ting has discovered that searching for recipes and trying them out brings her great satisfaction as well as something to look forward to. hence this shall be her new pastime.
anyway we have nothing much else to think about all day, except food. haha bolstered by our initial success (my banana bread, and her mushroom risotto), we shall find something new to experiment with again! ting even says she wanna start a food blog. lol i doubt la huh.
how can we enjoy life in its most pristine beauty, when from birth to death, harsh realities dash our dreams?
Monday, June 27, 2011
yay!!!
we have work as packers in a seafood packhouse! rather surprisingly, the fishy smell isnt so bad, cause they are all freshly caught. don't think we can get any photos posted on FB because our hands are wet and frozen numb!
it's an even simpler job than kiwi picking, and less demanding physically. press a button, load comes in, stuff everything into the box, close it and send it off to the conveyor. repeat.
yj was totally excited the whole day, despite the 5am start. but too bad, we have no work tomorrow, so i hope we can continue being employed.
we have also moved to a new place! no longer a hostel, but a homestay (our first!). the home of an indian-thai couple. we have to pay rent for two weeks, and we have internet! yay! the big plus is that it is so much cheaper, but the room is really cold cold cold!
after baking and rotting last week, it seems that this week is gonna be a better week =)
it's an even simpler job than kiwi picking, and less demanding physically. press a button, load comes in, stuff everything into the box, close it and send it off to the conveyor. repeat.
yj was totally excited the whole day, despite the 5am start. but too bad, we have no work tomorrow, so i hope we can continue being employed.
we have also moved to a new place! no longer a hostel, but a homestay (our first!). the home of an indian-thai couple. we have to pay rent for two weeks, and we have internet! yay! the big plus is that it is so much cheaper, but the room is really cold cold cold!
after baking and rotting last week, it seems that this week is gonna be a better week =)
Thursday, June 23, 2011
fish soup stall
Intersection of Geylang Lorong 25A and Geyland Road, that's all the information I have.
Would love to see photos of the stall and of the dear parents, but my useless brother is of no help. LOL their working hours are worrying me, hope their health is ok!
Would love to see photos of the stall and of the dear parents, but my useless brother is of no help. LOL their working hours are worrying me, hope their health is ok!
coromandel-tauranga
After finally wrapping up the kiwi picking season, we drove to Whitianga for a night’s stay at On the Beach Backpackers Lodge. We had the whole room to ourselves, and almost the whole house (with 2 toilets and a kitchen). We paid a deposit for the shovel, because we wanted to go Hot Water Beach to dig our own pool. Turns out we didn’t have to, the beach was already packed with tourists, and there were ready made pools. The water was too hot for me! Like 60C! Totally scalding! I only soaked my feet and then I couldn’t take it anymore. It was funny when the waves came in, as the cold seawater mixed with the hot water pool and everybody screamed at the sudden chills.
After watching Mr and Mrs Smith on DVD, I went to sleep whereas Ting continued her late night chat with 2m. Woke up the next morning to check out and then it was time to drive to Cathedral Cove to see the beautiful scenery. Had to walk for about 40minutes before we got to the beach area, but it was totally nice! The basic sanitary facilities there were also quite amusing. LOL
The BBH BPP rating can’t always be reliable. Of 4 hostels in Tauranga, we chose the one with the highest rating of 76%, and were shocked. The hostel, besides having a good location in the city centre, was dark, narrow and dirty. Hauling our luggage in the rain, we decided to just take a look first before deciding if we wanted to stay more than one night. That was our best decision. One glance, and we decided we would rather open our luggage in the parking lot and get all the stuff we need for one night. Too dingy and scary for our liking, totally incomprehensible how anyone would rate it so highly. We’re gonna rate it badly if we get the chance.
We were too disgusted with the state of the hostel until YJ didn’t eat, and I had cup noodles. (Ting was out on a date with 2m). We decided to have brunch at a café because it was probably unsafe to eat anything in the kitchen. But the brunch was superb, yummy! So we were in better mood before moving to Just the Ducks Nuts hostel. Don’t ask me why the name is so weird, I have no idea too. This hostel was only 72% rating, but it emphasized on cleanliness so we all prayed it was better. Thank god it was, so we are staying here to see if we get some work. Problem was that this place was so much quieter, compared to Hone Heke, and the owner has some pretty strict rules: after 10.30pm, occupants must return to their respective houses, no alcohols, no noise, and no visitors. There’s also nothing to do for leisure besides read and puzzles. We might just die of boredom, if it weren’t for some pretty nice housemates.
Tomorrow Ting has work at some fish factory, starting at 6am. YJ and I will have to wait till more vacancies open up. =( Everything in Tauranga costs money, what should we do?
Pls send me money, thank you. haha
After watching Mr and Mrs Smith on DVD, I went to sleep whereas Ting continued her late night chat with 2m. Woke up the next morning to check out and then it was time to drive to Cathedral Cove to see the beautiful scenery. Had to walk for about 40minutes before we got to the beach area, but it was totally nice! The basic sanitary facilities there were also quite amusing. LOL
The BBH BPP rating can’t always be reliable. Of 4 hostels in Tauranga, we chose the one with the highest rating of 76%, and were shocked. The hostel, besides having a good location in the city centre, was dark, narrow and dirty. Hauling our luggage in the rain, we decided to just take a look first before deciding if we wanted to stay more than one night. That was our best decision. One glance, and we decided we would rather open our luggage in the parking lot and get all the stuff we need for one night. Too dingy and scary for our liking, totally incomprehensible how anyone would rate it so highly. We’re gonna rate it badly if we get the chance.
