西安·许巍·旅行

我爱旅行，不收集纪念品，专收集那些来自骨子里最莫名的感动。

我爱旅行，更多时候不是追求地理意义上的跋涉，而是渴望漫看云卷云舒的境界。

因为已经去过西安，做起功课来没那么积极，然而关于西安的故事啊什么的，最近倒还是读了一些。这才知道，原来许巍、郑钧、张楚都是西安人。看来，经过漫长的岁月洗礼和深厚的文化积淀，盛世长安不再，却还留下几个摇滚乐手在围墙内外孤独呐喊。（郑钧说，摇滚就是现代的秦腔。） 

我一直喜欢许巍。可能骨子里有着执拗而坚韧的生命力。歌词写得特好。质朴。可以让一切喧嚣走远。

 

许巍 《旅行》

许巍作词、作曲

阵阵晚风吹动着松涛

吹响这风铃声如天籁

站在这城市的寂静处

让一切喧嚣走远

只有青山藏在白云间

蝴蝶自由穿行在清涧

看那晚霞盛开在天边

有一群向西归鸟

谁画出这天地

又画下我和你

让我们的世界绚丽多彩

谁让我们哭泣

又给我们惊喜

让我们就这样相爱相遇

总是要说再见

相聚又分离

总是走在漫长的路上

即将重游西安

人生第一次背起行囊自助游，第一站就选了西安。那，已经是十多年前的事了。

十多年前，西安的旅游业已经做得很好。古城内步伐缓慢，保留了古都精华；古城外硬体设施开始发达。没有牺牲了历史的烙印，没有牺牲了前进的步伐。而丝绸之路的文化交流促成自成一派的美食文化，至今让我魂牵梦萦。

我爱西安。这一次将要重游，我有点儿忐忑……

那十三朝古都的文化底蕴，在发展的巨轮下，依然迷人吗？记忆中那些个性十足的西安小食，依然美味吗？那些夜色下的剪影、秦砖汉瓦旁的晨钟暮鼓，还吼着厚朴的秦腔吗？

气象预测说将会细雨绵绵呢，妈妈和阿姨们在乌云满天的情况下是否也会爱上黄土高坡？或许我可以用胡辣汤和泡馍诱惑她们，或许我们可以在城墙上撑把油纸伞看雾雨蒙蒙，或许西岳华山秋韵可以帮我一把……

我希望，我们都爱西安……

Designated Survivor

Because of Kiefer Sutherland, I decided to watch Designated Survivor. (I think Kiefer Sutherland is an adept performer and he has a gift for projecting resolve and decency. I spent a few years of my life watching a few days of Jack Bauer's life. Seeing him save the country is believable)

Though I have only watched 4 episodes so far, I think this political drama is fast-moving, reasonably believable, intriguing, and is a ton of fun. Seth Wright (Kal Penn) is my favorite character so far. (As of now, Josiah Bartlet is still my favorite fictional President of the United States onscreen. We shall see if  the mild-mannered but firm Thomas Kirkman could surpass him.) 

Anyway, this blog is not about the TV series. 

After watching the pilot of the TV series, I googled Designated survivor. Apparently this TV series premise is based on the real practice which is governed by the Presidential Succession Act. The concept of a “designated survivor” first arose sometime during the Cold War, but become more serious after 911. There have been two designated survivors — one Cabinet member to rebuild the executive branch and one member of the congressional leadership to lead a new legislature. Since this designated survivor may have the possibility to become the president, the designated survivor candidate must be at least 35 years old and a natural-born citizen. (Of course, the designee doesn’t automatically become president. If another administration official higher in the line of succession happens to survive, he or she would take office instead.)  So, in the event of an attack that wiped out the nation's leaders, there is a functioning government within a week of an attack. 

Out of curiosity, I want to know what happens if this happen in Malaysia? Since we inherited British system, I googled and found this: What Happens if the British Government is Wiped Out? Apparently, Britain doesn't have procedures in place. In short, it means outside of a very tight inner circle, nobody knows exactly who would be in charge once the bombs start dropping. The reasoning: "Britain is relatively well placed to deal with it because of our strong governmental institutions. If your governance is pretty good then government departments can go on automatically for some time.” 

Unfortunately, we inherited British system. In a rough equivalent to Designated Survivor, that Parliament was attacked during the Parliament Opening, we are doomed. 

How I Pack for Two Weeks Autumn Trip in One 7-kg-hand-luggage

As I said, my principle is to pack light. For my recent Sydney + New Zealand 13D13N trip, where we visited glacier and all, I packed everything into my 7kg backpack as hand-carry.

