Windy nostalgic day, which marks the end of my freedom

Monday onwards will see me back into the corporate world, slogging out for a better brighter and (hopefully) wealthier future. After one year's of absence from work, my mentality has indeed changed, especially after completing the intense MFE programme.

I have not started work yet, but somehow I place more emphasis on pay and job rewards now than before. Maybe it's because of the slogging in the course, that makes me feel like we should be duly rewarded for our brains and hard (smart) work. There seems to be an air of arrogance in me, which isn't totally a bad thing for it gives me confidence at work (which is much needed given my lowly rank even after 4 years in my company). But this I gotta keep a check on and make sure it doesn't get over my head.

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to work again! Sounds weird, but true coz I have nice colleagues and a working-friendly environment in my new department. Furthermore, I have a very good boss who is aggressive, concerned about subordinates' developments and personal welfare, dynamic and knows the market well. I can see that she is unlike other female bosses and she acts more like a male boss, which is good news.

In the past three weeks I've been stocking up on professional working clothes again. They're not the long-sleeved shirts though; those make me sweat a bucket. Custom-made my professional court shoes with pointed heels and pointed front (sacrificing some comfort in my big fat toes), which hopefully I can run (literally) in. Going to carry the professional Coach bag WW gave me (haha actually I bought it for myself in NYC using the sub-card he gave me) and strut my way to the office!

Only thing is my unglamness having to walk in slippers (most of the time hurriedly, knowing my habit of dashing last-minute out of the house) for some 13 mins across the big long overhead bridge to the bus stop in the morning. And I'll be busy wiping off the sweat upon reaching the bus stop and hoping it doesn't smear my make up. That's the thing in living in a more secluded area, but well, I have no complaints! :p

Back in Singapore!

Actually I was back more than a week ago, on 21 Jun. The past week has been more of rest and catching up on remaining school admin, and compounded with worries over school matters and H1N1 flu. But am I glad to be at home.

I've been missing the good things in Pittsburgh - the carefree lifestyle though we were saddled with schoolwork; the fun my housemates and I had luffing our heads off some of the other guys; having two fine gentlemen helping us ladies carry laptops every morning; the fine weather where I could run without much sweat and efforts; the me-time at Panera Bread studying away while blasting music in my ears; the cashier, drivers, waitresses greeting you with "How's your day?" and "Have a good day!", and so much more. I can't help but to compare that to the rudeness of the common folks in Singapore, where the drivers honk you for little things and speed up when you're turning into their lane. What have Singaporeans become of? I hope the graciousness cultivated from the US lifestyle stays in me and not let the impatience of Singaporeans get into me.

That aside, I'm happy to be welcomed back home with a lovely 1st year marriage anniversary present and a very sweet (more in terms of contents) card from hubby dear. Sometimes I think I'm the less romantic one, but I'll work at being a better romancer to hubby heh. I always feel I'm a very fortunate wife. WW is talented (yes, you're talented in many ways which you may not see in yourself), understanding, loving and makes me happy with his animated descriptions of events and people. For a (sometimes) serious person like me, that definitely helps lighten the mood and makes me happy even when I'm feeling down. What more could I ask for? :)

Next week would see me going back to work, after a year's of work absence. Am I looking forward to work again? I'm pretty sure the colleagues are nice and the working environment amicable, but gotta get used to the lifestyle of being cooped up in the cold office and not being able to wander around under the beautiful afternoon sun. Give and take la.. at least I can afford that lovely bag minted with a cool price tag, and more importantly, contribute to my families' financial well-being and thus life's comforts.

Beautiful Sunday

I'm doing my schoolwork in Panera Bread, a cafe near my residence. Went for a swim earlier in school with two of my housemates, did a good 50-mini-laps (25m) with alternating free-style in every 5 breaststroke laps. Swimming in a small-lap pool is a good way to train my lousy free-style. Today's weather is exceptionally good, with the sun in full force yet the air is not as humid as back in Singapore. I am bumming around in shorts and a small tee and slippers. How good can life get? :) (Except I still have that heavy project burden on my shoulders.)

Missing WW and badly want a good holiday with him. Before we get the chance to go on a long and far one, we will probably check out cosy ones at home (Singapore).