We were too disgusted with the state of the hostel until YJ didn’t eat, and I had cup noodles. (Ting was out on a date with 2m). We decided to have brunch at a café because it was probably unsafe to eat anything in the kitchen. But the brunch was superb, yummy! So we were in better mood before moving to Just the Ducks Nuts hostel. Don’t ask me why the name is so weird, I have no idea too. This hostel was only 72% rating, but it emphasized on cleanliness so we all prayed it was better. Thank god it was, so we are staying here to see if we get some work. Problem was that this place was so much quieter, compared to Hone Heke, and the owner has some pretty strict rules: after 10.30pm, occupants must return to their respective houses, no alcohols, no noise, and no visitors. There’s also nothing to do for leisure besides read and puzzles. We might just die of boredom, if it weren’t for some pretty nice housemates.
Tomorrow Ting has work at some fish factory, starting at 6am. YJ and I will have to wait till more vacancies open up. =( Everything in Tauranga costs money, what should we do?
Pls send me money, thank you. haha
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
first payday!
we got our first paycheck yesterday! yay that we have a bit of money now!
the weather in kerikeri is crazy. today's a rainy day so here we are leaching the WiFi in the library again.
it's really really tiring to pick kiwis. at the end of the day, i have these parts of my body sore/hurting: sole, toes, heel, shin, knees, thighs, hips, shoulders, arms, neck + various scratches and insect bites. all for money. is it any surprise we are glad for rainy days?
and i fell into a rabbit hole yesterday, fuck. which got me a sprained ankle.
there's less and less reasons to go to work everyday. the german guys are gone, the french hottie is gone. and three guys in our lodge are leaving tomorrow, 2 more on thursday. the lodge is gonna be so empty and quiet. upset.
now after the library, we will go to the supermarket to buy ingredients to cook dinner. and then it's off to the pub as a farewell for the guys.
FYI if i'm ever online, its most likely to be btwn 12noon and 4pm NZ time, which is 8am to 12noon SG time. else u have to sms me at +64 2 2094 0557 if u wanna talk.
the weather in kerikeri is crazy. today's a rainy day so here we are leaching the WiFi in the library again.
it's really really tiring to pick kiwis. at the end of the day, i have these parts of my body sore/hurting: sole, toes, heel, shin, knees, thighs, hips, shoulders, arms, neck + various scratches and insect bites. all for money. is it any surprise we are glad for rainy days?
and i fell into a rabbit hole yesterday, fuck. which got me a sprained ankle.
there's less and less reasons to go to work everyday. the german guys are gone, the french hottie is gone. and three guys in our lodge are leaving tomorrow, 2 more on thursday. the lodge is gonna be so empty and quiet. upset.
now after the library, we will go to the supermarket to buy ingredients to cook dinner. and then it's off to the pub as a farewell for the guys.
FYI if i'm ever online, its most likely to be btwn 12noon and 4pm NZ time, which is 8am to 12noon SG time. else u have to sms me at +64 2 2094 0557 if u wanna talk.
Friday, June 03, 2011
week 3
kiwi picking is really tiring. 830 to 530 with only 1 hour break in total - two 15 mins break, and one half hour lunch break. we carry these harvest bags in front of us, and we pick like crazy, just grabbing at anything we can see. motto - leave no fruit behind.
totally knackered at the end of each day, and our shoulders are totally stiff and sore. but we still tried to cook dinner and prepare nice lunches. so far we are doing a lot of grocery shopping - sausages, cereal, milk, cheese, ham, chips, cookies, bread, pasta, lettuce, carrots, potatoes, cabbage etc. we are starting to experiment and cook stuff we've never really tried before at home. e.g. we tried aglio olio pasta, stir frying cabbage, mash potatoes.
good to be employed, but it's also AWESOME to be off on a rainy day like today. Hanging around the Hone Heke Lodge is so fun, because there are so many cute guys to feast our eyes on, and everyone's so friendly. =) it's actually a gem we stumbled upon, since it was the only place in Kerikeri we could get 3 beds.
the simple life is so easy to enjoy. hard work interspersed by friendly bantering with the others on the team, lunch break followed by lying in the sun, rushing back to get a HOT shower, dinner, pool and chatting, then it's time to sleep.
totally knackered at the end of each day, and our shoulders are totally stiff and sore. but we still tried to cook dinner and prepare nice lunches. so far we are doing a lot of grocery shopping - sausages, cereal, milk, cheese, ham, chips, cookies, bread, pasta, lettuce, carrots, potatoes, cabbage etc. we are starting to experiment and cook stuff we've never really tried before at home. e.g. we tried aglio olio pasta, stir frying cabbage, mash potatoes.
good to be employed, but it's also AWESOME to be off on a rainy day like today. Hanging around the Hone Heke Lodge is so fun, because there are so many cute guys to feast our eyes on, and everyone's so friendly. =) it's actually a gem we stumbled upon, since it was the only place in Kerikeri we could get 3 beds.
the simple life is so easy to enjoy. hard work interspersed by friendly bantering with the others on the team, lunch break followed by lying in the sun, rushing back to get a HOT shower, dinner, pool and chatting, then it's time to sleep.
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