I wore the most comfortable yet decent items for the flight: an Airism bra-top, an uv cut cardigan and a lounge pants. The lounge pants is comfortable enough for sleep, and 'normal enough' for me to wear outside. If it gets too warm, I can always remove the cardigan.

To prepare for the weather, I brought a Heattech long sleeve turtle neck, a Heattech leggings, a pair of glove, a pair of fleece socks, a beanie, a light pocketable parka as rain coat, an Ultra Light Down jacket, an Ultra Light Down vest, a scarf and a fleece jacket. (Yes, I packed a bit too much for the weather, but at least they make sure I survived star gazing at Aoraki Mount Cook)

Packed for this: 1 degree C + Strong wind

To keep me warm

The extra layers outside

To shield me from the wind and chill

As usual, I bring Airism and heattech t-shirt because they are light to pack and quick dry. I can use them as inner wear or as normal t-shirt. For this trip, I packed an Airism bra-top, an Airism short sleeve t-shirt, one heattech short sleeve t-shirt and one heattech long sleeve t-shirt.

For sightseeing, I brought a pair of jeans, a pair of leggings, an over-sized t-shirt, and a short sleeve jeans hoodie. blouse, I can match them with the Airism as inner wear, or wear them as it is.

For in-house comfort clothing, I bring two t-shirts, a shorts, and a long pants. 

All that I stated above, I categorized them using compression bags from Daiso.

They all fit well into my 35l backpack, with ample space left for my toiletries, undies, portable pail, sketching & drawing kit etc.

Of course, as usual, I cheated by squeezing my favorite Ultra Light Down jacket into my camera bag, which does not eat up any space of my 7kg-hand-luggage.

See also my Detail Itinerary: Sydney + New Zealand 13D13N

家用酸奶机

几个月前淘了个酸奶机，却一直搁在一旁，前天晚上终于开箱，把它取出来玩玩。当时买的酸奶机，送两包（二十小包）酸奶菌和四个可爱玻璃瓶。还没用我已经很满意。

用法很简单，把一公升的鲜奶倒入不锈钢器皿中，加入一小包的酸奶菌，稍微搅一搅，然后开电发酵个八到十二个小时即可。我临睡前放入，睡醒已经发酵完毕。倒入玻璃瓶内放入冰箱待享用。

除了这四小瓶，我还动用了家里的大玻璃瓶子

昨晚，用酸乳泡浸麦片，准备隔天做早餐的。

今天早上，从冰箱取出，加入muesli，加入香蕉，就是我美味健康的早餐啦~

非洲菊

几个月前买了一盆非洲菊，买来时已经开花，但花谢后茎开始腐烂、叶片开始掉落。我看情形不对，赶忙把土给换了。我在盆底换上疏松排水良好的沙质壤土，上面加上肥沃腐殖质的土壤。然后把它搬到早上日照足、通风的角落。（浇水、施肥时，切忌将水、肥淋入叶丛和花蕾上，以免引起烂花和烂叶片。）

一个月的细心照顾下，非洲菊从新长新叶、结花蕾、开花啦~

27/9

30/9

 2/10

3/10

5/10

莳萝

在五姨家挖了一棵dill回家种到盆里。Google了一下，原来中文称为莳萝。这种香料在西方烹饪中比较吃香，通常用以配海鲜，去腥用的。古埃及人将它和芫荽及泻根混合，以治疗头痛。我们中餐少用，但我还是特意种了一盆，没事干时拿来煎蛋也不错。

莳萝很容易种，放在户外日晒雨淋，几个星期就长得很好很高了。

Break-up and Make-up

Sheldon has kept The Big Bang Theory interesting for all these years in large part because his own evolution is interesting, thus resulting ShAmy's interesting evolution. They aren't perfect for each other just because they are the two biggest weirdos on the show, they are perfect because Amy has shown endless patience for Sheldon and Sheldon has shown willingness to try new things and try to make Amy happy.

However, like any relationships, they have their struggles. Finally, we see their love's roller coaster ride, just like everyone else.

Firstly Amy wanted to "take a break" and it turned into an actual breakup when Sheldon being selfish and immature. So what happens when a man with an IQ of 187 gets his heart broken? As it turns out: He acts just like an average person. Sheldon wallowed and whined; got angry, and petty. Sheldon continue to try to woo Amy instead of respecting her space......

After the anger / confuse period, he tried to move on. He took up fencing, he asked women out, and he got his heart broken again.....

