Did I Ask For Fries?

Polenta chips

2011-09-21T09:42:00.003+10:00

Am I the only person in the world that hasn't been eating polenta chips? (or polenta fries, depending on your hemisphere) In fact, until last week I was a near polenta virgin. I think I have eaten polenta mash as a side dish at a few restaurants, and always liked it, but never really understood how it was prepared or cooked, so it seemed a bit mysterious and fancy schmancy.

I've had a Tupperware container of polenta floating around in my cupboard for years, but have only ever used it for baking corn bread, corn muffins or yummy cakes containing corn meal. Given my love of corn (and let's face it carbohydrates in general), it's surprising I've never tried making my own polenta mash.

Last week when the lovely Mary was down in Melbourne to celebrate her birthday, I was introduced to the wonder of polenta chips at Barney Allens. Crisp on the outside, soft on the inside and with a yummy dipping sauce. An instant win!

Mere days after trying these chips, I've been keen to go back for more. Since that was unlikely to happen, the next best thing to do was to try making them myself. Thanks to the wonders of google I found several not-so-daunting sounding recipes, so went ahead with one from allrecipes.com, with some slight variations, including baking instead of frying. Here's my version.

Baked polenta chips

Ingredients

1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup dry polenta
Small handful Parmesan cheese (next time I would add more
Chopped fresh parsley (grabbed from pot outside, unmeasured
Salt and pepper to taste
Other spices to taste - I added Chilli flakes and paprika

Directions

In a large saucepan, combine milk, chicken stock, and butter; bring to rolling boil. Slowly whisk in polenta.
Turn down heat to medium-low, and continue cooking and stirring until polenta pulls from edge of pan. (I know this sounds confusing, and I had no idea what "pulls from pan" means, but it REALLY DOES!)
Mix in cheese, parsley, salt and pepper & whatever spices you are adding.
Spread polenta evenly over a cookie sheet, and refrigerate until cold.
Preheat oven
Transfer polenta to cutting board and cut into sticks.
Place on baking tray, spray with oil and bake in oven until crispy.

I served this with a salad and a dipping sauce made of geek yoghurt and chilli jam. It was yum! As I mentioned above next time I'd add more cheese, as I couldn't taste it at all. And don't worry, there will be a next time soon!!

RIP blender

2011-05-18T23:53:00.003+10:00

The blender that I've been using for the last 10 or so years is truly a relic. It was given to my parents as a wedding present. They are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this year.

Ugly it may be, but for the last decade this blender has served me mighty fine smoothies, soups and cocktails. I've had no complaints.

However all good things must eventually come to an end. Although the blades still rotate, not much blending has been happening lately. My smoothies have been far from smooth, so finally I have bitten the bullet and decided to farewell ye olde ugly blender.

A parcel arrived on my doorstep not long ago.

Inside, a shiny new blender. Of course its red.

Now its no longer smoothie weather, but I've made 2 soups alone this week. Let's see if this one lasts 40 years. Somehow I doubt it!!

Rhubarb Jam

2011-03-14T21:45:00.006+11:00

Last weekend I went to the St Kilda Farmers' market. This groovy little market is only a hop, skip and a jump from our house, so I don't know why it took me well over 6 months of living here before I checked it out for the first time. It's only on once a month, so miss it and you miss out for another 4 weeks. Ouch! (Although I've just noticed there is an Albert Park market on the 3rd week of the month which is still nice and closeby. I might try and make it there this Saturday!)

Even though I've only been about 4 times, I've already got myself a little routine. Must buy items are baby cos lettuce, tomatoes, blue cheese and a piece of brownie. Other items are negotiable, depending on what's in season.

One of the suprise items this time was a lovely looking bunch of rhubarb. I made part of it into a galette, and the other 2/3 I used to make my first ever jam.

I was going to say it was as easy as pie, but truthfully it's even easier. I adapted this recipe from taste.com.au to use part of the bunch of rhubarb, and a heap less sugar. I'm not really a jammy person, and would prefer mine on the tart, rather than the sweet side. I had no idea if these adjustments would effect the setting, but it didn't seem to make any difference. I love the way there are only 4 ingredients, and no fancy setting or gelling agents (is that normal for jam? I have no idea!)

Rhubarb Jam recipe

Preparation Time

10 minutes

Cooking Time

30 minutes

Ingredients

2/3 bunch trimmed rhubarb, washed, coarsely chopped
300g caster sugar (I used a combination of raw sugar and caster sugar, since I was running low)
Juice of 1/2-1 fresh lemon
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Combine the rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a large glass bowl. Cover and set aside to infuse for a few hours or overnight, depending on how patient you are.
Transfer the rhubarb mixture to a large saucepan. Place over medium-high heat. Bring to the boil. Use a large metal spoon to skim any froth from the surface. Cook, stirring, for 25-30 minutes or until the jam jells when tested (see note).
Spoon the hot jam mixture into clean, dry jars. Seal and invert for 2 minutes. Turn upright and set aside to cool.

Tips

To test if the jam is ready, place 1 teaspoon of the jam on a chilled saucer and place in the freezer for 1-2 minutes or until cooled to room temperature. Lightly push the jam with your finger. If the surface wrinkles, it's ready.
To sterilise glass jars, wash the jar and lid in warm soapy water and rinse. Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper and place in oven preheated to 100°C until dry. Use straight from the oven.

There you go, easy as!!! Next time I would try replacing the lemon juice with orange juice and reducing the sugar even more.

Here's how I enjoyed my first tasting: for breakfast on pancakes with yoghurt and coffee. Mmmmmm.

I've never made scones before, but I'm tempted to learn just so I can taste this jam on a warm scone with cream. Yum!

43things: do a triathlon

2011-03-07T12:29:00.007+11:00

Unfortunately I’ve been without internet access for the last month (and yes I did feel like I was missing a limb). Life did not end, nor did it stand still. In fact for the last 6 weeks I’ve been training for a mini-triathlon and finally did it yesterday.

And since I’m sitting here typing this, that means I lived to tell the tale. What’s more, I even enjoyed it!!

Six weeks ago I made a big decision. Despite it nearing the end of summer and triathlon season, I wanted to achieve this goal. Its been on my list for over a year now, and if I ever wanted to make this happen, I just had to get in there and do it.

There were 2 main things that helped my motivation. Getting back to the pool and swimming laps, and realising my other goal of swimming 1km without stopping. Sure I’m not fast, but I can swim and I do feel safe and confident in the water. Whilst I was at the pool doing laps one day, one lane was closed for a group called Tri-alliance. I picked up one of their brochures and that got the ball rolling…

Another thing that helped move that ball along was a friend of mine talking about doing a triathlon as well. We live on opposite sides of the city, so couldn’t train together, but we decided to both sign up for a mini-triathlon – The Gatorade ActiveFeet race at Elwood Beach which involved a 300m swim, 10km cycle, 3km run.

Just before Christmas we both made the decision to sign up for the March race, giving us adequate training time after Christmas and New Year’s festivities were over. It also gave me time to sign up for Tri-alliance’s Try the Tri 6 week program. Not having done anything more competeitive than the Sydney City 2 Surf (and that was many years ago now!), joining this program was one of the best decisions I ever made.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. I missed over 2 weeks of sessions due to illness, and couldn’t make every session due to work commitments. But I made enough to learn the basics of transitions, to improve my running (although I still have a long way to go), to experience open water swimming, and I even had fun in the process.

After the first session I was a bit intimidated. We literally spent 1.5 hours learning how to get on and off a bike. It was hard! And I was sore for days afterwards. And I’m still not very good at it!

I was suprised to discover that comparatively speaking, swimming was my strongest leg. I know it’s an indiviual sport, but I couldn’t help but noticing that whenever we practised transitions, or did running training, I was always dead last. By a long shot. Never the case swimming though. I have to admit that gave me a mental boost, for if I was consistently coming last in everything, I think my competitive side would find that difficult to cope with.

But enough about the training, how about the race itself!!

I was a bit panicked waking at at 5:30am yesterday and realising it was still pitch black. I had planned on carrying my gear in my bike basket and riding to the race, however I can’t attach both my basket and my light to my bike. A last minute repacking ensued, and I rode down to Elwood beach, still with plenty of time to spare.

After checking in my bike and setting up for transition, I made my way to the Tri-alliance tent to wait there with the other people I’d been training with. It was lovely to be around other first-timers in the same boat along with more experienced athletes and coaches. At 6am it was a chilly 12 degrees. We had to leave our shoes in the transition area and I hadn't thought to bring a spare pair. As a result my feet were in agony from the icy grass.

During Saturday’s training session I was dismayed to find that the water temperature had dropped signficantly. I am a wuss when it comes to cold water at the best of times. Also being one of the few people without a wetsuit, I was even more freaked out. Since we were only doing a small pre-race swim, I couldn’t even force myself to get in the water. I was worried that if it didn’t warm up overnight I’d be too wussy to do it for the actual race the next day! But luckily the water temperature had warmed up (and was warmer than the 12 degree air!).

The race itself was amazing. The swim was both my favourite part, and the most stressfull. Being accidentally kicked and having people pulling and swarming around you can be stressfull. Luckily the ocean was flat as a tack, so currents and waves didn’t add to this stress.

Image from supersprint.com.au

As always my transition time was slow. I think I am the slowest person alive to put on shoes! It didn’t help that my feet were deadened by cold. In fact I didn’t get back full sensation in my feet until halfway through the run.

The cycle leg was fine, I think I could have pushed it harder than I did though. I hadn’t done enough 10km length cycles to properly gauge how long and how hard I had to work for. I was also conscious of saving my legs for what I knew would be my toughest leg: the run.

I’m not a natural, nor a fast runner. But I can get myself into a slow rhythm and just plug away. And plug away I did. My legs sure felt it from the riding, but I was just happy not to have to stop and walk. Towards the end, I even got a comment from someone on the sidelines about how I was still smiling. With 100m to go, my deadened legs made a final sprint for it. At the finish line, I didn’t even see the clock, so I had no idea what my time was.

I got my results in the mail today, and here they are:

Swim – 08:55, 26/68 in my age category, 368/599 overall
Transition 1 – 02:23
Cycle – 23:25, 40/68 in my age category, 396/599 overall
Transition 2 – 01:15
Run – 18:04, 48/68 in my age category, 482/599 overall

Overall stats: 54:01, 42/68 in my age category, 142/239 females, 428/599 overall competitors

Not bad, but definite room for improvement!

Things I would do differently next time:

Swim – Ideally wear a wetsuit. Yes this would involve buying one.
Transition 1 – need to be at least 1 minute faster. Shouldn’t have worried about socks (most of the sand had come off anyway). Do more training in shoes only to make sure this would work. Also shouldn’t have bothered putting on a dry singlet, it only got wet!
Cycle – could have pushed harder, especially the first half. Also getting a proper road racing bike might help too!
Transition 2 – don’t bother drinking my own water this time. Plently of water stations along the running route.
Run – faster faster. More practice!!

Despite the room for improvements, I’m happy with my race, and more than happy that I got off my butt and did something I’d wanted to do for ages. It didn’t cost a lot of money, and the only new equipment that I bought were elasticated shoe laces ($10) and tri shorts ($30 from the 2XU factory outlet). Of course the gadget-geek in me is already plotting away at future purchase ideas - a wetsuit and maybe even a new bike too!

Speaking of room for improvement, the St Kilda race is on in only 2 weeks. Whilst part of me wants time to recover, another part of me wants to give it another go. Another part of me is also afraid of how much colder the water will be in 2 weeks. Another part of me thinks that part of me is a wuss. Which part will win is yet to be determined!

Regardless, my new goal is now to to a full-length Triathlon when the season starts again at the end of the year!

See more progress on: do a triathlon

43things: Swim 1km without stopping

2011-01-30T15:27:00.004+11:00

Image from http://www.msac.com.au/aquatics/lap-swimming

I have to keep pinching myself in order to believe I actually achieved this goal. And so quickly too.

Honestly I don’t know how it happened. I’ve been to the pool about 1-2 times per week for the last few weeks. Prior to Tuesday, the most I had swum without a quick break at the end of a lap was 200m.

Somehow on Tuesday it happened. I was aiming for 300m (6 laps). I was still feeling good after 6, so thought I would be ambitious and aim for 10. By 10 I was still ok so aimed for 12, then 15…By the time I reached 16 I was determined to make the 20, so I did.

It was more by accident than any specific traning or pre-planning. Maybe it had something to do with not having done any other exercise for 48 hours beforehand, so my arms and shoulders were fresh.

As exciting as that was, it’s a bit scary. I’ve raised the bar now.

Today I’m a bit tired, a bit hungover, and a bit sore from a training session I had yesterday. However its 35 degrees and I need to cool down. I’m about to head to the pool. I’m afraid I won’t be able to swim 6, let alone 20 laps without stopping, which will make me a fraud.

But even if I do stop and take breaks, I know I’ll get to 1km. I don’t always have to swim without stopping, just because I have before. Sometimes I’ll want to have a drink. Sometimes my goggles will leak or fog up. Sometimes I’ll be lazy and hungover.

And while it’s not perfect, I have to remind myself it’s ok. Just making the effort and getting out there and doing it is a great thing!

See more progress on: Swim 1km without stopping

43things: Get a bike and start bike riding

2011-01-20T13:16:00.002+11:00

I'm finally marking this goal as done! I’ve had my bike for over a year now. I’m by no means an expert cyclist and in that time I wouldn’t say its gotten the biggest workout ever, but I am using it!

The day I bought my bike!

In the last week alone I have ridden to:

Port Melbourneto meet friends for dinner & drinks
Step into Life class
Sandringham beach and back with friends for a swim

I don’t know if I’ll ever be an everyday communter. That will probably depend more on proximity to work and shifts, but I’m enjoying what I’m doing for now. I already have dreams of other bikes I’d like to get – cruiser, racer, vintage road bike…..but that’s a story for another time and place!

Me on a recent ride taking a cheesy self-portrait

See more progress on: Get a bike and start bike riding

Decisions

2011-01-09T22:52:00.004+11:00

Hurrah! Some of the uncertainty that hovered around during my last post has now been resolved.

I finally bit the bullet and made some long awaited decisions regarding 2011. I'm staying in Melbourne and just doing casual work. No specialisation. No exams. No contracts. No job security. Actually I'm hoping the casual work will find me not only in Melbourne, but country Victoria, the Gong and maybe even country NSW too.

Lest I celebrate too soon, there's still lots of things I need to do to make this a workable reality. My current work contract runs out in 4 weeks. In that time I need to solidify some of the nebulous options that hover in the wings. I need to sign up with at least one locum agency. Most importantly I need to line up some definite work for February. Bills to pay baby.

A big wide open horizon can be scary. But amazing possibilities!

Intentions

2010-12-29T15:48:00.002+11:00

I've been meaning to post here since November, really I have. December hasn't been easy though. There's been a lot of harking back to "this time lat year", mixed in with a healthy dose of "what am I doing next year?", and even more "and what after that?" It's kind of stressful to realise that even now, on December 27th I still don't have any of these questions answered.

It's not like I necessarily want them all answered, either. One last minute job offer (whilst I was enquiring about casual postions) could have resolved all the instability, for one year at least. But that would have meant an interstate move within the next 4 weeks. Back to where I was. Where part of me wants to be, but another (bigger?) part of me is scared of being. I don't think I am ready for that yet.

What I am ready for, I am just not sure.

Getting my butt kicked

2010-11-17T16:15:00.003+11:00

For the last two weeks, I've been away getting my butt kicked in a metaphorical sense. Actually, more of a physical sense really. Or is it? I'm confused.

First up was a week meeting up with two good friends at a glitzy resort in Port Douglas. We swam in the gorgeous swimming pool, drank cocktails and ate copious amounts of Fantastic Delites by the swimming pool.

The few times we left the pool we went and did something fun like hike through the Daintree Forest, or go snorkelling out on the reef.

In that week of pure slothfullness, we did get our butts kicked by the Queensland sun. We were so good applying sunscreen what felt like 24/7, that for our day out on the reef we thought we had it pretty much covered.

What no-one told us was that swimming costumes have a funny habit of "riding up" as you're splashing around in the water snorkelling. All 3 of us had the craziest bum burn you'd ever seen. Made sitting down quite uncomfortable for a few days. No photos of that sorry!!

And then the major butt kicking began. I went to Ayung Sari Indah in Bali for 5 days of bootcamp run by the wonderful Marni Alexander. The meagre amount of exercise I'd been doing beforehand left me totally unprepared, I got my ass whooped several times, and handed to me on a silver platter, and whatever other ass-whopping colloqualisms you can think of.

