of rearing fish. I went online and did a bit of research before heading to the aquarium shop. Eventually I got myself a betta, or most Singaporeans would call it fighting fish.

I drop in some Indian Almond Leaves to the aquarium. Well some of you might be wondering why I used those leaves. If you are rearing some sort of tropical fish oe even betta, you might be keen to read on:

It was found that if one were to introduce the leaves into aquariums one could achieve similar conditions as found in the fishes natural environment. The water is of yellowish Chinese tea like color. Dried Indian almond leaf allows the fighter to relax and swim around with confidence. The leaves were found to help keep their fish healthy with strong anti-bacterial properties and promote breeding. They release organic compounds such as humic acids, flavanoids (quercetin and kamferol) and tannins (s. a. punicalin, punicalagin and tercatein) into the water to absorb harmful chemicals. Other fish known to have benefited from Indian almond leaves include baby discus, dwarf chiclids, killi fish, rasboras, catfish and black water tetras.

Indian almond leaves have been used to cure sick fish of bacterial infections and to help speed up healing of damaged fins or body injuries. It should be noted that indian almond leaves is an alternative to commercially produced medicines but it's not a "cure-all potent medicine", especially when it comes to dealing with diseases like dropsy, velvet etc. Think of it as more of a preventative medicine.

A great tip about boiling Indian almond leaves into a tea and keeping it in a concentrate form and adding as needed works great. For more information, you can refer to www.magicintheleaf.com

Effective use of Indian Almond Leaves. A lively Full Moon Betta.

Tea Review: Lao Tong Zhi + Feng Qing Tuo

I was getting real bored from the same usual taste I get from the 2 cooked tea which I had when I decided to get naughty. The idea of mixing the 2 tea strucked my mind.
Actually there are some reasoning behind me wanting to do that.
Firstly, Lao Tong Zhi cooked tea being still very young from 2005 has this rough feeling when swallowing. In hokkien we call that "siap". However, I like the medicated taste alot. On the contrary, Feng Qing Tuo being a 10 yrs tea, tasted much more mellow and smooth. Thus I was thinking what if I blend both together.

I measured almost the same quantity that I usually drink for each tea. Had the water boiled and do the usual cleaning and drinking on the 2nd brew. Now, I waited for the tea to cool to room temperature. I always feel that the taste is most intense when at room temperature. Here's the results. At first mouth, I couldn't really taste the tea. I wondered why. I took another mouth, this time round I tasted the tea but I discovered something. The tea is so smooth that it flowed down my throat. It seems as if its oil flowing through the mechanisms in the car engine. Or maybe you can compared it to the way mecury rolled down a declining surface.

Well, this is all I got to say. What works for me might not work for you.

Investment in "Beauty"

Recently I read a interesting mail and it addresses to a very obvious "phenomenon" here in Singapore. The mail is about a girl asking questions as how to get a rich guy. She claim herself to be pretty. Lets just give her the benefit of the doubt to keep the scenario rolling. Her questions were answered by an economist :

Dear Ms. Pretty,

I have read your post with great interest. Guess there are lots of girls out there who have similar questions like yours. Please allow me to analyze your situation as a professional investor. My annual income is more than $500k, which meets your requirement, so I hope everyone believes that I'm not wasting time here.

From the standpoint of a business person, it is a bad decision to marry you. The answer is very simple, so let me explain. Put the details aside, what you're trying to do is an exchange of 'beauty' and 'money': Person A provides beauty, and Person B pays for it, fair and square. However, there's a deadly problem here, your beauty will fade, but my money will not be gone without any good reason.

The fact is, my income might increase from year to year, but you can't be prettier year after year. Hence from the viewpoint of economics, I am an appreciation asset, and you are a depreciation asset. It's not just normal depreciation, but exponential depreciation. If that is your only asset, your value will be much worried 10 years later

By the terms we use in Wall Street, every trading has a position, dating with you is also a 'trading position'. If the trade value dropped we will sell it and it is not a good idea to keep it for long term - same goes with the marriage that you wanted. It might be cruel to say this, but in order to make a wiser decision any assets with great depreciation value will be sold or 'leased'. Anyone with over $500k annual income is not a fool; we would only date you, but will not marry you.

