A 'Little' Semestral Break

Finally on semestral break! The instant exams ended, the parties started. 

We saw and explored the city. Discovered and experienced things we never had the opportunity to do due to the lack of time or stress.

My birthday was within the week too, and with my brother and his girlfriend gone off to holiday back at my home country, I was left here to celebrate on my own. Fear and depression. I was considering celebrating it on my own in the comfort of the couch and movie. On the last minute, I'm glad I decided to change my mind. 

Did not 'celebrate' my birthday with my co-workers, since none of them showed up or had the decency to inform me they could not or would not.  Not work related, but it does reflect the amount of respect they showed for me. Apparently, none.

Instead, celebrated the day with people whom I believe are making an impact on my life. People in the same situation as I, with the same experiences of homesickness and loneliness; and, a group where we consider each other a family away from our home. 

Spent heaps of money on my day (not exaggerating), but I truly believe it was worth every cent. 

The memories and friendship built will form great foundations for relationships I believe will last for a very long time. 

This week, I believe there was progress in this stage of my life: friends.

First Bread

On Friday night (or was it Thursday?), I made my first bread ever! 

It's an Irish Soda bread. It didn't involve the use of yeast, 

but I will definitely try using yeast soon. 

It came quite decent for a first try. The crust was hard and the core had a slightly elastic feel. 

I didn't have a serrated knife, so the slices were huge! And it was a very filling meal, 

as it was basically a loaf of whole wheat. 

Finally trying out other 'categories' of baking!

Learning, learning, learning!

Sunrise On My Way To Resto

I've been working a lot at the restaurant the past days due to my 'free' time from the hospital. Given time to prepare for exams, but I figured I needed the cash and that I could balance work and study (that hasn't been going too well, but still trying my very best). 

Been rostered to early shifts, so that involves getting up early (before the sunrise).

So, today, on my way to work, I saw the sunrise. 

Such a wonderful way to greet the day. 

First Attempt at Okonomiyaki (Japanese "Pizza")

This is my first attempt at

Okonomiyaki!

(Literally means "Anything Grilled", if I remember correctly.)

Don't be fooled by the colors. I took these in the middle of eating. I was more focused on eating than I was on taking the picture, hence why I wasn't able to adjust the camera settings to something suitable for the lighting.

The dish came out quite well for my first attempt. I didn't follow just one recipe but rather a combination of two, as the flour and water ratio were different in both. I also used personal taste and measured it by 'sight'. If it looked about right, I stopped adding.

Besides the basic cabbage to the mix, I added carrots, mozzarella cheese and cooked chicken bits. Topped it off with tonkatsu sauce, bits of nori and bonito flakes. Such a basic recipe, but quite happy with how it came out! The challenge was making the batter a balance so that it wasn't too doughy, to the point it would resemble a pancake.

The cooking process itself was quite fun for me as well; I was immersed in the cooking and the feeling of accomplishing something, though a small accomplishment, still quite happy about it. Little things count. Finding things to make me feel good and happy. This is one of it, as it turns out.

And it was great cooking a dish I would have back home; a way to comfort myself on that aspect.

Over-all experience: Good de-stress activity, learning experience and a yummy dinner.