Steve's farewell dinner

Wow! I have quite a number of overdue entries that need to be shared here. Have I ever mentioned to you about a colleague that I enjoyed working with the most? Ta daaaa . . . The great Steve! It's true! Everyone enjoyed working with him back in Kensington Pharmacy. Too bad that he has left us for a better position at one of the hospitals in Auckland. Nevertheless, he will always be remembered for his easy going nature, great sense of humour and his super brain! Wonder what has made him into a genius? hmm... So as you can see this post is his farewell party . . . not exactly a party but a dinner @ Red, just across the road from the pharmacy at Kensington. Let photos do the talking!

Jen came after work at 9-ish

JD and Sheree

Yeah, I see potential in him as a model

 

Actually the star of the day was baby Jonathan cos' we just couldn't stop playing with him . . . so adorable!

Have you seen my current flatmate? He's the Asian in this photo ;P

Also thank you Steve for wearing his "sheriff-designed" shirt at one of the conferences up here. I was so bored at that time but luckily I had the pictures on his shirt to keep me company - drew it to kill boredom. Yeah, I was just siting behind him.

Steve! You will be missed!

-The End-

Chicken and green beans

Finally posted my first entry of this year about 2 hours ago and now this is the second post - about food. This afternoon, I cooked "Chicken and green beans". I got this online and the original recipe was "Chicken and Asparagus" but I couldn't find Asparagus , therefore I substituted it with Green Beans. Also, I added ginger, shaoxing wine and rice wine =) 

 Slices of Chicken Breast, Ginger, Onion, Green Beans, Tomato (instead of cherry tomato)

 Chicken broth with thyme, cornstarch, salt and pepper

Stir fry the chicken until it is almost cooked in a pan over medium-high heat then remove to plate

 Stir fry onion until crisp tender then add green beans 

 Stir chicken broth mixture and add to the pan. Bring to boil. Return chicken to pan and stir fry until the chicken is thoroughly cooked then add tomato

Chicken and green beans. Eat it with rice. *yum* Mine is slightly different from the original recipe with some extra ingredients as well as more gooey.

I find it fairly simple and I dedicate this specifically to Keith Tan so you can cook it over there. Please don't eat too much instant noodles. =)

Please click for original recipe

-The End-

End of 2011, Start of 2012

Happy New Year 2012 to everyone. I should have produced my first entry on the first few days of this jubilant year but instead I waited till now just simply because I have been occupied with work and social networking for the past 3 weeks. As what I have done previous year, I am going to sum up the happenings in 2010 in this post. 

Pharmacy internship was the focus of 2010. I have mentioned that I did my internship at Kensington Phrmacy in Whangarei. Throughout this year, I had learned a lot that range from drug knowledge, working collaboratively with other health care professionals, interactions with people of different backgrounds to acquiring problem solving skill. Kensington Pharmacy is considered a relatively big pharmacy compared to most in NZ. I am glad I did mine here and proudly say I am no longer an intern but a fully registered pharmacist meeting all the requirements of all the seven competence standards set by Pharmacy Council of NZ. Finally, I have made it after 5 years including 4 years of uni. For my success, I want to thank to all those who have supported me including Kensington Staff, families and friends and most importantly, Keith Tan. He was always there for me last year especially when I felt agrieved, and needed an ear. He also stayed awake just to make sure I was up for my oral assessment. So what's next? Currently I am working in the same pharmacy as I have signed a 2-year contract. After that I am going back to Brunei for good. I wish to stay for another year to gain more experience but I don't think I am allowed unless I want to do postgrad. I shall see what God has in His hands for me. 

 Completion of EVOLVE Intern Programme

 Yes! I am competent! 

 My official cert

 I can sell ECP now. Anyone wants some? *heee*

 What's next? Join ENHANCE, PDA, PSNZ, College of Pharmacists = $$

Another highlight of last year was my first meeting with Keith Tan. He touched down in Kiwiland on the festive Christmas Day. After spending 16 days with him physically, skipping all the details, I conclude that it was a pleasant meeting and felt very comfortable with him which is a good sign, taking both of us to another new level. I am really glad that he came over. Thank you so much for coming, poo-poo. I might blog about this in a separate entry in the future.

 At Kerikeri, Bay of Islands

 At Hamilton Garden

It was International Cultural Concert in July. This was based in Dunedin hence I flew over to help out a bit. The best part was I was on the land of snow! It was the heaviest snowfall ever, just absolutely beautiful seeing most of things covered in white snow. Due to the bad weather, I could not fly out of Dunedin in time hence I missed my connecting flight from Auckland to Whangarei. As a result, I stayed overnight in Auckland.

There are 6 parts about this event. Please go to http://aprilariez.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html for the first part

In November, I went for my OZ honeymoon trip with Juang, after our big exams and before the release of our results. Well, Juang knew hers when we were there and yes! She is officially a DOCTOR! *clapclap* Congratulation Chabo! We went to Sydney, Goldcoast and Brisbane in 10 days. I really had fun with her. Where should we go next? ;P (If I have spare time, I will write about this travelogue in more detail) =D 

 At Southbank, Brisbane

Vincent is someone who I want to mention here as well. He has gone back to his hometown for good to practise as a pharmacist. I just want to wish him all the best in his career and every other aspect of his life. He is one of my friends who I hang out with whenever I go to Auckland. Bekah is also another friend who left NZ for good. I knew her when I was in my first year of pharmacy degree and is a lovely friend to have. I also want to say good luck to Esther, Adi and Sam for their passion in obtaining another degree. Of course I won't forget the two amazing ladies who I must find when I am down in the big city - Bea and Jo. Love you two loads. For those who are going to sit for pharmacy assessment in May, GOOD LUCK! To the rest of my friends including those who are in Brunei, may 2012 bring you happiness and good luck in your life. Love all of you to bits =)

