I once had a lovely picture framed up on my wall to remind me to take stock of my life. It was a picture of a gorgeous deserted beach, and had a quote underneath which asked something along the lines of the question in the title. I don't know why I hung it up back then - I was all of 21 probably and life, let's be honest, wasn't hard in retrospect. All I had back then was uni, a job that didn't mean that much and unearthed ambition.
These days, life is very different. I'm unequivocally happy - my life is equal parts fulfilling, fun and exciting. Personal life is good, work is good, I feel like there is a good balance happening but sometimes, like now, I question - is there a good balance, or am I kidding myself?
Do you live to work or work to live? For most 99% of the population, work is something you just don't question. It is something you have to do, regardless of whether you like it or not. Loving your job is not ranked as a necessity for people, it is not necessarily a make or break when it comes to working. Instead, work is a necessity and that is the sad truth. We need to work - to pay the mortgage, bills, our lifestyle, etc. How else could we have a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear without working?
Establishing that working is a necessity for most people, then the question is - do you live to work or work to live? This questions seems ridiculous to ask, but caused me to look deeper into myself. If I had the choice to not work, I probably still would work. Why? Because I enjoy the challenge, the intellectual stimulation, the interaction, the success and the sense of achievement that is tied up with my career. My career, and the achievements made in it, define me strongly - not entirely, but a large part of me is written up in the fact that I work. A large part of who I am is what I am and what I do at work.
Sad thought, huh? I'm not that upset about it though, because I believe that I don't let it overrule me and that I keep a very firm check on it. At the end of the day, as much as I tie up my success, my identity and gratification in work, I also come home at a decent hour, live a normal life and am happy. So work to me is not an evil thing, and it makes me realise that I can't actually answer that question...
I work to live - sure, everyone does - but I also live to work, because that is who I am: my career, my identity, my gratification and my success. For ambitious and driven individuals, I think this would also be a sentiment that they would share. And for the complications and responsibility life brings now, I wouldn't trade it to go back to the misguided and deluded 21 year old I once was!!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
More random food
As I'm sure you can tell from this blog, I like randomness and novelty when it comes to my food.
And so, when faced with this, I had to have it:
Purchased from one of those Asian bakery stores, it is called "Banana in Pyjamas" and is essentially a modified version of the banana pancake (sister to the famed mango pancake).
The cute banana shaped yellow packaging opened to reveal a very soft and smooth yellow cake that I couldn't stop stroking long enough to actually eat. The Hubby, impatiently waiting to sink his teeth into the treat, told me to stop it and so we turned it out, bought it to our mouths and took a bite and it was...
.... HEAVEN.
The cake, so soft, just dissolved on the tongue, leaving ripe banana and the creamiest, smoothest and lightest cream - all of which was encased in the cake. It was delicious and we devoured it in no time.
Cute novelty food item that also tastes good. We'll be back to have more bananas in pyjamas!
And so, when faced with this, I had to have it:
Purchased from one of those Asian bakery stores, it is called "Banana in Pyjamas" and is essentially a modified version of the banana pancake (sister to the famed mango pancake).
The cute banana shaped yellow packaging opened to reveal a very soft and smooth yellow cake that I couldn't stop stroking long enough to actually eat. The Hubby, impatiently waiting to sink his teeth into the treat, told me to stop it and so we turned it out, bought it to our mouths and took a bite and it was...
.... HEAVEN.
The cake, so soft, just dissolved on the tongue, leaving ripe banana and the creamiest, smoothest and lightest cream - all of which was encased in the cake. It was delicious and we devoured it in no time.
Cute novelty food item that also tastes good. We'll be back to have more bananas in pyjamas!
Living... such bliss!
The Hubby has had a couple of rough weeks of late... with lots of uni classes (even on weekends!) and work causing him a world of pain and misery. Summer has also ended officially here in Sydney, and with mornings so dark and the days shortening, we were feeling the strain and badly needed a break.
So off we went to our favourite NSW holiday destination - Port Stephens!
