.::. Baking! .::.

I (we) have been baking quite abit this week!



I've to say that the Crème brûlée was really good! *yums! It's actually quite simple to make...





We baked for brunch on a lazy Sunday morning today.

I made scones. It actually tasted great too!

The roommate made chocolate banana cake which tasted great, but I'd like more bananas in it. Emma made pancakes which were great too.

All and all, we're becoming great chefs! The aim is to learn more recipes of my favourite desserts before I go back. Having the time to bake and cook is a luxury which eludes me back home in Singapore.

We did go to the gym after these sinful delights. 4 times this week.

13 weeks!!!

Bracing myself for the crazy week ahead.

.::. TGIF .::.

This week passed by amazingly fast. There wasn't any lessons, but I probably spent like 3 days putting the 15-page essay together and editiing it - the worst part!



Started the day with a hearty breakfast, bracing myself for final editing of the essay. *yums!

It was a 'warm' day today! All the snow started melting into puddles of water! I smell spring!! It's so much more comfortable with such temperatures.

Notice Kim Yuna on google hot trends! My new idol...shall leave that till another day though.

I made wanton that day, after a long day of essay writing, just after the boyfriend said he had wanton mee for dinner. I can have wanton mee for dinner too, just need alittle more time.

My version of wanton noodles, it was quite good with the sambal chilli I brought over and the black vinegar I just bought. *yums!

I've exactly 3 months left here. The next 3 weeks will be crazy with the presentations, essays and exams. Then, there's a short break before thesis writing. I'm getting used to research and essay writing, so it shouldn't be that bad.

It's ironic, but I think I'll miss life here. I still miss home alot, and I think I am looking forward to be home. I will not miss Sweden as a country or even most things here, especially the inefficiency. What I would really miss is the lifestyle, the life I lead here. I'm mostly occupied by school and essays and readings, but I've time to cook for myself, have dinner with friends, go to the gym, do laundry and grocery shopping, bake and spend some time traveling. I like the carefree life here, I only worry about meeting deadlines and feeding myself.

I can't really remember what I did the past 7 months, it just past me by. There were times when I was really emotional, times when I really reflected on many things in my life and discovered myself. It has been a great journey, an unbelievable journey. I had dreams almost every night when I came back in January, thankfully they subsided and I sleep well again now.

It's hard to hold on to time.

I'm mostly stress-free here, apart from some stress from myself in regards to doing well enough in school. I think the stress will come piling back when I go back, and I'm crossing my fingers that I find a good job that is bearable and earn me enough. I wonder if people really hope or expect me to get married, but I really dread the pressure, dread everyone making references to it all the time. It makes me worried, which probably means I'm not ready yet. I've a morbid fear of living with MILs and the potential conflicts which would leave irreversible scars on my relationship. I do not want to become a christian nor for my kids to be raised up as christians! If I can be worried about the same thing for 2 years and counting, and still couldn't come to terms with it, I really wonder how can I cope with this. I wonder if love could really transcend all boundaries. I love him, but I love myself too. The past 5 years wasn't a breeze, and it is barely the beginning. I'm not sure how much I'm willing to give up, how much I'll willing to sacrifice. No wonder people say that marriage is a gamble, but I don't gamble because I do not like to lose.

I really love staying alone. It's just like what I imagined it to be, only better. Perhaps one of my favourite thing is being able to have my own kitchen and cooking whatever I felt like, not having to account to anyone or make small talk. The time I have alone and the quietness here really brought me peace.

I really would miss life here.

.::. Love from home .::.



The parcel with so many stamps on it.

After like three long weeks, I finally received the parcel from the boyfriend. I was supposed to receive it before CNY and Vday!

I just have to rant about the Swedish way of doing things. First, they send me a letter asking for my personal number, saying that I might have to pay tax and MUST pay a 45sgd 'administrative fee' regardless whether I had to pay tax. Seriously?! Because they sent me that letter? And after replying to them by email, giving them my information, that lady said that they would clear the package from the custom.

Then, when she replied me about the arrival of my package and when I went to collect it, there was no mention of any fee which I had to pay. Weird not?! After sending me a formal letter informing me that I had to pay! Freaking weird. Anyways, I'm happy to receive the package finally AND do not need to pay a cent. *yayness.

Inside the package is this neatly wrapped box with pretty paper, AND many layers of newspaper (as usual) - I think the bf enjoys wrapping newspaper, why else would he wrap so many layers of newspaper all the time?

