What I Usually Eat

I left the office feeling a bit dazed with the onslaught of meetings, emails and escalations. I had to make a hard stop as it was already quarter to 6pm. That's considered working late here as people are gone from 4pm onwards. In haste, I found myself hopping on a bus that makes a turn to the park, just 2 stops away from my usual route. I got off and went straight to the nearby grocery as I had to grab a couple of things for dinner and for my first attempt on the oven.

Dinner was sliced pepperoni, eggs and cheese sandwich with yummy aioli dressing, and some salad greens. I thought I'd sample the blueberry muffin recipe tonight but as there weren't any blueberries in the shop, it'll have to wait. I've been browsing for recipes on blueberry muffin and quiche as these were my faves. I thought it's easy to make and that I should make some for myself. If I'm happy, then maybe I'll be making more for my friends.

Since I have an oven, i just thought that it's high time that I get to try out all those simple, just pop in the oven type of recipes. So this will be something for me to look forward too. Tomorrow, I'll be grilling salmon for dinner c/o this grilling appliance that my friend gave.

So breakfast will probably be french toast. Will also make some croissant sandwiches for lunch since I'll be on a call until 1pm tomorrow. The croissant at Countdown is really good, warm or cold. It doesn't break and is very soft unlike those that I've had back home. They sure are a better option than sandwich loaf.

Japanese takeaways are popular here. I usually get a teriyaki rice meal from $5 to $8. We also eat at either Thai or Malaysian for Friday lunch. The meals cost a minimum of $12. The cheaper alternatives are the cafes along Park road offering $3.50 sandwiches or pies. I do make sure that I get some vegetable servings in my meals. And I have avoided coffee for quite a while now. We now have two coffee machines that can make really great brews, cafe style. I just don't know how to work on those air and milk frothing which is good coz I've the perfect excuse to skip on caffeine.

I got enough rice and pasta to make me fat. Though I often struggle with their complementary ingredients to make them flavorful enough to eat. Living alone is no fun especially when it comes to dining at home.

Moving to the Burb

The mad rush for Christmas dissipated early this week. Now it's all about keeping the house tidy and just making it homey.

I moved to Mt. Albert, just a 15 minute bus ride from work. It's a back unit of two and it's handy to shops, the Rocket Park and schools. Like what my friend Al said, he won't be surprised if me and my family would stay here for a while, until  we get our own house. So what was the absolute basics that I purchased prior to the move? A duvet, wok, knife, chopping board, a set of cooking utensils and dinnerware.

My friends lent and gave me the following: foam bed, duvet cover, bed spread, bed sheet, coffee table, chair, two foot stools, a small sauce pan, 2 kilos brown rice, a jar of brown sugar, some iodized salt, 1 whole roast chicken, 2 plastic buckets, an empty jug of milk, some homemade biscuits, and fudge brownies.

The unit only had a an electric stove with oven so I was able to cook whenever I felt liked it. I didn't have a fridge though and washing machine for two weeks so I couldn't store perishable food and I had to hand wash my clothes. The delivery guy told me that the washing machine weighed 80 kilos and he complained that he couldn't move it in place coz the bathroom door was blocking it. So he left and when I tried it myself, funny how I had no problem positioning it in place (of course it was still heavy!) without having to remove the door. I also got an electric kettle, broom, clothes' airer, grabbed a microwave and rice cooker that were on sale, and bought a couple more duvets for the rest of my family. The other day, our IndoorOut table and benches arrived. They were surprisingly easy to assemble.


So today I did my first laundry with my new front loader. It's sunny outside and I was able to use both the clothesline and the airer. I'm to go and look for mattresses today. Am not in a hurry to buy but it would be nice to see what's actually out there instead of just going through mailers.

The plants need some trimming and I need to do some weeding. I need to find a rake, shovel and garden gloves. And maybe a garden hat too as the sun's heat here is just too much that you can actually feel it going through your skin. Skin cancer in the making. Gosh! I need to get a sun block too!

My version of a Work-Life Balance

Work is anything that concerns my current employer: inductions, interviews, meetings, calls, planning, presentations, negotiations, consultations, having a chat with colleagues or simply just settling in.

