Autumn in Japan #8

Day 8 + 9

Remember I said in the previous post about how I REALLY wanted to try the fried mackerel? Well, I was SO CLOSE to getting it. Only thing was... my Japanese wasn't good enough. :'(( The next day we had to return our rental car by 12 noon back in Fukuoka which would be about a 3-4 hour drive. So if we wanted to get our fried Aji we needed to wake up early. AND WAKE UP EARLY WE DID. I'm usually not an early bird at all but for food...

So we actually got up at 6am and were in the restaurant close to 7am. The waitress was obviously surprised because we were the only non-locals in at such an early hour. When the time came to take our order, I said something to the equivalent of "AJI! PLEASE!" in Japanese, grinning like an idiot, thinking that that was the ONLY WAY an Aji could be cooked. We waited a while... but then Donald noticed that the fryer wasn't switched on. In my naivety I was all like, ohh maybe they are grilling the fish first THEN deep frying it! Still thinking my crispy fried Aji was along the way... Until the old lady chef presented our dishes and staring up at me was not the glistening golden pieces of deep fried Aji that I had sacrificed sleep for, but a whole mackerel simply... grilled. :( I was so sad I wanted to cry! But the old lady was smiling away and asking, "so how is it?" What else could I say but "delicious!", my heart bleeding away deep inside. LOL. Pretty hilarious come to think of it right? It was still a really delicious piece of grilled mackerel, I'll give you that. BUT. STILL.

Donald said that perhaps they don't actually sell fried stuff so early in the morning so maybe even if I had asked for it correctly it might not have been served anyway. ;/ You think?? SOBBB. I'd like to think so. But we'll never know until we go back there again. That said, I highly recommend you trying out this restaurant and opting for fried Aji the way the old fogies do. It has to be sublime.

So in conclusion, if you REALLY want something in a foreign land, you should present it in three forms - written, pictorial (I could've screen captured a photo of fried Aji and showed it to her), spoken (in its proper form). The things we learn through travel.

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Anyway, back to our trip. Along the way from Kagoshima back to Fukuoka, we stopped by a really beautiful temple called Kiyomizu Temple in Miyama City (in Fukuoka). The most famous Kiyomizu Temple would have to be the one in Kyoto and I'm sure few have heard of this same-named one but this was really quite beautiful too.



Isn't the view amazing? This was the view from a special viewing room in the temple and apparently the entire garden had been specially manicured to allow the viewer the optimal view from the vantage point.



It was pretty funny because when everyone made their way into the room, it was all a flurry of 'ahhhh!! ohhhh!', followed by the snapping of photos, from regular digital cameras to more professional ones held by older people. It's amazing how many older Japanese people are really into photography; complete with all the hard core gear (tripods etc) + floppy sun hat to boot.

After awhile, a nun came in and started giving us an explanation of the temple and its grounds. She begin with something akin to, 'Settle down please! Let your hearts be calm as you enjoy the beauty of the scenery...' and after a brief introduction, she just had to end it of with, 'and NOW you may all take your photos!' which was followed by a ripple of sheepish laughter through the crowd. Heh. All tourists are the same throughout the world, even Japanese tourists.



After the next group of tourists entered, a venerable looking monk came in to give the introduction.



Then we made it back to Fukuoka in the nick of time!

I'll mix it up a bit and just go by general places that I would highly recommend checking out.

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Tempura - Tempura Teishoku Senmon Daruma

We had been hoping for a nice tempura/soba place (ok, I had been craving for it and Donald was nice enough to go along for the headless search) so we decided to try our luck in searching for one. It had to be legit. Ideally, hole in the wall style with master chef quietly churning out his tempura and soba to ravenously slurping customers. I thought, shouldn't be too hard to find right? After all, in Tokyo, tempura/udon/soba shops are like a dime a dozen in any neighbourhood along with ramen shops. But NO. They aren't that common in Fukuoka. Or at least in Tenjin which was where we were at. But as luck would have it, when we almost reaching that delirious state from extreme hunger, we managed to spot the words Tempura on a sign across the street. So in we walked into a real cool old school Tempura shop with rows and rows of strips of paper taped onto the walls showing the items available. That was their menu. Was as legit as one could hope for. It wasn't too crowded and though it was old, the energy from the owners was palpable, right from the enthused, 'Irrashaimase!"

It was a little hard to find a proper page on google because I don't think they have a proper website but I did find something on foursquare .



