Food & drink with Downton Abbey

I made some vegetarian fried rice for lunch today. I was trying to figure it how much I should make, given that it’ll only be me eating it over the next day or two. I decided to cook one cup of brown rice, thinking that I may as well make extra, so I can have half for lunch today, and then have the rest for lunch tomorrow.

But by the time I had put in all the veges, it looked like there was enough to last me for all five lunches for the work week, omg 😂 I ended up having some for dinner tonight too, so that I can finish the batch earlier rather than later in the week. I’m going to be sooo sick of fried rice by the time Wednesday or Thursday rolls around! And I’m not one of those people that can have the same dish every single day for a whole week. I need variety. So I’m gonna struggle big time!

And then to top it all off, it doesn’t even taste all that nice! 😩 And I’m stuck with at least two more meals’ worth of the damn dish. Maybe I’ll add some more salt to it, salt seems to do wonders to dishes!

I had a glass of wine with my crappy fried rice tonight, probably my first glass this year. How in the world did I get through four months of this year without having had a glass of wine?? I’ve had other drinks (even a beer, and I don’t even like beer!), but no wine. But now that I’ve broken the drought, things will probably change for the remainder of the year 😉

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And then I finished off the evening with the first ever episode of Downton Abbey! It was good, I will definitely continue with this series. One of the actors from Game of Thrones is in this series. Well I guess enough characters die in that series that they have to look for other work once their GoT character gets killed off! I wouldn’t be surprised if I see more GoT actors pop up in Downton Abbey as I continue to watch theseries!

The countdown begins

We had a good Latin lesson today. Our teacher didn’t seem so annoyed with our dancing, maybe we didn’t hurt his eyes too much today 😂 We must have done more things right than wrong 😆

We went home afterwards to pack – well, for N to pack, as he’s flying back to Oz tonight, for work and for karate. He’s away for ten days, so I/we will have a bit of a break from dancing during this time. I may have to go do something else over the next ten days, especially since we have a comp just a few days after he gets back, and I can’t be completely unfit for it!

Our dance studio had a dinner and dance tonight, so we went for some food and a bit of dancing, before we had to leave early for N to get to the airport at a decent time without having to rush. Plus N wanted to go home and take a shower (since we still danced a fair bit tonight) before jumping on a plane for eight hours 😆

So the countdown begins until he returns… Today is t – 10 😊

Progress and friendship

We had Chinese class and our teacher finally got the chance to read my latest diary entry, which I wrote aaages ago. I wrote this entry in large characters, as I wanted to practise my handwriting. It’s not tooo bad, but obviously could do with some work 😂 He also seemed happy with my progress, since he didn’t have to correct so much stuff in this entry, so that was promising. It feels like I’m actually getting somewhere! But what I was most impressed about was the fact that my entry made him laugh! Written in another language! That was pretty cool. Not that I was playing with the words of the language or anything – it was just my story that made him laugh – but the fact that I could convey enough of the story in Chinese to make him laugh is good enough for me 👍

We then went over to our friends’ place tonight to watch some soccer ⚽️ They follow the A-League in Australia, and so we watched the Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory semi-final. One of their kids isn’t really into soccer, so I think he and I were the only ones who weren’t so keen on watching 😆 I only go for the social aspect, to catch up with them for dinner and a few drinks. It just so happens that a soccer match was also on while we were over 😊

It’s always good to catch up with them. They’re probably going to head back to Oz next year, so it’ll be rather sad to see them leave. Nothing’s definite yet, but I don’t want to get my hopes up thinking that they’re staying, only to see them leave, y’know? And who knows where we’ll be either, and where the universe wants us to be. So for the time being, I’m enjoying our time here, with all of us in the same country, while it lasts.

A quick trip down memory lane

It was a friend’s birthday today, so we went out to Clarke Quay for a few drinks, which was good fun. We were first put up at Clarke Quay when we first arrived in SG, but we didn’t really wander around and explore the area, with all the numerous bars and restaurants there. But I don’t remember what we did in those first few weeks?! We didn’t know anyone here at the time, nor did we know the country all that much, so what did we do in those first weeks?!? Maybe we just ate in the serviced apartment?? I seriously do not remember! 😳

Ohhhh I think we went to the shopping malls nearby, like Liang Court and even Plaza Singapura. We used to walk to and from Plaza Sing, which is probably a good 15-20 minute walk. This may not sound like much, so in order to get the idea of what this actually feels like in SG heat and humidity, you probably have to triple this, as the humidity here really kills you and sucks all your energy. And this was before share bikes, so we always just walked the entire distance . Crazy stuff. Looking back, I can’t believe we did this on a regular basis 😂

A typical Thursday

Today was what is now a typical Thursday: our usual trip to the vet in the morning; my FX seminar and regular trading in the afternoon; and dancing in the evening. It’s nice in a way to reflect back on how this is now what my typical Thursday looks like at the moment, as I’m sure this wasn’t what my Thursdays looked like this time last year. And as time plays itself out – as it always does – this may change again by the time 2019 rolls around. But for now, I’m just enjoying Thursdays as they are 😊

I also finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower today. I don’t quite agree with all the hype about this book (at least when it was first released), but then again, I am no longer a young adult, so maybe my 20-year old self would’ve appreciated it more. But still, I enjoyed Twilight, another book aimed at young adults, as well as The Hunger Games. But they’re in the fantasy genre, and this one was more “real”, so maybe my age just played a bit more of a role with this one. Nonetheless, it was an easy read, and a somewhat enjoyable one, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time 😊

I’m also still working my way through Three Wishes, still enjoying all the Sydney references, even down to a local pub that we used to go to after work! Awww… good times 😊

I am enjoying having multiple books on the go, it seems to work quite well for me. So now that I’ve finished Wallflower, I’m on the hunt for a new book 📖

A ride to dancing

Today we finally got a nice sunny day. So I took our new scooter out for a ride! I was going to ride it all the way to dancing, which is over 5km away, but I was only about halfway to the dance studio when I noticed the time: there was only ten minutes until our lesson and I still had the second half of the route to ride. I wasn’t going to make it. So I quickly jumped on a train for the remainder of the trip. The ride took longer than I expected it to because of the pedestrian traffic, as it was pretty much peak hour when I was riding through. Plus I was taking an unfamiliar route, so I didn’t know the streets, and I definitely didn’t know the footpaths and which side of the road would be better to ride on etc etc. Nonetheless, it was good fun 😊 It’d definitely be more fun if there were less people around, so maybe riding to the vet in the mornings would be quite ok. Although it may be a bit of a bumpier ride for Kitty than what she’s used to! I’ll have to try and do that dry run soon, maybe do it a few times to figure out the best route on the scooter. And then it’ll all be sorted by the time Kitty comes with me 👍

I was actually going to suggest that we skip Latin practice tonight, because I was just lacking energy, but I’m glad we didn’t. Our dances didn’t fall apart as badly as I thought they would. They don’t feel great (will they ever?!), but at least we got through them relatively ok.

This is one of my other favourite quotes from the interweb: “Wow, I really regret that workout!” – said no one ever. Coz I never regret practising. I may drag myself to the dance studio and feel like crap beforehand, but I always feel good afterwards. The dancing may be shite and I may get frustrated at either N or myself (or both of us!) during the session, but I never regret actually putting in the effort to practice and train.

Frustratement galore

Frustratement galore today. My favourite word 😂

Firstly, it rained again. The universe does not want me to ride my/our new scooter. Let’s see how my luck goes tomorrow, and whether the skies will let me ride anywhere at all!

My trading was abysmal today too, so that didn’t go my way either. I was doing stupid things, and the market was moving stupidly too. Ok it probably wasn’t, and it was all me, but I just felt like everything about the market was stupid today 😂

Remember that comic that I bought in three languages? I read a bit more of the Chinese one today. But my reading is just sooo slowww, so it’s taking me aaages to get through it. I just want to find out what happens! Maybe I can read the English one first and then once I know the story, then I can read the Chinese and Japanese ones 😆 But in a way that sorta feels like cheating! I bought the manga to continue to learn these two languages, and the entertainment value is really just an added bonus. So if I read the English one first, then it would just be taking the easy way out. So I’m persevering and just keeping the English one for when I’m struggling to keep up with what’s happening in the story. Which just means my speed slows down dramatically and I don’t get to find out what happens until a much later point in time. Sorta like watching a lonnnnng cricket test match (say, one that goes for like 20 days) vs a one-dayer 😂 You would just want to find out who wins! But you can’t, because there are 19 days left of the match! 🤣

So frustratement all ’round today. Hopefully tomorrow will be less so.

My new wheels, day 2

I was going to ride my/our new electric scooter to dinner tonight with N’s cousin, but the universe was conspiring against me to make sure that didn’t happen: it rained all afternoon. And it’s not the best idea riding a scooter – let alone a brand new one – in wet conditions. Even though it had stopped raining by the time I left the house, I didn’t want to risk being caught in a downpour halfway through the ride.

It just made it doubly frustrating coz 1) it never rained again for the rest of the night; and 2) on my way to dinner, I saw at least three different people all scooting around, and I could’ve been one of them! 😔 Oh well. I’m sure there will be plenty of other times when I’ll be able to use it.

Ooo, maybe I’ll use it to ride to dancing on Wednesday! But it’s over 5km away… Is that a tad too far, especially for one of my first rides?? Maybe I’ll give myself a bit more time to get there, to get used to the route, and to allow for pedestrian traffic… Hmmm I’ll see… 😊

I’m thinking of doing a dry run to the vet tomorrow, actually, to map out the route, and just see what the ride would be like without Kitty. Hopefully that’ll work out, since the vet trip is the main reason for buying this scooter in the first place! 😆

Hmm so apparently I’ve been a bit preoccupied with this new scooter 😂 I’m sure the excitement will die down soon enough, so just bear with me while I get it all out of my system. Before I know it, I’m sure riding it will just become part of my daily/weekly routine, and it will just melt away into the background and will barely even rate a mention. But in the meantime… 😂

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My new ride

I bought an electric scooter today. For weeks now, I’ve been thinking about buying one, so I’ve been doing a ton of research online on them. I wanted something relatively light and easy to ride, since I’ll be the one mainly using it – and carrying it around when I’m not. But even the ones that looked really tiny online are actually still quite large and heavy in real life 😂 The one that I eventually got is one of the lightest out there at around 6.5kg, which is still pretty hefty for my tiny frame. But when N was carrying it, it looked like a toy 🤣 But despite its light weight, it still holds a maximum weight of 120kg and can travel around 25-30km on one battery charge, so I thought that was quite impressive.

The whole point of my getting one is to be more environmentally friendly, and take Kitty to and from the vet on the scooter instead of catching a cab each time for the relatively short distance. But I’m not sure if this idea will work yet. Firstly, I need to buy a cat backpack so that I can carry her on my back while I am riding the e-scooter, as it can’t really work with her current carrier. And secondly, once I do get a backpack, I don’t know if I can actually carry her for the whole trip, as I’m not the largest or strongest person in the world 😆 So I’ll have to see how I go with this idea and I’ll let you know in a future post. So at the moment, all I can do is picture myself riding down the street with a cat backpack on my back, with passersby saying hello to Kitty as she peers out of the little window in her new carrier, and she giving them the proverbial finger back 🤣

We’re catching up with N’s cousin for dinner tomorrow, she’s in SG for work again. She comes once or twice a year for work, so we see her quite regularly here. So maybe I’ll scoot down to the restaurant tomorrow night 😊 I’m sure I’ll find more and more opportunities to use it here. This city is the type of place where a scooter would work really well to travel around, with so many places being all so close together.

Chinese class and movies

We had our first Chinese lesson in what feels like months. It’s probably only been 2-3 weeks, but it feels more like triple that. So I feel like I’ve forgotten everything that we’ve learnt except the very basics. But when we had to read the dialogue in the textbook, it was actually fine, I didn’t forget absolutely everything. Even though we did come across a grammar structure that no one remembered, and the teacher makes a “tsk” sound and says something like “this was in book one chapter three, you don’t remember?!”. Well clearly none of us do, hence why we were asking! 😂 He does this every now and then, the whole “*tsk* this was in book x chapter y, remember?!”, which I find quite amusing. And I also find it impressive that he knows exactly in what book and what chapter in that book a particular grammar structure first popped up. I know he uses the textbooks all day every day, so he knows them inside out, but I still find it quite impressive.

We lost one student, though. I-thought-he-was-German-but-he’s-actually-Swiss Guy didn’t re-enrol, which is a shame, coz I liked him. He’s going back to Switzerland for a while, and by the time he returns, I guess we’ll be that much further ahead in the textbook, so he can’t just pop back in as if nothing happened. He added some laughs in the class, and he was also a good barometer to my progress, as we were roughly at the same level. Korean Lady could read better than anyone and N’s listening skills were the best in the class. But unlike those two, Not-German-but-actually-Swiss Guy and I had no particular strength in the language, and we were both progressing relatively evenly across all four aspects: reading, writing, speaking and listening. I’m going to miss him.

We didn’t go to Latin practice again. N has done something to his ankle, so we wanted him to rest it, especially since we have dancing tomorrow as well, which isn’t going to help it. Argh, what is with this getting older business and not having our bodies bounce back from injuries in next to no time?!? 😒

So we watched a few movies instead. Murder on the Orient Express and the new version of Jumanji. I enjoyed the second one more than the first. I think the first one would be better as a book, so maybe I need to add it to my reading list 😊 Even if I already know how it ends. But maybe they changed the ending for the movie version?? I guess I can just read it and find out for sure 😊

And Jumanji was funny. There were a lot of things I liked about this movie, but I won’t say anything more as I don’t like giving anything away. I like The Rock though, I find him quite funny, so add a few other funny people into the mix and it just adds to the hilarity of it all 😆