Busy with the New Semester

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Asuma

Yesterday was my first day back to uni this year, and I have to say it went rather well, a lot better than I had expected.

I was actually excited about going back to my student life from a very relaxed (and super long) summer holiday.

However, I expected to be really tired by the end of such a busy day (classes from 9 to 5 with only an hour’s break).

For some reason though, I was full of energy all throughout the whole time, and even when I went to the Body Attack class in the end of the day I realized how energetic my body was despite the fact that it was my first day back at uni.

I didn’t feel tired at all, and I felt so good working out, like I didn’t want to stop!

I had never felt this good in a Body Attack class before, so this was a big surprise for me.

I was a happy kid by the end of the class, and I loved every single bit of it (though the class was rather crowded yesterday…new semester means lots of new people)!

Or maybe it was just the coffee I took before the class. I don’t know.

Whatever it was, I had a great day and did not feel like collapsing on the bed when I got back home, which was a good sign (last year, I spent most of my uni days feeling lethargic and could never get enough sleep).

Speaking of sleep, I am really having trouble with that lately.

I’m not sure if it’s a sort of insomnia or something, but I have been having trouble having a good, long quality sleep over the past month or two.

I can never sleep for more than 3 hours in a go (2 hours when it’s bad), and it takes time for me to go back to sleep again after that.

Even when my body was tired, I just could not sleep.

Last night was a little better though, and I just woke up twice for very brief periods of time but could go back to sleep easier than before.

But in total I could only sleep for 5.5 hours, so I wish I could have been able to give a better rest to my body but I couldn’t.

Some things you just can’t control.

But maybe being back to uni will help me.

I guess I’ll have to wait and see how it goes.

On another note, here are a few photos I took recently.

My new lunch box for salads, with separate compartments and a tiny box for dressings and cutlery.

Dinner with Dad at La Taverna, a Greek place near my flat. He had the grilled chicken with a lemon cream sauce, with a side of salad and chips.

And my grilled salmon with a side of grilled veggies and a salad. I have to say, my favorite part of this dish were the perfectly cooked carrots! They almost tasted like sweet potatoes so I checked with the waitress but she assured me they were carrots. So good. I wish I could cook carrots that well…I’d be eating them for every meal if I could.

Lunch with Beckie at an Israeli cafe in Bondi Junction…we shared the Kefta sandwich on Turkish bread, which was just so amazing. Totally satisfied!

Beckie’s skim cap…coffee art comes out so much prettier on cow’s milk rather than soy.

As usual, turned out to be all food photos, but I can’t help it, they just look so good!

Anyway, I better go back to reviewing over the lecture material from this morning now.

Have a good day!

Xx Asuma

V-Day with the Girls

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Asuma

It’s almost been a week since V-day!! Sadly, I couldn’t post anything recently because of my sucky internet situation at home…but here is a quick recap of what my girlfriends and I did that night.

We were to meet up at Longrain Restaurant in Surry Hills…I was the first to arrive, so waited at the bar area.

This is what their website says about them:

“Longrain is a contemporary restaurant, bar, Asian produce store and canteen. It is uniquely located within an expansive, 110 year-old converted warehouse. A hip, yet welcoming atmosphere is combined with warm service, original cocktails, an inspired wine list and award-winning, modern Thai/Asian food, created by executive chef, Martin Boetz.”

And then arrived Austvina, Jo, Julz and Kelly.

The restaurant area was quite lofty and nice. A lot of restaurants are rather clustered these days, which is not always necessarily bad as it could create a cosier ambience, but the spaciousness was good for a change.

I had the grilled kingfish salad with ginger. It was quite literally a jungle full of ginger! And rather spicy too, with a Thai seasoning.

This one above was Kelly’s char grilled octopus with watermelon, roast chilli and black vinegar.

Jo ordered the caramelised pork hock with five spice and chilli vinegar. I tried a bit of this one too, it was a lean portion of pork and rather sweet. Loved it!