In between ass-kicking I tried to camoflague myself into the rice fields.

We also trekked up a volcano in darkness to be greeted by a beautiful sunrise at the top.

Another proud moment was an ass-kicking I had no personal involvement in: seeing the aussie dollar outrank the greenback for the first time ever. A truly photo-worthy moment!

What a week! I loved it, ass kicking and all. In fact it's just what my ass needed. Now that I'm back, the hard part: I need to keep on doing it on my own.

If you're really bored you can waste time looking at the entire album of pictures.

Finally.....a "what i wore" post

2010-10-19T20:44:00.004+11:00

I still don't know what job I'll be doing next year when my one year contract here expires. I had part one of a job interview today, so I guess I'm one step closer to finding out.

And thanks to the marvellous fact that my new digital camera arrived yesterday, I can post photos of what I wore!!

I didn't go too formal for this interview for a number of reasons. It's an internal job for the company where I'm already working, so theorectially it could have been held on a day I was already at work. The department I'm interviewing for is quite informal; pretty much everyone just wears scrubs to work, so a suit would have looked very out of place. Also I'm currently on annual leave and was going in specifically for this interview on a day off (ok maybe that's not a very good excuse, but I'll take what I can get).

Initially I was going to wear this:

Sorry for the blurry shot. New camera hiccup I hope!

But at the last minute I decided to swap out the black vest for a red top.

I felt put-together in this outfit, and definitely more dressed up from normal - it's officially the fourth time I've worn heels all year, and yes I am counting!! I still felt comfortable though, and felt more "me" with some kind of bright colour. I didn't feel out of place in the environment I was being interviewed in at all.

My interviewer even commented on the red vest and said it looked fun and that I looked "personable". I hope that's a good thing!

Stolen moments

2010-10-17T22:07:00.005+11:00

I've been working night shift all weekend. So when I got home at 10am this morning, all I wanted to do was sleep the day away. Which I did quite successfully up until 6pm.

When I woke up, the sky was semi-clear, sunshine was occasionally peeking through the clouds, and for one of the first days all week, it wasn't raining. I decided to get ready quickly, and go for a walk along my usual beach path route before it became dark. I'm now officially on holidays for 3 weeks, so why not get it off to a good start?

By the time I had walked along the path and back, the sun was nearly, but not quite setting. What to do? Continue home and miss the first sunset I've seen in a week? I chose plan B and ducked into a suprisingly near-empty bar along the beach, bought myself a riesling, plonked down at my own beachfront table and watched the sun set with only the music of my iPod to accompany me.

I felt a little self-conscious walking into a bar and ordering a drink by myself. But you know what, the sunset was worth it. Some moments are too precious not to sit still and savour.

Two clubs

2010-09-16T21:49:00.005+10:00

Yesterday I joined not one, but two clubs. Now these are metaphorical clubs; they aren't the kind of clubs that demand membership fees, a uniform and a sworn allegiance towards lifelong memberships, but they are clubs that I am proud to be a part of nevertheless.

Club # 1: the sore bum club

On Sunday I took myself off for a long overdue bike ride along the Bay Path to Beaurmaris and back, retracing a route I took earlier in the year.

The day was gloriously clear and perfect riding weather. Lovely and sunny, but not too warm to overheat and get all sweaty. It felt good to be out on the bike again, after a way-too-long break over winter.

Beforehand I was worried that I'd have forgotten how to ride with my fancypants shoes. Instead I should have worried about how my bum would fare. The last 15km or so were not pleasant indeed. Why oh why didn't I wear my padded shorts?

After a day or so, I thought I'd recovered as I was able to sit down without too much discomfort. Then last night, 4 days after the initial ride, I attended my first ever spin class at a local bike shop (cool idea hey!!). Getting up on the bike at the start of the class proved that my bum had not yet recovered. Ouch! My bum needs to toughen up, that's for sure!

Club # 2: the sandal booties club

Yesterday I received a package from Urban Outfitters containing my first summer shoe purchase: sandal booties.

After a fruitless winter-long search for over-the-knee boots I decided to give up and focus on building up my sandals wardrobe. Despite living in sandals for many months of the year, I only own a few different pairs. This is a vast improvement on a few seasons ago when I basically livied in Birkenstocks for 6 months of the year. Thanks to youlookfab my sandal wardrobe has expanded a bit, but still has a long way to go.

Enter the latest addition: a cross between a sandal and a bootie. Talk about the best of both worlds!

It's too cold to wear them out at the moment without my toes getting frostbite and dropping off, but I'm looking forward to the weather warming up soon (please Melbourne?), and these coming out to play.

One non-metaphorical club I am thinking of joining is some kind of bike riding group. Although I love heading out by myself, it's also great to ride with a group. To find new routes, to get encouraged as you go up hills, to chat as you ride down them, and then to stop for coffee at the end. My bike buddies are one thing I miss about Wollongong a lot!

I've searched on the internet and found a few prospects. My varied schedule makes it a bit tricky, but really it's just me being a big scardycat that's prevented me from actually trying out a ride somewhere. If I don't post that I've done so soon, can someone please keep me accountable and nag me about this?

Where does the time go?

2010-09-07T21:56:00.003+10:00

Yet again it's been an inordinate amount of time between posts. My excuse is that for the last 3 months I've been back on the Monday to Friday grind of ward work. With a good helping of weekend cover shifts thrown in as well.

But as of this Friday afternoon I'll be back on shift work. Is it strange that I can't wait? I love having random days off during the week even if it does mean working a lot of weekends. I'm also looking forward to working 40, rather than 70 hours per week.

And who knows, maybe as well as giving me more time for blogging, it will also give me more time for doing something to blog ABOUT!

Depending on what (if any) job I end up getting for next year, I may never have another ward job again. We shall see!

I shouldn't complain too much though. I've just had a lovely weekend off. I was technically on-call all weekend, but didn't have to go in at all. Instead I went and saw the Tim Burton exhibtion, then went out and drank waaaaay too many cocktails, then slept in and caught up with a friend visiting from Sydney at my favourite cafe. So it's not all work and no play.

Today when I got home after 11 hours at work, I was tempted to kick back and bludge around the apartment (yet again). Instead I dragged myself out for a walk along the beach. Wandering along, I ran into 2 seperate people I know and stopped to say hello. While I still don't feel exactly "at home" here, it is nice to see familiar faces and feel like I have some connections here.

Next challenge is to go for a run after work, or maybe actually make it to a yoga class or the pool. I'm working 15 hours tomorrow though, so it certainly won't be then!!

One small step for man

2010-07-25T12:51:00.005+10:00

I know the quality of this photo is crap. I lost my camera several weeks ago and this was taken on my iPhone. Eventually I'll get around to getting a new camera. Until then, it's this or nothing!

This may look like a badly photoographed, and inherently unphotogenetic bowl of risotto. And whilst it is that, it's also a lot more. For one, it crosses off one of the items on my Things to Do In Melbourne list I've got stuck up on the fridge; namely "Learn how to make risotto".

Believe it ir not, I've never made risotto before. Whilst I've eaten plenty, they were always made by the now-ex-boyfriend (who from henceforth shall be known as Neb on this blog). Risotto was always one of his special dishes to make, and to be fair he was pretty damn good at it. So learning how to make it myself was something I never had to think about.

Most restaurant risottos are awful - they are either lukewarm, too watery, don't have enough tasty filling bits, or have at least one ingredient that I don't like in them (hello Pumpkin!!!). Unless I have reason to believe a restaurant's risotto is going to be amazing, it's not something I would risk ordering off the menu. Too much of a gamble!

Given that it's now over 6 months since Neb and I have been together, that means that's its been over 6 months since I've eaten risotto. In summertime I didn't even notice the lack of risotto from my diet, but now that we are well and truly in the midst of a freezing cold winter, there are some nights when a warm bowl full of creamy rice and veggies would just hit the spot perfectly.

So I finally decided that the lack of risotto in my diet had gone on far too seriously long enough by half. The only thing for it was to give it a go and just see what happens. I spent some time googling around, and finally came up with a few candidate first-timer risotto recipes from taste.com.au, finally settling on this recipe for Spinach and Sweet Potato Risotto.

The verdict? Yum. I might try a few other recipes before considering making this exact one again, but now that I've gotten over my initial risotto fear, there's no stopping me! Just one more thing I don't need a man in my life for, right?

A fine Autumn day

2010-05-10T21:40:00.005+10:00

Ever since I've come back down south from The Gong, I've been moaning about how cold it is, and how worried am I about how I'm going to survive winter. Yesterday was gorgeous, and I had a great day out on the bike.

Now I know today is Monday, but given that I'm doing shift work, I had the day off. Since it was another beautiful day, I decided I really should make the most of it and get out in the sunshine while I can.

Today I took a stroll along the bay in the opposite direction than I went riding yesterday.

I know a lot of people disparage St Kilda as being touristy, and to some extent I agree. On weekends especially you have to dodge around people to walk along the esplanade, and finding a seat at a cafe along Acland st can be a bit traumatic. However on weekdays? Quite a different story.

I love being home during the week to take advantage of days like this.

And after the walk? What better than a tasty burger at one of my favourite cafes?

Normally chockablock full on weekends, often with a waiting list taped to the front door. Today it was half-empty, and I had a whole table to myself, no hassle. Bliss!

Things I love about Melbourne #2: Bay Ride

2010-05-09T20:16:00.006+10:00

I know, I know it's been about a bazillion years since I posted here. In my defence, I've been away, I've been sick, and it's been cold. Any more excuses required?

Despite my slackness and sickness, I've been trying to do some stuff. Today I got out on my bike and explored part of the Bay Trail that extends from the west side of Port Melbourne to Carrum (wherever that is).

Here's the small part of it that I did today: 35km there & back according to googlemaps.

It was a perfect day for riding. Sunny, but not too hot. A bit of breeze in the air which I thought was lovely on the way down, but had to struggle against all the way back.

I am far from an expert cyclist, however I have recently made one important cycling purchase: clip-on shoes. I took my bike up to Wollongong on my recent jaunt home, and after lagging behind on hills, friends assured me these clip-on shoes were the way to go.

They look pretty groovy don't they? Tell you what though, it was like learning to ride a bike all over again, falling off the bike included. In fact 2 weeks later the bruises on my thigh are still healing! Ah well, no pain no gain!

To be honest, I have no idea how much a difference these shoes make. I haven't gone up any of the same hills since I've been wearing them that I struggled with earlier. I do like the security of having my feet always on the pedal though.

Who knows if it's all psyhcological, but anything that helps to get out and enjoy a beautiful day like today is worth it, isn't it?

Pot pie

2010-04-12T17:52:00.004+10:00

There aren't many things in life that are more comforting than a pot pie. The most delicious one I've ever had was a sweet potato and chickpea pot pie that I had at a pub at Mount Victoria, whilst driving back from The OC to Sydney one weekend.

I've never seen it on any other menu, and never seen a recipe for such a pie, but I have craved it often. So much in fact that I've searched around on the internet to find something similar. This recipe for Moroccan lamb & chickpea pot pies at Taste is the closest I've seen.

A sudden cold snap hit Melbourne a few days ago. Also, I'm starting night shift tonight for 4 nights in a row. So what better time to fill the fridge with a hearty and nourishing pot pie.

I've adapted the taste recipe to take out the lamb. Still not quite at the level of the Mount Victoria pub, but I'm willing to keep working on it over winter!

Morroccan sweet potato & chickpea pot pies

Ingredients

Olive oil spray
1 brown onion, finely chopped
Half a leek (I happened to have it in the fridge. I wouldn't buy it just for the sake of this recipe if I didn't have it already though)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin (I added this because I always seem to use coriander and cumin together)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 x 400g can no-added-salt tomatoes
500g orange sweet potato (kumara), peeled, cut into 1.5cm-pieces (I increased the amount to compensate for the lack of lamb)
60ml (1/4 cup) water
1 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained
1 tsp honey
4 sheets filo
1 tsp sesame seeds

Method

Heat a large non-stick frying pan and then spray with olive oil spray. Add the onion +/- leek to the pan. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until soft. Stir in the garlic, coriander, cumin and cinnamon. Cook for 1 minute or until aromatic.
Add the tomato, sweet potato and water to the pan. Bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes. Add the lamb and chickpeas, and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in the honey. Season with pepper.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Divide the pie mixture among four 250ml (1-cup) capacity ovenproof dishes. Spray 1 filo sheet with olive oil spray. Fold in half 4 times to make a square. Place on top of 1 pie. Scrunch the edges. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Repeat with remaining filo sheets and sesame seeds. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve.

I'm not very good at working with filo, so I kinda mucked this bit up. Still tasted good though. I'm going to have to get some filo lessons from my friend who uses it to make yummy spinach and cheese triangles.

Also I really need to buy some ramekins. I have the small baking tin pictured above, but the rest of the mix just went in a loaf pan since I don't even have any ovenproof bowels. On the todo list!

Tagged!

2010-04-11T18:43:00.006+10:00

I was going to start this sentence by saying "I don't normally participate in these tagging things"...which is true, I don't. But given that I've never actually *been* tagged, I can't say for certain whether it's because I don't like tag-things, or just that I've never been asked.

Anyhoo, I've been tagged by both the lovely Michelle, and the amazing Theresa, and given that it's been a while since I posted here, and since I'm unexpectedly home for the night, here goes! I need to list 10 little-known facts about myself and then ask 10 other people to follow suit. Buckle up kiddies.

1. I'm completely unmusically and unartistically talented. Only instrument I've ever played is the recorder. Both my brothers have uni degrees in creative arts but I missed out on the artistic gene too.

2. Before going back to uni to study medicine, I was a computer programmer. Technically I can put the initials BITCH after my name and mean it (Bachelor Information Technology and Communication with Honours). Actually getting that H was one of the main motivators that made me want to do Honours in the first place!

3. My biggest fears are huntsman spiders and leeches. I temporarily got over my fear of leeches after spending a month in Borneo (they are everywhere there), but years later Australian leeches still freak me out unless I have salt on standby. I don't think I will ever get over my fear of hunstman spiders.

4. Goats are my favourite animals. I've had a few pet goats, but a little angora goat named Andy stole my heart. I used to take him for walks through the village we lived in, had taught him to jump over ropes and even tried dying him pink with mulberry juice once. I was devastated when police dogs escaped and killed him.

5. I love British comedy and could spend hours quoting Blackadder, The Young Ones, Red Dwarf and Monty Python. I once translated "my hovercraft is full of eels" into 30 languages just for the fun of it.

6. When I was born I nearly died of haemolytic disease of the newborn and had to have an exchange blood transfusion to replace all my red blood cells at birth. Given that I'm the oldest child, this means my mum unknowingly had a miscarriage before I was born. Nowadays this is prevented by giving prophylactic anti-D injections to pregnant mums with O- blood group. Modern medicine can be great!

7. I had never been overseas until I was age 12. That year my parents packed up and moved us all to England for a year. It was scary, but great. I have never stopped wanting to travel since!

8. I have never been sea-sick in my life. Not even crossing the English channel in a terrible storm when everyone around me was staggering around projectile vomiting including every other member of my family. I sat there doing my maths homework like the nerd that I am!

9. I don't know how to braid hair. I'd really like to learn.

10. I used to hate pineapple, tomato, capsicum, onion, asparagus and a host of other veggies that I now love. I still hate cauliflower, broccolli and brussel sprouts with a passion and can't even eat food those vegetables have touched. I also can't eat mixed peas and corn. They have to be separated and then eaten. OCD much?

Whew, talk about useless trivia huh! :)

Now who to tag? I think all the youlookfab ladies have already played along, and I don't know who else actually reads this blog! Mary, Phil, Nadine: wanna play?

First cold night

2010-03-29T16:50:00.002+11:00

In a few months time I might be regretting ever saying this, but Saturday night I was a bit excited that it had finally cooled down enough to wear both boots and a jacket out to dinner.

I'm officially in love with this Boden dress, after having some initial doubts when I first received it. I love its breeziness. And the light material worked well with the leather jacket and boots.

The only thing I had to think twice about was tights/boots combination. It's hard to tell from the picture as it's so dark, but I'm wearing dark blue tights, which I think looked good continuing on from the blue pattern in the dress. However when I tried adding grey boots into the mix, the blue and grey together just didn't look right to my eye. I don't know if my instincts were right, or if I'd have gotten used to it over the course of the evening. Maybe I'll have to try it again some other time.

