of cheese omelets and birthdays

Parcels from home are my absolute favourites.
they beat delicious books and yummy bacon omelets and steamy chai hands down.
and let me tell you that bacon omelets are like right up there on my comfort food list aka pretty much unbeatable.
there's just something nice and homey and creative about making an omelet. you can add whatever you fancy, whatever you have in the fridge.
you can never ever go wrong with the comforting feeling of eggs in your tummy.
and add the smokey sizzle of bacon and cheese and it's like food nirvana in your tummy.
and yes, i'm very shameless about my cheeses.
i will add cheese to absolute anything and everything.
i once add parmesan cheese to instant noodles and proceeded to slurp the whole bowl down and patted my rounded warm tummy in a record 10 minutes.
and guilty secret #299720: i once had a blue day and went to the supermarket and bought a chunk of smoked dutch cheese and ate the entire chunk in one sitting while watching Friends and washed it down with water. and i went back to being cheerful ole' me in record time. cheese does that to me. it's magic, people.

but i digress.
so being all grown up and moving to a new continent and setting up house and doing the chores is all pretty fun.
but then, whenever March hits, i just get a little blue for not being back at home.
something cool about our family: dad's and mum's birthdays are just two days apart in March. and it always sucks that we never get to do it together ever since i've been here.
and birthdays are always a fun thing for us because birthdays celebrate us being here, being part of a family.
in a way, i always think of birthdays as the special day that you feel extra thankful and grateful
and yes, while you should feel that way every single day for that person, but more often than not, it's so easy to take advantage of the fact that person is always always always there and sometimes, it takes that one special day to pull you back down to earth and say to yourself, 'if that person was never born, i would never be the awesome person that i am now. i would never have this much fun and love and extra kisses and hugs. and most of all, i would feel a whole heap less loved.'

yes, much of being all grown-up, dad and mum are pretty much the cheese omelets of my life.
and when i've had a blue day, i just fry myself one and rant to mum about it (and she tells dad. she tells him everything.)
and the next minute, I'll be grinning silly to myself and it'll be a perfect day.

Sara Bareilles = best songs for those nights when you're alone trying to get through your work pile
"Send me the moon" is currently on replay now.
Her sophomore album "Kaleidoscope Heart" kicks ass.

When I hear that song, Sandra comes into my mind, unbidden.
Guess that song's yours,babe.

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Guilty pleasure #19273648:
I'm a sucker for those late-night radio shows with the ubiquitous word "love" in their title.
"Love songs with xxx", "Fall in love with xxx" etc.

Yes, THOSE shows where lonely/broken/happilypairedup hearts call in and ramble a spin and a yarn and where cheesy love songs play endlessly.
It always ends my day perfectly.
Yes, I'm shameless that way.


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I seriously think my sense of color has been sucked dry to the bone.
I looked at my shoerack today and all I see are black, white, grey and brown.
Omg, depressingly uncolourful much?

Then I opened my wardrobe and all i could see are black, white, grey and beige to match my sensibly-colored shoes.

I've never been a very sensibly-colored-or-patterned person ever since I was born.
But being sensibly-coloured-and-patterned comes with the territory of being professional and reliable and trustworthy.

Damn.

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Don't think twice.
If you pay the price, she'll let you deep inside.
And it's her secret garden.
And then you'll complete her.

Bruce Springsteen's 'Secret Garden' has been played 32 times on my iTunes thus far.


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Just a quick note to self:
Currently on the oncology ward rounds now. End-of-life decisions are being made all the time on the ward by the team, patient and family.
And today I saw this normally-unflappable middle-aged man crying inconsolably after a talk with our consultant. He loved his dying mother so much that I very nearly teared up.
My heart clenched just at that moment.
All I could do was offer him a box of tissues.

But reflecting on it now, that mother must be one heck of a mother/caregiver/companion/human being to bring about such a reaction in her family.
Her life must have been one of selflessness,love,sacrifice,courage and all the good, good, good things in the world.
She means THAT much to people around her.
And with that, my heart unclenched just a wee bit.

And there it is, Sandra. Here's to you.


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Hello sunshine.
Hello research.


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