Austvina had the salt and pepper silken tofu with sweet soy and lime. I had a piece of this one too, and it was a total winner. Crisp on the outside, fluffy and smooth (and really hot!) inside.

The boat-shaped dish behind the pork hock was Julz’s black mushroom with baby corn in oyster sauce. This one was really spicy! We all has some of it but still had a hard time finishing it.

So much fun just chatting away with the girls!!!

Des arrived just in time to share the dessert platter with us. I want to go back there just for the desserts!! I loved how it was a great combination of Asian and Western sweets.

Then it was time for us to hop to this bar nearby called Tio’s Cerveceria.

Awesome illuminated decorations! I want them in my flat!!!

-The End-

Yeah, so that’s just pretty much what happened that night. I can’t wait to get my new internet provider to come set up as early as possible…it might still take a while though. Keeping fingers crossed!

Happy St. Valentine’s Day!

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Asuma

Happy Valentines Day to you all!!!

Okay, I couldn’t really be up for doing the entire post in pink…there’s only so much of this lovey-dovey stuff I can take (OD is always scary, folks).

I do not believe that Valentine’s Day should be a ‘holiday’ (in my head, holiday = Christmas, New Years, Eid, etc.) but then I’m definitely not cynical enough not to celebrate or have fun with it at all.

It’s only been 4 hours and 2 minutes since the beginning of this particular Tuesday over here in Sydney so I still have lots of time left to enjoy this day!

Not-so-fun-fact: I left Bangladesh to come here to study Medicine in UNSW last year, on this exact day.

Well so technically I only arrived here on the 15th, but I think I’ll always relate Valentine’s to the beginning of my new life journey.

So many things have changed, and not to get too sentimental but I definitely do feel like a completely different person from who I used to be back in high school. In both positive and negative ways.

But that’s life and I guess that’s just how we all grow.

Anyway, I thought I’d do a mini-celeblogration with a few photos of “things-I-hearted-this-week”. Yes my name is Asuma and I make up random stuff do to.

The actual colour is slightly darker than in this photo above, but I’d been wanting to try mint green nails forever now! The verdict – I’m in love with it.

Brown rice flour muffin. This one was a gluten-free organic one (if that matters), with apple, raspberry and cinnamon. I usually don’t care that much for organic food, sans specific produce that have relatively high accumulation of toxins like carrots, but I got this one mainly because of the rice flour factor. Firstly, I think that rice flour gives a much more dense and moist texture which I prefer, whereas wheat would make it light and fluffier. And as an added bonus, rice flour does not have the effect of cooling out body unlike refined wheat, so if I were given the choice I would definitely pick rice flour. My poor circulation and cold extremities are my frenemies – sure it means that I don’t sweat as much during summer but come winter I die. A trillion layers and gloves (+fingerless ones while working) and scarves and hats please. Okay I’m getting off the track again….

This new L’oreal Sulfate-Free Hair Masque. So thick and creamy…so moisturing…but what I liked the most was its fragrance! Rosemary and other shea-like scents are pretty common, but this one was rosemary&mint and oh it was such a delicious smell. Pure indulgence.

Michael Fassbender. Now I intentionally did not put exclamation marks right now, or else I might as well have yelled it out. Especially after watching him in Shame…I need to watch more of his films. Maybe Hunger?

And last but not the least, hanging out with the girls!!! Just chatting away for hours…it’s just so rejuvenating.

So, I guess this is just another beginning of an ordinary Tuesday, but it’s still somewhat uplifting to know that it’s V-day

Shame + Hunky Dory Social Club

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Asuma

I went out to watch Shame at Palace Verona Cinema in Paddington a couple of nights ago with the girls!! It was my first time to meet Kelly, who was on a student exchange program to Korea for the past year (and I only came to Sydney last year, so naturally, yeah). I had heard so much about her from the other girls so it didn’t really feel like I was meeting her for the first time, but she was way cooler than I could have imagined! Can’t wait to get to hang out with her more.

