further proof of conversion

as with any new experience, i held out for awhile to decide whether it was worth investing in. not to make it sound more dramatic than it really is, it's analagous with being in a relationship, isn't it. say you were sort of going out with someone, and things don't progress as well as you'd like, you'd be able to shrug it off with a "well, we gave it a shot..."and get on with your life if you hadn't invested very much in it. however, if you'd poured heart and soul into this mysterious phenomenon labelled "going out", chances are that seeing no return of investment (ooh, big word) might leave you wanting to buy a one way ticket to the moon.

maybe that's my way of justifying commitment phobia ;) which, for the record, i do not have. in fact, seeing how we think we crossed the four year mark a few months ago, think that makes me more a commitment junkie.

back to investments!

had the most awful afternoon in town trying to find a telco that would give me a 24 month contract. i ricocheted down main street from one telco to the next but to no avail. this fruitless pursuit ended at car*phone*w*arehouse where a complete stranger asked me if i'd like to move in with him. hate to be a tease, but that's another story for another day. long story short, until i've lived here for more than 3 years, i've got a non-existent credit rating and no one will give me a 24month contract (and free phone). it's a chicken and egg situation because until i've a post-paid contract, there's no way to prove that i'm credit worthy. but no one would give me a contract. have thrown my hands in the air and resolved to get an iPhone4 (no, not 4S) from hong kong and send it up with my darling brother next month. sure beats waiting 3 years for the iPhone7...

decided some retail therapy was in order after four wasted hours of futile phone hunting. buoyed by infatuation with the great outdoors and the prospect of future trips (we're going to yorkshire in a month!), i was meaning to have hiking boots procured and brought over with my brother. however, during my self-indulgent sulk, i chanced upon a store that had hiking boots on 50% sale and scored the only size left (thank god for small feet!) for GBP34. don't think boots go for S$70 back home either. the same store had other offers (buy one get one free) so i got two pairs of long thick hiking socks for the price of one, and my waterproof gloves came with a free woolen hat :) funny story: the adult gloves were too big and amidst my desperation, i discovered that my hands are the size of an eight year old's. great for surgery (except maybe ortho) and not much else. 

and because it was dark and i was bored, i laid out my spoils and took a photo. see the leaf in the corner? that was unintentional but symbolic ;)

dropping off the grid

strange as it may sound, there was something therapeutic about not having mobile signal in the wilderness. that's when i knew we were well and truly out there. in contrast, i had phone reception in the middle of what was supposed to be the sahara desert when i was in morocco summer '08. really, now. should have known better than to believe the fly by night travel agency we booked the desert night with. so much for spending the night in a berber settlement! was most displeased to see twinkling lights of the nearest town in the (not) distance. 

but i digress.

when we reached kielder, nobody had any mobile reception and it stayed that way till we were on our way back to the city. part of me panicked (oh no! no signal means no whatsapP!) and another part sort of welcomed the respite from technology. i'd be the first to admit that i'm a complete internet junkie and am pathologically obsessed with my email. incidentally, this is why having a firm-issued bb had i remained a lawyer would not have been much fun. then again, i was still glued to my remote access email as a pupil. so there.

think a big part of this phone addiction is the opposite of being present. not having reception meant that nobody was fiddling with their phones because we were all resigned to being separate from the outside world. which, unsurprisingly, meant that i was 100% present mentally the whole trip. being present is something i'm working on and being without distractions was really helpful.

funny thing - once we were regained coverage, i emailed the parentals to say i was ok despite the 36h radio silence and they hadn't even noticed i was gone :(((

check out me shiny waterproof pants! oh the horror...

