Had somehow (unconsciously) resolved upon waking up from a long - if fragmented - sleep (22:00 last night to around 07:30 this morning) to work on essay this entire week ... and maybe - dare I hope? - even finish it by this Fri.

However, was distracted by Kathy Reichs and the need for continual feeding. Still, will grimly preservere on.

C emailed a hilarious link to Genesis 2.0; lmao'd at " ... so god became angry, so angry that god lost his temper and cursed the first humans, telling them to go forth and multiply themselves - but not in those words. But the humans took god literally and now there are 6 billion of them ..." XD

The first thing I did when C texted me about MJ's death was to log on to the net. Made sense, since we don't have either a telly or radio. But after checking with BBC - which wouldn't confirm - I hit Twitter (which was wonky, being overloaded with #MichaelJackson, #Cardiac Arrest trending), which still won't confirm, and so had to go to the source of the news TMZ. When BBC confirmed the death, I hit Metafilter - on which the obit post has already garnered 273 comments.

And here I am blogging.

Technology. Hm.

Finally found the Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead double-feature pack at Civic Video on Tues after pole prac. New studio space is pretty awesome (think loft-style penthouse) but would be better if the mirrors are all up.

Have started feeling the urgency of the essay due on 13 Jul. But I've forgotten how to write and essay. 2,500 words seem both too long and too short to handle for the (tentative) topic of "runes and women in the Poetic Edda". Maybe I should rethink my topic.

Sigh. Feeling lethargic - had dreamed incessantly in last night's sleep. In fact, I think at one point I had a dream which bleed into another dream; so, a dream within a dream. Fucks my head, is what that does.

Nothing much this weekend, other than finding Days of Being Wild at JB Hi-Fi for under NZD 20. Got me thinking about collecting all of Wong Kar Wai's full-length films - but possibly not My Blueberry Nights - since I already have Chungking Express (my favorite), Happy Together (found in KL, of all places), In the Mood for Love, and 2046. (I'm a hoarder; it's genetic.)

The film I really want to get my hands on, however, is Fallen Angels; it's 100-proof depression topped off with simple tentative hopefulness, and I love it. It's also the coolest film I've ever seen, and quite possibly the only thing that'll ever seduce me into smoking.

Rach and I managed to catch each other on Skype today - so cool!

Read about the nutritional value of the kiwi fruit some time back, I'd since resolved to eat a one every day. For the most part, I've managed to do so.

I know I'm a bit of a hypochodriac, but the way I've been feeling these couple of weeks, I can't help but think something must be wrong.

Also, I woke up with a fucking headache this morning and had taken the last one of my children's asprins (which I prefer to the ones for adults - I don't like taking aspirins so I try to stick to as low a dosage as possible; also, the children's ones are cherry-flavored and taste better).

When the headache's alleviated and C awaken, I wanna go rummage at the Warehouse for the Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz 2-in-1 DVD.

I <3 palmiers.



And I bought 3.

^_^

When I got to Le Moulin yesterday after dropping off the book at the school library and looking for my ENGL 406 texts in the bookshop, it was 16:07, but the bakery was already closed - guess they sold out - and so, no palmier for me.

So I went to Simply Paris and got 2 tarty things.



The chocolate and grape tart, although I'm sure it's got a fancier French name.



The supposedly apple one, but the fruit slices in the cream/custard in this tart is definitely not apple. I supposed I was given the rhubarb one by mistake.

Expensive little things, and yet my lust for Le Moulin's simple palmier wasn't satisfied.

Maybe I'll run out for 3 now, cold and sunny weather, exploding head, and swelling throat be damned.

I feel ... hopeless. Feel like something's wrong, but I just can't pinpoint what exactly. I think I might be unravelling (which is why I was always so anal and obsessive-compulsive about discipline in the first place - but notice the past-tense).

Yesterday was a little better: Bought 2 palmiers from Le Moulin (only NZD 1.80 each; the one I bought from the City Market sold by The French Baker cost nearly twice of that!), and my rich beef casserole turned out wonderful.

Will walk up to the school library to drop off a book and maybe buy my books for ENGL 406. Had just checked out VicBooks' online shop and found out the set texts will set me back NZD 197.95 - and that's just for 2 books and course notes.

Hur-bloody-rah.

So I walked all the way to Le Moulin yesterday only to discover it's closed on Mondays. No palmier. Then I made my way to Simply Paris, thinking to find one there - damn if it wasn't closed on Mondays too. Since I can't think of any other French bakeries in this part of town, I went to Moore Wilsons which has a decent select of (fresh) baked goods. No palmier.

Sigh. T'was not meant to be.

I've been getting throbs on the top left of my head lately; wonder what's up with that?

Still PMS-ing; therefore, still bored and restless, but a wee bit less frustrated. Started translating 'The Vows of the Jómsborg Vikings'. Am WAAAAY behind in school work. Sigh.

Very bad PMS: Bored, restless, irritable and frustrated.

LING 410 has been giving me heartburns since the beginning of the year - and the bloody course hasn't even started! Prolly is a sign of things to come. Should've opted out at the beginning of the year - and I suppose I still can, since it's a summer paper - but I'm sticking it out like I stuck out the final 2 years for my diploma. Sheer stupidity and stubbornness, no doubt, but I'm nothing if not that.

