Feed Me Friends

I get a few weekends alone here and there when John is away on business trips. Not once during those times have I had the idea of bringing over some girlfriends. My mind is great in many ways, but avoiding boredom and loneliness is not a skill I possess. Though I planned a girls' night a week ago, I thought (for once) it would be better to have it while John was away on a not-business trip (actually a friends/colleagues trip).

Two Sex Plans

John was going to the hospital again this morning and later he went off to an island for a men's only weekend trip! I, too, have a specific-sex-only plan for tomorrow when some of my girlfriends are coming over!

Trading Stories

I decided to join a book swapping club over at a website called MeetUp. They had one meeting yesterday, but it was not their first. It was my first and some of the people I met seemed to be new too. The theme was Mystery Book, which meant all participants needed to bring a wrapped up book with a few words on the wrapping paper that described it.

Featured Expat

When I moved to Singapore I had no idea what an expat was. The word was not in my vocabulary and I had never heard it before. Suddenly, I was one. A Swedish expat in Singapore. I researched the word and found a site called Expat.com. It was my explanation! I became a member, added my blog and found other expats to talk to. Last month I was contacted by the site where they asked if I wanted to be interviewed for their online Expat Magazine. Of course I would.

Citymapper - app recommendation

Citymapper

Free.
Available on Google Play and App Store.
Developed by Duolingo.
Official website.

Racing Fancy

A new first! I have always enjoyed watching horse racing on the TV, but now I have seen it from the VIP room with buffet and free flowing wine. What an interesting experience!

Less Laser, Please

What a long day. Just sitting in a half-comfortable chair for two or so hours really drains the energy. I am so tired, and it was not even I who got operated on today.

Fitness Fatigue

I went to my first POP pilates class tonight. I have talked about POP pilates before when I wrote a post about the food reset challenge and I have mentioned doing some of Cassey Ho's YouTube-videos at home. This was an official class with an instructor (lady in pink in front of me) and it was a lot of fun!

Laser Loose

Read for full context:
• Waiting Eyesight • Laser for John • Laser not so fun after all

It all started a few days ago when John said he thought he saw new floaters. He would lie in bed and stare up at the white ceiling, trying to determine if these were old ones or new. I encouraged him to push the appointment in July to as soon as possible.

Far East Feast

After PetExpo we called our friend Ash to see if she was able to meet. John and I have since long ago said we would visit her and Steve where they live, all the way out in Pasir Ris. On numerous occasions we have made plans to go only to cancel the same day. Perhaps we sound like unreliable people, but since that is over an hour away with the MRT or forty minutes with car I have to consider my body before I can make the journey. Luckily for us, we were only one station away from the end of the subway line and I had had plenty of time to calm down after travelling to the expo.

We met Ash, Steve and Dawn at the airport. Dawn having plans to see other friends and was joining us before going to their location. At the arrival hall we met Ash's mom and later some of her extended family from Great Britain. Our plan was to go to a bar/restaurant called Georges @ The Cove, which we have wanted to visit since our first invitation from Ash and Steve. Ash's family was very kind and gave the five of us a lift. They dropped us just outside their home and we met her dad for a brief moment. It was a bit of a walk from there to Georges but the air was kind (low humidity and a cool breeze) and the park was cosy. I pointed out Jupiter in the sky, the only bright shining dot above the creepy leafless trees.

When we got to Georges there was only one table available for a party of five - it was next to the dirty dishes and the noisy kitchen. While we went through the menu we asked for another table and was soon seated further away. The food was rather expensive. John had a burger for ~S$18 and I had pork chops with less than a scoop of mashed potatoes for ~S$17. I confess I had a glass of the house white wine, a very generous glass for $8. I know, I was on my diet and I should not have had any alcohol. It was a day of small cheats (and I regretted it afterwards). Though Georges was expensive it was not very special. I think we paid for the view - the sea (or wide river as John proclaimed) and the Pulau Ubin island, some pretty airplane lights in the night sky - but it was almost too dark to see anything. I understand why Ash likes the place, but I would not pay it a second visit.

