*890 - impulse buy

It's been a while since I've bought anything on impulse online--or bought anything online, or bought anything on impulse, really--when you're living penny by penny as a fresh graduate receiving a basic starting salary, you learn to count your blessings and live without the luxuries (at least, for a bit)!

We'll see how that impulse Amazon buy materializes; photos if successful :)

-

It is about time I invested in a curtain of sorts. I have spent far too many days a-scrambling in my room, tearing off and throwing on clothing as quickly as I can, hoping that no one's peering into my room.

It didn't use to faze me, until the day I was sitting calmly on my bed, folding my freshly laundered undies, and looked up to see a dude in plain view from the opposite apartment sticking out of his window, smoking his cigarette, literally a couple of strides away from me. We both pretended to not notice each other for the next five minutes, but that was creepy enough.

-

Sunday morning church was cosy and somewhat nostalgic of my AMK-MC days. Sunday afternoon dimsum comprised 3.5 dimsum-guzzling Asians and 3.5 wary non-Asians at the table (the half-Asian was both enthused and suspicious, I think, depending on the dish). Sunday evening was spent as pseudo-tourists (pseudo only in the sense that I live here, but I'm still very much a tourist in Boston), finding ourselves toasting in the sun on plastic reclining chairs that looked out onto the harbor, and then cooling off by running through fountains (far more timidly than the kids) and sipping ruby red sangrias by the street.



Oh, kids :)

-

A vigorous, heated Power Vinyasa session followed immediately by a painful Pilates class left my muscles screeching; they asked, "You did beautifully! So, will you be returning next week, or did we scare you off?" and I assured them "I'll be back! :D" as I trembled my way out of the studio.

It did feel really good, I have to say.

*889 - early rise and shines

(1) Construction involving large cranes and noisy chipping away at old bricks outside the apartment directly opposite my window should not be allowed to begin at 7.30 am.

(2) Repairmen (though they provide a very lovely service that I truly appreciate) should not be allowed to have keys to your apartment and to turn up without any notice, especially not at 7.30 am when one is generally Not Awake. The only notice they have given me is either 30 panicked seconds (time it takes between them buzzing up to my apartment from downstairs and climbing up to the 3rd floor) or five intensely panicked seconds (time it takes between them banging on my door and them opening it) to realize what's going on, leap out of bed, get decent by pulling on pants and yanking on a sweater, and kick embarrassing items (undies, box of tampons, etc) out of sight. Not the pleasantest way to wake up. However, my cabinet door is now affixed after I clumsily tore it off by accident and the oven (hallelujah!) now works.

Speaking of which, I better pick my PJ's carefully over the next few days and be prepared for early rising, because I just put in a work order for my fridge. It would make these awful prolonged rumbly noises that ended with an enormous clanging that would make me jump, on and off throughout the day, but mostly on. Today, the same noises continued, only about five times louder. I'm pretty certain it's hovering on its deathbed and my frozen chicken, sour cream, eggs, etc are all in grave peril.

*888 - lucky 8's

Post number 888? This must be my lucky day! :) Haha.

Perhaps an update about my life in Boston is due (thanks, Maddy, hehe!)-

Firstly, I have a yellow car that is almost too cute for me to handle. You know a car is a lady's car when it even has a built-in flower vase by the side of the steering wheel. I succumbed and bought a Gerbera, which now keeps me company cheerfully on the road. Manly ideas on how to fill that vase: cigars, a swanky fountain pen, maybe an Iron Man figurine ...



I'll enjoy the car while I have it--seeing that I'll never be able to afford one in Singapore :P

Secondly, my one-bedroom apartment is quite lovely, though it was a pain pain pain to move in (if Armando wasn't with me, it would have been a PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIPAPPNANANNNNN), and though the living room is yet unfurnished (except for a corner). Below: bedroom with closet door open to show my mess (and spot the Evelyn); only corner of living room that is currently furnished; my attempt at a purple-accented bathroom; and a snapshot of one wall of my kitchen that doesn't really show what my kitchen actually looks like.









Thirdly, work is going extraordinarily well. My second week has just ended, meaning that I'm working my way up that treacherous Steep Learning Curve and will hopefully begin contributing more significantly soon. The colleagues are young and fun and very friendly. We have Happy Hour on Fridays (company-sponsored beer and munchies)--holy crap. Work hours are impossibly long, but there is so much to do that they aren't even enough. This is the type of job for the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Fourthly, I have to go for a yoga class NOW, bringing this post to a very abrupt end.

*887 - it's a miracle!

Just as I thought I was weaning myself off the Internet and had half-convinced myself that it must be doing me some sort of good ... the Internet is finally up at my place and I am now reconnected with the world!

Hello, world! :)

*886 - just a few more wedding pictures ...

Getting my hair blown-dry (blow-dried?) at 7 am in the sister's room


On our way to the church


Best siblings ever :D (and sisters with flowers in our hair!)


At the dinner (Well, in the bathroom, to be specific. Girls always take bathroom mirror photos, so we felt inclined to be cool like them and give it a shot.)


