STRESSED

Hmm.. How do you know when i'm stressed out?

I start cleaning up everything...
I start waking up very late....
I start talking to myself quite a bit....

Guess it will last for another few weeks before everything reverts back to normal!

Dinner

Well, i took up the role in the house to prepare dinner on weekdays as much as i could. There are tonnes of reasons for doing this although some might think i'm just worrying too much and i don't have to do this; but oh well, i just want everyone to have a nice decent (msg-free) meal as much as possible. As simpl as that and most of all, I enjoy cooking. It's a stress-relief activity!

What i realised recently is that cooking for 2, 3 or 4 people is very different from cooking for one. Back in the old days in Christchurch when i was living all by myself, it's just so easy. Do my groceries once a week, cook every two days and that's it. I don't have to worry about not having enough food to feed everyone or cooking too much resulting in food wastage, or the worst is cooking something that doesn't suit everyone.

I want to make a point that I'm not complaining here. I enjoy cooking but i just don't like to see food to be wasted and worst of all, i don't like listening to complaints, especially complaints saying i cooked too much. It seriously makes my heart aches sometimes.

Well, like i said, I'm not responsible to cook dinner for all my "housemates". I do it as a courtesy and because i'm a full time student. But I seriously don't like to see my effort for cooking dinner is taken for granted.

Food Wastage
i normally cook dinner every weekday except for some fridays. If i don't cook on any weekdays due to some special occasions, i will inform my "housemates" so that they could sort out their dinner themselves. Although again, some would actually comment that i don't really have to do that, but it's a courtesy thing. In return, I always hope that i will get a simple text (not last minute text) from whoever that decides not to have dinner at home. This will make it easier for me to prepare the food and to avoid wasting food. Unfortunately, this tiny request hardly happens? Why? Am i asking too much?

There's a point to note here: Wasting food is just wasting your own money because you contribute to the weekly grocery expenditure as well.

Too much food?
Having too much food on the table is very much related to previous paragraph about food wastage. The only occasion when there is too much leftover is when someone did not show up for dinner without informing me. Well, I only cook as I told and again, it is YOUR money that you are wasting because YOU paid for the groceries too.

In other occasions, i always cook adequately. I don't think i have ever cooked too much. You judge if for yourself: I normally have three pieces of chicken thigh, a plate of vege to feed five people (yes, I have the leftovers for lunch the following day). Is it really that much?

Another comment that i received (that keeps me pondering for a while) is: "It is a psychological thing that having too much food in front of you will tempt you to eat more". Well, i have to agree with this comment, but sometimes due to the difference in dinner time, it seems like i have cooked too much for the people who have earlier dinner but in actual fact, it is the same portion everyday! The funny thing is these comments never come up when all four of us have dinner at the same time. Why is that? I personally think it is an irresponsibile comment because you yourself have to take responsibility of the amount of food you eat and your own diet. You have to know how to resist temptation!

Well, after all, i don't think i deserve to receive all these harsh comments or looking at my food ended up in the waste bin. I volunteered myself to do weekly grocery shopping for the household and i volunteered myself to cook dinner on weekdays. It is then your responsibility to inform me to avoid food wastage and your call to control your own appetite.

However if any of you prefer not to have dinner at home at all, just let me know. This could possibly avoid some disagreement or unhappiness in the house. I don't want to turn my interest in cooking as another burden in the house. Oh well, i can still cook for MYSELF! =)

Sleepless nights

It's been a long long time since i last posted something here. Oh well, I have been really busy with my assignments, research projects, presentations...etc.

Sleepless nights....

Have you ever felt really tired till ur brain suddenly shuts down?
Have you ever tried lying on the bed knowing that your body wants to rest but your brain refuses to?

Another two months... hopefully.

Fatigue

It's 2.15am now. I've been planning to sleep early (as in sleep before midnight) for the past few days but i always end up sleeping at 2ish.... student life aye?! assignments to do, projects to kick start at this stage and lots of readings to be done...

I can feel that my body clock starts to change.... changing me back into a nocturnal person. ^___^ ah, i must admit that i find that studying in the middle of the night is way nicer... feels like the night is longer and there's hardly any distraction as well. BUT, the weather is turning cooler nowadays.... i just feel like sleeping.... oh well, guess there's always an excuse to be lazy.

hmm.... can someone please help me with my construction project management project? how long does the whole process of building a simple one storey office building take?? my mind has been spinning hard for the past few days thinking about this project. argh... now i wish i'm a structural engineer.... >.<>.<

Laziness

Laziness is killing me. I'm feeling so lazy... probably too much things in my mind now?

