Phlegm fest

It's been phlegm fest for the last week. An unfamiliar sort of pain which was suddenly making everything that is spicy, very very appealing. It's been a while since I had been this sick. Been having very bad coughing fits in the morning, noon and night. Last wkend I awoke to find a throat irritation creep up on me and it progressed to a full-blown infection literally overnight. Must be the new-flavoured potato chips which I greedily devoured!
THE CULPRIT! Lacks flavour though. Can't taste the unagi.

This was followed by a feverish sensation which rendered me helpless for the next 3 days. Didn't even manage to enjoy the Ramen date I was looking forward to on Saturday night.
There was much hype over this place at Roberton Quay. The Tokontsu ramen was a tat too salty. Hope the authetic ones in Japan isn't like that! Feeling awfully hungry, sweetie ordered a sashimi for himself and a cod for me. Cod was nice, with its roe made into cream, which however, was too salty for my liking too. Felt really bad that I couldn't stroll long. The fever was moving in fast and furious.

Tried sleeping it away but migraine had to work its magic. The immense weight of the throbbing was insane. This was intensified each time I coughed! It also triggered the bloatedness in my stomach which made me nauseous each time I ate. Doctor said it's normal. Nauseous is simply an aura of migraine and there's no cure till date! Thanks. Imagine the agony!!! During the wk, I was constantly awoken coz of the throbbing. An experience never before! Even painkillers did not do the trick. Fortunately, J had prescribed some homeopathy pills for me previously. It's an absolute saviour! I'm beginning to believe the power of Homeopathy (I was surprised to see a Homeopathy clinic at Siglap Centre today). The worst misery however was that I could not submit an MC as it's the exam period. If you think that exams are the hardest thing to swallow, try being in my position! Pure affliction, anguish and distress!

I'm much better now though the body and head still feels weird. I don't need medicine. I just need more rest. My body is crying out but it's falling on deaf ears. Soon my dear, soon. I'll rest. Meanwhile, hope I can keep the bugs at bay. The frightful feeling that a migraine attack will be launched any minute is haunting me. M trying my best not to make any big actions and praying hard that God will bless this weird head of mine! The notion that it's lurking in a corner is superbly pressurising!

On a different note, It's the WEEKEND!
Did not sleep in today as I thought I should start treating my body better by cooking some nourishing food for myself! Somehow, the oily chicken rice or beehoon havent been going well with my gastric. Perhaps it's the cause for my indigestion. I need to pinpoint the culprit. THus, i dragged sweetie at 9am and ran errands till 1pm! Thank goodness he's with me, parking on wkends is insanity. Plus, the amount of groceries to be carried, it would take me several trips if he's not around. I would not know what I'd do without him! Which reminds me, i think I overbought again. Sigh. Real bad habit.

Anyway, it's been a while since I've posted food shots. Don't want to turn this blog into a food blog, however, Who can resist food?? So here you go! Gastronomic Culture:

THE STAR! Sweetie was craving for shark's fin, thus suggested I cook it. Didn't do a bad job :)


THOUGHT TO SELF: I must have passion, grit and the vision to see through dark moments. The above is just a portion of my procrastination. Below is my reward! (recipe from Tokyo...hope I get to eat lots when I'm there!)
Strange. Fry-day as just around a moment, and now it's Sunday. In a couple of hours, it's the start of a new wk. It never ceases to amaze me how time flies!

I'll be back!

Insatiable appetite

Cooking to satisfy my insatiable appetite is a passion but designing is a gift. I've always deemed designing as my 2nd nature. Recently, as the mighty canopy of coldly luminescent stars began to peep in and out of the barely overcast sky, I venture into a realm of interior designing. Inspired by Dad who designed his interiors from scratch, I've always wanted to be a designer of some sorts. Sadly, the realisation of this dream is tough in this rat race. The passion was rekindled lately when I saw an awesome lot of gorgeous furnishings. Feast your eyes!

Modern Fresh contemporary chairs. Not the perfect fit with my current decor, but a neat piece of art nonetheless. This contemporary Domitalia is one contemporary furniture designs without neglecting aspects of beauty and elegance. The designer's creativity has transforms into various shape and colours thus not only bring comfort but also freshness into your living room design.

3 yrs. That's how long my current sofa has taken the toil from men and women of all sizes. Soon, it will retire. It's already crying out loud for its due rest, with a spring clearly out of place. However, finding the perfect (and cheap) sofa is a horrendously difficult task. Chanced upon this cool LED sofa. How cool is that!? Sadly, not available in Singapore.