Doesn't my hair look all over the place? I think 6 months is officially too long to be without a haircut, so I'll have to remedy that soon.

And here's a bonus outfit from a few weeks ago featuring another light and breezy clothing item: a tunic top from H&M in Beijing. It kind of hurts my eyes looking at the pattern in this picture. Hope it doesn't have the same effect on others when I'm actually wearing it!

Things I love about Melbourne #1: TramTracker

2010-03-23T22:14:00.002+11:00

Ok, so I kinda love the actual trams too, but so far my favourite thing about Melbourne's public transport network is the TramTracker application for the iPhone.

Image courtesy of iTunes store

It automatically detects which stops are closest to you right now, so if you're using it from home, it tells you how far the next tram is from home. No more faffing about looking up timeables, or waiting at a tram stop for 15 minutes. Heaven!

I just jumped on the iPhone bandwagon last week. So far this is handsdown the best application I have found for the iPhone.

Now if only my myki card would work more than 50% of this time, this whole tram-catching caper would be perfect!

Chicken & corn chowder

2010-03-19T15:00:00.004+11:00

Yesterday I finally cooked one of my favourite soups of all time: Chicken & Corn Chowder.

During some cooler weather, I'd bought leeks from the South Melbourne Markets nearly 2 weeks ago, with the express intention of making this soup. Of course now it's warmed back up, and soup doesn't feel entirely appropriate, but I'm starting working nights again tonight, and sometimes at 4am in the morning you need something nourishing, warm and hearty to remind you that you are human despite being awake at an ungodly hour.

I was planning on cooking this on Monday night, so went to the fruit and veg shop, and the supermarket to pick up the few other bits and bobs apart from leeks that I needed to complete the recipe. Sadly I forgot to buy corn!

Chicken & corn chowder just wouldn't be the same without one of it's eponymous ingredients, so I had to hold off on making it until I had managed to procure that final, but vital ingredient.

Worth the wait though!

Here's the recipe I used. I stumbled across the original at allrecipes.com, and have fiddled with it just a teeny bit.

Zippy Chicken Corn Chowder

Ingredients

2-3 chicken breast fillets, cubed
olive oil, small amt for frying
1 large red capsicum, chopped
2 medium leeks, chopped
3 tablespoons plain flour
1 tablespoon paprika
4 cups chicken stock
2 medium potatoes, cubed
4 cups frozen corn
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 tin light evaporated milk

Directions

Saute chicken in olive oil in a big soup pot, until lightly browned; set aside and keep warm.
In the same pan, saute the red pepper until tender. Add the leeks; cook for 1 minute. Stir in the flour and paprika until blended. Gradually stir in the broth. Add the potatoes; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
Stir in corn, Worcestershire sauce, salt, hot pepper sauce and reserved chicken; bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cook, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes or until corn is tender, stirring occasionally.
Stir in cream and heat through (do not boil).

Easy huh? And so yum!

exercise program day 1 (again)!

2010-03-19T01:07:00.002+11:00

I can’t believe I missed out on exercising yesterday. And I was going so well too!!

Instead I did the following:

Went to physio – neck is close to being all sorted.
Traipsed around a shopping centre for 2 hours. Quite productive actually as I got both a new swimsuit and a brand new swimming cap!
Went out for St Pats. I’m living with an Irish lass – I had to!!

And of course I wore green!!

But really, I could easily have squeezed in a 30 minute walk if I really wanted to, so it’s my own fault for not meeting this goal yet again. That just means more exercise for me coming up, doesn’t it?

Today was a good first day back though. I roadtested the new swimming gear and it passed with flying colours. No wardrobe malfunctions, I could see where I was going and I was able to leave the house just as soon as I’d put on sneakers, shorts and a bike helmet. No fuss.

Here’s the course I did today.

Notice there’s a bit of to-and-fro’ing at the start. I got halfway there before realising I’d forgotten my goggles, so rode back for them. Can you believe the lazy beastie inside of me seriously considered just buying a new pair there to solve the problem instead. I’m glad I talked myself out of that one!!

Then I swam 1.1km. Go me!

See more progress on: exercise every day for 30 days

Body woes

2010-03-13T20:45:00.002+11:00

Today's exercise:

8km walk
800m swim

Good exercise right? But I’m not feeling good.

When I awoke Thursday afternoon (I’m working nights this week, so I’ve been sleeping during the day) something was very wrong.

My neck and shoulders on both sides, but mainly the right were all locked up and sore. Panadol, Neurofen and a heatpack made no difference. Driving is painful, and to turn and look at something I basically have to turn my whole body, since I can’t rotate my neck.

I’d made a physio appt for Monday, because I thought the SI joint injury that plagued me throughout December was starting to return. Yesterday I called up and was lucky enough to be able to nab a Friday afternoon appointment slot someone had cancelled.

Physio dude was nice enough, but not as wonderful as my Wollongong physio. Or maybe I’m just grumpy to get the bad news. C2 joint is screwed up (thus the neck pain), my thoracic spine is tight due to bad posture causing shoulder pain. And my SI joint is out of alignment again, causing the hip flexor and knee pain I’ve been experiencing when walking.

I forced myself to go walking last night, and I don’t know if that was a good idea. By the end of the walk both hips were hurting and my knee was throbbing. And of course my neck felt no better. It’s probably the worst my body has ever felt.

Today it’s still all locked up despite painkillers and heat. I hope I magically wake up better tomorrow. I have another physio appointment on Wednesday, but I don’t know if I can wait until then.

I hope the walk today and the swim have loosened things up a bit. The walk was less painful than yesterday so I’m hoping that’s a good sign. The swimming was sore on the neck/right shoulder, but not unbearable.

As for the neck? If it’s still causing me grief tomorrow I’m going to treat myself to a massage. Boo!

See more progress on: exercise every day for 30 days

YLF challenge

2010-03-10T19:58:00.003+11:00

Over on you look fab, there's another wardrobe challenge happening. I'm first up, having been challenged by the lovely Sarah to:

"try a look with trousers or trouser jeans while defining your waist line. If you don't have trousers or trouser jeans, a pencil skirt would be lovely. To make this a wee bit more challenging, try to incorporate at least one pattern, one textural element, and one "wow" accessory."

Talk about a challenge and a half! As an undeniably apple body shape, I *have* no waistline, and most of my wardrobe is spent trying to disguise that fact. My waist:hip ratio is > 90% - no waistline there baby! Surrendering the surrender of the waistline is enough of a challenge alone for me!

But I've endeavoured to rise to the challenge in two ways. Firstly with trouser jeans.

Now for the challenge elements:

The buttoned-up waistcoat is an attempt to show the waist and "girdle" me up :)
The pattern is the houndstooth print on the Me Too Swann flats.
Textural elements? Hmmm do denim jeans, fabric/patent shoes and cotton tops count?
Wow accessory - new long-strand bead/pearl necklace from Target & cocktail ring from H&M.

Next I wanted to try surrendering the waist with the new pleated skirt I bought from Cue. For bonus points I styled it 2 ways. This was a brilliant exercise for me to work out what tops I can wear with this skirt, something I had been wondering since I bought it the other day!

Challenge elements:

Showing the waist: look, tucked top! Possibly a first ever! The pleats on the skirt pouf out my hips so make me look like I have a waist, yay!
Pattern: microfishnets (tenuous I know!)
Textural elements: microfishnets, leather shoes, ponte skirt, knit top
Wow accessory - red antique beads from Ecuador, black booties from Hong Kong

And the biggest challenge of all for me? Pencil skirt + belt. Something I have *never* tried before. This belt came with a Stella dress I bought last year and that's the only time I've ever worn it. Not sure if I would be game to wear this one out of the house, but it is fun!

Challenge elements:

Showing the waist: pencil skirt + belt. Oh my!
Pattern: microfishnets, zebra print op
Textural elements: microfishnets, leather shoes, ponte skirt, patent belt, cotton top
Wow accessory - red BD booties, patent back belt

Whew, that was exhausting! :)

day 1 (again) - 9/3/10

2010-03-09T18:42:00.002+11:00

Well I’m starting up the exercise for 30 days challenge (again)!

To make it fair to myself, I’m only doing this on days where I work less than 13.5 hours, otherwise there just isn’t time to do this and keep my sanity. Days like today where I’m doing a 10 hour shift it is manageable.

So this is only the second time I’ve gone jogging in Melbourne, but it’s a start, right?

My right knee is still not 100%, so I really need to get myself to see a physio. I’m hoping this isn’t a lingering symptom of the SI joint problems I was having in December, but there’s only one way to find out. That’s on tomorrow’s todo list.

Only 3km so far, but the only way is up right!

See more progress on: exercise every day for 30 days

Colour quiz

2010-03-03T09:18:00.003+11:00

I took this fun colour quiz as I sat drinking my morning hot lemon drink. For me its suprisingly accurate. Turns out I'm a red - who'd have thought?

Anyone else find this quiz to be exceptionally accurate?

RIP emerald shoes

2010-03-03T00:23:00.005+11:00

Well it's been a long time between blog posts. I'm not going to make too many apologies, and I don't have too much time right now to update on everything that has happened in the last month (I'll try and do that soon).

I have officially moved to Melbourne, just so you know that all forthcoming posts are coming from the deep South :)

What has prompted today's post is the death of my beloved green pointy toed flats. I got these custom made in Vietnam and have worn them to bits. They're not real leather, but they are as comfy as a pair of slippers (although a bit sweatier).

Unfortunately their lack of quality is truly showing as they are not withstanding the test of time to the point at which I fear a wardrobe malfunction every time I put them on. The toes are scuffed, and the stitching on the heel is fraying apart. I fear they are now officially unwearable, so I'm turfing them.

The dilemna now, is how am I going to replace them? An online search of like.com, zappos and endless have all failed to find me anything approximating these beauties. The closest thing I have found is these Mia Hepburn flats, but they are turquoise rather than emerald, and lack the fun detail my current pair sport on the front.

Do you know of anything closer to what I'm after? Should I settle for the Mias or keep on looking for my perfect emerald pair?

p.s. the photo above highlights how well my current pair match the dining chairs that I bought at an Op Shop last week. I loooooove Melbourne Op Shops!!

When animals attack

2010-01-09T13:59:00.002+11:00

I tend to be all or nothing about posting here. Much like a lot of things in life: eating well, exercise, alcohol, sleep. I really think I need a bit more moderation!

Anyway here's another bonus 2-outfit post, both featuring animal print.

This first outfit has been sitting on my camera since early December. It was clearly taken before I even moved house, that's how slack I've been about posting even the pictures I have managed to take!

I paired this great snakeskin print skirt with some nude microfishnets to provide a bit more leg coverage, as this skirt is quite short on me otherwise.

Do the prints in the skirt and tights look too similar however? Making me look like one big snake/fish hybrid?

And here's what I wore yesterday. This time we have moved onto the mammal kingdom, featuring the zebra.

When I first tried this dress on I thought it was a tad too long. In actual fact it hits me right on the lower knee so it may be just right after all. I had trouble deciding what necklace to wear with it, as there is obviously already a lot going on with that print. I went for a safe white option. What else do you think I could have gone with?

Headcold and liver failure

2010-01-07T20:21:00.004+11:00

Cheery title huh? Well I've been home sick with a headcold today, so what can I say, cheery I am not! If I was doing any other job I would probably have gone into work today and just tried to keep a low profile. You can't really fly under the radar too much in ED though. You still have to go see your own patients, hunt people down to talk to about them etc. Exhausting sometimes, and I knew I just couldn't do it today.

Instead, I lounged around most of the day. I ventured outside for about 45 mins to go to the post office and the supermarket and that's it. I dressed up a bit more more than I normally would for such an outing, because I didn't want to look as bad as I felt.

Loving the drapey SS cardie. It's cozy and I kicked about in this outfit for the rest of the day. Does it look funny that the sleeves of the aqua t-shirt poke underneath the shorter cardigan sleeves?

I picked up that necklace from Forever 21 in LA many years ago but have only worn a handful of times for some reason. I'm not sure if the length works too well on me; is it too short to be a long necklace? It's definitely too long to be a short one.

And just as a bonus, here's an outfit I wore to work recently, featuring a yellow top. I know that doesn't sound earth shattering to anyone else, but for me it's literally been 20 years since I wore a yellow top. I have a clear memory of my mother telling me I looked jaundiced in a yellow top I used to wear when I was much younger.

What do you think? Can I get away with it, or does it make me look like I have liver failure?

To wear inside the frigid conditions at work, I popped a cardie over the top. That made me feel a lot less self-conscious.

After braving the supermarket, I've come home and made a pot of Thai Chicken noodle soup. It's now 8:30pm and I'm going to take myself off to bed. Hopefully when I wake up tomorrow I'll feel human enough to face work!!

My nod to Christmas

2009-12-23T23:31:00.003+11:00

Unsurprisingly, with everything that's been going on lately, I've been feeling a bit like the Grinch that stole Christmas this year.

However, I *have* unpacked my mini-Christmas tree at home, and I *have* completed my Christmas shopping. So it's not all bah humbug over here.

And yesterday and today I decided to go festive to work.

What the hey, it made me happy anyway!!

It's not my birthday

2009-12-04T16:17:00.004+11:00

It's not today....actually it was 3 days ago (bonus points for anyone who spots the They Might Be Giants reference!)

The actual birthday started off ok but ended up overwhelmingly sucky. When they found out at work it was my birthday my boss went and bought a tray of cakes and biscuits. Yum! He scared the beejesus out of me by luring me into the tearoom by telling me he needed to talk about a patient complaint though! However later on I had a very sick patient that I was looking after and was basically told by the cardiologist that it was on my head to stay back and make sure she was seen by the surgeons. Took me 4 hours after my shift ended to make sure that happened. So I missed out on my own bithday dinner and trivia with my parents and brothers. Boohoo!

But yesterday I bought myself 2 birthday presents, so it's not all bad. A lightweight short-sleeved cardigan from Target (Target always comes through for me) and a pair of gladiator sandals from Aldo.

Please excuse the hair (haven't combed it for over 24 hours). There's also a few stains on that singlet top that thankfully didn't photograph well!

This summer I really wanted to get a pair of sandals-slash-booties. I found a few pairs that I liked online, but dithered around too much and there's none available in my size anywhere. Australian shoe stores have a few options, but none of them jumped out at me.

Yesterday I saw these babies at Aldo. They're really just gladiators, not booties, however the combination of different textures, braids and studs won me over. I'm in love.

For any North Americans reading this, I'm curious: did US stores stock these same shoes during your summer? Aldo stores are a rarity in Australia (only 14 in the entire country) and I wonder if we just get your leftover end of season merchandise? I totally love these, so I'm not complaining!!

And now for something completely different..

2009-11-27T14:56:00.003+11:00

Time to shake things up a bit and defunk myself - body, mind and wardrobe.

First of all, a big thanks to Angie from youlookfab for recommending this ruffled singlet earlier in the year. I struggle with buying tops, especially summer tops. This is my first day wearing this top, but I already love its light fabrication (hello 30° weather) and the way it skims over the lumps and bumps in my tummy. Now I wish I'd bought 2 different colours!

But the real reason for this post? I need to move house, and my wardrobe into a much smaller space. Most likely some of it will end up in storage as well. So it's wardrobe cull time. I need help!!

To start off with: 3 blazers (pictured both buttoned and unbuttoned).

The brown and minty green ones I have not worn for at least 4 years. Not because they don't fit my body. Maybe they just don't fit my lifestyle? I always err on the side of under, rather than over dressed. Initially what appealed to me about them was how the linen fabric made them more casual. However I still can't get over the fact that they are a blazer. I always seem to reach for a cardigan or a different cut of more casual jacket first.

I can't wear them to work either, because the sleeves would get in the way too much. The sleeves are too tight for scrunching, but I was wondering if shortening them would work? Worth it or not?

Or maybe its the colours. I love the minty green, but maybe the lighter shades just don't work on me?

This final jacket is less summery. It's a black velvet jacket I bought in Egypt. The quality is not amazing - it's not even lined. The loop-through front closure is very forgiving however. This is the only time I've worn it in the last 3 years.

As ruthless as I am tempted to be, I half wonder whether if I move to Melbourne I would be influenced to smarten up my wardrobe a bit. Especially in the cooler months. Maybe I shouldn't discount the blazer look as too stuffy after all?

What do *you* think - keep or cull?

Click on each picture for a larger version.

