Sprained knee.

Well, the diagnosis of the MRI was a sprained knee. Phew. Nothing biggie. Just gotta go for a physio session to learn some exercises to do to help my knee recover. My appointment is for this Friday noon and I'll only go once and I can do them at home...for the next three months. Gosh.

I want to mention the MRI experience cos it's a really woah-it's-my-first-time kinda big moment. And I don't really hope that I can experience it again as it's not good to be in the hospital in the first place (not to mention it's really expensive...). Remember those drama serials where people lie motionless in a hospital gown, being pushed into this tunnel-like thing? Yes yes yes! The tunnel-like experience!

I was not allowed to move a single ounce as any movement would cause the images taken to change. The room was cold. Clad only in a thin hospital gown, even when there was a thick blanket draped over me, I still felt the immense chill right down to my ten shivering toes. The nurse warned that there will be a hammering sound - that's when the machine takes the shots of the knee. So earphones were placed upon my ears, and she said she'll play some teenage-like music (like what the hell is teenage-like music??). Heart beating wildly (for some unfathomable reason), I felt as though my heary was about to leap out any moment. Even though the process is not painful at all, the whole procedure just created some sort of tense atmosphere. At least, according to me. Not moving a single inch should be easy, I mean, just imagine yourself asleep. BUT. Being awake and MADE to not move was killing. I was like willing my body not to move and it ended up being really tiring mentally and physically. It didn't help that after a while, half my body felt numb from the MRI scan.

The moment it was done, I was like "Finally!".

Anyway, I just realised I have tons of photos to upload all over again aargh. But here's the hazelnut gateau pictures first of all. (:

Torn meniscus?

My right knee had been hurting on and off for the past couple weeks. I kept making up lame excuses for it - water retention, old age (!!!) or even lack of exercise. A visit to the doctor about three weeks back didn't reveal any particular useful diagnosis, so I just tried really hard to cut back on my exercise regime (what regime?) to reduce the stress put upon my knee. Trust me, it's not an easy task. Considering the fact that I wanted to go jogging, gym and so on to you know, balance the inputs and outputs system. But. I couldn't ignore a blatant injury of some sort even though I wanted to feel the exhilaration rush after a good run or something.

I made another trip to the Doc, and he recommended me to an orthopedic surgeon. I had my appointment with the orthopedic guy this morning. He examined my knee, asked a couple of questions, and then asked me to go for an MRI scan. He said there was a possibility that I have torn meniscus, but can't be too sure which kind, and the scan would clear things up. I was prepared to do so, for my Doc had mentioned this to me before in the event that my knee still bothers me. But the price for the scan was a little staggering to me. $700 or so for an MRI scan. Gosh. People in the medical field certainly earn plenty huh?

I was all prepared to do the scan today but all the slots were booked (the nurse joked that Singaporeans are all so rich to do MRI scans so easily...snorts.) so I have to go back on Monday to do the scan, and then go back to the orthopedic guy for a diagnosis. I hope everything goes well and that it's nothing serious. I googled meniscus when I got home and some term - chondromalacia - seemed likely for my case. But yeah, I leave it to the experts to decide what's actually wrong with me. So yup, the mystery of my knee will be resolved on the coming Monday. Fingers crossed.

I went shopping yesterday with Wenli at Bugis...and got myself a couple things again. ;) CNY is truly an excuse for major retail therapy. Squeezing through a throng of people in the narrow lanes at Bugis Street, trying my darnest to breathe in some fresh air without getting knocked around by a flying elbow or an oversized bag, I wonder, is the economy really in a dire state cos it seems like half of Singapore are out shopping with me.

I'm going to meet my JC girls for dinner and possibly, dessert/chill out at Laurent Bernard at Robertson Quay hopefully! (: Photographs of food will gotta wait till after Monday I reckon, since I'll be busy selling my stuff at a Holland V flea market tomorrow with Jia and Wenli and my doctor's appointment on Monday.

