oops i did it again

went a little crazy and might've accidentally made a litre of salad dressing. got fed up of my oil and acid separating and went down the rabbit hole that's the internet in search of the perfect emulsion. found one that gave the science (yay for a pseudo-scientific mind) and found that with the right stabiliser (mustard) the dressing stayed a lovely consistency, much like that of aioli without the egg yolk. so the happy problem is that i'm now going to eat lots of salads to finish my reservoir of dressing before it goes bad. it's really not as gross and thick and yellow as it looks in the photo - just got lazy to toss it properly before taking the shot. but it's good! and i'm trying to stop myself from drinking it neat because although i used EVO, it's probably not the best of things to have coating my insides.

and while we're on the topic of obsession / compulsion, here's what happened with tea a couple of years ago.

the problem with a massive appetite

is that much as i go on about "eating less but better", eating less doesn't satiate. makes me wonder if there's something wrong with my leptin receptors because after a boozy three course meal (with extra pudding because the order got mixed up!) i was still ravenous. friends picked a lovely place in bethnal green for lunch. they're genuine foodie types who remain ahead of the curve, often on to the next big thing. they were keen to check out this restaurant before its awarded a star. then again, my local's just lost its star (haha) so maybe it'll be easier to get a table. it was one of those places that i thought was good and consistent but friends had varying experiences. but truth be told, i only brought visitors, and only when i was feeling lazy and not wanting to go too far so might not have been the most representative of experiences.

back to lunch! gorgeous quail with mushroom (above, done perfect!) followed by lamb breast (belly?) that was done just right as well. each dish was well executed and fault-less, apart from quantity that left me wanting more. guess it's one of those chichi things where you don't overwhelm the diner with a mountain of meat. but i'm a growing girl and it's getting cold which means i'm more ravenous than usual.

hence after lunch, the mister and i rather sheepishly went to a korean cafe under the railway and had sweet potato noodles, and coffee. much as i enjoy modern british, gimme azn any time. always happier with azn, there's no escaping our roots.

 (no, that's not the mister but dr. koo, orthodontist-to-be and photographer extraordinaire)

one last look porto

back to porto after 24h upriver. had the option of dining at the in-house michelin star-ed restaurant but the mister and i don't really appreciate haute gastronomy. it's nice once in a while, and if it's there for the taking we won't turn down an invite. yet can't help but feel it's overrated, and not often bang for buck, if you get what i mean. turns out 2/3 of the 30-strong group felt the same way and V, of simple carb fame, found us a quaint little japanese by the water. having had a good experience with japanese food in portugal earlier over summer (go figure!) the mister and i were game to see how this compared with the authentic japanese we enjoyed in lisbon. can't remember where we went (sorry!) but it was good and what made it even better was the bottle of port we'd at the end. EUR20 for what retails for £250 in the UK. bargain!

took it easy and walked on the beach after dinner, until a rogue wave drenched V and we called it a night. finally got to enjoy the hotel (having only had 90min zz two nights prior) and was glad for the down time before the return flight.

quick trip to porto was over before we knew it but glad to have been twice in two months. the trips were different enough for me not to feel like it was groundhog day.

vineyards

after a little too much excitement the night before, we were somewhat somber the next day. nothing a couple of breakfast mimosas and greasy fry up couldn't fix but still! left bright and early (okok, 10am is early enough!) for the vineyards and what a sight to behold the contrast between the vines. all unplanned, of course, but beautiful nevertheless. the port production, supply chain and more recent diversification boggled the mind. also had some rather rank 48h grape must that i chose to spit while the rest swallowed. haha. felt like the clever one then!

the stragglers wheeling and dealing at the back. V, a russian ibanker, was on his devices throughout the trip. pretty impressive given how we were in a reception black hole, which led me to conclude that his possibly soviet-issued kit was somehow superior to anything the rest of the world was on. V is also terribly inspirational when it comes to eating, only simple carbs (fruit and veggie) which would sound the death knell for my sweet tooth but herald in a much healthier body on the whole. something i'm considering but know would never be disciplined enough to do :( also felt totes judged when we sat opposite each other at dinner and i finished what were meant to be communal canapes (fried fish pastries, rich fatty smoked sausages, other unidentifiable but altogether yummy nibbles) after leaving sufficient time for him to help himself. yikes.

