Mini Project : Buku2 Malaysia

Posted in Mini Project by Minci 先生

It is time to get acquainted with our talented writers in the local scene. Hence, I couldn’t thank enough lejenpress for restoring my faith in reading Malay genre books after Kapal Angkasa Yang Terhempas Di Subang Jaya .

But lets not be greedy. Let’s take it one step at a time and make some ground rules regarding what kind of books I’d like on my shelf. Ones that I wouldn’t feel embarrassed to share with other people or show around when visitors come over to the house. We do want to appear well read, huh? HIhihihi..

Avoid picisan.

Avoid poor language. Slanga driven books. Im reading a book. Not a diary.

Avoid books that start with Tales of malaysian bla bla bla.. . In a way, avoid anecdote-like books. Or compilation of short stories.

Oh well. Talking about avoiding. I did start off the year with a book that himpunkan kisah2 pendek. It was by a blog writer. I was swooned by the title : Desaturasi Merah Jambu. It felt poetic and indie. I used to read Perempuan JOmblo’s blog religiously some time ago when I was a medical student but then I got absorbed into my daily routine as the nonappreciated, burnt out, love-less house officer working in a busy hospital. Thus, have missed out quite a lot over the years.

Now that I’m more stable *ahem* , I am able to indulge in my favourite pastime of scrap-booking, blog writing plus hopping and book reading. So it was nice to reconnect with her stories and boy.. a lot has happened it seems.

Anyway, this year will be an ode to our local writers. I welcome suggestions of books to read. Nothing too extreme I hope. Something different and mind-opening I plead. It doesn’t have to be written in Bahasa Melayu. In fact, some of our local writers write excellent English books. Here’s to a year of Buku2 Malaysia.

18Dec2014

An attempt at #mincibento

Posted in Food and Drinks, Mini Project, Parenting, Family and Relationships by Minci 先生

I am a fan of anything or anyone close to Kawaii (cuteness). That I have to constantly remind myself ,

“Minci..for gods sake. You are 31. Not 3”

I tried to tone down in allowing myself to be carried away with Kawaii-ness. I used a proper black Faber Castell Ball Pen 1423 1.0 although I am dying to use a ballpen with cute little trolls sitting at the edge when clerking my patients. I recently purchased 2 pairs of court shoes on sale (buy 2 for MYR80) despite wanting to parade around the whole Casualty Unit with striking heels heavily adorned with flowers and buttons. I wear proper professional clothing fit for the budaya koprat thingy as opposed to a gothic- lolita like dress with purple lipstick in the Red Zone.

An account on Instagram for the past few months however, shone an alternative way to channel these Kawaii-ness tendencies in a healthy, adult-y manner. I mean look at those adorable planners with stickers, the mind-blowing arrangement of books, the intricate designs of colourful cakes and pastries .. and my recent obsession; Bento Meals!

Bento Meals which not only looked cute but presumably healthy at the same time. I have to admit, it does require a hint of talent and creativity to produce such masterpiece! And it made me wonder and actually tried to korek that bit of bakat which I hoped is there. I know its there somewhere. Please.. I want to make my own bento..

Since I am on leave today. I decided to give it a go with the little tools I have and ones I manage to find from Daiso. Imagine this was Japan, I could get euphoric from the many available kits they sell there!

Recipe : Beef Rice with Beef Kurma Kismis

Inspired from Chef Hanieliza’s 1 hari 1 Resepi book ..

tweaked to suit the palate of a Sarawakian and her toddler.

A child version VS an adult version. ironic how the kids set looks bigger.. and heftier.

Followed by dessert : Corn and Raspberry Ice Cream served in a halved-cone with sprinkles.

Looking forward to making more #mincibento. Hehe..

19Aug2014

The Care Package for a New Mom ..

Posted in Good Things, Mini Project by Minci 先生

It took me the entire weekend to construct my very own Care Package for one of my besties who is due to give birth soon. Previously, I have been sending my other besties gifts from Diaper Cake & Such. This time I wanted to give this gift my special touch. So I decided to make my very own Care Package. Another Projek Parcel Kasih Sayang from MinciSensei.Com.

Things that I took in consideration included;

Budget
Time
Things that I would personally be grateful for if say, I were to give birth to my second child. LOL.

This dear friend of mine currently resides in Kuching. I had known her when I was a houseman in my first posting in the obstetric department. We were many characters apart. she was boisterous, loud and confident with her short hair. I was the quiet, ~~cute~~, ant-y type with a tudung. Amazingly, our unlikely friendship kicked off and by time we got to MO-Ship.. we actually went to Bali together for a short trip and did reckless, silly, sinful, undocumented things. Perghhh..

Inevitably, we began to drop out from each others radar for a while after I got married and moved to Malacca. I did not even know she got married after that!!! Speaking of being friends… H aha. Anyway, social media brought us together and soon enough I hear news of a ‘rockstar’ due to pop out.

In the package, I have included more of the Mom’s Things as opposed to baby stuff. In welcoming a new member of the family, people tend to remember the New and less of the existing member. Thus, I kind of paid more attention to what the mother might need.

