Last day of slackin'

Ho Ho Ho....

Christmas dinner:





























Onion soup & foie gras:















Duck Confit















Santa's hats for dessert:


































And it's back to work for me tomorrow and 2 weeks later, back to school. Work + School...hope I can manage!

Awful start, brilliant end to a Wednesday

Am feeling much much better after this morning's terrible migraine & nausea and I'm soo proud of myself 'cause I managed to clear 2 huge boxes of old clothes (to be donated) and tidy up my state-of-the-mess room such that I actually have space to not only walk, but spin about now!

And just to get into the festive spirit, I re-decorated my nails using youtube tutorials (though I used a darker red simply 'cause I don't have a good bright, chilli red polish)

Mr Rudolph: Season's Greetings everyone!

"Rudolph steals away with Santa's hat"

Surfing through Christmas deco online. Am in love with all these!!

And finally, doing up some deco for Fri's party...snowflakes & stars hung up so that they don't get tangled up..

Body falling apart

Just when my back's getting better and have recovered from the monthly cramps and diarrhea, I have to be down with...gastric flu: non-stop vomiting, fever, aches & chills the past 2 days. And when I finally seem to be getting better, a superbly awful migraine + nausea has to hit me today (probably from the dehydration). It seems like pain and discomfort are starting to become a part of my life, and my body's really starting to tear apart. And I'm only in my mid-20s!! ARGHHHHHHHHHH.....

Anyhow, I'll just try to imagine that I'm on a detoxification program these couple of days where my body purges everything out and refuses to take anything in. Coupled with the diarrhea which I experienced last weekend, I've already lost about 2kg - about all the weight which I gained after my break from work. Just hope I'll be well enough to enjoy the Christmas parties this coming Fri till Sun.

On a brighter note, I finally managed to catch Arthur Christmas on Monday morning (right before the gastric flu attacked at night) and shopped for a bunch of garb from H&M - something which was impossible to do last Saturday, what with this major overcrowded-with-foreigners city which floods the whole of Orchard Rd's malls & shops. I think the local H&M is just as good as their European counterparts- apparels just like what topshop, mango, river island & the likes carry, but at half the price or less. Let me see, I haven't shopped for clothes in a proper store for ages simply because I can always get similar stuff online at much cheaper prices & not have to be part of any crowd which is a major major issue in S'pore now. I'm really starting to hate going anywhere these days since there's sure to be truckloads of people and half of them aren't even your fellow citizens. It's not that I'm xenophobic or anything but seriously, if I wanna experience mingling around "unfamiliar" people, I might as well migrate to another place...and preferably one where basic manners & etiquette are present.

Decembers are ♥

Excellent latte from my favourite cafe!!















Once again, it's my absolute fave month of the year: December! Birthdays, shopping, gifts, parties, good food and best of all.... festive slacking!- something which I haven't gotten a chance to do since I started working 2 years ago (esp. last year...the memories of how horrible the festive season was still haunts me).

Anyhow, I'm just looking forward to enjoying these 2 weeks before work & school starts again. Really really dread becoming a penniless mugger once again for the next 2-3 years, especially since I really enjoy my current job (the teaching, the kids & the colleagues) and the fact that my earnings allow me to spend freely. I'm not a spendthrift person but you know, when you aren't earning your own keep, you have to fret over how to spend your miserable monthly budget in the best way, think thrice about shopping for knick knacks, splurging on good food and most importantly, traveling during holidays! SIGHS. That's the down side of going back to school after tasting working life but I guess the fruits of my labour will eventually outweigh the downsides...I hope.

For now, it's back to enjoying the lazy & quiet break with stuff like sleeping (I need to lay down ALOT recently because of this bad back problem), watching good old x'mas movies like Eloise, MUppets Christmas Carol etc. and changing the look of my nails every other week..or every other day, especially when I get some inspiration and think of something nice. But right now, it's sparkle and all because it's DECEMBER!

I named this "Stars fall on the dark lake"



















And this..."Strawberry icicles"



















And lastly, "Black forest glaze"

Food posts

Aching neck, thighs, throat etc. Dead beat from the crazy roller coaster riders @ USS yesterday. Below is a collection of yummy food I've had in the recent 2 months:

Laduree macaroons (frm Tokyo) & superb cheese toast (Kyoto)





























And continuing the Japanese gourmet journey back home, Nabeyaki Udon, Hiyashi Chuka:




























Crab meat & roe rice and Cream puffs frm Hokkaido:





























And my all-time fave, Dimsum breakfast:

Loves..

Today is a day to remember. I'll probably mark it down on every organizer that I have. So many good things happening all at once, before I can even register my good fortune. Hopefully things stay this way and not turn into some calm before the storm. And to think that I was actually soo down in the dumps & worrying about so many things just a few days ago..

Rabbits flying...