Dinner ended around ten. We made a short walk to a roundabout and split up in two groups. Our friends had their taxi arriving almost at the same time as we came to the pick up place. John and I had to wait a few more minutes. It was half an hour or so with car back to our place and I was happy to get out when we did. I do not do cars very well. I felt better soon enough though. It was an entertaining day and I am grateful to have such great friends in Singapore.

Four-legged Floor

There is an annual Pet Expo here in Singapore that has been going on since 2014. I heard about it over an event-site and thought it would be a small adventure to do. Either way, none of us had been to the expo before. It had its own subway station and is located close to the airport.

Cooking with Fumblefingers - Introduction

I forgot to have salt in my pancake mixture, so I added it to the already finished pancakes.Brown rice smells like popcorn and reminds me of potatoes.

Diet Malfunctioning

I remember I mentioned that I would write a post about going a week on this diet. I think I forgot about that, until now. This is me, writing about it.

So, to recap a little bit. I have not consumed any lactose, gluten, sugar or alcohol since the beginning of April. Natural sugar, the kind you find in fruits, is totally fine. I drink a lot of juices and eat a lot of vegetables. I get my protein from meat, usually chicken (because chicken is cheapest), and carbs from brown rice, plus other goodies. To top it all up I take a big vitamin pill every day just to make sure I get everything my body needs.

I can tell that I feel different. I am hungry all the time. Not sure if that is good, but John reassures me it is for the better. Eventually I will feel less hungry. All I can think of is that I am shrinking my stomach, which I am confident is not a good thing. It feels like it is shrinking anyways. I think I may have lost some kilos, not sure how many since I never weighted in before I did the challenge and I have not done it since. Looking at the little hips though tells me that some small amount has been lost, not that this diet is suppose to slim the body and I am definitely not doing it for losing weight.

The diet is aimed at figuring out what your body is sensitive to. This is really why I am doing it since I have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). Frustratingly enough the diet has not made any progress with that, it has actually made it worse. Which means that it goes through my body too quickly to process it fully - which leads to me getting hungry ever so quickly.

On a positive note - I have been cooking a lot more these past week. Since I met John around four years ago I have never really had any say in the kitchen. He is a hobby chef, a good one too, and I am a clumsy knock-kneed fumble-finger that do not know anything about spices or right temperatures. Since I am mostly eating vegetables, which requires little knowledge of how to cook, I can focus on the one small item that I do put on the stove. Today I made a bunch of vegetables and reheated the chicken we had for dinner yesterday. Yes, I know, there was no how to spice the chicken but I did that one day last week and it came out... okay. It was a little week in taste, but cooked alright. Edible, would be my rating.

Surprisingly enough, the big thing that I miss the most is lactose. John thought that it would be the sugar that I would crave, but honestly, I am dying to eat some cheese, have a glass of cold milk or some Greek yoghurt with müesli. Only twenty days left... I can do it!

See Seaweed Salad

I have never been to the cinema alone. I think I should, I think it sounds cosy, but I still have not done it. I thought about it yesterday, though. Instead I asked Ash if she wanted to join me. Of course she would! We checked which movies were screened and even though many had strange timings (like one was screened at noon and twenty minutes past midnight) we found one that worked.

Ash was going to be a bit late and only arrive at Suntec a few minutes before the movie started. I decided to head in an hour earlier and just walk around for a bit. I am not very good at solo shopping, so I brought a book with me. The estimation of three different apps told me it would take slightly over forty minutes to get there, but as usual with Singapore it felt (and probably was) only around twenty. I found my way around and walked past Boost, smoothies, where I bought a Banana Buzz. I sat down next to the extremely loud mixers, opened my book and sank into the words. I suspect people looking at me wondered how I could read in that environment, but when the words from the book gets inside my head I can not hear what goes on around me.