Sometimes the job is worth it

2009-11-21T21:59:00.004+11:00

I've been whinging a lot about the fact that in the first 5 weeks of this term I have been rostered on every single Saturday bar one, and every single Sunday bar none.

Truth is it's probably a blessing in disguise, because weekends can be a lonely time to be at home with too much spare time on your hands. I know all about that from weekdays, heh.

Anyway today my last patient made missing out on a gorgeous nearly-Summer Saturday worthwhile.

A gorgeous 18 yo girl came in with stomach pain. Simple complaint right? I thought it would be a cruisy patient to end my shift with. She was haemodynamically stable, not pregnant and with no sign of infection or anything else too nasty physically. However it did turn out that she may or may not be bulimic, and most definitely is harbouring suicidal thoughts.

To not just see the tears, but to palpably feel her relief at hearing someone say that it's good she came in for help, and that it's okay to talk about these things brought tears to my eyes. Literally.

I don't know what conclusions to draw from this, other than to say I really don't hate my job all the time.

And just to kick me while I'm down

2009-11-20T22:12:00.003+11:00

Other not-so-nice occurences in the preceding week:

My mobile phone carked it. It simply won't turn on. Tried plugging it in. Removing the battery and putting it in again. None of it works. And the killer? I can't find the frackin' receipt. This little baby is worth $800. I paid about $400 on eBay only a few months ago and I am still spewing.

$200 parking fine. Didn't even see the feckin' minature sign saying Bus stop. I have never seen a bus anywhere near that street either. Tried pleading against it, but no go.

My toaster broke. It was the first appliance I bought well over 10 years ago when I first moved out of home. Never a squeak of a problem, until the other day one of the metal inner trays just snapped. Now I'm resorting to cooking my morning toast under the eletric grill which takes approximately five hundred years and increases my chances of not watching and accidentally burning the toast thousand-fold.

So sure I've been moping around and barely leaving the house. But with shit like that happening, wouldn't you?

Floating adrift

2009-11-19T18:16:00.003+11:00

2009 has been a shit of a year for a number of reasons. A mere three weeks ago, however, things were looking up. I was away in China, cycling through countryside and walking The Wall.

But I was looking forward to returning home.

Plans were being made for the future - maybe Melbourne, maybe elsewhere. Regardless, I was looking forward to a relaxed summer down by the beach. With a lighter workload and some spare time on my hands I was planning on finally growing a decent herb garden, getting back into cooking and back to the gym.

Coming back was a nasty shock. To hear that things that I thought were resolving over the past 6 months really weren't resolved at all. That things truly can never go back to how they were. The misery of May was rekindled and relived all over again. That 11 years together is no guarantee of forever.

For the first week I barely stopped crying and I barely left the house.

I'm not crying now (at least not all the time). Now I'm just lost.

I don't know what to think of the future. How do you begin about devising a new future, without the one person that you thought was going to be a constant beside you?

I've got to make a major decision well before December 17 when our lease here expires. Do I stay in this city and find somewhere else on my own, or do I go down to Melbourne alone? (I have a job offer there that starts early Feb). And if I do go, where do I live in between December and February? The logistics of it all exhausts me, when its struggle enough to just drag my body out of bed in the morning.

An awesome quote

2009-11-07T11:53:00.001+11:00

A beautiful quote from Busy Bee's blog:

Please understand God not only in the traditional, perhaps narrow minded context, but in a freer one, where every human been may believe in every God he / she chooses to. I understand God as goodness, generosity, but also truth, self - reflection, admitance of mistakes and a c t i o n s towarding changing things. I consider God to be inside of us, and this can be expressed by being the best people that we can be, for ourselves first and then for others. God is also a teacher, expressed in the everyday lessons life brings. We can all be little gods by realising, doing and acting out our dreams. Time is precious to be spent just in dreaming. Let's all DO.

An atypical Saturday night

2009-09-20T09:56:00.005+10:00

This was what my Saturday night consisted of:

Inserting a pigtail drain into a patient with a large pneumothorax - instructed by the surgical reg step by step of course!
Assisting in a C-section (it was a boy)
Arrest call #1 - patient ended up ok-ish but needing multiple blood transfusions for Hb 64 with ongoing melaena who is not a surgical candidate
Arrest call #2 - actually we were there pre-arrest while he had no radial pulse and unmeasureable BP. After he crashed he was brought back after 20mins of CPR with several cracked ribs. He ended up getting a femoral line and more CPR and was even about to be transferred to ICU until he arrested again and didn't come back. RIP. I got to do some bag and masking, some CPR and and course filling in the death certificate (interns job is always the paperwork!)
Being told to "piss off" by a patient who had chest pain prior. Noice!

I can't wait to have a nice quiet Saturday night (or any other for that matter) at home in front of the telly again. Still, all those events were interesting and I learnt heaps...well except the last one of course!

4 nights down, 3 to go (and counting!)

Different....ouch

2009-09-16T12:02:00.002+10:00

For yesterday's exercise, I went and did a beginner's yoga class.

That doesn't sound like much of a big deal, does it? But to me it was, for several reasons.

It's now, what, September? That means it's been 9 months since we moved here. That means its been 9 months that I've been thinking "I REALLY need to go and check out the yoga place just around the corner". You know how it goes. The longer you leave something, the bigger deal it seems and the harder it is to get off your butt and do it.

I'll admit it, I was also SCARED. Yep I am a wuss. Entering a brand new studio with a new teacher and new other students is a daunting thing. Plus this is an Iyengar class, which I don't know much about, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

And guess what - surprise surprise - but IT REALLY WASN'T THAT BIG A DEAL. Sure I felt self-conscious entering the room and not knowing what to do. I also had to deal with my usual claustrophobic tendencies when someone set up their mat so close to me and wedged me into a corner that for some of the poses the instructor asked them to move it a bit away.

But all up I am so glad I went. The different style of class was interesting. It never really twigged to me that this is what a non-Vinyasa class would be like. The props were a bit scary at first, but we only used pretty simple ones so it wasn't too bad.

Will I go back? DEFINITELY. Once my muscles recover. My back and shoulders are feeling it today baby!

Up up up!

2009-09-13T21:31:00.006+10:00

I really need to get exercise back into my daily routine. To kickstart this process I'm challenging myself to do some form of exercise every day for 30 days. Today I got a few friends over and walked up and down the Sublime Point track.

It sure was steep: in 1km you ascend 415m! Breathtaking views from the top however, so well worth it!

As of Wednesday I am working nights for 7 days straight (10:30pm-8:30am). That's really going to muck up my schedule and knock about my exercise plans. I'm going to do my best to do at least a walk or a bike ride every day though!

See more progress on: exercise every day for 30 days

One small step for man...

2009-09-13T11:16:00.003+10:00

One massive step for me: I have a bike!

Would you be at all surprised to hear that I based my choice of bike in wanting a red one? Seriously there were way too many options in the store and I know zero about bikes to make an otherwise informed decision.

The guys at the shop were very patient and helpful, and didn’t make me feel like a ditz. Even today when I called them saying I can’t move the front gear up. Speaking of which, I better go test out their suggestions just to make sure it is user error and not something wrong with the bike!

Here’s where I went for my first ride yesterday (8km). Such a gorgeous track with great views.

After about 15 rides I need to take the bike back to the shop for a free service. And I want to get a front basket so I can go shopping with it. And maybe a pair of proper bike pants so my a$$ doesn't fall off in pain.

Can you tell I’m excited!!!

EDIT: just went and tried their suggestion of pressing on the gear longer. Guess what it works. DOUBLE OOPS!!

See more progress on: Get a bike and start bike riding

An understated description of the last 8 months of my life

2009-08-23T11:38:00.010+10:00

This article a friend showed me from the Readers Digest is a surprisingly true-to-life depiction of the first few months of this year for me. Although really, it understates how terrifying and how satisfying things can be if you ask me!

Intense moments of pure panic....check
Getting asked questions by patients and family you just can't answer...check
Failing miserably at cannulas...check
Dying patients....check
Wanting to faint in surgery....check
Still really liking your job for some strange reason....check

Let's hope that last point continues to be true!

A culinary challenge

2009-07-20T18:11:00.003+10:00

In honour of the season finale of Masterchef Australia last night, A and I decided to host our own Masterchef challenge.

We decided each of us should cook a recipe featured on the show for dinner. We flipped a coin, which decided I'd do the main, and A would do dessert. Then we promptly swapped, since my ever-present sweet tooth demands I "specialise" in dessert and he is all about exotic mains.

True to form, A cooked up a storm, deciding to do and entree AND a main.

For entree, he made Natural Oysters with Thai Dressing. Simple and delicious. Makes me wonder why we don't have oysters more often at home, especially in summer.

Talk about presentation!!

I scored this dish 7/10. It was light, tangy and delicious but lacked the chilli I demand in pretty much every dish to make it complete.

Between the entree and the main, A sat a while and enjoyed the fruits of his labour.

The main was Baked Lilydale Chicken Breast with Moroccan Spiced Vegetable Stew.

I adored this dish. The stew was perfectly spiced: flavoursome, warming and nourishing, but still light and fresh. The chicken soaked up the yummy flavours of the stew. The chickpeas and all the veggies made it a really healthy dish. 10/10!!

To counteract the healthiness of the dinner, I had to go all out with dessert: Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce & Almond Praline.

Both the pudding and the sauce were simple to make and tasted divine. The praline didn't set properly because I was scared of overcooking it and took it off the heat too early. Freezing made it look presentable for about 1 minute, but the heat of the pudding and sauce soon melted it into a gooopy mess. A delicious, goopy mess, but still a mess. Overall score 8/10.

The most exciting thing: experimenting with some new dishes. Each of these was delicious, not too difficult and tasted amazing.

I'm dead keen to try some more Masterchef pieces now. What a shame the show is over. I miss it already!!!

Reworked work outfits

2009-06-21T10:48:00.004+10:00

I didn't have time to take any new photos this week, however since I'm so behind in posting, I do have new photos to share. This first picture was taken a few weeks ago, but I wore this exact outfit again this week, so it's not really cheating.

Don't die of shock, but apart from my yellow watch, this outfit is all neutrals - a rare thing for me indeed!!

This is a subtle variation of an outfit I previously posted, simply swapping out the boots and necklace. I now need to try and think of some other way of wearing this top. Any suggestions?

Despite really liking this dress, I didn't think the outfit I first wore it with worked 100%. I felt a lot better in attempt #2.

Not sure if its the lighter boots, the tights, or the coloured top, but it feels a lot more *me*. I'll have to keep on experimenting with this dress to see what else does and doesn't work.

Down to the pub + bonus old outfit

2009-06-14T12:19:00.003+10:00

Here's what I wore to the local pub last night. It's a very casual place, where anyone not wearing a flanno shirt, faded jeans and not drunk by 7pm is out of place.

They do a mean burger and chips, and for $8 too! I had the Mexi chicken one, next time I'll go for the lentil. I wish I had taken a picture it was that yummy.

I had to rug up on the way there. Winter has officially struck around these parts. This was my first proper coat outing of the year (in Australia)!

Weirdly enough I just compared our forecast to both San Fran and Toronto. In the midst of our winter we are only a few degrees below you right now in your summer. Are we wussy or what!!!

And now for the bonus: catching up on an outfit I wore way back on March 2nd but never got around to posting. Clearly it was a lot warmer then! What do you think of these pants? They are stretchy and comfy, but don't excite me in any way. I'd never wear them anywhere other than work.

Bye-bye crazies

2009-06-12T22:30:00.004+10:00

Today was my last day of psychiatry. I am *really* *really* going to miss it. For now, psychiatry is definitely right up there as a career option for me. I am going to miss the patients and the people I worked with there like crazy (gedddit?)

I'm also experimenting with posting daily outfits here as I wear them. Saving the whole lot for the end of the week just makes me dread putting together one long post. Be prepared for an inundation of short posts if this method turns out to be easier!!!!

Here's what I wore on my last day. This top is a supremely comfy dress/tunic from Target. On me, its so short that I don't think I could wear it with leggings. Overall this outfit scores a staggering 11/10 for comfort!!!

- Target grey striped knit tunic
- Portmans black skinny pants
- Red Wittner boots
- Turquoise necklace from Hoi An, Vietnam

A perfect night in

2009-06-12T21:45:00.003+10:00

Nasty cold weather....CHECK

Coming home from work with a headache after getting only 6 hours sleep because I worked till 11pm the night before.....CHECK

Having three separate patients screaming right at my face this afternoon.....CHECK

Coming home to a glass of wine, candle, warm bath and a good book......DOUBLE CHECK

Life could be worse.

What I wore this week: #4

2009-05-30T13:59:00.003+10:00

Another partial week's worth of outfits. Tried to mix in some new and old items this week.

1) Sailor shopping

I wore this when A and I went out to the closest mall last weekend. I think this tshirt didn't get the ylf approval on its own, but with the vest hiding its wider stripes, it somehow works better. Extremely comfortable, thanks in no small part to the amazing Me Too Swanns.

2) Casual Sunday

Drove several suburbs down to a beachside cafe for brekkie. It was packed. The food was good, but not as good as some of our locals!

3) Copying Angie's look

This look is a complete rip-off of an amazing dress Angie sported recently on ylf. When I saw a similar shaped dress at Target made out of t-shirt fabric I snapped it up faster than you can say ARGH! It's impossible to see on the black fabric, but there's gathers on the front similar to Angie's. I love the shape!

I even copied her idea of wearing pearls underneath, and tried unsuccessfully to copy her lovely poses too!

This outfit was comfortable beyond belief. It felt like I was wearing pajamas all day!!!

It was a bit cold out, so I added the Ben Sherman houndstooth jacket I bought not-so-long ago.

4) Turquoise knit top, take 2

I wore this knitted top from H+M again, deliberately pairing it with lighter colours. I think it works better than last time I wore it. I *really* wish I had bought the CM microchecks I tried on whilst away. I think their light colour would work really well with this top.

Behold in this outfit: the only item of yellow clothing I own!

5) Yet another dress from Target

OK it's official. My name is Tamara and I'm a Target addict. In the last few years I'd say a large percentage of my clothing, and pretty much ALL of my tops have come from Target.

I love the pattern and feel of this dress. It's a light, stretch cotton. However looking at this picture I don't feel it flatters my apple shape too well. Ooops.

I do love it though. Do you think this outfit is channelling the schoolgirl look too much, however? How else would you wear it?

Whew that's it! I'm glad I didn't take photos of *every* day now - that was exhausting!

Click on any image to be taken to flickr.com for a larger view.

What I wore this week: #3

2009-05-20T20:46:00.003+10:00

First up: a confession. These outfits aren't *all* from this week. I've clearly been terribly slack with both taking photos and with posting here. I'd like to blame it on the fact that its winter here, and lighting is just bad for photo-taking.

But really, I'm just a slacker.

It's a shame, because I have managed to sport a lot of the clothes I bought whilst away. I'll just have to try and wear them again soon huh? Anyway enough with the explanations and excuses.

First up this outfit features a top I bought at H&M in SF & another pair of Me Too Swann's that I bought in SF as well. Both looking at the pic, and on the day I felt it was too dark. I didn't have any lighter colour pants that I thought would work. Kinda gave me some buyers remorse about not having bought the Club Monaco microchecks I tried on in SF after all - they may indeed have worked!

This is one of my more dressy work outfits. I had to present a couple of patients to the Mental Health Tribunal this day so wanted to look somewhat professional so they'd believe I knew what I was talking about. These are one of only 2 pairs of pants I own that need to be worn with heels (1.5 inches!) because they are TOO LONG!! My fault really as I got them custom made in Hoi An. The novelty of wearing too-long pants just hasn't worn off on me though.

Here's a close-up of the textures. Plain brown vest with funky bottons, silver and white striped shirt and brown and black plaid wool pants.

Finally today's outfit. I liked it, and as always when I wear these boots got several compliments on them. However I did also have one patient walk up to me and told me "you look like a hooker in those clothes". I have to admit I was somewhat taken aback, but having other people remind me that she was the one in a psych ward, made me feel better about things. Does this outfit say hooker to you?

Maybe I should have increased my credit card limit

2009-04-10T10:08:00.006+10:00

I'm heading to San Fran tomorrow!! Then onto NYC, then Toronto for a cousin's wedding. 2.5 weeks holiday - yeeha!!!

Sitting at home procrastinating on packing, it's just starting to feel real.

I am getting inordinately excited about the the potential shopping in America. I love US department stores! And I have so many more than 5-year-old clothes that need replacing it isn't funny.

