Writing...

I never thought that I would get into writing so much after graduated from school. Frankly speaking I did not enjoy writing during school time. Writing essay is the worst nightmare that I can ever imagine. It’s always the essay part that my grades are affected. Not to mention that there are 3 languages that I need to study at the same time and that makes it 3 essays. At that time I actually think that writing is difficult because you have to check the spelling, sentence structure and the points. Plus it took me a lot of time just to write out a thousand words essay. When teacher gave us a topic to write about, I need to find ideas and points to fill it up. It’s a bit boring because to me I feel like “This topic needs to have these 3 points, that topic needs those points”. If you memorize the points that you need for the entire topic, then you’ll be able to score a very high point. That is why I don’t like to write essay that time because it’s just something that you memorize and put it in. I never thought of why I have to do this as everybody is doing it. It is also better to do it this way because you could score high grades. I hate it so I end up with low grades. Well, at least I’m still able to make it all the way to college.

I started to like writing when I’m in college. It was the time when I start writing letters to my friends. It’s not much different then writing exams essay but this time I just wanted to share my feelings and thoughts with my friends. Nothing special, just writing what I’m thinking. It’s a totally different feeling of writing and I like it. Each and every words is coming from my mind without stopping, the joy of able to write what I want is great. There are a lot of things that we can’t or too embarrass to say it out loud is able to do it through writing. Sometimes a letter or an article is able to transfer your thoughts better then when you say it out. That’s the beauty of writing. We can draft and make changes or improvement before we send out or publish what we write. That is why I become to like it. Writing without a reason or expressing your thoughts is just too boring. That is why I don’t like it when I write to get good grades during school time. I was grateful that I do it because it helps to make me a better writer now. Maybe it was the intention or meaning or writing was not explained or teach well at that time. Will it be different if I was teach or told to write what I feel about the topic, instead of full fill the required points for the topic? May be then I will love writing more…

Decaffeinated Coffee

When I was a student in the US, I often come across the word “Decaf” for coffee. I never really understand it. I just know it doesn’t taste as good as the normal coffee and I can’t find any decaf back in my country. Out of curiosity, I did some research on the Internet and this is what I found. Decaf = decaffeinated coffee. Caffeine is a kind of mild stimulant that exists in coffee, tea and cocoa. That is why we drink more coffee to keep us awake when we need to work over night. Thus it is good to have it in the morning to really wake us up to go to work. For most people it is consider a good way to warm up their engine and complete their whole day work. But for some people the stimulant effect is just too much for them. Some people may not be able to sleep well because the brains are still active due to the consumption of the caffeine. I even have friends saying that their heart beats faster after having the coffee. Thus decaffeinated coffee was produce so that people still be able to enjoy the beverage without having the stimulant effect. I hope that the coffee industry in my country will consider making decaffeinated coffee too so that more people can enjoy the good coffee flavor. I’m sure there is a market for decaffeinated coffee. So the question is “Does this caffeine coffee bad for our health?”…. Well, just click on below links to find out.

Reference: Coffee Science Information Center

How to Make a Good Cup of Coffee?

Having a good cup of coffee in the early morning before work is the most enjoyable thing. Having a good start in the morning just make the day great to work. The problem is how do we make ourselves a good cup of coffee? Living in a place where time is always not enough just make it difficult. That is why many of us rather go to a coffee house to get our coffee. Places like Starbucks or Coffee Bean always provide us a good taste of coffee. If you able to wake up 30 minutes early then you might be able to make yourselves a cup of coffee. Here’s a bit of tips on how to make a good simple cup of coffee.

1. Make sure your coffee maker is clean. Well that’s the basic of all.
2. Use fresh cold water from the tab. Let the water run for few sec before using it. Go through the filters before use.
3. Grind the amount that you will be using. You can smell the coffee right after you grind it, especially a good quality expensive coffee bean. Try to compare it with the instant coffee package. It’s a lot more different taste.
4. Best water temperature is just below boiling. What I’ll do is I mix cold water with the boiling water. 1/10 will be cold water and 9/10 will be boiling water. If you’re using a coffee maker then just skip this part.
5. Measure the amount of coffee used and the volume of your cup. Normally it should be 2 tablespoon of coffee with six-ounce of cup.

I think that’s not too hard to do it. Just takes about 30 minutes to prepare all this. Try it out when you have the time and feel like it. It’s just a simple tips but it sure make a good cup of coffee.

Take The Time, Have Some Coffee...