Here is a long story about me buying seaweed:

I found a store called Tao Kae Noi Land and recognised the figure from my favourite seaweed snack. It was impossible to resist, so I went inside. Apart from seaweed bags with flavours I had never heard of before, there was tea, noodles, candy, etc - all with seaweed flavour or added seaweed to the side. It was surprising, all that for some seaweed. There were several costumers in there, walking around the isles, taking samples from the small jars everywhere. As soon as I stepped in the man behind the desk approached, said hello with a warm smile and the instant chose an item he appeared next to me with a basket. I picked up my all time favourite (original flavour) and found a deal where I could buy four bags for ten dollars. I calculated that it would only save me one dollar, but I had actually already planned on trying some of the new things. I put down Japanese sauce flavor, seaweed with sesame grain and seafood flavor in my basket. The sauce flavor had a picture of sushi on it, so I thought I would like that, the seafood on seaweed just sounded funny and when I stood considering the sesame grain the clerk showed up unannounced again and held the sample jar towards me. I thanked him and tried one and then I took a bag, which I had already decided that I wanted. I went to pay, was offered some samples which he happily gave me, and then realised he only took cash. I had some but not enough, so I said I would come back for my bag and pay him. He told me to bring the bag and come back with the money. I tried to tell him to keep it until I could pay for it, but he seemed very keen on trusting me and pointed me in the right direction. I went down one floor, took out some cash and went back up (wondering what stopped me from just taking the seaweed and leave, but I am an honest person and he had been kind). After I had received my change he bends over the counter and points at some candy beneath it. Take some candy he said and I declined, not wanting some candy at all. Take one, is free he continues and picks up a candy-bar. I try again to decline it since I do not eat candy right now but he is very persistent. I took the candy, thanked him and left the store feeling very white-privileged. It did not occur to me that the other costumers had not been treated the same way as I had been.

It was half an hour until the movie was starting. Ash was lost and somewhere in the mall, trying to find her way. I told her which of the three towers I was in, but I got it wrong and did not help her at all. Quarter to six we met and hugged. Ash took some photos of me while I sat in the sofa promoting Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Not the movie we went to see, it will have premiere in Singapore 27th of April. We had tickets for Kong: Skull Island. Now, I have seen the previous movie starring Jack Black but Ash had not seen it (at least that is what she thinks, she remembers the Empire State building, which she could have gotten from a trailer or poster really) and told me she had to ask her boyfriend if Kong was the movie about the big ape on the building or Godzilla. I laughed so hard! I think we talked a bit too much during the movie, but I always do that and so does Ash apparently. Also, there was this old couple with their, I assume, grandson and they were much more noisy. The one or two (maybe three, I can not tell how old a child is by just looking at it) talked loudly, burped a lot, coughed crazily and the granddad had to pat his back for minutes at a time several times during the movie. I think our talking helped to ignore the sound.

I will write a full post about the movie, I have many opinions.

The movie ended at eight and we were getting hungry. Ash had worked at Suntec previously, before recently getting a new job, and knew where to go to get food. We walked towards she signs telling us where Restaurants and Bars were, but we only found two, three bars/miniresturants which was not really what we were looking for. She took me to a place called PasarBella which I said was a fancy food court. The description at their website says A GOURMET FOOD HALL, INSPIRED FROM THE STREETS OF LOWER EAST SIDE, NEW YORK CITY - WITH STREET ART ILLUSTRATIONS, GRAFFITIED WALLS AND FUSS-FREE MEALS-TO-GO. Very pretentious, but we both found good food and a place to sit. I had a The Big Daddy salad which was sweet potatoes, baby spinach, rib-eye, walnuts, guacamole and a vinegar sauce. It was really good, I was very hungry! Two young women behind me in the line asked what salad I had taken and I told them which one, but then I looked at them again and recognised the Swedish looks. I do not look like a typical Swede, but these two shorter, very blonde women could not be anything else. Then I heard them speak, confirmed Swedish, and had a short conversation with them while my food was being done. I wished them a happy travel, backpackers, and went back to my friend to have dinner.

When we were done the stores were closing all around us. Ash wanted to go to one specific store, hopefully still open, so we went there. It was called MEGAFASH and only contained expensive things you think you need. Strange pillows (although I would have bought that fish if it had not been a hundred S-dollars!), scary phone cases, jewellery, candles, clothes with inappropriate prints ("Random Ang Mo"), office equipment and bags. Everything ridiculously expensive but also very tempting.

