“Auntie, do you still have the recipe for banana cake? That delicious banana cake you made for me and my colleagues in the office?” asked my niece Ah Hong just a few days ago.
Taken aback by the question, it took me a while to answer her. It was around 10am and Ah Hong asked the question as she sat on the bed, drying her long hair with the hair dryer just before rushing off to work.
At 10am, I wasn’t thinking about cakes or making cakes. “Why?’ I asked her. “One of my friends liked the banana cake you made and is asking for the recipe. Did you steam it or bake it? She made a banana cake and shared it with us but it was not as delicious as the one you made,” she replied.
At 10am, it was nice to be complimented on a banana cake I made. But to be complimented on a cake I made aeons ago? It was insane!
“Why does it take Ah Hong’s friend so long to compliment me? She should have complimented me the day I shared the cake with her and the others,” I thought to myself.
Indeed, why is it so hard for some people to compliment or thank others immediately for something good the latter have done?
But anyway, in the case of Ah Hong’s friend, I guess it is a case of better late than never. Thanks to her compliment, I know now that I have a good banana cake recipe. That I must keep it carefully and produce it whenever I want to bake a good banana cake.
Later that afternoon, much to my immense delight, I found the recipe in a folder on my computer in the office after a short search and promptly sent it via WhatsApp to my niece. I did not have second thoughts about sharing the recipe. I always believe we should share our blessings in life.
I have not made any cakes for a long time because of various factors including a tight schedule at home and at work. All the children in my home have also grown up and most have left for greener pastures elsewhere. Now, there is no one at home to sample the cakes I made.
In life, I think all of us go through different phases with different interests or transition periods. At one time, I was crazy about baking cakes and pastries and would even stay awake till early morning to try out some of the interesting recipes from the internet. I often brought the cakes and pastries I made to the office to share with my colleagues.
After that, I fell in love with gardening and would spend hours on Youtube, looking at other people’s gardens and admiring the things they planted. I would also spend hours toiling in my own garden.
Until recently, I was addicted to South Korean dramas and would watch them every day until the wee hours of the mornring. The last South Korean drama I watched was “Mr Sunshine”, a television series written by Kim Eun-sook and directed by Lee Eung-bok.
Starring Lee Byung-hun, Kim Tae-ri, Yoo Yeon-seok, Kim Min-jung and Byun Yo-han, the story revolves around a young boy (Lee Byung-hun) who is born into slavery but after a traumatic event escapes to the United States during the 1871 Shinmiyangyo (U.S. expedition to Korea). He returns to Joseon later as a United States Marine Corps officer, meets and falls in love with an aristocrat’s daughter.
Frankly speaking, I was quite disappointed with the ending of the story. I expected the hero and heroine to live happily ever after but alas, the hero died a tragic death. It was an ending I did not expect; after all, most of the K-dramas I had watched had happy endings. Many Korean netizens, however, are happy with the story and the sad ending; to them, it is a patriotic story about their motherland.
I don’t like sad movies and sad stories and avoid them whenever I can. Life, I think, is already full of sadness without having to add to the sadness.
Many years ago, when I was still discovering myself and did not know how to enjoy life, a very confident and sociable girl who was close to me invited me to watch a movie in the cinema with her.
Imagine my huge surprise when I found out that we were watching a Walt Disney animated film “The Lion King!”
The “Lion King” tells the story of Simba, a young lion who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as King of the Pride Lands. But after Simba’s uncle Scar (Mufasa’s jealous younger brother), murders Mufasa, Simba is made to think he was responsible and flees into exile.
Simba eventually returns to challenge Scar to end his tyranny and take his place as the rightful king.
Much to my surprise, I enjoyed the story, music and the lovely voice of actor Jeremy Irons who lent his voice for the character, Scar.
From then on, I realised the importance of making a conscious effort to bring laughters and fun into my mundane personal life.
Now that I have overcome my K-drama addiction, I wonder what’s the next phase in my life. Whatever it is, I welcome it and look forward to the changes it will bring. I am sure the changes will be good for me and make me better and wiser!
