little princess

i guess every little girl has had one of those dreams of being little princess in a fairy tale, wearing a full ball-gown. well, here's a creation for those girly ones out there --


what? butter sponge cake with vanilla buttercream icing
occasion? baking experiment

sesame street

watching big bird and elmo was the highlight of my day when i was a kid...so hope these cupcakes would bring back some sweet memories...


what? chocolate cupcakes, vanilla cupcakes
occasion? bake date

人民不會忘記

今天買了一本於八九年出版的實錄，為的不是我需要文字圖片來提醒自己歷史的真相，而是萬一新聞封鎖，或是更糟糕的自我審查而淡化報導歷史真相，我家裡還有一本可以流傳下去。

africa is not a country

it's sometimes amusing how people refer to africa as if it is a single country. i heard someone talked about "prince of africa" today, i wonder if anyone talks about "prince of europe". would that be prince charles or prince willem-alexander or prince felipe? if england is different from netherlands, and different from spain, then tunisia is not the same as kenya, and not the same as uganda. they don't even speak the same language.

today, not counting the disputed territory of western sahara, there are 53 countries associated with africa. in my part of world, the image about africa is still very much the same as the picture featured on an NGO's pamphlet 20 years ago. in reality, parts of africa has actually improved, but parts are still undergoing difficulties with their governments, economies, and healthcare systems.

we went to a concert today, featuring watoto choir from uganda. it is estimated that 940,000 children in uganda are orphaned. sponsoring these children's education and day-t0-day expense is only about HK$250 per month. i believe it is through education and providing them with a safe environment to grow up in, that the future of these children and the country and possibly the continent might change. uganda might be unique in the issues she has to deal with, but these children are faced with the same needs as all children around the world. i hope in different parts of africa, similar groups have been established to look after the weak.

crying my eyes out

heard of this phase many times before, but never quite figure out how one would get to that point.

all of a sudden, after a call with dad, with his usual negative comments, i just could not stop, as if the burden, sadness, fear, and everything negative that has been stored in my little heart just want to escape through my tears. it feels like my heart wants to burst out from my chest, and release all the negative energy in one go.

don't know what has happened...have i tried too hard? have i deceived myself? maybe...but i never knew i have stored so much inside me.

why work?

"when does a job feel meaningful? whenever it allows us to generate delight or reduce sufferings in others. though we are often taught to think of ourselves as inherently selfish, the longing to act meaningfully in our work seems just as stubborn a part of our make-up as our appetite for status or money."

"to see ourseles as the centre of the universe and the present time as the summit of history, to view our upcoming meetings as being of overwhelming significance, to neglect the lessons of cemeteries, to read only sparingly, to feel the pressure of deadlines, to snap at colleagues, to make our way through conference agendas marked '11:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.: coffee break', to behave heedlessly and greedily and then to combust in battle - maybe all of this, in the end, is working wisdom. it is paying death too much respect to prepare for it with sage presciptions. ... let death find us as we are building up our matchstick protests against its waves."

"our work will at least have distracted us, it will have provided a perfect bubble in which to invest our hopes for perfection, it will have focused our immeasurable anxieties on a few relatively small-scale and achievable goals, it will have given us a sense of mastery, it will have made us respectably tired, it will have put food on the table. it will have kept us out of greater trouble."

--- The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton

after-thoughts...

i don't think i have had a tougher week than last week, not even when i had to work 100 hours...yet never has it been more rewarding and thought-provoking either.

25 of us went to dasmarinas, cavite in the philippines to visit home for the 100th sheep. they have built a school for children between 3 to 6, and worked in the poorest areas to reach out to the local community.


poverty is a subject i have known in my head for a long time, but never came across it face-to-face. during our visit, we spent a large chunk of our time visiting the kids' homes, and played with them on the street. it was hard walking into their homes, most of them about 100 sq ft built with wood and tin sheet, housing a family with 6-7 children, with no fresh water supply or electricity.

despite the poor living condition, people were surprisingly cheerful. kids were friendly -- they would run to us, hold our hands and hug us, as though we have known each other for years. their yearn for love and care was apparent. we played simple games with them, something as simple as stone paper scissors could bring a big smile on their faces.

looking at them makes me think more deeply about life and my faith. if i believe that my treasure is in stored in heaven, then why am i keeping the money in my bank account and not using them to improve their living condition? am i being selfish? or am i justifying my selfishness by saying that god may call me to use these money for something else? or am i taking all these possessions as an achievement for what i have toiled under the sun, and enjoyed them? i kept thinking about mark 10:21 "go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. then come, follow me." if this is what god is calling his followers to do, do i have the faith to follow him?

jesus said, "i have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (john 10:10) when children are born with little or no access to the basic needs like food, water, healthcare, is that life to the full? is there anything men can do to give life before death in addition to talking about life after death? i don't know what i can do as an individual, but i know if every individual thinks the same way, the situation is likely to remain the same. however small the thing we do, if we add them all up, there is a glimpse of hope that the living condition can be improved. there is nothing more gratifying than putting hope into someone's life.