New Bumper for the New Year


Adrian brought his "baby" to the workshop to have her pierced bumper replaced this morning. Yes, we got our fair compensation and now, the car looks great for the New Year. Yeah...!!!

Tones Auto Body Shop did a great job. Don - the owner, has been in the business for more than 40 years. A no-nonsense and very experienced auto body repairer.

Brand new bumper - all painted and ready for installation

Ta-da! Our car has a new, shiny "butt" for 2008

A Tribute to All Things Beautiful

A slide show of flowers, plants and gardens to the music of "Ladies in Lavender".



Photos: Serenity's collection. Software: Nikon PictureProject ~ Pictmotion.

Utterly Disappointed!


Over the holidays, there's not much going on so we decided to go to the theaters. We were thinking - National Treasure: Book of Secrets or I am Legend. We haven't seen a Will Smith movie in a while and we thought after all the rave reviews, we should see him for a change.

Let me say this. The reviewers must be bought or something. Will Smith is no doubt, a great actor. He holds three quarters of the film well. Conversations with Sam, his faithful K9 companion and dealing with day-to-day life dodging the zombie like mutants, simply known as "The Infected". A bit slow for our liking. Moving but *yawns*...

The movie goes downhill with the emergence of the holier-than-thou Anna & Ethan. They are also immune to the virus. So, you see - Smith isn't exactly the last man on earth, in the normal sense that is. There's a colony of normal humans "somewhere out there".

When "The Infected" and his cohorts go all out on Neville (Smith), Anna & Ethan, the movie is already nearing the end. In a matter of 15-20 minutes, everything is over. Is that it?! Yes. The storyline is very cliche thanks to all the zombie movies available out there. (Hint: 28 Days Later, Night of the Living Dead, blah, blah). The ending - too abrupt and lame. Luckily, we only paid matinee prices.

My verdict: Go and see National Treasure: Book of Secrets.

Happy Holidays!


The holiday season is an exciting time to visit New York City, though not for the faint hearted or those with social anxiety disorder. Even I thought I needed Zoloft. The entire City is like a stampede about to happen. Talk about population density! With the strong Euro and the weak US Dollar, there's an influx of tourists off late. I'm sure the souvenir shop proprietors must be very happy.

Yes, it's only a few days to the New Year and tourists from all over the world are headed towards the big ball in the East the Crossroads of the World. No doubt they will be jostling for a spot to view the famous Waterford Crystal & Philips Lighting sponsored ball drop at Times Square this coming Monday night.

They hoisted the ball today. No kidding. We saw it going up slowly at snail pace this morning. Here it is. All ready to drop.

Even the stage is ready for some serious entertainment and partying.

Well, we plan to herald in the New Year from the comforts of our living room (as usual) watching Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve 2008. The idea of having to stand in one spot for 6-8 hours and not being able to pee or sit isn't very inviting to us. If you leave your spot, you won't be able go back in. Vultures will be hovering by the edge ready to pounce on your vacant spot.

With these Charmin Bears so near your viewing area, you'll be thinking, "So near, yet so far." And your instant New Year's Resolution: I will not pee in my pants on New Year's Eve.

Anyway, it's too early to be talking about 2008. It is still the holiday season so let's rewind a little bit to the theme at hand.


Rockefeller X'mas Tree
The famous tree looks a bit withered. But, still so regal and strong.



Saks Fifth Avenue X'mas Window
One of my absolute favorite things to do. Admire the window dressing and listen to the stories that go along with it. A sure crowd pleaser as you can see from the photos below:

Hoards of people crowd at the Saks window. Ages 1 to 90+.

Some of the moving displays...

Penny Harvest Field at Rockefeller Center
Taking the meaning "every penny counts" to a whole new level.

The 100 million pennies collected by students in NYC on display at the Penny Harvest Field.

Pennies, more pennies, a sea of pennies!

Do you think this would work in Malaysia? I think by the end of the day, the harvest field would be "fully-harvested". Where did the pennies disappeared to??? Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!