Less than two weeks and I'll be back in Singapore. Hopefully the weather would have cooled down a bit, heard the sun was scorching in the day and nights stuffy and hot. Then I can chill out with my dear at a cafe, sipping coffee, reading books that non-MFE related and truly enjoy myself. :)

Me studying @ Panera Bread :)

My MFE frenz - Jamie, Yii Hui (and her boy) and me. At MFE farewell hi-tea, Apr 09

Shopping - Abercrombie fleece sweater with a hood. It's most useful!

All my t-shirts from Abercrombie. Wahaha

Pittsburgh update

Got a nice sweet email from dad asking me how I was doing here. Tian just taught him how to send an email. Such a warm gesture from Daddy!

CMU term here is heavier than that in Singapore; we have homework everyday and I end up sleeping at 1plus am. We try to go out during the weekends, exploring parts of Pittsburgh and fishing out the more interesting places in this quiet city. Last Saturday we the Graham folks and GA went out to Southside for dinner @ Cheesecake Factory, which turned out to be one of the nicest restaurant I've been to in a while. The ambience and deco were good (the lights dimmed towards late night), the service excellent and the music soothing at a comfortable volume. I had chicken penne in wine sauce, which I savoured up till the last penne (not the chicken though; it was really quite a big serving). I don't remember patronising such a restaurant in Singapore, which is quite a waste. Was wishing WW were there too, then we could have a romantic meal together at a not-so-exorbitant price.

Lunch at pub along Walnut Street

Southside - a more happening district in Pittsburgh that's half-an-hour's bus ride away from our cozy home along Baum Blvd

With the guys in the same residential apartment Graham and GA in yellow (from Forbes apartment). All my classmates

The Cheesecake Factory, where we had dinner.

I like the ambience of Cheesecake Factory. Splendid! Tall ceilings with flowery paintings; ivory-maroon pillars and big big windows.

The guys (from left) - Gim Aik, Chris, Chee Wei, Rick and Yao Yang.

My order - sauteed chicken with mushrooms and onions on penne in wine sauce. YUMMY~!

Signature cheesecake - White chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Rich and sinfully delicious.

I want to go back to Cheesecake Factory! Why don't we have it back in Singapore?

Blogging needs the right emotions

Like right now, I'm tuning in to FM99.7 on Pittsburgh radio, listening to those sweet old love songs and songs of easy listening. It's an exactly 12 hours time difference here compared to Singapore, and now at 11.17am it's about the right time to get sentimental. It used to be 2am or so when I was back in the NUS halls, but I don't sleep that late these days (which explained also why I have been blogging much less after uni life).

Have been in Pittsburgh for close to a week now. School has been good - the regular 9am-noon lessons from Mon-Thu keeps us on our toes, especially with the weekly assignments due. Most of the afternoons so far were spent in school studying in our classroom. Some of the sporty guys often go for table-tennis, or a basketball game. Then almost the same gang would play Counter-Strike in class on alternate days. So far I've tried a few games on the pool table, but no table tennis coz my skills stand at the level in my primary school days.

Life's good, going back to those studying days where you can spend the entire day working out sums or programs. Then you'll take a break by going for a run, or take a short walk around the neighbourhood. Living on your own adds on the fun of cooking meals, and it's even better when there's a very willing chef in your apartment.

Tonight I'm having the whole apartment to myself and it does feel different to be alone and having the space to really think. It's like all of a sudden the numbness and indifference to the current environment around me are gone. I can feel better, which is a good thing coz I have been feeling pretty indifferent for the past few days, perhaps due to mounting school load.

Oh and I did a run yesterday evening around school. Conquered this slope that stretches endless (it seems) and had a good run, though my nose ran a bit after that. There was the sun, but wasn't too hot as it's not as humid as in Singapore. And now my legs don't feel arching either. Will try more running and include swimming next week. :)

Meanwhile I got to chat with WW and Mama+Papa+Tian earlier today morning. Glad to see everyone's fine and will try to chat with WW again tomorrow morning. For now, gotta sleep! Trying to kickstart a healthy lifestyle by sleeping and waking up at 7am every morning. Woohoo!

Mama's Recipe - 猪脚醋

I was learning this wonderful dish from Mama the whole of yesterday, starting with our trip to the dry market.