Tea Review : Lao Tong Zhi (Revisited)

After passing some of the Lao Tong Zhi Cooked tea leaves to experiment, he came back with a way to brew this tea. I had previously left it out in the open to dry for quite a few days.

After the water boiled, I immediately poured into the tea pot and rinsed away the first brew in less than 15secs. I repeat the same process once more. I noticed this 2nd brew of golden brown colored tea which I had poured onto my pot. Initially I thought I could have rinsed off the essence of the tea. I was expecting disappointment or should I say, already feeling disappointed.

However I did a quick brew of 15secs, and quickly pour into the big cup which I always used to enjoy my tea. I tried to smell for the fragrance but there was none. I left it alone to simmer down to slightly below room temperature. I took my first sip..... My eyes nearly popped out of the eyes socket !! No, I wasn't by the tea of course. I was totally awaken by this tea !! Like what they used to say, " Its Alive !!!"

I had expected a bland taste since its already the 3rd brew. The taste of old medicated oil used for rubbing of bruises filled my mouth. The first sip re-energize my body instantly. Simply love this taste. The taste of the tea flow as one from the tip of the tongue then down the throat. No after taste at all. At the end of it all, I gave off this Ahh.... Not many tea can make me do that. The taste oil matured medicated oil or medicine has always been my favorite. Two thumbs up for Lao Tong Zhi Cooked Tea. Both the cooked and raw tea Lao Tong Zhi tea live up to its name.
Enough of me talking, nothing beats trying out for yourself. Are you slivating already? Hahaha....

Tea Review: Mengku Mu Ye Tun 2007

Just recieved my new tea and was eagered to try it out.





Its another tea cake from Mengku Mu Ye Tun 2007. I proceed with my first brew and was able to smell the fragrance of the tea from a distant away from the sampling cup,"Wen Xiang Bei".

After pouring the first brew over my tea pot, I prepared the 2nd brew and let the tea simmer abit before tasting. Curious to know how it taste like ? Well, its sweet the moment it touched my tongue. I started to slivate right away. If you have tasted Lao Tong Zhi 2003 before, it tasted something similar. Its just that Lao Tong Zhi has a stronger taste. But I still think it fair pretty well for a young tea. It already has the take of a old tea despite its an '07. I'm confident in due time, it will mature to have even a better taste than Lao Tong Zhi. The sweetness of this tea lingers in my mouth for at least 1/2 Hr.

I'm one of the latest that tried this tea and many before me have given very positive feedback about it. But what I am going to say is going to excite many dieting ladies out there. We actually have some guys that are delighted by its dieting effect, loosing inches off the waist. What surprises us most is their diet consist of high cholestrol and calories food. Imagine how much cholestrol when your diet are food prepared with coconut milk and chilli oil.

Having written to this point, its been almost an hour since I took the tea. My tummy is beginning to growl in hunger.. Hehe... Supper time !!

Test Your Own Personality

I'm a keen reader of self improvement and personality tests books. Lately I've thought about whats racing throught people's mind when they say something. Therefore I've come up with another test of my own.

Question: Do you really mean it when you say, "Its ok that I miss this chance, I'll
wait for the next one to come by." ?

Probably you might want to ask whether are consoling yourself when you say those words when a chance is missed.

Pu Er Preparation.

Got this off from the net. Hope you guys will find it useful

How to prepare compressed Pu-erh tea in a Congou style?
Step 1: Pry 3-5g tea off with Pu-erh Knife and add tea leaves to a Yixing teapot or Gaiwan.

Step 2: Pour boiling water into the teapot, give the tea leaves a rinse for 20 seconds. Then draining the water out, leaving only the soaked tea leaves

Step 3: Fill the teapot with boiling water again, cover the lid. After steeping 20 seconds or longer (according to your desired strength), the tea can be poured into a tea pitcher to be served.

Step 4: repeat step 3 for several times. Gradually increase steeping time for subsequent brewing.


How to store Pu-erh properly?

To store Pu-erh tea properly, put it in a dry place with good ventilation. Never store Pu-erh tea air-tight or put in the moisture or close to goods with peculiar smell.

