Friday, finally!

*edited*

These two weeks have been awfully stressful for me. I've been so physically and mentally exhausted to the point where I almost cried in class (but I pretended to be busy cleaning the whiteboard so nobody could see me furiously blinking back those tears) so I'm really glad the weekend is finally here!

Had a fun girly futsal session at West End on Tuesday which did make me feel a bit better; nevermind that I twisted my ankle again.. it was worth it.



Had to say goodbye to five students this week :(


(thanks for the photo, Judy!)

One of them was a student from Switzerland, who gave me a thoughtful little "thank-you" gift- A SwissCard (kinda like a swiss army knife in the form of a card. It's the coolest thing! /geeky) wrapped in a picture of the alps near where he lives, and a tourist information booklet of his hometown of St. Gallen, filled with beautiful pictures and travel information. It made me want to hop on a plane to Switzerland right there and then.



It seems a little odd to call Roland "my student" when he's the same age as my dad. He also has the same good nature, positive outlook and sense of humour, so naturally I have grown quite fond of him during his seven weeks in my class.

He proudly tells me about his family in Switzerland- of his grown-up children, his wife, and his daughter my age who was recently in Singapore leading a team in the Youth Olympic Games. He could not contain his excitement the last two days in class because his wife had gotten on the plane and was on her way to Brisbane- He had not seen her for 11 weeks and could not wait to pick her up from the airport.



Roland is one person who has truly inspired me with his determination to live life to the fullest. Love, live and learn, he says. "If someone my age can learn English, anything is possible." :)

I really look forward to seeing him again and meeting his family one day, in beautiful St. Gallen!

Anyway, had a nice dinner @ Milano's after work with Cakes and a happily tipsy chatty Eddie...



Followed by Starbucks ♥



It was lovely just chilling out with two people I love, after a long loooong week.

If only there were more days in a weekend!

More random photos on Facebook [ here ].

Footwear fashionista... not?

5 of the World's Ugliest Shoes

Do a quick search on the internet and these will definitely come up. And in response to articles like [ this ]...

1. Ugg boots



I has them.



In fact, I has TWO! (had a black pair too but chucked 'em cos they're too worn out).



I cannot live without my Uggs in winter because my feet get freakin cold easily. These babies keep my tootsies deliciously warm and cozy! They can look kinda cute too when worn with shorts or tights.

2. Crocs



I has them.

Both in the Classic and Santa Cruz.



My Santa Cruz loafers are soooo comfy and versatile. These shoes have been with me everywhere- from the muddy mosh pits of Tiësto to the hawker stalls of Clementi in Singapore. They are dirty and smelly and frayed, but I love 'em to death. Definitely one of my favourite pairs of shoes! Usually nobody even realizes they're Crocs.



Now the rubber clogs, on the other hand, are used only and STRICTLY for limited/specific purposes-



1. Gardening
2. Taking the trash out
3. Family bonfires
4. Fishing in the summer
5. Going to KFC/Mc Donald's (drive-thru only)
6. Driving to/home from futsal sessions, when I'm too lazy to wrestle my tight socks off

I cringe whenever I see a well-dressed girl in a shopping mall with her feet adorned in hideously chunky pink clogs.

Love those silly little Croc buttons tho (Jibbitz, I think they're called). Mr. Crab is my favourite :)

3. Jellies



I has them.



And no I do not think my Kate Spade jelly slings are anywhere near "UGLY". They're lovely and pretty and can be perfectly dressed up or down. I sometimes wear them to work in the summer, or pair them up with cute shorts or a skirt for going out.




4. Gladiators



I has them.



Great for when the weather's too hot for boots, or when I need something edgier to spice up an otherwise boring too-girly outfit.


5. Birkenstocks



I has them.



In terms of chio-ness, mine are a bit boring (I always buy my stuff in boring colours cos I like to be able to mix n'match them with everything else) but I've seen some of my friends rock Birks in different styles and patterns and colours, and they pull em off perfectly!



I honestly don't think they look too bad at all. Plus in terms of comfort, these cannot be compared to the many pairs of Havaiianas I own that look good but hurt my feet when I walk in them for too long because of the lack of arch support.

*****

Point of this post?

I love shoes...



But I believe that comfortable footwear should never be compromised. Yes comfy shoes are generally uglier shoes, but this doesn't mean they should be completely banned from the face of the earth.

Let the "fashion gurus" scorn and scoff. Who gave them the right to? Why do we listen to them in the first place? I believe that if you choose styles and colours that are versatile, pair them up with the right outfits and wear them on appropriate occasions (no Uggs at a job interview, please), you could make any type of footwear work for you.