Ingredients:
- Old Ginger, one big piece (lighter, thinner skin)
- Vinegar, 1 bottle (dog brand, pink top label)
- 猪手， 一只 [Pig's front trotters, 1 piece]
- 猪脚劲，二十条 [Pig's trotters tendons, 20 pieces]
- Gula Melaka sugar, 2 round pieces
- 麻油 [Sesame oil]
- 酱清 [Soy sauce]

Cooking Steps:
- Boil pig trotters in pot, remove dirt while in pot
- Drain pig trotters with cold water
- Wash pig trotters and cut away hardened white skin, if any

- Wash, clean and skin chunks of old ginger, cutting away sprouts if any
- Hammer till loose
- Fry in wok with 麻油 till dry

- Fill claypot with a little water, ginger and about 1/3 bottle of vinegar over big fire to boil
- Put in trotters, bigger pieces first
- Top up the vinegar, to near the brim
- Cover claypot and bring to boil before simmering

- Stir the pot when necessary to avoid meat from sticking to the pot
- About an hour later, add the tendons. Timing depends on how soft you want it to be.
- Boil then simmer
- Nearing 2 hours after boiling, add soy sauce and Gula Melaka.
- Turn off gas and it's ready to serve.

Yummy 猪脚醋！！
黄妈妈绝佳秘方!

Random pictures

Pasir Ris Park with WW last Saturday

Studying in NTU Jan - Apr 09

Doing chim stochastic calculus stuff made me distracted

See the kingfisher on the branch of the tree behind our FTR classroom

NTU roads are beautiful, with green leaves shading your road. It's always a pleasure to drive around school, though school campus is not that big.Sis-in-law's doggies

Shasha headSuch an adorable Ally.
More pictures of Summer the Dog to be up soon!

Me with short hair! Looked just like Tian

Weekend updates (post exams!)

Exams over last Thu! And I'm free for two weeks, before flying to US!

Been out enjoying my freedom so far. Went shopping for swimsuit at Parkway Parade, then straight on to swimming at Tanjong Katong Swimming Complex under the beautiful setting sun. 26 laps and I ended up with slightly aching back and legs and that night. But swimming is good; it's both relaxing and strenuous as an exercise. Only that some swimmers (guys somemore) just couldn't give way and kept on banging head-on onto you in the same lane. So rude.

Saturday I went for hi-tea at Aquamarine with MFE folks. The food was so-so; the company was not bad. I suppose it's the last time we're meeting the profs and administrators in NTU, not until we're back from CMU for the convocation in late July. I'm not gonna say how time flies again, coz we're all pretty immuned with how fast good things pass us by.

WW and I went for a walk at Pasir Ris park before dinner at 娘家. Pasir Ris park was one of the places that could provide a beautiful sunset view that spans across a vast spectrum. You could see the dark clouds with lightning on the left, the dawning sunset yellows on the right, and the blue skies with green islands as background in the middle. WW pretty much enjoyed the view too, for it gave him the space to ponder and relax.

Today we were back to swimming at Pristine Heights, which we did last Sunday too. The sun was scorching hot, thus it helped to be in the waters but the waters were so cold that I was having a running nose in the pool. Just today the rental agreement for this apartment was confirmed. Wonder where we could go swimming privately the next time. I still wish to stay in a condo, but again, I wonder if that's possible. One of the perks of living in a condo - to have your own swimming space without having to squeeze with the rowdy guys and learning kids at the public pool, especially during the weekends. And it's always more breezy at high-floors, a thing I've grown used to having since my room at 娘家 has perpetual winds.

I'm hooked onto Restaurant City game on Facebook now, though it's pretty mindless and non-stimulating. But it's still interesting to see how my wealth is building up from my restaurant business (though I spend the earnings once they come in), and how I can beautify my little den.

Next two weeks is going to be catching up time with friends, quality time with hubby and family. May these two weeks go by slow.

感触许多

I was browsing through my wedding photo album, looking particularly at the ones taken with my family. Wonder if it's the photography effects, or is it true that my parents have aged? I paused at the photo below. It evoked a feeling of melancholy in me, to realise that Apa has indeed aged over the years. He didn't used to have that many strands of grey hair, that somewhat weathered look. My heart twitched.

I love my family, and wish that they be healthy and happy always. I can't help but smile when I see the photo below. Ties between siblings bond forever.

And now that I have a new family, I am learning to love and care more. Kinships may be hard to build up, as compared to the ties with your natural-born family. Open up your heart and be as receptive to receiving as well.