I've spent the last hour mapping out the stores I want to visit in San Fran. Here they are on a map in relation to where I'm staying.

Did I mention I'm going to be packing *very* lightly? Muahaha!!

Of course this could all backfire and I'll end up wearing the same pair of jeans, converse and cardigan for a fortnight, so cross your fingers the shopping gods are smiling upon me please!!

What I wore this week: #2

2009-03-07T10:57:00.003+11:00

You can tell summer is over. It's getting darker and darker in the mornings. As a consequence these photos are getting fuzzier and fuzzer. Blah!

I'm a week behind posting these pics. They are now from 2 weeks ago. Oh well!

1) Monday

I'm not sure if I like these colours paired together. Even with a skirt this shirt is too short to wear on its own without a singlet underneath. A new red shirt is now officially going on my shopping list.

2) Tuesday

I felt unbelievably comfy in this outfit. I am loving this Target shirt! Unfortunately one of my bosses commented on my Cons - he thinks canvas shoes are unsafe. And yet they provide more foot coverage than ballet flats which he has no problem with. Blah!

3) Wednesday

Loving these pants and shoes. I wore them without socklets for the first time today and they were even more comfy!

4) Thursday

It's difficult to see in this poor quality pic, but the shoes I'm wearing here are brand new Me Too Swann's. For their first wear, they passed my 16 hour workday with flying colours. I am in love!

5) Friday

A dark and gloomy morning. I love this dress on hot days. For a cooler day it worked well with tights too.

6) Sunday

A very casual day, going shopping and for a pedicure at Miranda.

What I wore this week: #1

2009-02-22T17:44:00.005+11:00

Well I've sporadically been posting pictures of outfits I wear on flickr. Even more sporadically have I been uploading them onto weardrobe to try and catalogue all my clothes.

Inspired by some of the great gals on the youlookfab forum, I'm now going to blog about these very same outfits.

Feel free to press snooze.

Otherwise watch me attempt to channel my inner fashionista (everyone has one of those right??) and attempt to move my wardrobe out of birkenstock land :)

1) Sunday
It was cool again last weekend. So cool that I threw on a scarf before heading outside. In summer. Crazy!!

2) Tuesday?
Wearing the red shoes and the black skinny trousers I bought recently. Paired them with a red tunic top. Too matchy? As it was cold outside I threw on a SS black cardie for the trip to work, didn't wear it during the day though. Excuse the wet hair please :)

3) Thursday
I think I've posted pics of this outfit before. Its a combo that works for me - everything about it is so comfy!!

These pants are at least 7 years old. Funnily enough another colleague at work has the exact same pair - we both wore them on the same day. We have promised each other that if we ever find brown pants as comfy as these we will let the other know!

4) Saturday
Going out to the markets today. Finally a warm and sunny day!! Yet more Vietnam pointy toed shoes. The right foot on this pair felt very snug. Wore them for about 2 hours with no pain as such, but still.....snug. I hope they stretch out!!!

Wrong and right

2009-02-22T10:07:00.003+11:00

So very very wrong:

That according the V countdown of best hits of 1992, Billy Ray Cyrus' Achey Breaky Heart is #2.

A travesty!!

Somewhat restoring justice into the world:

The gunners November Rain is #1.

Suck on that Billy!

Now this is getting ridiculous

2009-02-16T20:40:00.003+11:00

We have been living in this house for nearly 8 weeks. Times flies when you're ~~working your ass off for a mere pittance more than you'd get working the same hours at McDonalds~~ having fun.

Anyway, this is not a rant about money. It's a rant about SPIDERS.

These ones to be precise.

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hunstman_Spider_SMC_2005.jpg

In a mere 8 weeks we have now had 6 of these suckers inside our house/car . It's a bloody infestation!!

I cannot handle the sight of these massive, hairy, sneaky, scurrying spiders. They scare the pants off me. Give me a snake, cockroach or rat over these buggers any day of the week and I will not complain.

I can't handle huntsmen!

Tonight I'm all alone. And we've run out of insect spray. I am feeling very, very vulnerable.

Not one, but two

2009-02-11T21:11:00.003+11:00

Mistakes I made tonight whilst attempting to make this slice:

Using 1 1/2 cups of both plain and self-raising flour instead of 1/2 cup of each
Using regular sugar instead of brown sugar

The result? A pale glutinous mess that could barely fit inside the mixing bowl or baking dish.

Completely inedible. Ugh!!

Not a nice way to end the day

2009-01-29T21:53:00.002+11:00

Things were looking promising.

Beautiful warm day.....check.

Finishing work at 6pm (for the first time in 2 weeks - official end time is 4:30pm)....check.

Heading down to beach while its still lovely and warm.....check.

Only to find a small crowd of people gathered around watching ambos try to resuscitate a 60-something year old gentleman who had drowned. They couldn't.

So I didn't go for my swim. Some people still were, but frankly I found it quite sacrilegious to be swimming in waves a mere 50m away from a body bag.

Welcome to paradise

2009-01-09T18:29:00.000+11:00

And paradise it was, for the first 3 days at least.

We lazed on sunbeds, reading a book, or listening to music. When the heat and humidity became overwhelming, it was time to head into the crystal clear waters for some snorkelling. Pretty coral, colourful fish and a few teeny sharks lay in the shallow waters just off the beach.

After an hour in the water, when our digits had pruned up and our mouths and throats tasted of salt, it was time to head back to shore and do it all over again.

Perfect huh?

Day 3 is when the trouble began.

After surviving day 1 with only a tiny patch of sunburn to one shoulder, day 2 did not fare so well. Despite numerous applications of sunscreen, closely adhering to the proverbial “slip, slop, slap ‘n wrap”, I ended up burnt across both shoulders, upper and lower back and upper thighs. Ouchie!

Halfway into our stay, sunburnt and sore, we thought day 3 would be an ideal rest day. As such we were happy when it was a bit cloudy. The water was choppier than the perfect calm of the previous 2 days, but still warm and swimmable. While snorkelling had poor visibility, it was still lovely to float about in the warm salty water.

It wasn’t till near sunset that the wind started. We were lying out on deckchairs, positioned with a prime view of the sun and a closeby neighbouring island. One minute it was calm, the next minute gusts of wind appeared and didn’t leave us alone. Along came the rain. Powerful pellets coming in sideways. The clouds were so low you could barely see the neighbouring islands. The mainland had disappeared.

But who doesn’t love a good storm? Sure, the thick clouds obscured us from seeing any sunset that night, and we couldn’t sit outside by the pool area to eat our meal, but it wasn’t the end of the world. Neither was the heatstroke I experienced as a result of the sunburn, although it did mean I couldn’t finish my dinner, a very rare occurrence indeed!!

There is something comforting about going to sleep with the sound of rain beating against your roof. Nevertheless, as we retired for the night, we hoped it would blow over by the next day.

It didn’t.

As we were getting ready to head out to breakfast on day 4, someone came and knocked on our door. Dressed in full raingear, one of the staff members informed us that the Group General Manager would be giving a weather briefing in the main restaurant in 5 minutes.

That sounded ominous.

We quickened our preparations and headed into breakfast. Despite initially being told the briefing was in 5 minutes, it didn’t happen for over an hour. We figured that was a good sign that the island wasn’t being evacuated. Surely if it was, there would not be time for breakfast?

But when the briefing came, it wasn’t exactly encouraging. Apparently we weren’t experiencing a cyclone. However we were wedged between a “tropical depression” in Vanuatu and a storm on the other side. Apparently the wind and rain we were experiencing wasn’t going to abate any time soon. No boats were running to or from the island. No one should go swimming in the ocean. He called it a “squall”.

The weather had certainly deteriorated since the day before. During the days prior, I had not seen a single wave breaking over the reef surrounding the island. Yesterday there were plenty. Despite not being high tide, the waves were coming much further up the beach than usual, so much so that you couldn’t walk along the shore.

After being cooped up inside all day, I figured I go for a walk; if not along the beach, then on the inner concrete path that loops around all the bures. After sitting on our doorstep, putting on one shoe, I paused. The rain and wind were gusting. I could see and hear large branches and coconuts falling around me. I took off the one shoe I had put on, and just sat there. I didn’t want to risk getting hit on the head with a branch or a coconut.

The conditions worsened. At one point I was truly scared. Thoughts of a freak tsunami wave or a cyclone clouded my mind. I seriously contemplated writing a goodbye letter on my laptop, and wondered if it could be recovered from a waterlogged hard-drive should the event arise.

Luckily it did not. But the wind and rain continued.

Day 5 was more of the same. Boats still not running, but several groups of people left the island by helicopter. By lunchtime, conditions had improved to the point where I could walk 2 laps around the island. However by late afternoon that was no longer the case. There was some good news: our late afternoon weather briefing informed us that we were through the worst of it. The wind and rain would continue, but not like the last few days. Apparently we were now in a “divergence” whatever that is. A cyclone that’s gotten lost somewhere along the way, perhaps?

Still, we won’t know until tomorrow morning, whether any boats are running so we can leave the island in order to make our flight home.

So what can you do? Sit and have an afternoon beer/wine or both. Do some more reading. Watch a movie. Play scrabble. We wanted some down time, and boy did we get it in spades!!

Random Christmas Day thought

2008-12-25T10:48:00.006+11:00

What is the point of packaging a 32Mb memory card with a digital camera? 32 Mb?!?!?! Are you serious???

Even the 1Gb card I bought alongside my now-defunct 3 year old camera is well and truly on the small side. But 32Mb?!?! That would fit what, 5 shots on it! Why bother??

I'd much prefer it if they just didn't bother with this token effort, and cut the price of the camera by $5. Now I have this useless little 32Mb card. I feel wasteful simply throwing it away, but seriously, is 32Mb useful for any kind of device these days???

It’s like selling a computer with a 50Mb hard drive, 49Mb of which is required by the operating system. Or going back to the days when 4800 baud seemed like a mega-fast modem connection speed.

Or making a 50mL bottle of milk. Or a roll of toilet paper with only 10 sheets of paper. Or an exercise book with only 2 pages in it. Or alcohol-free wine, sugar-free chocolate, dairy-free ice-cream or a broken pencil......

Pointless!!!

P.S. Merry Christmas!

Shopping Hoi An

2008-12-22T16:23:00.013+11:00

I started writing this as an e-mail to my parents, who are shortly popping across to Vietnam for Christmas. I don't profess to be an expert in anything Vietnamese, but I have twice experienced the delights of Hoi An, and have every intention of returning sometime in the not too distant future, so thought it would be nice to share some tips. Hopefully they will help my parents, your fine self, and my future self :)

Step 1: Plan of attack

Even if you're going to be staying there for more than a week, don't wait until you're there to decide what you want. With over 200 tailors and a myriad of brightly coloured shoe shops lining every street, to say the options are overwhelming is an understatement.

Yes most shops have catalogues that you can sit there and sort through, but do you really want to waste time doing that? And are you going to make the best decisions when being egged on by understandably eager shop assistants who will sometimes agree to anything to make a sale.

Instead, do your research. Browse the internet and save images of things you want. Take with you any existing clothes you have that you want to duplicate, or take pictures of you wearing them. Think about fabrics, colours, lining, pockets, every little detail before you get there. Channel your inner Project Runway. Arrive with a plan, all these pictures on a USB stick, and a big fat empty suitcase.

Step 2: On arrival

Whether you're going to dive in quickly and start your shopping immediately, or whether you can ease yourself into it at a more relaxed pace depends on how long you have there. The less time, the quicker your immersion has to be.

Either way, for things that you are 100% sure that you want, that you've thought about what fabric and trimmings you need and you don't want to compromise on quality, why muck around? For me that means going straight to Yaly Couture.

Yes they charge significantly more than any other tailor in Hoi An, but to me they are worth every penny. They are meticulous, professional and friendly. Their staff are lovely and attentive, patient and willing to help. They know about fabrics, and can give great advice about what will and won't work, without blindly agreeing with everything you say. They speak great English, minimising the chances of misunderstandings. They will happily prepare 1 garment for you, or 50. Same same. They don't negotiate on price, but after a while in SE Asia that can be a welcome change.

Summary of step 1: go to Yaly and sort out all the essentials on your list.

Step 2: Breathe

Sit down and enjoy the food and beverages at one of Hoi An's many lovely eateries. Bia Hoi + white rose = match made in heaven.

Do this as many times per day as you need shopping breaks (minimum 3 and that's an order).

Summary of step 2: eat and drink beer.

Step 3: More shopping

So you've got your basics underway. Now its time to wander around all the tailors in town and see what takes your fancy. Don't be pressured into buying the first time you see a cool and original design; chances are the shop around the corner will have something same same but slightly different.

Work out what you like first and then commit. Ask around for ballpark prices in similar styles before committing to any particular shop. The more you buy in one place, the more you can barter.

Be wary of how much time you have and make sure shops can commit to a deadline earlier than what you actually have. You don't want to waste your last night or miss your flight because you're chasing up an order that will "be delivered in 5 minutes". Don't pay anything more than a deposit until you get the item, and demand a refund on items that are either not what you ordered or are not going to be ready on time. Be firm.

Summary of step 3: look around for inspiration.

Step 4: And now for something completely different...

More shopping! This time, how about some shoes?

Again its really helpful if you've thought about this before leaving home. Do you need brown boots, purple flats and red heels? Or black boots, red flats and yellow heels? What height should the heels be? Should the toes be pointy or round? What decorative features do you want - bows, buckles, peeptoe?

Have some idea, but don't be afraid to be seduced by the colourful items and fancy styles on display. Again, taking images or existing copies of shoes you want duplicated is immensely helpful.

One warning though, while the variety and endless possibilities of shoes is intoxicating, beware of quality. Flats are your safest bet, but even then the type of soles will vary widely between cobblers. One set of heels I bought had fallen off by the time I even made it back home to Australia.

Again: bargain and be wary of deadlines. Be kind but firm if and when things start going pear-shaped.

Summary of step 4: shoes!

Step 5: Dress-up time

By the time day 2 rolls around you probably have a full day of appointments set up with various tailors around town. This is where the fun really begins.

You get to witness the creation of visions that up until now existed only in your head. Even better you didn't actually have to create it yourself. 'Cos that would mean needing to sew and stuff.

This is where you need to be objective and remember what you asked for. Make sure things are well sewn and fitting correctly. If not, speak up because now is your chance to get that changed. Inspect seams, pockets and hems carefully. Be specific about whether things need to be taken in or out, up or down.

Again, be careful of your time, and firm with deadlines.

Summary of step 5: try before you buy.

Step 6: Bits and pieces

Depending on where else you are traveling in Vietnam, don't limit yourself to clothes and shoes. Hoi An has an interesting market with an excellent range of jewellery.

You can also get all the usual touristy fare (more $ than Saigon though).

There's also shops selling beautiful scarves and pashminas. Or how about silk ties (that come packaged in the cutest little boxes). Or some artwork?

Another option is to go handbag shopping at a shoe shop. Like shoes, they can duplicate any handbag you take in.

Summary of step 6: yet more shopping.

Step 7: Getting it home

Unless you're on a flying visit through 'Nam and home again, you're not really going to want to cart around a zillion kilos worth of shopping are you?

If all your stuff fits into your bags (and your baggage allowance), then more power to you, but for the mortals amongst us, consider shipping your shopping home via the Hoi An postal service. Your hotel should call them up for you, and they come to you with boxes and packing tape. You barely need to leave your room.
It's an exciting and sometimes worrying few weeks at home waiting for your items to arrive. But when they do, it's like Christmas all over again rediscovering treasures you had forgotten about.

Hmm that's all I can think of for now. Wow I am really wishing I was in Hoi An right now after all that!! Time to start writing a shopping list for Mum & Dad methinks!

Slowly Slowly

2008-12-17T15:41:00.004+11:00

That's how I feel this month has gone. And yet, at the same time it's December 17 and what exactly have I been doing or achieving? Not much. For the last few weeks I've felt like I've simply been treading water. Where will we live? What are we doing for Christmas? How about New Years? Are we still going away?

Who knows!!! Certainly not me.

But now at least one those questions has been answered.

Just to backtrack, we applied for the townhouse I mentioned previously last Monday. Three days later I got a call from the agent saying he couldn't find A's application form. I assured him we handed in both forms after sitting there and filling them out at the same time. He said he'd look around his desk. 20 minutes later he called me back and said he couldn't find it.