(photo courtesy of dan the official wilderness photographer)

smitten

the strangest thing happened this weekend. 

there i was, resisting the allure of the wilderness and conscientiously maintaining my carefully cultivated veneer of "xiu jie"-ness when all of a sudden, i fell head over heels in love with the great outdoors. admittedly slow on the uptake, having had many prior chances to get with the program but somehow never really quite taking to it. 

am not entirely sure when that switch flicked but it was probably when i realised that being outdoors didn't 1) hurt 2) make me sweat 3) give me freckles. my biggest issue with being immersed in nature is the sun. i've more freckles than i care for and live in fear of them coalescing into one huge liver spot when i turn 30. but the wonderful wonderful thing about the uk is the weather! possibly the only clown thrilled when we didn't get much sun, and because it's so windy, i didn't break a sweat at all :) 

not one of pain and physical exertion so when the walking was manageable and it didn't seem like a collapse was on the horizon, i started to really enjoy the whole wilderness experience. odd how just 36h away can change my perception and i feel absolutely ridiculous for being so anti-outdoors before this :( the scenery was breath-taking, the teaching sessions fruitful and staying in a hostel with a better shower than the one i have in hall almost makes me want to do a wilderness trip every weekend now. being able to let go of my fears (of dirt and mud and extreme weather to name a few) was liberating and after a certain point i stopped caring how squelchy my shoes were getting (note to self: buy real boots).

however, as the proud possessor of possibly the only hairdryer in kielder, it will be some time before i relinquish my grip on all creature comforts. but it's nice to know that there is so much out there to discover, and yay to conquering fear one baby step at a time :)

on a lighter note, looks like this newfound love for the outdoors welled up just in time...

dundundunnn...

kielder water part 2

 

after some early morning drama involving a broken lock, high window and ladder rescue, we set off on a half day wander over the hills.

stopped the vans by the road side and hoofed it!

nope, didn't turn here!

we crossed bridges, keeping an eye out for trolls

took photos of the rolling english countryside

got up close and personal with the locals

climbed hills

gathered in circles for teaching and debriefs

and on our way back, there was this awkward moment where the path we were following plain disappeared.

ever resourceful, we turned 180degrees and backtracked 3.5miles...

and to our relief, the vans were where we had left them in the morning.

the end.

kielder water part 1

it was with great trepidation that i set off on the wilderness*medicine trip to kielder. my peer dad, who incidentally planned the trip, had reassured me that it would be an easy walk but i remained unconvinced. however, the prospect of a proper bed at the hostel was a big plus. fingers crossed i wouldn't have to use the sleeping bag (borrowed from friend's brother and of questionable cleanliness...) this time.

wasn't disappointed! the kielder water was beautiful and the weather most cooperative. look at that cute sailboat!

also quite amazing how the skies go from blue to overcast in a matter of minutes.

wandered till we hit a head

and stopped for some teaching in the forest

hard at work with the 'casualty'

before heading back in the golden light

where all good walks end with a pint at the local pub :)

cheers!

p.s. check back for more wilderness posts over the next few days if you like

masochism

remember my sudden streak of gung ho? yeah. well it lasted a little longer than anticipated and i found myself signing up for a weekend mountain climbing trip. however, when this kit list reared its ugly head in my inbox this evening, i started to wonder if i'd bitten off more than i can chew. 

much as it sounds like an arctic expedition, the multiple layers of clothing i sort of understand. however, no one said i'd need a headtorch (ARE YOU KIDDING ME???) and on a regular basis at that!!!

this whole wilderness experiment is truly more out of character than if i'd just joined the pole dancing society...

home improvement

a friend passing through town kindly played postman and passed me my fairylights.

this isn't the first room post but if you're observant, you'll see why this set of lights (picked up in stockholm two years ago!) is much much better than the sorry excuse for lights that i succumbed and bought here.

if you look on the shelf just above my desk, you'll see a mass of white balls relegated to the corner.

moral of the story: don't settle ;)

st. ali

was an adorable cafe that reminded me partly of brickway in providence, rhode island and partly of bar stories back home. there's something about that wall...

turns out they opened in april and the original st. ali is in melbourne. my goodness, melby cafes are really taking over the world! 

st. ali's was noteworthy for all the right reasons - gorgeous friands with moist, dense crumb (yum!) hearty brunch, its own roaster and a vertical garden behind the bar. oh, and waitresses who are very easy on the eye ;)

early morning angst

the only thing that rouses me from slumber on a lazy sunday morning is the prospect of a hearty breakfast. and this is usually merely half successful. however, once lured by the thought of caramelised bacon and fresh eggs with yolks so yellow they can only be from happy hens, i will accept no substitutes. unfortunately, a certain host got the opening time wrong and when we rolled into modern pantry at 915, we were flatly denied because they only opened at 10. 