Quirky, retro ellipses. Let your bedding perk up the serious mood of a monochromatic bedroom! Waking up to such a vibrant mix of bold prints would certainly up the happiness level by a notch!
Cool modern bedding ideas! Interesting graphic design which will spice up the mojo! Modern impression is clearly visible when you look at these bedclothing. I WANT!!

What do you want in life?

I'm breathing in whatever Sunday breath there is before Monday barges in officially with a huge big sinister grin.

Does anyone out there realise that it's already April? Heart rendering to realise that not much have been achieved since the start of the year. Last year, I've received my diploma in Creative Writing...this year, it seems a tat too quiet. Aimless. This sound is all too familiar. Where did my resolutions go to? To begin with, what were there? For one, I know I was supposed to be more disciplined, but life isn't reflecting such. The lack of updates on this space is a clear indication.

What do I want in life? There are too many people toiling their lives out there, doing too many "practical" things at the expense of life itself. I want to love my life and be able to turn around to think of the mistakes and experiences that shape my life. But right now, I can only feel the weight and urgency of multiple projects (namely coming from work) being lowered over my head. Whenever I think i've completed a task, a new heap comes along. Am just not hitting my target or am I setting them too high? Then again, I ask myself constantly, if the Chinese can do it, why can't I? Was just sharing an article with students that 5% of the students in China would fall asleep during lessons. Also, their breaks are 10mins (as per someone who came back recently from an exchange prog) as compared to students in Singapore. Lucky us. So how do they do it? Even the Japanese have seen a drop in motivation, with 50+% of the students falling asleep in class! We really need to reflect.

Moment of doubt

Just a few days back I was blogging about how my happy quotient's up and now I'm back to my disgruntled self. Dwelling on nincompoops! Scheduling annoys me to no end and having parents who can't put themselves in others' shoes, adds to the Richter scale. Had someone telling me not to "constantly change" her children's schedule as she can't keep up with the changes. Mind you, her children were the ones who were giving me a bit of a headache at the beginning of the year. To add, the only change was the time, not the day! Also, she's not a parent who executes her concerns over her children's education. It's all empty talk. Today, I was further infuriated by her maid who said "oh, u r late?" Is it any of her business? What about the times when one is early? It's always the case - the flaws get magnified and the positive aspects gets ridiculously shrunk!

It's times like these when I seriously entertain thoughts of throwing in the towel. Why should I be bothered with these people if they are not even bothered with their own future? They are all in a state of inertia and parents have been inculcating wrong fundamentals! Imagine, bringing the kid overseas and be back just a day before an exam! That's just one of the many incidents. Responsibility is what kids these days lack. For that matter, parents have a huge part to play too. They leave the role of Devil's Advocate to outsiders, namely ME. Our society is severely deprived of high-caliber younger generation. It's manifested in their level of eloquence and wit too. Sad but true. They have utterly no respect for their future and take datelines lightly.

Episodes happened and emotions stirred. Need to take a step back and breathe. It's perverse, preposterous, even pathetic to be upset over such people. Perhaps I'm putting too much passion and the whoops of joy often translates to howls of disappointment when others treat you like their beck and call -- was made to feel like this today.





Taking a step back......

They say learning is a linear process...but they did not say that de-learning is also a linear process! Somehow I feel that my brain juices have been sucked out by the green aliens from outer space as I have completely forgotten that I've taken JS1101!


JS1101?? Doesn't ring a bell!

Goodness! I actually learnt these? There was even a full compre in Japanese whereby I had to answer in JAPANESE no less. It's amazing how I actually passed this module! Suspecting highly that aliens sucked my brain juice out! It's so impossible that i have nano recollection about this language!
Watashi wa not good in Japanese des?
These really would come in handy for my forthcoming trip. However, with only 2mths or less of preparation, I'm not sure if i'd be able to jumpstart the engines!