Apart from that, oh yeah, the film. I LOVED it. I don’t know if people have issues with these sort of films, or maybe some would just say it doesn’t make sense. But I feel like I could really relate to the characters in different ways. I wouldn’t want to spoil the movie for any of you so wouldn’t talk much about the plot here, but because we all have issues and different ways of dealing with them, I could just feel the pain, the emotions toward self, others and the world. Oh, and not to forget, the great casting. I loved Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan in it – their expressions, not just from dialogue, but their face to the way they stand and even a single movement of the brow was so true and real. One film I’d definitely want to watch again at home, alone.

After the movie, we went down to Hunky Dory Social Club for a late dinner. Well, I couldn’t really eat (ordered a cocktail though) because of this dietary issue that I’ve been having, and I don’t know if it’s because of that but it makes me nauseous and unable to sleep when I eat late at night.

Guess what this is…it is not a picture book…

Their menu! Pretty cool isn’t it?

The middle cocktail was mine – the Highland Swig! Really refreshing, with honey dew, lemon and lychee.

This was Austvina’s, but it looked to good I hate to show it here! Tiramisu with coffee and biscuits, probably short bread.

Not much lighting, but you can see how there literally weren’t anyone left by the time we left…I think it was about 11:30? We actually stayed longer than this couple who were on a date. It was so much fun chatting with the girls, we completely lost track of time. Oops. I was damn sleepy on the car back home (thanks so much for giving us a lift, Julz!!), probably also because I’m not used to taking alcohol that often. But even the ride was fun! Gee, when do we ever go out of things to talk about? Anyway, it was a great night and I’m so looking forward to getting together with them again soon!

Gloomy Weather = Soup Weather

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Asuma

Since I have so much time now that my exam’s over (I should embrace this while I still have it…uni starts soon again!!), I decided to spend a bit more time in the kitchen yesterday. The cold rainy weather made my stomach call desperately for a nice hearty bowl of soup, so I went ahead and made this simple chicken&veggie soup.

With butternut pumpkin, carrots and eggplant. Perfect for a cold night like yesterday…I really did not expect such a cold summer when I moved to Sydney! The effects of global warming…oh the horror.

Post-Exam Feeling

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Asuma

Truth – there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING better than a post-exam feeling. I’ve never tried recreational drugs, but I’m pretty sure even that could not feel as liberating as the hours right after an exam. Everything seems bright and fresh. Doing laundry becomes fun. Every tiny little thing in life becomes lovable. Really. And it has nothing to do with how well the exam might have been

I sat for my supplementary exam yesterday morning (yes I’m finally done!!!) so I spent the rest of the day cleaning, doing some grocery shopping (the heavy-lifting kills every time) and going to the gym without having to feel like maybe I should be spending that time studying instead of exercising. I loved that I could just concentrate on what I was doing, rather than having my mind elsewhere. This is one trouble I have when I do yoga and also have an assignment due! I hope I can plan my daily routine better this year so I can focus better, whatever it is that I am doing at that moment.

The post-exam excitement did not end there, I woke up this morning bright and early to make this four bean chili with the dry beans I soaked in water last night and the fresh grocery supply from yesterday.

Four Bean Chili

The original recipe is from this amazing health vegan recipe blog of Angela’s, Oh She Glows, and here is the link to her recipe. She used canned black beans, but I substituted that with the dry four bean mix today. It was really easy, it was done even before I had my breakfast. Such a great comfort food too! It was quite spicy so I decided to have it with lots of fresh veggies for lunch today, after a good pilates class.

Arugula Salad with Chili

This salad consisted of arugula, carrots, perino tomatoes, avocado and the chili. The chili was actually really spicy, in a good way Didn’t need any dressings or seasonings to put this salad together.