I asked if he could email a replacement form that we could fill in and fax back to him. He took down my email address. Over an hour later, getting close to COB, I still hadn't received his email. So I called him up, only to be told he had found A's form attached to someone else's application. Thanks for letting me know buddy!!

Time marches on. By Friday we still hadn't heard anything and I was starting to get edgy. I called him up and he said the owner still hadn't decided which applicant to accept. Fair enough. He offered to call me back before the end of the day and let me know what the status was.

Of course I didn't hear from him until Saturday afternoon. This time news was not good. There was nothing wrong with our application, but they had accepted someone else.

I was upset! Neither A or I have ever been rejected from a rental application before. I guess the market is not what it was 4 years ago though! Still life goes on.

It really put us in a pickle though, because we were so happy with this place we had stopped looking at other options. This put us back by at least a week. Not optimal with Christmas and NYE looming ever closer.

Monday I was in a bit of a funk going through the available listings on domain. Tuesday I headed down to the gong again to view a house in the same area. $60 more per week, lovely outside, not so great inside, and a much longer walk to the station for A.

After viewing this house I went to visit my brother who lives nearby. I was sitting on his sofa, brandishing my geeky "real estate spreadsheet" and bitchy about the mess we were in when I got a call from A. We had got the place!! The people they selected had fallen through and were were 2nd on the list. YAYAYAYAYAY!!!

It's not set in stone yet; we have to go down tomorrow to leave a deposit and sign the paperwork. But still, we are in a much better position than we were 3 days ago.

So I still don't know how or when we are moving, what we are doing for Christmas or NYE, or whether we will get to go away. Oh and I've only bought one Christmas present thus far. Wanna swap lives for the next few weeks?

Please cross your fingers for us

2008-12-08T21:50:00.004+11:00

If all goes to plan, in a few weeks time we could be living here.

Which is exactly 300m away from this.

*madly thinking positive thoughts towards the property application gods*

Shoes all sorted

2008-11-04T16:43:00.003+11:00

It was over a month ago that I proudly announced I'd bought all the do-dads to get my shoe storage organised. It took me less than an hour to sort it all out, but for the last month I've been busy ~~procrastinating~~ finishing off a project that's been hanging over my head for so long it isn't funny. Finally I think it's sorted so I'm allowing myself to ~~procrastinate~~ play here again!

So hows it all looking now? Pretty bloody good if I do say so myself.

Here is the left side of my wardrobe - before and after (click on each image for a bigger version).

A significant improvement, no? And the right side of my wardrobe - equally as impressive I think!

Amazingly, in the nearly 4 weeks that I've had this set up, this is still what the floor of my wardrobe looks like! I've found it easy to access shoes when needed, and it's so easy to come home from the gym and just chuck my sneakers in one of those boxes - no excuse for leaving them lying around on the floor anymore!

I got a few other goodies while I was at ikea. Firstly, some storage boxes for the shelf above my wardrobe. That's where I store spare bed linen, towels, photos, sleeping bags, travel bags and other bits & pieces. Here's what it looked like before (sans the towels because they were in the wash).

It doesn't look nearly as bad without the towels (I have a lot!) but you get the point that its a shambles, right? This is what it looks like now, after the purchase of some ikea skubb drawers.

How much do I love the colour!!!!

And while I was there, I picked up a few other things I couldn't resist: a new frying pan, chopping boards and serviettes.

And some supplies for my next "project".

Stay tuned!!

riiiiiiiight

2008-10-03T11:38:00.005+10:00

I’m starting this entry having bought the raw materials, but not even having unwrapped them.

So what did I end up deciding on for my shoe storage? To be honest, I hadn’t decided for sure till I was metres away from the checkout.

My dear Mum was kind enough to offer to trek out to ikea and DFO with me on Tuesday. After dosing up on coffee, we had a quick squiz at Howards Storage World before braving ikea. I wanted to see and price the options at HSW before scoping out ikea.

Minutes before I left home I measured the space underneath my wardrobe. I’m glad I did, because a lot of the beautiful solutions at HSW and ikea (including the tjusig shoe rack I’d had my eye on) wouldn’t fit into either of the two halves of my wardrobe.

Before the shopping commenced, I’d vaguely decided on getting:

a shoe rack (a la tjusig) for one side of the wardrobe, where I’d put my nicer shoes that I didn’t want to get crushed.
Several boxes for the other side, where I could dump sandals, sneakers and less delicate items. I was hoping the komplement ones would do the trick.

The first snag was the wardrobe measurements. The tjusig rack wouldn’t fit in either side by at least10cm lengthways. HSW had some great expandable shoe racks, but they were a little pricier. Since we’re moving in a few months, and I obviously have no idea what storage will be like at our new place, I decided to get a solution for now that would be as cheap as possible (but hopefully not too nasty).

Here’s what I came up with.

Firstly, the baboard shoe rack. At $9.95 its much cheaper
than tsujib. Plus it has the added advantage of fitting into my wardrobe. Both racks have the disadvantage of not providing dust protection, but I figure this is a cheap way of working out whether that will be a long term problem or not.

For the other side of the wardrobe, I settled on these komplement boxes.

The komplement shoe boxes I’d originally eyed were big enough to hold maybe up to 4 pairs of sandals, but I needed a lot more room than that. These komplement boxes are much bigger. 3 of them fit neatly inside inside my wardrobe (and quite handily they came in a pack of 3). Nice and cheap too. Of course the biggest drawback is no lid, but again, a good way to temporarily see how this solution works out.

Ikea had a lot of boxes on offer, at varying prices. Other options I considered were these, these and these. I grabbed all of them off the shelf, and pretty much did a meenie-mini-moe to pick them out. And went for the cheapest of course :)

That’s the theory anyway. I haven’t unwrapped or assembled any of this yet.

Perhaps this afternoon. I need a cup of tea.

See more progress on: Organize my shoes

back to the fridge

2008-10-02T14:22:00.002+10:00

I’m back home now, and back into the fridge!

Last night I felled 2 birds with 1 stone: Thai red curry paste and coconut milk.

What to do with these two was pretty obvious. Combined with a few other ingredients, a tasty red curry was made. Tofu and sweet potato for me, and chicken for A. For both of us, a healthy serving of asparagus, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, coriander and spring onions.

No pictures, because we gobbled it down too fast. Tonight we’re having leftovers, so maybe I can pause before chowing down to take a few pictures.

See more progress on: use up the random ingredients cluttering up our fridge, freezer and kitchen cupboards

Shoe dilemmas

2008-09-28T15:38:00.009+10:00

Having just recently returned from the OC to Sydney for the final time, I have a few storage-related dilemmas on my hands.

To cut a long story short, I have too much junk, and not enough places to put it.

Now this has clearly been a long-standing issue for me, but what makes this higher priority than ever is that in a few short months, A and I will have to pack up not only all my crap, but all of both-of-ours crap and move it down to the gong.

Another confession: I am a complete sloth when it comes to unpacking. It's now been 3 days since I've returned to Sydney. The car got unpacked on day 2. Day 3 finds most of the bags that I lugged inside scattered over the lounge and bedroom floors.

But that's not what's really bugging me. Instead, I've suddenly developed an uncanny ability of being able to ignore the majority of the filth right under my nose. Instead I've focused on my shoe organisation, or lack thereof, as my main source of despair.

Case in point: the floors of my wardrobe, where I "store" my shoes.

Now before you say "that's not tooooooo bad" (whilst secretely thinking it is), I have a further confession to make. That tangle of shoes doesn't include the 15 or so pairs that I took with me to the OC. Yes, there are more shoes to add to this awful mess!

So before I go ahead and throw those shoes on top of this pile of ungainly debris, I'd really like to do something about it.

Over the past few months I've spent a few bit of time ~~procrastinating~~ scouring the internet for the ideal shoe storage solution. Unfortunately perfection is hard to find.

This is pretty much as close as I could get.

Mariah Carey's shoe closet, courtesy of http://www.instyle.com/instyle/package/falltrends/photos/0,,20053995_20045143_20066678,00.html

Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of owning my own wardrobe, let alone apartment; making this kind of customisation quite impractical.

I've been quite intrigued by all those clear plastic shoe boxes that seem to have sprung up everywhere. But how do you decide which ones to choose? Which are best? With handles? With a drawer? The cheapest? Clear or opaque plastic?

Image from http://www.imelda.com.au/well_shod_well_imformed/2008/02/shoebby-doo-whe.html

Given that I own a ridiculous number of shoes I can imagine forking out hundreds of dollars on flimsy plastic boxes only to get screwed. I'd either fill my wardrobe up completely with no room for clothes, or have them all break on me. Or not fit some of my shoes (I have big feet). Or I'd want more but suddenly the type I ended up choosing weren't being made anymore so I'd be stuck with unmatchy plastic boxes.

The possibilities for disaster are endless.

I like the look of racks like these Tjusig ones from ikea, but don't like the fact that they don't protect shoes from dust and don't really hold that many pairs. Yes you can stack two on top of each other, but can you store them two deep? Plus at $59 each, buying enough of these for all my shoes would be prohibitively expensive (for me anyway).

I'm hoping an in-person trip to ikea over the next few days will seal the deal for me. Man cannot wait endlessly for perfection, so I'm just going to settle for the best (and cheapest) I can get right now.

I'm thinking that for now, a compromise may be one of those Tjusig shoe racks, and a set of komplement shoe boxes.

They're cheap and come in a pack of 4. They'll protect shoes from dust, and you can still see what's inside.

The plan is that the shoes I wear most often will go on the rack, and everything else will fit semi-neatly into these boxes.

What do you think, is this a reasonable solution, or am I dreaming?

Why I'm happy

2008-09-16T12:32:00.003+10:00

It's not quite time to crack open the champers, because I still have a practical exam tomorrow; but as of an hour ago I've now finished my last ever written exam of med school. Woohoo!

Assuming I pass that is!!! And it's in Dubbo too - what a trek hey?

Other things that are making me happy right now is the weather. Specifically that it no longer looks like this:

Instead we are inundated with sunshine and blue skies. The beautiful cherry blossom trees lining the streets are, well, blossoming. Even our front yard has sprouted up a few surprises or two:

It's nice to have something pretty to look at whilst chained to the desk studying.

I know they aren't the most exotic flowers, but I have loved them ever since I was little. They used to sprout up in my parents' front yard every spring.

But it's not all sunshine and roses. I still have one final presentation to do next week, as well as changes to make for my honours project.

But regardless, the end is now well and truly in sight!

The Doggies

2008-08-03T11:11:00.003+10:00

Last Wednesday at trivia I had my first ever TAB bet on the dogs. First race I lost $1, but I put 50c on the second race and won my $1.50 back.

Please let this not become yet another addiction!!!

Back and bad

2008-05-10T19:51:00.002+10:00

So I’ve been back in Sydney for a week and barely done anything exercise-wise. I haven’t broken a sweat more than once. Granted I have had a bad cold and am currently battling a sore and cricked up neck, but sitting on my ass isn’t going to get me anywhere good.

So today, a 7km walk (in 2 parts). Not amazing, but it’s something. I could have just got public transport instead.

See more progress on: do some form of exercise every day.

No more words

2008-03-26T21:31:00.001+11:00

One minute I was rushing around gulping the last mouthfuls of coffee, washing breakfast dishes, packing my bag and brushing my teeth in my haste to leave the house and be slightly less late than I’d otherwise be sans rushing.

Then I noticed my mobile. Call from parents house. My Mum often calls at inopportune times, and in my early morning stress-out, I have no time to answer. I’ll call her back later today.

Next time I glance at the phone I notice 3 calls from my Mum’s work number.

Weird. Why am I getting called from both places? As by then I’m literally about to walk out the door, I wait until I’m downstairs to listen to the first message (no mobile reception in the lift or lobby).

As soon as I hear my dad’s voice I know there’s something wrong; messages from him on my mobile are rarer than days when I’m on time in the mornings. I call him back with trepidation, my mind racing. He called me, so he’s ok. My Mum’s at work, so she must be ok. I got emails last night from both of my brothers, so unless something dramatic happened overnight, they’re ok.

In hindsight I should have been worried about my Babushka, that she’d fallen again or something. But the words stumbled out of my Dad’s mouth so quickly I didn’t have time to go through any other options.

My cousin. He’s dead. He drowned at the beach yesterday. He was away on holidays up on the north coast.

Suddenly I think back to yesterday afternoon. Sitting home procrastinating and reading the smh.

I read a story about my own cousin’s death without realising it.

My Dad tells me what little more he knows, but it isn’t much. We talk a bit, both crying, then say goodbye and I love you. I then call my Mum and do much the same. By this stage I’m halfway to the GPs office that I’m currently sitting in with.

Really, in situations like these, what can you say? Nothing you say or do is going to bring anyone back, provide solace or make anyone feel good. Sometimes there are no reasons, and questioning why and going through alternative scenarios only leads to torture and mind fuck. What if he had gone to a different beach, at a different time? What happened in those last minutes and what could and couldn’t have been prevented?

Sometimes, a lot of the time, there simply are no answers. No clue. Nothing fixable. That’s hard to deal with.

I know I was numb for most of the day. A few patients I saw I wanted to scream at – those complaining about a sore knee or other ailments. I wanted to scream “You’re alive! Don’t take it for granted because it can be taken away in minutes, when you least expect it! Don’t sit there and ask me for sympathy about Centrelink cutting your pension off and asking you to attempt to look for work. Looking for work is not going to kill you!” And so on.

But I didn’t scream. I made it home. And then I looked at his facebook profile. And then I google’d the story again.

And then I broke down.

Postcard from Vietnam

2008-02-03T01:30:00.001+11:00

Well what can I say? I've now been in Vietnam for pretty much exactly 7 weeks. And what a 7 weeks its been! One of those times where it feels like just yesterday that I was back home in Sydney packing my bags, and yet at the same time my first arrival into Saigon feels like a lifetime ago.

The first 4 weeks were spent sweating it out in the heat, humidity and traffic of Saigon, with a few weekend escapes, Christmas and NYE thrown in for good measure. Oh, and a month of work in the delivery ward of a major maternity hospital!!

Then we spent a week travelling north to Hanoi, where we had a rude shock weatherwise. We went from 30 degree days in Hoi An to the 10 degree winter chill of Hanoi in an hour. Hanoi is currently experiencing its coldest winter in 20 years, with daily temps 10 degrees below average. Schools have shut down, animals have been dying and we have been freezing our toes off!! We had our last day at the surgical hospital here a few days ago, where we've seen a lot of neurosurgery - the majority resulting from motorbike accidents, a sobering thought when you look at the traffic on the roads here.

I've been diligently taking hundreds of photos, but am sadly falling behind on uploading them to flickr - I'm still up to Christmas eve!!!

But here's a few from the first few weeks here...

Crazy Saigon traffic. Note the lack of helmets. A new law making them compulsory came into force the first Saturday we were here. Every traffic photo taken after this one is a sea of helmet wearers.

Some of the amazing food we've eaten. Friends in Saigon treated us to an amazing steamboat feast one night!!!

Some beautiful countryside to be seen once you escape the city edges!

Crazy enough to hold a snake. The brave before pic, and the scared after one as soon as it was wriggling around too much. Eeeek!!!

Proof that we did actually make it to hospital!!

Lazing on the beach on Christmas eve. That seems like a lifetime ago, especially in this cold!!!

A bit of patriotism, appropriate for the upcoming lunar new year. Chuc mung nam moi!!!!

An awesome salad

2007-11-08T21:34:00.000+11:00

With A down in Melbourne on weekdays (a fact I may have neglected to report here) I'm left alone to fend for myself. My solution to this last week was to catch up with friends for dinner every night, an endeavour that left me well socialed, but tired, poorer and lardier than before.

Thanks to the Melbourne Cup this week, I'm only "home alone" for 3 days. Tomorrow afternoon I'm heading down to Melbourne myself - and hopefully escaping the deluge that has engulfed Sydney for the last week!!

What I have decided is that these 3 days are going to be the start of Operation "Me Time".

I'm going to take advantage of this time to make healthier meals than I might if I was feeding both A and me, and to cook all the things I love, but that he finds less agreeable. Namely a lot of salads and soups - lucky its soup weather at the moment!! A is gradually being converted to soups and salads, but is not the biggest fan. There's also other things he doesn't eat - like tofu, eggs and spinach - that I'm bursting to cook.

As part of this, I want to use up some of the random ingredients cluttering up our fridge, freezer and kitchen cupboards. I've got tapioca that I bought 4 years ago sitting in the pantry, 2 falafels left over from a Lebanese meal in the freezer, and more dried porcini mushrooms than I can poke a stick at. It's all gotta go!!

