Down Time

Things have been really slow here since my lecturer is teaching in another campus and he is unable to deliver lessons regularly. So I just spend most of my time reading novels and trying to practice my Swedish. I guess a lot of my time has also been dedicated to trip planning and cycling around all day until my legs feel like jelly.

I also spend my time calling up aunties, uncles, friends, my grandma, parents, cousins and shaun on Skype to chat for much longer than a phone would allow me too. So it's been good.

I realise I've completely become a ketchup convert and I'm happy eating bread and cheese or crackers and cheese for every meal. But then again I've always loved bread and cheese. Gouda, is the cheese of the moment...I eat it for every meal :D My room mates are questioning my Asian-ness. My Indian-ness was being question until I made a pot of tomato rassam...so I think I should cook rice more or something :s

Inspired by a Chinese neighbour's fried fish, I decided to bake my fish with ginger, sesame oil and soy sauce and vegetables to have with my rice. It was delicious and easy, better still, hardly any clean up at all. My style of cooking indeed.

Last night I made tang yuan (or soh yee as my grandma calls it). It was great to have that familiar taste of sugary, gingery soup coupled with the chewy balls that are just plain fun to chow down. This time they were plain, but I'm hoping to find peanuts and sesame seeds so I can make one with filling. Any suggestions or ideas for alternative fillings? Peanut butter perhaps? Let me know!

I've been feeling a little affected by the fact that I'm not around for the things happening back home, some big things likr the birth of a new niece in December, other smaller things like not being there to pick Shaun up after a long day at work, not being there for Arman's ORD, Shaiful and Jia Le's birthdays, not being there when Rett had to send off Toby....And not being around for all the things happening in church...I must admit when those feeling hit me I just don't go out and mope around in my room. But my friends here always manage to make me feel better somehow and they are experts at coaxing me out of a slump.

"If it's a broken part, replace it.
If it's a broken arm then brace it.
If it's a broken heart then face it.

And hold your own
know your name
and go your own way."

Song of the moment : Details in the Fabric by Jason Mraz