Benefits of Tea.

Chinese tea is all - natural . It is very rich in tea tannin, vitamins (such as B1, B2, C, P, E, etc.), chlorophyll and many other healthy elements. Chinese tea helps lowering fats and cholesterol in the blood stream, helps digestion, and also acts as an antibacterial agent & antioxidant, plus many other benefits. Drinking Chinese tea regularly will help improve the body's immune system and will definitely quench your thirst.

Tea Review: Lao Tong Zhi 2005 (Cooked)

I was excited after getting my hands on some new tea. However I did not have the chance to try it out til the next day. I had bought this Lao Tong Zhi, both cooked and raw. I make my usual preparations to make my tea. However I was treated to sheer disappointment. It was no where compared to its raw counterpart. The taste was bland and it tasted nowhere compared to some of the cheaper tea which I had before. I guess this could be due to the fact that I'd been enjoying too much of the Yunan Tuo Cha. Hope the taste will change for the better in the next couple of years. Meanwhile its been chuck away.

My New Tea Collection:

Which Category Do You Belong To?

A) Let Nature Takes Its Course
B) Sit And Wait What Happen

Have you ever wonder, which type of mentality do you fall in ?

Tea + Dark Choc

I've been taking dark chocolate after reading this report about how its anti dpressing (phenyl ethylamine) capabilities if taken daily.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20040601/dark-chocolate-day-keeps-doctor-away
This is not exactly where I read the report but it talks about the actual benefits of dark chocolates.

Not long after, I picked up the habit of drinking chinese tea. What started out as pot admiration, got me into this tea drinking habit. I started to learn about the benefits of drinking tea.

What surprises me more is that I've never felt this good before. I used to be quite a paniky person. I realised lately I don't feel a bit paniky at all. What I feel it just be the combined chemical effect of dark chocolate and tea acting on the body.
But I'm not suggesting that anyone that has paniky try what I'm doing. Just to see if anyone can explain this in terms of medical science here.

Something from Sunday

I was slacking at home after coming home from fishing. There are two shows which I always tried to catch on SCV every sunday. Firstly its the american choppers show called OCC. I love the bikes despite the fact I don't have the license to ride one. Simply love how they customise the bikes. The other show is actually a supernatural investigation show called Ghost Hunting.

There's this team called TAPS that does the investigation on locations either reported by the owner of house or base on sightings. Many a times of course nothing much or concrete was captured on film. But have you ever wondered why nothing was ever captured on film? I know this sound spooky. My hp rang and gave me a fright at this very moment. I was suppose to be frightening you with what I am about to write.

My brother sort of know someone who's friend is involve in hauntings investigation.
Once there was this house which was said to be haunted. At this moment, my goosebumps has stood up already. The house has been sealed and thus investigation can only be carry out from the outside of the house through the limited sighting and gaps into the house. Motion detectors and cameras were setup. Thats when things go wrong.

After setting up the equipment, they left for a few hours before they headed back to collect the results. Upon returning, they were all surpised that most of the equipments had not function the way they were supposed to be. However, one of the motion detector did sense something inside the house. Since they have no access to the house, they could only make wild guesses of whats in the house.

Now probably this might not have sound frightening afterall.
Such investigations relay on the use of night cameras. I was curious to almost wanting to set up my camera overnight to see if I can "catch" anything. But on second thought, I drop that idea. I'm thinking.... What if I really caught something??!! I'd be scared the hell out of me. But frankly speaking, its not as if I haven't seen "it" before. Just that I refrain myself from coming into contact from such stuff as much as possible. I have a friend that is so curious about such stuff and kept asking if we can "teach" him to see. Yes I know, I can't believe he said that as well.

My Trip To Taiwan

These are some pictures which I took during my trip to Taiwan, Taipei. I must say, not only the girls there are pretty, on top of that they have a very orderly train system. Their people boarded and alighted the train in an orderly manner. Even on the escalator, they observe the rule of standing to one side ( for them its on the right). If only Singapore can observe such courtouesy. Anyway, enjoy the pictures.

