nice chats with friends

The first day of this week when I could sleep a bit longer as I wanted to! And it was so quiet this morning as flatmate wasn't home. I slept till 9 a.m. Then went to gym and bought some 'daily necessities'. I happened to walk past the new Jessops shop in Arndale Centre and paid a visit as the son of one of my ex-colleagues was working there. Had a nice chat with him, especially when we talked about how he struggled with Chinese customers who asked him for free gifts (hmm, Chinese culture!) or who spoke Mandarin that he couldn't understand! Got a call from an ex-colleague who's like my 'big sister' (since she was just 12 days older than me!). She dated me for a drink in the afternoon. We had a nice chat and updated each other. We were saying we started thinking about our 'future', when we are now getting older and older, and how difficult it was to find someone who you can live with for the rest of our life.

I got tummy pain again after lunch today! Same suspects as yesterday's lunch: roast chicken, egg noodles and red/green peppers. The pain was so severe that even I felt it in my back! :S What had gone wrong with the food? The suspects are gone now as they were finished today! Phew...

I cleared up and threw away some of my food in the fridge - the tofu I bought a week ago smelt badly; the pork pie I had bought from Morrisons also had to be given up; plus butter which had expired over a month (though I still think it looks ok! But sometimes something 'looking' & 'smelling' ok doesn't mean they're really ok in terms of food safety!).

Time to have new food stock for the fridge...

*****

The new Jessops shop in Arndale Centre

It's quite big indeed!

Lunch: Suspects that made me have tummy pain the whole day!

Tea: my favourite hot chocolate at Cafe Nero

(oh, its location is quite private!)

Dinner: Fish soup with tomatoes & potatoes

(initially planned to add tofu as well, but tofu has gone bad!)

Dinner: macaroni with meatballs in fish soup base

Am I isolating myself/being too anti-social?

What a 'relief' after finishing today's ACCA class! Four days in a row this week. I wonder how much I remember what the tutors taught us. Anyway, two more days to go next Monday & Tuesday but I'm not sure if I'll attend those two days (for ACCA F2) then, depending on how much I'll have revised for next Thursday's F3 exam. The class ended with me having tummy pain. I don't know what makes my tummy keep being rumbly since after lunch. I felt like going home but I stayed in class till it finished. Suddenly my anxiety and worry about my own health seems to come back. :S  I felt a bit weak and nausea when I got home, and I needed to take a nap. Because of that, I decided not to go to the dinner with my friends, one of whom wanted to treat me and another friend of ours for our help to her.

I wonder if I've been isolating myself - e.g. I didn't feel like talking to my classmates in my ACCA class, not feel like going to friends' gatherings, unless they're close to me. And I don't want to tell other people much about what's going on with me on Facebook. Am I being too anti-social?

*****

Lunch: same as yesterday

I also had a bit of tummy pain yesterday. Hmm... 

Dinner: macaroni with peppers & meatballs

No roast chicken (please) but GBK Burgers, Yeah!

Third day of ACCA class of the week. Started feeling tired. Also the classroom seemed to be a bit stuffy and a few classmates got coughs :S Some of those pakistani guys still kept talking in class. I started wondering if I should continue going to those revision classes or stay at home to do revision on my own. But back home, there're flatmate and international friend in her room. I thought international friend wouldn't be here so often, as flatmate told me. But he's here again and when I was trying to talk to flatmate, he told me she was not feeling well. Hmm, does that mean he's gonna be here often again? :S

My throat is still in pain! Someone said maybe I had too much of roast chicken over the past week! >_< That was why tonight I had dinner at GBK for burgers instead of Morrisons for roast chicken! Oh yummy burgers! I love them! I tried both Avocado & Bacon, and Cheese & Bacon. Chips as well, of course! Very nice dinner! :) They always cheer me up! Thanks!! :)

*****

Lunch: fried egg noodles with roast chicken & mixed vegetables

(plus apple & biscuit as snack!)

