Thots of an ordinary person ...

Hello dearies,

I have very few best friends. Not that I'm not a friendly person, it's just that there are not many human beings out there who has chemistry with you and more importantly can be someone you can rely on in good and bad times AND can accept you for who you are and vice versa. Today, one of my best friends was feeling very down. The source of her problem? ... her boss who happens to also be a woman ...but a bitchy one. I have too have crossed paths with this woman before and of all places, whilst on an assignment in Rome. She was complaining in a high pitched voice and berrating me during the meeting break that she does not have time to shop and an official car was not allocated to be at her beck and call. This was after I informed all the delegation that the meeting shall runneth till late that night. I was quite taken aback by this horridness especially since she is in a senior position and she used to be posted overseas and used to be in a so called high flying Ministry. How can a person with such a respectful professional background act in such a way?? People at the high flying Ministry are used to even sleep at the office over periods of a few days (I heard) in the name of service to King and country! and don't tell me during her tour of duty overseas she NEVER had late meetings.

Well, yet there she was, throwing a terribly juvenile tantrum because she couldn't shop!! Anyways, little old me who has never been posted overseas and has never worked in the so called high flying Ministry simply informed her in a slightly raised albeit professional tone that we are here to work and not to shop and that if she wanted to have a car at her beck and call, then her office should have booked one for her or at least informed the coordinating Ministry to do so. She was not happy with that and curtly replied "Thank you!" Well, at least, she still had an iota of manners.

So, anyways, back to my best friend's story. Mind you, my best friend is a very intelligent woman and I'm not saying this just because she is my best friend. Judge for yourself ... she graduated from a top American University in Economics, awarded dean's list a few times and has a masters in economics from Waseda University in Japan. So, anyways .. the above said bitch complained to my best friend's boss that my best friend knows nothing and does not give a hoot about work. Or in short she is useless and stupid. Well ... if someone were to say that about you, how would you feel? Dejected? angry? Of course that's only natural and that's how my best friend felt. Now, my best friend is contemplating getting herself out of that hell hole which she has to call her office for now.

The points which I like to make here are :

i. what's wrong with us women? we're supposed to support each other and not try to put down fellow sisters! It's bad enough that men are discriminating against us in public service ... don't make it worse!

ii. Do not do unto others what you do not wish to be done unto you. Maybe the bitch is in a superior position to my best friend now, but in life you are not always up because sometimes you may be down. How would that bitchy woman feel if her daughter is treated like crap by her boss like how she treated my best friend? Remember, we are God's servants. God giveth and in a blink of an eye God can taketh!

iii. Good people are never appreciated until they're gone. This above story is how and why the government is losing good people. Losing here does not only mean literally but also metaphorically, whereby good people are just made to feel worthless and are too dejected to be productive. In addition, the ones who are going up the ladder, most of them are those who knows how to kiss ass and are not necessarily intelligent.

iv. Malaysians usually benchmark people on superficial factors such as looks. I'm not saying my best friend is ugly, but she is not slim and slender and show lustrous beautiful hair, but she is intelligent and has so much to contribute to the country ... I wish people would give average looking ladies like my best friend and myself included a break.

Mari Kongsi resepi

Granny Mai's Chicken Rice

For soup :
Chicken (of course) cut into desired size pieces
Ginger (3 cm, sliced)
Garlic (3 cloves, bruised)
white pepper (as desired)
Celery
Carrot
salt
sugar


For rice :
Basmati rice (preferrably) - washed and drained
Onion (sliced)
Star Anise
Cinnamon Stick
Cardamom
Coriander leaves (chopped)
Meadow lea spread/margerine
salt ( a pinch)

For chicken marinade (for 1 whole chicken, ajdust accordingly) :
3 tablespoon oyster sauce
3 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
3 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil

For chilli sauce :
5 red chilli
5 bird's eye chilli
Ginger (2 cm)
1 small clove of garlic
1 lime
salt
sugar

For soy sauce :
5 tablespoon light soy sauce (kicap cair)
2 tea spoon sesame oil

Sliced tomatoes and cucumber

Method

Start with the soup - boil water in a cooking pot together with ginger, garlic and white pepper. Once it boils, put the chicken pieces in
wait until the soup boils again, turn down the heat and take the chicken pieces out. Don't leave chicken pieces too long in the soup because we only want the stock and the chicken is going to be cooked again later.
Transfer the chicken pieces into a mixing bowl and marinade with the marinade ingredients as stated above. Leave for 30 minutes.

Then the rice - scoop a ladle of meadow lea spread/margerine into cooking pot. Once it's melted, fry star anise, cinnamon stick, cardamom and onion slices until fragrant.
Then, stir in rice into pot, put chopped coriander leaves and fry until slightly wilted.
Ladle in chicken stock from soup prepared earlier into the rice mix, measure accordingly. Turn down the heat and put on the pot's lid when rice is nearly cooked. Once cooked, turn off the heat and let rice rest. Garnish with fried onions.

Go back to the soup. Turn on the heat and put chopped celery, carrot, salt and sugar as desired into the soup. Garnish with fried onions and chopped green onion.

Pop the marinated chicken into the oven until the marinade coating is caramelised. About 20 minutes on high or 180 degrees.

For chilli sauce - blend all the chillies, garlic and ginger till fine. Pour into serving bowl and mix with lime juice,salt and sugar according to taste.

For soy sauce - mix light soy sauce with sesame oil in serving bowl

Lastly, serve chicken rice with sliced tomatoes and cucumber.

Hope this is useful and enjoy your chicken rice!!