Pineapple tarts, SwissMiss hot chocolate, lousy Exlim compact camera, herbal soups, 2 cards and some readings which I couldn't get here. =)

*loves.

Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Valentines'.

.::. Delicious Kässpatzen .::.

We had dinner with the usual people last night. It was Julia's turn to make a traditional German dish which her grandmother makes often. It's a rather heavy dish with lots of cheese - 2 different kind of 'spicy' and 'smelly' cheese which is 'not too young'.



Cute Emma mixing the eggs and flour.

Julia cooking the flour. She hwas this very cool tool for this - you pour the dough into that tool and start 'grating' it into the boiling water. The dough turns out to be really bouncy and in small pieces! I think it should taste good as home-made pasta too! I liked the texture of it. I was totally impressed when she started doing it - I want one of that tool, so I can go back and share this with all my friends back home!!

Kässpatzen or Allgäuer Kässpatzen as it is called Allgäu where Julia came from (south of Germany).

We mix the hot and cooked dough with a big heap of grated cheese to create this dish. I think it can be served with onions sauteed in butter too. We didn't mix it in because Anny doesn't eat onions.

We had it with some bread, salad and topped it with butter-sauteed onions. Major yums! I would have loved more onions, it goes very well together.

It didn't look very nice when it was sticky and looking worm-like right out of the boiling water. But it tasted so good! I reckon this isn't such a healthy dish with all the cheese, but definitely major loves for cheese-lovers!

Next up - chocolate fondue night. =_="

Looks like gym-ing 3 times a week is not exactly sufficient..

.::. Fai's Birthday .::.



Fai's getting older! =p

With the birthday cake and my ugly cheesecake. *sigh! The colour of the M&Ms I used to decorate the cake ran and ruined my cake.

My 2 thai classmates who often cook me great food!

The cheesecake was alittle soft, but it still tasted relatively good. Hahs!

.::. CNY Dinner .::.

We had our CNY dinner last Thursday.



As usual, Emma is the dessert chef and Anny who is on a diet and refuses to eat breakfast and lunch is whining to try Emma's new creation - the 'swiss roll'.

The ingredients and the dishes. I cooked the sweet and sour chicken, soup with white carrot, carrots, onions, corn and mushrooms and a traditional CNY dish with black moss, black fungus, black mushrooms, dried lily flowers and beancurd skin. My roommate cooked stir-fried shanghai green and carrot omelette. *yums!

It's the first time I cooked this CNY dish, and it tasted just the way I remembered it. =) We had our CNY dinner with Germans, French and a Swede.

Dessert time - rice balls and swiss rolls. *yum yums.

Because we enjoy our dinner nights, we're having one more tomorrow night. German cheese-dish this time round. =) Then there's Swedish night 2 weeks later too. *yay!

.::. Yusheng .::.

Finally had 'yusheng' tonight, with the roommate and her Taiwanese friend who came from Holland. I wanted to have it last week, when we had our CNY dinner, but stupid me forgot the plum sauce and made it impossible to have it. *sigh!



Beautiful colours!

Thank you dear... =)

After the 'lou hei'. I actually really love having 'yusheng' during CNY, apart from the steamboats, love letters and prawn rolls. *yums!

I and my roommate went for a taiwanese gathering nearby, for a buffet lunch on Saturday. My first buffet here! The food was not fantastic, but it's not bad overall considering that it is only about 20sgd during weekends! There's sashimi sushi, beef, pork, chicken, mutton, vegetables, spring rolls and other chinese dishes. Super worth it since things like meat and fish is so expensive here! I'm seem to be always starving here, and it's been a long time since I can have my fill of food!!s

I think my chinese has improved so much here! I'm writing my thesis with 2 chinese girls and I hang out with Taiwanese so often, it's hard not to be influenced. Nobody realizes that I'm not a Taiwanese till I admit it. Hahs. It's weird that many people have the impression that Singaporeans do not speak chinese.

I've one week break this coming week, and people find it unbelievable that I'm not planning to travel anywhere. I've a 6000 word essay to work on and my thesis proposal, so there's really quite abit of work to be done. I don't fancy traveling in the cold that much either. There's a few dinners planned and baking date with Emma though. =)

14 weeks!

.::. 62 Months ♥ .::.

