Why Goodbyes aren't forever.

 I said goodbye to a bunch of people from a place that I would never want to go back to. It was a bittersweet moment. Sweet because I was leaving a job that I shouldn't have started but bitter in the end because of all the lovely souls I'm leaving behind. Funny how I wouldn't have met this bunch if I have rejected this job earlier.

This post is for my friends at the workplace. :)

But like they said, goodbyes aren't easy but they are not always forever.

Goodbyes aren't forever because in this world of technology, no matter where the person is, we can always be up to date on their lives, through social media. These media platforms allow us to have a glimpse or a full view of their lives. And knowing how they are doing sort of put us at peace. If they are doing well, we would be happy for them and a "like" or a nice comment will show them that. But if they are feeling under the weather, and shows it on social media, we can send them a private message, asking if they are alright. Although these people are no longer part of your daily life but through the abundance of social media apps, there is always a free and easy way to keep in contact and stay in the loop.

Certain things like pictures together, words or even the places you have been together, trigger past memories and we would reminiscence about the times we shared together, happy or sad. Even after we have said goodbye, we cannot take back the time we gave to them, neither can we retract the feelings we once shared together with them. We all gave away a part of ourselves that we are never getting back and that is our time. People change, but memories will always remain as it is. It was never a definite goodbye because they live on, on the back of our heads or in our hearts for as long as we can remember.

Life is a surprise. Sometimes we lose contact with each other just because life got the better of us. But we never know, maybe one day walking down the streets we'll bump into these people.

Goodbyes aren't forever, also because you know that you still care for each other and are still friends. We'll take the time to meet and catch up, just a matter of time.


Update: I went back to the workplace to collect my pay, and I met a few of my friends there. Very touching knowing that they still think about me. I had to stop myself from tearing up. haha. I'm very sentimental and emotional when it comes to friends. No idea why, but I'm made an emotional heavy person. Not perfect, and still a WIP. And i assured them that I will meet them when I'm on my Mid-Semester break :D

Budget Bites: Bacon and Broccoli Pasta

I picked up cooking/baking from YouTube videos, reading recipes and through countless trail and errors. (I still can't cook the perfect white and fluffy jasmine rice :( )

(Ingredients shown in above picture is not for this recipe) 

Cooking only gives two results: 1) Edible 2) Inedible. 

I started cooking as a form of survival and also to stretch the dollar. I honestly don't mind eating the same pasta for 3 days straight. But I kinda found my fire when I turned on the fire (on the stove). Okay... super bad pun. 

The pasta me and the boyf cooked tgt! 

The boyf calls me the 'Pasta Monster'. Because I always cook pasta at home and eat pasta outside. ohhhh the amount of carbs. :/

Anyway, since I'm pinching the penny now to save for my ticket to the boy and etc. I decided to put down the different pasta recipes I create myself and also the amount of money spent on this meal itself! :) 

Now to the recipe!

¼ packet of pasta, approx 50g $0.52 [$2.05 per 200g pkt at Giant]

1 tomato $0.21 [$1.05 for 5 tomatoes at NTUC Fairprice]

½  packet oyster mushroom $0.55 [$1.10 per packet at NTUC Fairprice]

½ broccoli using only the florets $0.53 [$1.07 per whole broccoli at NTUC Fairprice]

3 slices of bacon cut into 1 inch strips vertically $1.50 [$3.95 per packet (8 strips) at NTUC]

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp oil 

½ tsp dried thyme leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

Disclaimer: I won't be listing prices of items that I did not purchase on my own. I just used what was available at home and probably bought by my mum. *free is always good hehe

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes 

Miscellaneous time: 5 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

Total cost of meal: $3.31 
It has more ingredients than I normally use, and I eat bacon this time as a treat for myself! and who doesnt love bacon!

Preparation: 

* first bring a pot of water to boil, add a little salt and oil. Once water is boiling rapidly, put the pasta into the water and cook for the amount of time needed.

1) Cut the broccoli up, leaving only the florets and cutting them into smaller pieces or to your liking so that it is easier for them to be cooked. Add broccoli to the pot at the last two minutes of the pasta cooking time. 

2) Dice up the tomato

3) Clean and cut the mushrooms

4) Remove garlic skin and mince them up 

5) Cut bacon strips vertically into 1 inch strips

6) Drain pasta and broccoli in a colander and run under tap water to cool it down

How I cut up my broccoli! 

Cooking: 

1) Heat 1 tsp of oil in the pan 

2) Add garlic in and stir it for awhile, make sure it doesn't burn

3) Add in thyme and let it fry up in the oil for while, before adding in the mushrooms. Fry mushrooms until it has soften and looks a but translucent 

4) Add in diced tomatoes and stir fry them until the tomato has soften and skin starts to separate from the flesh

5) Add some salt and pepper to taste 

6) Put in the bacon strips and continue stirring them until the bacon is cooked through

7) Turn off the heat and add the pasta and broccoli in. 

8) Mix well. and then SERVE! 

As you can see, I normally just stir it for a bit and then leave it there while I do some washing and then come back to stir again. 

I normally squeeze some lemon onto everything i eat because i like then tangy taste and i just love lemons! 

Anyway, as i said, i cook to survive. Some may not agree to my methods of simple cooking, but the main point was how to make a meal that is cheaper than eating out! And I always ensure that my food is cooked through and the process of cooking it is clean so i dont get sick.

P/S: When we on LDR, we always show each other what we cook at home, share tips and recipes and also to get ideas. I guess its the same as cooking and eating together, haha, Sometimes we skype when we are eating and it somewhat feels the same. We're just making the best of what we have right? LDR makes people appreciate things more hehe.

Bon Appetit! 

6 Takeaways of Long Distance Relationships

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder." The very sentence everyone knows or has heard about. It's obnoxious but at the same time comforting to a certain extent. It's a phrase that you can fall back on, keep your faith on it, that things are going to work out.

But people say such things because they can't say "oh, you're going to give up in less than 6 months" right to your face. They TRY to be encouraging, but you know it damn well yourself that whether or not the relationship survives is solely up to the two in it. 

We've been together for slightly more than a year, and 77% of the time is spent on LDR. Half of it was him in New York, and the other half in London, and the final leg of about 2 years straight starting Sept 2014 will be him in New York.  And all of it was me on home ground, sunny island - Singapore.

We were together for about a month and a half, before he flew 9537 miles to NY. At that point of time, I really didn't know what was going to happen, and he kept reassuring me that everything will be okay, and that we would tide through it. I was scared honestly, because it's so uncertain and I've never done this before.... You can imagine the kind of thoughts racing through my head, and for someone who thinks so much, it was crazy. 

BUT! About 40 weeks on LDR, I can share a few things that we learnt from it, and how I think it help made our connection to each other stronger, and of course how being together physically in-between really helped us tighten that bond.
(These are my own POV, and not all may agree to it.)