Dinner: oh my favourite drinks - elderflower, and ginger & lemon

Dinner: Avocado bacon

Dinner: Cheese & Bacon

Dinner: my favourite chunky fries

Dinner: lovely face!

sore throat

Same routine as yesterday. Woke up early to make lunchbox, have breakfast, pack up my bag, change clothes and brush teeth. Since the tutor was a bit unhappy last time when I was late for the class, I tried to arrive on time today - still a few minutes late but better than before! :p It was the last day of ACCA Paper 1. Not many people turned up, compared with other classes. I couldn't help falling asleep after lunch. :p The tutor said we better do the exam asap before we forgot all the things we had learnt in class. But I've got my Paper 1 exam arranged for 30th June, three weeks from now, so that I have enough time to revise... after school, I went to the gym - I don't like going to gym after class because I'm too tired to do any exercises. Anyway, I went back home after gym to have a shower (instead of having a shower in the gym)...

Oh my throat is in pain! I had sore throat a few weeks ago but it was getting better till a few days before the endoscopy test. Then since yesterday I started having a kind of sharp pain in my throat! Plus the mucus (not sure if it's from my nose! :S). I don't know if the throat spray the nurse gave me that day contributed to the pain in my throat now. Oh poor me...

*****

Lunch: same as yesterday

(still have half roast chicken left in the fridge!)

Dinner: my special burger with mixed vegetables and baked beans

Dinner: a closer look at the burger

with avocado (not soft enough) and egg!

my goals for June!!

Someone has inspired me to do the following things as my goals for this month:

1) Pass the exams of all three ACCA papers (F1, F2 & F3)
2) Be a 'professional shopper', or do more 'research' in shopping!
3) send some job applications
4) Get some health checks done and treat the problems!

Need to add oil to myself! :)

An eventful weekend

I didn't write a post over the last two days. Last weekend was eventful and I was tired when I got back home. :p
Lots of things happened:

1) An elderly friend's computer had problems again. I didn't dare to help fix his computer but asked my 'supervisor' to do the job! :p I wanted to observe how my supervisor fixed the computer. Same as before, it took quite a long time to get around the problems (not all were solved yet!), and even longer than I had expected. Being an 'observer' also requires patience...

2) Finally my flatmate was back home. Her boyfriend had also finished his exams last week. Flatmate said he wouldn't pay a (overnight) visit as often as before. Hmm, hope so...

3) I had an gastroscopy (endoscopy) test yesterday morning. I was a bit worried before I went, since I couldn't imagine how something with a camera would be put into my stomach.. I went to Bolton town centre first by bus - fortunately the bus did come, though it was a bit later than scheduled. I almost got lost when I was trying to find the way to that mobile endoscopy unit in the B&Q carpark. I had to seek for help from my friend who knew Bolton so well! :) The endoscopy procedure was scary and it did make me feel discomfort. The doctor and nurses were nice and helpful. They were quite organized! Too bad that I didn't ask the doctor about what the test report meant. It said I had hiatus hernia sliding 3 cm?! It sounds scary!! :S But at least I now understand why I keep having stomach acid reflex and 'gas', also the pains I had before, and a feeling that there was something moving when I sleep on my right. I can foresee I'll have to see my GP soon about the test results and also the blood test that I'm going to have in two weeks' time. Oh, feel like health problems of various kinds are an ongoing struggle to me!? Hope my GP won't be as 'useless' as before...

Had my ACCA class today. It was a revision class for one of the three papers that I'm going to have exams for. My classmates - It's interesting to observe them - some people (especially those Pakistani guys) just keep talking; some were revising for other papers, not for the one they were in class for; some just listened and they never did the exercises/questions as the tutor asked them to; some people seemed to be busy with their own jobs/other things and wouldn't miss a chance to speak on the phone during the break! I did pay attention in the class, though I'm occasionally curious about what my classmates are doing...

*****

Wah... 