It never fails to amaze me how time passes.





This was probably the first 2 pictures we ever took together, before we were even officially together. We looked so young.

Celebrating his birthday as a couple the first time.

I've to admit that there was a time I used to be slim. I never felt slim, always felt fat. But those crazy JC days of vigourous physical exercises really made an impact after 2 years! I was slim despite stuffing myself silly with the western food in TJ.

I need to get back into shape!

Gym-ing at least 3 times a week with Emma the past 4 weeks have started paying off somewhat. I just hope that I can keep this up, especially when I go back to Sg and start working on my ass (literally) the whole day.

I need to get back that determination. Flat tummy, taut butt, toned arms, here I come!

.::. Loves .::.



Braved the snow and cycled to the post office to collect a package from dear Chye! It wasn't that bad though, snow was slight on Monday although it snowed the whole day. It was quite a beautiful sight with the snow floating in the air. It wasn't too cold, somewhat warmer than Stockholm!

It means alot to receive something from Chye, since she can be too lazy to even reply emails! She even handmade wrapers and wrapped it around green tea sachets - damn sweet la! Thank you girl! I miss the girls so much.

The other package which the boyfriend sent over has not arrived. =( I received some letter asking for my personal number for the package to clear custom. It said that I might be asked to pay tax (but should not be the case), and said that I have to pay SGD45 a administrative fee regardless the need for tax. I'm damn pissed - isn't it their job to check the package in the first place? Why should I pay more on top of the postage which is already ridiculously expensive? I hate the way things are done here, and I've no idea when my package would arrive nor if I'll be charged. But there is no doubt that I am going to complain and try to get it waived. There have been so many occasions that I am writing complain letters and making a big fuss over things like that. I think people here are either too rich or too lazy to do anything but pay just to avoid confrontations.

I bought Korrs Hot and Sour soup mix just before I left Singapore! My roommate brought quite a few packets from Taiwan but I have not seen it in Singapore till the last day. It costs $1.60 a packet and is surprisingly good! I think I bought like one dozen here and it satisfies my craving for Crystal Jade's noodles. I bought chinese black vinegar from the Asian supermarket yesterday - costs me $12!! But it made this hot and soup soup 'mian xian' so damn good! I love chinese black vinegar. I'm going to wrap dumplings and have them with black vinegar some day!

I had Ikan Bilis soup with onions, carrots, black pepper and lots of wolfberries some days back. I love it, it's very sweet and healthy!

This is like the only picture which I took with Emma in Stockholm. Stockholm was...cold. It's pretty small for a capital city and we covered most of it in 1.5 days. While I think that it'll be beautiful during summer, with it being surrounded by lots of water, I am quite disappointed. I've no idea what I expected, but Oslo and Paris sure raised my expectations of capital cities. Paris is my favourite city in Europe so far, though I haven't been to that many!

Still, it has been a nice weekend getaway with Emma, my valentine. I guess it's quite rare to meet someone who's relatively similar to me in many ways. It makes our chats really comfortable and enjoyable. I am going to learn baking from her ferociously these months!

After a weekend of hiatus, I'm drowning in a sea of readings and research. I've so much to do and read, my brain is malfunctioning already. *sigh.

It's a long day tomorrow.

1 essay
1 case study
2 presentations
2 exams
1 thesis
-the end-

.::. Chinese New Year .::.

I'm not going to celebrate Chinese New Year this year. Obviously not, when I'm this far away from home, in a country with a non-existent 'Chinatown'.

I realized that 'Chinese New Year' meant alot more to me than I thought. Afterall, we do celebrate it every single year and don't feel much about it. But now that I'm here, the first time in my life that I'm not celebrating it, I actually feel very sorry for missing it. The thought of it makes me very depressed and I can't help it, can't seem to pull myself out of it. I just have to cope with it and ignore it.

I miss the atmosphere, when everyone goes shopping, doll up and buy lots of goodies to prepare for it. I miss the crowded supermarkets which repeats annoying chinese new year songs, with impatient people shoving their way around and the snaking long queues. Who can resist the goodies and all the gatherings and steamboat? I really miss walking down the noisy and crowded Chinatown - the atmosphere is unbeatable.

Chinese New Year is a period of indulgence, of joy, of togetherness. No reunion dinner for me this year, no visiting, no dressing up, no nothing! Amazingly, Chinese New Year coincides with the only time I bother painting my nails once a year.