X'mas Eve Dinner


We went to Mass at 5.30 p.m. on X'mas Eve and came home to a familiar dinner. Just to remind us of X'mas back home. A whole turkey would be too big for the two of us. Anyway, nobody eats turkey for X'mas over here. That's so passe since the bird was just eaten for Thanksgiving. We ordered these take outs from Satay earlier during the day. It took us 2 hours to pick up the food due to overzealous X'mas shoppers. Seriously, why do people have to leave their shopping till the last minute?! I just don't understand.


Well, it's X'mas afterall, so we thought a little treat would be nice - beef rendang, chicken/beef satay, tulang api & kangkung belacan. Yum! Enough to last us 2 meals :).

Getting into the Spirit

This is it. Only a few days left before the BIG day. We have a tree this year. Yipee! Der Weihnachtsbaum, O Tannenbaum - the epitome of X'mas. No matter how small your apartment is, you ought to have one to get into the spirit of things. Hehe!

This is my 3 footer, plastic fir tree - if you really want to save the trees, this is a better option :) No need to go out into the woods in search of the perfect tree.

Presents from Down Under

This year's birthday and X'mas is extra sweet with the arrival of a special package from Perth, Australia. Trish, my BFF since our college days at ECU is always so thoughtful and kind. Her husband, Milko was on a business trip here earlier this week and he posted the package a few days ago.

Trish, United States Postal Service is surprisingly "super-efficient". Don't worry. I got your package this morning. Here's proof that it reached us safely :)


Thank you so, so much! I am really missing Cadbury Chocolates and I love Delta Goodrem. I heard her singing with Westlife and she has a GREAT voice. She's also a talented songwriter and one of the songs she co-wrote: "Eyes on Me" was recently recorded by Celine Dion.

I'm listening to her CD now :) What a treat!

You're an angel and thank you - Milko, for carrying the gifts all the way from Perth. I can't wait to see you all next year. Waiting for you here in NYC :)

~xxxoooxxx~
(you can see how grateful I am by the nos. of x's & o's...haha!)

Another year older...

Another year wiser, so they say. Today, my Grandpa & Grandma in spite of their hearing difficulties (they are 94 and 90 respectively), called from Malaysia to wish me "Many Happy Returns." I miss them a lot during this time of the year; with X'mas and New Year just around the corner.

Today is also Eid-al-Adha or Hari Raya Haji/Korban (Feast of Sacrifice) in Malaysia. It's a public holiday to commemorate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son as God had instructed him. Of course, we all know that this was just a love test by the Great One and a sheep/ram later took the place of Abraham's son on the sacrificial table.

If Abraham found today testing some two thousand years ago, I too felt tested in some way. It is not because I'm a year older but because of the physical distance between my grandparents and I. I wish I could be there for them during their twilight years but we don't know what God's plans are for us, so we have to carry on with our lives as it is.


Though I won't be home with them for the holidays, I am looking forward to seeing them next year. 2008 is an important year for both of them. Grandpa & Grandma were married in June 1938. Next year is their 70th. Wedding Anniversary. If we look at the list of wedding anniversaries, there's no specific gem associated with this anniversary. That aside, my grandparents are definitely not looking for diamonds or platinum. What they are yearning for is never material and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what matters most to them. Family.

Advent

In this world of commercialism and capitalism (Macy's is having a 24-hour shop-a-thon starting December 21st.), people tend to forget the true meaning of X'mas. I am also one of those people who tend to look at the forthcoming holidays as a time to eat, drink & be merry. It is still the season of Advent and therefore, should be a time for reflection and preparation for the birth of J.C. The priest did a good job at drilling this message into my head. I am feeling very guilty, right now :(

Anyway, took this photo of Jesus' Nativity while out on an evening walk last Friday night. Yes, in between Thursday and the weekend's storm, we had a night of calm.

Nativity Scene taken using the Nikon Coolpix P5100 without a tripod

It is nice to see decorations depicting the reason why we celebrate December 25th. every year.

Did I say "eat, drink & be merry" earlier on?

See, this is not an example Santa should be setting for the kids. Tsk, tsk, tsk!

Writers Strike, Broadway Strike, etc.

