Who can you trust?

To me, the people at work are like family.
I've spent more time at work than I ever did at home (well, except for now)
You work together, you hang out together and a special bond and a degree of trust is formed.
But what happens when that trust is broken?
What happens when the same person whom you've been working so closely with steals from you. Over and over again.
It is sad but they did the right thing in letting her go.
Unfortunately, the scar will remain.

What a productive morning!

Woke up early this morning. Made breakfast for hubs. Brought in the newspaper. Did my laundry. Ironed my clothes in the interim. Collected my laundry and hung them up to dry. Vacuumed my rooms. Washed the dishes I left to soak overnight. Checked my email. Facebooked. Here I am blogging and the morning is not even over yet!
Everyday should be just like this!

Ready sauce for the lazy housewife

Made these pork chops for dinner with Lee Kum Kee Sauce for Oriental Pork Chop. Absolute idiot proof. Just fry the pork chops, add the onions, stir in the sauce and voila! Mmmmm...

The Music of the Night

The hissing & whistling of the central heating.
The squeaking of the wooden paneled floor as a neighbor paces up and down in an adjacent apt.
The slamming of a door.
The occasional passing of a motor vehicle.
The sudden thud of an object falling on the roof above us.

The cacophony of sound is something we are learning to get acquainted with in our new home. It still feels a little strange and unsettling at times but I'm sure we will get used to it soon...

Alegría

I used to think Cirque Du Soleil was just another acrobatic act but I was absolutely blown away when I watched them perform Quidam in Singapore years back. Well, I'm probably the last to find out but I'm so excited they are coming to Cleveland in April! And I've got tickets as a birthday treat from hubs! *muacks!* O joy! =D

What's for dinner?

Spring onion pancakes which then became garlic pancakes because I ran out of spring onions. And...


kale chips. Slightly burnt but still really crispy and yummy! Never knew vegetables could taste this good! And hubby loved it!

Huh, it's snowing?!

It has been sunshine and some rainy weather since we arrived but mother nature decides to send some flurries of snow down on us today. Hey, I'm expecting spring already!

You know you have become an absolute bummer when...

...there is no concept of time in your life
...you need constant reminder on what the current date is
...you get to be in your PJs all day long
...you can choose to wake up at whatever time you wish (provided your husband's screaming alarm does not get you up first!)
...you can crawl back to bed at ANY time of the day (helps if you are in PJs all day!;P)
...you have all these things you need/want to do planned out in your head but you can't seem to get down to doing any of them
...you are online 24/7 (ok...not exactly but close enough)

This is what happens when you take a workaholic out of her usual crazy routine, dump her in a foreign land in a totally different timezone and confine her all alone in an apt all day long. The word is "LOST". Oh gawd, I need to work out some kind of routine for myself soon before my brain goes all mushy and moldy....*help...*

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Was craving for chicken rice all weekend so I finally got down to cooking it for dinner last night. Not as fragrant as I would like it to be but I am satisfied. ^.^

O Bloody Nose!

Since coming here, I have been suffering from dry crusty nose every night no thanks to the overzealous heating at work that is sucking every bit of humidity out of my room. It clogs up my nose pretty bad and sometimes I end up waking up a few times in the night. Slept particularly badly last night and now even my neck is sore from all that tossing and turning. Guess it's time I do something about it. Well, forget nasal sprays since I'm totally non-compliant and humidifiers are too much trouble to maintain (well, at least for lazy me). Tonight I shall hang my laundry in the room and place one big bowl of water by my bedside. Hopefully that will work! I need my sleep so badly...Zzzzzz...

When you know you have done something right...

"I guess it's because we all wanna believe that what we do is very important. That people hang on to our every word, and they care what we think. The truth is, you should consider yourself lucky if you even occassionally get to make someone, anyone, feel a little better..." - Scrubs

Woke up this morning to a nice email from a previous staff who had returned to Hong Kong to her family after spending a year working with us. She has been hired by a private hospital with a very attractive salary and is writing to thank me. "I did very well in their interview, becoz they asked me everything that you have taught me, including clinical materials and how to deal with patients' complaints! I really want to say a big "Thank you" to you!"
This last episode of scrubs mirrored how I felt when I left work. Well, it's nice to know that I have made a difference in someone's life. However small it is.

Beggars can't be choosers

The thing about settling in a new place and not knowing how long our stay would be makes it rather hard for us to make decisions on how much to invest in our new home. On one hand, we try to stick to only basic essentials so as to avoid the headache of having to rid of them should we need to move again. On the other hand, I am spending more time than I ever did at home and it is important that I am happy being at home. While in Michigan, we survived on a plastic beach table for dining with chairs we found in the apt basement and we had 2 foldable beach chairs in our living room which I lounged in to watch TV for two whole years. The main furniture we bought then was a DIY TV stand, computer table and office chair from Meijer. The most expensive buy was probably our mattress but that was it.
This time round, I have insisted on a proper dining set and sofa. We are expecting some friends to visit and it would be horrible to entertain with an empty home. And all thanks to Walmart, we are able to have all that together with a TV stand and computer desk at a very affordable price. Quality may not necessarily be the best but they will serve their purpose for now. Once again, our most expensive buy is our Sealy mattress set but I believe that is a necessity. We are also very lucky to have hubby's colleagues handing us a second hand leather office chair, a cordless phone, a flat screen 22' Samsung TV and a microwave oven for free! Well, it's nice to see our apt looking more homely now! Now to brush up on my cooking skills for my first guest! =)

Our two lovebuns

Alfonso (left), my one ear rabbit and Chewy (right), probably the most widely travelled bunny in the world.