Breakfast of last Saturday: the ciabatta with cheese was quite yummy, 

esp when eating it hot!

Lunch of last Saturday: chicken leg again!

Dinner of last Saturday: Pork Udon in soup, a bit chilly.. 

Dinner of last Saturday: teriyaki chicken bento; a bit disappointed at the chicken, though still tasty

(waiter & waitress plus the chef were different people.. hmm...)

Last Sunday: wah, Bolton Market!! 

Last Sunday: the 'CARE' mobile unit 

Inside everything was so new and the staff were professional

Last Sunday: window shopping after the test

Oh, saw this golla bag!! I really like 'golla' bags!

Lunch of last Sunday: a treat to myself after the scary test! 

Hadn't visited you for a while, Uncle Mcdonalds!

Special thanks to someone for taking me to McDonalds! :)

You and McDonalds made my day!

Dinner of last Sunday: noodles with yummy roast chicken legs!

(oh, I got a whole roast chicken for £2 from Morrisons again!)

Today: I had forgotten to charge my mobile phone this morning

So I brought this solar charger and batteries with me for me to charge my mobile in class! :p

Lunch of today: 'choi sum' + 2 chicken legs + rice

Dinner of today: a meal with nutritions and 'heart'! :)

a mum who acts like a kid

Lazy, quiet day at home, with a very nice, though hot weather. Flatmate still hasn't come back yet. Finally I called the United Utilities to ask why we didn't received any water bill since we had moved in. The customer service lady said that according to the system, they were told someone had moved in (after us) and so they set up another account (not in my name). So she re-activated our account and would send us a bill!! And I found through my online account that we'd have to pay £526 for the time we moved in till 28th Jan 2011!! What a big amount!! :(  Sigh, another big expense... Anyway, it's better to sort it out asap rather than avoiding it. I should have a better idea of the expenses of the flat. I feel like I haven't got much idea of what's going on with those expenses, e.g. BT, o2 Broadband, which my flatmate has been taking care of but even she herself can't remember how much we are paying per month!? Anyway, I'll know how to do better next time when sharing a flat with other people.

Though the weather was nice (which we don't have very often!), I was a bit lazy to go out.. Finally I did go to the gym, a bit later than usual (almost 1 p.m.) and so had lunch later than usual as well. It was so hot that many people on the street wore short-sleeve t-shirts. Hmm, should I get my summer clothes out? I wanted to bring my E1 baby with me but had no idea where I could take photos and so dropped the idea. After my late lunch, I started feeling sleepy (a bit tired), plus the headache I got, which may be due to the pain in my nose :( So I had a nap...

I gave a call to mum as she told me on msn that she had collected her body check report. The doctor at the body check centre said her left heart was getting bigger, which may have something to do with her high blood pressure, and he asked my mum to take blood pressure medicine for two weeks. Mum asked one of my aunts, who suggested her going to the gov't doctors and asked them to refer her to the specialist for a check again. I agreed with my aunt that mum should have a check on her heart again, just in case. After all, she's getting old. I asked mum if she felt unwell and she said she always felt unwell all over her body! Well, looks like my mum is like her daughter, who hasn't taken good care of her body till the problems arise! She stayed up late while waking up early (so not enough sleep), and ate cold foodstuff (e.g. ice-cream) and chilli sauce, which was why she said she didn't feel well with her stomach and she felt tired! I asked her if she'd tell my brothers about her body check report. She said if they asked, she'd tell them; if not, she wouldn't! :S.... Sometimes I feel like my mum is like a kid...

*****

Waiting for a free shuttle bus to go back home.

See where I was?! :p

Breakfast: the little bread from Morrisons; tasted ok, still soft after 2 days

Lunch: macaroni with a chicken leg & chicken wing, and broccoli in tomato soup

(the chicken was still good and tasty!)

Dinner: very simple - steak pasty with baked beans & broccoli

(can't just keep eating roast chicken; need to eat those pasties as well!)

Dinner: see what was inside the pasty!

