Back To The Orange

Last night I recalled my first winter in Sydney, where I faithfully shopped at Paddy's Market every Sunday, buying copious amount of whatever fruit that was on sale that weekend.

Very often it was oranges in the fall and winter time. I ended up baking a lot of orange cake, which was really moist and delicious and well-received in the office. With autumn just round the corner, the crisp air reminded me of that orange cake.

Today at teatime, a colleague asked if any more baked goodies were forthcoming from my oven. Flattery would get you everywhere, and so it was decided that an orange cake would fulfil that request. After a long lapse, the results turned out a little different - less moist, less sweet, less buttery. On the positive side, perhaps healthier?

But on the whole, still tasty, I'm sure the folks at work won't be complaining tomorrow.

Expect The Unexpected

Expect the unexpected. That should be my mantra, well it should have been for the last couple of months already. Except that I had thought that my life has settled down a little in the last month. Well today, I was presented with yet another completely unexpected proposition. There is an urgent need for a resource with certain skills for the Hong Kong office, the boss thought I would be a good fit and asked me what I thought about it. "Interesting..." was what I said - "interesting" is what you say when you don't have a real answer and want to buy time. Well, that's what I resort to anyway, I realise. Anyway, it's still being worked out and just very preliminary at this point in time. If I go, it would be for at least 3 months.

Starting over again in yet another foreign city. I wonder how I would fare, would I have no friends, no social life, no nothing and spend all my time at work. Or would I enjoy myself in the city that truly never sleeps? I like the food and the buzz and the shopping. The different scenery would be interesting but I am not sure I would like to live there for any extended period of time as Hong Kong always struck me as being too frenzied, too stressful and also really humid in the summer which would be when I would be there, if I were to be there at all. Which might be a nice change from the cold here as it is turning really chilly now, I have resorted to wearing my Austin Power lilac coat finally.

Here And There

This evening is the first time this Autumn that I feel like I'm freezing, and I'm in the shoebox, not out on the streets. It's 15C, not an inordinately low temperature, but somehow the chill has suddenly descended. I pull on flannels over a t-shirt and bed socks are on even though I am not in bed. Even a warm dinner with a big mug of steaming tea was a temporary stop-gap measure. My feet still feel like ice.

I struggle with the last essay of my Masters course, I need to throw in Orientalism, feminism, and other philosophical concepts into the body of the essay. I am not quite succeeding. I stop to think how fast this 1.5 year course has gone by. And this is the last 2.5 weeks. I just can't figure out how time can slip by so, so quickly.

I stop to think how I can measure the last 1.5 years I've been here in Sydney. By the number of friends I've made? The number of apartments I've lived in? The times I've shed tears when I've felt all alone and lonely? Or by the number of essays/assignments I've completed? The amount of tuition fees I've paid? The number of rainbows and double rainbows I've seen?

I guess it's all of the above and more. And I am here because I am not somewhere else.

Bills At Surry Hills

I had a vision when I was living in Surry Hills. I wanted to try as many cafes in Surry Hills, as my wallet and time would allow. I kinda lost that vision after a while. I think I didn't venture further than Fifi Foveaux.
Well, today there was a rekindling of that vision. We went to Bills for brunch (the scarlet petals littering the pavement on my way there, made a pretty picture of Autumn I just had to stop in my tracks and take a photo). After reading reviews and foodblogs about the corn fritters and scrambled eggs (although not one of my fave food, in fact I would go to great lengths to AVOID scrambled eggs), we decided to have a reunion at Bills. Haven't seen L and Y for least half a year, so it was good that we all reunited at a cool brekkie cafe and got to taste what Bills is famous for.

We decided to share so that we can all try everything. We got the corn fritters with baby spinach and bacon; scrambled eggs with mushrooms and sourdough toast; ricotta hotcakes with bananas and syrup; and coconut bread. I especially like the corn fritters and the coconut bread (not pictured). My nose might have been stuffed up cos I couldn't taste the egginess of the scrambled eggs (which was a plus) - or perhaps to be more positive, the eggs were so well-cooked, creamy and smooth that the eggy taste was not obvious.

