With some encouragement to put in my fieldwork appeal to my fieldwork coordinator, and some great appeal writing advice from Edrei I finally submitted my appeal via e-mail last night.
And this afternoon, waiting in my inbox was an e-mail telling me that I don’t have to go to Collie and have instead been reassigned to the Alzheimer’s Association in Shenton Park! I can’t stop grinning from ear to ear 
The epitome of looking like a working adult is to be seen in a vest. Thus in my quest to look more grown up and shed my teenage image once and for all, I went to try some vests in Myer in the city. And since I was lugging around my laptop and wearing working clothes, I suppose I could have passed off for those office people walking around the city at lunch time, although I was probably the only one in flats there everyone was wearing high heels. Bah, I shall wear high heels next time, just you wait!
Anyways, bringing along my tiny camera I snapped some shots and I think I could pass for one of the thousands of office people there. What do you think?
When I got to the change rooms to try on those vests, I found each room has this funky egg type chair you see in those modern decoration magazines and mine had this pink furry cushion bit to it. I decided it was to irresistible to not camwhore there 
So that’s what this picture was taken for. Pure unadulterated camwhoring LOL
I thought this vest was pretty funky looking, grown up yet at the same time looks young enough for me to pull off.
The black one, which I thought matched pretty much anything so I got that.
So I took another picture.
The grey one that I didn’t get. Since I already got the 1st grey one, this one didn’t make the cut.
I suppose I liked all 3 but I obviously could not afford all of them. Maybe another day 
OK, so the summer heat is really getting to me. Not to mention that the bathroom renovators have just started drilling again without warning. Well at least its not as loud as the other day where I think I quite literally had a ringing in my ears for a while.
Anyways, I can’t help but feeling like I’m back at uni again. True, uni has technically started for everyone else but I don’t have classes till March 10th and I’m already working on an assignment due March 11th, and a project proposal which is supposed to be due March 12th but we got an extension for till March 31st. I look at the unit outline for what we’re supposed to be doing and the bulk of it is to repeat in more detail what was already written in our project overview. I feel like the unit coordinator is just making us write that just to make the thing look fatter. In fact, I’m convinced that’s the case. So much so, I’ve actually copied and pasted some of the overview in there and elaborated on it, see what he says
I’m driving myself crazy trying to construct a timeline of what is supposed to be done using Excel or Word. This really is driving me insane cause I’ve got to colour code everything, get a due date, get meetings fixed up, get things drafted and reviewed and basically chart down every minute of my time spent doing anything related to this project. The good thing about this is that I can claim up to 200 or so hours on this project so I’m looking forward to it.
And this is what my bed looks like at the moment with my project stuff sitting on it:
Albeit its less messier than usual but I look at my diary and how fast that file is filling up and it is getting really crazy. I’ve got more official documentation there than I ever have before and I’m going to protect it with my life if I have to so I can graduate.
Anyways, getting back to the proposal and the timelines.
As the affection for cooking continues, me and Cheesy tried making a chocolate raspberry buttercake and scones on Friday for cell. It turned out pretty well, considering I had just randomly pulled out the recipe from a Woman’s Day magazine I had a long long time ago. It was such a random thing, they used the cake I made for my birthday 1 month ago, breaking into song when I was standing there. Probably one of my more memorable birthdays
Here’s the recipe we used:
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 50 minutes
Cake:
125 gm butter, at room temperature, chopped
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups self-raising flour
1/4 cup cocoa
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, plus extra to decorate
Chocolate butter cream:
125 gm butter, at room temperature, chopped
3/4 cup icing sugar mixture
2 tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp milk
1. Preheat oven to moderate, 180 degrees Celcius. Lightly grease a 22cm round cake pan and line the base with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
3. Sift flour and cocoa together. Lightly fold into creamed mixture, alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in raspberries.
4. Spoon mixture into prepared pan, smoothing top. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, before turning onto wire rack to cool completely.
5. Chocolate butter cream: Beat butter in bowl until pale. Add icing sugar mixture, cocoa and milk. Beat until combined. Spread over top and sides of cake. Decorate with extra raspberries.
I put some blueberries and chocolate shavings on top just to make it look pretty. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of when it was ready and I only have a picture of the cake itself.