In the world of entertainment, when the word "strike" comes up, one has to be prepared for re-runs on TV and a stop in movie production. Which means, this is the perfect time to catch up on movies I haven't seen this summer. So far, I've consumed: Spiderman-3, Shrek The Third, Ocean's Thirteen, The Bourne Ultimatum & Mr. Bean's Holiday. Next on my list are Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Ratatouille.

Due to the strike, TV networks are trying to stretch the series as far as they can. Last night, we were treated to rare new episodes of my two favorite series on CW11; Smallville & Supernatural. I've friends back home who are big fans of these two shows so I am not about to disclose anything to spoil their viewing pleasure.

Meanwhile, I'm going out to grab more DVDs because any activities this coming weekend has to take a back seat to mother nature. *sigh*

New Toy

Adrian & I have been eye-ing this camera for a couple of months now. When he spotted a supercalifragilistic deal online 2 weeks ago, we immediately became proud owners of the Nikon P5100. This digital camera features a lens that takes wide and telephoto converters and a hotshoe with support for an external flash. Its predecessor the P5000 had some kinks in it but all has been rectified in the P5100. It has been getting rave reviews from prosumers.

We're thinking of road testing the camera at night, taking photos of X'mas decorations around the neighborhood. Unfortunately, we are getting a second round of N'Easter so we'll have to wait.

Ta-da!

Nikon Coolpix - P5100

I've been using the Coolpix range since 2001 and yes, I am biased. Nikon makes good cameras.

Sick & Tired of Careless Drivers & A "Difficult" Mother

As if one accident in a month isn't enough, we were hit in the behind again last Saturday at the intersection of East Anderson St. & River St. around 12.45 p.m. This time the left part of the bumper is scratched & dented, with some visible cracks at point of impact.

Point of impact & scratches

Dent at the left rear bumper

More scratches at the lower part of the bumper

Side dent to the left

Top area of the bumper - little "vein-like" crack due to the impact

The driver was a teenager with a Provisional Driver's License; just issued this year. He told us that he wanted to consult his Mom and preferred to settle directly without going through the insurance. Fair enough since he is a probationary driver, he wouldn't want any police record/penalty points for FAILURE TO STOP and an eventual increase in his insurance premium.

We collected the estimate from the agreed body shop and it came up to $306; for the damages incurred only to the left side of the bumper. Today, I went to meet the Mom to collect the money and #@#$! Just as I thought, she tried to piggy back on our previous accident saying that since we're getting repairs done from the previous bender, she shouldn't be charged $306. Instead, she tried to wriggle her way to a short-changed amount of $100 or $150! What the #@$! She dared ask for a discount when her kid's at fault.

Not happy with the situation, Adrian called up our insurance and they confirmed that regardless of the situation, it should be considered a SEPARATE ACCIDENT! Then, she began to rant some sob story to Adrian while I was freezing my ass off on a 31F morning, that her son is a good boy, mild mannered, straight A student, just lost his father, blah, blah, blah!

I mean, come on woman! You are not the only person in this world that has lost a love one. Jeez!!! Like the insurance said, "Business is business." Your emotional drama is yours to keep & I certainly have no interest what-so-ever in your personal life. To me, she is just being a sneaky @!#$% by spinning her son's tale. What about us?!!! Calling us dishonest for a legitimate estimate from her own preferred body shop?! Spare us the emotional drama, woman! We are the VICTIM here!!!

It is a good thing that we did report the accident with our own insurance. At least we have a file online if things get messy. If option #1 fails, let the insurance fight it out.

Today's post is very unlike Serenity's daily blogs but shit happens, so I have to rant.

Adrian's New Abode

Adrian moved from Chelsea Market to Park Avenue last month. His new office is, unfortunately, an old building near the Empire State Building. He doesn't have a direct view and one has to "crane" his/her head out in order to see it. Haha! At least he has his own room now. Although new, this will be his temporary abode until a permanent office space is finalized. He is hoping that the Time Square location will ultimately come true. Which means, no more subways and a more "happening" area as well.

In the mean time, this will do.

Adrian and his Fish! Pete the Perch (orange toy to the right)

***********************************************************

On another note, let's not forget what today is...

