NYR 2015
Been busy with other stuff that I had completely forgotten about blogging.
My resolutions are:
1) Be happier, more contented and grateful for things I have.
- It's not always easy to be happy. Rely more on inner peace and happiness from within. With that, can make others happy. Not comparing with others and think the grass is greener. Instead look at things that I had and be grateful for them.
2) Be in good health, physically and mentally and good shape.
- Taking care of my diet and food intake would first ensure my body is fed adequately and stop using food as an anti-depressant. Did put on a massive 5th in a matter of 1.5 months after the bouts of illness and migraine. Not exercising and eating excessively were the reasons. But I have since restarted my KM and just hit a 21-days cycle. And I am eating more consciously, especially with regards to my breakfast and the important lunch. Going out to buy lunch instead of eating jam with bread, plain crackers, even canned fish with bread like a struggling student. Then wolf down big dinners. Now my meals are all pretty normal and as much as I could, I try to make good choices. Occasional indulgences are there, cheat day which is my birthday weekend. So I have been cutting down for my meals size-wise to reduce my weight and compensate. And also I expect myself to exercise more and reduce calories after this weekend.
3) Continue in my efforts to better myself, through the things I am doing.
- Continue with KM and drums classes. Continue in learning the theory of music through self study, fiddle with the guitar more (neglected it), read up more and do some research about which stock counters, investment strategies to adopt and also up the returns of my portfolio. Grow it to give me a much bigger income stream cos it wasn't doing so the past 2-3 years. And attempt to learn driving again, this time under private. On top of that, think about trying Apps. There are so many areas of interest and yet limited time and energy. Some I would continue and others I need to prioritise and then execute. Can't afford to be lazy if I wanna do them all.
Birthday Post:
This year is unprecedented with 2 days of consecutive buffets. As I did last year, I wanted to have a birthday buffet. Last year was Carousel lunch. This year is Bascilico @ Regent. I have read about how it offers great Italian style food and is rated the top, so I decided to use this chance to go there with friends. My mom and sis wanted to treat me to a buffet. After looking through some options, decided Carousel lunch would be good. Cos still have 10% discount. For this weekend, I went for 3 sessions of KM during the weekdays, took a break from drum lesson. Cleared my weekend up and the entire week, I was mostly eating plainer food (no porridge cos I was sick of it) n eating my proper 3 meals. I did lose 2nd out of the 5kg I've gained...
All of us haven't been to Bascilico before. I was delayed at home and decided to take a cab there. Initially I planned to go via bus but fiddling around with the scarf, can't get the look delayed me and I went instead by cab. A nice treat for myself, I reckon. Once I got there, made a beeline to the toilet and met up with Tab who was already at the table. I was ravenous cos I didn't eat anything. I was drinking lots of mugi tea and hanging about.
Set off to the meat sectionwhere I got a serving of every meat; chicken, beef, lamb, cooked salmon, smoked salmon with some fish eggs, potatoes and long beans. With red wine sauce, mint sauce. Turns out the beef and potatoes were delicious. Went for a second helping of that later. Smoked salmon was good.
The second round, I went for the ham and cantaloupe with 3 glop of soft ball like cheese. One was mozzarella. The other two were something cow milk. The mozzarella was safe but the other two were acquired taste. They had an unusual taste, perhaps aged longer. Made a mental note about this type of cow cheese for future reference. The cantaloupe was really sweet and fragrant. The 4 types of ham, including Parma ham went superbly with the sweet cantaloupe. Really the sweet-salty combination with the fragrance of fruit is wonderful. Definitely want to eat more of this in the future.
I went for bread - angelo bread (yin-yang bread with dried tomatoes inbetween), a bit salty and dry and forcasia bread. Also took a bit of every cheese (dried ones) with cantaloupe. The cantaloupe with cheese was also delicious. (So much so I had this combination in Carousel)
Another round saw me taking a bug bowl of lobster bisque soup with more beef and potatoes. Checked with the rest about the pizza and pasta which seemed normal. Had a bit of squid and half of an entire stuffed squid. That stuffed squid was really soft and tender but the taste is kinda of an acquired one.
