Weekend epiphany...

What a lovely weekend! There was a patch of torrential rain yesterday, which was lovely and this morning we woke up to a bit of snow and a patches of white on the treetops. I am one of those weird people who like the winter better than the summer. It is always easier to keep warm than it is to keep cool. Plus, the cold and the rain gives me an excuse to snuggle up and be lazy in front of the television. Winter is also when the footy season is in full swing, so no guilt in spending lazy afternoons and evenings under the doona (OR, more recently, my knock off Snuggie), watching some exhilarating matches and eat delicious hot, comfort food. Don't judge me, it's my thing. :)

I did get some sad news though - I spoke to some family at home and they told me that my beautiful 80-year old grandmother is giving up on life. She is just tired all the time and she senses that her time on earth is up. It makes me sad that someone who was so full of life and energy is now tired and is ready to face the afterlife. I love her dearly and when I spoke to her, I said to her not to give up, that in alot of ways, 80 is still young. But the grandmother that I had, the one who has always been funny and cheeky could only sigh and said that she was tired. And that someone was coming for her. Due to the meds she has been taking, her blood pressure has dropped significantly, so she gets really dizzy and as a result, she has no appetite. The lack of food has made her weak, and she has been having strange dreams about the afterlife (which could or could not be attributed to the lack of food). She was also lacking haemoglobin and very nearly a blood transfusion.

All I can do is keep her in my prayers and hope that this is just a minor bump in the road. I always thought that my grandmother would live until she was 90, so I really really hope that she can.

Receiving news like that always makes us assess ourselves. Am I really taking care of myself as well as I should? I think the clear answer is NO.

After my wedding, I have been joking that now that I'm married, I can be fat. And I haven't been watching what I eat. Surprisingly, I haven't gained any weight (even though my clothes feel snug and I feel like I have gained weight). Now anyone who has read this blog knows that I love my food and I do NOT like giving up anything delicious.

So what's a girl to do?

I think that I need to do something about my weight and more importantly, I need to device a method that works for me, where I still eat delicious foods (so I don't be deprived), which does not cost Luke and I a fortune, and adhere to a regimen of cardio and Pilates.

I need to lose 25 kilos. Who is with me?

Tomorrow will be day one. But for today, I think some mushroom pizza is in order. :) (not that my mushroom pizza is unhealthy).

x

...I'm going to buy back memories to waken some old qualities...

Have probably said it to death today, but am feeling extremely nostalgic. It started with a lovely facebook wall post from my friend Yvonne, who I went to high school with. And when I talk about Yvonne, Kok Siew and Jin Lee, I don't JUST mean people who I went to high school with. I'm talking about people who are practically my sisters. Back in 1996, I left home at the tender age of 14 to take up the ASEAN scholarship in Singapore. So did Kok Siew, Jin and Yvonne. We were on the same scholarship. In the same hostel. Yvonne and Kok Siew were even roommates. We were also in the same class. We spent nearly every waking moment with each other. And even though we had drifted apart over the years, we got talking again about a couple of years ago, and planned our ten year reunion, which was a trip to Japan. And it was like nothing had changed!!! Now we are still close and talk to each other on a weekly basis through the beauty of whatsapp.

When I got to work and put my headphones in, the iPhone played "Run" by Collective Soul. I felt like I was instantly transported back to my old room at Hua Zhong Hostel, sitting at my table, "studying". And Claudia would be in the table next to me, also "studying". And by "studying" I meant that we were singing, talking and laughing. This song was very popular in 1999, and I remember it clearly because I was studying for my O-Levels and the start of the song used to catch Claudia and I... "All these times contagious, I'VE NEVER BEEN THIS BORED BEFORE!!!" Plus, the chorus which was "Have I got a long way to run" was heard as "We've both got a long way to run" and therefore, we thought that Collective Soul was totally singing about us and our exams. :)

For all who don't know the song, here it is:

And of course, the lyrics:

Are these times contagious
I've never been this bored before
Is this the prize I've waited for
Now as the hours passing
There's nothing left here to mature
I long to find a messenger


Have I got a long way to run [x2]
Yeah, I run [x2]