Monday is also the day I gotta wake up extra early to choose my tutorial allocations. I was so pissed with myself the other day when I checked the website and realised that timeslots for one of my modules were already out like for TWO days on the day I checked and thus, I didn't get the tutorial I wanted (Tuesday morning). Now, unless some miracle that someone would drop out of the class I want (fat chance), I'm going to be having a 4-day week. Gah. I wanted to have a perfect 3-day week record for the whole duration of my university days. sulks. What makes it more exasperating is that for that module my 2-hr tutorial will be on Wednesday - my only class for the day! Aargh. -.-"

What do you mean by ___

I was shopping in town yesterday with Jamie for CNY clothes. We were browsing the rack of clothes in one of the tiny shops at Far East level 2, when suddenly, the girl beside me who had been in the shop for quite a while, said tentatively "Michelle?".

I turned to get a better look at her, she was familiar. Mentally whirls through list of people I've met before and try to match her with a name. "Joan?" I tried. "Jolene!" Oh. It came back to me, one of Bing's friend at IES. We started chatting and something she said struck me. It went along the lines of "heard your voice and it sounded so familiar....". The whole scenaoio? Sense of déjà vu.

Just last month, I was in a train with Aiting. We boarded at JE and were headed to Outram. With only a few more stops to our destination, a girl in front of me with her earphones on removed them and just turned around. "Michelle?" It was Pei Qi.

Then just a few moments later while waiting for Law at Outram, Aiting, Ch and me were chatting (in fact I was hidden by a pillar) when suddenly another "Michelle!" made me look up. Liyi! Oh my god. Freaky. Anyway, I asked Liyi why she saw me cos I was partially hidden behind a pillar. She replied something like, "Oh your voice! I recognise it."

I wonder is it my voice that is distinctive, or is the volume of it plain loud. Hmmm. Ok, I shall flatter myself that I have a special voice that once heard, people won't forget. snigger.

ANYWAY. Yes, I deviate from the main topic. Shopping! Hoho. I managed to get an outfit (dress and belt) from Far East. Colour tone - white, with a splash of pink at the hem. Jamie jamie, should or should I get that white, with the pink stripes across, heels we saw at C&K? Hahaha. Utterly bimbo combo. Tsk. It's fortunate that I didn't choose anything red. Sister's new year dress is red, so if I wear the same colour, imagine how we would look like walking together (here comes the fire engines! shudder.)

I spend the majority of today making the filbert gateau that I made a couple of months back. Pictures to come soon. ;)

Pictures 16

Random pictures...

Happy New Year!

Christmas lightings from the car's perspective...

Ice cream at Daily Scoop.

Dinner with the girls, but since I decreed my camera was lousy compared to the girls brand new cameras, I only took ONE shot before dumping it back in my bag. hoho.

Happily at Wala Wala enjoying the music.

I swear Siew looks like a rabbit here. A pity is not a cat, since she loveeeeeeees to "mew" so much. smirks.

Random bento pictures...

Soba noodles for sis, veg and meats for her and me.

Inari pouches stuffed with rice and corn, screambled egg, steamed vegetables.

Kimchi fried rice with fried egg, gyoza, strips of coloured peppers and broccoli.

Yaki onigri, crisp pork bits, pumpkin, coloured peppers, broccoli, tomatoes and white button mushroom.

My weekend.

This weekend has been great so far. In fact, count that as the entire week. ;)

I had a short walk about Bugis with my sister darling on Thursday and happily got myself new sandals! Sister's buys were of cos, more than me (what's new...) and of the pricier range (her motto being: I'm working thereafore I can afford to splurge while you...-leaves the thought to be continued-).

I met up with Ade and Sy for dinner at Holland V. It was a short catch up but nevertheless, good to see the two of them after a short period of not seeing them. It's hard to catch both girls together at times due to their school schedules and whatnots.

Saturday found me at Holland V (yet again). Having dinner with Siew at Cha Cha Cha (food was great!) before settling ourselves at Wala Wala. Shirlyn and The UnXpected was playing that night and we were there at the recommendation from Siew's friend. It was a great decision cos the band was pretty cool. Great vocals from the lead singer, and the band was not bad themselves. It was my first time seeing a violinist performing as part of a band so it was pretty cool yup. I'll certainly be back again to see whether they are consistent...and of cos, at an earlier time cos we were there about 8ish and we couldn't get a table. Poo. At least the 1-for-1 made up for it.