Dessert: banoffee muffin

(the muffin tasted ok, not very sweet, but I'd still prefer a blueberry muffin!)

What a nice weather! But it may be very short... 

Enjoyed being home alone again!

Back to a quiet student life today. Got a full day revision class. Boring as usual. :p Sometimes when I was in class, while I did try to listen to what the tutor was saying, I was thinking of something else/some people, e.g. why I had a strange dream the night before, why I got upset, what dinner I could make, what food I needed to buy after class, etc!!

Stayed up a bit late last night and so didn't feel energetic as before. I behaved well by making my lunchbox this morning before going to class! The chicken leg made a yummy lunch! The weather was good today. Sunny with my favourite blue sky. But I went home straight after class. Enjoyed myself in my quiet room and watched 'Good Wife' Season II while my flatmate was still staying in her friend's place.

*****

(Note: the following three photos were taken by different cameras respectively - 

a710, my mobile, E1, see the difference in quality!)

Breakfast: the bread we bought from Morrisons yesterday. 

Hmm, tasted ok but the texture was a bit hard

Lunch: the chicken leg was into pieces!

Dinner: oh yummy half of a half roast chicken! 

I made a simple garlic & black pepper sauce! :) 

Should enjoy life, not moaning

My mood changed from being down/stressed to getting cheered up today.

I thought when I finished my last job, I'd feel more relaxed and less stressed. Who knows I have to face other kinds of stress. Last night flatmate's boyfriend came here (staying overnight) again, after flatmate was away for two nights. So whenever flatmate is here, he's here too. To be honest, I don't feel comfortable having another (male) person in my flat - am I supposed to share a flat with him?! - and I'm worried if the bills will increase. Being jobless doesn't help at all. I try not to confront with my flatmate but it looks like if I don't speak up, she may assume that I accept her having her boyfriend staying here overnight? I've already talked to her before but it seems that she still doesn't know I'm not comfortable with her boyfriend visiting so often. Maybe I didn't say it clearly? *sigh* I keep asking myself why I'm still stressed when being home, which isn't a place where I can be relaxed and enjoy my own space?!

Anyway, I shouldn't get myself too stressed on that; I don't like myself to keep moaning. Maybe I'm supposed to learn how to live and get along with other people?!

This blog is about how to live for the moment. So I should talk about things that I enjoy!! Well, something/people do help to cheer me up when I'm not in the mood/depressed. Like this evening someone took me to Morrisons for dinner and shopping. Was a bit disappointed about the dinner as no roast chicken, which is my favourite, was available for evening meals but it was quite economical - 2 meals for £8 with free drinks! We ordered fish and chips, and cheese omelette. The food was ok but it didn't satisfy me in a way.

I miss the roast chicken so much that when we saw staff started putting reduced price stickers onto different items, we were wondering if roast chicken at the counter might get reduced price as well? So after getting those bakery bargains (only 9p for a pack of bread, 9p for 4 muffins, 85p for 5 pick & mix pies!), we waited for the roast chicken. We waited and waited, until around 8:15 p.m. when they started packing up the remaining chicken breasts, chicken legs and whole roast chicken! At that time, there were very few people and so when we fetched those bags, no one competed with us! :) We got 2 bags of chicken legs (99p each), and one bag of half chicken (tempted to get the whole chicken but it was a bit too much for me to eat alone)!!  I was so excited and nervous when waiting for the bargains!! But that was really satisfying when we could get the bargains. :)   The food that we bought tonight should make myself happy for at least two days. I can have roast chicken for my lunchbox for tomorrow's ACCA class! hehe! :)

*****

Lunch: rice with salmon and vegetables

Koala's my model for my new camera!

What a cute koala drinking orange juice!

Dinner: Cappuccino! 

(it's been more than 4 months since I last drank it)

Dinner: Cappuccino 

Dinner: cheese omelette

Dinner: Fish & Chips

Those good bargains! Around £4.5 for all of them!!