Port Stephens holds a soft spot for us. Back in the early days of our blossoming relationship we used to do romantic things like go away on short trips, and one of the earliest places we went was to Port Stephens. We loved it so much, we've gone back to Ports a number of times since and have loved it each and everytime. Port Stephens now holds a very special place in our hearts - it is somewhere we plan on returning to year after year, somewhere we envisage ourselves taking our kids (when we have them) for summer holidays. So, when we got the opportunity to have a quick weekend getaway to Ports, we took it!
Leaving work at 1 o'clock, tearing up the highway, we got to the gorgeous house that we were staying it. Situated high up on the hill, it had amazing views of the water. And despite the rain bucketing down, Mother Nature must have sensed how badly we needed this holiday and cleared up to give us this amazing view from our balcony:
We spent the remainder of the weekend luxuriating in the sunshine, swimming in crystal clear warm waters, wriggling our toes in soft sand - chilling out, relaxing, unwinding, spending time outdoors doing nothing... it was bliss.
Of course, going to any beach town is not complete without a trip to the local fish and chip shop. In Port Stephens, it's down by the Marina, but tucked away a little bit from all the other shops and restaurants. Everytime we're in this town we visit, and everytime we're never disappointed. On the menu this time was grilled salmon, the most tender BBQ octopus, and the best chips ever!
It was only a quick weekend getaway - we were back in Sydney by Sunday afternoon... but amazing what a little trip out of town and out of our normal routine did for our relaxation levels. We got some sun, we came back refreshed, and most importantly, it felt so good to have been a little bit selfish and indulgent, taking some time out for just US. It was bliss.
So off we went to our favourite NSW holiday destination - Port Stephens!
Port Stephens holds a soft spot for us. Back in the early days of our blossoming relationship we used to do romantic things like go away on short trips, and one of the earliest places we went was to Port Stephens. We loved it so much, we've gone back to Ports a number of times since and have loved it each and everytime. Port Stephens now holds a very special place in our hearts - it is somewhere we plan on returning to year after year, somewhere we envisage ourselves taking our kids (when we have them) for summer holidays. So, when we got the opportunity to have a quick weekend getaway to Ports, we took it!
Leaving work at 1 o'clock, tearing up the highway, we got to the gorgeous house that we were staying it. Situated high up on the hill, it had amazing views of the water. And despite the rain bucketing down, Mother Nature must have sensed how badly we needed this holiday and cleared up to give us this amazing view from our balcony:
We spent the remainder of the weekend luxuriating in the sunshine, swimming in crystal clear warm waters, wriggling our toes in soft sand - chilling out, relaxing, unwinding, spending time outdoors doing nothing... it was bliss.
 |
| Love how the water sparkles like diamonds in the sun! |
 |
| Instant relaxation! |
Of course, going to any beach town is not complete without a trip to the local fish and chip shop. In Port Stephens, it's down by the Marina, but tucked away a little bit from all the other shops and restaurants. Everytime we're in this town we visit, and everytime we're never disappointed. On the menu this time was grilled salmon, the most tender BBQ octopus, and the best chips ever!
 |
| How good does this look? |
 |
| Amazing - but octopus was better! |
 |
| Love from us! |
Thursday, March 3, 2011
It's all about style...
On Saturday, Consuela and I got together to have a bake day - namely, to bake red velvet cupcakes for a kitchen tea that I was attending later that afternoon.
Now, for those who don't know Consuela and I, it is not an understatement to say that we are BFFs. We are close. We communicate every day and have done so for about 8 years. We know each other so well, and are such good friends, we can communicate without words actually being exchanged. When other people are around us, they must think we're weird because we can spontaneously burst into laughter with just a few sly glances.
Consuela and I are such good friends that we've never argued. We've never had an issue come up in the entire 8 years we've been friends. We're always on the same page and we're very very alike when it comes to our humour, our thoughts and our expectations of our celebrities and their lives e.g. dress sense, people they're seeing, etc.
But on Saturday, we realised that there is one fundamental difference between us. And this difference almost threatened our friendship and may even render redundant our pipe dreams of opening a bakery named Gardenia/Tulip/Gerbera (or GTG for short - a tongue in cheek reference to the well loved Magnolia bakery in NYC).
I've been thinking about this all week, and always with a smile on my face. Consuela and I, after 8 years of solid and steadfast friendship, have been tested and it's all because of measurements. That's right - measurements. Not our bust, waist and hip measurements, but the gram, cup, teaspoon variety. Our friendship faced it's most ultimate test on Saturday due to our extremely different, diametrically opposed, cooking styles.