When we left it was nearing eleven. Stores were closing and we could not think of anything else to do. Maybe go to a bar, but I would not drink so it would not have had any purpose. Instead we walked incredibly slowly while still talking towards the next nearest MRT station. We said good night, split and I headed home. It definitely only took twenty minutes this time. John had seen half an hour of a movie called Constantine (a very interesting movie that I recommend to everyone) and together we cuddled up in the sofa to see the rest of it. 

Resisting

I can not complain. I live in a land where there is no such thing as cold weather. There are storms; heavy rain and loud thunder, but even then it is hot outside. The rain is like a warm shower. So the really good days, the cloud-free sun-shining days, are vicious. It was one of those days yesterday. I took my laptop, water-bottle, some pistachios and made myself comfortable on the balcony. It was a great place to sit and write, but it got really sweaty very soon. Luckily it was a cool breeze so at least I had that.

The day before I could not resist the pool. I brought my book and a bag of popcorn, took a swim and relaxed in the chair. Like I said, I can not complain. I do not miss much about Sweden. Summer there is never satisfying enough, probably why Swedes like to travel to the tropics. There are even Swedish schools in Thailand specifically. I was pretty happy in my chair. The sun was going down and the crowd was thinning. Soon there were only me, still in bikini, and another couple fully dressed next to me. It was half past six when I headed up to change into clothes.

I started the food challenge on Saturday last week, so soon there has been a full week. I will write an update post about it on Saturday. This challenge is interesting but it forces me to buy groceries more often. I need fresh vegetables and, since I do not eat gluten, I eat a lot of it. So on Tuesday I met John on the MRT and we walked around inside ColdStorage. I was really hungry since I had not eaten since lunch and got cravings for gnocchi and ravioli. I know what I am going to eat in May! Instead we bought chicken, beans, vegetables, potatoes and had butterfly chicken made in the oven with cooked potatoes for dinner. It was all good. We even had hummus on the side which went surprisingly well with potatoes. I had the rest of the chicken and some broccoli for lunch the next day.

Yesterday John bought dinner from the hawker centre outside d'Leedon. I saw so many things I really wanted to eat. Cheese prata, lemon chicken, dumplings! But of course I could not. I had made myself a promise to stick to the challenge (I refuse to call it diet. It means different things in English and Swedish) throughout this month. John was kind enough to help me cook my meal, which ended up being shrimps in coconut milk with a chilli to spice it up, some french beans, couple of tomatoes and couscous. I have tried couscous a few times before, never really liked it, not the taste or the texture. I had some yesterday and guess what? I still did not like it... It felt like crumbled cardboard, tasted almost nothing which only made the texture worse. Nope, couscous is not for me. Not anytime soon at least. Not anytime at all more likely.

Food Reset

In my last post I mentioned a food challenge that I am doing for 28 (more or less) days of April. It was made for February. I got it from a blog called Blogilates which I find really inspiring and helpful. Since I am not very good at going to the gym I thought I would try to start doing pilates at home. It is actually called POP Pilates, since you are doing it to pop music. The instruction-videos are easy to understand and short enough to do one, two, three and sometimes four in a row. It makes it a lot easier to build your own schedule.

The challenge I was talking about is the 28 Day Reset Challenge. It is not a diet - it is a way to get to know what your stomach can handle, which is great for me since I am dealing with IBS. At first I thought it was a scam, like so many of these things are, but the course is free (but of course there are two pdf files to purchase with, I assume, more developed instructions for both the workout and the food) and I can adjust it to fit my own needs. I decided to do the challenge after a good thinking-it-through, with my own conditions and rules. I removed the processed food category, mostly because I do not eat that normally and if I remove that I would probably collapse. The rest I try to stick to, which is difficult for a person who is used to a glass of milk every morning. Instead I drink juice and water. I am switching from white to brown rice. We bought a lot of vegetables the other day. I am surprised to find myself enjoying the challenge, it requires me to try new things that I have not eaten a lot and I mostly cook my own meals which John has done for a very long time.