Admittedly the cake looks very plain but I tell you the end results were amazing. Cheh, self praise really is no praise LOL But trust me, this is probably one of the more simple but tasty desserts to make
Lately I’ve been getting busier and busier, just had the meeting with the OTs at the RITH Department in Royal Perth Hospital yesterday, set up another meeting next week, e-mailed my coordinator for fieldwork forms, met up with Camille and Fatima, got the assignment guidelines for the intensive unit I’m doing, read the first chapter of The Footsteps of the Messiah in time for bible study tomorrow morning, made arrangements to bake a cake and possibly scones for cell tomorrow, and last but not least packed my bags to go to work today. Oh, throw in shopping for work clothes as well. Hey, Target was on sale and I needed some dress shirts that were short sleeved so I could wear them in summer.
I suppose it is quite good since my mind has probably rotten away in the 3 month summer break of not actually applying OT skills. I had to write up a showering task analysis and boy did it really crack my head. Oh, oh, oh! I forgot to say, the thing I’m most proud of for this self-directed prac is that we have to sign a release form that will allow the hospital and Curtin to use our copyrighted work. Cheh, now we’re writers With legal documents that we have to sign, bangga betul hahaha
Copyright issues aside, I’ve got to work today since one of the girls is at camp and can’t make it. Which reminds me, I have to go now since I realised I forgot to factor in the time I need to go and pick up the things I need to bake tomorrow. Pictures will be up soon, I promise! Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Ah, so the tarts were a big hit I do have to get the pictures off Amanda when I next see her. In total it took 8 hours work to actually cook the pineapples, cool the pineapple jam, roll it into little balls, mix the pastry, set the pastry, roll the tarts, glaze the tarts and bake the tarts. If you include the buying of ingredients, blending, getting organised, getting cooking consults via webcam from Malaysia and deciding which recipe to use, I’d say we’re looking at 10 hours minimum. I’m thankful this is only a 1 year thing. From now on, I’ve learnt my lesson: buy premade pineapple jam, cooking it for 5 hours is can kill even the most patient of people. I started making the jam at 11am on Friday and didn’t quite finish till 6pm that day. And as if that wasn’t enough, I cooked instant noodles with my right hand while stirring the pineapples with my left hand and then ate the noodles with my right hand (I am ambidextrous at time but there is a limit to my ambidextrousness) while cooking the pineapples with my left hand.
Psst….I let you in on a secret:
I wore an apron! I feel so like a housewife now, making pineapple tarts, cooking lunch, doing laundry in between things and packing my room up. Now all I need is a baby and then I can be the ultimate housewife….Hahaha….Good grief, the ideas that come into my head now. I think I miss blogging so much that I’m starting to mesh reality with imagination
*Slaps self awake*
Anyways, blogging about all this food is making me slightly hungry. Lucky I don’t have the pictures yet or I’ll be drooling all over the computer at uni, not a pretty sight. Why am I at uni when I don’t have uni till March you ask, I’m paying my insurance and I’m damned well going to pay it today so I have one less worry on my mind.
Last Friday it was so fun at cell! It was quite big since quite a few more people have come back since the last cell and its 4 cells combined so its a massive cell. We got into a discussion about the meaning of the words faith, trust, believe and hope. I haven’t laughed like that in a while, with Chester being the walking dictionary that night it was great fun. And then after cell, the best part came around: the guitar playing! Being so called serenaded by 4 guys who between them know how to play a variety of songs, from the Bee Gees’ repertoire, to BSB, Westlife and Mandy Moore and to parodies of songs (”I’ll settle for you” —> Best song ever! :P) After that we just ended up hanging out at church office since it was our last cell combined with all 4 cells, was great talking to everyone outside church and uni, creates an illusion that I actually have a life outside work and uni. So after a while we decided to have supper at Makan Makan on Albany Highway, but by the time we actually got there it was 10.45pm and they were shutting at 11pm, so we got teh tarik and ended up at Amanda’s place, playing taboo and black jack. Now that is one black jack game I will never forget, since we were playing with poker chips and not real money and it was the last game all of us went all in. I ended up with black jack, dealer got 21 and everyone lost except me…Muahaha….Never in my life will I go all in with real money, I love my money a bit too much to gamble it away like that. Must say, Taboo is such a fun game to play, I’ve realised girls are actually quite good at guessing if the person explaining is good as well LOL
Anyway, all that aside I’ve come up with 2 New Year’s Resolutions. I know they’re a bit late but better late than never, right?