So it looks like I can't make it back home for the Asian Pole Summit (11/19-22) and Rach's visit. BUMMER. FUCKING BUMMER.


... Maybe I should take a walk to clear my frustration. Le Moulin will be a good destination. I'm craving a palmier after yesterday's trip (C's blog and photos) to the City Market.

Well, things turned out okay - although the adobo didn't taste as good as the last time I made it.

Made 10 kimbap rolls in total! Stuffing: Takuan, surimi, cucumber, Spam Classic, carrot, and tamgoyaki, but I forgot to add the tamagoyaki until I was on my 7^th roll or so ... Sigh.









I don't like white rice, so I used the minimum amount possible.

The sukjunamul turned out okay too, even sans spring onions and sesame seeds. I wonder if I should add sugar to it. It tastes pretty okay though, with soy sauce, sesame oil, minced garlic, and chili powder.



All in all, I feel ... a sense of achievement. =)

Had decided to spend this day doing cooking stuff. So, after I woke up at around 08:30, and had made self coffee and warmed up leftovers for breakfast - received a surprise call from Rach in Houston in between! - I got around to planning the cooks.

Looks like the only times I get out of the house now is to do grocery shopping - awfully easy with Yan's Supermarket being about 2-3 blocks away, the Warehouse a block away, and Moore Wilsons 3 blocks away.

Have cut up and marinated the chicken for the adobo tonight, and made the tamagoyaki for the kimbap (to be made as soon as I log off); will attempt to make sukjunamul (sans spring onions 'cuz I don't like 'em) after that.



...I am being domesticated, aren't I? =|

Saw this at Yan's yesterday and it tickled me, so I just had to snap pictures of it - the warning labels are obviously tacked on by Yan's staff and not part of the original packagings:

So I learned yesterday at pole that it was because my skin is too dry that I can't adhere to the pole. Will moisturize religiously from now on.

Watched Shaun of the Dead - it's hilarious, but also scary (for me; I'm a scaredy-cat). C and her zombie-fetish ... Maybe I will buy a copy since it's just NZD 10.

Also: Influenza A hits central Welly. Will now monitor C and self for symptoms. Maybe there's a need to bring out my trusty tube of hand sanitizer which was bought in a Boots pharmacy in Chiang Mai. Boots pretty much rocks.

Almost forgot:

Was out looking for folic acid pills on Saturday because I'd finished the stash I'd brought from home. So went I into the Unichem at Readings and asked whereabouts the folic acid pills are. The guy behind the counter counter-asked, "Is it for someone who wants to get pregnant or is pregnant?"

Gah.

No, it's for someone who is thalassemic. =/

C, of course, had a laugh out of it.

C made kimbap this weekend. It was scrumptious and addictive - and pretty too! - filled with yellow takuan, green cucumber, pinkish-red surimi, and strips of omelet. Thought I might try making it myself one day, and will pop by the Korean shop either on Dixon or Cambridge Terrace to look for Korean sausage to put into it.

Also: Found a close rellie of the Merlion on a wall at Welcome Takeaway's last night.



Definitely a male, what?

The best of the shorts I saw last night was Somewhere Only We Know. I actually teared in the beginning and at the end.

While over at the Warehouse this morning to grab a new kettle (the one we bought when we moved in died), I found a lone copy of Satoshi Kon's Tokyo Godfathers going for just NZD 5! Such a fucking steal! I could hardly believe my eyes!

I feel like I've been domesticated. I wish we had an oven and a proper kitchen so I can try out recipes (this, coming from someone who'd wanted OUT of home ec.), and I actually find housekeeping quite enjoyable - although, of course, with such a tiny matchbox flat as ours, housekeeping is ridiculously easy.

Oh boy, I Can't Think Straight.

Paramount was packed with women last night. All sorts of women. Everybody seems to know each other. They streamed into the theater, lingered around looking for familiar faces, and, as one girl said to her companion, "I'm waiting to be waved at!" I was both awed and intimidated - and conflicted (as I had been before).

The film is so rough around its edges, so many things when the film first starting running came to my mind promising a bad, bad, bad D grade movie - but, Goddess, the gorgeous Asian actresses in it! And the dialogue/acting - although a little stilted - proved funny. Hilarious, even, at times.

I'm getting my hands on the DVD when it comes out.

Also: For today's (possibly) solo pole prac, I wonder if I dared attempt the Spatchcock - or, as I prefer to call it - Felix's Bow.

Yesterday, after the movie when the lights came on in the theater, a bunch of middle-aged dykes (my assumption) gathered at near the exit, talking about the film.

Exclaimed one: "I paid $15 to watch this?!"

Oh well, at least I paid only $12.50 with student concession - also, it really wasn't so bad, except, for a documentary, I didn't feel it was well-researched enough. And I chose to watch it because I'm convinced I'm bi-phobic. Gah.

I really hope not though.

Last week of school for the trimester. Shit, half the year's gone and I've nothing to show for it. =(