It continues...

Insomnia, that is... I am reaching a level where I think I will drop while walking... Not even time to nap as I decided like I wrote the other day to cook more. The only way I will cook is when people come over, otherwise I will have a yogurt or eat cheese or something... I rarely cook for myself. So I have been feeding many people lately and experimenting with recipes.

Those who know me know that one of my weaknesses is talking about food... If I find another foodie, I just can't stop myself. So here it goes (especially for running42k), something that I concocted yesterday:
Heat some oil with some sesame seeds
Sauté 2 diced onions
Once the onions are cooked through and translucent, layer thinly cut meat (half of the palm of your hand, with thickness 1 to 2 cm)
Sprinkle the meat with sugar (yes sugar, trust me - really ;))
Turn over the meat once the meat changes color
Sprinkle with soy sauce
Cook for a couple of minutes
In the meantime, blanche some green beans (either fresh or frozen) for a couple of minutes (this means cooking them in boiling water for a minute than putting them in ice cold water - to stop the cooking)
Dump the beans on the meat.
Sprinkle with more soy sauce
Add about 1 Tbs of mince garlic, cook a couple more minutes
Before serving, sprinkle more soy sauce and some sesame seeds.
Serve with jasmine or basmati rice...

Ok, now I am hungry.

Le sleepy... Le tired...

This past couple of days, I've been sleeping an average of 3 to 4 hours per night... I am a little tired... and I think I'll end up falling on my desk one of these days if I don't make up for this lost sleep... Lots of weddings and celebrations, and they are never-ending. I am very happy for all of those celebrating, but it would be really nice if they could arrange for things to be friday or saturday night.

The worst part of it is that I when I do get home, I can't seem to sleep quickly because I am so tired, so I read a bit, which does help. Currently I am reading "A History of the Devil", a very interesting book.

I've decided to get back to cooking a little more, I've not been doing a lot of it lately because I don't have time, and I really really miss it. Cooking and baking always make me happy, and the creative side in me comes out. So there. I'll start hunting for more recipes to try, like yesterday, even if I was dead tired and in dire need of napping, I baked my first ever fresh fig cake. It actually turned out pretty good..

All for now, struggling to be functional.

Back to work, back to reality...

So I thought that I would take a couple of days off to take a break from work and from having to wake up early in the morning... Wrooooong. I had not realized all the errands that I needed to run and all the little things in life that I had not been doing because I did not have (and still don't) the time to do... So basically I had a couple of days to jump in my car, drive around, drop and pick up people and stuff, doctors to see, dry cleaning, and all the BS that we have to do to maintain a decent appearance.

One occurence (well... many actually, but let's just be optimistic and nice this one time) drove me nuts. The banking system in this country is... retarded. There is really no other way of saying it. My money is at a branch that is close to where I live, so I go there on my way to work in the morning when I need to talk to my banker... Occasionally however, I have a hard time waking up (ok so most days I need to be dragged out of bed), so I don't always have time to go in the AM. There is another branch, of said bank, close to where I work. I dropped by the other day and asked to withdraw money by writing a check to myself.

She said ok, but when she saw that I was affiliated with another branch, she said she could not give me the money. I asked why and she replied that she did not know me. WTF? I then replied, you can see my balance, can't you? Of course she responds, but I don't know your habits. As bricktop (Snatch) said eloquently : In the words of the virgin Mary, come again? I did not know if I should have been angry, sad, both, or just pissed off... How can you not give me money when the balance shows right there on your screen? How exactly does the guy in the bank know me when all he sees is the monthly deposit of my salary and my different withdrawals? Which SHE CAN SEE!!!! argh.

So basically I was angry AND pissed off... Took my check book because I was so disgusted, and left. But wait, the adventure contiues... I made the detour in the middle of my errands, went to my bank. I did get my money, although nobody asked anything and the guy at the front desk barely did any checking... I then ask to see the "banker" to see why I've not gotten my login and password for my online banking. Aaah... He's not here, as he's replacing some other sucker in some other branch while on vacation. So what can I do I ask... You have to wait until he comes back.

I am so very tired of all this bullshit... It seems as if all the stupid little branches are each a mini bank of their own, which is so very primitive. Imagine you go to vacation, 600 km away and need to withdraw more than your daily or weekly allowance. What the hell are you supposed to do? Fly back to your branch?

Anyways... Deep breaths... Venting over. Back to work now.

What I've been up to...

I had the fantastic opportunity the other day to meet a couple of TN bloggers and am very psyched as I met some great people... Frankly I've not been up to much lately as I could not break the routine of home-work-home... I always wish I could go more to the beach (as I said before, I long to be a beach bum), so perhaps I should start looking for a job that will give me lots more time ;) Somehow the thought of teaching and having 3 months off (and paid) is getting more and more appealing, but that is a long way from where I am now, and we'll see about that...

I just finished reading Codex by Lev Grossman, ahd have started reading The Brethren by John Grisham (my first ever book of his). I've been flaking off on my guitar lessons, and I have GOT to get back to playing...

That's pretty much it for now for me. I am awaiting new and interesting developments in my life soon, so I will keep you guys updated :)