taylors then duoro valley

have i mentioned the best thing about porto was the port? cursed with a sweet tooth and am already unable to resist the sweet hit of port on the best of days. throw me into porto and it's hellooooo cellars and cellars of syrupy goodness! yes, there's something to be said about moderation and being responsible (look ma, no water...) but all the rules go out of the window on holiday. so if day 0 was landing in the afternoon and hitting the ground running, day 1 was when we upped the ante. probably overstating the lack of sleep (literally 90min between getting back to the hotel from the club and the early morning talks) but when already running on empty, i felt like really needed the sugar rush to keep going. was also more than a little bummed that i only got 90min in the divine bed. starting to regret late (early?) night already. hopped across the street to taylors for lunch and ohmy what a view! and what a meal! commenting to F, one of the other +1s, that after a table setting with six glasses  each (champers, red, white and three ports in increasing age), we couldn't go back to regular feasting. any thing else would just pale in comparison!

as an aside, it was also cool to visit taylor's in person because it's the brand i'm most familiar with. in fact, i think i've paid kind friends in kind with taylor's port after stowing my mountain of barang barang at theirs over summer in between houses.

lunch was followed by a scenic ride to the duoro valley to visit the croft vineyards. L had chartered a bus and the crazy bunch managed to turn it into the party bus supreme. needless to say, the 4.5L bottle that magically reappeared was responsible for some of it. however, knowing when to bow out is as important as knowing when to boogey all night. so it was eye mask and noise cancelling earphones on (listening to radio3 no less!), to catch up on some zz. defensive sleeping, as i call it, not knowing what sort of night lay ahead. did wake after two hours and caught the most picturesque part of the journey and my inner nerd was excited by the multiple bridges across the duoro. may or may not have been trigger happy and then spammed my fellow bridge enthusiasts i.e. family whatsapp group with bridge pics.

L had scoped the cutest little vintage house hotel and we all had rooms with balconies overlooking the duoro, and up and down each others' rooms hehe. there was some commotion at night with the main hotel and some cheeky folk not being in the beds they were assigned to. but hey, all par for the course? throw 30 something 30somethings together and things are bound to get jiggy. as the youngest by a good couple of years (the mister being the second youngest heh) i felt a little like an old married prude listening in rapt attention to the morning after tales. such is life and vicarious living!

oh and that's the balcony i sought solace from when it all got too much and they started throwing each other / jumping into the duoro. something about dead fish and pants-ing trickled through the grapevine (haha) but i emerged when things were civil again for pre-dinner drinks before hitting up the town.

this was also the night things escalated and my first aid skills came in handy. without going into too much detail, save for the self-indulgence of reflection, a hand was put through a glass table. the former US army captain, PE fund general counsel and veterinary surgeon turned oil trader were on it, much to my relief and being older, more commanding presences they got things under control quite quickly. but i was able to triage and reassure the rest that the casualty was going to be fine. also nice to know that i think straight and remain calm when faced with lots of blood. a little duh at this point but having come to the medicine game later in the day, there's always been this remnant of self-doubt that doesn't quite seem to go away.

on honesty

one question that crops up a fair bit is "are you sure you're in school?" and i'm often a little stuck for an answer. yes, i am. but it's also my second degree and there are other things i consider important. 

suppose it's in part my fault for posting holiday snaps on fb (oh fb, can't live with you, can't live without) and fb has a nasty way of rubbing one's pseudo shiny happy life in someone else's face. have been told by well-meaning friends that this blog doesn't help, either. but surely no one is naive enough to think that life is perfect and one sun soaked escapade after another. recognise that i'm fortunate to be in a good place and ever grateful for the opportunities i have. yet there are things about my life that i'm not 100% happy with and guess what, i'm probably not alone on that. 

but much as i want this blog to be a semi-accurate reflection of life, it's also a happy space that i guard quite zealously. i'll admit to the occasional rant (usually of racist / i want to go back to sg where people are less mean nature) but thankful they're few and far between. and anything else that's not going great (believe me when i say there are plenty!) is not suitable for a public forum. blessed to have a support network of amazing friends on whatsapp, just a skype call away and family only too happy to keep me in prayer. 

