Muted May

This has been a quiet month.  I got myself busy with vibe coding.  My first project was to automate my ServiceNow ticket tracking using Gemini.  I used Gemini to generate java scripts that scan my mail inbox for mails from ServiceNow, check my tracker if they already exist.  If the ticket already exists, the script will use Gemini to summarize the content and update the records.  If the ticket is new, it will create a new entry in my tracker.  There's still some issues with new tickets, so the process is semi-automated.  But man...  it reduces my workload a lot.  This particular task that could take anywhere between 15 to 20 hours a week now takes an hour a day.  And I only need to pay about S$6 to save myself 40 to 60 hours a month.  I was so frustrated when the asshole manager told me ticket tracking will be removed from my 2026 KPI, but apparently I'm still the one conducting weekly calls with the team in Vietnam.  Since they're looking for ways to fail me, I have to step up my game too against these assholes.

Took a Detour to Jewel Yesterday For a Korean Dinner - Galaxy S26 Ultra

Jarring January

This month has been an absolutely awful month.  It has been an eventful 31 days for sure.  We started this month with a barbeque with my sister's in-laws.  It was kind of an awkward party, because my sister had a big fight my mom back in December and her husband actually asked me to translate his intentions to my mom which I felt was utterly disrespectful to my mom.  Although I agree that what my mom did was wrong and overboard, I felt that she still deserves some respect and shouldn't have been treated that way.  I was very upset at my sister and her husband, I felt that what they did was absolutely disgusting and I couldn't bear to associate myself with them.  It was a gathering that I wanted to end quickly and just get over with.  

A Party I Didn't Want to be in - Galaxy S23+

Odd October

A month has passed and I have somehow patched things up with my wife over what she did.  We went out as usual going about our routines and all.  But deep down I still find it very difficult to trust her again.  A part of me still questions, how far would she have gone with the other guy had I not caught on to what they were doing.  And most of all I don't understand why she would even give this guy a chance to talk to her so intimately even after knowing he likes her.  I mean, if she had respected our relationship, she shouldn't even allow someone with such intentions to get close to her.  I always believe that when you play with fire, you'll eventually get burned too.  At times I feel like I have failed at both my marriage and work lives, I really don't know what have I done wrong.  I love this woman with all my heart and still, I can't believe how she could have constantly given a chance to a man who likes her to get so close to her.  I feel so tired both physically and mentally, it's as if I need a factory reset.    

Dinner in Batam - Galaxy S23+

Jaded July

July has mostly been.....  Well I don't really know how to put it.  A mixed bag of sorts...   I started the month by accompanying my staff from Batam for a fair in Jurong Point.  It's been ages since I last visited Jurong Point for sure.  It didn't really bring back memories since the new Jurong Point is an almost completely different maze from the one I remembered during my NTU days. 

A Remarkedly Different Jurong Point - Galaxy S23+

Madhouse May

May has been an extremely packed month, I was even considering recapping this month's entry as "Machine Gun May", but I thought it wouldn't rhyme so well.  So "Madhouse" it is as the word describes the packed month quite appropriately anyway.  

Sunday Latte - Galaxy S23+

Just July - Again

I've used "Just" last year.  Somehow I've ran out of vocabularies by now.  My bread baking spree continued into July with a renewed frenzy.  In all I baked 6 loaves over a span of 3 weeks.

Challah + Ovomaltime = 😋 - Galaxy Note 9

Muted May

It has been a very quiet May, naturally, since we are in the midst of the Circuit Breaker period. Although the kids started their holiday this month, they have not been able to get out of home. And Youtube is just not wholesome for them... not even Youtube for Kids.  So I took out mine and the missus' 16 year old Nintendo DS and let them have a go at proper gaming.  Seeing how much they enjoyed it, I decided to splurge on a Nintendo Switch Lite.  Real gaming is still the best as compared to the new capitalist mobile games where you have to pay to win.  And just because you have forked out a princely sum, that still does not guarantee that you'll enjoy the game.  I also hate how the new mobile games seem to run like daily chores with no end in sight.  There is no story arc, grinding does not get you to the top, after a while some new characters will be introduced which makes your previous grinding (and sometimes purchase) meaningless - seriously, even other open ended games like The Sims or Sim City are way better.  Old school gaming is still gold.  So it's Nintendo Switch Lite + Final Fantasy + Mario Odyssey + Mario Deluxe.  I'm the only one who still loves RPG, so much that I'm the one playing Final Fantasy III on my DS now while the kids play with the new Switch Lite. 

