Is cleaning an enjoyable activity?

A household Sunday with good rest. :)

Did laundry and cleaned the kitchen & bathroom as usual. I tried to clean the grease filter for the cooker hood but the sink was not big enough for the filter and so it made it difficult to get the filter cleaned by soaking it. I only cleaned half of a filter and I already saw how greasy it was! Not surprising, as it had been accumulating grease for at least two years (since I moved in). I'm thinking of whether to buy a big 'bowl' for cleaning it.. It's not easy to be a housewife! Just the cleaning work can take up a lot of time! And we can't be lazy in terms of keeping the flat, especially kitchen & bathroom, clean. It's hard work but somehow I enjoy it...

Classes again tomorrow, and on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Better than last week. One day off on Thursday...

Lunch: scotch egg and egg! (I forgot the scotch egg had an egg inside when I fried that egg!)

The scotch egg was not bad and I quite like it! :) 

Dinner: Hello kitty pasta again! But the soup base (with tomato & carrots) was not good. 

The pork minute steak was quite tasty - I bought it from Aldi (5 pork minute steak for £1.99 only!)! 

Being 'hea' after 5 days' classes

A 'hea' day.

Got up early to go to gym before breakfast. Felt good having done some exercises. I haven't gone to gym for a week as I have been busy going to classes! Next week will be the same - 4 days' classes and hopefully I can have a bit more time to do gym later. As usual, I did food shopping today. Can't believe I got so much food to buy for just myself - soya milk, fruit (banana, blueberry), vegetables (broccoli, courgette, sweet potato), meat (pork & chicken), cereals, etc. It sounds like I'm a big eater!

I got lazy after lunch. I had headache and so decided to have a nap, which however didn't help much. A friend called to have dinner together but I didn't feel like going out again. Felt a bit anti-social. At the end I did go and have dinner with ex-colleagues. Maybe having had classes for so many days in a week, all I want is a good rest at home?!

Lunch: my favourite pasta in tomato soup base

so many different ingredients! :)

Dinner at Fu's of Chinatown: 時菜肉絲飯 (rice with shredded pork and vegetables) 

6.5 out of 10 marks - those thin pieces were vegetables?! :(  the sauce was so-so..  

紅燒斑腩豆腐煲 (fried fish, pork belly meat and tofu pot) 

7 out of 10 marks - it got higher marks because it had my favourite tofu! 

other than that, the sauce was salty and the fried fish was too 'starchy' 

乾炒牛河(fried ho fan with beef) 

6.5 out of 10 marks - it was too oily while it didn't taste much. 

The beef was ok though. It's not easy to make a good dish like this.  

四寶飯 (four treasures rice)

7.5 out of 10 marks - usually 燒味飯 can score high marks if the meat is good. A simple dish. 

It got my favourite - cha siu. The cha siu was ok but still not very good. :p  

'free' dessert: too oily...  

In general, the food in that restaurant was not as good as before and the size of the dishes has become smaller. It seems most of the restaurants nowadays are trying to reduce the size of their dishes in order to cut costs...

1st job interview after last job

Finally I did the job interview and finished this week's class!

I woke up early as usual - checked email, washed up and then went out! I didn't do much preparation then though. When I got to the interview venue, I started getting nervous. I was the first interviewee getting there. The first interviewee before me wasn't there then yet and so one of the interviewers asked me to do the interview earlier than as scheduled (10:30 a.m.). I thought there were only 3 people on the interview panel as stated in their letter but it turned out there were 4 of them! =_=' Each one of them took turns to ask me questions. There were actually not many questions, probably about 6 questions that I had to answer. Maybe I didn't answer well and long enough that the interview looked a bit short?! I did ask them questions as well. When I came out of the interview room, there were already two other interviewees waiting! Generally speaking, I don't think I performed well - poor English, being too nervous, not answering well. Plus the fact that I can only work park time (need job share). All these sound like my chance of getting the job is very slim. :( Anyway, it's a good experience though. My first job interview since I finished my last job. When I answered the questions in the interview, I did feel that actually I had some good knowledge, experience and skills; it's just that I haven't got enough self-confidence, having been unemployed for a while (and confidence undermined by ex-employer)...

Actually I tried not to think about the job interview when I got back to kaplan for today's class. I went to the classroom just minutes before they started the break. I missed the chance to talk to the tutor about the register. Later when I asked the reception about the register, the lady said I couldn't sign it for the morning session because I went to the class later than 11 a.m. :(  Nevermind, just one absence should be ok...

To reward/cheer up myself after the interview, I went to Uncle Mcdonalds for lunch. I got a happy meal as I wanted to get a smurf :) The smurf I got doesn't have a happy face, which matched my mood today. =_=' Anyway, I was happy to get one more smurf for 'san san ma faan' family!

