Hobbies Do Help De-Stress Professionals

Despite scaling down on my baking orders, I was featured in yesterday's New Straits Times to promote that hobbies do help de-stress professionals. Check out the write up in the picture below. Or if your eyes are failing you with age (like mine!), you can also read it on the NST online page here.

NST May 27th 2014, Page 16.

I'm mentioned briefly, alongside my cousin-in-law who runs Beadlista. Don't believe her age though, it was a mis-quote! Even her picture should show that she's older than me! *cheeky grin*

Anyway, baking started purely as a hobby for me. Until today, I still enjoy standing in front of my KitchenAid mixer, praying that my egg whites will whip up into a beautiful meringue. Or standing in front of my trusty oven, watching my cake rise. Oh, and of course - sitting at the patio with a slice of my favourite homemade pound cake.

Gradually, it turned into a side business. But as most engineers would agree, we suck at business. I couldn't figure out how much to charge for my cakes, I would spend too much time perfecting my cakes up to the tiny detail (i'm anal like that!), and I would worry about how my customers would like my cake.

So now, I am back to baking as a hobby. After a hard day at work, I look forward to being in my dry kitchen. Just listening to my Kitchenaid whir is relaxing. Popping the cake in the oven and then lying down on the sofa waiting for the oven timer to go off is relaxing. Eating a slice of cake - obviously is relaxing for just about anyone! It's a well welcomed diversion from things at work. The key thing is knowing how to juggle baking and matters at home. Your hobby shouldn't reduce your time with the family, nor should it affect your concentration at work and your drive to climb the career ladder.

I have also used baking to my advantage at work. Ever tried bringing a cake or a jar of macarons to a meeting? I found that it improved my relationship with my colleagues whilst at the same time, it made the meeting more laid back and ultimately more productive! (Everyone works better and makes better decisions when they are relaxed.)

As for the picture in the newspaper cutting above, I was late in providing them a picture, hence my picture didn't make the cut. Or rather Adi Putra's picture with my cake didn't make the cut:

Adi Putra posing with my topsy-turvy creation. The cake design is called topsy turvy, although I nearly became topsy turvy as well making the cake!

So you read about my rendezvous with Aaron Aziz. Bet you never saw Adi Putra's picture above in this blog. I know, I know - I should buck up with my posts.

I should probably state for the record, that the colour of choice wasn't mine at all. The organizers wanted a cake according to their theme - colour blocking of blue and pink. I would have probably picked a more manly colour for Adi Putra! *grin* 

Posing with Adi Putra. 

Heck, I should dedicate a whole post to Adi Putra. Apart from his birthday cake, I also made a dessert table for his newborn daughter. But then again, blogging is not my hobby. So, if you don't see that post anytime soon, i'm probably slaving in the kitchen again. *smile*

Toodles!