"Greetings & Happy Hanukkah to our friends, Rima & Adi in Philly."

Shalom!

Shortbread Cookies

Serenity's X'mas Shortbread Cookies

I was browsing through the weekend pull-outs for coupons and sales when I saw this easy recipe for shortbread cookies. It had peppermint candy in them originally but I decided to make mine plain.

• Prep Time: 20 mins.
  
• Bake Time: 25-30 mins. Enough time to write and publish a post & Bob's Your Uncle!
• Makes: a little over a tray. If you like your cookie size bigger then you'll yield less pieces. I made about 19 pieces with this measurement.
  

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened (no substitutes, please)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup corn starch
parchment paper to line your baking tray/sheet - makes cleaning easier afterwards!

Mix butter, sugar & vanilla using an electric mixer. Slowly blend in flour & corn starch.

Form 1 inch balls and place on parchment paper lined baking sheets. No need to bother with cookie cutters. Just use a flat bottom glass, dipped in sugar to prevent sticking and press gently on each cookie.

Bake in preheated oven - 300F for 25-30 mins. or until bottom begins to brown.

Cool and remove to a wire rack. Go crazy with the decorations!

This is mine. X'mas theme in accordance with the holidays and neatly packaged for Adrian to bring to the office. It's time to spread some good cheer, even if you're not celebrating X'mas.


From the recipe...
Karo Cookie Decorating Tip: When decorating holiday cookie cut-outs with sprinkles, brush lightly with corn syrup and the sprinkles and candy will stick.

FYI, I didn't make the X'mas candy toppers. I bought them from the store for $1.80. It comes in a sheet of about 16 pieces. Peel them off from the paper (like a sticker) and use them to decorate your cakes, cupcakes, ice-cream, desserts, etc.

Fosterfields Farm

From Speedwell, we took the shuttle to Fosterfields living historical farm. This 200-acre farm has many educational activities and demonstrations of 1920s farming methods and life. Very interesting indeed!

Left-overs from Thanksgiving....Gobble, Gobble, Gobble! Perhaps they were singing "I will survive" in turkey language???

When one is walking around the farm, this is a common sight. It's a good thing the snow didn't camouflage the dung ;)

I could have sworn he was smiling at me!

This piggy loved the fence so much, he kept licking it. Hey, what about some slop, instead?

Baa Ram Ewe! I think I might have startled this one.

A-Ha! So this is where Santa's been hiding his sleigh. Try looking in the barn next time kids.

Fosterfields from "The Willows".

Fosterfields in Morristown, New Jersey.
Courtesy of Webshots

The Willows was the home of Caroline Foster from the time she was 4 until her death at age 102. She was the only daughter/child of Charles Foster who purchased the house from General Joseph W. Revere, the grandson of patriot - Paul Revere; along with the rest of the farm in the 1880s.

As usual, photography wasn't allowed. We were asked to help preserve The Willows by walking on specially laid-out runners only. We were shown how the Fosters would decorate their house for X'mas in the 1920s; with unusual trinkets to German feather-trees. That year, Caroline Foster received a very grand X'mas gift from her friends - a 1922 Model T Ford that she used to drive to Connecticut by herself. It took her 8 hours to reach her favorite Aunt's place. Being a free-spirited socialite, the guide described her as a person who would "smoke everything". Her father didn't approve of her owning a car until a year later and complained that she drove too fast at 20 mph. Okayyyy...!

The moment we entered the house, we could smell something nice coming from the kitchen. So, let's check out what's for dinner on X'mas Day in 1922.

Starters:

Mushroom savories

Baked scallops with herb & garlic

Soup:

Parsnip soup

Brown bread

Entree:

Roast beef & potatoes with sesame green beans

Desserts:

Plum pudding

Bread pudding

Apple Syllabub

For the kids:

Plum candies - only for children who are well-behaved.

I know for sure who will not be getting this candy. The smart-alec, "Miss-Know-It-All" kid in our group that would not stop talking and kept on interrupting the guide. Missy also nearly took off the flimsy curtain on the door. Such a pesky kid! *snarls*