Wednesday, September 26, 2007
i spent a day by the lake...
It's been a month since i arrived in Kingston, a month in Canada. Looking back, I seem to have done more in this past month than I usually do in a year back home. For instance, I've eaten more Subway than I can remember (the first 2 weeks when I was too lazy and still settling in), and it scares me that I can actually remember what the sub-of-the-day is everyday. Or how I've been to Montreal twice already, and will be leaving for my second Toronto trip tomorrow. And how I lost my wallet with all my cards and identification barely a week into arriving in Canada. But life goes on.
Started cooking properly in my house since last week, before that I was borrowing a friend's place because it made more sense to share on groceries (but then I got tired of going over every night, plus also abit paiseh). You've seen the pasta lineup, here's what I've whipped up so far this week.
Started cooking properly in my house since last week, before that I was borrowing a friend's place because it made more sense to share on groceries (but then I got tired of going over every night, plus also abit paiseh). You've seen the pasta lineup, here's what I've whipped up so far this week.
pan-fried chicken, lettuce with mushrooms
minced beef, chicken & cabbage soup
spag with chicken, beef, bacon, sausage (yes i was bored and lazy)
asparagus and chickenAlso, my room's getting more settled in, although I'm still searching for a cupboard to put my stuff and as such I'm kinda still living out of my suitcase (more like using it as a huge drawer). I'd love to add in stuff like cushions and lamps and a small table, and I keep reminding myself I'm on a budget, but at least I'm feeling more comfortable in it (sometimes I feel like I'm slowly preparing it so I can hibernate properly come winter)
Weekdays are spent wandering the streets of Kingston, frequenting the cafes and bookstores (although there are a couple of eating places I have my eye on, just waiting for people to visit so I have an excuse to splurge), or of late, spent hiding under a rock in my room. Which I find myself starting to miss nowadays when I'm travelling, especially on the last day of my travels on my way home. When I start looking forward to a bath and lounging on my carpet and bed, that's where I think I've found a home away from home. That said, I still kinda miss my wallet. And the fact that strange people come up to talk to me when I walk around at night (which is why I stopped).
Still waiting to go sailing on the lake, picnicking by the lakeside (if I find friends) and visit the rest of Canada (when I manage to work out my budget and find travelling companions). For now, Kingston's a nice place to chill out and await the coming of winter.
Weekdays are spent wandering the streets of Kingston, frequenting the cafes and bookstores (although there are a couple of eating places I have my eye on, just waiting for people to visit so I have an excuse to splurge), or of late, spent hiding under a rock in my room. Which I find myself starting to miss nowadays when I'm travelling, especially on the last day of my travels on my way home. When I start looking forward to a bath and lounging on my carpet and bed, that's where I think I've found a home away from home. That said, I still kinda miss my wallet. And the fact that strange people come up to talk to me when I walk around at night (which is why I stopped).
Still waiting to go sailing on the lake, picnicking by the lakeside (if I find friends) and visit the rest of Canada (when I manage to work out my budget and find travelling companions). For now, Kingston's a nice place to chill out and await the coming of winter.
wen was dreaming at 9:53 PM
Monday, September 24, 2007
so i've been cooking...
and this is what i've come up with so far...
salmon and egg with pasta (plus i threw in bacon for more taste)
creamy mushroom pasta
uh. this was like sausage and bacon and mushroom and egg, i kinda had to use up the ingredients...
mee goreng. hurhur
i tried to make aglio olio. can never get the pasta the right al dente texture. and don't even get me started on the lack of chili... (the egg was cos i was hungry)so i'm a boring lazy cook. but i'm improving.
for trip photos, toronto is here.