Ravishing! :)

*885 - cabbage diet

I bought a head of cabbage some days ago to make cole slaw for the two of us. Since then, I have been eating mountains of cabbage every day (amidst other things) in a bid to finish it up. I think I'm 1/3 way there.

Also, stir fried cabbage has replaced steamed broccoli as my midnight snack of choice when drunk.



Cabbage, anyone?

*884 - e&e dessert table

Amidst the nightmare that is Moving and Unpacking, I have decided to abandon my mess of half-emptied boxes and suitcases, relieve myself from the panic of no longer having Mr. A next to me, and distract myself with pretty pictures of Elisa and Evelyn's latest miracle: our dessert table for the newly-wed brother!

It was a family effort, including Ipah! :)


Setting it up in a frenzy at the site




Being admired by the beautiful bride and handsome groom :)


From the designing of each little label and wrapper, to the crafting of little pink candy-filled paper bags and such, to the search all over Singapore for just the right type of containers or bottles, to the intense baking and freezing and chopping and churning and frosting and packing, to the frenzy of setting up the table itself just before the guests streamed out of the church ... perhaps the loveliest present we could have given to the brother and our new sister!

Photos of the table are all tinged with a nasty green due to the reflection from the green roof, so green that no amount of photoshopping could remove the tinge, but perhaps the professional photographers would have some nicer shots.

On the dessert menu, we have ...

Strawberry jell-o cheesecake hearts in little glasses


Hot chocolate for two: chunks of Valrhona chocolate, cocoa, and sugar to be stirred into hot milk and topped with a homemade (best ever!!) peppermint marshmallow


Hand-wrapped dark chocolate squares


Banana cupcakes with a decadent semi-sweet chocolate frosting


Strawberry cupcakes with a strawberry cream cheese frosting


Walnut brownie squares, which we pierced with toothpick flags


Perhaps the tastiest cake I’ve ever had (not biased): a two-layered “pink lemonade” cake with lemon curd filling and the most amazingly fluffy grand marnier lemon frosting


Also, caramel popcorn in cones;
rose macarons and coffee chocolate macarons;
candy goodie bags with pink ribbons hanging from the centerpiece plant;
strawberry and chocolate almond pocky sticks for the young ’uns;
a little bowl of pink homemade peppermint marshmallows;
and cranberry lemon cookies and rosemary walnut cookies in giant cookie jars.



Certainly the most amount of baking I’ve ever done in terms of both variety and quantity, the most amount of detail and effort put into decorating and labeling and presenting, and possibly the most fun and satisfaction I’ve ever had.

It was perhaps the largest family stealth project the Chan’s have ever accomplished (the brother knew we were making a dessert table but didn’t know any of the details) hahaha. Just thinking about how blessed we are as a family makes me all warm and fuzzy. Sure, we have our little fits and arguments, but I could not dream of having a more supportive, more loving, more fabulous family. And! I’m so thrilled to welcome another “sister” into the family! :) :) :)

*883 - alive and well

The combination of moving to a new home in a city seven hours away with the fact that my internet service begins only next Tuesday has been the main reason for my lack of contact with most of the rest of the world.

But I am in Boston, having a blast with Mr. A, until he leaves tomorrow morning! :( :( :(

The prospect of being (relatively) alone in a (completely) new city is daunting. But God provides! (And also keeps me and everyone around me alive as I battle with getting used to My First Car coupled with My First Time Driving In A Bustling City.)

*882 - keeping myself awake

My jetlag is so bad, I actually feel like ... throwing up. Haha. How odd!

I'm going to have to unpack my stuffed little 23 kg suitcase for the purposes of packing my life into boxes. Certainly a daunting task, considering the great amount of stuff I have to squish into a small amount of boxes (too lazy to go out and buy more), despite my having already donated about three enormous boxes worth of clothing and kitchen equipment to the Salvation Army. My floor is completely strewn with belongings because of my philosophy (that is, excuse) of having to lay everything out before I can pack them up.

The minutes before walking through the airport gates are always the most wretched, which is why I never give my flight details to my friends--the fewer people to send me off, the better. Hugging the brother and the new sister (we have now embraced Andrea as the third sister in the family) goodbye the day before and going on our way lah-dee-dum was perfectly painless. Even saying goodbye to the sister in my room the night before was not as hard. But hugging the parents goodbye at the airport always makes me bawl. This time, I weeped all the way into my seat in the plane. (I usually get a grip of myself by the security checkpoint because the distraction of finding the right gate and doing the right things usually takes over by then.)

Moments before the wretchedness:



And my only happy proof of being randomly selected to be bumped up to Business First class on my 13-hour Narita-Newark leg:



Yes, it was such a huge blessing! Comfy seats that recline to a flat 180 degrees with adjustable back support, five-course dinner including little sushi bites and a sirloin steak, delicious breakfast with liquored chocolates, abundance of bubbly and wine, pretty stewardess, and impeccable service. Very much more restful than usual, despite the fact that I couldn't really sleep (as always). It was lovely, and it was something I don't foresee myself being able to afford anytime in the near future :P Shall look fondly upon my little free travel pack as a reminder that blessings in the form of free seat upgrades actually do happen!