djoanonymous

M.I.A. in Qatar

diary December 01, 2018

Hello again! I am back here in the blogging world after being missing in action in the last 2 years. Gone too long eh? Well, pardon me. I think this will be my second comeback post already! Hahaha! I know right?? I don't know why I can't keep up with the posting. It may be for the reason that I do not actually have any interesting things to write about? Because you know, I am living in this work-home cycle in Qatar. Yesss.. I do live in a very dull life. I do wanted to go out or have adventures here, but its just that I do not have any friends (who are interested) to go with me on these exploration. Do not get me wrong though. I can have fun by myself. I even tried and did enjoyed traveling and exploring countries all by myself, just like what I did on my last "all-me" vacation in Singapore. I went to places here and there, took photos of these touristy spots, eat the local delicacies and some high-end cuisines, not to mention going to a pub and have some drink -- which I did all by myself! I had a great time even if I was alone back there.

Personally speaking, being in a conservative country is no fun at all (excuse me for being bold about that). Activities that I deemed exciting are limited and the only places I really get to enjoy here (with all the available resources I have) are the malls. Though, there are a number of places that I can go here like parks and restaurants, but those place can be easily accessible only by those with personal cars, which I unfortunately do not have. Poor me!! Plus, available transportation are also limited (no metro train here which would be so convenient if there was) so going to places is not as easy as 123 not to mention how much it'll cost. Hahaha!

Anyway, despite all of these inconveniences on my part, I did managed to gather some scenic snaps of Qatar back when I still have this adventurous friend who goes with me on these travels(I miss you Ate Miles! **sad face**).

Magical Village Katara

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Confessions of a Gadget Freak

daily September 21, 2016

We are surrounded by an army of gadgets nowadays. And in no doubt, it made everything easier and a lot more fun actually. Everywhere you look, you'll see electronic gadgets. Its like these new tech devices may be even growing faster than the human race! And by that, domination by these gadgets is no longer impossible. Hahaha!

But, admit it or not, we cannot actually generalize that every devices coming out of the market is really a necessity. It may have been that manufacturers have made these gadgets much more appealing than what it should have been. Not to mention the coolness meter that'll go way up high if you get your hands on one of these latest gizmos.

And I am one of those who joined the bandwagon of the gadget freaks. Well technicaly, "almost" a gadget freak. For me to be legitimately called one, I must have had every single latest gadget that has been out on the market and as you may have guessed it, I don't. So yeah, I may have just adopted the idea, but I do love gadgets though. I dread to own every single gadget coming out of now, but its just that my pocket won't allow me to.

So here are the gadgets I own as of now that I deem very valuable.

Mobile Phone and Smart Phones

I do have 3 cellular phones - iPhone 5, iPhone 6 and Cherry Mobile P7. You might have been thinking that owning 3 phones may be some kind of unreasonably lavish, especially for someone who doesn't really have that much of luxury to spend with. But I just couldn't let my i5 go, since this was the very first iPhone I got. I got it as a "congratulations gift" from my parents when I passed the nursing board exam last 2012. Besides, I've got lots of memories that I shared with this phone. And I think I would never ever let go of this old friend.

Then, why buy another phone you asked? Well, this is where my gizmo-hungry persona kicked in. I didn't actually need another phone as you may have known, I was just blinded by its big screen and its new sleek gold back-appearance. So, basically, I mostly use the i5 as my everyday phone and the i6 is for the camera, games and internet browsing.

The Cherry Mobile P7 was given to me by someone so dearly to me. I received it before I bought myself another iPhone so do not judge. I had this be my backup phone, mainly used it (before) during those night duty in the hospital when taking out some touch screen phones out on public transportation can be a bit dangerous. And now, I used it for my Malaysian roaming number, where my family can easily contact me. I also use it for playing songs loudly when I feel not using any earphones on.

**Thinking of the number of phones I've got, when "The Pulse" (from Stephen King's novel Cell) do come true, I may have been one of first to become the phone-crazies! Hahaha!

Power bank

My sis gave me this as a gift. This is a Xiaomi 16,000mAh Mi power bank that has two USB charging ports, which means I can charge two electronics at once. Brilliant, isn't it? I think I can fully charge my phone (using one port only) for 5 times at least. 5 times!! Can you imagine that??? hahaha. The downside though, this can be a bit heavy to carry.

Pebble Smartwatch

I bought this last year on Amazon. I really wanted to have a smart watch but could not afford the newly released Apple watch so I bought the Pebble watch instead which is way more affordable. And I regret nothing. It may not be colored nor touch screen but this watch does wonder. The watchface can be changed from analogue to digital to a much more cooler one like the actual wording of the time. I also get notifications from my phone to this watch - messages, email, instagram, etc. All I need to do is connect the watch to my phone via bluetooth. And yes, you can also install simple games like Tiny Bird (which is like the Flappy Bird), Tic-Tac-Toe, Hangman, among the few; and applications suitable for your needs like maps.