Toronto Day 1 & 2
CN Tower
Toronto Day 3 & 4
wen was dreaming at 8:45 AM
Thursday, September 13, 2007
because i'm lazy...
and it's easier to upload photos on facebook than on blogger. so i did, and here're the links. thus far.Kingston 1
Kingston 2
Kingston 3
1000 islands cruise
Montreal 1
Montreal 2
Montreal 3
Tamtams Festival
Osheaga Music Festival
alright...in the middle of intl human rights now...it's interesting and all, i'm totally lost, and the thought of the 25 page essay assignment and the 1 hr presentation is pretty daunting. headed to toronto this evening, photos when i return!
p.s. do inform if the links don't work, cos i know not everyone has facebook, and i'm just too lazy to upload one photo at a time when i have like 4 gb worth...
wen was dreaming at 1:11 PM
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
random musings
blogger needs to devise a more efficient way to upload photos. like facebook with its iphoto exporter. or i need to take less photos. in any case, temporary hiatus on photos here until i've sorted through my montreal pics.in other news, just back from montreal, and the osheaga festival. stars was awesome, feist was amazing, and don't even get me started on damien rice. found a few new bands too, like the veils and the editors were not bad (considering i was just listening to them to while away time before stars played). would wax lyrical about how wonderful the experience was, standing on the dusty ground listening to the bands play so close to you and feeling the vibe of the crowd, but words fail me. (that and the fact that some of you might murder me) but suffice to say, just listening to those three play consecutively was enough to complete my day and make my money's worth, so much so that i skipped the smashing pumpkins, who were the highlight of the night, in favour of sitting down and dinner. hurhur.
montreal is wonderful. not just for the music fest, but also the city as well, both old montreal (vieux-montreal, see, i know my french, sorta..) and the nightlife districts (st-laurent, st-catherine, and rue sherbrooke, if i recall) i love the place. and as a canadian friend of mine said, all i had to do was to attend the tamtams festival at parc du mont-royal on sunday (it's a festival at the bottom of the hill from which montreal got its name, and every sunday in summer they just gather and play drums and dance...okay i really suck at describing it) to grasp the essence of montreal. well...i went for it, it was really cool and hippie-ish, and i love how they can just laze back in the sun and on the grass and just appreciate life and take it all in.
sigh. must. go. back. soon.
photos up soon. promise. one day.
wen was dreaming at 1:01 AM
Thursday, September 06, 2007
dawg.
because it annoys linshoomin.
lazy to upload more. the next boring class, i will upload photos from my pre-canada week
and omigosh. international human rights requires me to write a 25 page essay with a 1 hr presentation. why la why. the things i do to slack and holiday.
wen was dreaming at 1:27 PM
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
osheaga!
tickets have been booked, hostels have been reserved, and i'm currently looking for a car to rent this weekend:
stars, feist, damien rice, love.
P.S. sp see i do update my blog, so there. *grin*
wen was dreaming at 11:54 AM
Monday, September 03, 2007
it's funny,
how i can be calmly sitting at a cafe blogging and sipping at tea when my wallet was stolen last night and i'm technically penniless and i need to cancel all my cards asap.plus how i've just realised i'm sitting under a picasso picture of don quixote. hurhur. i love the way life works sometimes.
wen was dreaming at 9:39 AM
Sunday, September 02, 2007
still alive
sorry for the lack of updates, been kinda busy this week!so in a pinch, friday i went to lemoine point, which is a nature reserve far far away from downtown, and saw chipmunks and birds and had a picnic! then night time was a nice dinner party with pasta and wine (sorry was enjoying myself too much to take pics)
yesterday was spent wandering in walmart and the town centre (farfar away as well), realised the prices over here are the same as back in singapore (i so need to get over to NY), and we (the singaporean bunch) tried to cook dinner.
pictures as below:
my room
my room, with some improvements
kitchen!
i love how people can just laze about in the sunshine
off to lemoine point
shot of the day
louna (finland), reina (germany), and melina (california)
justin, the nice friendly guy helping out the exchange students
bert taking photos, the bus stop to farfar away
cheryl from SMU
down at the town centre
i cooked dinner!
the kitchen at the SMU students' place(their place is very nice btw, photos to follow)
bak kut teh!i do realise my photos are largely of scenery and not of people and places, but hey, i prefer taking animals and plants, so yeah... anyways, right now it's sunday afternoon, and i'm having tea and muffins at a nice cafe near my apartment which has free wireless. hence, i'm slacking my sunday away, as always. refuse to shop for furniture and other randoms. grins.
wen was dreaming at 12:15 PM