Starting afresh ancora

Christmas came and went away in a blink. It was a low key affair - quiet dinner at J's - compared to how we used to celebrate it in the good ole days. As I was spring-cleaning my wardrobe today, I pulled out our old photo albums and was grinning like a monkey at snapshots of the wild party days in our carefree 20s. The best parties were at Mohamed Sultan; B and I were always up to mischief making others drunk and twirling each other in madness. My favourite scene was that of the pub filled with fake foamy snow bits and we'd bump into the big twinkling xmas tree in our drunken state of dance. It was a bourbon-long-island-tequila-kinda blur which led naughty me to kissing a few guys that night!

Si, blame it on the alcohol. It does foolish things to you, like daring one another to down 11 tequila shots in a row or puke your dinner remains into a party hat at the bar counter. Or having your face in the gutters, waiting for the next wave of nausea. Or sticking your head out of a moving cab in case there's more vomit left while the taxi uncle searched desperately for another plastic bag. Ahh, how I missed those days, but surely not the hangovers. I could safely say I now know my limits. I stopped at kissing strangers too. In fact I haven't kissed anyone in the past 2 years (my cats don't count). I wondered if I'd still know how to pucker my lips.

With the new year looming ahead, it's time again to reflect on my previous resolutions and draw up new ones. Let's see, in 2007 I had set out to:
- To quit smoking (quasi accomplished - I smoked only a pack this year, haha)
- To improve my italiano (checked - ho completato progressivo livello!)
- To hold an exhibition (checked - Gattidelmondo was a success!)
- To be kinder to parents & relatives (checked - domestic relations have improved)
- To travel to new exotic places (si, went to Philippines, Hoi An, Arezzo, Assisi, Cortona, Perugia)
- To get a bike licence (not after what happened to R who's now paralysed)
- To achieve a lean, mean body thro' healthy living (err, it's in the progress)
- To start praying for il mio grande amore (ok I've started praying quite hard)

I guessed the highlights of 2007 were winning the Italian scholarship, the one-month long return trip to Italia and also the sense of accomplishment of organising a fun cat photo exhibition which hopefully will be an annual affair. Capping the year was finally whipping our arses into gear and finalising the launch of our 2nd business DMAF! It's been extra hard on top of our busy agenda but I'm proud to say we did it!

For 2008, my priorities are:
- To find il mio grande amore (si, I'm naive this way but I know The Secret now!)
- To perfect my italiano in italia (Yay, can't wait for my scholarship trip!)
- To hold 2nd Gattidelmondo photo exhibition (in talks with new bigger venue!)
- To achieve sane, healthy living through regular exercise (bought new Nikes! And not to take health for granted esp after Lipoma's surgery on 28 Jan)
- To roll out business expansion plans and launch 2nd venture DMAF (fingers crossed! Plus have to look for new office, rent went up 4times, porca putana)
- To be thankful, positive, have courage and faith - Felice nuovo anno, tutti!

Mangio troppissimo

With Christmas coming up and our 'winter' rainy season creeping in, we all got the munchies and had been stuffing our faces at every excuse. First it was No's big 30th birthday and we celebrated it at Bombay Cafe last Friday. It was this shocking-pink kitschy Indian joint at Tanjong Katong, splashed with posters and videos of our preferito Bollywood idol Shahrukh Khan. After a delightful dinner, we managed to shock N with a special Shahrukh's cake with his message of love in Hindi. Hehe.

The next week we then went to My Humble House where No made special arrangements with the Chef to whip up a brilliant 5-course pranzo. The pumpkin soup alone was to-die-for while desserts were always a fun affair. We were literally on cloud nine as the dry ice bubbled away in our ice-piled bowls of fruits and sweets.

Various ideas were cast and tossed aside for our company Xmas lunch - it was always a huge dilemma to please everyone's tastebuds and expectations. In the end, everyone nodded to The Moomba, one of our favourite restaurants for consistency and comfort. After making heartfelt toasts fuelled by the lovely Champagne Francois H, I slurped down 5 slippery oysters, followed by a fig-rocket-blue cheese insalata then the roasted quail. Mmmm. I could feel Lipoma beaming with delight, she loves good food as much as me.