So save those heels for a special occasion, give your feet a break and slip into something comfy! Happy feet make for happy people :)

(-__-)

ALL WEEK I've been waiting for the weekend so I could sleep in.

It's finally Saturday and I woke up at 5.30am fml.

Of food and fishing

Two of my favourite things to do on a weekend!

I love sleeping in and then having the time to whip up a lovely hearty Sunday brunch..



Fresh Angus beef sausages with parsley and roast garlic, wilted spinach, sauteed mushrooms, sunny-side-up egg, pan-grilled truss tomato, baked beans, and garlic butter prawns. Mmhmm. x)

Also made cucur udang (prawn fritters), which certainly looked more presentable than the burnt lumps of cucur pisang (mashed banana fritters) I made the previous day.



All washed down with a couple of Nudies :)



I love Nudies but this green concoction of juice + spirulina/green tea/wheat grass/passion flower was perhaps a little too ambitious for my taste buds.


Kitteh spies over neighbourhood

After cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, we decided to head to Shorncliffe... The tide was coming in and because it was a Sunday evening, the jetty was pretty much deserted and we had a great time fishing in the company of an amiable geophysicist who kept us entertained with his jokes and muses.

The wind died down, the moon was bright, and it was a beautiful starry night. ★ The water was so clear (even at night) that we could see little puffies and schools of pike swimming around!

Something huge took on Eddie's bait but alas, he lost it in the midst of fighting it. He thinks it was probably a shark judging from the way it ran (stingrays don't run- they suction themselves to the seabed and stubbornly refuse to budge), and the way the line seemed to have been cut clean with serrated teeth.

I caught a variety of smaller fish, but this was the only one we brought home:



It certainly satiated my cravings for fresh bream! I just can't quite describe the taste of fish which had been alive minutes before it hit the fryer...



Even Mariah could not resist, we had to pry her away from the plate haha.

More fishing photos on Facebook [ here ].

Great end to another great weekend, I can't wait for the next one to come around!

Out and about

Had originally planned to go to the museum today, but slept the whole morning away after last night's excitement.

Decided to go to Southbank for lunch anyway, and settled for fish n'chips @ Decks.

Wanted to take a photo of this dad and little boy looking at the menu, when his gorgeous little girl who was running around excitedly got into the picture :)



Weather was beautiful! It was quite cool but the sun was out.



Ibis sulking in the background because we wouldn't give him food...



... because we had cuter company!

OHAI



Ducky is greedy but not easily fooled.

Dessert- Hazelnut chocolate-filled banana from the market

I don't like chocolate but I must say it somehow goes really well with banana!

Wanted to catch a movie but there wasn't anything good showing at the cinema at the time.

What's a good movie to watch these days??

Murphy's Law

We were on our way to (the other) Spot X when Eddie realized he had forgotten his gaff.

When we got there I told him that Murphy's Law is going to happen- The day he forgets his gaff will be the day he gets a big fish.


Gangstaahhh

Sure enough, it was EXACTLY what happened... except I was the one who caught the fish.

It was the fiestiest thing I've ever hooked up. I fought till my arms were numb and felt like dislocating! It was a battle of who would give in to exhaustion first, and finally the fish lost. I gasped when I saw the beautiful shimmery silver scales emerge to the surface as I reeled it in because damn, IT WAS THE BIGGEST FISH I'VE EVER CAUGHT!! :D

Now the only thing between me and the fish was a stupid railing, like so-


I couldn't haul the fish over the railing because it was way too big for my light line and little rod, so I yelled for Eddie (who was fishing further up) to give me a hand, and he came running.

Since we had no gaff, he tried to bring up the fish with his hands through the railings (with gloves of course- Jews have big mouths full of tiny sharp teeth!). The moment the fish felt fingers down its throat it started thrashing with full-force again and Eddie being Eddie, not wanting to hurt the fish by being rough, let go to try to get a better grip.

THEN THE LINE SNAPPED #$^&*$@#%.

We watched in horror as Mr. Jew started drifting away (it wasn't swimming cos it was probably still stunned). Eddie made a mad dash after the fish, squeezed his upper body between the taut railing wires and lunged. He managed to grab at it but the fish, suddenly realizing it was free of the line, easily slipped through his grasp and with a final flick of its tail, said goodbye and disappeared into the water.