Don't quite understand why some people would rather go on holiday instead of celebrating Chinese New Year! I guess I really wouldn't miss it if I had a choice. I really should stop being whiney about it and take heart that I have many more Chinese New Years to celebrate ahead.

I'm going to Stockholm for the weekend with Emma to get away from loneliness and homesickness. Emma is this really cute and kind french girl who makes really good dessert and makes me laugh. Since she really wants to visit Stockholm and I've 3 days left on my Europass, why not?

Not being home with all my loved ones make celebrating this occasion somewhat pointless for me. It's that whole atmosphere and feeling which I crave for and could never get here.

May all my beloveds stay happy and healthy.

I'm going to Stockholm and enjoy this weekend! =)

15 weeks. Feels way too long, yet seem so short at times.

.::. Rush Hour .::.

I have two 8 o'clock lesson this week and I have to get up at 6am, so you can imagine how much I dislike it.

For some reason, the train was ridiculously crowded today. It's worst than Singapore's rush hours! Because the lecturer is very anal about lateness, I squeezed up the train which stops at 3 different stops before reaching Lund. I didn't wait for the direct train, fearing that I might miss the connecting bus or couldn't squeeze up the bus. I reckon that there are too many students rushing for lesson and they seriously do push their way up the train though there was hardly space when we started the journey from Malmo. Given the Swedish's reputation for keeping their distance, you can imagine that this is totally unlike them. I can't blame them though, since the next train is 30 minutes later - not to mention having to wait in the cold and be late for lessons and whats-not. Buses are equally annoying, you have to try and squeeze to the front of the queue or the bus will simply leave once it's full and you have to wait for 15minutes for the next bus. *sigh. Arduous journey to school!

It's quite interesting to observe various differences between the Swedish and Singaporeans. While Swedish are rather 'cold' people who tend to keep their distance and take some time to warm up, there are some things which they speak up for often.

Swedish people would take up every seat in a bus, even if you put your things on the seat or take up more than a seat. They would ask you to more over and let them have the seat. It's alittle different, for most Asians would take the hint and simply stand instead of confronting that person for that seat. Sometimes we don't even want to sit beside someone with 'uninviting' body language. Swedish people would also tell you off right into your face often. There was once when I got down my bike and was pushing my bike, walking on the biking path. A Swedish man walking beside me rudely pointed to the walking path and gestured for me to walk over to that side! This was when the pathway was so big and there wasn't anyone else around. I almost felt like asking him to mind his own business.

When it was really crowded in the train this morning, I was standing beside this ridiculously tall guy - my head barely reached his shoulders and my shoulders barely reached his waist. He was carrying this slim backpack, but he was so tall that the backpack was rather near a woman's face. Well, it's that croweded, there's nothing much you could do but tolerate it. But no, that Swedish woman asked him to take off his backpack (in Swedish which I didn't understand). He awkwardly took off his backpack when we barely had space to stand and practically shoved his butt into my face when he tried to bend down to put his backpack on the floor.

Swedish people might not take the initiative to talk to you, but they sure ain't afraid to speak up when they feel like it.

Perhaps I'm only experiencing these because I'm not staying in Lund, the school town with mostly students. People staying in Lund probably have very different experiences with Swedish people there, who should be used to or curious about international students. It's different staying in a bigger town.

Oh well, rush hours are really bad during winter. I need Spring to come.

.::. Melodifestivalen 2010 .::.

Melodifestivalen is dubbed to be the 'religion' of Sweden. It's this singing competition, like Singapore Idol. Every week there are 8 contestants who sings original songs and 2 will be voted into the finals while 2 goes into the 'wild card' round for a second shot into the finals. They'll then choose 1 contestant to represent Sweden to take part in the Eurovision where all European countries compete against each other. We watched it on Saturday night and it was quite interesting, one was plain weird and some others were...different. Hahas. I guess I'm going to try to watch every week's competition and be involved in this 'in' thing in Sweden.

This first 2 went into the finals and the last 2 had a second chance. I personally liked 'Linda' because I like Shakira and she can sing. My roommate likes 'Pain of Salvation' who I think have a nice voice but was 'alittle too much' for me. Salem's song was very catchy though I don't like his voice. Ola is the hot favourite but I don't like! Just look at his leg! So yea...if you're bored enough just search for the other 4...

