Dead Tired

These last few weeks has been very tiring but some how today is the worst day. I have yet to pass my final exam questions to be reviewed. We had to have a meeting over lunch hour to finalise for Thursday's accreditation visit but there are still lots more to do.

We have been very busy that the renovation progress of the house is somewhat on the back burner. The contractor has made a wall to replace the chainlink fence. According to him, the grilles will be fixed next week. Once the grilles are up we plan to do the wiring. While that is done we will have to finalise who will be doing our kitchen cabinets. It takes roughly about one to two months to get the cabinets installed. During that time we will get the lights and fans fixed as well as finalising the decor, get the curtains done and shop for furnitures. So if there are no major setbacks we might be able to move in by June or July.

In the meantime, the rainy season has been somewhat of a blessing as we have found leaks on the ceiling of the guest bedroom and master bedroom. We are pretty sure it is due to the water tank. So next week, after all the accreditation hooha, we will fill up the complaints form. Hopefully, the developer can fix everything by end of March so that our plan stays on schedule.

Audit Season

This week work resumed as normal after the semester break. But I have been working like crazy. Sometimes at work my mind is focused on getting too many things to be done at the same time that I start to jumble up my word when I speak. A sign that my brain is moving faster than my mouth. Anyway, if Shah is reading this, then he will surely say that I can never be as busy as a a Head of Department but to me I feel like the 8 hours I spend at work is not enough. But nowadays, I can't do work at home so that means that all 480 minutes at work is precious and can't be wasted at all.

I have yet to finish setting the final exam questions which was due to be submitted for review today. I am also not done with grading test papers. I've got to get both of these done by this weekend. Because there'll be an accreditation audit next Thursday and Friday and there's a long list of items to be checked and completed before the audit which can't be done at home. Meaning we've got only three days to finish them. I was supposed to attend a workshop related to ISO but I won't bother going cause of the other urgent work above. And then there'll be another audit from the 22nd to 24th. Oh, why must these audits be during the peak time of the semester??

p/s: Please excume me for rambling here. I've got to at least justify why this blog is inactive during the weekdays.

p/p/s: My workplace has blocked access to Face*book during office hours. Hence, no FB updates to ease the stress at work. Boohoo. Luckily I have FB access on my phone.

The Pav*lova

Pavlova_tapas.jpg
Originally uploaded by ABumbleBee.
We decided to have lunch at Alexis today. Before we sat down I scouted out for any sight of the Meringue or Pavlova. We were in luck as the Pavlova was in the house. We order the Sauteed Butter Mushroom Tapas for starters, Lamb Cutlets for main and Pavlova for dessert. Afraid the Pavlova would run out we ate the dessert first followed by the starter. Verdict? Mushroom tapas was superb, lamb was excellent and it came with a tasty helping of couscous so I'd recommend both of these dishes. Finally, the pavlova was heavenly. Compared to the meringue, pavlova is sweeter and you'll have to eat the cream first before getting to the pavlova where as the meringue is interleaved with cream so you get to eat both at the same time. So for me, between the two, number one is the meringue and second is the pavlova.

A*lexis Lamb Cutlets

lambalexis.jpg
Originally uploaded by ABumbleBee.

'Sleeping' with ladybird

'Sleeping' with ladybird
Originally uploaded by ABumbleBee.

The ladybird is actually made from carnations. My mom's friend gave it to her after she made it in a flower arrangement class. I wish I could learn flower arrangement because I love flowers and have always tried to do some arrangment whenever I put the flowers I bought into a vase. During my sister's wedding, I made her hand bouquet and got lovely comments from people. Maybe I can start a business from flower arrangment? Hmmm...