gnatweds

Its 8.40 pm and twillight is descending.

Just four weeks ago, when we landed, the days were ending at 9.30 - 10 pm.

As one of the doctors here, Vincent, so aptly puts it: "Summer is ENDING! YOU BETTER ENJOY IT WHILE IT LASTS."

Yes, apparently, it goes down to minus 30 or 40 and then it lasts for six months or so... that's what people tell us.

Meanwhile its hot and humid, just like back home. The temperatures have been hitting 38 deg C and 40 deg C. And this is up North of the continent. Imagine Arizona and California etc etc...

So, the Red Cross here are setting up "cooling centres" so people without air conditioning can come in and get respite from the heat, apparently, there have already been some fatalities.
Me? I took the easy way out and went shopping. Bought loads of stuff from H&M It's worth clicking on that link by the way.
Really very very nice stuff.
Blew US$80, but went to another shop - gorgeous dress BUT size zero was ahem... too big... meant for curvy US women methinks. And since my bust is *not* exactly what you'd call generous... you get the idea lah.
Anyway, good thing since that dress was $138 USD. Ouch.

This after Saturday's shopping in downtown Minneapolis where Gene bought some new wine galsses and I ended up with five books... Sigh.
My bank account taking a big whoppin'.

Had a discussion with the girls I went shopping with yesterday: And of course, Singapore with all its rules, regulations came up etc etc.
The long and short of it: While there's a lot that we can bitch about, and there's a hell of a lot that I really dislike - the elitist school system and how it just makes Singaporeans a bunch of short-sighted (in more than one way) cuckoos; the Singapore dream of HDB/Condo-maid-car-credit card etc etc; and of course some of the insanely rude people you get around; I also reckon that it's a really interesting social experiment.

This is a nation in the throes of what perhaps could be compared to teenage angst - we want all the trappings of democracy, but we're too afraid of rocking the boat. We want wealth, power etc etc but won't do very much and expect to be served. But you know what? It's still an amaqzing thing to be inside the country, and to watch how it develops, and JUST by being there, you're taking part in what may come - shaping the social conciousness and all.

Hey am not saying its going to turn out good or bad. But it is mind-blowing because this social experiment is unique. So, you either want to be part of it, and yes, bitching about it is good as well because if enough people bitch and are willing to stand up and be counted, we can influence things. I think.

Okay, enough philosophizing.

Back to book and work (yes, another freelance job due).

Yes; for those who were wondering. Losing Brock was hard. I was a bit weepy and have been turning around at home, half expecting him to trot out for some petting.
And of course, coming home was the hardest, because he wasn't at the foot of the stairwell to greet me... But his owners seem really nice, and he's going back to his friend, who is a dog. Apparently, they play together and at night Brock sleeps on top of the doggie. Cute. Maybe that's why he kept snuggling down with us at night.

For three days, I was a working girl again. (hey, get your mind out of the gutter, *not that kind of working girl!* )

Some supes at the paper back home were nice enough to save me from my boredom-driven insanity and sent me to Chicago for a Motorola conference.

They unveiled new phones; had some announcements, and it was pretty busy.
But it was nice to feel as if I were back in swing of things again: Staying up late to file, cursing fluently in Hokkien at the lousy connection in the hotel room...

Arti's baby cousin - okay, okay, he can probably pick me up and hurl me across the room if he wanted to... he's 23 and very well built - Uday and his friends, Priti and Mike were nice enough to bring me out for a drink... or five.

Couldn't drink Uday under the table: My excuse is that I had to work that night AND he does have the benefit of Sindhi and Punjabi genes! How to match???

But sad news too: Brock is going home to his original owner. They had let him out and so he got lost, got picked up, was almost euthanised, got saved by the shelter calling me and asking if I could home him for a while and now... the paper trail has led them back to us.

Good for him, but that little boy has wormed his way into my heart. I will miss him.

Many mornings, he will jump up into bed, sit on your chest and start kneading your face.
Or he'll peer into your sleep-crumpled features and touch his cold nose against your lips.
His favourite activity is to plonk down into your lap while you type and purr like a freight train.
Or yeowl until you start playing catching with him.

He goes back tomorrow.






To my baby Brock. It was great you came into my life. I will miss ya, have a good life buddy.

 

See how happy Gene is? The city boy returns to his roots.... 

This is what the folks here call the Mill Museum - much of Minneapolis' history is tied up in the mills - the old broken down ruins have been preserved and intermeshed into it is this spanking new glass building which serves as the Museum. Free outdoor music sessions on Third Thursdays of the month.

And this, believe it or not, is a theatre. No not movie theatre but artsy type theatre. Glam ah?
That overhang provides a pretty nice view of the Mississipi nearby.

On Saturday, we charged up North to the twin cities, Minneapolis and St Paul.
They are actually very different in nature.

St Paul, which is the state capital, is like the older - and rather matronly - sister. She has the majestic St Paul Cathedral for instance, which looks like something like out of the Vatican's St Peter's Basilica. St Paul is primarily Catholic and of Germanic/Irish stock.

Minneapolis is the younger, artsy little sister. There are theatres on many street corners, people ride around on bikes, they are young, blonde... there are cafes on corners, and everyone's sipping something - wine, beer, coke light... you get the idea. Minneapolis is primarily Nordic.

And for the first few hours of the morning, Eugene was actually happy...(everyone now: "whoooooo!") He kept going: "THIS is more like it. The city, THE CITY!"

