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

Damn moody

Am feeling absolutely disoriented and disorganized.
My apt needs to be cleaned. My clothes remain unironed. I have a pile of laundry to wash. My bunnies' cage needs to be cleaned. I have yet to prepare my red packets for Chinese new year. My packing is in a mess...*sobs*
I need to get my act together and prioritize.

Domestic violence

Via Email

From: The Husband
To: The Wife

Subject: The gas...

... was left a little open. the bottom right one.
no wonder I was having headaches...
Hmmm. Are you trying to murder me?

From: The Wife
To: The Husband

Subject: Re: The gas...

Why are you still alive?

Quality time

A bottle of Rosemount O sparkling white wine
Cracked pepper crackers with Camembert cheese
A bright red picnic mat laid out right in the middle of our study room
Just the two of us.

Sometimes, that's all that's needed. =)

Keeping head under wraps

I've been meaning to own one of these multifunctional headwear for the longest time but I feel they are a tad overpriced. But thanks to my wonderful friends (and my shameless hinting. haha! ;)), I now own not 1 but 2 of them! Happy me! =)

Bored to smithereens...

Since stopping work last week, I've been spending my days spring cleaning and packing at home. It's amazing the amount of stuff we keep that we don't really need! Tough job having to organise and decide where all our things should go and it certainly doesn't help that I am left to do this mostly on my own. *bleah!*
Anyway, hubs came back from work the other day and asked me if I had been talking to myself at home. What a weird question to ask! :P Well, I answered "no" which was the truth. I had spent the day talking to the rabbits, the lone plastic container that I had missed to throw away, the housefly that was hovering about my apt and annoying me..yada yada...
In case you are wondering, no I am not mad. Just bloody bored. Guess house moving could be fun if I have someone to do it with me but oh well....
Anyway, it helps that I have guests coming over tomorrow and my upcoming week has been planned out with farewell lunches & dinners. At least I can have some life then! Yay! =)

So long, farewell...

It helps that my leaving the department was a fairly quiet affair. I was afterall only going away on 3 years no pay leave. So no goodbye gifts and no farewell speech which I was kinda glad since I am not good with farewells. My own team did a little surprise dinner for me (which I discovered b4 they could surprise me. ha ha!) and they took turns to say nice things about me which was really sweet. =) Had a little party at my place for my colleagues on Sunday as well. And as I waved goodbye to my last guest that night, it suddenly dawned on me that things will never be the same again. I know I will never come back to doing the same work and I am indeed moving on to the next phase of my life. As I walked up the road back to my apartment, I looked up at the barren tree set against the backdrop of a full moonlight and I felt a modicum of sadness...