i sound like a broken record when i feebly try to explain why the mister and i live the way we do and travel as much as we can. the usual yada yada no kids yada yada living on our own in london yada yada which makes me wonder why some people seem to delight in raining on our parade / reminding me how hard life is going to be when i eventually start work / a family. they're not exactly haters, or maybe they are, but more insidious i.e. joy-robbers. either way i've pretty thick skin and not overly bothered. and it's that often bandied around internet thingum about how everyone we meet is facing a battle we know nothing about, so be kind.

one of the nicer things about growing up is the result of ruthless editing that leaves relationships and possessions by the wayside. this added distance makes me realise who i genuinely like, and who i've merely tolerated (and vice versa!) over the years. this inertia and subconscious reductionist mentality has really started to gather momentum the last couple of years. 

and yes, i'm in school, it's a full-time degree with the not infrequent moment of sheer panic that i'm abysmally far behind my peers and needing a discipline / brain / attitude transplant to pass the year. it's one of those things that sort of borders on arrogance, the whole being too cool for school or not needing to study. no, not true. i do study but have long learnt it's not about the hours but the quality of the work. no secret there, and when i run out of hours then i jolly well be able to do good work and deliver when it counts. doesn't help when the mister makes balancing work and school look easy, with straight A+s and a perfect GPA. topping the dean's list and i'm incredibly proud of him. far from being a doss course, it's the best of its kind globally with a crazy accomplished student profile. pretty stiff competition for that top spot! think it's important to give credit where due. would ordinarily be more pseudo-british and less braggy but also find it heartening when couples are openly supportive of each other. he's my biggest cheerleader and i'm his.

(porto series to resume tomorrow)

porto

the mister's friend, L, invited us and a couple of other friends on a trip to porto. wasn't entirely keen to begin with, having been to porto earlier in summer (such a first world problem) but was won over by the knowledge that L used to work for the old family group that owned the hotel and vineyards, and got us a very good deal. let's just say the entire trip (4D3N accom, transport and meals inclusive) came to half of what the rack rate for one night in the suite we stayed at would've come to. now if that doesn't appeal to my inner el cheapo, nothing would! L was an absolute doll, planning everything from start to finish and herding us from place to place. he also pulled out all the stops to make the trip as value-add as possible with talks by the group CEO and vineyard tours that left me feeling refined and educated (rare!).

hotel was gorgeous and as L had been project manager during its inception, construction and early operations, he was the best person to pick the rooms and set us up very nicely in the suite.

one of the best things about being in londontown (complain as i do) is how continental travel is so easy. ezyjet isn't exactly the cheapest way of getting around but the timing worked and we weren't about to kill ourselves getting to stansted. been there, done that. not above flying outta stansted having left for aix from there over summer but really rather not have anything to do with that godforsaken airport! anyhoos we arrived in the early afternoon and started with sundowners aplenty on the gorgeous terrace. after all, being in porto necessitated getting the port going and by dinner time (8 but actually 10) rolled round, we were buzzing. tell i lie, i did sneak away to town for a cheeky shop for backless dress essentials then back to the terrace to catch sunset.

everyone cleaned up nice for dinner and it was more terrace time chasing canapes with wine before finally sitting down about 10 for our meal. wondered about the mediterranean time before realising we'd to pace ourselves as the cool kids only went clubbing at 3am. leisurely dinner, more drinks at the hotel bar and by the time 3am rolled round, i was all ready for bed being the cool kid that i am. but game face on! hit up a cute little 90s bar with a car coming out of the wall. packed for a saturday night and a little stuffy but great music before moving on to eskada which was so hip it hurt.

of course someone bought a 4.5L and tadaaa! miracles happened. we called it the bad decision bottle and danced around it. somehow that bad decision bottle left the club with us and became the trip's totem. keen to continue our run as the last ones standing, the mister and i left about 7am, got 90min of zz before a full day of lectures and more touring. oh the beauty of being young and relatively accustomed to sleep-deprivation from our former lives as litigators. and my current life as a medic. in fact, i think sleep-deprivation, quite unfortunately, is probably going to be the one constant in my chosen path :( but hey, handy party 'trick' to deploy when wanting to make the most of short holiday and long days.

shard shang

splurged on a cheeky staycation at the shard shang over the weekend and while the room was comfortable and the views amazing, felt there were teething problems and the service lacking. don't want to sound like a complete ingrate moaning on about why it was substandard but let's just say the mister had a field day treating them like a case study and came up with some pretty good ways they could've done better. 