Is there a cure among us
From this processed sanity
I weaken with each voice that sings
In this world of purchase
I'm going to buy back memories
To awaken some old qualities


Have I got a long way to run [x2]
Have I got a long way to run [x2]
Yeah, I run [x2]
Have I got a long way to run [x2]
Yeah, I run [x4]
Have I got a long way to run [x4]

I had a dream a few weeks ago about being back in Hua Zhong Hostel. It was weird, yet wonderful. Time had passed and we were all the age we are now, but for some reason, we were back there and were going back to high school. It was almost like being at uni and working was the "summer break" from what was acutally going on... we were going back to school. And that's not even the weird part. The weird part of that dream was that all of us knew that it was weird, and was likely a dream, but we were excited about getting to go back to hostel life and promised ourselves to savour every moment.

It is just so amazing that one song could transport you to a point in time of your life, and help you remember every detail of that particular moment. Nothing like a blast from the past to help you remember where you came from, thankful for all the wonderful memories and grateful for the beautiful present life you lead. Thanks for the timely reminder.

xoxo

Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty

You know how songs get stuck in your head? Well, this morning, it was the Selangor anthem. I know. Pretty random. And I was mildly impressed that I could remember all the words.

Then me being me, I proceeded to try to remember the words to all the songs that they made me sing throughout primary school and high school. I went through Negaraku, Duli Yang Maha Mulia, SRK Taman Melawati School Song, then the CHIJ School Song and even the Singapore National Pledge. I remembered everything - all the words, all the tunes. EXCEPT THE SINGAPORE NATIONAL ANTHEM. How the hell did that happen?

Anyway, being a complete Google geek - I typed in my old high school motto: Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty. And found this. I also went to the school's website and found out that there was an IJ iPhone (or iTouch) application - WTF? I'm so checking that out when I go home.

So that was my reminiscing for the morning. Time to keep my head down and get some work done. Only two more days until I finish up at my job! Eek!

3.30pm rocks up and I am desperately trying to gain some momentum on this complaint which I have been trying to write up for days. I was getting frustrated because all day, people have been interrupting me and preventing me from getting work done. When I assessed my status report last week, I thought that I was able to finish my work before I leave. I don't think that this is the case now.

So 3.30pm - half an hour before I leave work (and before you judge me on that, please note that I have been at work since 7am) and this woman walks up to me and starts asking me where to get good Chinese food. Come on. Define good. And define Chinese. And... who are you?

She starts telling me about how she was Singaporean and that she loves Chinese food and the Chinese food in Hobart will never be able to replicate the delicious food in Singapore, etc. She then proceeds to ask me where I'm from. I inform her that I'm from Malaysia, but I studied in Singapore for four years. She asked which school and I say IJ (Toa Payoh). She didn't say anything. But then further into the conversation she tells (quite proudly) that she was the CONVENT OF THE HOLY INFANT JESUS. And the one in Victoria Street too. To which I say "That's the same school I went to!". Turns out it didn't quite register when I said IJ (Toa Payoh) and also she informed me that they always called it the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, or CHIJ at the very least. I think she was even quite distressed that we shortened the name that much. She had graduated in 1962 and from what I can tell, it was a very different school back then. But one thing doesn't appear to have changed - the pride we felt for the school when we talked about it.

I never thought that I would like IJ, let alone love it. I was receipt of the ASEAN Secondary Scholarship, picked by the Ministry of Education in Singapore and left home for the first time when I was 14. Went to live in this hostel and was placed in a single-sex school. Life was vastly different from what I was used to. Attending my first day of school, I remember thinking: I have never seen so many girls in one place before.

And I was convinced I was going to hate it.

But far from it. I loved every minute of it, the friends I made, the laughter we shared and the memories which would last forever. I am extremely proud to be an IJ girl.

So back to my story with Rosemary. It's funny, once the IJ bond was established, it didn't matter that we were years apart and only knew each other for al of five minutes. We exchanged numbers and promised to keep in touch. It is funny that after working at RBF for a year, I meet a fellow IJ girl (woman) in my final week there, on the same day I was reminiscing about my younger days!

So calling out to any old IJ friends out there - if any of you are reading this, leave a comment and tell me your favourite IJ memory!