It was the first time I'd seen tempura served on plastic dishes. Just seemed very old school and kind cute too. ;p That lurid green.



REAALLY CRISPY tempura!

I love these family businesses. I keep assuming they all belong to the same family but... they probably do right? When there's a middle aged lady/gentleman and a younger looking daughter... that's the most logical conclusion right? :D These guys were incredibly friendly and we so good about me taking photos.





As we were leaving, the chef allowed me to take a photo of him and even gave me his name card with an even cooler picture of him posing with a vat of deep fried tempura. I promised him I'd post it on Facebook which I already have but here's hoping it reaches more people so that you can all go pay him a visit when you go to Fukuoka. ;) Deal?

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Coffee - Coffee Bimi



Coffee Bimi. A real haven for coffee lovers. Gods, I must have taken 10 + shots of this place and numerous repeated ones of the owner because I wanted to make sure I got at least one that was in focus. ;p It's a real gem of a cafe, with a quiet, cozy atmosphere, the heady scent of coffee from in-house roasted beans, and sturdy mid century furniture. It specializes in flannel filtered coffee which the owner churns out with such focus. Watching him was like watching a performance.





Best part of all? His really adorable uniform. I suspect the people there comprise of him, his wife (who chisels off ice from whole ice blocks for his iced drinks and helps him put out drinks) and his daughter (who mans the register and does the serving of drinks). And they all have matching, coordinated linen uniforms in quaint, muted colors with the occasional pop of color provided by a neck tie. Seriously, who came up with their awesome uniforms? I can't imagine any average middle aged person coming up with such great designs.



I had the iced coffee which was delicious (and I don't even drink coffee very much) while Donald had the classic black coffee. He said it was 'the best coffee' he had ever tasted. And this guy really likes his coffee. 'Nuff said.

Bookstore - Books Kubrick





Lovely bookstore we popped into along the same stretch of road as Coffee Bimi and a bunch of very unique stores (e.g. antique wares, local ceramics/handicraft stores).

Oden - Yasube

We went to a restaurant called Yasube, for our first taste of Oden (a type of Japanese hot pot/stew dish that is traditionally served in winter time). It's a little bit of a challenge to find because it's along a quiet alley so I'd recommend maybe Google-mapping it first to get a rough idea of its location. Miraculously we managed to find it despite its unassuming facade. The way some of these restaurants are built, you'd think they're purposely discouraging customers from finding it. ;p

It was such a great experience. Initially when we opened the door they apologized and politely turned us away because they said the restaurant was too full. I think to them they want enough customers to have enough room to enjoy themselves rather than be packed in like sardines even though they could definitely make more money that way. Isn't that incredible? Because we definitely saw a couple of seats available at some corners of the restaurant. But it speaks volumes of an establishment when they would rather compromise their profits than compromise of customer service and satisfaction. Luckily for us, two customers left the place not 10 minutes after so we managed to get a seat. It was a warm, cozy restaurant, yet another a family establishment with the dad as the chef, mum as sous chef and son as head server. :D We'd never eaten Oden before so I just asked the mum to give us a standard platter; whatever she could recommend, and she did.
 

I think the taste of Oden is meant to be light yet filling. The broth was good but extremely light. I think my taste buds are more used to the strong flavors of laksa/yong tau foo in SG but there's definitely something about the subtly of flavor that I could get used to in Oden.
 


Side dish of daikon.
 

The head chef in action.

On a side note, I find that certain chefs take on a particular posture when they reach master chef level. A case in point would be the Mee Pok Uncle (stall owner) at my secondary school. He definitely had some kind of arthritis/bad back going on because he was always sort of bent forward and his fingers were a little gnarled but you know what? They were perfectly suited to slicing meat. Left hand on a slab of meat, right hand holding on to the knife that would swiftly, even gracefully, slice through the meat, creating incredibly thin, uniform slices which he would toss into boiling water before adding it to his mee pok noodles. MMM. Just thinking about it makes me hungry. That was a bit of a digression but you get my point. After awhile, their bodies take the form most suited to their craft. This chef had a bit of a hunch that seemed all the more fitting as he bent over to check on the pieces of oden in the huge vat of broth, stirring occasionally, adding to it, removing pieces with his ginormous pair of chopsticks to be arranged artfully on a ceramic plate. It's a joy watching these chefs in action.
 