the siew mai on the breakfast buffet were raw in the middle. hey, nothing against frozen food (have an in-house chinese restaurant but no pride? that's ok.) at least cook it through. the hostess brought me to the wrong table after giving my room number, to a man who was not my husband. uh....? and there was a shrill alarm scarily telling us 'there has been an incident. please...' without any follow up after to explain it was crying wolf. also, the staff weren't great. the mister and i wandered up to the bar only to be snootily told by a staffer showing a couple around that 'the bar is closed, you can't be here without a staff member'. well, if you want to be pedantic, she's a staff member and we were there while she was. the tea cups in the room were chipped, the sauces had cracks and there were cup marks all over the tv console. little things like that that really should be better given how guests are paying top dollar. 

the one silver lining (apart from the breath-taking views from the room) was how the concierge got us a next day reso at hutong. my love for hutong has not gone undocumented but alas i'm not alone in this love affair and it's notoriously hard to get a reso (6 weeks in advance). way to go, hutong! so when i had a massive craving and thought to try our luck the day before (the poor mister was on the receiving end of much ridicule by the eastern european hostess, oops) we couldn't get a table. 

light bulb moment: aren't we staying at the shang??? GET THEM TO MAKE THE RESO! and tadaa! the concierge came through. and i was a happy camper.

some photos of the room and pool and bar we were chased away from at 1130h. don't ask why we were drink-seeking at 1130h.

waku ghin

on our most recent trip back to singers, there was reason to celebrate. being a not-so-closet hedonist, there's always reason to celebrate but this was an especially big one. hadn't been to waku ghin since it first opened, and then we were guests of a truly special couple celebrating their silver wedding anniversary. slight aside: there's a more conscientious review over there, when i was pseudo-eloquent and better able to articulate my thoughts before medsch dulled my wit and charm. anyhoos, the meal was the stuff of dreams and the memory of it still burns bright. before i lapse into even greater melodrama, let me first say i kept the menu but have seem to have left it in sg. oops. so i can't tell you in any greater detail what each of these courses are (sorry!) and the incredible uni with botan ebi and oscietra featured again but was demolished before i could take a photo. tell a lie. i did take a photo and sent it to a friend whose one word response was "blimey" so i suppose it must've looked exotic enough. the chefs worked their magic with the freshest of produce, and paired with tetsuya san's junmai daiginjo (spoilt now, can't have regular japan centre sake no more :( ) everything went down way too easily. relished each dish and was kept wanting more. even now, i would go back tomorrow if i could. 

on a semi-related note, was having a discussion with a dear friend who's based stateside but happened to be home the same time i was last summer. we were tucking into the aoki chirashi and decided that if our meagre means allow, it's best to eat <S$5 or >S$50 because every thing in between would be mediocre. huge fan of hawker food and defo got my fill but it's nice to punctuate the grease with something a little more glitzy at times.

officially autumn

officially the start of autumn and it's already turning cold. something about this season seems to kick off a maelstrom of cravings and i'm stuffing my face with greggs sausage rolls and donuts. well not just donuts but danishes, brownies and all the candy i can get my hands on. waitrose prawn crackers are another firm favourite. so much for being adult and having a healthy relationship with food! 

suppose greed is something most people struggle with and it's something i need to reign in more often than not. but speaking of which, it was refreshing to have A san and her friend visit. i like people who eat well. nothing annoys me like a house guest with dietary restrictions, if you get what i mean. so these two lovely ladies were down for everything. from a massive yumcha lunch, chased by bubbletea and snacking through the afternoon then more flights of beer than we should've had (complete with side of pervy stranger!) before coming home for home cooked goodness. (wo)men after my own heart. usually over order at the yumcha place but was pleasantly surprised that they finished everything, and dinner which is usually for 5-6 was put away in next to no time. C commented that she thought i'd be having leftovers till the end of the week but noooo! 