 Days before Vincent left

I may not see some of you again. All the best ~<3~

-The End-

Ai mei na me jian dan

I just finished watching "xin guang da dao" which is 2 am now. This is a song that I like very much and when she sang in the show, I instantly felt my eyes became watery and tears were shed eventually. =) Listen to it people. It is a very nice and sentimental song :)

Okiedokes, I better go to bed given that I need to work later >,< *sieeeeen*

Food

Hello peeps, thought of updating my blog with some photos and a short story about my work today. The only thing I want to mention is : When I unpacked the order this morning, there was a note that said "Kensington Pharmacy" and hence I took it to ask my colleague if this was meant for us. She said "yeah, that is to us, kensington pharmacy" Oh man...*slap myself* I thought about the possibility of a pharmacy in Kensington hospital which is next door. *lmao* 

Out of the blue, a colleague asked if I have a boyfriend and am I engaged? *double laughter* Do I look like I have engaged? I showed her my fingers =)

Oh oh, I am so excited about getting a new pot and also other kitchenware. It is not that I am a good cook but I enjoy doing experiment. So anyone wanna be my guinea pig? *heee* The pot that I bought was SCANPAN's =) If I have my own house here, I would get more. Maybe I should just buy and take all back to Brunei with me cos' I don't think I can get good decent brand in my hometown. I believe in investing in good quality cookery stuff because they last long. Okayla, another reason for me to get a new pot is I could not scrap off the black burnt materials from the bottom of my ex-pot. 

What happened was 2 days ago, I cooked barley and then I just went back to my room. Then I wanted to take a nap but LUCKILY I felt like grabbing a bite of my kitkat. Hence, I opened the door and smelled something's burning. At first, I thought someone was probably burning leaves or something then when I reached the kitchen, I saw the barley was so dry and the stove was emitting fire (just a bit) ..Oh man, I would have burnt the apartment if I went to nap. Thanks to my kitkat craving. *pheeeewwww*

Okay, enough with words. Let me show you some photos

 Japanese-styled cheesecake =) Not exactly like one but glad that my colleagues love it =)

 Fish fillet and spinach in black bean sauce

 Simple broccoli with chicken slices and prawns in oyster sauce

(yes! broccoli on sale! 2 for 3 bucks today)

Stir fried noodle

Since I am talking about food, I also uploaded some photos of my own cooking that I thought are average

  

Kek batik. Sorry for the ugly presentation

Chicken with . . . *can't remember*

Tofu with chicken mince

Stir fry beef with ginger 

I enjoy cooking and baking but of course, my food is not up to the standard yet. There is still a lot of things for me to learn regarding the culinary world. 

I feel like a ahsam cos' I like to shop for dining and cooking thingy. Actually I enjoy shopping a lot so it doesn't matter what kind of stuff I look for ;)

Yes! I love hugging

Joanne and her xiao zhu zhu

I miss hanging out with the Miangs =(=(

Look so childish right? Haaaa

Oh yeah, before I forget, there are two things I want to do once I pass my exam

1 - LOSE WEIGHT

2 - IMPROVE MY CULINARY SKILL

but but both are just gonna neutralise each other or i might gain more weight ><

-The End-

Suk Jai Thai Restaurant

What a "NIGHTMARE". Okay folks, this is actually not a nightmare nightmare but I haven't had dream that was so intense till this morning. It was a series of unfortunate incidents. Firstly, I was late to work because I couldn't find where I parked my car in town in the evening. When I found it, I was already half an hour late. Secondly, I fumbled about in my bag for my car key only to find that it was broken. I tried to ignite the car engine but to no avail. Next, I had to seek for a person who could fix my car key, perhaps by duplicating one. Yes, I found him. It was with embarrassment that I begged him to try his best to do one for me despite he couldn't as he needed a perfect original to duplicate one. After that, I found myself at work, very late. wearing my home crumpled T-shirt, long ugly and baggy pants and a pair of jandals. Oh man~ Then next thing, I had to make up 3 bottles of Ospamox suspensions which was wrong too (couldn't remember what actually happened). The funny thing is I knew it was a dream when I woke up finding myself struggling and hitting the blanket with my legs and even letting out an awful whiny sound. I just felt utterly uncomfortable and full of uneasiness even until now which is why I decided to write an entry here. 

Anyhow, it is just an unpleasant dream. I realised that I usually dreamed not too good vision when I woke up early in the morning, opening my eyes for a couple of seconds and went back to sleep. 

Okiedokie, enough about the weird illusion. Let me take you to a normal and proper event in reality. Have I told you there is this group of saints who come to my place every fortnight for church meeting. So, what has taken place last week was we all went out to dinner at the new Thai Restaurant, near to Kensington Pharmacy where I worked, for Clyde's farewell. The name of the restaurant is Suk Jai Thai. I reckon the food was average but the ambiance is good. Also, service is marvelous. 

 Mina and Joy. No, they are not twins though they do look like one aye

 Group photo

 Like Andrew's =P

 Entree 

 Stir fried pork with cashew nuts

 I ordered this sizzling seafood with blah blah blah . . . can't remember the exact name of it. 

I only managed to capture three photos of food =)

Feeling bloated, we all went to my place for a short meeting. 

 Rhys 

Mina is going to be our music person now since Clyde has left for Hamilton, his hometown.

-The End-