The Famouse Taipei 101 Tower

The speed of the elevator "1010 metre per min"

On my way to Dan Shui, saw this gorgeous mountain

This is the Taiwanese style Ice Kacang. Its featured on TV before.

This is a famous food in Taiwan. Dao Pock stuffed with vermicelli, the secret is in the red sauce. Taste like sweet sauce. And there's their "Fu Zhou" fishball. Nothing special about the Bao though.

This is the infamous Yue Lao Temple. Singles, remember to visit this temple when you are there in Taipei to ask for blessings

My Tea Set

Here are some pictures of my tea and tea set. Feast on them.

Tea Set given to me by a good friend to help me start my tea drinking habit. Right pot is my favourite "Red Zhu Ni" pot.

Lao Ban Zhang

Tuo Cha

Philosophy on Tea Drinking

Lately I haven't been blogging. That's because I've devoted more time to tea drinking. You might ask, whats there to spend so much time on tea? Isn't it at most learning the proper steps to making tea? Well my answer is no. Let me tell you why as you read on.

Basically I find tea drinking very much similar to experiences in life. Lets start by first look at making tea. Before you get to taste your tea, you got to boil the water before you infuse your tea. Now, the thing with tea is that you don't drink the first infusion. You pour the first infusion into a cup which in is used to pour the infusion over the teapot. This is called "Yang Hu" (Feeding or maintaining your teapot. More on how this is similar to life later. )

Now, you pour in the next round of boiling water and waited for the 2nd infusion to be ready. And yes, you got your tea in your tea cup and you eagerly took the sip. Guess what happen? You scalded your tongue. Does this reminds you of lesson learnt about not jumping to conclusions or making decisions without first considering?

Ok, probably you think this don't happen all the time? Yes I agree with you. Probably the experienced tea drinkers know that its not advisable to take anything more than a big sip for the first sip. But, I must add that even the experienced make such mistakes. Its about coping with the eagerness in us.

Ok, probably you didn't really get to realise the taste of the first cup of tea.
You readied yourself, not wanting to make the similar mistake as the first. You took the first sip very slowly (once bitten twice shy) and carefully. You then take a bigger sip after confirming the temperature is alright. You gulp down on the third.
The look on your face tells me you don't like the tea. You suspected its the amount of time that you took to infuse the tea leaves. Refusing to give up, you decided to try to the best taste out of the tea by varying the length of infusion. But no matter how many times you tried, you just don't get the taste you expected.

Its the same in life, sometimes things just don't go your way no matter what you do and however hard you try. Have you ever though it might have been something else? Probably the tea leaves isn't those that is going to produce your desired taste.
In life, we got to take different approaches. Do not limit yourself to a narrow prospective.

I guess some of those reading this now might be raising their eyebrows about drinking tea, thinking its really a hassle to make your own thing. Yes, there's always the nearest tea joints or the coffee shops to quench your tea cravings. I beg to differ. Its a sense of satisfaction for me to drink the tea I make myself.

More on my philosophy on tea drinking later on in my blog.

Pictures Recap : Bangkok

I found some pictures which I have taken from when I was in bangkok about 2 years back. It was a trip worth remembering since its my first time there after that many years working without a break. This series of my pictures are of fruits. That was the first time I've ever seen fruits of such beautiful colors. I'll just let the pictures do the talking as of now.

About My Cheese

I listened to an ex-colleague spoke about his feeling on his career at this moment of time which sparked me to write something out of it.

I decided to tell him about a book that motivated me. I can say that this is the book that has changed the way I wan to lead my life completely.
This book is entitled "Who Moved My Cheese?"

Well I can see some people raised their eyebrows here.
Anyway, if you have not read it before, the story is about 4 mice, each other different mentalities about cheese. The author portrays men as mice, insearching for "better quality and more cheese", which is the equivalent of better life and living conditions.

As such, I was telling him I used to be just like the clueless mouse that does not know what to do. There's this motivational morale to this story and that is "What would you do if you are not afraid?" Basically its to encourage people to disway the thought of thinking of failure without even trying.

Its really motivational for me. If it can change my life, I bet it might just changed yours too.