Asus Transformer

This is a hand-me-down from my sis, and I was so grateful she gave it to me. I use this for playing, watching movies, browsing the internet, listening to music and most specifically, editing my blog posts. I regard this mainly as a laptop since I don't have one. Yet.

Oh, and it is actually a tablet, so if don't feel like the bulkiness of the keyboard, I can just detach it easily and use this a stand alone tablet. Nice right?

Portable Hard Drives

Currently, I have two 1-TB hard drives, one is Seagate( I bought myself) and the other one is Dell(my mom gave me). I don't really have that much file to back up with but I do like to separate my files from personals, like photos and documents to entertainment like movies and songs. Plus, it wouldn't actually hurt to backup some of my important files into these to 2 HDs. I think it would be much safer. When the other HD got corrupted, I still have another one to use. That's what you call a backup plan! Hahaha!

Yi Action Camera

This is the latest addition to my gizmo collection. I bought this from my sis actually since she doesn't really use this much. It is kinda like the GoPro. It got 16mp wide-angle lens and WiFi connection for easier viewing and transfer of photos. I find this very useful, especially when taking selfies. It solved my problem on crowding the photos with just my face when taking a selfie. Well with this, I get to take a photo of myself plus a good shot of the background too. Check here for some photos I took with my Yi Cam on my day tour in Malaysia.

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So you see, I don't actually own the latest of the gizmos, but I admit, I do own much more than what I necessarily need. I don't know, I just can't help it. I just feel like I have the need to buy myself these gadget for me to be able to keep up with the ever advancing world we're living in. I might even add another gizmo on this little collection of mine this year. Hahaha!

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No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake

cheesecake September 20, 2016

I have this undeniably sweet obsession with Oreos. I may have been choosing anything from a menu with the word "Oreo" in it. Specially if Oreo is mixed with cheesecake. I mean, imagine, 2 of my guilty pleasures, made into one! How can that be any guiltier?

And since I am a sucker for Oreo Cheesecakes, for the very least, I should be able to make this for my own right? And I did! I actually made it from scratch and not from those ready-to-make boxes out there. Booyah! But not to burst my own bubble, what I actually made was the no-bake version for the fact that it is way easier to make. Still though, a No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake is still an Oreo Cheesecake.

So behold, my very own No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Ganache and Twix Toppings!

Ingredients: (for a 6in. pan)

Crust

☑ 12 pieces of Oreos

☑ 3tbsp melted butter

Filling

☑ 250g Cream Cheese, softened

☑ 200ml Whipphing Cream
☑ 10pcs Oreos, broken to pieces
☑ 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

Toppings & Decoration

☑ 200g Dark Chocolate

☑ 5tsp of melted butter
☑ a pinch of salt
☑ 1pc Twix wafer, crushed

Tools

☑ Food Processor
☑ Electric Mixer

☑ Spatula
☑ 6in. Springform Pan

Instructions:
1. Prepare the Cheesecake crust. Since I don't have the pre-crushed oreos, I grind mine with a food processor, until obviously, it was finely crushed. I didn't remove the cream filling unlike what's traditionally done, but you can remove yours if you want. Then add the melted butter and then pulse again the food processor until both were combined.

Pour and press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the springform pan. Freeze for at least 30 minutes.

2. Make your way with the Cheesecake filling. Whisk the softened cream cheese until smooth and then set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix the whipping cream using an electric mixer until stiff, and then gradually add the powdered sugar. Using a spatula, fold and blend the cream cheese into the whipping creme until well combined

Once well mixed, add the oreos broken into pieces and fold it with the mixture.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust and spread it evenly. I did tap the pan so as to distribute it evenly.

Refrigerate the cheesecake in the fridge overnight.

3. Decorate it. This is optional though. I opted to have a chocolate ganache topping and crushed twix topping but you can choose anything you want.

For the ganache, microwave the dark chocolate. Make sure not to heat it for too long for it will be burnt. Better do an intermittent heating, meaning I tend to remove the chocolate from the microwave every 15-20 seconds and then stir it. Once it was completely melted, I added the melted butter and a pinch of salt, just for some taste.

To make the drip effect, spoon the ganache near the edge and then gently push it towards the edge with the back of the spoon. Do this until you've covered all the way around. And then finish off by pouring the remaining ganache into the center to fill to top entirely.

Add the crushed Twix wafer for some added decoration.

That's it! You've made yourself a very delish and mouth-watering Oreo Cheesecake. I hope you'll enjoy this comfort food as much as I did.

Ciao!

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M.I.A. in Qatar

Confessions of a Gadget Freak

No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake

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