When the class finished, I felt a bit relieved. It's been a long week - 5 consecutive days of classes!! A lot to take in. It's no different from going to work for 5 days. I feel like I haven't got much time to do my own things this week and I was so tired to do anything after school every evening. Good that I can have a weekend to relax but I have to do food shopping (yeah!), do revision for the classes, do a job application, work on the anthology...

Lunch: happy to have happy meal! :)

Dinner: a mix of different things - mushroom omelette, mushroom chicken & 'pak choi'

New smurf was born! 

They are good friends! 

Koala is happy with smurfs! 

Continuing tiring and long schoolday

4th day in class of the week. Tired.

I was a bit more relaxed this morning when I didn't need to prepare the lunchbox. Still I was a bit late for the class. :p  Today was the first day of F6 class. The tutor was the one for F3 class of last semester. She's a very strict tutor and this semester she set stricter rules - going to class after 9:40 a.m. will be classified as 'late' (3 'lates' count as absence!), no early finish, no sound or even vibration from mobile phones, no going in and out of the classroom during class... She's a good tutor though. This class has around 30 students! Some new faces, some familiar ones. I'd prefer a smaller class. The topics include various types of taxes, such as income tax, VATs, National Insurance Contributions, of which I already know a bit. It'd be useful to have some knowledge of those things personally.  But there're lots of calculations, which I don't like! >_< I haven't made new friends in the classes so far - like last semester, I just don't feel like making new friends; not sure if it's because I don't want people to ask me things like what you did before, why study accounting, etc.?

Do some people/compaines/things keep bothering one? Like the anthology, which I still haven't finished (it's like a phd thesis, though much easier and shorter than the latter!!) and there's been a lot of email correspondence between the funding body and MMU to clarify issues about it, e.g. length, format, copyright. Then there's o2, which (after the credit check, Mac code and tag problems) still bothers me with their dongle for mobile broadband that hasn't been delivered to me yet. =_='

Tomorrow I have to go to the job interview! Really nervous and worried. Maybe I need to be the counsellor for myself and try to relax myself. Whatever the results will be, I gain experience of doing an interview, right?

Lunch: Subway - meatball & BLT! Yummy, but not seem to be enough though... 

Maybe dinner (£5 deal) is more value for money?

Dinner: McDonalds!! 

Was planning to get one more smurf for my 'ma faan' san san family

But the McDonalds we went to didn't have smurf toys any more! :(  

Interested in law instead of accounting!?

3rd day of the new semester. Still in busy mode.

Corporate & Business law today again. Though the law is much more complicated and sometimes even confusing to me, I've been enjoying this class as I found some cases/legislation interesting and the tutor has done a good job (though I felt a bit scared about being asked questions by him suddenly!). Maybe I should consider being a lawyer/solicitor instead of accountant?! :p

A long day today but I have some 'tasks' done. Still a rush in the morning - having to give a call to the plusnet for updates while trying to prepare my lunchbox. I failed to catch a free shuttle bus and so had to walk to school. Walking is nice only when you're carrying a heavy backpack (while you have problems with your back!). Finally plusnet has put my order further and hopefully I can get broadband next week! Also I have done the acca exam entry for December exams - thanks to someone's help! :) And the Chinese Embassy tried to call me today while I was in class!? Is my new passport ready? I plucked my courage to ask professor by email if I could skip the media training. She's ok with me not going! :)

I was so desperate for a (Christmas) job that I kept an eye on royalmail website about their X'mas vacancies for Manchester/North West area. I found the vacancies and applied online! Fingers crossed I can get this casual job for a bit of money. I guess it's not just about earning money but to get my confidence back. Being jobless somehow 'erodes' one's confidence & self-esteem. Of course sometimes it's us ourselves who care so much about being jobless or not...

btopenzone seems not as easily accessible as before!? I bought an add-on internet access for 50p a day. At least I don't need to worry about using too much data allowance (120mb should be enough for one day!).

a 'cracked' mini moo moo...

Lunch: egg with tomato, chicken pieces with 'pak choi' & carrots! 

Dinner: subway!!  

already a bit tired on the 2nd day of new semester!

2^nd day of the new semester. Already felt a bit tired.

Having learnt from yesterday’s experience, I tried to wake up a bit earlier this morning and didn’t need to rush to school. Today was a class for F4 paper. The tutor was also new to me. He was an old English guy who claimed to like Manchester City! He’s a nice guy too. I like to hear him telling us those legal cases or examples. I’m actually interested in law but I still couldn’t help falling asleep when sitting at all times listening to him talking about those things like legislation, civil and criminal law, etc. =_=’ Same as the F5 tutor, he also suggested us starting studying from this week. Does that mean I should have a study plan for it? There were not as many classmates as yesterday’s class but there were still some classmates I had seen before.