Apart from food, other things I want to do with this "Me Time" is continue to clean up the mess that is our kitchen cupboards, second bedroom and the verandah. These feel like never-ending tasks, but I hope I can make a dint in them.

Doing some more study, and working on my honours project wouldn't go astray either!!

Before I go, here's the salad I made tonight:

Yummy chicken, sweet potato and haloumi salad

Lettuce and rocket leaves
60g chicken
90g baked sweet potato
15g grilled haloumi
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
4 cherry tomatoes
sliced red onion
dressing: 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, juice 1/2 lemon, cracked pepper

Very tasty, and very filling - in fact next time I might cut down the portions - especially if I'm eating late.

And right now, I need to finish packing!!

Washing Betty - long overdue!

2007-11-04T15:16:00.001+11:00

A washed, and I polished. Was way easier than I thought it was going to be, despite the shockingly dirty state she was in.

Can you believe I have owned her for nearly 3 years without ever having washed her before? The shame!!!

But now, ain’t she beautiful!!

This needs to happen a lot more often!!

Mmmmmmmmmilkshakes!

2007-11-03T18:24:00.000+11:00

I'm not normally one for guzzling down too much milk. Sure I have it in coffee, and I have the occasional glass of Milo, but I can easily go a week without consuming more than 500mL of the stuff. Likewise, I'm never really tempted to order a milkshake when out. Unless the magic word "spearmint" appears in the title.

After that, the chances of me *not* ordering it are slim to none.

Ok I must come clean, I'm just generally a mint hussy. And normally the mintier something is, the better^*. But somehow spearmint - the milder cousin of peppermint - works best in these shakes. It gives it a light and sweet taste, that combined with soft bubbles of milk is just pure delight to imbibe.

Unfortunately a spearmint milkshake is not that easy to come by. After more than half a decade's searching, I can still count on one hand the number of establishments I know that serve them. And now that Poppies of Stanmore has closed down, the number within a 20km radius of my house is now zero.

I was once so desperate to obtain some spearmint milk that I cajoled my mother into visiting a wholesale confectioner in her city, and allowing them to sell her a 2L bottle of the mint-flavoured syrup. She succeeded, and that bottle kept us in good supply of milkshakes for well over a year. After that bottle though, our source literally dried up.

When I visited Broken Hill at the end of last year I was delighted to visit Bells Milk Bar; a 50s style milk bar serving a massive variety of flavoured milkshakes.

Image from www.bellsmilkbar.com.au.

I was even more delighted to discover that spearmint was one of those flavours.

I was even more delighted to discover that they sold bottles of their homemade syrups, which I promptly bought. I am ashamed to say that for nearly a year this bottle sat atop my desk, unopened.

But today something cracked, and I decided a spearmint milkshake was in order.

Perhaps it was my anticipation in going to Melbourne next weekend to visit A, and knowing that one of the few reliable spearmint sources resides at the Queen Vic markets there. Perhaps it was just time I cleaned up my desk. Either way, it tasted great. And made me keen to seek out another source for when this 250mL bottle runs out.

If you know of one, please do let me know!!

^* The only occasion this has even been shown not to be true is when I accidentally bought mint flavoured water in China. It tasted like I was drinking toothpaste backwash.

attack!!

2007-10-28T15:43:00.001+11:00

Thanks to not realising it was daylight savings, and turning up to my yoga class just as it was finishing, I was a little more awake (and in a slightly worse mood) than usual when I got home and watered my plants this morning.

Perhaps that’s why I noticed that they had been attacked by evil caterpillars!!

Image thanks to flickr.

It was the mint that I first noticed. Mint is nothing if not hardy, so I was immediately suspicious when I saw that a few of it’s leaves looked a little moth eaten. Evil plans don’t just make themselves, you know.

Closer inspection revealed a couple of dark grey looking caterpillars. Ugh. After having lost a battle with caterpillars on my rocket earlier this year, I wasn’t relishing the though of having to repeat the experience.

Observation of my other plants revealed a similar invasion. My basil had been all but demolished by a number of the green suckers.

Despite the copious foliage, my tomato was also under similar attack by a mixture of green and brown suckers.

This particularly disturbed me, because the first of the plant’s fruit had just started to appear. I’m desperately hoping I get some to eat before I got to Vietnam!!

The only herbs that are (so far) immune to the caterpillar’s attack are the lettuce, chilli and parsley. Fingers crossed they stay that way!

1. Lettuce, 2. Chilli, 3. Flat-leaved parsley

Needless to say, I wasn’t going to take this lying down. When my rocket suffered a similar fate earlier this year, I lost the battle despite using slug and snail pellets, and a combination of soap, garlic and chilli (a method I devised, but must have read about it somewhere though surely?).

I was aware this wasn’t going to be easy, so I pulled out the big guns – Google – where I stumbled across this recipe for an organic bug spray. Deciding it looked suitably caterpillar-toxic, but person-friendly, I thought I’d give it a go. After all, should it survive, I do want to eat this stuff!!

Spraying it onto the plants certainly had some effect. At least 10 caterpillars dropped off and died. The tabasco also went right up my nose, and a few hours later my hands and lips are still tingling.

The question is, how many caterpillars remain?

See more progress on: grow an herb garden

Me not dead

2007-10-27T17:47:00.000+10:00

Whew, it's been a while. A lot has happened in the 17 days since I posted.

I'm now nearly halfway through my Obstetrics & Gynaecology rotation, and am enjoying it thoroughly. I've yet to witness a vaginal birth, but I've seen about 7 Caesarean sections. The first one blew my mind.

I was scrubbed in, and after the initial abdominal incision it was my job to hold instruments that help keep the tummy open, giving the surgeon a clear view of what he's doing. All of a sudden, instead of looking at fat or muscle, I was looking at hair. From then, it was my job to push the bulging mother's belly towards her feet - in other words, to move the baby so that its head popped through the hole. And it did! All of sudden I'm staring at this tiny face, still inside the mother. At the same time amniotic fluid is gushing everywhere, over the side of the table, and down my front.

I couldn't remember anything that happened after that, so dumbstruck was I by what I had witnessed. The next 6 Caesareans weren't as mind blowing as the first, but they were all pretty damn amazing. I'm not tired of them yet, unlike how I felt after watching 7 colonoscopies or 7 laparoscopic cholecystectomies earlier in the year!

I've also enjoyed the ante-natal clinics I've sat in on. It's fascinating seeing the range of different issues that pop up in pregnancy, and how different each pregnancy can be for each mother. Every mother is different too - from the 14 year old who didn't want her baby, not realising she was pregnant until she was 28 weeks along, to 40 year olds who'd undergone IVF treatment and were cherishing their pregnancy.

It's also made me acutely aware that the proverbial biological clock on my own eggs are ticking away. I'll soon be 32. That'll make me a mere 3 years from being considered "Advanced Maternal Age". That's a slightly daunting prospect.

An even more daunting prospect would be having a baby whilst studying, or doing internship. But is there ever an "easy" time to have a baby. Or is it just something that happens, and you fit whatever else is going on in your life around it as best you can?

The thought of having kids scares me. But so does the thought of not having them, and regretting it once its too late to do anything about it.

Wow this has become a rather meandering post hasn't it? Certainly ended out in a different direction that I'd thought it would when I started this brain dump. Still, better out than in hey!!

Bay run!

2007-10-10T20:06:00.001+10:00

I finished at hospital early today, so decided that despite not having run any distance for a while, I’d give the Bay run a go. It’s perfect running weather at the moment – not too hot, but still nice and sunny. What better track to run and admire the slowly setting sun?

It wasn’t all peaches and cream though. 15 minutes in I got a stitch that lasted a good 20 mins. It wasn’t too bad that I had to stop and walk though, so I just pushed through it. With 15 mins to go I also noticed my knees were hurting – I hope that is something that will go away rather than continue if I try to do this more often.

All up I did the 7km in 45-50min (I forgot to look at my watch until after I had finished stretching). I was pleasantly surprised that I made the whole thing without having to stop and walk.

A few hours later and I can feel my calves are tightening. It feels good knowing that I pushed myself today.

Let’s see how tomorrow feels though eh?

Catching up

2007-10-09T20:08:00.000+10:00

It's been a busy time since I checked in here last. I don't have the energy to write a long, detailed post describing it all, but here are the highlights of the last week or so of my life, in roughly chronological order.

Eating dumplings, drinking much wine and singing lots of Guns 'n Roses at Karaoke.
Waking up still drunk the next morning and having to pack my bags for a morning flight to Cairns.
Making it to Cairns in one piece and enjoying a cruisy day wandering the streets, sussing out what had changed in the 5 years since I'd been there.
Spending 3 days on a boat staring at a view like this non-stop. Note the lack of blue sky.
Doing 10 dives in 3 days, including 2 night dives. Never done a night dive before and was expecting it to be very scary - it wasn't! Best dive was the last morning - there were 9 sharks right underneath our boat as we descended. Then we saw 7 turtles in the one dive!
Making it back on dry land and discovering that blue sky still exists.
Getting home and unpacking. Such fun - not!!!
Finding out I passed 3rd year and am now officially in 4th year - woohoo!
Realising this now officially means I have 9 weeks before I head to Vietnam for 3 months. Buying a Lonely Planet (still not opened it though)
Picking out a new pair of glasses. They'll be ready to collect soon.
Visiting my Babushka and getting to eat prawn dumplings at the same time. Yum.
Starting my first 4th year rotation - Obstetrics and Gynaecology. It's going to be an interesting 8 weeks, and I am loving being able to walk to hospital in the mornings.

So I think that pretty much brings us up to date. I need a rest from all this excitement!!

Intervals

2007-09-27T21:51:00.000+10:00

A blog that I've recently discovered is Criticism & Friends. From what I've read, I really admire Bathsheba's commitment to training, and the way she expresses herself with the written word.

I think it was a posting I read whilst trawling through her archives that inspired me to drag A down to the nearest oval last night and attempt to do interval training.

Now I have to come clean:I've been an on-off-on-off-again amateur jogger for years, but I don't have the faintest clue what I'm doing. I've done 5 city2surfs but never done more than 5 training runs for all 5 of them combined. I hate jogging on the treadmill, and the last time I dragged myself to an outside run was well over a month ago. In short, I'd have to say that I lack motivation, discipline and commitment.

What appealed to me about trying out intervals in the first place was the fact that it was an activity that A and I could do together, yet go at our own pace. It'd also mean we get outside and get to take advantage of the warmer nights we've been experiencing this week. Plus it'd be all over in 20 mins, even if it turned out to be a disaster.

So last night we headed down to the footy oval a few streets away and did some interval sprints. I've never in my life attempted interval training, not even on the treadmill, so I wasn't really sure what to do.

I decided to sprint along the straight part of the oval, and jog around the curvy bit. After the first few laps that changed into a sprint/walk combo - it was tough!! But you know what, it was damn fun! I loved the rush of giving it everything you could - that's what I normally do toward the end of my 30 min slow jogs - but this time I got to do it every few minutes. Major endorphins!

After 20 mins I was red, puffed and sweaty. But happy. And even happier that A enjoyed it too. We've decided to try and do this twice a week or so. I'm hoping I feel this good after every session!!

The fate of the rhubarb...

2007-09-27T13:10:00.000+10:00

...turned out to be, not as predicted, a crumble.

Instead, after spending the previous two evenings polishing off the apple crumble that Mum gave me, I decided something else was in store for the rhubarb. I did some googling, and flicking through my cookbooks before deciding upon Nigella Lawson's Rhubarb meringue pie.

It was pretty easy to make, though took a while to assemble all the various parts. Due to our lack of food processors and electric beaters, I had to make the pie crust and meringue the old fashioned hand way, making it more time consuming than it otherwise needed to be.

Still, I'm on holidays, so I'm not complaining about the time.

Neither am I complaining about the fact that all I've eaten for lunch today is another slice. Time to go have a sandwich, methinks!

Yesterday

2007-09-24T16:42:00.000+10:00

Yesterday I went down to the Gong to celebrate my Dad's birthday. My brothers and I joined my parents and their bushwalking group on a short walk along the escarpment cliff tops at Mt Ousley.

We sat and ate a picnic lunch on the side of the cliffs at Broker's Nose, overlooking the northern suburbs of Wollongong. You'll have to trust me when I say it was spectacular, because despite being organised enough to take my camera, I was not organised enough to ensure it contained a memory card. Boohoo!

After lunch we went back to my parents house and ate chocolate muffins and freshly baked apple crumble. Again, you'll have to believe me when I say my Mum makes the best crumble ever. That's not something you can capture in blog format.

In the fading daylight I wandered around my parents backyard. We looked at a nest that a bowerbird has recently been constructing near their front door. The bowerbird was hiding behind the fence dividing the nest from the next-door neighbours house, so I only caught tantalising glimpses of its midnight blue feathers. I love the way they collect and hoard blue trinkets - this one had milk lids and clothes pegs aplenty.

Continuing through the garden, I scored aplenty as well. First, a bunch of beautiful purple azaleas.

My parents are gardening freaks and literally have well over 20 types of azaleas growing (not to mention all their camellias). I had my choice from dark purple to pale pink to weird stripey kinds.

I also scored a bunch of brilliant blue lavender from their front yard.

I don't think it's as fragrant as the regular lavender (although my Mum disagrees), so I actually nabbed a bit of the regular stuff too. I'm attempting to propagate it in one of the pots on my verandah. Fingers crossed.

I would have loved to take some scented fresias home as well, but was a week too late as most of them had withered in the grass.

My Dad's veggie patch was also kind to me. He picked a big juicy bunch of rhubarb for me.

Hopefully I'll be making some crumble of my own later this week!

So how did I not know about last.fm until now?

2007-09-20T22:56:00.001+10:00

Last.fm rocks! So much better than listening to crappy ad-infested radio stations that play the same ten songs over and over all day long and have announcers whose voices make you want to go and put your hand in between the blades of a blender.

Plus you can choose what kind of music you want: “chilling”, “electro”, “grunge” or a mix of anything and just go from there.

I’d say that at the moment it has re-connected me with old music I had forgotten about more than discovered new good stuff, but it’s definitely given me ideas for fresh tunes to put on my iPod.

It’s now officially my preferred musical entertainment when stuck in front of the computer for hours on end. Within the space of one short week, I now don’t know what I’d do without it!

Chilli bean soup with cornbread

2007-09-20T21:40:00.000+10:00

I posted a link to this recipe on HealthNuts a while back, so this is nothing really new. Except last night when I made it again I took pictures!

I'm going to repeat the recipe here as well, just so if when I add new recipes here, they'll all be in the one place.

With many, many, many thanks to taste.com.au (and a few comments by me in italics)...

Ingredients (serves 6)

2 tbs olive oil (I just add a small splush)
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 roasted capsicums
2 small red chillies, seeded, chopped (I normally add 3)
900ml vegetable stock
700ml tomato passata
2 tbs sun-dried tomato paste (or some sut up dried sundried tomatoes)
415g can red kidney beans, drained, washed
Sour cream and coriander, to serve

Corn bread

150g self-raising flour
175g instant polenta
100g goat's cheese, crumbled (I use half fetta, half cottage cheese normally)
310g can creamed corn
2 red chillies, seeded, diced
1 tbs coriander, chopped
1 tbs honey
175ml buttermilk
50g butter, melted (I skip this, or sometimes add a splash of olive oil instead)

Method

Heat oil in a large saucepan, add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat until soft. Add garlic, capsicum, chilli and cook for 1 minute. Add stock, passata, tomato paste and kidney beans. Stir to combine.
Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for 25 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly, then blend in batches.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
To make the corn bread, sift the flour, polenta and 1 teaspoon of salt in a mixing bowl, add goat's cheese, corn, chilli, coriander, honey, buttermilk and butter, and season with black pepper.
Stir to combine and transfer to a greased 20cm spring-form pan. Bake for 30 minutes.
Swirl sour cream into soup and garnish with coriander. Serve with corn bread.
Go to heaven cos it tastes so damn good!

Desires

2007-09-16T12:05:00.000+10:00

I've been doing a bit of procrastinating reading about motivation, desires etc. Here's something I came across that really struck a cord with me. Maybe you'll find it useful too. I've edited and abridged it a bit, but you can read the complete version here.

When we’ve brought awareness to our desires, we can begin to work with them...take the impulse that longs for pizza and romance and caffeine and new toys and find a way to transmute it so that it fuels your deeper goals...