The IJ Spirit's living on,
It's stretching far and far beyond,
It's never gonna die it's gonna live in each of us.
And we will keep it burning burning strong,
The flame of zest lies in us all along,
Always inspiring us, to go on.

Banana cake

I absolutely LOVE banana anything. I didn't use to be a big fan of bananas, I think mainly because they weren't a juicy fruit. Growing up in Malaysia and Singapore has spoiled me for fruits. Back at home, there are sooooooooo many juicy fruits which are readily available and what's more, they are not expensive to buy at all! (from memory but times have changed and they may well be expensive).

Coming back to bananas - growing up I didn't like that. Especially the big ones that they sell here in Australia, but Mom and Dad used to buy them all the time, but I think it was because Dad really liked them. When I started eating bananas, I started to really like one particular sort of banana (and the name escapes me right now, but I will get back to this post after I speak to my mother). They were small banans with beautiful white white and VERY sweet flesh. I am usually able to at about four or five of these babies in one sitting. Absolutely delicious.

But aside from that I didn't like bananas.

I don't know when I changed, but now I love everything banana. Banana bread, banana milk, banana cake and even the banana ( I know that sounds stupid, but I love peanut butter, and not peanuts!)  Love it! I remember my mother making the most amazing butter cake and banana cake and I didn't really appreciate them until just before she stopped making them! When she was visiting me, I asked for the recipe and she promised that she would look for these recipes when she got home. She's been home for two months and I have not had a sniff of any recipes! She probably forgot and I keep forgetting to remind her. Nevermind, nothing the internet can't fix.

So we had some over-ripe bananas - I seriously want banana cake. So I googled "easy banana cake" and this recipe appeared. I liked it instantly because it looked easy and it did not have very many ingredients. Made it and result? Pretty awesome. I think I ate the whole loaf in a period of two days! Oops! That can't be good for weight loss.

It is delish and not too unhealthy, but surely a whole loaf can't be good for anyone. I'm going to give this recipe another go, but this time, I might try freezing individual pieces. I'll let you know how it goes!

Salads galore and my favourite meat

I think part of the reason why Luke and I are so suited to each other is because we both love the same things. One of our mutual love is Aussie's favourite meat: lamb**. I LOVE a good grilled lamb. I remember the first time I had lamb, I fell absolutely in love with it. It is a weird fuzzy memory though because I was 10 or 11, living in Malaysia. It was a family trip to Cameron Highlands (or was it Fraser's Hill? I told you this memory was fuzzy) with Deb's family and Uncle Casey's family. We hired a holiday bungalow and as luck would have it, THERE WAS A WATER OUTAGE. We had to take our "showers" from buckets filled with water - it was great! (as a child, it was very exciting, but on hindsight - it would have been nice if there was running water). But we had a great time! I can't even remember what we did, but I distinctly remember the housekeeper making scones for high tea and that night, we had a barbeque. I remember the food being amazing, can't really remember what we ate, but I remember the lamb. And it was the first time I tried lamb. I LOVED the flavour of it and have never looked back since.

How do I like my lamb cooked? I just love it with a toch of salt, and grilled (or pan-fried - which is what I do when I'm making it for dinner). I'm not a fan of crumbed lamb, I don't understand why would anyone want to put a crust on such a beautiful piece of meat. I think that because lamb has got such beautiful flavour, it should be enjoed as is. No mint sauce for me either - sacrilege I know, but I don't care! It has got to be pink and juicy inside and I believe that is the ONLY way to eat lamb!

In this dish, I went through the fridge to see what needed to be eaten. We had the following ingredients:

a) tomatoes;
b) basil;
c) zucchini;
d) red capsicum; and
e) fetta cheese

So I tossed the tomatoes and basil with some Paul Newman's balsamic vinegerette and some extra virgin olive oil. Tomato salad, DONE.

I then grilled the zucchini and capsicum, seasoned with some ground sea salt and black pepper and tossed with some olive oil. Topped it with some fetta.

All in all a very quick and delicious dinner! I believe it might be healthy too! *gasp*

**some people may disagree, but this is my blog, so my blog, my opinion - get over it!