I started getting worried about my Friday’s job interview. L Some negative thoughts were in my mind already. What can I do to make myself more confident? The visa issue always comes back to upset me every now and then. Sigh…

It’s getting cooler again today. I usually got ill around October in recent years. Hopefully this year I’ll be strong enough! But today when I was walking on the street carrying that big backpack, I felt a bit weak! Hmm…

Still no response from plusnet. No free internet from btopenzone. Looks like I may need to buy ‘add-on’ from ‘3’ for internet access…

 My healthy lunchbox!

 oh mini moo wants to...

hello piggyyyyyyy!!  

Dinner at GBK: the portion of chunky fries was not as big as in Edinburgh...  

Even the size of burgers was smaller! 

Is the economy so bad that they have to cut the cost by downsizing the burgers? :( 

Back to class!

Back to class!! Quite a lot of things to take in on the first day of the course for the new semester and on a Monday. 

Time flies. This summer holiday has become a thing of the past. While I’m still missing it, the ACCA classes for the new semester have started! First day back to school today. Some new faces. Some familiar ones. Same environment. Same schedule – 9:30 a.m. start, 11 a.m. break, 1 p.m. lunch, 3 p.m. break and 4:30 p.m. (or earlier) finish!

I think I’m better equipped and more ready (psychologically) than last semester. At least I now know what to prepare (e.g. stationery, food, clothes) for the classes. Still it was such a rush this morning – having to check email, have breakfast, prepare lunchbox, and wash up in less than 1.5 hours. No time for ‘toilet’ (under pressure as well!)! L

The tutor was new to me. He’s teaching us F5 paper this semester. He seems quite nice, even he himself claimed so! :p His teaching was ok. He said this F5 paper would be based on our knowledge on F2, but I already forgot what I had learnt in F2! The first and only classmate who talked to me today was the Chinese girl (actually she’s a mother!) whom I met in June when I took my first ACCA exam. She spoke to me in Mandarin at the beginning and then asked me where I was from as she found my Mandarin was ‘strange’ (I guess it was because I mixed both Mandarin and English in my conversation!). Having found out I’m from HK, she started talking to me in Cantonese! =_=’ Does that mean my Mandarin is getting worse as well (besides English)? By the way, another good thing about going to classes is I can practise my English…  

Though I still don’t think I’ll be interested to be an accountant in future and I haven’t changed my view that accounting is a boring subject, my attitude toward the course may have changed a little bit. Maybe I’m not so negative about it? And I want to make better use of my time outside classes to make sure I don’t lose touch with other things (by volunteering, part-time work, etc.).

Disappointed that Boots replied to say I had missed out on their Christmas customer assistant jobs, after I had sent out my application this morning. Hopefully I can at least find a kind of Christmas job; I’m desperate for money… :p

Still no news from Plusnet. BTopenzone is still unstable and I can’t get access to the Internet at all since yesterday! I have to use the free 150mb internet of the ‘3’ sim card for my mobile. If BTopenzone is still not working while I’m waiting for plusnet, I guess I may have to top up my sim card again?! =_=’

Another busy evening – anthology, email, preparation for Friday’s interview, revision of today’s class…

*****

 Lunch: my princess lunchbox - 梅菜蒸肉餅 + broccoli + carrots

Capri Sun orange juice & banana! :)  

Dinner: pasta in tomato soup with minced pork & chicken pieces & broccoli! :) 

household work never ends!

What a day of household cleaning!

The first thing I did after breakfast was laundry. Then I started cleaning the kitchen and bathroom. There were some hidden places in the kitchen (e.g. tap) that I tried to clean; then there was the tray for washing powder of the washing machine that I had to clean or it'd keep blocked. There was also the filter for the cooker hood that needs cleaning but I had enough of cleaning today and so will do it next time. I'd never have known about all these sorts of things if I hadn't lived in a flat on my own. The change of new flatmate is good in that way - I have to learn all those things. Being a housewife is not easy and that also means she can be very busy! That's why I told my mum, who always thought I had a lot of free time as I didn't have classes in summer, that I actually got a lot of things to do!

Then there's also job applications, email replies, ebay stuff that I have to do...

It's good to be busy though!

Tomorrow I'll start going to classes for ACCA again...

*****

Lunch: cheese burger with tomatoes & ketchup! 

Plus baked beans & broccoli! Yummy!  

Hmm, was trying to take photos of those bags...  

What a clean (brand new like) tray for the washing machine! 

Another light bulb (for cooker hood) to be replaced!

Being a light bulb lady again! 

Dinner: 梅菜蒸肉餅 (again! I really like it!)

the weekend before classes start

Today was the last weekend for shopping in such a relaxed mood before the new classes start next Monday.