We left halfway during the second set to head for The Cathay to catch Passengers with Siew's friends and who should I see but Ms Shirleen. (sings: It's a small small world la la la la la~) Yeah, our 4B1 outing yes yes yes? The movie was hmmm, how should I say, it's not good, but neither does it suck big-time. It's just, well, mediocre? smirks.

And today, yes, I awoke for a meal with the family at (guess where...) Holland V Crystal Jade. My niece Stacy was there and she was simply atrociously adorable. Haha. Come to think of it, for the last few days, I've been sleeping late and waking up late (missing the most important meal of the day - breakfast. boo.) and shucks, I foresee if I do not go to sleep like NOW, I'll miss it again tomorrow cos I'm actually meeting my friend for lunch at 1230pm and if I wake up past 11, I'll decide to wait till lunch. And that's a bad bad idea. Since Sis and I actually managed to pick up some bread from Provence (you know, the very nice bread shop at Holland V).

I was planning to upload pictures, but yeah, sleep beckons (or rather, the thought of breakfast tomorrow is willing me to go to bed. smirk.) So, I'll do it after my lunch tomorrow or something. ;)

Looking forward to the coming week. It's gonna be a busy busy week of shopping, meet-ups and a Timbre session. Oh. And baking goodies too of cos. My hands are itchy. (:

Reading.

I never knew how much reading was still in trend until I was on the train yesterday heading towards Bugis, and I happen to see three people who seem to be between the ages of late teens to early twenties immersed in their books on their train journey.

I first noticed one guy who entered the train, hand clutching a book and as he stood near me, proceeded to open his book and read. There he was, book in one hand, a single stalk of bright yellow sunflower in his other. It seemed to good to be true. A guy who reads, and gives flowers. Aww. A sight to melt any heart indeed. ;) I wondered who the lucky recipient of the cheerful flower was. His girlfriend who he was meeting? A friend who was sick? His mother? Or it could be that someone gave it to him. I love looking at a stranger and speculating stuff. Sometimes. ;)

Anyway, another two girls got on the train and opened their own novels. My my. And here I thought, in this technology-driven world, that the hobby of reading was slowly dwindling away. Well, not with the news that I actually do have friends who like to read (as I found out lately) and many people do, in fact, visit the library frequently (I mean, have you read today's newspaper article about the huge sum of library fines people owe the NLB?).

Hmmm, reading is simply an enjoyable pleasure. Once I start, I can't seem to put down the book till I finish it. Which means I can spend a few hours straight on a book. I can finish several books in one day if I'm in the mood, so it helps that I have more than one library card.

I'm heading to the library again tomorrow. I have like tons of books to return, some which includes baking recipe books. I can't wait to stock up again. (:

Focaccia love.

The planned focaccia bread making was attempted today! ;) It was a simple enough recipe which called for only a handful of ingredients. I followed it as much as I could, substituting bits and pieces here and there where I deemed appropriate. The final results was simply rewarding to say the least. The smell of freshly baked focaccia in the oven was akin to a step away from heaven's door.

I can't believe how easy it is to actually make bread from scratch. In the past, I was slightly wary of the ingredient - yeast, and thus was not interested in trying my hand at the bread genre. However, I found instant yeast in the local supermart and bought it, together with gelatine (another never tried before ingredient), determined to actually do something about trying new things now that money has been spent. ;)

Two key ingredients - Herbs and olive oil; Dough before proofing; Dough doubled in size after proofing; Mini round focaccias.

Sprinkled mixed herbs, black pepper, salt and chopped fresh garlic atop the dough.

The recipe produced enough dough for me to shape into one large rectangle and three small rounds. It's just a personal preference that I love mini portions of baked goodies. They just look so cute and dainty. ;) This recipe is a keeper, I foresee that we'll be buying less of the focaccia bread we used to buy since I have plenty of bread flour to use up before I fly back to Brisbane. I'll be making additions along the way, like perhaps add sundried tomatoes, and mixing the herbs into the dough the next time I make it to add flavour to the bread.

Thus, here's a toast to trying out new things in the kitchen. A munch of focaccia later, my thoughts have already flown to flick through the list of recipes I have in mind to try out. Scrolling through the long list in my mind, I knew without any hesitation that the next thing I bake would be a cake. The problem is, what cake? I'm torn between three choices, the hazelnut gateau I tried a couple months before, a matcha and chocolate opera cake or a strawberry charlotte. Choices. Choices.