QiGong

Lately I've got this feeling that my body isn't functioning as it used to be. I felt weaker and more subtle to being sick. This evening, while having my 2nd pot of tea, I decided to do some QiGong. Being clueless about QiGong, I scour the internet for some basic stance. I came across this site which spoke about the effects of drinking tea and practicing QiGong. I was simply delighted !! I read on, though it was really informative about tea, but it spoke little on the practice of QiGong. I bookmarked the site and started the next round of search for QiGong techniques.

Managed to find this site which offers free lessons online. I was eagered to try out the first stance, called the Lifting Water.

With both hands on either sides of the body while standing, slowly raise the hands and inhale at the same time. Upon reaching a level perpendicular to the shoulders, slowly lower both hands and exhale. The ultimate aim is to achieve relaxation.
I felt great after doing it a few times and could somehow feel the "Qi" inside me circulating. Try it to believe.

Saturday Night At Home

Was feeling bored over what to do at home on a Sat night when this struck me. I had been feeling the accumulation of gases in my stomach over the last few days probably due to the moon cakes. I guess age is catching up now and mentabolism has dropped. I remembered this new tea set which was given to me by a good friend and decided to take it out to make some tea.

After boiling the tea pot for an hour, it was finally ready for its virgin brew of tea. I sat back and enjoyed the tea to my heart's content. Cheers.

An Interesting Picture

Was out taking pictures and spotted this sign on the leg of a bench. I guess dogs poot there quite often.

Sweet Memory: Fishing Childhood

Everyone has something that they remembered from their childhood days. This is one which I have better memory of.

I was about 9yrs of age when my dad brought me and my younger brother to fish. Back then the park which we go to was clean and the water was clear. My dad is a believer of purely line and hooks. We do not need to bring any baits as earthworms were easily available on the rich soil then. Back then I can never figure out how he felt the fish bitting at the end of the line. He pulled fish out of the water like a magician pulling rabbit out of the magic hat.

I have this fishing rod (which I still kept in my store room now due to sentimental values) back then without a reel. Even back then, the rod had lost most of the guides. As I was penniless at that age, I saw some metal wire and thus coil them around the rod in place of the missing guides.

My younger brother and I decided to save up for this reel (Silstar, back then is really a big brand). We bought it and was eagered to try it out. But it seems my brother's liking for fishing died off after the reel was bought. Partly it was due to the fact that we weren't allow to fish without our dad following.Thus the reel and rod was left to sit in a corner of the room.

It was til secondary school days where I have more activities like bbq and chalets where the reel and rod were brought into action again. Most of the time I fished away from the others as to avoid being seen with my mediocre rod. Thus I never really learnt the techniques of fishing. But I really enjoyed those fishing days.

There was one incident which I remembered clearly til today.
It was a chalet and we decided to go to the jetty for some fishing. I brought the mediocre rod and a roll of handline. The handline got a grouper and soon we were making hell lot of noise on the rod. Our noise attracted attention of people around the jetty. The line was constantly getting pulled under the jetty by something.
We were expecting our catch anytime soon and indeed it was meant to be.
We saw 2 figures fighting to get the bait (too bad there was only a bait on the line)
We could make out one of the figure was a reddish color fish but we couldn't make out the other. Somehow the unknown figure got the bait and I pulled it out of the water. To my amazement, everyone of my classmates ran away from me !! I was looking confused and frightend !! (Hey where's everyone ??!!)

Guess what ?! I brought up this eel and one of them shouted snake !! Everyone backed away while I brought up the "snake" and let it coil and turn on the floor. An onlooker fellow angler saw me clueless as to what to do with the "snake" offered to take it away to use as bait. After which the whole group of us started laughing at ourselves for being so gutless. Haha.... Well so what sweet memories do you have of your childhood?

An Enjoyable Weekend

My friend and I decided to go for a good dinner accompanied by a wine session. He offered to pick the tab that night but that was not what makes the dinner enjoyable. We ordered our food from the restaurant owner who designed the dishes on the spot. He handpicked a bottle of fine redwine to go with the food. I must say it sure was excellent. Never have I tasted redwine to go so well with white meat. I'll let the pictures do the talking. And please... Clean your saliva after reading.