As we were leaving, the son, who probably could tell we were foreigners the minute we walked through the door, spent a bit of time kindly chatting with us to find out more about our travels. One thing I love about Fukuoka-ians is how they tend to be a very warm, curious and sincere bunch. He enquired about next stop and when we told him we were hoping to check out some Yatai (street food stalls) for supper, not only did he give us his analysis on the better areas for Yatai ("The Yatai over here is really expensive! Better to go to the other side to not get cheated"), he even gave us a map of Fukuoka city that was in Korean and might have been left behind by Korean tourists but suited us perfectly well because there were English translations as well.
 

Yasube

2-17 Nishinakasu, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka 

Do go here! Another highly recommended place.

Yatai



Walking along the canal at night, basking in the warmth of the street food stalls or Yatai.
 

Peek at the back of the stall.

Sigh, the last day we were there was basically just a mad rush of eating, shopping, walking around, trying to get as much more of Japan in as possible.

Cafe - Rokuyoutei 
 

(taken with iPhone) 

We did manage to find this amazing place for tea! While waking along Tenjin, we happened to spot a signboard which showed a bunch of really yummy looking Western dishes including french toast. This place was a few floors above ground and while pretty small, was VERY cozy and kid friendly. Lots of young couples with their kiddos taking their time for Sunday lunch. The food looked really tasty (kept eyeing the dishes that were being served to other customers) but too bad we'd discovered the place after lunch. So we decided on dessert which was French toast, Japanese style, with mochi and red bean toppings. Took forever to come, really, but when it did come, it was a sight to behold. Layers of crispy french toast literally soaked in BUBBLING HOT BUTTER in a hot pot, sizzling and crackling away. SO good with the generous scoop of ice cream on top. I would definitely go back there again for lunch and a relaxing afternoon.

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General Recommendations



When in Fukuoka, you must must go to the awesome neighbourhood of Tenjin. It's good a great vibe with lots of shopping (complete with your variety of department stores/malls and also the unique boutiques/shops which are so to explore)(apparently the biggest shopping area in Kyushu), cafes, and eateries. We stayed at Hakata which was convenient as it's one of the nearest stops from the airport by subway but Tenjin would only have been 2-3 mores stops down.





One place to check out would definitely be D and Department Kagoshima in Maruya Gardens. OOooooOo I could spend hours in there browsing through the beautifully crafted items. D-Department is an incredible company that focuses on Japanese design and has a whole series of travel guidebooks with a design edge. We referred a lot to the Fukuoka book while exploring and there were so many awesome places we didn't manage to check out yet! I'm sure they have D and Department stores in Tokyo, Fukuoka and other places which I would highly recommend checking out. ;)

Sigh. Ok I think that's about it for now. All in all, it was a really really great trip. :) I'm so thankful for every wonderful trip I get to experience. There were some definite post-travel blues upon coming back and returning home but then I always go back to this quote:

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” 

-- A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh.

Isn't that statement plain genius? Whenever something wonderful happens and we feel sad that it's over, isn't it always better/easier to instead, feel grateful that we had the privilege of experiencing it in the first place? :) I go back to that every time. Plus, we can also do the next best thing - plan and look forward to the next trip!

Btw, Happy CNY everyone! Hope everyone's having a wonderful, restful time with family and friends. I just had one of the best naps this afternoon in a loooooong time. OH yeah. 

xooxoox

this place called home

One of the books I'm currently reading now is "What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast". Yeah, I'm that kind of person. I kinda have a weakness for self-help/improvement books because I do think that the mind can influence everything in life. Basically it's about how people utilise and make the most of their time. With weekends for example, while most people would want to just laze around on the couch and while away their time catching up on movies with a 10 hour marathon, there are people who make it a point to plan out their weekends so that they don't waste them away. (According to the book, because I sure don't harbour quotes like these in my mind at any one time) Anatole France once wrote, "Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another". I suppose that has a ring of truth to it. But mainly if the alternate form of labour is something one is passionate and enthusiastic about. Then through indulging in it (even if it might be challenging or tough in itself), one would find a sort of pleasure from having achieved something, if not external, then internal peace of mind at being able to do something for oneself.
For me, it's a constant struggle. Work gets so tiring that most of the time all I want to do is lie in bed during my free time/sleep in on the glorious mornings when I don't have to work. Almost always, I'm still trying to figure out how to make full use of time - to cherish it, relish it and yet not get stressed out by its finiteness. It's a different form of stress, because once you have it, the thought that it could slip away adds to the burden of not wanting to while it away thoughtlessly. Ever felt that way? 