much as i'm as wary of excess as i am of over-restriction, they look perfectly healthy and are active so no, no binge-ing there either. it's just such a tricky topic, isn't it? with all these trigger warnings you're meant to put up just in case someone with an eating disorder wanders by. joining C and a colleague for dinner tomorrow and have been warned not to mention weight. not that it's on my mind much / something i usually bring up but hm, put on notice to avoid at all costs! pity - as it's always nice to have an open discourse and i'm a girly girl who rather be supportive and part of a strong sisterhood that engenders body confidence. but recognise not everyone wants to talk about it, and fair enough! 

digression aside, weather was mucky but like to think we made the most of it. hit up the museum, traipsed across the bridge, stuck our heads into the concert hall and just soaked in the sights. a little more soaking than i'd have liked with the spitting rain but what's a girl to do. thrilled that A san is the same delightful person she was all those years ago. we'd a good sit and think because ohmyword has it been five years since we first met?! really felt our age. was glad to know she thought i was the same (whew!) and it was as if no time had lapsed. to me, that's the beauty of true friendship and being able to pick up where we left off is a real blessing. and the funny aside with the pervy stranger - not quite worth repeating but constantly reminded how the world is a big bad place and a girl can't be too careful. long story short, we got talking with a lone guy two tables away. perfectly innocent, harmless banter - or so we thought. honestly, hand on heart, nothing untoward at all and i'm usually quite switched on about boundaries and my spidey senses were far from a'tingling. but back at the flat, A san discovered that mr. creepster had added her on fb (he must've overheard us talking about her full name...) and then started messaging and basically asked if she wanted to get it on. in less polite terms, of course. so we had a mini panic and i was glad we hadn't mentioned my address or whereabouts or anything vaguely identifiable other than her name (bad enough!). quick delete and block but A san was visibly shaken :(

didn't get much sleep, as expected, and went straight to a 90min prescribing exam. yay! having my cake (lemon meringue pie?) and eating it is something i'm always all for. even if it meant staying up after everyone went to bed to plough through 42 pages of worked examples. fun times - being a full-time student is the bombdiggity. i think.

and this was breakfast near the station! A san's first taste of porridge (english-style) on C's recommendation. she liked it :) gimme good ol' rice porridge any day, but oats with thick honey and blueberries is admittedly comforting on a blustery autumnal morning.

it's only mid-week and i'm already exhausted. busy weekend ahead. another weekend, another set of friends passing through london. there's E who i've not met in over 5 years. chance meeting at a dinner party and she was so kind as to have her hotelier father host the mister and i on his grad trip in south america. we went from backpacking on a shoestring budget to living in the lap of luxury with comp-ed stays at his arequipa then colca hotels. immensely grateful and still wanting to pay it forward some day. that's the beauty of kindness, isn't it. and there's A who's a swiss lawyer (judicial clerk) turned banker turned big swiss bank biz dev dude who's in town. dialing things up and see them escalating to high octane so bracing myself for a big weekend. there's also 7am spin (gotta make small dents at the autumn feasting) and perhaps a tiny staycation if i'm lucky. so hey, bring it !

activity

so a fortnight into fourth year, things seem to be picking up pace. changing gears, perhaps? i wouldn't know, being completely useless and unable to drive stick. then again, if my uk driver's licence is to be believed, i can! and motorcycles and massive lorry-type things too. funny how my one automatic licence when converted conferred me additional and undeserved powers. but i digress.

it's been o-k so far? funny regression to pre-clinical before it's fast and furious clinicals after christmas. enjoying the down time, maybe skipping more lectures than i should. i blame my short attention span (not so much ADD but you get the picture) and preference for reading over slides on my own (and not listening to someone drone on for 2h on end). 

some excitement in the next few days. a dear housemate from stockholm is visiting with a friend so that should be good fun. she's a sweetheart and being the nostalgic sap i am, associate her with a time when i was young and carefree. in a way i like to think i still am (me me me, oh dear!) but there's no denying that things are different now. we met on the very first day in stockholm and discovered we were corridor-mates (there were 12 en suites sharing a corridor!) which was nothing short of serendipity given how many hundred internationals there must've been. we'd natter away in japanese, much to the amusement of the corridor dad (dubious honour given how he was the only swede and been living there longer than the rest) he used to comment that we sounded like kittens, which in retrospect may have been more pervy than i'd have liked to believe. but hey, benefit of doubt + lost in translation! 