Baked Mahi Mahi with Almonds

Beef in Brown Sauce.

Stay tune for more food entries to come.

Customer Service Part 1

Someone actually gave me some idea to write about customer service. This is just Part 1 of the many parts that you will read about customer service.
I sure have quite abit to talk about here. All in all,I've been in customer service for maybe more than 9yrs I guess.

I started out working at the supermarket after the O' levels and after which I served the nation for 2.5yrs. Well some might consider that to be some kind of "customer service" as well. Imagine...How hard it is to please your Encik ,OC and CO when you are made to clean your weapons and prepare your vehicles til "Gee Lat Gee Lat" (Singaporean's way of saying tip top condition) for checks.

So whats the first thing that I was taught when I started my career in customer service?
Well its the rule of of "Customer Is Always Right". Oh ! I can feel some readers right now pointing their middle fingers into the screen right now. Yes, I feel thats rubbish as well especially when you meet nasty customers. I don't support this rule but that does not mean I did not do my best when I was performing my duties. You will understand more as you read on.

Every counter staff or manager will be have role-switch after work. Meaning,they become customers to some form of service when they finish their work.
One that strongly believe in that rule will have this psychological impact when they are out of their working roles. So now they become the nasty customers. Since there's this change if role, expectation is been build up upon the customer service thats serving them. Basically its very much like a boomerang effect.

More on customer service in the next few entries. Stay tune.

Raffles Place Part 2

Think some might be waiting for this Part 2. Ok here it is.

Have anyone ever wonder whats it like during lunch time during Raffes Place ? No, I'm not asking those that are working "In" Raffles Place already. Well.... As some might have seen re-enactment of this in some tv shows/local movies, you'll see alot of tissue paper packets lying around. No! Its not because they have forgotten to take it along with them or have littered after they have finished their meals there.
They are actually used as a marker to tell others that those seats have been taken.

For me, my first experience having lunch in Raffles Place really bewildered me. Its really an ugly sight. It really distinguish the Raffles Place Singaporeans from other areas. I mean.. do you see that in neighbourhood? If tissue paper is bad enough, I myself have seen handphones and and even security passes used to reserve seats. What are those fellas thinking....

Raffles Place Part 1

Have anyone tried taking a walk during the bust hours of Raffles Place before?
Jostling with the crowd right from the moment you step out of Raffles Place Mrt.

Once out the gantry, if you have ever seen Kranji Racecourse before, that's exactly the same scene. People rush left and right for the nearest escalator.

If you have ever been to Raffles Place Mrt before, oh yes.. its filled with shops and boutiques now. I guessed those shops really helps those that really need some form of retail theraphy during working hours.

Anyway if you turn left once you exit from the gantry, you will complete with a crowd of "jockeys",which most of them will continue to "race" towards the tunnel leading up to One Raffles Quay or Lau Pat Sat. There are good reasons why I used the word "race" towards the tunnel. Ok lets picture this... Has anyone seen those migrating beasts that trots across the dessert to get to their next destination?
Oh yes.. Thats almost like it. Or some might want to compare it to the F1 race when one tries to overtake the slower high-heeled lady infront.

But this is just Part 1 of it. Part 2 happens when the beasts rashes back to where they come from. The same thing happen again the next day and the day after. I'm just too sick for all this. If you do not know, my fren, Singapore is ranked one of the world fastest walking speed countries. See... another display of everything also want to be top.

Stay tune for Part 2.

A Brief History.

Well I guess some might ask : Who's this fella thats writting this blog.
Here's a brief history about me.

I graduated from a polytechnic in 1999. After serving 2 yrs of what most guys would call, Liao Shi Gang (Waste Time), NS, I came into the working society in 2001.

I was fortunate to have found my first job from my first interview attempt.
Those were the days when the economy was still recovering. However the economy did not recover much before it was hit by SARS. Therefore I tide over the recovery in this company over 6 yrs. I got my Long Service Award of cause,but who cares anyway.

After 6 endearing years of running around town to get my bucks, I decided to pen down my own experiences and what other fellow Singaporeans have to say. Be it hilarious, sad or whatever feelings that you got from reading, I hope you enjoy your stay here.