Happiness is within one's control

I hate to say this, but the wkend's coming to a close. However, it had been an awesome wkend. No earth shaking events, just some quiet, almost nondescript everyday matters but these always form the foundation of my happiness. I realise that once I'm on top of things, I feel much better and will be able to receive the week with greater happiness. Taking matters into hand, I cleared 99.5% of my markings by Saturday when sweetie went to Y's place for soccer fest. A feat which no words can express! To be able to complete a multitude of tiresome projects way ahead of time is serenity. The immediacy of them all have been trashed, stepped and trampled on! Sunday -- Errands such as purchasing laser toners (it's appalling how much ink I use for my job!), buying of groceries & necessities and most importantly putting together an itinerary for my big trip in May were all done within a day. Fine-tuning will take a while but at least I finally got started! Setting out and achieving small goals daily should be one little routine that has to be added to my happiness quotient. They say that 40% of happiness is within one's control while the rest is genetically inherited. I'm definitely not gonna let my crazy genes get into the way judging by how insanely unhappy mom is. So here's what you should do instead of procrastinating:

1) Set small goals daily
2) Plan plan plan! Preferably one wk in advance or even one mth in advance! It really helps to ensure things move on more smoothly. Though there's bound to be hiccups, it's all a matter of readjusting to fit into the plan.
3) Treat yourself (even if it's something small like an ice-cream) should you achieve the goals
4) Refocus negative thoughts once in a while, don't let it subconsciously dominate your thoughts.
5) Set realistic goals, not elusive ones
6) Take time off and smell the daisies!

I believe I will still have my disgruntled moments and honestly, i'm still learning how to cope with the uncertainties of life. Dwelling deeply on an issue certainly doesn't help and sometimes if you take a step back you may realise how minuscule the whole matter may be. Learning is not a linear process and I still have to learn how to make time for several activities and live a more meaningful and mindful life. Though chasing after money and status is just as important to me, I MUST take time off and smell the daisies! Which is why, though it's still 2 months away from my big trip, I'm planning already! The research has been grueling. I arduously ploughed through forums and blogs to piece together places to visit. It seems like 8 days isn't enough to cover them all! Perhaps I'm greedy, but it's not somewhere u'd go everyday! (unless you are that rich) So maximizing time and value are top of my list.

Why the Hiatus?

Time seems to just evaporate into air these days. It's been a hectic week thus the lack of updates. Hysteria had been screaming in my head since last Monday resulting in the blog fading to oblivion. There seems to be a multitude of tiresome chores and tasks to attend to, which render me breathless. First was the hols, which saw me waking up the moment sunshine starts to stream through the sleeves of the clouds. HATE THE HOLS! But with that said, it was pleasant to be home at decent hours and catching a meal or two with sweetie. Sweetie went Batam for golf on 14th (Sunday) and as they say, when the cat's away, the mice play! Play I did! Invited my girlfriends over for lunch (1st batch) and dinner (2nd batch). Cooked a whole lot of palatable food. Not boasting but my gfs had 2 bowls of rice! Was nice catching up and chilling over a beer till the wee hours of the night!

Lunch with H and E (who were camera shy). They claimed I overcooked but ended up licking the dishes dry!! Noticed they are all vegetarian? E's pretty hardcore and I had a hard time planning the menu.
The evening menu was way easier. With more meat on the table! Showed off my culinary skills. On the menu: Mayo prawns (a big hit); Prawn paste chicken (am still inaccurate when it comes to saltiness) and my favourite Braised mushroom...oh n of coz the ever famous Bittergourd soup! Was floundering in my own pool of self-conceit!


Finally mastered the art of frying wings! Had to sieve the flour before dusting it onto the chicken for greater consistency. I know it sounds like a chore, but the result's pretty satisfying.This is pretty random. Legend has it, on one's lunar birthday, it's essential that you eat longevity noodles (Mee sua) with two eggs. Supposedly it'd bring the person luck. Well, let's hope that's true!

Last wkend was also peppered with loads of activities -- Wedding @ OOSH on Saturday (which I will blog separately when I have the time) and Baby E's 1st mth on Sunday. Things like marking and organising really had to take the backseat.

Aren't those darlings simply adorable? Baby E is right in the middle. He's currently the thorn amongst the roses..lucky him! Can you spot the odd baby out? It may be a toughie given that she looked pretty much like Baby C with her swollen square jaws!

The one who's the apple of my eye however has to be this babe. Round face, rose-coloured cheeks, and a pair of sparkling alluring eyes -- That's the description my darling A! She's such a poster girl!

Needless to say, with all the activities and no time to prep for the wk, I woke up feeling extremely testy and grouchy. Am totally encased in annoyance and wish I didn't have to work so hard. The consolation, I've booked myself a trip to somewhere! Virgin trip with H. That really excites me to no end though it's only gonna happen at the end of May! Still, at least that's something to look fwd and a motivation to push on! So guess where I'd be heading. Clue's below: