Am I A Geek?

I sometimes wonder how much of a geek I am. Lately code is not as fascinating as it used to be. I seem to want to do more with my life. I don't look at code on weekends, contrary to most of my friends. I think there is more to life than code. I'm not saying its a bad thing I just think there should be limits as to how much of your time you spend on something. I used to be obsessed with engineering when I was in university. Now I don't even use 50% of what I learned at university for work.

At times its very disappointing - because I remember how much effort and initiative it took to even master that bit at university. These days I have so little passion for code. I don't mind writing it - but I refuse to let it be my life. I seem to be resisting it. It doesn't help that all I hear about during lunch and after work is CODE. Code doesn't really make the world go round. Computers are a significant part of our lives - but there's so much more out there.

Music, books, why can't we discuss a good book every now and then? Rather than debate about open source. I guess I need to find more like-minded friends if I intend to lead a balanced life. There's life beyond code, and engineering - I can see that so clearly now...

I'm a Foodie :|

So I had the palak paneer for dinner yesterday. Wow it was tasty :) It had this subtle spice taste with ginger and garlic, and the strong spinach taste on top. The cubes of paneer turned out so well - I fried them lightly in the skillet with a teaspoon of butter so they'd be slightly brown on the outside.

Ooh and guess what was for dessert?

Kitchen Monster

I've been cooking a lot lately...

More than a week ago, I made pad thai - it was really good. After that I cooked spaghetti carbonara - it tasted really good despite how few ingredients there actually are in the dish.

Last Thursday I made vadai - this Indian savoury thingie. Then I made it on Sunday again, with my friend.

Ooh, and yesterday, I made paneer. Paneer is Indian cheese - they use it to cook palak paneer (spinach with cottage cheese, a Northern Indian dish). Today, I shall try to cook palak paneer.

Tomorrow I'm tempted to try to cook couscous. We'll see if I manage :)

Still Alive :)

So lately I've been learning how to dress according to the weather. I actually wore my first sweater last Monday. Today, I wore my first turtleneck. I've never really worn sweaters before - the closest I got to those were hoodies.

I guess as you move around - you have to start looking the part :) Dressing accordingly really does help. I'm surprised how much warmer I feel - now I start my shopping-obsessed streak and start contemplating buying the same thing in different colours. That's a reputed habit of mine - my elder sister hates it ;) She's always telling me to buy different kinds of clothes - but I end up getting stuck on a particular style and own a lot of similar clothing in that style.

I'm looking forward to my trip to London. I've also been contemplating traveling a little more next year. My friend and I were contemplating a few places - I guess we'll see what happens next year. I also checked out the price for flight tickets to Malaysia - ouch. I do have to go back eventually for vacation - would love to see family + the new house. Also, shopping in Malaysia has never felt so "CHEAP", since I moved to Oslo.

'till my next post,
Take care and have a great week ahead guys!

P/s - Being vegetarian was more fun in Australia ;)

Life's Fun When You're Having KitKat for Breakfast...

Call me unhealthy but I can't help it. I have recently had my KitKat stash replenished thanks to some kind souls from UK and Berlin ;) ... not to mention the Uberlingen(sp?) native.

In Norway, KitKat is replaced with Kvikk Lunsj - Norway's official skiing chocolate, if I'm not mistaken. I still prefer KitKat though, and I have spread the word ;) ... successfully. So off and on I get some KitKat and I horde them .. rationing the number of fingers I'm allowed to eat and hoping they last long enough till the next refill.

I also received TimTams from MPT (Thank you MPT!!!), my friend in New Zealand. He sent me enough TimTams to feed half the people on my floor at work...so that's what I did - I still have enough TimTams for myself though...keeping them for non-KitKat days.

Life has been good lately - I received my confirmation letter and am now an official employee! Work is fine too - my boss bought me a coffee to celebrate my 6 months here.

My younger sister is in UK now, getting used to living far from home. Can't say its easy - but after awhile you get used to it. I guess we have very protected, comfortable lives in Malaysia, so it takes a bit of time to realise that.

I found out that a good friend is getting pre-engaged end of October. That's wonderful news. Strangely enough I feel old. It's like: "Uh oh, people are getting married...next thing you know they'll have kids and you'll still be that career-absorbed, I-want-my-big-apartment person"

I guess that's life ;)