I tried to go to gym early in the morning (hmm, wanted to see whether it worked if I went there very early without having breakfast) - got to gym around 8:45 a.m. (though my original plan was to get there an hour earlier!) and did for half an hour. I felt refreshed indeed. I was thinking of whether to go for McDonalds breakfast. Hmm... at the end I still ate the remaining bread at home and then went out to do a bit of food shopping.

Friend gave me a big bag of stuff for ebay selling! I can learn to be a business assistant! :p It didn't look easy at the beginning, especially when we had to describe the items and decide on the price. But I guess once I start working on a few items, I should be ok. :)

Food shopping in Bolton in the afternoon!! We had lunch at Morrisons - 'free' lunch because we got enough stamps to qualify for an £8 meal! :) Having learnt a lesson last time, we knew what to order this time and were full! No salmon from Bolton Market - only 2 big salmon for £10 was on offer but I didn't want to have 2 big salmon; that'd be too much for me! A big salmon that I bought last time took me at least a month to finish (given that I eat salmon twice a week). I don't want to buy things just because they're cheap. Hopefully next time I can get a big salmon for £6 or cheaper! :p

*****

Lunch: fish & chips!! Why does fish nowadays seem to be smaller? 

I still miss the fish eaten in Glasgow! :p

sausages, egg, beans & chips!

I like sausages! Yummy! :)  

Dinner: chicken in sweetcorn soup + mushroom + broccoli 

Gutsy & Hefty are happy! 

a day with emotional ups and downs

I stayed at home all day but today was still busy & eventful.

I got a phone call from the organization to which I had applied for a job. They asked me to attend an interview! :) I wasn't expecting I'd get the chance. Anyway, the interview will take place next Friday when I have a whole day class. Hopefully the tutor will let me off the morning session. Later in the afternoon I saw Boots & Royal Mail were recruiting for Christmas! So I'm going to apply to them and hope to earn a bit of money.

The electrician called me two days ago about a visit to our flat to check the extractor fan for our bathrooms. I missed his call and today the agent emailed to ask me to contact the electrician. The electrician came in the afternoon. He had to use a ladder to go into the little space on the roof of my room to see the extractor fan. Poor him! He found the 'controller' thing for the fan had been burnt and the filter was so dusty. He said he had to find a quote for the 'controller' and contact our landlord to see if he's willing to pay. =_=' Fingers crossed...

I had a chat on the phone with an ex-colleague. She said her good 'friend' and I seemed to have similar situations - her good 'friend' had had different household problems to sort out before, e.g. tv licence, water meter, broadband, and she had to help him sort them out. Then they found out the current government has changed the rules for social benefits to such an extent that people from EU can't get benefits any more! :( So he's quite worried about his living while at the same time he doesn't want to go back to Macau as he doesn't like the life there and he doesn't want to leave my ex-colleague. Same case with me... :(

*****

Another ex-colleague of mine is getting married in October. Today I asked her if any of my ex-colleagues would be attending. I found only me and my two ex-bosses would be there; there's not many people I know who'd be attending (besides a pair of brothers whom I don't really have much contact with now). :( It's a nightmare - going to a wedding where you know no one but your two ex-bosses who you don't like; I thought someone would go but it's very unlikely that he'd go :( . Anyway...

*****

Lunch: lazy person's meal - burger with baked beans

Dinner: salmon in teriyaki sauce and broccoli 

Yummy Yummy! 

Reflections on August 2011

What did I do in August? Hmm...

1) Volunteered at the Art Gallery for their family summer workshops - I attended 8 days and what I did most of the time was helping prepare materials for different parts of the workshops; I didn't have much interaction with other staff/volunteers nor participants. But at least it helped me get in touch with people/society again and I got a bit of inspiration for ideas. :p Would love continue volunteering at art gallery but at the same time want to find voluntary work at other places as well.

2) Did a weekend trip - very relaxing, enjoyable and memorable. Wish I could do more travel like that in future...

3) Been trying to sort out broadband issue - o2 refunded the money, while I have been trying to get broadband from plusnet but the Mac code issue has delayed the whole process. When will the nightmare with o2 finish?

4) Still kept going to gym - not as hardworking as before, lost a bit of motivation plus been troubled by the back pain problem. :(

5) met up with some friends - though I seemed to have more free time, it wasn't easy to find a time to meet up with friends!

Being jobless doesn't mean one is not busy. He/She can have a lot to do or be busy with.

Looking ahead to September...

Hello san san family! :)

A quiet day. Done reflections. Planned for Sept. Had a good rest.

Not feel like saying much today.

*****

Hiya! I was just born! :)

San San family!  

Koala's happy to have 3 new smurf friends to look after! :) 

(taken with 450d - finally it was out again!) 

Lunch: last night's leftover soup 

Dinner: instant noodles with salmon (without bones!) + baked beans + carrots + broccoli

suddenly felt like having noodles for dinner...