Together with The 28 Day Reset Challenge you are supposed to add a workout schedule. The meant-to plan is the PIIT28 - it stands for Pilates Intensive Interval Training and each workout is completed within twenty eight minutes. I have not done a lot of pilates, or workouts for that matter, so knowing what it stood for I understood it would be too advanced for me. Every month she makes a workout calendar which you can get by subscribing to her newsletters. So far I have found the mail inspiring and motivational, so she does not spam my inbox. Though I still think the monthly calendar looks too tough for me I chose to do the Beginner's 2.0. It is a lot more my speed and my flexibility, even though I am still too scared to try the headstand. I also take two days break (skipping one day of total body workout) to not fatigue myself way too much. I tried doing this calendar throughout February but it was too much and I could not keep it up. Now I am back at it, changing it to work for me and I am going for it! Luckily this month started on a Saturday so I could get used to the food challenge before starting with the workout as well.

Wish me luck!
And join me.

First of Many

First of April is a special day. Not because, for some reason, people are allowed to fool each other, but because we moved to this apartment a year ago. John and I do not indulge in April Fool's Day anyway. We did not celebrate moving here, since that would be strange, but we did go to the cinema. Since the beginning of Mars we have had a project of seeing a movie at the cinema once a week. So far we have seen Logan and John Wick chapter 2. As you might calculate from this we kind of failed our project, but we will try to keep it going through April as well.

We travelled to VivoCity some hours before the movie started. Being very bad at walking around and entering every store, we immediately went inside H&M to look for new bikinis for me. We found two worth trying and I ended up liking them both. John was at first concerned since bikinis are expensive (why? I remember a time when they were semi-cheap) but since I liked them both he agreed to buy them. While I was testing them in the women's fitting rooms he headed over to the men's section and tried some things over there. He found five basic t-shirts, cosy shorts and two packages of socks.

Then we steered ourselves towards La Senza, ignoring all other shops we passed by, not even looking at their items or sales signs. Outside La Senza we found a sign telling us they had a deal on panties - 10 for $70. We could not resist. There were plenty to chose from and we found ten pairs and put them in our little shoppingbag. Our actual goal for entering the store was to find a bra. Luckily they had a deal on that too. Buy 2 get 1 for free. Meaning I had to find three bras, which really was not a big problem. I picked five, tried them on an ended up with two fantastic bras. One is nude, sits perfectly, smooth and comfortable. I amazed at how good it feels to wear it. A white one that looks a lot like one I already had but the new bra is the right size at sits a lot better. Time to throw the old one in the trash. Lastly I bought a no-wire bra, blue with white horizontal uneven stripes. It will be used often since I feel uneasy when I go outside without a bra. We think the lady behind the counter invited us to a club, but we were too oblivious to it at the time.

The first movie of April was Ghost in the Shell. It is originally an anime which we have seen several times - only one time seeing it all the way through. The main character is played by Scarlett Johansson. Many have been upset by this "white washing", but ScarJo did a great job. She was not made a Hollywood gorgeous actress, but ugly-pretty with a quirky walk-style telling us she was uncomfortable in her body (as the story goes). They made some changes in the story from the original, but it worked for the better. I really enjoyed it. Would recommend!

It ended around nine and since we had had a late lunch we also had a late dinner. We went to the top of the building and entered the food court up there. I am on a food challenge, not a diet, which do not allows me to eat white rice. So when I ordered from the pick-and-choose-place, I asked for no rice but extra vegetables. I had a small piece of pork and a some shredded beef. All together it costed surprisingly eleven dollars! What the...! Too expensive, but I only did the math after I had walked away. John had a bowl of rice and a full chicken leg and a small simple soup on the side for only six dollars. Not going back to the place where I bought mine.

Before going home we did a quick run-through at Giant, picking up meat and vegetables. It ended up being our healthiest purchase ever, even though John bought two bottles of wine. My challenge keeps me from consuming alcohol as well. This will be good for me, I am really enjoying it. The challenge makes me try new meals and explore new recipes. It has been two days and I am so hungry. Wish me luck!