Special mission: The chocolate cake do-over

A week after the fake chocolate cake fiasco, the dear MIL was still rather sore about it, and explained to me the rationale for her disappointment: the family loves chocolate, and as they rarely partake in cakes except for festive celebrations, having a nice chocolate cake is a special pleasure that they look forward to on such occasions. 

For Christmas, the brother-in-law had gotten a cake from a famed patisserie near where he lives, and while it was delicious, it was a light vanilla cream cake, so the in-laws were already slightly disappointed. No matter, there was still New Year's, they consoled themselves. 

So when the MIL had taken pains to verify with the sales assistant that the cake she had her eye on was a chocolate one, only to find out that the only chocolate it contained were the four slabs on the outside of the cake, she was really upset. She even took photos and went back to the bakery to voice her displeasure. 

Oops. 

On the last day of this trip, I detoured to the same patisserie as that was their favourite after all, barring the whole drama, and procured 4 individual slices of chocolate cakes for us to share. Nobody could stomach a full cake after all the feasting over the past weeks, but I figured that it would at least make up for the disappointment which had marred the celebrations ever so slightly. 

The way my bellemere's eyes shone when we told her we bought cakes for dessert was so worth the effort. "Chocolat!!" she exclaimed excitedly with joy. Haha.

It was fitting to end our last meal together with that delicious dessert. Sweet and complete. 

Chocolate is a necessity of life

The quiet last dinner for 2022

While the dinner for Christmas Eve was filled with chaotic joy and fun, with an additional invited guest and the brother-in-law's family that included the funloving 8-year-old niece, New Year's Eve dinner was a much more subdued affair, but enjoyable nonetheless.

It was a quiet dinner for four, and the MIL delighted in changing the table settings, swopping the table linen from white to a gorgeous black, an elegant and striking contrast to all the champagne gold decor and place settings. 

In place of a dance party fiesta, we played a more laidback but still upbeat playlist. It was pretty cool to see the in-laws, inspired by a news program earlier that morning extolling the benefits of songs and dance to one's life, busting out some moves and simply enjoying moving to the rhythm and beats with pure joy and little care. 

Food was kept to the usual festive favourites:  trio of aperitifs, pâte en coûte, foie gras, followed by steak with mushrooms and sweet potato purée, cheese and a delicious hazelnut cake. There was a moment of chagrin when we discovered that the cake had barely any chocolate (safe for the scant four pieces around the sides of the gâteau), but we ultimately decided not to focus on that for the evening, and simply revel in each other's company. 

As the clock struck 12, officially stepping us into 2023, we enjoyed a good viewing of the fireworks display at Champs-Élysées, in the comfort of home and safely far away from the 1-million-strong crowd gathered there in person. Best way to partake in festivities, methinks. 😬 

To another better year ❣

Australian Open finals: the battle of the veterans

The highlight of my Lunar New Year holidays has to be catching the Men's Singles finals of the Australia Opens 2017, ha.

For some reason, all the finalists for this year's Aus Opens are the true veterans - the Williams sisters pitted against each other for the Women's Singles category, and Roger Federer against Rafael Nadal, his nemesis for most part of his career. Amongst them, Nadal is the youngest of the lot, and even he is all of 30 - which in the world of tennis is actually considered old. :p

I can't describe my elation at Federer's ultimate victory, after they played out the full five sets, over close to 4 hours. It was intensely nailbiting at many junctures, and I'd admit that there were moments when he made unforced errors and conceded crucial points to Nadal, that my heart plummeted and I feared he wouldn't prevail.

Fortunately, he regained his momentum and form, and eventually claimed the title. YAYYY! Such sweet, sweet victory. *happy dance*

I'm not even going to attempt describing the match, though I'm sure you would all have read about it by now - but if you are interested, read some of the reports here, and here.

To be honest, I don't follow most of these championships, even though I do read the coverage when I come across them. That said, when I heard that Federer made it to the finals, I squealed in excitement and declared to AB that I was determined to catch that. Heh. I knew he didn't have much patience for the sport, and didn't expect him to catch it with me. The good boyfriend did it anyway, so kudos to him for that, even if I bought him beer and truffle fries in return. Heh.