When couple broke up, they tend to do strange things individually. Well, not strange but differently. Some will work from morning until night non-stop to make themselves as busy as possible. Some will jump in a pool of alcohol and keep on swimming without knowing the direction. Also, some will hangout with friends to travel or party trying hard to have fun and put a smile in their face. What ever they do, sooner or later they’ll have to pack up and move on. The question is how long does it takes. There is no harm in taking some time to stop thinking. Sometimes it’s better to stop thinking when you’re not fit or healthy enough to do that. (Mentally) When the time comes, you still have to pack up and move on. Then you can start thinking. So what in the world that I have to think about? Well, it’s just back to the starting point and the very basic question – “ What do I want?” When we broke up a relationship, don’t jump into another one the next day. Yes, some of you might be so handsome or pretty that you have lots of option and choices waiting for you pick them up. It doesn’t matter how many choices you have if you do not know what you really want. If you randomly pick one up just because you feel lonely, then you’ll just repeat the same mistake. Sometimes not choosing anything is the best answer at that time. Make the right choice when you know the answer, don’t choose simply because people need the answer. It’s your decision; it’s what you want.

What is coffee?

Ever thought of how coffee is brew? Well you can check out Peet’s Coffee and Tea as they teach you how to brew the coffee you love. Many people likes to drink coffee, you can find coffee in just any place in the world. It’s a kind of beverage that almost every restaurant commonly have in the whole world. So how much do you know about coffee? Well, I think National Geographic have most of information about the coffee. Go ahead and check it out as I continue to study and dig out more coffee related website.

What's Your Favorite Coffee Shop

There are so many coffee shops around now days, but the question is how many of them really earning money and which one of them is your favorite shop. Obviously Starbuck is one of the favorites among for many people. It is also one of my favorite shops. It’s true that Starbuck is famous and expensive but that’s not the reason that it’s in my list. It’s not the coffee, environment or the nice cute girl; it’s actually the service that they provided. We always talk about a good service about a shop or restaurant but how do we define it? Depending on the service the shop provided, customer will have a different experience. By the end of the day, it’s all about how the customer feels when he or she walks out the shop. In my opinion, there are basically 2 kinds of services. The first type of services is the most common services that most shop provided. You can experience this at Starbuck and most of the franchise coffee shops. It’ a feeling of being at home with a maid to provide you with anything you needed to sit back and read a book, having a good conversation and surfing internet. Yup, it’s a sensation feeling of comfortable to do the things you like. Another type of service is providing a unique feeling for the customer. For example, an owner of a coffee shop that loves flower very much will decorate his or her shop with flowers to share the joy of having flowers all around. All the coffee served will come together with a flower and the clothes of the waitress will have flowers on them. People that love flowers will be able to share the same interest and joy with the owner.

Well, that’s just an example. There are other different kinds of shops out there and I think there is a shop using toilet seats for his/her restaurant or shop. So, it’s not how much money you put into the coffee shop to be success, it’s rather how you put your heart and soul in to it. A good service is not what you can invest with money. Opening a coffee shop is very competitive; you’ll just need to know the right way to do it in order to be successful.

The Rise of The Coffee Shops

There are a lot of coffee shops open up lately around the place I work and stay. Famous coffee shops like Starbuck, Coffee Bean and local coffee shop Old Town Kopitiam can be seen all around. These coffee shops started to become more popular around just like the Mamak store. It’s like a new trend and a lot of people like to hang out at the coffee house. It’s a bit different then the Mamak store. People go to Mamak store mostly to watch football and have some very low price food and drinks. Coffee shops are a bit expensive but it’s a quiet and comfortable place for you to hang out with your friends and have a good taste of coffee. It’s more like a place to taste a cup of fine coffee and listen to the soft music. Not to mention most of the coffee shops are providing free Internet access, surfing the net while having your favorite coffee is just great. I even have seen some businessman bring along their work into the coffee shops. It’s not just a place to relax but it’s also become a nice place to work. Changing the working place once in a while might just inspire you to have good ideas. In the years to come, coffee shops will continue to be one of the businesses that many people would like to get involved. It sure is a profitable business judging from the trend but it is very competitive. After all, people love to drink coffee.

Changing to a different job that does not relate to your field

Most of us make the first decision on choosing what we like to do right before going to the university. That is because we have to decide what field to study in the coming 4 years or more. Well, most of us did not stay on the same path as our dreams keep on changing. This phenomenon keeps on going even after you graduate and working for few years. As we get older, many factors come in to alter your mind. Some of us able to maintain the same job or work field for their whole life and some of them keep on changing as environment changes. Some people were force to change in order to get a better life.