But I digress. One of the things recommended by the author was to create a list of 100 Dreams - things to work into weekends so that each one becomes meaningful and not wasted away by the time spent deciding what to do. One of the things on my list would have to be Photography + Exploration. Ok that makes two. But they would have to be hand in hand. In the past few weeks whenever I go out with Donald, we try to explore areas that we haven't been to before in SG. I tend to bring my darling Minolta along while he snaps away with his iPhone5. It's great that he's into photography a lot more now because recently he's discovered the wonders of Vscocam and has been making full use of it in Instagram. ;p (Do check out his Instagram feed and follow along because he's got some great stuff there. *coughshamelesspluggingcough*) It always feels like there are so many places to explore, so many bits of SG to (re-)discover. And even if it's walking by the usual places like Orchard, sometimes it's so dang fun to put on touristy sunglasses. New perspectives always keep things fresh. 

So here are some snapshots of my SG. :D 



Random parrot outside a store in Jurong. This one was uncharacteristically...quiet.



Outside Necessary Provisions, a cafe which is apparently really good but EVERYTIME Donald and I have gone there in an attempt to indulge in coffee/a good meal, we've always been thwarted by 1. overcrowded cafe (and they actually did not let us in because they said it was too crowded!) 2. random closing hours 3. trouble outside about 20m away requiring us to call the police (but that's a story for another day). The long and short of it is that we have no managed to get inside...yet.



While walking along Tanjong Pagar after lunch one day.



One of THE coolest, most bad-ass Uncles by far. This guy is just plain awesome. He must be 70 or 80 years of age but by gosh is he FIT. He's always outside Ngee Ann City (at least I've seen him there during the weekends), swinging those humungous hooped beads, sometimes two at a time. He's been featured in the papers a number of times for his fitness regime heh. And when he needs to take a break (probably a toilet break), he just leaves his belongings behind, bucket full of cash/donations included. That's the trusting spirit that's so hard to come by nowadays. One day, I hope to be as daring, healthy, energetic and bold as this dude. I could wax lyrical about him the entire day. X) And he always gives the best poses.



I just adore him. And my sis actually managed to get a free lesson in bead-hooping from him the other day! Will need to find out her story soon.



Ohhh the smell of roasted chestnuts. One of my favourites. :) Managed to catch this chestnut selling uncle outside Liat Towers one evening at Orchard.



House of Tau Sah Piah in Balestier. Really tasty stuff! This was during the CNY period too so those snacks were perfect.



Coffee bean wholesaler in Balestier. Another smell I adore/which excites me but I'm still a tea guzzler more than coffee.



In the gorgeous Plain Vanilla cafe. My only qualm would be that the air-conditioning does not extend to the customer-eating space! If it did, it would be quite perfect. Because the cakes/pastries/cupcakes are DELISH.



Along Haji Lane, there's a vintage clothing store called Dulcetfig which is probably now famous for having 3 resident cats (well at last count, there were 3) in the store. If I ever had a store, I would get my future French Bulldog, Kong, to be the mascot.



One of the few times that cats make my heart melt. :)



Steeples Deli! A family favorite from way back in the day. I have many fond memories of this place. My dad used to bring my sis and me for weekend breakfasts/lunches here all the time last time. And without fail, I would get a classic beef burger (well done for the beef, because well, I was a kid) and a chocolate milkshake. And each time, I would polish off the entire thing. I had a humungous appetite (and belly) at the time and for some reason I used to think showing off how much I could eat was something that would score me brownie points in my parents' eyes. ;p That place had the best smoothies ever though. Rich, creamy, thick...cold... I don't eat beef anymore so if anything I would go back for a smoothie. And they have incredible Rueben sandwiches too. SIGH. <3 (It's at Tanglin Shopping Centre)



Mr Dapper Cat lost in his own thoughts in a store in Tiong Bahru. When I first came across it, I honestly thought it was a statue because it was so still. Until it shifted ever so slightly. Made for a good model.