There were two main reasons why I was so hung up on watching this match: first being that Federer is my all-time and only favourite for this sport. I admire the techniques and skills of the other top seeded players in the world, whom I definitely think are all amazingly talented, but to me, Federer is just unparalleled in his class and demeanour. AB nailed it when he quipped, "He is very classy and has such an elegant style - he never fidgets when he plays, whether in between serves or even preparing to serve, and he clearly knows his game well and plays tactically." Yes, exactly that. 

That, and obviously given his age and form, I won't be surprised if he retires soon, or whether he will make it to another Grand Slam final anytime soon. That just makes this match all the more special, and I was so glad that I managed to catch all of it.

All these made watching his winning speech at the prize presentation even more poignant.

“Tennis is a tough sport, there’s no draws but if there was I’d be happy to share it with Rafa tonight.”

Roger Federer, 2017

Wow. That man is truly, the epitome of class.

Thank you, Roger Federer, for making me see how tennis should be played. You've made me appreciate the beauty of the game, as well as the grit, tenacity and resilience that's required to excel in the game, the same which could be said of life as well. I hope I will still get to see some more of your playing, however longer or shorter that plays out. 

Woohoo!

My third Zodiac cycle

This lunar year is that of the Rooster, which incidentally, is my Chinese Zodiac. Quite frankly, I'm not sure how I feel about that, it being my 3rd cycle. It seems like as I grow older, my excitement about it being "my year" just decreases exponentially with each cycle.

The first cycle...
I was all of twelve years old and feeling all gleefully grown up, especially since that's also the year of great milestones: I was graduating primary school, and taking the first major academic examination of my life. I was like a little bird about to experience flight - a little scared but brimming with excitement, ready to test the strength of my wings. That was a magical time, when it feels special when it's "your" year, like it's not just another marker of the passage of time, but a time to celebrate those born in the particular Zodiac of the year. I listen eagerly to the fortunes of the various Zodiacs foretold for the coming year, paying particular attention to those of mine as well as the family.

The second cycle...
Fresh in my professional life, I was all bright-eyed and bushy tailed, all eager to conquer the world that brims with endless promise. I've experienced enough setbacks in to know that grief, disappointment and heartache are all part and parcel of life, but everything still had that beautific sheen of glowy silver lining, and the years ahead felt full of unknown adventures and promise. I was still figuring out where I stand and what my strengths were, but felt some optimism that it being another Rooster year surely meant more power and fortune to my fates. This time round, I took in the fortune-telling with more than a healthy dose of scepticism, while inwardly still noting the admonishments of what to avoid and be wary of.

This third cycle...
I realised with a jolt, that it's that year yet again, only as I contemplate the impending new year celebrations (or perhaps I realised it last year but mentally blocked it out). It felt mildly horrifying to acknowledge that I am officially getting into that age range that I used to define as "so old!" back in my teens, and that very soon, my generic description would be (or already is) "middle-aged woman", and no more "young lady". Gulps. But at the same time, I feel bemused at my inner hysteria, given that all things considered, I'm in a pretty good place in my life right now - I am comfortable in my skin, know what I like or won't stand for, and have more than a handful of accomplishments both personal and professional under my belt. More importantly, I have an awesome network of friends and chums I love, and love me back deeply. I really don't have much to complain about. I hear about my "predicted" year with raised brows, noting how general they are and how similar really, the fortune of nearly all zodiacs sound, year on year.

Huh. 

Frankly speaking, I never really paid much attention to the Chinese Zodiac, a great contrast to how I am quite fascinated with Western astrology and identify rather strongly with my star sign. I guess because the Chinese Zodiacs are tied to years instead of months, I find it harder to be convinced of any sort of "characterisation" of each sign - it's much harder to accept that everyone born in a certain year share similar traits just because of that. That, and perhaps because my sign is not particularly cute nor mystical, so I was reluctant to be associated with it. HAHAHA.

At the end of the day, I am honestly not too fussed about this anymore, and while it sounds jaded to admit that, I'd like to think that it's a sign of maturity (NOT age ok!) to recognise that it's much more important to pursue the life you want, than be obsessed with avoiding the supposed "dangers" expected ahead.

Now I'm quite curious to see how I will feel when the next Rooster year comes round. Heh.