Well Hello Again

It's 2017 and I'm still alive.  A procrastinator still, as evidenced by 6 freaking years without blogging anything.  I knew this blog still existed but it moved to the back of my mind, where my intentions to exercise more and to play my guitar regularly were slowly collecting dust.
So many things have changed but so many things are also the same.  I can't mention them all in one post so what I'll do is to comment on each past entry, looking at it with fresh eyes.
Let's see how this goes...

I've Moved!

It was a wonderful two years in my teeny tiny studio apartment and now I have decided to move on to a bigger place. Yes, photos are in order but I can't find my camera and my new one-bed is still a mess.

Maybe in a few days weeks?

My Haphazard Take on Baking Bread Pudding

I had some slices of bread I didn't want to eat the usual way so I decided to mash them up and transform them into pudding.

Aside from butter and sugar, I had all the other ingredients on hand. A quick trip to the corner store made it all complete.

First, I soaked the bread slices in the milk. A first I wanted to take out the crusts but the it had the multi-grains struck to it. Maybe the extra crunch wouldn't be so bad.

After checking the recipe I realized that the milk should have been hot when I soaked the bread slices. I quickly nuked it and voila - bread slices in hot milk.

While waiting for the bread to turn into mush, I mixed 1 egg, 3 heaping tablespoons of sugar (I used the tablespoon they use for Chinese soups :p), a capful of vanilla (I reckon it's around 1 teaspoon) and what I think was 4 tablespoons of butter. Maybe I should have melted the butter to get a more exact measurement but I like to live dangerously. I'm sure it will melt while I mix all of the stuff together.

Not. No matter who fast I swirled it around the butter did not melt. I microwaved it for 30 seconds hoping the butter would melt and that the egg wouldn't turn itself into a scramble. My prayers were answered.

I poured the egg-butter solution to my soaked bread pieces and mixed them together. The whole thing smelled wonderful even if it looked like my cat's vomit.

After 30 minutes of baking, I took it out and found it still a bit mushy. So I microwaved it for another 7 minutes. It doesn't say that in the recipe but hey, it worked.

It won't win any awards but it was edible.

My first Lindt Advent Calendar

My boss surprised us Monday morning with a cool gift: a bright red Lindt advent calendar for each of us in the department.
It has little windows (or doors) that you open each day until the end of Advent. Inside is a quote (in German) and a chocolatey treat.

I began opening some windows and limited myself to three today (even if I could open 7 - being the 7th day of December) but 7 chocolates would be too much for my waistline.

I looked up the quote by Giacomo Casanova. It translates, "Love is three-quarters curiosity".

Indeed. The other one says, "Lindor heart milk chocolate". I devoured it as an afternoon pick-me-up. Mmmm.

Happy to know that I'll be getting more of these tomorrow!

Good Karma is Great Holiday Investment

budget planner – Mint.com

Wish I Had A Windfall

It amazes me how winners of super lotteries end up in financial ruin after a few years. The odds of winning the jackpot is surely a million to one - why waste the chance of lifetime and lose it all eventually? That being said, I'm getting myself ready for a windfall. I've listed all the things I would do if I win a million dirhams (or dollars/euro/pounds/whatever) so I won't be caught by surprise and buy the whole stock of Tiffany & Co. at the Mall of the Emirates.

my precioussss...

(how delicious it looks and all for $800! mere loose change)

Paloma's Sugar Stacks Ring

from Tiffany&Co

I Think I Will Go To Cyprus

A few weeks after Hanoi, I became restless. Wanderlust has descended upon me again. But please get me out of Asia. I want to go to Europe or Africa. Not USA because I'm still holding a bitter grudge because they didn't give me a visa. Get over yourself Uncle Sam!!! (As you can see, the issue is still sensitive).

I played with random geographical coordinates in random.org and clicked the random button on wikitravel.com and eventually decided on Cyprus. I hope everything goes well, visa-wise. It's going to be difficult if I begin hating another country.

photo credit: hull.ac.uk