Going through these photos and all those memories was actually pretty comforting. :) More next time! xoxo

Compl(i)ments of

Compl(i)ments of is a place I've been meaning to return to ever since I stepped foot into it about a month ago. I stumbled upon it when Donald and I had decided to check out the exhibition - Google Translating Tokyoto , a wonderful cozy exhibition (put up by an insanely creative family who decided to document their trip to Tokyo in the form of a famzine/'family-zine') held at the gallery space in Temporium. Temporium's part diner/gallery/pop-up store which apparently may only be around till the middle of March (!) =( but I'm hoping they'll decide to carry on in that premises. Compl(i)ments of is the diner portion, featuring coffee from everyone's favorite Papa Palheta and beautiful ceramic wares by the ceramics collective Weekend Warrior. Simply put, it's a gorgeous space. The minute I walked in, I could feel my heart quietening down, the way you might feel when walking into a hushed, rarefied space. It's been a long while since I've been to a cafe/place so pretty in its design.




It had been drizzling that afternoon so we skipped through the puddles and raindrops to Temporium. All worth it because the exhibition was great and the rest time after in the cafe was perfect. :)



Isn't that a great way to display the cup and plate? Everything was designed so beautifully in this place; all down to the last detail.



Enjoying a rainy afternoon cappuccino and accompanying biscuits. 



Les perpetual face.  

Temporium 

72 – 74 

DUNLOP STREET SINGAPORE 209400 

(I've been meaning to sign up for one of their courses! They periodically hold courses such as Terrarium-making which would be sooo fun. Do check them out) 

Ever since starting work, I think my social life has definitely taken its toll. But I'm pretty sure most of my colleagues would say the same. It's tough. The first year is always going to tough and we all knew that from the start. More and more, whenever I have free time, one of the things I crave doing is 1. lying in bed with a good book (this past year has been about Murakami)(currently in the middle of his opus, 1Q84) 2. spending time in a quiet place sipping on tea and feeling the stress ebb away. So much of it has been about the search for down time. Without which, I would be a lot more worn out and just plain frazzled. 

So here's to a great rest of the week, with pockets of precious down time purposefully snuck in. ;) 

xoxo

P.S. HAPPY CNY!! 

Happy New Year

It's hard to believe that it's going to be the new year already. This year has been such an incredible one. There were so many things that happened and now that I think back... I can't really think of any other way to describe this year other than EVENTFUL. :)

A couple of reasons why: 1. It's the year I graduated and started work. Oh the PAIN of work and the burden of having to experience the responsibilities as a working adult. No longer can I just take the afternoon off if there are no tutorials or if I just FEEL like taking a break and going off for some foot reflexology. God, I miss those days. But I suppose, there's nothing like finally receiving some money every month that can be put towards travel. ;p And while there have been so many tiring/trying/downright depressing days, I have survived this far... and in a way it's a relief to think that the most difficult Intern year will be finishing soon... ok in another 4 months but that's a teeny detail.

2. It's the year I had the most incredible graduation trip(s) with my mum and a group of the craziest/best travel buddies I could've asked for (recall New Zealand ;p). 'Nuff said. I love those guys I travelled with and I always feel like giving them a great big hug everytime I look through out photos. Ever tried driving a 5 person caravan through the long winding NZ roads for miles and miles with a wonky sound system? Hilarious.

3. It's the year I got to do some great traveling with awesome experiences. :) Not only did I manage to have a great time with my mum in Europe, my grad trip group in New Zealand, but I was also able to go to Montreal, one of my favorite cities, for the Osheaga Festival. That was pretty amazing because it was something I had decided on almost on a whim, after seeing the incredible line up for the 3 day festival. And after I had bought the tickets to the festival it was like... ok now I need to buy the plane tickets. And then everything else fell into place. I loved seeing everyone's shocked expression when I told them I was going to Montreal over ... 8 days? :) I had maxed out my leave for that period of time to travel but it was so worth it. And I DID sort of wipe out the paltry amount in my bank account since I had just started work as well but really... I have no regrets at all. It was such a wonderful, relaxing experience for me. Well, a lot of it was just me walking the streets of Montreal, enjoying the gorgeous late summer - early autumn chilly weather, popping into cafes, finishing up that tome that is The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (and I would definitely recommend that it you're looking for a book to lose yourself in) and walking up early in the mornings feeling slightly stuffy because there was no air conditioning in the Air BnB room that I was staying in but it was so peaceful and quiet nonetheless. Ok after recapping it briefly in my mind, I'm all prepared to go back again. :) But hopefully with some people this time. Montreal is too fantastic a place to experience alone.