[Ask] yourself the question, “What do I want by getting what I want?”

You can apply that query to almost any desire, and the results are often surprising. What do I really expect to get from eating that sweet? What do I really want from the dream lover I pine for, or from the recognition I hope to achieve, or from making 100,000 a year?

Your first answer might be ‘intimacy’ or ‘companionship’ or ‘security’. But if you keep asking (“What do I want from intimacy? What do I want from security?”) the answer will almost always be something like happiness, fulfillment, love, or peace of mind.

The desire for happiness is really the bottom line, the underpinning of all desires. Once you realize that, you are, once again, in a position to ask yourself whether it might be possible to feel happy without necessarily getting what you want...

When we’ve learned to identify our deepest desires, the longings of our soul, we can truly take advantage of the creative power of desire. That’s when our intentions, instead of being wishes or fantasies, become powerful engines that awaken our life...

Working with desires

Are you wondering whether a particular desire is healthy or unhealthy? Here’s how you find out.

First, bring the desire fully you’re your conscious awareness. Notice the words associated with the desire. Especially, pay attention to the feeling quality of it. Notice where you feel it in your body. Notice the emotional state it induces. Do you feel excited? Do you feel uncomfortable?

Once you’ve identified what the desire is, and how it feels like to be in a state of desire, ask yourself:
How does this desire fit in with my greater priorities?
Will following this impulse hurt others? Will it hurt me?
Does it take me closer to my higher self, or will it create more barriers between my soul and myself?
Is it beneficial to other people as well as to myself?
What will I have to give up if I follow this desire?
What will I have to give up if I don’t?
What do I really want by getting what I want?
Turning a Desire into an Intention

Once you’ve identified what it is that you really want, articulate it. Even if it is something that feels vague, like “to be happy” you can still put it into the form of an intention. You might say, “My intention is to experience happiness in an intimate relationship.” Or “My intention is to experience happiness no matter what is going on in my life.”

decluttering - zones 2 & 3

2007-09-13T22:42:00.001+10:00

Top of chest of drawers is now done:

I bought the bookends from Officeworks. Was sceptical they’d withstand the weight of my textbooks but they did!

Next challenge was the table next to the bed. As you can see, it was covered in crap.

You couldn’t see the top of it, let alone appreciate the fact it’s made out of a recycled surfboard.

My brother made that table. He's a bit of a legend, isn't it?

So that’s zones 2 and 3 done. Now I’m down to the hard stuff. Here’s what remains behind my door:

Still pretty shocking, but better than what was there back in May:

See more progress on: finish cleaning out my wardrobe and behind the door and donate clothes to charity

New exercise plan

2007-09-10T15:00:00.000+10:00

For a while now (12 weeks to be exact) I've been planning and tracking my exercise on 43 things and trying to do something every day. Looking back over my past entries, I've been pretty good about doing something, but not very good about doing what I'd planned to.

That's why plans are merely guides and not set in stone right?

The trouble with not sticking to a plan is that it's easy to stop pushing yourself and become a bit complacent. For me, any opportunity to slacken off and make excuses is just inviting danger and sloth-dem.

Now that I'm home for the next 3 weeks I've decided my generic plan needs some alterations if it's going to be closer to reality. The main changes I'm making are to:

Do more weights at the gym (Pump classes).
Take advantage of the $5.50 weekday yoga classes at the studio less than 5 mins walk from my house (thanks Mary for introducing me to this place!!)
Get off my butt and do the Bay run in the beautiful weather we are experiencing (fingers crossed it lasts). Otherwise if the weather is nasty, go to the Gym instead.
Do my exercise in the morning - why not when I'm at home anyway? What a start to the day and beats going to the gym in peak hour! Plus I can get a coffee on the way home.

After poring over my gym & yoga timetables, here's what I've come up with:

Don't freak out over Saturday. It's basically saying I've got yoga, Pump and BodyAttack all going on. That's so not going to happen but it's good to remember all those options are available.

So that's the plan for this week. Next week will be different because I've got exams all day Monday and Tuesday (eeek!) but I'll worry about that when I get there. One day at a time!!

Lust, thy name is Crocs!!

2007-09-09T10:59:00.000+10:00

Crocs seem to have become the new religion and politics - something you can't talk about without creating an argument. You either love them or hate them. I'm the former.

I have been an avid croc-wearer for about 3 years now. The first time I ever saw these shoes was at the Glebe Street Fair in 2004. There was a stall there selling the classic croc shoe, holes and all.

I had walked past the stall without even noticing it, but my mother - whom I attended the festival with - made me stop for a closer look. This was a few weeks before I was heading to Ecuador for 2 months. My everyday, most comfortable Birkenstock's that I'd owned for about 5 years had just died, and I was moaning to her about what shoes I was going to take with me. I didn't want to fork out $130 for a new pair of Birks just to wreck them in my first few months of owning them. The only other sandals and thongs I owned cut up my feet if I wore them for more than 15 minutes at a time (yes I know I must have weird feet if even Havaiana's can cut them up).

So my Mum made me stop and look at these funny looking shoes.

This was back before you could buy them in shops. The stallholder was telling me they were soon going to be stocked in Rebel stores, but at the moment they were trialling them out in Australia only at festivals like this. Apparently they were already big in America, but I'd never heard of them.

I wasn't convinced until I picked them up. From that moment on, I was sold. They were light as a feather and made of plastic so they were completely cleanable. Covered most of the foot so they offered a lot more protection than thongs but you could still wear them at the beach. The ultimate hybrid between shoes and thongs. All in all, the perfect travelling shoe. I can't remember if I put them on then and there, but had I done so I would have immediately been impressed by how comfortable they were from day one. No painful breaking in required.

My time in Ecuador only cemented my love for these shoes. I wore them pretty much every freaking day. To the beach, to the school I taught at, in the cities, the mountains and on boats. I walked across a road with hot tar on it - which removed a bit of the sole, but not enough to make a lick of difference. I walked up a volcano wearing these and a pair of socks. I had locals curious about the holes in them, but later admiring my shoes as I made them feel how light they were. One night I was at a bar and met an American girl wearing a pair. We danced and bonded together over our matching footwear. I lived in these shoes.

By the time I arrived back in Australia crocs had hit the stores here and were already taking off. I was excited to see other people sharing the croc-love. My parents were about to go to the US with some friends and visit Colorado, the original home of the croc, so I put in an order for myself and A. By this time I had checked out the crocs website and seen you could get more than one style. I went for a black pair sans holes on the top, but still with side ventilation, so they could pass off as shoes even better.

The perfect hospital shoe, I thought. And I was right. All year long I've worn these whenever I've done a surgical rotation. They are the perfect shoe to wear when you have to stand still for hours at a time.

But even I, despite my love for these shoes have admitted they're a bit funny-looking, and not exactly the epitome of style. Until I saw the new range available. I've fallen in love all over again with not one, but 2 of their new styles.

I don't know if you can buy these in Australian shops yet, but after my exam I will definitely be investigating. And if not, I forsee a purchase from crocs.com coming up very shortly!

decluttering - zone 1 finished!

2007-09-06T17:29:00.001+10:00

I’m happy to say the space between the wardrobe and my desk is now complete. Doesn’t it look a lot better!

Next challenge: the top of my chest of drawers. Not exactly overloaded, just in disarray (and in need of a good dusting!)

See more progress on: finish cleaning out my wardrobe and behind the door and donate clothes to charity

How to make rain in 5 easy steps

2007-09-06T14:52:00.000+10:00

Attention farmers and other drought-ridden people! Rain can easily be conjured up. Here's how:

Have me decide to go out for a walk, a coffee, or a combination of the two.
Have me think "I'll just have a shower", "I'll just do the vacumming", "I'll just read one more chapter" or "Ill just [insert other task] first".
Complete task.
Look outside and witness sunshine that was there 10 minutes ago replaced by grey skies and rain.
Sigh at the world and all it's injustice.

UPDATE: This routine has now worked successfully for 4 days in a row. You cannot argue with statistics like that!!

Ooh ouch!

2007-09-05T15:27:00.000+10:00

I was going to write a long entry earlier today, moaning about the agony I'm in after doing a Pump class on Monday morning.

Yesterday was bad enough but this morning when I woke up I felt like I couldn't even get out of bed. I seriously don't remember ever being this sore - not even after jogging the City to Surf!

I haven't done a Pump class oh for about a month, and I haven't done it regularly for a few months longer than that.

Just goes to show how quickly your muscles can get deconditioned from doing weights, even if you have been doing other high-intensity exercise. I'm especially surprised, because my quads are hurting way more than my pecs or arms are. If I had to put money on it I'd have said my legs were a lot - well stronger isn't the word, but I don't know what is - more "worked out" anyway. Clearly they are not.

So I was going to write this long, whiny post. But then I read M's entry today (from which I blatantly appropriated this title) where she was revelling in the ache, instead of just moaning about it. And then I felt bad!

For the last few hours I've been trying to revel in it. Really I have. I've also promised myself I'll go to another class on Friday morning AND I'll brave the weights room at the gym and actually start to use it every now and again.

I need to not be this sore from one little class ever again!!

Fried Green Tomatoes

2007-09-05T13:40:00.001+10:00

A while back I emailed redroomdvd requesting they get a copy of this movie.

Today I got an email saying they now have a copy! Now I just need to go grab it.

Sometime soon hopefully – it’s a great night-in movie.

I love redroomdvd!!!

Like most books made into movies, the book is infinitely better: both happier, sadder and a lot more happens. I used to own a copy of this book, but have'nt actually physically had it for years. I have no idea what happened to it.

I think it could be time to find a replacement or join a library!

Decluttering my room, one item at a time

2007-09-04T09:51:00.001+10:00

The obligatory BEFORE shot.

This isn’t technically either inside my wardrobe, or behind my door, but it’s where I’m focusing on tidying up right now.

Clutter, clutter clutter.

Some of these things have been sitting here in this particular spot FOR 3 YEARS. Unmoved.

Sigh.

See more progress on: finish cleaning out my wardrobe and behind the door and donate clothes to charity

A mixed bag

2007-09-02T22:13:00.000+10:00

Yesterday was a day full of activity. Some good, some bad, some just plain frustrating. A real mixed bag.

It started out well with a relaxing morning at home. Porridge for breakfast and then a few hours worth of low key study.

I'd booked a car share vehicle for the afternoon since A was coming along. We decided to visit Westfield Burwood to do some Fathers Day and birthday present shopping. You know you're a converted scooter rider when driving a journey in a car that you normally do 5 times a week by scooter fills you with rage the one time you do it by car. Stuck at the same traffic light for 3 red lights because traffic is at a standstill? Doesn't happen on a bike baby.

The main event of the day was our netball final. By the time I got there I had worked up a decent amount of pent up aggression thanks to the traffic into Burwood, the lack of decent electronics shops there and the fact it took us 15 mins just to get out of the carpark.

The game itself was a close one, but didn't turn out so well because we lost by 2 despite being even at one stage in the last quarter. Such a close loss is pretty heart breaking, especially when one of the umpires was just terrible and made so many bad calls against us. But what can you do eh?

My afternoon was salvaged however by a treasure hunt that turned out right. Thursday night I had been out for dinner and as I was walking back to my bike I felt an earring fall out and land on the grass around me.

Riding a bike is an inherently earring-unfriendly modality due to all the helmet insertion and removal involved. In the 3 years that I've been riding I think I've lost about 5 single earrings so far. Every time it's heart-breaking; I love my earrings like some people love their shoes.

Thursday night was particularly frustrating because this happened whilst I was still metres away from my bike and had nothing to do with my helmet. I was pretty upset because it was one of my favourite pairs of earrings. I'd only bought them a few months ago in the OC so wasn't yet ready to part with one.

I scrabbled around in the grass looking for the missing earring for a bit, but gave up because it was cold and dark and at 10:30pm I was bushed! I vowed to come back and search in daylight, and I did just that on Saturday afternoon and look what I found: my earring. Yay!

Once I got home I had a moment of panic because I couldn't find the matching earring that hadn't been lost. I was getting worried that I had thrown it out until I found it stashed in the handbag I was carrying that night.

As part of my search I found 2 other earrings who had suffered the same fate thanks to the motorbike helmet and are partnerless.

I haven't parted with them yet, but perhaps I should. I don't think the whole wearing mismatching earrings look is ever going to be in style, do you?

Mmmmm....bagels

2007-08-30T10:05:00.000+10:00

I tend to go through phases where I really get into a particular food and eat it constantly. After a few months I find another craze, and move on to something else. Sometimes I go back and re-visit previous crazes. I'm doing that right now with bagels.

I think we're a bit bagel-deprived here in Australia. We don't have the plethora of bagel bakeries that they do in NYC or all across Canada. We don't have the opportunity to walk down the street and be tempted by the fragrance of freshly cooked bagels. Nor do we have the sheer variety of flavours available; from plain to seeded to jalapeno-cheese all the way through to chocolate or maple syrup you think of it, Canadians have made a bagel out of it.

The supermarket bought bagels we get here just don't measure up. Bagels are a fleeting treasure; get them fresh and they are chewy on the outside and soft and doughy on the inside. A day later and they are just tough, dry and nasty. Not worth the effort!

So I was delighted to discover that a sourdough bakery just up the road has freshly baked bagels. They also do great take-away coffee. My latest thing has been to go the gym and grab a coffee and bagel on the way home for breakfast or lunch depending on what time it is. But you have to get in quick; their supply of bagels is usually all but gone by mid-morning.

Here's my perfect breakfast: a blueberry bagel with extra light cream cheese and a coffee. What a start to the day.

Another brekky favourite is a cheese bagel with a smidge of cream cheese and vegemite. Divine!!

This creation is superb and does equally well for breakfast or lunch. I'd even eat it for dinner if it had managed to survive the rest of the day uneaten! It's a plain bagel topped with cream cheese, rocket and smoked salmon drizzled with lemon juice and cracked pepper. I now keep some smoked salmon in fridge purposely to make this little treat!!

This one is great for lunch and can be adapted easily with whatever ingredients are on hand. The staples are rocket, tomato and some kind of cheese (preferably haloumi or feta) with chilli. Olives, roasted capsicum and pesto are a great way to liven it up as required.

If anyone else has any great bagel ideas please let me know. I'm always up for another way to celebrate the humble bagel!

UPDATE: Having had a cheese bagel for lunch today I decided to take yet another photo to make my bagel collection complete. I was having trouble capturing the cheese one though - it somehow didn't seem to be as photogenic as the rest. A decided to help me out, but by the time he'd crossed the room I was already stuffing my face!

I'll also come clean with the details of the purveyor of bagely goodness since M asked: they're from rise Newtown (the same shop used to be called d'ough which is just *the* best name for a bakery) on King St Newtown, right next door to Franklins. I'm a bit confused though, because according to yellowpages their name is The Bread Connection, but I'll go with whatever name is on the shopfront.

And yes, I am worried that they'll disappear but every time I go I stock up, making sure I have enough for at least one of every flavour to sit in the freezer. Some days I clear them out of all remaining bagels!! Though having consumed several over the last few days, my supplies have dwindled down to nothing, so looks like I'll be going for a walk tomorrow morning!!

mon afternoon

2007-08-27T22:22:00.001+10:00

tired when I got home – CHECK
already dark – CHECK
muscles still sore, knee still bruised and jaw still aching from netball on sat – CHECK
my turn to cook dinner – CHECK

got off my ass and did 45 mins yoga before cooking – CHECK
felt a hell of a lot better afterwards – DOUBLE CHECK

yay :)

See more progress on: get into yoga: start doing it regularly in some, any, way, shape or form

Lemon seeds - take two!

2007-08-25T09:22:00.001+10:00

I've started working on one of my 43things again - to grow a lemon tree from seeds.

Last time I lost my seeds in a little accident on the verandah - I decided they weren't getting enough direct sunlight, so I thought I'd move them from their safe spot on the kitchen bench to the verandah for an hour or two on sunny afternoon.

Minutes later when I went to check on them the paper towelling had blown away, taking my precious seeds with them.

Since then I've been avidly collecting seeds - I have about 50 by now, so surely some of them have to pop!!

This time, thanks to a great suggestion from little miss ruby, I'm using cotton wool instead of paper. Hopefully that'll mean less drying out, and less blowing away.

(I didn't have normal cotton balls, so I'm hoping those cotton wool make-up pads will do the same trick)

Fingers crossed this time is more successful. However due to the nasty and greyness outside I don't foresee there being much verandah-time put in - today at least!