Day 3: Greg & Nee in Jeju City

In case that made your jaw drop, NO, we did not go to Jeju island again. We don't have that much money.

We haven't been updating our blog for quite sometime now, and our posts on our Jeju holiday got left behind like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone.

We thought that was unfair & that it's best to finish up the unfinished business. My mom used to tell me if you start something, make sure you do it well, and finish it off.

There's not much to see in Jeju City itself as most breathtaking touristy spots are spread out along the other coastal areas of the island. Nevertheless, if you happen to be there, you should take a walk along the promenade which starts somewhere at the Ramada Plaza Hotel.

By the way, the abalone porridge place which we were at that morning was just behind this hotel.

The promenade was clearly done up for tourists, with designs & artwork that depict the beautiful sea creatures of the island.

But I could only see seafood.

And somewhere halfway through the promenade walkway, there's this set of stairs that went down into the deep blue waters.

And at a distance, we saw a strange army of orange bobbing things out at sea. That got Nee all excited. I seldom see her like that, except when she's near the vicinity of an LV store.

Holy North Korean spies! They've made it as far down south to Jeju! It looked like an invasion.

Then one of them casually climbed out of the waters & clambered onto the street. It wasn't Kim Jong Il, but an old lady instead, in a sexy black wet suit.

That was an amazing experience. We had just had an encounter with one of the legendary women divers of Jeju. And she was crossing the street to her house so casually like she was just returning from the fish market.


You really couldn't tell these divers were old ladies until they change into their everyday auntie gear.
And they're probably going home now to cook abalone porridge for their very healthy grandkids. Imagine growing up under these iron lung-ed ladies. You've just got to give them the respect cos they earned it.

Beef Bulgogi

It has been a while since we last updated our blogs. Sometimes we are just being lazy and sometime we are simply speechless with the conditions of our surroundings, literally. For one, the haze is pretty bad now and I am finding it quite hard to even take a breath in some instances.

But don't worry, Greg and Nee still eats & that is for sure. If one day comes when we start losing our appetite, the world would have probably been torn apart literally. Last night, we indulged ourselves with Four Points buffet with heaps of oysters and sashimi, and please try their satay next time - good stuff that one! It doesn't matter whether one is happy, sad, lost, depressed, or overjoyed, we'd still have to eat. At heart, all human beings just want to be happy with no worries about food, job and living. At heart, Nee will still always do what she knows best. Cooking and feeding Greg!

We had a good meal in Korea with Grilled Beef ribs. So I decided to try this when we got back. Bulgogi is not unlike Samgyeopsal, it is beef version, but marinaded. I checked out a couple of recipe books and found nashi pear in all of the them. And I think that made a whole lot of difference. We tried this two weeks ago with our cell group bunch as guinea pigs. And they love it. So please try it out.

You don't have to cook it over a table top. Just in the pan will do and serve over meal. If you want a better presentation, do the sizzling plate thingy. You can definitely wow your guests with this simple dish that looks like a complicated one.

Serve 5-6

500gm thin slices of sirloin, pre-order from Choice Daily
1 med carrot, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
5-6 slices of fresh shitake mushrooms, slicely

Marinade:
3 tbsp of korean soya sauce
2 tbsp of rice wine or sake
2 tbsp of brown sugar
1 tbsp of sesame oil
1 no of nashi pear, grated
2 no of spring onion
1/2 teasp of black pepper
1 teasp of garlic, more if you like garlic, we dont so we omit

1) Mix the marinade sauces and ingredients well in the bowl.

2) Place the meat slices in the bowl and marinade for at least 3 hours or overnight.

3) Heat up a flat pan and line it with some onion, shitake and carrot slices. Add marinade meat and grill it up to your liking. Dont overcook, meat may be slight chewy and cardboard like. Dish out and serve with garlic, korean chilli bean paste wrapped with raw greens just like samgyeopsal.

4) Repeat till all ingredients finish or stir fry the whole thing and place it on the sizzling hotplate. Serve immediately.

Best eaten with rice. So there you go, another simple dish.

Life with Passion

For the past few days, due to this and that at work, I wasn't exactly feeling like I was on top of the world and most of all, I was really questioning my job. As most readers would know, I am a civil engineer working as a lecturer in a public university. I quit from the industry more than 6 years ago and went into teaching, not because of the more flexible hours, nor because of it's 'fantastic' pay. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a noble character but I was really sick of my profession and the industry which if full of people who cannot and are not qualified to be called professionals.

Corruption, bribes, big boys bullying the small. Justice is for those who have more money and power. These are all common stuff. Engineers bowing down to employers, and contractors kiss the feet of engineers and employers, and the story goes on in every project. I am sick of being the only lady in the group of males who expect me to pay for every single meals after meetings just because I work as a contractor. For anything that goes wrong on site, it is never the engineer's fault, their excuses are so ridiculous, and I don't even know how they have the nerve to say it and if these people join the Tai-Chi category in Olympics, the Chinese will have to step aside.

There has to be a better way. This industry is really sick, like terminally ill.

6 years in university and more than 6 years of trying to do my best for these future engineers so that they can be better equipped and hoping that they go out with some integrity if they cannot remember anything else I lecture. Meanwhile, the industry has gone from bad to worse. And what's new?! The industry is just the miniature version of our government. The government probably thinks that we want to change them, but really, all we just want is for them to change the way they do things. But nothing has change. And If I say some more, I will soon be finishing my PhD in the detention camp in Sungai Buloh.

But yeah, back to the story, I was really praying very hard to God, asking him so very hard, what the hell am I doing in a place (which is like another miniature Malaysian government) that does not give me credit and appreciation for all the effort I put in. Is the university where God really wants me to be?

On Tuesday, I attended a course on contract management and I was caught in a jam from the campus all the way to Stutong. Was getting really agitated because I was running late. Then all of sudden, I remember Alvina sending us one of those encouragement email. This IS where God wants me to be. Right in the middle of jam. And I talked to Him for one whole hour, asking again and again the same question. It is indeed a very rare opportunity to have a one hour conversation with Him. At the end of it, I had the necessary peace in my mind and heart to sit in and listen to one of top authority in the area of study in this country.

And God finally answered my question, through firstly the speaker, and then a young man who came to discuss about his future career path. This is what God said,

"Why are you looking for appreciation and acknowledgment in this dirty and unfair place? Can't you see that I want you to love and focus on these young people? Yes, the society is a bad place. But don't complain. If you want it to be good, you have to start making sacrifices. Can't you see how you can affect the direction and thoughts of these young engineers that will be unleashed into society. Out of the 100 graduates each year, if just a handful can be good, the industry will be a better place, the society can improve and it may not be such a bad world after all."

But God, I am nobody. My work is probably not read and my students are probably sleeping half of the time.

"It is not about you. It is about Me making the changes. Appreciation and acknowledgment CAN'T be forced because it is from the heart, not the mouth. As long as you use your heart when you work, that's all you need to do"

So to all the sad people out there who only cares about what advantages they can dig out from another person, who spend so many hours trying to strategize and position themselves to get the best of everything and everyone, who can make differences but do not hestitate spoiling the minds of the young, who want everything yet not willing to give anything, you are sad because you are empty.

Something you really want with all your heart and soul is your passion. Well, now I know what I really want, reminded of what I really want. You can crush my body and spoil my day but you cant disturb my spirit because my God is my Boss and I only have Him to answer to and my belief that my work and my students will some day, one day make a small difference is as strong as ever. My chin is up because my life is filled with Passion! Thank you Lord!