With a little bit of stomach left, I tried out their strawberry and pineapple sorbet. Very fruity, smooth, nice. Then my 'birthday cake' came and we took pics. Didn't have a chance to take a group pic. It was nearing the end of the buffet and we were still eating, whacking the gelato and cakes. My slice of cake was very big and it was a luxurious caramel, and many cream-layered banana cake. Very rich-tasting and complex. Still nice, though I only managed half of it. Then I went for the 3 milk based gelato, their wine, vanilla and chocolate gelato were delicious. High quality and smooth. It was a pity that I was really at my limit. Anymore and I would puke. Really ate almost non-stop from the time I've reached until the end. Wished I had more stomach space cos I didn't try every dish. None of the cakes and desserts, save for my own slice of cake.
Conversation revolved around stocks, rooster luck, gold, exchange rate, Euro, travel and planning a short trip. Lots of stuff to chat about. I was super full and after that, got a ride from FH and wife. Had an interesting chat in the journey home. I reached home, made more tea to drink to aid digestion. Later on, fell asleep and woke up still very full. Lazed around and skipped dinner. Only a single meal. Can't imagine I could really do it.
That night, I did a bunch of calculation based on the stock criteria and counters discussed. I looked through and found more REITs and used the criteria I read from that 3 books on dividend investment. Did more recalculation the following day and reevaluate part of my portfolio. Came up with a new lists of reits and my strategies for them
For now, most is observing cos already pricey, so can wait. See if after CNY, will this rise persist or is it a delayed 'Capricorn' effect.
Carousel
The next day, woke up again early. Didn't eat any breakfast. Had a coffee. I paid for the cab ride to Carousel, given they were treating me. Got 10% off with a card. I only managed 5 plates before I was full.
A plate pile up with raw fish. The sal mm on was good. Tuna so so. And the tai, there were two cuts of different color. One was chewy like salmon texture but the other cut was harder.
Second plate was a crayfish, 2 prawns and a slab of cooked salmon with sauces. In between I had to help finish some raw fish here and there which my mom and sis took but couldn't finish or not to their liking. Talk about trash bin.
3rd plate, I went for the cantaloupe with cheese. Cut a bit from the entire cheese selection, 13-14 cheeses in all. With crackers and salted biscuit and grapes. Found that they all go really well with cheese especially the cantaloupe. Delicious. Got my mom and sister to try out the combination though they prefer the cheesy biscuit with cheese. Found that cheese with cranberries or bran granules taste really nice. We all agreed. 2 other cheese that had a white outer crust were delicious and light.
4th plate, unofficially was a bunch of dessert my sis took bit nibbled a bit here and there and I got to finish. Signs... Some were too sweet for my liking. The mango yoghurt tasted funny so there goes the yoghurt.
My final plate was pita bread, nacho with guacamole, some humus, an egg sushi, more cooked salmon. Was full but not to that level at Carousel. Had a double expresso, delicious and rich dark chocolate, and a peppermint tea.
Thought to myself, whilst enjoyable, but doing a double buffet on consecutive days is not good. Like deva-vu feeling. My stomach and intestines definitely worked overtime. Still I was glad for the treat, good food and company. We had difficulty getting a cab out of Orchard and managed on a bus with seats. Just sat and stone until we reached home. I didn't eat anything. Had a honey lemon drink at night when I had slight hunger pangs. Another day with a single meal. But both days definitely ate way above the calories.
Diet begins on Monday.
This year I was worried about the job and hope to keep to my New Year Resolutions. And hopefully lose all the extra weight before Chinese New Year.
Dared not step on the scales just after these buffets. I'll clean up my diet and exercise a bit more first. Will check it this weekend.
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