Scannin' again

The weeks zipped by in a flash and the xmas trees and decor were all up. We put Pecora at the top of our office tree cos she's a star! The rain fell in continous sheets of storm and the temperature dipped. All I want was a hug and a glass of Champagne. Ok make that una bottiglia! Last Saturday Concetta sprang a test on us in classe and I tried my very best despite the lack of colazione e caffe. Porca putana. I was very sure I sucked. This Saturday would be our last class for Advanced Level 4C and we're all very proud of ourselves for making it so far, especially Eka and I who started since Oct 2005! A pat on the back for us ragazze :P complimenti!

Today I finally had the MRI scan after all the hassle of to-ing and fro-ing from the poly clinic and hospital for the subsidised rate. A doc friend had managed to speed things up and I told the surgeon and his two grinning med interns - no conservative route for me - lets move it and get it out asap.

Prior to the scan, I had some apprehension since a) I'm claustrophobic so the bloody tunnel will be scary 2) I never have a surgery before or being under GA so that's a bit bewildering. Well, that's always a first time for everything right! I tried to be a brave cat, as I lay there on the bed before being rolled in while the nurse reassured me a bit too cheerily 'don't worry, jus close your eyes!'

As I felt the bed slide in, I clenched my fists tight and shut my eyes tight as the space closed in like a space pod and there was only stillness. The tunnel was so bloody small that I almost panicked just thinking of risking a peep. Soon the machine came alive, vibrating and thumping switching from a bad repetitive techno beat to an irritating jackhammer. It was manageable, save for the ear plugs.

Then halfway they rolled me to a window in the tunnel - again the nurse said 'close your eyes still ok' - while injecting me with a liquid to make the blood vessels more visible for the scan?!! WTF! I can deal with injections but not enclosed spaces. I mustered all my strength and imagined myself in a space pod floating in universe while the techno-like vibrations closed in around me again. Not fun lor. Anyway the results were ok and I'd proceed with surgery on 28 Jan 08. Wish me luck!

Such a Scan-dal

Last week I waited almost 2 hours to see the surgeon at SGH despite having an appointment. He spent less than 5mins examining Lipoma and advised me to go for a MRI scan to ascertain that it was indeed all fats *fingers crossed* Blurf#ck me didn't know what it is or how much it costs, and nearly fainted when the nurse said it'd be S$960! Porca putana! I'm heading back to square 1 and getting a referral from a poly clinic so I'd get subsidised - half price. Anyway once I get the MRI out of the way, I'd remove Lipoma before I get used to petting her like a parrot on my shoulder every morning.

On giovedi, Q and I went to the launch of 'Italian Genius Now' at Emily Hill, which was part of the Spore Design Festival. It was not as impressive as we imagined but at least we got to practise our italian. I think I better brush up, perche saro' troppo pigra e dimentichero' tutto che ho imparato! Gulp. So today I took some drastic measure: besides dragging myself to class, I also signed up at a language exchange website (got 3 italian men who wanted to be my friend!) and said 'si' to a dinner invitation from a Sicilian chef whom I've met once before. We somehow had a few italian exchanges on FaceBk and decided to meet up and chat in person - at of all places, Iggy's! Ero un po stressata! What should I wear so I could stuff my face without splitting my dress?!

He turned out to be such a gentleman - held out chair, offered Champagne, laughed at my every joke (cos I molto funny mah), paid at least $600 for the dinner (si, era troppo) and offered to send me home in cab. Wah, I hadn't been treated like a lady for so long now. Maybe it's time for me to get back in the dating circuit! Anyway here's another Carla's tried and tested recipe - enjoy!

Creepy Crepes all Nutella e Banana

Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
3/4 milk
1/4 water
Nutella
Banana

Method:
1. Mix flour and salt together and create a well in the middle.
2. Mix eggs, milk and water and pour this mixture into the middle of flour-salt.
3. Be sure to blend them gently and sift the mix carefully so there's no lipoma lump.
4. Heat up a non-stick pan and pour half a laddle of the batter, quickly spreading it out thinly to cover all of the pan's surface. Flip it over to brown both sides. Make funny creepy faces once you have mastered it!
5. Serve up crepes with lots of nutella and sliced banana. Yum!