We lingered over brunch for almost 2 hours after a 15 minute wait for a table. It was a really pleasant morning hanging out with friends. But oh how we struggled to finish everything even though the food was good. Y being the only guy, was automatically awarded the honours of vacuuming up the leftovers which he performed admirably. I am still feeling full as I blog this entry.

On the way back, I stopped in at the Bourke Street Bakery and bought a loaf of sourdough bread. They make the best sourdough bread and it's been a while since I had it. And am finally making the first pot of COC (Chicken, Onion and Carrot) soup this Autumn. Comforting smells are wafting through the shoebox now... oh happy day.

PS: The one drumstick I threw into the pot wasn't enough to flavour the soup, so I made meatballs with the rest of the minced pork and it was excellent.

Random Thoughts For Autumn

Had a nice dinner with a friend (actually old classmate) at the Sebel Hotel Pier One the other night. Realised that I have known this classmate for half my lifetime. A VERY long time.

The weather was nice, warm for an Autumn's night actually. I had the veal escallope and had no room for dessert. We sat outdoors and had a long chat over a slow dinner. It is nice to be with a friend whom you have known for a long time. It is comforting to know that some relationships do last a long time, and even if you aren't always in close contact, there are friends whom you can just pick up where you left off and carry on the chat. Several of my friends from uni fall into this category, and mostly happen to be men. Well some are women, so I guess the gender categorisation isn't really useful.

Another realisation linked to this is that I'm beginning to get used to the idea of going out in the dark when it really isn't late yet. I mean last Autumn and Winter, it was depressing to be out when it's dark when you know it really isn't late yet, like it was just 6 pm or thereabouts. I preferred to sit at home, drinking a cup of tea and watching TV, feeling safe and protected. But this Autumn, I've begun to go out more during this time and not feel that I need to be at home. Perhaps it is a sign of becoming less affected by SAD.


My old pair of brown suede shoes were leaking. I had walked so much in them I had worn out the heel part of the soles and water was coming through. Time to retire them. The cheerful yellow caught my eye and I decided they were the ones to replace the brown suedes. They are leather and very light-weight.

Also bought a set of fitted sheets, these are beige with Japanese cherry blossom prints in flannelette. All ready to snuggle up for the winter.

A Fine Autumn's Day

Limited sunshine hours cannot be wasted. That is the Autumn mantra personally for me, especially on weekends. So I started out at 10 am, on my way to main art gallery, but got sidetracked at the famous St. Mary's Cathedral. I realised I've never been inside. Although a self-professed agnostic and not at all religious, I have always enjoyed the cool, dark sanctuary feel of a church. So I ambled inside and sat at a pew at the back, the scattering of people inside, were all engrossed in their own thoughts and prayers. I too, had a conversation with the Supreme One, in the light of all the uncertainties in my life, a little help from my Friends would not hurt.

After that spiritual pitstop, I arrived at the "Art Express" exhibition I wanted to see. These are high school students' prize-winning works which were exhibited in an annual exhibition at AGNSW. The works were quite impressive. I found that many had concepts behind the works that seem pretty mature for high school students.

I walked through Hyde Park on the way back and decided to sit and read for a bit on the grass near where the group of band players were playing. I soon realised the band players were part of a demonstration against Communism in China. Rousing Oriental-sounding melodies were soon being churned out.

More distraction on the way home as I stopped in at the David Jones' Food Hall and got sidetracked into a Masala chicken sample. Mmmm, yummy, so bought a bottle of gourmet paste to reproduce the same at home. At A$16.50 for a small bottle this had better be good. And finally yet another pitstop for a coffee and an apple danish. All in, a good Autumn's day and it was just the morning gone. I had another afternoon worth of activities in front of me, after all, I am trying to get my sunshine's worth.