:(

Eddie's devastated and depressed because he thinks it's his fault that I didn't get to take a picture with my fish. I'm disappointed too but I'm more concerned about the poor fishie's wellbeing because I'm upset we didn't get to get if off the hook before releasing it; I hope it's okay and that it can still eat and survive with a permanent piercing (a 1/0 jighead + banana prawn soft plastic) hanging in its mouth!

Sigh.

Oh well, plenty more fish in the sea... *attempts to cheer self up*

EKKA public holiday

No plans to go to the EKKA at all- Overpriced, overcrowded, and too many germs.

Here's what we did instead!

Spoilt ourselves with a nice simple homecooked dinner last night..



Juicy, oven-baked lamb cutlets sprinkled with rosemary and drizzled with red wine/garlic gravy, with a side of squash + zucchini and potato mash with a generous dash of freshly-cracked Sarawak black pepper (I LOVE my pepper!)

Baked an apricot and yoghurt cake this morning..



Served with apricot halves and mango + apricot yoghurt



We basically bummed at home all day because it was gloomy the whole bloody day and it didn't stop raining the night before, which ruined our plans of going night-fishing.

So when the sun finally peeked out in the late afternoon, Eddie and I grinned at each other. B-)

However we had some unexpected company just as we were about to step out, and to cut the story short, there wasn't very much sunlight left when we finally got out of the house.

It was low tide at Spot X (which translates as "no fish"). In addition we were there for only about half an hour? The only time I got a bite was when I was reaching for my camera to capture the beautiful peachy-pink sunset hues reflected on the water O.o



I was totally unexpecting it and it didn't even occur to me that I had to strike to sink the hook so bummer, I lost the fish :( Slimy evidence on the line told us it was a catfish, and as much as I wanted to stay longer, it was starting to get too dark so we had to pack up.

Oh well. At least I got some nice photos :)



Hope everyone had a good day off.

Selamat buka puasa to all my Muslim friends!

This little piggy...

Mooncake festival is almost here again!

Eddie and I love these piggies that are made with the stuff mooncake skin is made of, and stuffed with bean paste.



Mmm. Can't wait to sink my teeth into a four-yolk mooncake.

Hello it's August!

Today was about as good as a Saturday could get :)

Slept in this morning (LOVE not having to wake up at 6.30am :D). Had a hankering for nachos (even though we had stuffed ourselves sick with Mexican food @ Montezuma's last night), so we went to Dos Amigos for lunch.


Margaritas, nachos, Eddie and his deep-fried jalapeño

The nachos was by far the most SINFUL thing I've ever eaten... The plate was swimming with so much sour cream and sauce and cheese and beans and guacamole that I couldn't even see the corn chips!

We felt so blissed out after lunch that we stopped by Perrin Park on the way home, took out our camping chairs (which I conveniently had in my boot), and sat down in the middle of the park to soak up the lovely sunshine.



Eddie snoozed off!

After half an hour or so, I dropped Eddie home before heading to West End to watch the girls play in the AUG futsal tournament.

They did well and I'm proud of them! :D I half wish I were playing too but I'm glad I'm not cos I'm waaaay too out of shape to run.

Alright I'm off to edit more futsal photos. Am now munching on the slice of yummy blueberry cake Jane brought this morning when she dropped by to pick up some books.

Ma Baker is now in Brissy!!!

Leaving you with photos of kitteh taking full advantage of the heater...

OHAI

Kthxbai! Snore.

Oh, nom..

I love handmade jewellery.

And I clearly have a fetish for kitschy handmade jewellery that ressemble FOOD.



Can't wait for these yummy little things to arrive in the mailbox :D

You make me wanna...

It's 3.30am and I've been sitting here drooling over Usher's old and new MVs on YouTube.

My sister and I caught Usher in concert while I was home for a short holiday a few weeks ago.



Anyway, I accidentally clicked on one of his suuu-per old clips just now and almost choked on my instant soup when I saw Usher uhm, gyrating in the form of a scrawny teenager on my screen. Same big nose yes, but OMG so not sexy.

Yet the older he gets, the more sex appeal he oozes..

*recalls tudung-clad Malay girls in front of us screaming and swooning as he made love to the microphone stand on stage*



It's not fair, why do men look better the older they get, but women don't??

O.o

Whatever lah. Usher is still hotness.

Facebook photos of the rest of my awesome trip home [ here ].

Irony

Everything in my life is so stable right now, but I've never felt so uncertain about the future.

My perfect little world is nothing but a fragile little bubble, perched atop a toothpick, waiting to be popped.