She is the stickler for following the recipe to precise and exact measurements - "it said a packed cup! that's not packed!" or "you don't have scales to weigh the cocoa? but how will we ever develop the thick red paste?" and I'm the person who thinks that rough measurements will do, and if it's a bit too wet, add more dry ingredients and it'll all work out in the end. I don't own kitchen scales, I don't make a distinction between a heaped teaspoon or a level one, a packed cup or just a cup. It has bode me just fine in the past, and on Saturday, our different styles came head to head.
Poor Consuela. In the end, she had to do things my way. She didn't have a choice. Not by the dynamic bossy force of my personality, but rather because I don't own the tools she needs to make it all recipe-perfect. Well, that's what I tell myself but I'm sure she'll say it's more the former rather than the latter.
I will concede that for baking is technically more difficult than ordinary cooking, and that baking is one area where precise measurements should be adhered to. I will concede that she's right and I was wrong in that regard, and that I should have kitchen scales and I should follow the recipe to a tee. But, having conceded all that, I probably won't change and will still do things the way I do it. Why? Because that's my style.
I'm happy to say that Consuela and I have survived the one and only test of our friendship, although the longer term effects remain to be seen. GTG may never come into existence if I don't start adopting her practices, but you never know, maybe we'll meet somewhere in the middle. Because at the end of the day, with my "no worries, it'll be fine" style, it still worked out and the red velvet cupcakes were wonderful.
And that's all the style that matters.
Now, for those who don't know Consuela and I, it is not an understatement to say that we are BFFs. We are close. We communicate every day and have done so for about 8 years. We know each other so well, and are such good friends, we can communicate without words actually being exchanged. When other people are around us, they must think we're weird because we can spontaneously burst into laughter with just a few sly glances.
Consuela and I are such good friends that we've never argued. We've never had an issue come up in the entire 8 years we've been friends. We're always on the same page and we're very very alike when it comes to our humour, our thoughts and our expectations of our celebrities and their lives e.g. dress sense, people they're seeing, etc.
But on Saturday, we realised that there is one fundamental difference between us. And this difference almost threatened our friendship and may even render redundant our pipe dreams of opening a bakery named Gardenia/Tulip/Gerbera (or GTG for short - a tongue in cheek reference to the well loved Magnolia bakery in NYC).
I've been thinking about this all week, and always with a smile on my face. Consuela and I, after 8 years of solid and steadfast friendship, have been tested and it's all because of measurements. That's right - measurements. Not our bust, waist and hip measurements, but the gram, cup, teaspoon variety. Our friendship faced it's most ultimate test on Saturday due to our extremely different, diametrically opposed, cooking styles.
She is the stickler for following the recipe to precise and exact measurements - "it said a packed cup! that's not packed!" or "you don't have scales to weigh the cocoa? but how will we ever develop the thick red paste?" and I'm the person who thinks that rough measurements will do, and if it's a bit too wet, add more dry ingredients and it'll all work out in the end. I don't own kitchen scales, I don't make a distinction between a heaped teaspoon or a level one, a packed cup or just a cup. It has bode me just fine in the past, and on Saturday, our different styles came head to head.
Poor Consuela. In the end, she had to do things my way. She didn't have a choice. Not by the dynamic bossy force of my personality, but rather because I don't own the tools she needs to make it all recipe-perfect. Well, that's what I tell myself but I'm sure she'll say it's more the former rather than the latter.
I will concede that for baking is technically more difficult than ordinary cooking, and that baking is one area where precise measurements should be adhered to. I will concede that she's right and I was wrong in that regard, and that I should have kitchen scales and I should follow the recipe to a tee. But, having conceded all that, I probably won't change and will still do things the way I do it. Why? Because that's my style.
I'm happy to say that Consuela and I have survived the one and only test of our friendship, although the longer term effects remain to be seen. GTG may never come into existence if I don't start adopting her practices, but you never know, maybe we'll meet somewhere in the middle. Because at the end of the day, with my "no worries, it'll be fine" style, it still worked out and the red velvet cupcakes were wonderful.
And that's all the style that matters.
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