Ah...

Easter

Easter weekend has just started. Well, it’s a one-week holiday break for me because my lecture on next Tuesday has been cancelled and I do not have lectures on Wednesday. Yippee!

I don’t think it will be much of a holiday for me because I have to start doing some serious readings and studying. I just found out that most of the syllabuses that I’m learning now are pretty relevant to what the local Civil Engineering graduates did in their undergraduate degree which is somewhat different from what I was taught in Christchurch. Anyway, I borrowed a few reference books and I think it will in some ways help me. =)

Speaking about my varsity life, it’s pretty relaxing in a way that I do not have lectures for half of the week. I only have 12 hours of lectures a week but I do have a lot of extra reading and assignments to do on a weekly basis. Not too much of a mission for me but again, I have given myself a relatively high target to achieve this time which makes it tougher and giving myself unnecessary stress I assume?

Apart from the 12 hours lectures, I have two free weekdays in a week, Wednesday and Friday. I promised my employer that I will go back to work on these two days IF they need me there. So, for the past few weeks, I have been working on a casual basis but I’m really disappointed to find out that I will not get paid this month, they said that all casual staff are paid one month in arrears. >.<

Ah well, life is like that when you are not working anymore and you don’t get student allowance. Sometimes I wonder whether if I have made the right step, probably because people around me are not very supportive and therefore making me very confused.

Ahh….

Leap Year

Yup, it's leap year this year and it only happens once in every four years i believe? And this is my second leap year in New Zealand, away from home. It's been six years away from home... can't believe that time really flies. I can still remember my first day here, my first day at unihall, my first attempt trying to make friends with someone here, my first home here, my first job application, my first interview, moving up north to Auckland, my first permanent job as a traffic engineer.... etc.

Anyway....

Two weeks ago, I managed to make a decision – quitting my current job (which have been giving me $$ to survive in this city for the past 2+ years) and to pursue my Masters Degree. Yes, I’m going to be a full time student again. In fact, my student life officially starts next Monday. Fingers crossed that I could pass and graduate this November. That’s my only aim at this moment, and as I mentioned before, my plan for 2008 is to complete my Masters Degree.

Anyway, I’ve been relaxing at home for two weeks now. I managed to tidy up all the mess in the house, and to do another round of housekeeping of my junks which were once considered precious. Well, it’s always good to throw away stuff when you have the “courage” to do so.

Will blog again when my school starts. Am I looking forward to studying again?? I need my confidence back.

Summer

It’s been pretty warm recently. I can’t really concentrate at work because of the terrible ventilation in the office that easily makes me tired. Argh… sucks!

Anyway, one good thing about summer is that we have longer days. Nowadays, I have a new “hobby” – walking after dinner! Yeah, sounds like what old people like to do… but oh well, it really makes me feel good. =) Our record so far was approximately 10km walk last Friday, journey started from newmarket then went to remuera, orakei and parnell before coming back to newmarket.

Our longest walking route so far

New Start

Exactly four months… I haven’t had the chance or probably haven’t had the mood to blog for four months! Probably I think I was just too occupied with my work (due to limited resources at work) and been busy thinking about my 2008 plan.

Now 2008 is here, I’m glad that I have got a plan for this year and I already started to think about what’s next…. i.e. what do I want to do next year. Hmm… I better stop thinking too much about future as it’s full of uncertainties. It might change next second and it’s a bit too early to think about next year anyway – it’s only January now. >.< Anyway, Happy New Year and a belated Merry Xmas to everyone!!!

I had a great Xmas break this time. Although it’s only a two-week break, but I felt that this holiday is actually quite long and relaxing. I went to Paihia & Cape Reinga before Xmas break with family, then to Christchurch for three days during the Xmas Break, and a one-day trip to Tauranga just before the Xmas break ends.


Paihia - Hole in the Rock Trip... dolphins! =)

Oh, I also got addicted to cross-stitching. Yup, it’s pretty cool and really addictive. I started staying up until 1am every night and I gave up going online chatting with my mates. Then I started getting addicted to Sudoku and Kakuro when I went down south to Christchurch. And guess what, I’m still addicted to it now! I have to finish either a Kakuro puzzle or a Sudoku puzzle before I go to sleep every night. Hmm… I seriously wonder how long this addiction will last.


Cross-stitching.... not done yet. =)

Counting down…. One more month….one more month to a new phase of my life. =)