Classes in 2013?

I wrote this year that I would be signing up for driving classes. I haven’t done it yet. Not because I was procrastinating; it was because the curriculum has yet to be introduced for automatic cars. It was supposed to be implemented in May but the government postponed it. No new date was announced following the postponement. If the Ministry of Transport had introduced this on time, I think I would by now be a car owner and driving it.
So, driving will not be a skill set that I will be acquiring that soon but I know there are other classes which I can go for next year.

Baking classes

He had mentioned the Hokkaido Chiffon Cake quite a few times now. “Awak dah lama tak buat kueh untuk saya,” the other half said. It’s true. I haven’t been baking since Ramadan. Not because I haven’t got the KitchenAid yet but because I was caught up with work and other things.

But I haven’t been baking specifically for him. I was baking for myself really, as a stress reliever, with the outcome shared with him and my team at the office. So far, I’ve baked the Banana Chocolate Cake, Orange Marmalade Cake, Sicilian Orange Cake, Japanese Cotton Cake, Carrot cupcakes, cream puffs and egg tarts – all based on recipes sourced mostly from the blogs.
I know of a few places that offer baking classes but the two that interests me are nearby where I stay and work.
One is at Just Heavenly’s Baking Barn. I love the Just Heavenly cakes especially the sinfully delicious Chocolate Banana Cake. You can get them at the concourse floor of the Bangsar Shopping Centre’s old wing or at its Café on the second floor of the new wing. I can just imagine myself whipping up such delicious cakes in my own kitchen!
The other is at Pantry Magic also in Bangsar. I had walked into a class at the store one day while looking for a baking pan. There weren’t that many participants (I kinda liked that!). The aroma in the store made me linger longer than I should have, that I walked out of the store later with not only one baking pan but other kitchen stuff as well!

Beading classes
I have a tambour needle. I was looking at YouTube videos of bead embroidery and came across a few using the needle. I googled for it and saw that one store in Subang Jaya has it. I bought it online. I tried it a few times but never really got a project off the ground with it.

I count beading as one of my favourite pastimes. I did simple beadwork for my cotton baju kurung. I had also beaded a baju kurung belonging to a friend’s daughter.

I told a friend, who is a lecturer on fashion at a local university here, of my tambour needle. He said the university may conduct classes for the tambour beadwork of there is enough interest for it.
That got me really excited.
I’m currently embroidering beads for a table runner but using the normal needle instead.

 
Swimming classes
Eversince I moved to the apartment some 10mins drive from the office, I had used the swimming pool at a condo only a couple of times when Danial and Mysara came to visit. On holidays and staying at hotels, the kids will spend their time in the water while I stayed dry most of the time.

I have this phobia of being in water. I panic when I can’t feel my feet touching the floor.
The first time this happened was in Penang. I was barely six years old. My uncle took me out to sea.
Although he held me, I panicked big time when my feet couldn’t feel the sand in the water. I must have swallowed gallons of seawater before he managed to stop me from thrashing in the water and pulled me out to shore. I lost a gold ring in that incident.
Another time, I remembered going snorkelling with some Fisheries Department officials off Redang. I was using a life jacket, which the officer said will keep me afloat as he took me out to sea. But I held on to him for dear life the entire time, occasionally bobbing my head into the water to see the corals. I didn’t enjoy it. I’m pretty sure the officer didn’t too.
So, if I want to enjoy myself in water, I need to learn how to swim. It boggles my mind that Mysara is now an adept swimmer without even having to go for swimming classes. A few times in the pool was all she needed to keep herself afloat and swimming.

But my priority would be to go for a Quran refresher class. I want to read the Quran properly. I never went to a proper religious school. What knowledge I gained were from agama classes while in the primary and secondary schools.

I really hope this works out. We should constantly add value to ourselves with new skill sets, irrespective what it may be.

Have a great 2013 everyone!