Been wanting to write a post about our two very brave darlings. They were flown 20 odd hours in air cargo to be here with us in the States. Bunnies generally don't travel very well on planes and have been reported to have very high mortality rates. So naturally, we were scared shitless about what might happen to them on their way here. But at the same time, we know they are both really hardy bunnies. Alfonso had come out strong from his two previous surgeries for the malignant melanoma on his ear and he even seem oblivious to the fact that he is missing a ear! Chewy was adopted from an animal shelter when we were in Michigan and she had travelled all the way back to Singapore with us a few years back. Except for the fact that she is 5 years older now, we were confident that she would do just fine and were hoping that she would be an assurance to Alfonso on their journey here since they were sharing the same carrier. We also made it point to stop over in Detroit and drive instead of flying straight to Cleveland so as to minimise the number of transits they will have to go through. Well, as you can see in the pic above, they are both very much alive and very happy exploring their new territory! We are truly relieved and are so very proud of them! Well, more pics to come soon! =)

Still lovin' my Toyota!

Despite all that bad press lately, we bought ourselves a second hand Toyota Camry LE yesterday. I seriously think this whole Toyota recall/brake issue has been blown out of proportion. Thank you, New York Times for providing an alternative perspective to this mass irrationality. We've been driving the Toyota for years and it has truly served us well. And really, when it comes to quality, I don't think anyone can match the Japanese. Well, once a Toyota fan, always a Toyota fan! Can't wait to start driving it today! =)

Tortilla De Patatas

My Spanish omelette

Decided to give the Spanish omelette a try with 3 eggs, 1 big onion and 2 potatoes for dinner today to accompany my pork cutlets. It is so easy to make and I must say it turned out pretty well too! Delicious! =)

How to load a dishwasher

The apt I am renting at the moment comes with a dishwasher. It may sound backward but this is the first time I am operating a dishwasher and there is no manual. So naturally I have all these questions I need answered. How should I load the dishwasher? Can all my dishes fit in there? What is the minimum load I need before I effectively save water and energy? Since it is just me and hubs in the household is it really cost effective considering the limited kitchenware/ utensils that we have in the first place? Do I need to pre-rinse? Yada..yada...

Tried looking for answers on the web and this is what I concluded:
1. Pre-rinsing is generally not required. Apparently, pre-rinsing can take up to 20 gallons of water!
2. Do however scrape off bits of leftovers on the dishes before loading them.
3. Load glassware on the top rack and try to space them apart to avoid breakage.
4. Similarly, plastic containers goes on top to avoid melting during the dry heating since it gets hotter at the bottom rack.
5. Place plates, bowls, pots and pans at the bottom facing down towards the the spray arm.
6. Spoons, forks, knives (facing down) and other silverware goes into a basket usually located on the bottom rack and mix them up to avoid "nesting".
7.To be more energy efficient, run the dishwasher with a full load and avoid using the heat dry function.
8.And do go easy on the detergent! More is not necessarily cleaner!

On a final note, "washing dishes by hand uses much more water than using a dishwashers. Using an ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers instead of hand washing will save you annually 5,000 gallons of water, $40 in utility costs, and 230 hours of your time."

Woo..I like the sound of that...:)

My lunch today

I know, I know..it's not the most healthy of meals. Will have to learn to start cooking for one now. Guess I will be having plenty of time to experiment with various recipes! (well, preferably quick and idiot proof ones!) =)

Just keep talking!

I am currently subscribed to Vonage , a VoIP service that allows me to make unlimited calls to both local and long distance (up to 60 countries) for a flat fee a month. It is currently on promotion for $14.99/mth for the first 6 months and $25.99 thereafter for a one year contract. While some may argue that it might be cheaper to purchase a calling card, nothing beats the convenience of picking up the phone and simply dialing the numbers without having to worry abt running out of credits. The voice quality has been great so far as well! Worth considering if you are far away from home like me and wish to stay connected with family and friends back home more frequently. =)

My daily workout

Who needs to go to the gym when you gotta climb up and down three storeys to/from your apt everyday. Almost died climbing up all those steps with my bags of groceries today! I must make a mental note not to buy too much stuff at the supermarket the next time. Guess that's enough exercise for today! :P

*Btw, I cleared my driving theory today. Now to start practising for my maneuvre test!

Hello from Cleveland! *waves*

It has been about two weeks since we landed on American soil. We have since found a nice little apt and filled it up with basic essentials mostly from Walmart. (our favorite store for now! =)) The only thing we need now is a TV and sofa to keep me happy in the day while hubs is at work.
Had a nice little lunch gathering yesterday with some Singaporeans who are currently based here. Guess it is always good to know someone around here when you first start out. I am amused to find that they even have an unofficial Cleveland Clinic alumni back home with frequent meetups! =)
Gotta go study for my driving theory now. Such a pain that we will have to take the driving theory and prac test all over again! Hope they won't make me parallel park coz I'm bound to fail. Boo.
Anyhoo...I will be off to check out the malls with one of the wives later this afternoon! Yay! Wish I have more money to spend though. :P