when it was time for me to leave, she helped drag my massive suitcase all the way to the tunnelbana and burst into tears as i crossed the turnstiles. and when i visited in summer, she let me stay in hers so it was nice to be back on our corridor to pretend i was still on exchange (when i had in fact just graduated and stared down an uncertain future of bar exam + medsch entrance exam + medsch apps.

we linked up in tokyo a couple of years later when she was working, and when i was in first year of uni round 2, we had a skype reunion. this time she was in stockholm with what was left of our then corridor, and i was in halls. finally finally two years on it's time for some proper facetime and i can't wait to see her again. only too happy to play tour guide and wish i was in edinburgh today (where she's staying with krishna, another of our corridormates but alas i took the commercial decision to stay put and patiently await her arrival. 

there we go - a lengthy preamble about why i'm looking forward to the next couple of days. it's the business before having houseguests now. supermarket run to stock up on milk and snacks, doing a few loads of laundry to make sure bedding is nice and clean, and general activity planning using accuweather as a guide.

fourth year

it's been a whirlwind couple of weeks since my housewife moan. was in sg for 9 whole days - the longest time since moving in 2011. usually back for 3-4 days so 3 days into this visit, i was all ready to jump on the first flight to londontown. not wanting to sound like a complete ingrate, it's getting harder to be an adult child at home. sad to see grandmothers getting on, older and more crumbly each visit. the inevitable goodbyes get harder too. 

what was nice was meeting friends. there was a sad element to that too - meeting friends who i've drifted so far away from that catch ups were stilted and painful. it's not always a function of time. there were friends i caught up with for the first time in two years who felt like no time had lapsed since we last hung out. yet there were others who i felt had outgrown me. but that's life isn't it? people change and move on and the sooner we accept it, the sooner we stop pretending we're closer than we actually are, the less awkwardness. something else i can appreciate is friends who make an effort. everyone is busy, everyone has a demanding job and it means a lot when someone tries their darndest to make it out of the office and be present for the short time you've together. been there, done that. know how challenging it can be and all the more grateful for friends who are intentional.

the B word was something that came up a lot. have absolutely no qualms sharing plans and views with nearest and dearest. in fact, i might even volunteer! but if it's a nosey aunty or acquaintance clutching at conversational straws then i get immensely defensive / crabby. i mean, in which universe is it o-k to ask someone about their family planning...?! 

it was an incredibly social week and a bit and met a few new people. part of me wants to minimise obligations in sg and just chill at home, while another part is more opportunistic (okok, FOMO) and craves the high octane social stimulation so easily sought when back for a short visit. 

now the summer hol is well and truly over and i'm back to school, life's slowed down to a more leisurely pace. kinda surreal that in a short 5 weeks, there was aix with jeanne, the cruise with my fam, lisbon, essex and then sg.  loath as i am to talk about uni, fourth year's looking pretty relaxed and it's a nice break from the crazy that is third year. so trying to scheme a couple more getaways, and defo down for porto en masse.

housewife-dom

not the prettiest of pictures but sums up what i've been doing the past week or so. my defunct instagram bio reads "undercover housewife" which i suppose holds a grain of truth given that it's essentially what i am when i'm not at uni. friends are often surprised that i cook and clean on repeat while the mister, bless him, doesn't. haven't entirely worked out gender roles in my mind but this arrangement works and i like being able to manage a house (ok, one bedder) on top of everything else. not like there are kids or extended family in the fray, so it's really not all that impressive. how hard can looking after myself and another independent adult be? MIL was up last month and remarked how quickly i hung up clothes. back-handed compliment, much? suppose there are worse things to be known for...

sushi samba

duck and waffle is on my little london list but i hadn't given much thought to sushi samba. my constant lament about london is that it rewards the hyper-organised (and/or the well-connected) because resos must be made way in advance. however, i think life is too structured and much as i crave certainty on the school/work front, i'm less inclined to pencil things in months in advance when it comes to down time. did eventually make it to a reso (instead of blanket bombing then cancelling!) and was pleasantly surprised. not the biggest fan of fusion food, much less fusion jap because i love japanese in its purest form, but this funny marriage of jap/peruvian/brazillian (?) was a love match. killer views, as you do, from so high up and would defo return / send friends that way now i know it's good. always appreciative when friends who hit up the recommendations tell me what their experience was like. loath to oversell and with f&b being the flippant industry it is, standards can change so quickly.