I too need to make this decision as I have lost interest of what I do. Changing to other job make me feel alive as I’m able to do what I like. Yes, you might say that “You have wasted all those years that you studied, you could have just started work in this field without going to university”. Well I can tell you this; if you knew then you could just buy the lottery and earn the living with that. Nobody can predict what will happen or what you really want to do in the next 5 or 10 years. The most important thing is that you have the courage to make the changes. After all, why do you think that all of us go to school? Does pursuit of happiness sound right to you? You work or job is just a part of it, if you do not feel happy with it then change and move on. Doing things that you hate for years is not good for the health mentally and physically. A high pay job is nothing compare to a low paid but happy life. If you have earn enough to stay alive and have more time for yourself and your family then you already have everything that most people wanted. Of cause different people have different definition of happiness. You’ll just have to ask yourself what you want in order to make you happy.

She found the place that she loves most

This is Ana. She's been working here for about 2 years. Well, not exactly true because she did switch to other coffee shop for a while and come back. Life is tough as we try to get the best of job, but sometimes things as just not that simple. Certain job will give you more money but the work environment will not be that nice and some job have a less pay but the environment is nice. This happends to her too. She found that this is still the place for her as she feel the sense of belonging here. Sometimes there are things that are much more important then money.

This is the crew of the coffee house Toast & Egg. Some of the members have left and some are still remains here. People come and go and that’s how life is. Each of us tries to look for the path that leads to our future.

The pay as a waitress is not very high, that is why when they are offered a better job they just leave. To be honest, when you are paid less, you don’t feel much pressure working. That is because you do not carry much responsibility and the expectation is not high. But if you have a high paid, then lots of responsibility and high expectation will be on your shoulder. This really affects the life style of a person. When you have the chance, try to compare the face of a CEO or MD of a company and a waitress in a coffee shop. Witness the way they smile and how much they smile. Which one do you like to see? I think the answer is very much obvious…

One day trip to Singapore

Last week I went to Singapore just to open a bank account. I took a bus right after work and departure to Singapore at night. It took the bus about 8 hours to reach Singapore. It was about 5AM in the morning when I reach there. As it was too early, most of the shops are still close. The only place that I can think of is MacDonald. So, I just have my breakfast and hand out there until the bank opens up.

People at Singapore really makes Christmas a very big event. Almost everybody are preparing for Christmas. They are shopping for presents, Christmas decorations and postcards. Conversation about what they going to do in Christmas holidays can be heard as I’m sitting there enjoying my coffee.

After finish my business here with the bank in Singapore, I just don’t have anything else to do. It’s a one day trip, so I didn’t plan to go any where. I still got about 4 hours to go before my trip back home. So I walk into Star Buck after I had my lunch. There are a few things that I notice that makes me feel comfortable and relax here. After the long hour travel and not having enough sleeps, I’m just almost up to my limit. Lucky that I’m able to find this coffee shop. The shop was playing soft Christmas song as I got myself a cappuccino latte. Find a nice spot to sit to check on my e-mails and enjoy my latte. The shop is equipped with the state of the art audio system – BOSE satellite system. Now that’s my choice of the audio system. The coffee is nice as usual, it’ Star Buck you know what I mean. What actually caught my attention is the service that the waitress provided. A worm well come at the entrance and greets with what your mother will say to you when you back home. They even bring me a cup of worm water along with a cookie. Now that’s the thing that they done to be better then all other competitors. There are so many famous coffee chop franchises and it is not easy to maintain the business. Everybody will be given the same thing when you purchase the franchise. That is why to become better then others, you’ll have to work on the services provided.

I’m able to spend my time comfortable in the coffee shop before I get on my bus. Before I walk out of the coffee shop, I was given a small Christmas present from the waitress. With a smile in their face, it’s not “Good Bye”, it’s “Merry Christmas and please come again” that’s accompany me back home.

Have you done shopping for Chrismas ?

Christmas is almost near, about 1 more month and counting down. Have you prepare and ready for this festive season of the year? Well, don't wait until the last minute. For me, it's just another holiday that I can stay at home and sleep through the day. I actually like Christmas, but in my country the feeling is just not much in to it. I think it's because of the weather. No snow and not cold to feel like christmas. Only rain and bright sun all year long. I've been to US before that why I can tell the difference. Any way, public holiday for me is not too bad at all.