Cinnamon rolls.

Moving on to try a new genre of baked goods - bread. I baked the cinnamon rolls a couple days back, probably just a couple days after the earl grey muffins (which my sister snubbed not behind my face but to my face - in her own words: "It's not sweet one! I'm not diabetic, so why did you bake such diabetic food." -.-).

Considering the fact that cinnamon and sugar are certainly not diabetic, I set out to make the below rolls.



They were pretty yummy straight out of the oven, I couldn't resist popping one in my mouth while it was still hot cos the cinnamon smell wafting through the kitchen was seriously going into my head, inducing me to taste one the moment I removed the tray from the oven. When cooled, it tasted crunchy, an okay recipe I guess. But I still preferred the taste straight out of the oven. ;)

When I offered them to my sister (her majesty, no less), she actually looked at them and proceeded to say: "I don't like these kind, I like the kind like bread that type." I was torn between the urge to force one down her throat or to throttle her. 好难伺候哦. snigger. Surprisingly, she did try it the next day I think, and say it was not bad. lols.

I think, with plenty of free time on my hands, I'm baking at a much frequent pace. Ups and downs of it. ;) Next on list: foccacia bread!

Oh yeah, have been hanging out with friends again these few days. Meeting some of the hockey babes for quick lunch and a session at Minds Cafe, a karaoke session with Jos and mahjong session at my house again yesterday with the usual kakis, lunch/shopping (guilty) at IMM with Wen today before heading to Daily Scoop and had ice-cream there with Jia.

I'm in need of live music again. Can't wait for Saturday. ;)

Happy 2009!

So I had a date with Wenli last night. We headed to town late about 11 and had supper...till the new year. (: We were chatting normally and, had in fact, missed the first few moments of the year till we checked the time. Haha. Wen, remember what we were doing for the first few minutes of the new year? snigger.

We caught Twilight, and there were still many people catching the show even though it's been screening for quite some time already - proves that I'm not the slowest person in Singapore to watch it. ha! The movie was not bad. As someone who've already read the book, there are bound to be comparisons made between the novel and the film. The novel was more lengthy, describing things and people in extreme detail, while the movie cut them off, and even altered some of the story content. Oh well, it's hard to bring to life a book as always, so I'm not saying it's a bad movie, just that it's an alright show.

One thing I can't fathom - is Robert Pattinson that hot? I don't see his appeal. Not before in Harry Potter, and not now in Twilight. I mean, I could see why girls of all ages would be charmed by him, but personally, he's just not my type to swoon over. ;)

Anyway, here are the earl grey muffins I was talking about yesterday. I found the recipe at some website and it looked really healthy, with no butter, minimal olive oil and sugars - seemed like a low-fat muffin to me. So I decided to bookmark for future reference. Boy am I glad I did make it cos it tasted pretty good for a muffin without all the butter and sugars. I don't feel as guilty popping one of these miniature muffins into my mouth compared to say, a regular frosted cupcake? heh.


Baking them wasn't without troubles. The previous brand earl grey teabags we had in the house were attacked by pests, and I realised it (luckily) before I dumped a pack of tealeaves into the batter. I was opening up the teabag on a plate to sift through the contents, when I noticed miniscule things crawling about the plate. Eeew. Talk about off-putting. I had to leave the house to get a box of Twinings Earl Grey. tsk. The Twinings Earl Grey smell was really prominent even before I opened the plastic packaging of the box. Yum.



Oh did I mention I recently acquired a new toy??? I mentioned to Dad that I wanted a SLR-like camera, minus the bulk weight of the SLR. He handed me Panasonic DMC-FZ50. It looks really cool. I've been fiddling around with it these couple of days. I'm not even 1/3 through the manual, but I figure that nothing beats hand-on practice. ;) This entry's pictures were taken using the new camera. I love how the effects turned out. (:

I am thankful that Dad deals with electronic equipment - handy when I've developed an interest in photography - and that he passes me stuff when I ask for it. I am truly grateful for having a supportive Dad who indulges me so much.





Happy 2009!