My first Swedish 'addiction'. Hahs.

.::. Nostagic .::.

.::. Emotional .::.

I've got...New Moon Sharkfins' soup!!!


I was pushing the flap of my mailbox to check for mail as usual when I came home this evening. To my horror, it didn't bludge and I almost thought someone 'locked' my mailbox. Who knows, I found this when I opened it with the key. I've got no idea how the postman managed to shove this package into the flap of my mailbox - it is definitely thicker than the flap and rather big. Does that mean that the postman has the key to my mailbox?!

Apparently the boyfriend took great pains to wrap the package with many layers of newspaper AND many many layers of clingwrap.

I was really quite surprised to realize that he sent me such stuff! It did cross my mind to get some CNY goodies here when I was home and the supermarkets have started selling these. But I concluded that I can do without these and only brought some barbecue pork and prawn crackers which the girls gave me.

鱼生! And still got 年糕! He even put the sauce in plastic bag.


Super 感动! Thank you darling!

It has been a long week. This term feels so much busier since I've classes 4 days a week. I'm taking one module called 'Organization culture, Identity and Leadership' which requires us to go through 2 case study every week and write a one page analysis before we go for seminars and discussion. This is in addition to the stacks of readings and research for my group essay and thesis. I'm tired, everyday starts with a long agenda.

I've been going to the gym with Emma for classes very often! Clocked 5 hours this week! I can see my myself tone up already. It's a nice way to destress and stay sane. It also forces me to study for abit after classes, before gym, which is rather productive. The only bad thing is not being able to be home in the evenings equates to not being able to talk to the boyfriend much. =( I hate time differences.

I've been rather emotional lately. Maybe it's PMS, but sometimes I miss the boyfriend so much that it hurts. It's embarassing to admit this. He has been appearing in my dreams rather often these days and I dream of home alot too. *sigh.

So yea...it means so much to me when I receive mails and packages from home. Makes me cry.

It's official - I hate cobblestone roads. It has been rather warm these 2 days! About one or two positive degrees. Really great compared to the -19 degrees last Saturday. Snow has started to melt and the only bad thing is when water from the melting snow freezes to form a layer of ice when it turns cold at night. It literally translates to walking on ice. There were a few times when I nearly fell, because you simply have no clue which area is slippery and lose your footing. Then, tonight, I fell really hard on my butt. =( It totally took me by surprise and I stayed on the floor for several seconds, in pain. Thankfully a very nice Swedish couple rushed over to help me up, probably rather shocked by my spectacular fall. *sigh. I've witnessed quite a few falls myself, the roads can be hazards, especially cobblestone roads which are difficult to walk on already normally AND dangerous to walk on during winter.

TGIF.

It's a nice and quiet Friday night, alone at home (the roommate went for a party), warm in my bed after a warm bath, nursing my muscleaches and butt ache, sipping earl grey tea, savouring the love from home and missing home.

I'm okay. Contented. It's normal to miss home. Right?

16 weeks.

.::. Way too much .::.

It has been snowing since noon today. Heavy, non-stop snow. Not surprisingly, the buses are late, trains are delayed.



It's not obvious. Perhaps if you look carefully below the lamposts, there is a hint of the heavy snow. You can imagine the amount of snow on the floor after almost 10 hour of non-stop snow. It was so difficult to walk since nobody have been clearing the pathways - like walking in cold sand? I was so afraid that I would slip and fall.

Heaps of snow everywhere!

The tracks were totally covered by snow. The trains were ALL delayed and we were quite lucky. We only took twice the normal time to get home - about 1.5 hours. There were trains delayed for 2 hours or more!

Some evidence of heavy snow. It was pretty scary, with big snow flakes flying around in the wind. Totally not a good time to be out.

They say that we are 'lucky' to experience the worst best winter ever. It has been 23 years since there was this much snow in the southern part of Sweden.

When we just arrived, all of us were very concerned about whether it would snow during winter here. All of us were very disappointed to hear that it hardly snows and snow never stays on the ground. All the Swedish people told us that if we were lucky, there might be a few days of snow. That explains why my roommate and I ran out at midnight to take pictures when it first snowed in December, afraid that the snow might disappear the next morning.

I guess most of us are just sick of the snow now. I no longer have the urge to roll in the snow nor play with snow. It's February and it's still snowing so much these days!

I can't wait for Spring to come. I miss the sun and blue skies!