My Update (again!)

Yes friends, I am lazy.

I stay online all the time, yet I do not blog.

I should update, correct?

This I will do, in due course, of my various travails in more boring and less exotic parts of Europe, because, for once, I have to STAY in Belgium until at least the Christmas period due to the following 3, I think very valid reasons.

1. Precarious finances exacerbated by Excessive Spending. Exhibit 1 of Excessive Spending - Irish Bookmark of a sheep wearing a shamrock top hat and scarf, with books I lugged back from the Emerald Isle because good books in English are as easy to find in Belgium as err... ok it's hard ok?
2. A sudden realisation that I am doing far too many modules for my own good, but alas mandated by my University - hence I Need To Study for ALL 6 of my modules. Exhibit 2 of a Need To Study - An overcrowded bookshelf
3. Cold weather. I know, not as cold as 'ICE ON MY WINDSCREEN' St Louis or Sunny from 11am to 3pm Sweden but I cycle to school on my Red Riding Bike and the wind chill kills me, seriously. I can't imagine being on 'holiday' and stomping around in cold grey weather with a backpack. I'd rather plot in Belgium on how to make Penang Laksa from salmon and beehoon and ponderabout the what to do with my 8 boxes of now terribly useless belacan "Belacan with chicory? Belacan with aparagus?Belecan marinated with beef?"Anyway, Exhibit 3 - Room view, now a riot of red and a depressing, typical-Belgian-weather grey.

Updates to follow.

My Birthday Posts

On a whim, I tried to cook Chicken Curry(the real thing hor, not a mix) and Samosas. My Italian neighbours volunteered to help but it took a while to explain that he should grind the ginger, shallots and garlic to a paste (without a pestle and mortar, mind you) and even longer to placate him that it could be done, no sweat.

Me: (In Sicilian accented Singlish) : "Si Si it can be done! No no there is no other way! Trust me!" Giancarlo in Sicilian accented English: "You are crazy! But for you (makes Sicilian hand gesture which I presume to mean "No problem") ")

Eh I've been schooled in the ways of Italian handgesturing, don't play play hor.

Anyway, it was a blast and numerous dishy Spainish, Italians and Singaporeans attended sampling a devlishly hot curry(which I had to water down when during sampling, even I found it a tad hot) and samosas which my Belgian housemates identified later as the not so exotic dish of loempia. Special shout out to Yixuan who I think it the ultimate Iron Chef and whom-I-am-in-awe-of in the kitchen.

Yixuan/Iron Chef

Curry, pre-watering down with about 500g of curry powder to feed 15

Awful awful plonk from Spain. Lucky I didn't buy the Bulgarian version, even though it was cheaper.

Everybody!

Meet the 3 people dumb enough to move into an unfinished house. 2 Italians and a equally intelligent Singaporean

My Just Desserts from Giancarlo

Dutch guys and Mario from Madrid

Left to Right: Sara/Monica and Ladies and Gents, Lucia the Linguist, all from Spain, Far Right: Happy from Singapore

Thankfully I resisted the urge to indulge in the Belgian Birthday tradition of getting very drunk and wasted but instead chose the tradition of 3 kisses on the cheek of the Belgian women in my house. SWEEEEEEET. I also found out, slightly painfully, that the Italians and Spanish pull ears for every year of your birth thought they choose different sides to pull my ears. Ouch.