1) They break up!!



2) The good way to move on



3) Heartbroken




Then, they tried to be friend again. They had such a great time together and it reminded Amy of all the good things between them. She wanted to be his girlfriend again but Sheldon said he can't. "Amy, I excel at many things, but getting over you wasn't one of them," he says. "I think I need to just be your friend."

4) Sheldon and Amy Try To Be Friends



5) Amy wants to get back together




Finally, Sheldon came into his realization. He needs Amy in his life. She makes him a better man. At first, it doesn't seem Sheldon learned much in the time he and Amy were broken up. But he finally learned to be able to more clearly express the way he feels, and learned to recognize the way he feels.

6) Sheldon and Amy Get Back Together




7) Special Gift
"Intimacy in any form has been challenging for me, but I'd like to show her how important she is, and it feels like now might be the right time." ~ Sheldon

Sheldon picked the best gift, again! "Amy's birthday present will be my genitals."

So Sheldon and Amy finally spent their first night together. There’s unfiltered joy and happiness. I love the "before scene", where Amy and Sheldon are quiet, tender, and adorably nervous. The writing is smart, the acting is perfect, and everything comes together just as it should.




We shall wait and see what happens next.....

The Evolution of ShAmy:

• A girl, a friend, but not a girlfriend
• Paradigm Altered 
• The Only Conclusion Was Love
• Break-up and Make-up

家香茶室

我们听说家香茶室好久了，这次终于找了个好借口，大伙儿约定了一个周末，大老远的到Pulau Betong吃海鲜去。

浮罗山背Pulau Betong淳朴渔村

由于听闻他们可以代客煮海鲜，停了车，我们立刻兴致勃勃地往渔民停泊的地方奔去。去了才发觉我们当中没有选海鲜高手，大家有点儿不知所措，最后决定回到家香茶室直接点菜就是了。

家香茶室就是左边那家小店

由于是在渔村，我在开车往Pulau Betong的路上就一直想着煎炸小鱼，可惜家香老板说当天没小鱼，我们最后乖乖点了一尾红鱼。我想吃lala、balitong之类的蚌类也没了，下次真的得提早到达。

由于有孕妇同行（再加上我们超级懒惰），蟹我们可不点了。而同行的又胃口不大，最后我们海鲜倒吃得不多，带着少少遗憾，改天带几个大吃王来弥补。

吃海鲜嘛，只要新鲜必然好吃。而我们千里迢迢来到渔村吃，新鲜是必然的，也没必要大肆称赞。反正，简简单单地蒸了最好吃。豆豉排骨是他们周日才作的小菜，汁拿来淋饭好开胃。

家香豆腐 - RM9

Salumi - RM8 

红鱼江山美人 - RM40

大虾蒸酒 - RM50

甘香苏东 - RM25

豆豉排骨 - RM20

是不是值得千里迢迢到这儿吃呢？这有点儿见仁见智。食物的确价廉物美，但不至于叫人销魂难忘。然而，我自小被爸爸训练成爱“趴趴走”，我享受“觅食”的感觉，也爱这种乡趣环境。久久来一次还真无妨。

（许多人没吃过salumi，我们那天在家香也讨论了许久。这是我家传统菜肴，一直以来我们都管这叫sailumi，问妈妈华语叫什么总免不了要被骂的“sailumi就sailumi啦，我哪里知道”。由于要写这部落格，我就依据娘惹语言上的思路，google了sayur rumi，还真给我找着。据说英文叫Pigwort Watercress，也不知真假，真叫人抓狂）

Jia Siang Cafe 家香茶室

321 MK7 Pulau Betong

11020 Balik Pulau

Penang

Tel: 019 – 746 8465 / 019 – 764 5116

守宫木

我三姨家种了好大一棵的马尼菜（我们一直都叫马尼菜，这称呼应该是源自sayur manis吧，以前住在怡保时邻居总叫这树仔菜。Google了一下，发觉原来中文名字真好听，叫守宫木，有点儿像武侠小说里的名称）

这很好种，三姨拿来的马尼菜我们把叶子取了，茎直接往土里插（种在大盆里），十天后就开始长嫩叶了。长了嫩叶我们才把它移到篱笆外，任它日晒雨淋。

十天后，长嫩叶了

一个月以内叶子都长得挺茂盛了。

一个月后

插枝后的七个星期，我们决定开张，剪了一些马尼菜配板面。自己家里种的，没化学加工品，现摘现吃，好鲜甜！