Life includes hosting friends on a Saturday, finding rental properties online after work and on weekends, arranging for property viewing and applying for tenancy, applying for a loan, working on INZ docs by arranging a few visits to the printer room, the JP and the post plus a few phone calls here and there, checking out clearance and on sale items, my weekly laundry and grocery shopping and of course, my daily chat and call from home.

Friday lunch:
Bacon potato salad and Veggie quiche at Columbus

It's been so overwhelming these past few weeks. I spend at least 1 hour everyday walking as part of my daily commute, on top of the daily 2 hour train ride. It can really be exhausting to juggle all these things, to be physically and mentally drained.

This is why I give in to little treats from time to time, ice cream after dinner and lunching out on a Friday. It's only during meals outside the office where I can really clear my head. And yet I still try to take advantage of the free paper in this coffee shop and at home to scour for home deals.

What's That Smell?

Last Friday most of us moved desks to align with the new team assignments. It was only this morning that I noticed something different. There was a faint scent in the air, like stepping into a guy's bedroom! I was a bit bothered by it but since I was seated in a "central" location, then I just have to bear it.

I'm used to working with guys but at least our Pinoy men shower everyday and change into clean clothes everyday.  We do have a shower and I have noticed some of the guys using it coz you can smell them as they'd pass by. Across me sits a Russian, on my right is a Singaporean, across the floor are some Asians: Chinese, Japanese, Indian, a Canadian was seated at the end of our cube while the rest are Kiwis, a German, a South African and I don't know what else. Everyone has an accent so I feel ok not to carry the Kiwi accent. But regardless, I still have to deal with that certain smell in the air! And it's not even summer yet. Oh no!

But despite the distraction, I finally had the time to do some paperwork. I like working with Visio. I'm not really a big fan of PPT. There's just so many Smart Graphics that it makes me feel dumb coz I can't pick the right one for me. What a day it's been! No meetings and I had the whole day to myself! Bliss!

Tomorrow the meetings start again. Argh!

Anzac Biscuits

Marlene packing away some biscuits for me

It was a warm and sunny Saturday. I got my laundry done, and the dishes washed. I've dropped my docs to the post and still had time for afternoon tea with a friend. I brought some grapes with me so we can nibble on it while we chat. 

I guess if you're older you tend to focus on people more. Work I suppose didn't matter if you're 60. What matters to Marlene nowadays is the well-being of her friends. There's a house along View Road that was falling apart. An old man lived there and he didn't have electricity. The neighbor gives him food while a common friend checks in on him whenever she could. Marlene, bit teary-eyed, feels sorry for him and she said she didn't understand why he had to do that to himself. He's depressed and he's alone.

There's a commercial on TV that talks about a group that supports people who are depressed. Depression seems to be the biggest problem here. Kiwi attitude is a can-do attitude, independent and likes DIY things. So perhaps, when people grow old, they try their best to go about things as how they usually would. Their kids had moved and started a family of their own. But maybe not all children wants to look after their old folks. My clueless kababayans mock depression. They couldn't understand why most Kiwis are affected by it. I mean how could they. They're young, and have just started their adventure here as a migrant. They're probably too busy living their lives that they may have not even thought about their aging parents who're left back home. It's a big thing and I hate it when it's just being brushed aside by clueless folks.

So Marlene packed away some anzac biscuits that she made. She said it's time for her to do some baking anyway. Those were Al's favorite. Al just arrived while I was stepping out of the door. He had a pack of biscuits for Marlene. It looked like it had chocolate coating. Al drove his dingy to Charlie's. That boat had been sitting in their backyard for ages and he's only used it once, then fell over. He and Marlene were too busy working that they didn't find the time to take the boat out in the water. And time just passed away until it was too late for him. He suffered a stroke a few years ago and both he and Marlene are just living out their days in their lovely home along Waitake Road with their old dog.

I guess he was curious about how I was faring with my job. I told him that I was doing ok and was just trying to get used to the people that i work with. He did say that I shouldn't be affected or offended by how Kiwis talk. They sure like to use the word "rubbish" and say it roughly, pirate style. That's just them being Kiwi expressing themselves without a care on whether they sound offensive or not. So that's well noted.

I'm just glad to have spent the afternoon at Waitake and not in my room. I get so homesick being in this house.