Good Old Nintendo DS - Galaxy Note 9

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Okay, this is the last one on pandan.  I've basically ran out of pandan & coconut oil after this bake.  

Fresh From The Oven - Galaxy Note 9

Pandan Butter Cake

Since I had quite a fair bit of pandan and coconut milk with a block of butter left, I thought I'd try making a pandan butter cake.  And instead of following Gracious Treatz's recipe, I tried Diana's recipe again, but of course with some tweak of my own.  Diana's recipe (which is an adaptation of another famous recipe) uses pandan paste (which I really don't like) and requires separating the egg whites from the yolks before finally combining them together again.  I thought this should be worth a good try.

I'm strongly against pandan paste and such because if you'd take a look at the ingredients section, you'll notice that they are made up mainly of propylene glycol and glycerine.  If you've taken up chemistry before, you'll know that both propylene glycol & glycerine are essentially a type of sugar alcohol.  To further drive my point across, I should also mention that food grade propylene glycol is mainly produced from propylene oxide which is a probable human carcinogen.  I know the end product is purported to be "food grade", but the point of baking my own cake is to avoid ingesting unnatural substances as much as possible, especially if they could probably cause cancer, as such I insist on making my own pandan extract naturally.  

I didn't take any photos, but I started by blendering 3 pandan leaves with 65 ml of coconut milk.  That was quite a disaster because there was too little liquid and the pandan leaves didn't blend in perfectly.  I should have used either a slow juicer and then mix the pandan extract with the coconut milk or used a bullet blender with finely cut pandan leaves for better result.  Will keep this in mind next time.  

As soon as the pandan extract was ready, I started creaming the butter and sugar.  This time I took out my 6 year old 1000 watt Kenwood Chef Premier to do the beating.  

Creaming Butter & Sugar - Galaxy Note 9

Gula Melaka Chiffon Cake

I can say without any doubt that the combination of pandan and coconut results in the most heavenly flavour ever, whether sweet or savoury.  You can find pandan and coconut in Nasi Lemak or Nasi Uduk - that's savoury - or in deserts such as chendol and cake - that's sweet.  I had previously baked pandan chiffon cake but this time I thought I should try making a gula melaka version which puts more emphasis on the coconut.  I adapted my recipe for this gula melaka chiffon cake from the amazing Domestic Goddess Wannabe, Diana Gale.

My Take of The Gula Melaka Chiffon Cake - Galaxy Note 9

Marvellous Meringue May

This is my 1^st entry for May.  It’s been a rather busy month with Lincoln’s exams which took place on 2^nd & 3^rd week of the month.  He didn’t do to well this time around, which I found rather frustrating since I’d been accompanying him each night, studying for his exams.  I know he can do the problems, but he just can’t focus long enough to do them during exams.  I’ll find out more about his issues from his teachers next week during the parent teacher meeting. 

I also had time to bake more than usual, although these were more out of curiosity rather than consuming the baked goods fast.  So far I have baked muffins, pies, chiffon cake & cheesecake, so this time I tried my hands at baking butter cake.

In total, I made 3 failed attempts.  Each time I ended up with a cake that was dense instead of fluffy.  I was rather pissed off to be defeated by a recipe on my first attempt and tried again twice.  However, both efforts yielded the same results.  In the end I figured that I haven’t mastered the technique of creaming butter & sugar yet… my egg beating technique is quite sound as demonstrated by my successful attempt at baking a chocolate chiffon cake.  I guess I will need to find more reliable information regarding creaming butter.  

The butter cake I was trying to make was a marble cake, in particular.  So called due to the chocolate swirls emulating the patterns found on a marble slab.  I followed the recipe from a youtuber by the handle Gracious Treatz.  She's a very talented baker with good tutorial videos. 

The ingredients for a marble cake are quite basic: butter, sugar, flour, eggs, milk, melted chocolate and the usual baking powder & baking soda.  

Ingredients For Marble Cake - Galaxy Note 9