Loopie - Joop

We're back from a very short trip to Lisbon, leaving behind wonderfully fresh seafood and delectable custard pastries. back to the grind of everyday boringness. ha! i see definite signs of holiday withdrawal. time to plan the next one. planning a holiday is not easy when you have a workaholic travel partner who keeps whining about how getting away for 2 working days is no-go. because of this misalignment of views, we had a very "civilised exchange of opinions" last evening. it was all very civil, nothing got broken, no body got seriously hurt. basically i just voiced my disbelief that he cannot pry himself for the office for > 2 working days. yeps, that's how long we went away for - 2 working days + 1 public holiday + 1 weekend. you'll think the company will collapse or disappear into thin air just because he ain't in the office! or that's what he chooses to believe... had to drum it into him that 1) it is perfectly usual to go off on a vacation fo

Had lunch with HL (who reads my blog!) at picked onion today. couldn't find my miso glazed cod on the menu - bah! - so went for the tuna in blue cheese salad. still as yummy as i'd remembered it. often noticed that i have non-conventional taste in food:- chou tofu - i eat them whenever i can get my hands on them. there are only 2 places selling them in singapore. the best we've had was along Rao He night market in taipei. coming in 2nd place is a stall on Ladies St in hong kong. natoo - the gooey mess is wonderful! i love it with fresh tuna slices (uncooked), a sprinkling of spring onions and a dribble of light soy sauce. cold and smooth...ooh i can just imagine my ex-colleagues gawking as i stuff my face with it at sushi tei. i believe i was the only person that kept ordering it at changi airport t2 outlet. radish paste - not the teochew dessert, which i also crave for, i'm talking about the gooey white mess that ten ten tei adds to their salmon oyako done. my God! lad

Enjoyed my first weekend in 2 months. went to Latin on Friday evening for some fresh oysters, seafood paella and loads of sangria. i drank 1.5 pitchers on my own -yummy. felt guilty about gaining weight so we gymmed a little on saturday morning and then watched newcastle lose to fulham during lunch at robin hood - i think shearer should be sacked. watched wolverine (a.k.a. hugh jackman is sexy show) on saturday evening at dockyard which is bloody far to drive to - almost 40 mins on the road. went to mass on sunday morning and stayed home all day catching up on sleep and all the tv shows i'd put off watching for the last 2 month - bliss. this is what i call a weekend. off to lisbon in 4 days and 3 hours. ultimate bliss.

Reached the exam venue at 7.45am this morning, doors wouldn't open!? hao-e and i sat in the car for 15 mins before the automatic doors started working. waited another 3 mins for a receptionist to turn up, no one did! was finally brought to the roof-top for the exam and realised there were only 2 people who signed up for the exam -2 SUCKERS! funny, both of us were Chinese females under the age of 30. she's canadian though, and i bet her family was originally from hong kong, last name's tsai. Slogged through 2.5 hours of excruciatingly horrifying statistics - i still hate it despite the years that have passed between the painful lectures my old stats prof Dr. What's-his-name-who-looks-good-but-cannot-teach gave and now. And i've finally realised that Dr. Stephen (that's the name!), was not a bad professor, the problem i had with stats was and still is the subject itself. it's just plain ugly. anyway, managed to complete only 18 of the 25 questions, fe

It's mid-week again, which is great. depression sets in when you least expect it to. i can't say i'm unhappy - no, not I. nor can i say that i'm coasting along. sometimes these dips in mood can create havoc. i think i'm depressed partially because of the exams - i'm doomed to fail them both. the other reason is of course the fact that i'm still not gainfully employed - i'm not unemployed though, sigh. maybe i should correct myself and say that i'm still not happily employed. new assignment ain't great because people aren't as friendly or happy-go-lucky as the last place. i have to stay for another 2 months and 3 weeks. oh gosh. i am perhaps destined to be an over-qualified administrator who is very good at the "administrating"... if you know what i mean. if only administrators are considered professionals too. maybe that'll help me when i include that in my resume. the weather has been dry and sunny the past week. water tank is

Countdown: 4 days to 3L 11 days to 3F 18 days to Lisbon I've been flip-flopping between taking or not taking the exams. quite disillusioned at present. i will decide on wednesday i guess.