So I’ve decided that this year, I’m going to cook and bake more often to practice and develop cooking skills for the future. If you want to be from the best, you learn from the best, so I’m learning of mum and dad and every person that will spare me recipes and be willing to try my culinary concoctions Come on, I won’t poison you! My pineapple tarts and chocolate cake were great! So watch out for more food to eat as the year goes by!
And the 2nd resolution I had was to lose that weight this year. It’s prime time this year because:
1) I’ve had enough of being fat
2) I’m finishing uni (Dad, remember what you said to Aunty Siew Lian about losing weight and dating? :P)
So, that’s that from me now. I’ve typed up an hour’s worth of thoughts and I’m still dreaming about my car and when I can drive and I do need to go do what I came to uni to do: pay that bloody insurance. TTFN!
EDIT: Pictures are included now
Just as I put the thing to cook
After 2 hours of cooking it still looks so slushy. Took 6 hours to cook this thing, so I’d say be VERY patient when trying this
Looking so retarded in the apron but it was either that or get pineapple pastry all over my shirt
Caught by Amanda
Version 1.1 before getting redone
The end result of 6 hours of cooking the jam. 5 cans of pineapple reduced to this
Into the oven they go!
The 2 bakers of the day!
So I’ve decided Chinese New Year isn’t Chinese New Year without the pineapple tarts. To cut a very long story short about why I have decided to make the tarts this weekend, I’m making pineapple tarts this weekend. Going to be making the pineapple jam today from scratch, not with fresh pineapples but with canned pineapples this time. I’m doing this blind, following no set recipe, just my gut instinct and my delightfully sensitive taste buds. Let’s hope my instincts are correct and it turns out nice. If its nice, there’ll be sampling for everyone, otherwise it’ll never see the light of day ever again….Mwahahaha
Food stories aside, I went to Curtin for Amanda’s graduation (well the fireworks part of it that is) last night. Joe, Chester, Justin, Ange and me went along and arrived just in time to see the fireworks being shot up in the sky in front of John Curtin Forum. It was a beautiful sight indeed. Now I can’t wait for my graduation ceremony a year from now. When I first started uni, it was 4 years to graduation and then it slowly dwindled from 4 years to 1 year from now. It’s both exciting and scary how time flies so fast, this time next year I would have already joined the work force as a registered OT.
Oh, the best news of the day so far is that I’m going car shopping today! Well more like buying the car and then practising on it first before I can be unleashed on Perth roads. Driving, here I come!
It just struck me that from this year onwards, I won’t be able to hang out with the babes over lunch and during classes. I won’t be able to spend as much time talking to them about things. No more hanging out on the grass and just yakking.
I’ve also realised that I’m making the transition from student to entering the workforce, churning in the hours daily and coming back home in the evening. No more going to uni, having summer breaks, but working the hours, paying the tax, buying groceries and basically living on my own and supporting myself. It is a rather scary yet exciting thought, to be honest. I seriously cannot wait to be working and supporting myself and living on my own. It’s going to be a challenge but hey, I think if I could handle managing a shop for 10 days with minor hiccups, I don’t see why I would not be able to manage living on my own. After all, I am 22 years and 2 days old.
It has also just struck me, that this is a new year, a new beginning, time for change and time to make things in life a bit better. I know, it is now February and I have just realised its the new year, I’m not blonde, it’s more of a actualisation sort of thing.
Anyway, had the first cell of the year, combined with all the other J-Life cells since not many people are back yet. It feels really good to be back listening to what Pastor Jason was saying today, 3 principles for life.
1. Do the best you can for God - put in 100%. If you love someone, you would naturally put in 100% of effort in the things you do.
2. Finish what you have started - whatever you start, make sure you see it to the end.
3. Build upon Christ as your foundation - with Christ in life, things will be solid.
Met up with Ange again after yonks of not seeing her. Had lots of catching up to do with the woman after not seeing her for a month. I can only imagine what life will be like without all them babes, having kebabs on the grass in the sun, meeting up at Main Cafe for lunch, ringing each other finding out where we are and meeting up. I’m going to seriously miss that part.
Anyways, enough reminescing good old times, but time to look forward, look forward to a new year and many challenges ahead! Happy New Year!
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