nigerian wedding

so the reason why i'd a room friday and saturday night in essex was because my very generous host had booked out the hotel. had a regrettably tenuous connection to the wedding couple but was up to attend my very first nigerian wedding. silly me, thought it was an english celebration for the couple's friends based in the UK. little did i realise that 90% of the 500 guests had come all the way from nigeria. and being the paranoid little poop i am, my ebola alarm bells started to ring. yes, i'm aware nigeria is a huge country and the chances of the guests having ebola was slim, but throw in air travel and possible transit in african airports and i got very worked up. that's why i'm only just getting round to talking about the wedding, when i'm safely out of the 21 day incubation period. when i learnt at the start of the wedding when 500 guests were under on glorious white marquee that most had traveled from far to be there, i inched closer to the open doors (thank goodness our table opened onto the grounds), tried my darndest not to shake hands nor cheek anyone, and made repeated trips to the ladies for the fresh air (good 10min walk to  the main building) and hand hygiene. of course, everyone i later related this to laughed at me :( and when i spotted a lone petechia the next day, i had a near meltdown. not fun.

oh and not just 500 guests but big names from nigeria (whizzkid, the jayZ of a-frickin-ca) were flown in for the party. didn't take much to turn me into a groupie (who kept a safe distance). weddings always make me think about mine, and gosh ours was so different. had lamb soup and pancakes at the next town for our 20+ guests for the wedding breakfast and were done and dusted in just over an hour. in contrast, this wedding breakfast was pretty darn marathon. started at 3pm and when i finally bowed out near midnight, the party was still going strong. what i did enjoy was the dancing from 6 onwards, and the endless supply of DP 2004 that the groom's father kept passing me. but too polite to chug my personal bottle, i'd share it round the table. then like magic, another would appear :)

double bill at somerset house

landed friday evening and hit the ground running. words cannot express how much i hate stansted, but that's another rant for another day. had been away for two solid weeks and felt like i needed a holiday from the holiday, much as i'd enjoyed the break. part of me thinks medsch awoke the sleeping workaholic within, and that addictive personality that makes me obsess with one thing (good if that's work, bad if that's work) because this six week break, ironically the shortest in medsch, has felt wayy too long. was talking to a friend about it and as grads, we're both keen to graduate and start work. but then i catch myself and make a conscious effort to enjoy the process for what it is. to suspend reality and postpone adulthood and its myriad of responsibilities for a couple of years more, not necessarily a bad thing, no? school's much easier than work, and it's such a protected, cosseted environment i've no reason to complain. 

but back to london! it's been a welcome change of pace to take things slow in the city, or pseudo-slow at least. started with a double bill (hairspray and springbreak) at somerset house. funnily enough, it's been over a year (maybe even two!) since R told me about somerset house and how much fun it was in the summer with open air screenings. can't believe it's taken us 2 years to get round to it, just like R's other recommendation of le garrick in convent garden. maybe next year! was too cool to arrive at 6pm when the doors open and paid the price by having to hustle the one last square foot of picnic mat real estate when we waltzed in at half 8 for a 9pm screening. oh summer nights, can't get the movie going any earlier for it was still too light out. 

hadn't watched the original (1988?) version of hairspray but preferred it to the camp john travolta recent release. hm then again i'm in love with michelle pfeiffer so tough call. was also too cool to bring food and drink (brought picnic mat, blankets and extra coats) but there was popcorn ice cream (free because the mister is charming like that) and poshdogs to be had. and beer.

tried not to think about how there was a hotel room in essex with my name on it that same night but that's a story for tomorrow.

farol

when i was last in lisbon, had an extra day. the wonders of fb, even back then in 2009, was that a uni mate had seen the photos and suggested we visit cascais. was backpacking on a budget and remember taking the train to the seaside town, then walking all along the coast to the devil's mouth (throat?). it was breezy, the weather was great and we passed this beautiful hotel en route. remember looking wistfully at it and while enjoying the rossio hostel very much (haha) i did entertain a pipe dream of abandoning ship and offering to wash dishes in exchange for staying a night. obviously that didn't happen, but five years on, it was kinda surreal to be on the other side :)

it was a lovely, albeit short, stay at farol and as a goodbye gift, the dolphins put on a show during breakfast.