Grill Fish for My Dinner

This is my dinner for tonight. Grill fish with vegetables and fries. I can tell you that this is the best dishes that they serve here. Trust me, I’ve been having dinner here almost every weekday and tested almost all their dishes. Well of cause I’m not having the same dishes everyday even if it’s the best dishes they have here. But definitely I’ll order it once a week. So far I never seen any other coffee shop offered this grill fish. The most common menu they have is filet fish. I never did like filet fish because most of them have a very “fishy” smell. That goes the same to the famous franchise fast food restaurant “M”.

As you can see from the picture, it’s just 2 pieces of fish well grill until brown in color. The first thing you’ll smell is the smoke BBQ of the fish just like a BBQ chicken. But the best is that it taste tender and sweet without the strong smell of the fish. For filet fish you need mayonnaise to cover up the smell. Well that’s how I ate filet fish. For this you can just have it plain without any dressing.

So, what do I have for the rest of four days? Well, Toast & Egg serve curry mee, spaghetti, grill chicken and lots of simple toast. Some times I have all my dinner here 5 days straight when I’m lazy to go to other restaurant. When I really get bored with the food, then only I’ll go somewhere else for dinner. But for the coffee, definitely need to order a cup everyday.

Spending Half of Her Time Here

This is Rose. She's been working here for about 5 month. She Likes to read and surfing internet. But what makes her getting a job here is because she likes to meet people, lots and lots of different people. She makes a lot of friends here and she is happy about it.

How many people really like their job? I believe most of us will not go back to our work place other then working time. We spend most of our time in our work place, almost half of our life there. In that case, then we should make it like our home so that there is a sense of belonging. If not how are we supposed to force ourselves being here.

Well, many of us dislike it during the first few days of our job. But then when we think of the pay that we needed, we then force ourselves to get through it. As day goes by, good things happen and started to feel "Not too bad at all". We started to get use to the condition and eventually fit in to the job or even started to like it.

We have a choice to choose what and where we want to work, but some of the times we just give up the rights to do it. We can control life or just let life take over up. As for Rose, she likes it here right from the beginning.

The Bridge That I Cross Everyday - Penang Bridge

Another reason that I hang out here almost everyday is because of the traffic condition. Whenever there is a traffic jam and if you are caught right in the middle of it, then it will be at least 1 hour slow moving. Plus this jam happens right before crossing the bridge. Everybody is rushing to that 2-lane entrance. Everybody wants to go home quick and almost everybody get off work at the same time. Of cause there will be a lot of cars out there, and this is too much for the bridge to handle.

When you have a lot of cars on the road, then surely you will expect accident to happen more offend. When there is an accident, you will expect to see a long Q. That's not all of it. There are a lot of reason that will cause massive traffic jam to the bridge. When it's raining, jam. When there is a festival going on, jam. Friday night, jam. New year, jam. Christmas, jam. So check out our Jam Bridge.

A good Taste of Coffee in Toast & Egg

Nothing better then a good cup of coffee with a very reasonable price. That's the coffee that you will get in Toast & Egg. With just 1 US Dollar you are able to enjoy a fine cup of coffee from Italy. You might want to try it yourself if you come to this coffee brand. I will say that it's one of the product that attract most customer back for more. I know because I'm one of them. You can check out this coffee from this link -- illy.

The Picture of Toast & Egg and Me

This will be me......any way, it just fits the nick name kumo. I'll put my details little by little as time goes by.

I use this picture because I like clouds. I actually draw it myself. Everyday when you look up to the sky, the first thing that you'll see is the clouds. It never appear the same at any time. It changes everytime you look up. It has a lot of shape and colour but white is the favorite. It just like a person's feelings, sometimes good, sometimes bad. When feeling good and happy, it is a blue sky with white clouds. When feeling dull and sad, it is a dark gray cloud going to rain. That is why I like it, sometimes I just look up to the sky and watch the clouds move slowly.

Next is the coffee shop that I come almost everyday after work. Nothing special about it, just that it is very close to the company I work. It's a clean shop with WIFI internet facility. In fact, it's because I'm able to access internet using my notebook that draws me here. Plus the coffee is good. They have a imported coffee name "illy" that taste good. I think the coffee is from Europe. I have become their customer for almost a year. It's a second work place for me to do my internet business.

My first Blog

I have been thinking for a long time to start writing blogs but just could not decide where to start. There are so many website that I can choose from and most of them are free. I suppose it doesn't matter because I'm still new at this area and there are a lot of things that I need to learn. So I decided to choose this one because the bridge of my country is blogging here.

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