4. It's the year of counting blessings. I started this ritual of posting on Facebook every few days something about work that I was grateful for, because I knew that if I didn't actively do something like that, I would just become depressed and full of angst very easily since I don't particularly look forward to work. But counting blessings really does help lift one's mood and overall outlook on life. :) I'm so grateful for the tiniest of things... perhaps a text message in the night while I'm on call that keeps me company... friends/colleagues who can sympathise with everything and who offer an invaluable well of emotional support... warm barley water cooked by my dearest Ahpo (grandmama) when she knows I'm tired out from work (that I happen to be sipping now :D)... the joy of going on leave and packing my luggage in the middle of the week when everyone else has to go in to work the next day hehehe...

Oh it's just a whirlwind of emotions all the time. For every bit that's that much more trying, there's always something else to be grateful/thankful for which buoys my mood and helps me get through things. It's something that I want to continue doing for the rest of my life. Always being grateful for things.

(Happy Christmas. Taken while in Ginza (probably) in Tokyo, Dec 2013.) 

It took me awhile to remember the circumstances around this photo because at first all I could see were the lights... then I saw the person in the photo with her handphone and then it hit me. We were walking around at night when we spotted a bunch of prettily lit Xmas trees that were part of the 'Illumination series' of Xmas decor across town. There were so many tourists taking photos of the same tree and while Donald was not particularly impressed, I thought it would be fun to take a photo of someone taking a photo. :) I'm just glad that the bokeh turned out nicely! Quite unexpected and another reason to love film.

Now it's time for me to settle down and get ready for work tomorrow. Yes, working on New Year's Day and through the night as well. But hopefully it'll be incredibly uneventful and smooth-sailing. I'm just grateful for these quiet moments at home tonight that allowed me to reflect on the past year of events. Facebook's 2013 in Review thingamajiggy sort of prompted this rumination as well.

Here's wishing everyone a blessed New Year ahead. :) Would love to hear about your thoughts on the year past/ahead as well.

Happy New Year.

xoxo

best coffee between the earth and sky

One of the most gorgeous places I've been to in my life. EVER.

View from the Mount John Observatory at Lake Tekapo. I guess most people would make the journey there to gaze at stars in the night sky but it's also a perfect place to enjoy brunch in the day with good company.



The waters were THAT clear and the skies a perfect blaze of wispy clouds. I kid you not.



And atop the mountain lies the Astro Cafe , a place that claims to have the best coffee between the earth and the sky. :D Not too sure about that because I tucked in to a deliciously warm cup of hot chocolate since it was cold and chilly up there. The food was regular fare - sandwiches, cakes, financiers... made all the more special because of the location. I wonder how many couples come to this spot for their first date. Wouldn't it be amazing to watch the sunset and then enjoy a feast of stars after? SIGH. 



Meet a regular's adorable god! :) I'm pretty sure he was a regular because well he was one of those congenial old men you'd imagine to be retired but spends his free time walking his dog to funky places to meet new people because he can. And the dog definitely knows his way around the observatory point - look how at home he is. 





Agh if this was a few months ago I would definitely be able to recall his name but for the life of me, I can't now. Gosh has it already been... 7 months since my graduation trip? Time flies so much faster than we ever realize.




Mmm-mmm nothing like hot chocolate with marshmallows for brunch! 



I love the colour of those pretty blue cups against the slate grey stone table. 



What a way to enjoy summer vacation for a kid eh? For anyone, for that matter. 

So once again, another recommendation for your NZ trip. Seriously, I would put this on a bucket list/list of places to visit in one's life!

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Ahhh it's the first of December already. I feel like I should be reflecting a little more since it's that time of the year when resolutions need to be made in order to make some improvements in life. But boy, has it been a crazy busy past few months of work. Most days after work all I want to do is either lie in bed doing absolutely nothing but enjoy the peace, quiet and comfort of my blankets or the solace of a good book/tv show. The amazing thing is that I've managed to read more books (for leisure) in the past few months since starting work than I have read probably in the past 1-2 years as a student. ;p For now, it's great because I don't have to force myself to study. There are always pros and cons of any situation and now while the obvious con would be work that I don't always enjoy and find overly draining at times, this is also the year when I can kick back after work and simply do whatever I want to do. I need to remember that and enjoy these times while I still can. 

See? Always in need of more reflection. 

xxoo