Change

What does the word "change" mean to you? How does the word make you feel?

Reference: http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2010-09-30/

I personally don't mind change. I've been to different countries and worked with many different companies. Every time I move, there is change. Change of environment, change of living standards, change of work place, change in the type of food, change of people, change of...too many things. Even if I wasn't moving, in every company I experienced changes. Changes in policies, changes in office environment, changes in managers...etc.

Change can be a good thing, if the change is justified. Sometimes change can inspire and motivate. Sometimes it can make processes more efficient and life can be much better. In my mind, everyone should try to weigh the pros and cons of change and try to welcome and embrace the change.

Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.

King Whitney Jr.

What worries me is when people reject change and want to maintain status quo. They want to do the same stuff that the same way that they have been first taught. May it be 1 year ago or 10 years ago or even 30 years ago. They want it the same way.

In my current situation, I am trying to integrate with a group of people who have old habits and are being lead by someone who was told to bring on some changes. The changes do not seem to be taken very well as I caught whispers of unhappiness in the crowd. I gather that the leader acknowledge his minions' voices but he was put in the position by higher management to see that the changes are put to action. Haii....(sigh)... To me, since I've just joined and don't know the old ways, I find the process and current arrangements to be reasonable and easy to work with. I find it unpleasant when my coworkers negatively comments on different part of the process, lowering my enthusiasm and moral on the issue.

I wonder if people should be educated about the effects of change. I once went through a session in my old company where they brought in well trained speakers to explain the changes that were to happen. You can call that a brain-washing session but it did helped me foresee the change and accept it better.

Another day 1...

6:30am. The alarm went off with a click. No music and neither did I hear the click. The volume was down way too low. Thank god my dear Mr J heard it and woke me up. I was kinda up anyways, hyped up by the coming of the day and my mind just kept saying "its time!"


Cloudy, cold and I think I heard the rain. Not good. Not the way to start another new week, let alone a new job. But the adrenaline kept me going. No...not going to give credit to the the  freshly brewed coffee. I only had one anyways.


Jumped in and out of the shower quickly (had to ration the hot water) and dressed in my new shirt from Walmart and shoes from Burlington Coat Factory (I love this place). I later found out it was a bad choice to wear new shoes on the first day of work.

Down route XYZ and highway EF, not understanding the numbering system, I was guided by Tom-tom through the valley. As Tom-tom was never updated since we hired her services, she'd thought that I was flying off the freeway at certain sections of the road. She would have looked at me weird with one side of her face twitched, if she was given a face, for the numerous times it happened over the past year. 30 minutes later, I was face to face with the lady that assisted with my employment 3 weeks ago. Now she will be my manager in relations to the employment agency.

Apparently my client site manager won't be around for a few days and I was handed to another colleague for the rest of the day. I had also found out that my NT account and laptop was not ready. Crap. I hate that. It happened to me before. I remembered having to read corporate policy for 3 days straight while I waited for all my access to different system at one of my past job. I wonder how many days of dull, sleep inducing paper work will I be put through this time.

2pm. After numerous cups of coffee, I was rescued by another colleague from the flicker between the UPS documentation left behind by the last person who occupied my cubical and the thought of escaping through the back exit 10 feet away from me. He brought me on tour around the whole complex. I was in awe with the kind of cabling system they used. I think fiber to them was actually cheaper than copper. 30 minutes later I was lost through the many corners and hallways we passed. I was glad it wasn't a hide-and-seek game.

3pm. Back at my cubicle. Another coffee in my hand. I took some more magazines  from the other colleagues. Took shoes off and my toes were glad to be released from the confinement after the long walk.

4:50pm. Planned my escape.

5pm. Executed my escape. But realized that was totally unnecessary as everyone else (I knew from the day) had left for the day. Not wanting to disturb Tom-tom, I thought I'd navigate home based on my memory this morning. One roundabout and a traffic light later, I found myself in unfamiliar territory as the freeway was nowhere in sight. I zipped into the nearest parking lot and whipped out Ms Tom-tom and prayed she knew where we were and pleaded her to guide me home.

Wonder what day 2 will be like.

Tiramisu

Since I was introduced to this sweet Italian coffee cake dessert when I was young, I fell in love with it. So much so that my dad ordered two trays of this creamy delight for my fifteenth birthday...or was it fourteenth? Anyways, tiramisu is one of the few desserts that I must have if it is on a menu.

By the time I manage to charge my camera with battery to take this picture, much of the dessert was already devoured by my family. =)

I have always thought that this dessert is very difficult to make since it is composed of a creamy chocolaty cheese with inter layers of a coffee infused cake. To my surprise, it is actually a 20 minute job if you have the correct ingredients at hand. Whats more surprising is you don't even have to turn on your oven.

There are many variations on how to make the dessert but this is my version.

Ingredients:
30-40 Savoiardi / Ladyfingers (Enough to line the base of your Pyrex pan twice)
16 oz or 2 cup of  Mascarpone cheese
6 egg yolks
6 egg whites
1 1/4 cup of sugar
1 cup of strong brew coffee sweeten to your liking (can substitute with instant coffee)
3 tbsp of marsala wine
coco powder for dusting

Instructions:

1. Using an electric whisk, whisk the egg yolks with half of the sugar over a pot of boiling water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the boiling water. You want to achieve a light yellow creamy consistency. Set it aside and let it cool slightly. Add in a tablespoon of marsala wine. This is called a Zabaione.
2. Mix in the mascarpone cheese.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites using a clean electric whisk. The egg whites will not whisk well if there is any trace of grease or egg yolk. Once the egg white start to hold themselves around the beaters, slowly add in the rest of the sugar. Continue to whisk the egg white till they are able to form stiff peaks.
4. Gently mix the egg whites into the cheese and  Zabaione mixture.
5. Add the rest of the marsala wine into the coffee. 
6. Dip each ladyfinger into the coffee mixture for two seconds and then lay it on the base of your pan. Continue with the rest of the ladyfingers and arrange them close together in neat rows till the bottom of the pan is completely covered.
7. Spread a layer of the cheese and Zabaione mixture over the ladyfingers.
8. Repeat with another layer of coffee infused ladyfingers.
9. Spread the rest of the cheese and Zabaione mixture over the top. Finish off with a dusting of coco powder on top.
10. Refrigerate the Tiramisu for at least 4 hours before cutting into it.

Variations:

• In between the first layer of Zabaione mixture and the ladyfingers, you may add a layer of coco powder.
• You may also use whipped cream instead of the egg whites. I prefer to use the egg whites since I had them at hand.
• You can substitute the marsala wine with rum or Kahlúa.
• You may also substitute the coco powder with some bitter sweet chocolate shavings.

I'm back!

Its been years since I last actually wrote a decent piece of blog worth reading. I thought of starting anew. Gone with the old and on with the new. Life has changed so much since...well, if anyone even remembers reading my blog.

If you know me previously, you'll know that I've worked in different countries over the years. Generally I was all over South East Asia and the Pacific. I've now moved to the US and am married to Mr J for over 3 months and life has been really good... but different. Not just the driving on the "RIGHT" side of the road or using the imperial measurements but there are many little quirks that will catch you off guard if you are suddenly moved over here. I am still adapting to it.

I'm also learning how to cook, learning to master my Chinese cuisines and experimenting on others. Having a husband who dislikes mushroom and seafood is also a challenge. I like the challenge. We just bought a house and will be moving into it soon. At the back of the house are about 8 raised beds for planting vegetables. When next spring comes around, I'll hopefully be able to blog about my first ever experiment with growing my own vegetables.

I have so much to write but not all at once. I just can't wait to get back to writing again..mm..typing again.