said host thinking it's very funny to have dragged me out of the house ALL FOR NOUGHT before 9 on sunday.

the pristine interior mocking us and our inability to tell the time correctly.

however, this unceremonious rejection translated into a walk around the 'hood, which revealed a few hidden gems (north road being one of them, and the larder too!) so all was not lost.

and guess what, the morning was redeemed when we stumbled upon the cutest brunch place that i'll post about tomorrow :) yay for new finds and delayed gratification.

conned

 had a friend in town for the weekend and we arranged to meet near his hotel at green park. as K and i emerged from the tube, the aroma of grilled hotdogs was almost too much to bear. however, as we were headed to hong kong diner for lunch, i shelved the hotdog craving, only to have it hit me with a vengeance later in the evening. 

alas, the hotdog vendor was no longer outside green park :( 

undeterred, K said that there was always always a hotdog cart at the british museum. knowing what a culture buff he is, i should've smelt a rat. but my greed got the better of me and we trooped to the museum...

...where the ever-elusive hotdog cart was not to be found.

and that's when i realised it was all part of a sneaky ploy to squeeze some culture into the day :(

old habits die hard v2

routinely have stop and remind myself that i'm no longer on exchange. you'd think my brain would have registered that by now, but noooo. merely being in europe sends my spidey senses a-tingling and if i had my way, i'd be traveling every weekend. also thought that i'd be travel fatigued by now (hey, it sorta has to hit sooner or later...) and be content to stay put in one place. however, the wanderlust is still greater than the abject fear and desperation i see in the future with my first exam in less than a month. 

going to kielder this weekend (yay!) and meeting (half) my folks in hertfordshire the week after my exam i.e. in mid november. till then, however, i've found the semi-satisfactory compromise that is planning the december family holiday. google images does a fantastic stop-gap job of satiating my wanderlust, for now. have plotted my route to milan (initially such a nightmare!) and planned the day trips. and and and, it's not just folks but the future folk who'll be along on this trip. curiously or not, am getting accustomed to being the baton my parents pass to the manfriend.

having spent new year's eve 2008 (photo above!) with said manfriend in the duomo square being pelted with firecrackers by milanese punks on vespas , i've got a soft spot for the city and am looking forward very much to being back. 

 currently considering these two options for dec 2011.

day trip 1: como

day trip 2: parma

does anyone have day trip (from milan) recommendations to share? would appreciate the heads up!

panacea

am convinced that there is no problem so big that a goldmine feast cannot solve.

boring as this may sound, i always always always have steamed egg with conpoy and prawns, roast duck and aubergine with minced pork in claypot.

equally boring is my choice of goldmine companion. in my heart of hearts, i do feel guilty for dragging K with me because i know he hardly eats. which means more goldmine goodness for me. which also means we end up looking like jack sprat and wife, much to his chagrin because he is a swinging single and apparently i cramp his style. this makes him quick to point out to everyone (most of whom don't care) that i'm merely a family friend that he's obligated to check in on and every now and again, less i run crying to our parentals that he was a passive bystander while i was wallowing in the doldrums. oh the joys of emotional blackmail.

interesting bit of trivia - this is K circa october 2009. same table, same dishes (oops not in photo!).

 

some things don't change :)

if you're a goldmine fan, what else is worth trying? i'd love to know!

so i was a bit of a pansy

and allowed myself to be overwhelmed by some domestic drama. without going into the gory details, let's just say that setting off the fire alarm when i took a shower was the final straw. british engineering never ceases to amaze me. thankfully, respite was just a whatsapp away and i left my flat for the weekend. 

(for the uninitiated, i'm green, K's off white and photo credits to dr. koo chiehshen)

ironically, sleeping on a sofa was a luxury, and the cK home sheets even more so. funny how something seemingly insignificant makes a material difference to the quality of zz. that and the absence of a siren every ten minutes.

great sleep aside, i took my camera out for the first time in awhile, and stuffed myself silly. nothing screams "weekend" more than uninterrupted, unrestrained sleeping and eating, and good friends who give up their weekend for voluntary slavery.

how do you usually spend your weekend?