In the box we have;

Reading Materials : I gave her my own recent copy of the Readers Digest and a book entitled Bringing Up Bebe for her reading pleasure is she needs it. The book was supposed to be a good book illustrating how French Women raised their children to be civil, well behaved little humans. I did not get past the 2nd chapter of the book as i felt the font was too crampy.
Personal hygiene stuff for herself and baby ; Cotton buds, wipes, masks (special edition Oppa Gangnam Style), magic towels, cleanser samples and nail clippers from Cambodia.
Accessories : Being a mother does not downgrade any woman to being ugly fugly. I included a mini fan to kipas herself during those hot heated moments of confinement.
Stationaries in a pencil case : Not that she really needs it but Confinement tends to unleash the shopaholic in you especially ONLINE shopping – she would need some pen and paper to jot things down.
Food and beverages : Cause you never know when you’ll become hungry in the middle of the night and the only thing you can have is water. LOL.
For Baby : a birthday card and a comfy blanket so he’ll remember his Aunty Keciko in Malacca. Kiss kiss.

I hope she likes it. Now I just have to remember to ship it.

12Aug2014

Green Fingers. I can actually grow stuff …

Posted in Good Things, Hobby/Interest, Mini Project by Minci 先生

I am blessed to have a mini patch of land within my house compound to grow things. It took a lot of lobbying and protests against Mr Husband to NOT TOUCH the land and let it be filled with greens. I don’t care if they were weeds or rumput biasa.. yang penting its not a concrete floor or a blardy swimming pool in this dengue prone area.

This small piece of land I have in the backyard is not just a land. In fact, it serves as a bonding medium between me and my mother. I actually let her grow stuff in this little garden to make her ( and myself) happy. It is as though we share the same hobby. And it was an effort not without results.

Mother would pick the plants that she wants to grow. My job is to fertilise and water it so they DON’T DIE during her next visit from Saujana Putra. The prides of my mini garden includes;

If only you could spot a little plant beside that rumpun of grass, that would be the Rambutan tree. Perhaps its a slow grower for I have yet to see it inch upwards for the past year. I can’t figure out where I’ve gone wrong really? Is it the soil to begin with?

This on the other hand reminds of of Tomyam-Gung all the time. My Daun Limau Purut tree. Now I don’t have to get these leaves from the store anymore. Could just petik-petik a bit and make my tomyam.

And of course, a must in any Sirap drink. Or belacan. Or Umai Ikan. Slurpp.. pokok limau kasturi. Happily enough I see a few limau already sprouting from the branches. However, nothing could beat the joy I get from my next tree.

POKOK MANGGA EE! Yes.. despite only 4 ft tall (yah.. its like my height in just over a year), it already boasts of mini mangoes from its branches. I wonder how long I’d have to wait for it to be fully grown before I could hold an annual makan mangga event at my humble home.

At the end of the day, this particular tree is the most precious and one with the highest sentimental value. Pokok Daun Singkil. I don’t really know what else you can cook with Daun Singkil but one thing I know is that it taste superb in Bubur Pedas. And Bubur Pedas is one of the Sarawakian dishes that I have to ‘berguru’ with Mother to get a wonderful result. Which translates into also bonding time with Mother.

So, this weekend the mandur will come by for a visit ( Mother)… I’d have to do another check to see everything is in tip top condition before she comes.

8Aug2014

Of Duit and Duit Raya Anak

Posted in Good Things, Mini Project by Minci 先生

As a young, novice parent, a mother of one who does not know the value of money yet … I feel obliged to make my boy’s money work for him till he knows better. This means all that he got during the recent Raya goes straight into the bank.

You Reap What You Sow

When I was a child, my Mother was a home maker. She still is now. She has no high formal education which results in no proper 9 – 5 job. She was raised in a large family with lots of siblings and together with her older sisters, they were forced out of education because of poverty. Her younger sisters however were told to stay in school for the better of all.

Hardship however taught her the value of money. And the importance of having savings.

After being married to Father who was a civil servant, she received a monthly allowance to manage the household. Its a once a month ‘fund’ and from that she has to figure out how much to use for what. So the usual benefactors included bills, groceries, fuel and such. Being the smart woman that she is, she added another ‘category’ – children s saving accounts.

Her deposits into our accounts were not hundreds at a time but it was consistent. She also made us save part of our duit raya or birthday ang pow to put inside the tabung. She would frown if she caught us ‘taking an overdraft’ from the piggy banks and made us save double the usual portion.

She made us do chores in exchange of money. We swept, cleaned, scrubbed and mopped. So far, she hasn’t made us sell kuih in the neighbourhood but I guess we got the idea.

Since Mr Husband insists on being the sole breadwinner of this family – meaning he wants to pay for everything… this then leaves me a working mother, to put my money into good use. Which is part of my salary after putting aside for myself and my mother, would go to my dear boy.

I also practice a form of Spontaneous Saving Technique. Everytime I get a MYR20 bill note, I would not spend it. Instead, I will keep it and put it in my boys account. Easy, right..

I have read of some people doing the weekly savings ; For instance, a $1 for the first of Jan, $2 for the next week and the increments are in a $1 until you reach week 52 of the calendar where you have to pay $52 for that week. Interesting saving tips..

I wonder though if there are any other tips out there.. for saving money.

Minci Moss

Influenced by everything. You knew me first ;)

Category Archives: Mini Project