I've had my little boy for close to a decade now ♥

Feeling nothing

Break's ended, work's started again, so far so good. Trip was actually pretty good, except I developed a nasty flu on the second night which worsened all the way till I came back, went to see a doc, got antibiotics & 2 days medical leave frm work (yes!). Plus, we got caught in the middle of one of Japan's worst typhoons in years, during our stay in Kyoto, which stole the clear blue sky & warmth away from us (a huge pity since the picturesque hills, forests & serene temples would have looked even more stunning in good weather). Oh wells.

Tokyo is just like any major capital city; worse than European ones actually since there isn't anything significantly unique or stunning to see (but way above in terms of hygiene and service- well, everyone probably already knows that by now) so it's no mind-boggling matter that we took a day trip out to Mt Fuji & lake district area for sightseeing. An awesome choice because Lake Kawaguchi is amazing, and it's only 1 out of 5-6 lakes surrounding Mt Fuji. Cycling around the lake for hours while soaking up the warmth & gentle breeze (but cold air in the evening) on an empty stomach and non-stop coughing due to the flu was quite an experience. Sigh. Traveling to wonderful places while on long breaks are such a joy and precious to me. I really do enjoy traveling, even though I'm not a really that great a traveler since I tend to always develop some ailment (nausea, migraine, constipation etc.) or fall ill but who cares. These are experiences in a lifetime and a great way to escape the claustrophobic, senseless, dull, monotonous and fast-changing-till-I-can-hardly-recognize-city-because-of-the-non-stop-invasion-of-foreigners place which I call home. If I wasn't such a creature of comfort and had a family here, I probably would have left for some other country. Or if I could afford taking a few years off to live & study somewhere else.

Macs

I'm usually not a big fan of sweets but I adore good macarons (and lemon meringue tarts). Hence, was short of gobbling down the whole box of macarons my bro bought back frm Paris. I have to say that Ladurée makes really good macs - swell of interesting flavours like green apple, black pepper, turkish delight etc. which are not cloyingly sweet and artificial-tasting (unlike many of those found locally) and I can really taste tiny nutty pieces with every bite!

Recent 'pennings.

Work's been busy busy busy and increasingly challenging because of a certain difficult student in class. I've been feeling so drained, mentally and physically these 2 weeks, esp. late last wk and beginning of this wk. Hopefully things will go uphill from here and not spiral further down into the pits.

Dinner tonight @ raindrops with me besties; above average food and beer.

















































Super peking duck 2 weeks ago..quack!










Time to head to bed. I've been going to bed earlier and earlier esp. during the weekdays - slept at 8.30pm last night and woke up at 6plus this morning (my usual waking up time). Though still feel tired despite my ample rest. Sigh. I don't know why I always feel so tired and get lethargic so easily. Is it 'cause of my poor blood circulation or what?

Work stuff

My first folder tasks for the kids. May look simple but takes sooo much time and effort to produce!!

New year, new beginnings..

D flowers!

Ramen Santouka. standard seems to have dropped a little compared to my previous visit

I've started on a new perm job last week and so far, I'm really liking what I do...which by the way, is teaching kids at a special ed school for autism. Have been learning new stuff every single day which I think is great if I really decide to specialise in this field next time. And unlike my previous research job where I had days and weeks with nothing other to do but interact with the computer, I'm kept busy and occupied almost every minute of the day at work now ('cept during lunch) which is super exhausting but nice and fulfilling.

Happy buns

I love this new yr because it's the year of my favourite one!
Plus, I'm stuffed & have gained back all the weight that I lost previously

When it pours non-stop,

This is what happens. View of the fog/mist forming on the hill from my balcony.



Lunchies this week & the past. Spot the similarities?



My hands & feet have been ice-cold all week because of the weather.

Recharged

Today's lunch (fried egg, lettuce, ham & shrooms sandwich)


Yes, after a full week's rest (quit my job last week), am feeling so much more energized & refreshed. Plus, I've more or less recovered from the flu which pestered me for over 2 weeks since Christmas eve. Apart from the long working hours, I think another reason why I felt so exhausted, down and moody over the last few weeks was because of my flu. Now that I'm fully rested, I actually miss work (can't believe I'm saying this); not the crazy 12-hr work shifts at my previous workplace of course, but just working in general. In fact, I'm actually ready to start work anytime but the only problem now is to actually find a job. Jeez, I really really hate job searches.

On the other hand, if I have good stuff to keep myself preoccupied & entertained currently (traveling for instance), I probably wouldn't even miss working at all. And watching all about the Fiji islands on discovery TLC yesterday really makes me wanna travel there to dive, slack and soak up all the warmth, sun and beauty of that paradise-looking place. NZ and all those gorgeous island nations near it have now topped my travel wish list.

Neways, freedom allowed me to try out 2 new (to me) eateries with my pals last week. The first one's Kko Kko Nara, a korean place which serves super duper good fried chicken. The other dishes my friends ordered are probably good too but I didn't really try them because they were really spicy and i was still having a bad cough last week. The other eatery is the very hyped about Food for Thought. Contrary to the raves I've heard about over their sandwiches, it was nothing fantastic imo, but the shrooms pasta is really good and so is their salad, which comes as a side. Will probably go back to check out their pancakes another time soon.