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to my fans

sorry for the absence. well, actually, i've really discontinued the blog. this one, at least. had another (secret) one going for a bit, but couldn't sustain that, either.

i'm back in the motherland. just arrived today. maybe i'll see some of you, maybe i won't. maybe i'll stay long, maybe i won't. maybe i'll tell you where i'm going, maybe i won't.

if there's one thing i've learned this year - keeping people in the dark is better for your own health sometimes.

two words.

the.
mother.

(refer to archaic post.)

she keeps asking about the irishman. each time, i want to say - bugger off.

the horror of it all - she probably discovered the information through this blog. so lord knows what else she has read.

whatever. she's never going to understand, anyway.

bugger off

can i actually have my life to live, please???

so long, cruel world...

today, i have self-destructed. multiple times.

and i realise it's time to give the blog a rest.

good night, and good luck.

run like the wind...

got knocked out of you. that's how i feel whenever i go for a run in the morning.

why the running? well, in my temporary lapse of judgement, i decided to join a 10k run in edinburgh next month. i have four weeks to get ready. and so far, i haven't been shaping up.

i started "training" in february... but the past month has been so hellish that i hardly had the energy to continue my daily runs. (blame it on project work. i have teamed up with two design maniacs. but more on that some other time.) plus, i have developed a shin injury from running the wrong way, aggravated by my flat foot. and finally, my bum knee (right side) has been acting up lately. so no intensive training for the past four weeks. and i've been paying for it.

i've never had good cardio-vascular endurance. but it has improved in march, after a few weeks of running. now i'm back to scratch. aaaagh. some days my lungs give out first, some days my legs. at any rate, some part of my body throws in the towel, and the rest of me goes with it. i seriously doubt i can finish the 10k run in two hours. i'll probably just walk it. for three hours. how stupid is THAT???

i seriously hope my shin splints get better soon, and that my bum knee starts cooperating. for now, i'm just working on my cardio endurance by walking all over london. and a few trips to the gym, using the low-impact elliptical running machine. but even on that, i could hardly keep my pace anymore. so sad. i used to be able to go for 45minutes straight without getting tired. 10k on that thing is easy for me. unfortunately, i have to run on pavement, outdoors. which means factor in foot impact and wind resistance. plus incline. don't even get me started on edinburgh's chilly weather. urgh.

here's to the next four weeks. if i don't make it... i guess i have to switch to more low-impact sports. like swimming. (now THAT is something to look forward to!)

squeaky clean

the flat is. yesyes.

at the quarterly flat dinner (also celebratory birthday dinner for the three of them), the south american suggested that we spend this saturday cleaning the flat. everyone agreed. and i was glad. because i intended to clean the flat on my own, anyway. but now i don't have to. happy happy joy joy.

i expected to start in the morning, but apparently noon is the normal waking hour in this flat. oh well. as long as the flat gets cleaned. which it did.

the fun started around 2pm. we drew lots to see who gets to clean what... and i got the bathroom. whee. i would have preferred the kitchen, but i'm also glad i didn't. because we were done cleaning the bathroom even before the other two were halfway through with the kitchen. (if you find it incomprehensible, just imagine six month's worth of grease and grime collecting on all surfaces.)

and don't think that we (the chinese guy and i) didn't clean the bathroom well. i scrubbed the bathtub with bleach 'til kingdom come. it is now WHITE again. and my hands smell like bleach to prove it.

so, being that we were more efficient cleaners, we waddled over to the kitchen to help out. (you know better than to expect the chinese girl to do a good job housekeeping, don't you???) and what site greeted me? the south american scrubbing the stovetop. and the chinese girl washing dishes that were supposed to be washed one week ago. d-uh. at least she scraped the oven grill clean. (sort of.) and she cleaned and washed the dishrack and cutlery tray. three cheers for her.

so who ended up cleaning the cooking area? everyone but chinese girl. as expected. the chinese guy cleaned the oven (good job, by the way!!!) and the chilean scraped the toasted grime off the hobs. and i scrubbed everything down. but to her credit, chinese girl vaccuumed the kitchen, and (finally!) took the trash out. all three bags. good girl.

i have to say, i feel really happy seeing the kitchen in pristine condition. i can't wait until she leaves for china next week, so i can relish living in a clean flat for at least three weeks. oh, the sheer pleasure of not having a grimey kitchen!

oh, and here's the kicker. the south american asked her to scrub the pot clean. the second one that she burned black on the inside. how sweet is THAT??? (side note - the first pot she burned black, i scrubbed clean. and it was in worse condition than the one she had to scrub. i kept it in my room for my own use, because when i asked her to clean it... she put it in the rubbish bin. harhar. proof of damage follows.)

before . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and after.

applause, applause.