*** aside: Eugene was also talking to his buddy, Alan, in KL, just before we drove up to MSP.
And Alan was ribbing him non-stop: Esp since Squeaky became the car of choice. Gene's more a Lotus/Dodge Viper/Corvette, Porsche Cayman type of person. And Brock came into the family.
And these are Gene's own words and I quote: "Dude, if you were in Alor Star, you'd also drive an SUV and get a new pussy TOO." ***

The sight of tall skyscrapers were enough to make us Sua-Kus (Hokkien for Mountain Tortoise, also read "country bumpkins") go "whaaaaaaaaaa".

Tall buildings plus sidewalk cafes and an alcoholic drink at a pavement cafe in the middle of the morning: Double "whaaaaaaaaaaa".

Cheap shopping plus tall buildings plus sidewalk cafes: A great recipe for smiles all round.

Saks 5th Avenue has an outlet mall in Minneapolis. And there, I bought a pair of Guccis to replace my sunnies that went bye bye in the canoeing disaster for $60 USD.
Jimmy Choos were also on sale.. too big for me, but they were on sale. Fuaahhhhaaa. Also Marc Jacobs etc etc..

But soon enough... we ran out of things to see and do. We ate, we drank and we shopped. We looked at several artsy buildings. And it was too late to go into the museums... so... we gave up and headed home.
We couldn't eat anything anymore. Nor drink anything without exploding.

Am sure there are other things - like there's this Segway tour, check out www.HumanOnaStick.com - that warrants a second trip back.

Passed the MN driving test.

Didn't crane my head enough - so tester didn't think I checked the blind spots, but I DID.

And I didn't know where the front windscreen defroster was (like huh? got front defroster?) and my parallel parking was a teensy bit too far from the curb... (its supposed to be less than 16 inches)... but eh. This is SUV we talking about.

But apart from that I passed. Paid $21.50 for the privilege of waiting four to six weeks for the licence to arrive in the mail.

Gnatweds got an anonymous comment today and I was tickled pink!

And I quote: "but urm...to blog about a lightening storm? Gee, it must be really boring where you are.."

*laughs*

Anonymous, you made my day. That post comment said everything!

Okay, okay, to be fair. It's a rather picturesque little mid-west town and the people are really friendly. But let's put it this way... you're not going to be sipping wine at an alfresco cafe or partying the night away at a hot new nightspot.

And yes, I actually baked another batch of muffins. Gene came home early so I got him baking the second round... he was naughty and put in a hot chili pepper into one of them. (They were meant for TK who complained about not getting any the first time)
Gene's theory is that it would - ahem, literally - spice up their lives.

It's a little like Russian Roulette, 19 of them are strawberry filled... but one.

BUT I didn't take photo of them either. Sorry anonymous.

However we do have pic of the meatballs I made for dinner...

Wha. Drove in my first lightning and thunder storm today.

Squeaky (the truck) performed well. No problems whatsover. Brock (the cat) however was completely freaked out.

As I am typing there are streaks of lightning flashing out there. The windows are firmly shut tonight. The temperatures have dipped quite dramatically from the stifling heat of the last two days.
The extremes here really quite extreme. Not like Sg where a five deg C drop is considered like *wow*...

But Brock's afraid of thunder. Right now, he's slinking around and looking really worried.

The thing to fear is an actual lightning hit. It will fry the electricals because we don't have surge protectors. Think maybe its a good idea to buy some... hummm. But they won't be much use after a year when we go home. Hummmm.

Today we went up North (okay okay, exaggerating, it was three exits on the highway - but when you live in a town as small as Rochester, it's like at the other end of town already) and had dinner at Yvonne and Vincent's place. They are a couple of Sg doctors who are totally fishing mad and have bought a boat.
It looks really good.
Maybe will get chance to go on it one day...
What to do. Inherently a water baby lah. Am happiest on, inside, under water. Preferably in some Balinese dive spot with compressed air in my lungs and 100 ft of water above me and watching some spectacular sea life without having to work tooo hard at finning.

Yes. Yes. I know. Very difficult to please.

Oh by the way, I did bake.
And they did turn out okay according to the families I handed them to. Both families finished about 10 to 12 mini muffins I packed for them ... and apparently... within five minutes of receiving them. So... can't be that bad.

Or so they say lah.

It's also a ridiculously easy recipe. So easy that I might just do it again.

Gasp.

Scary stuff: Am thinking about ... tah dah dah duuummm... baking.
Yes, have reached the stage where I am completely bored with cooking liao. So gene might be eating muffins for many many days after this.

Cham. Four weeks in and going nutters already.

An update on Brock. He's settled down fine, he's a talkative one and yowls when he wants attention but not as loud as the first night. And Nookie, hehe, he did well with the harness and leash. Not bothered by them at all - he is THAT sanguine.
But he's too freaked out by the cars whizzing by and simply sits on the porch and refuses to move and scoots back into the apartment at first chance.

Can hear him crunching on his dry cat food now.

He will be a perfect pet for someone with kids because he is just the gentlest soul and doesn't mind being carried and cuddled. In fact, he loves snuggling down to sleep with you at night. Better if he can knead you while he's kooning.

Other updates: Oh, remember Gene's drowned O2 PDA? it mysteriously revived last night - hahahhaha - after G spending 500 bucks on a new HP. Sniggers. Gene was mighty irritated, but okay lah, he likes the HP a bitty bit better because of the bigger screen, and he's used to it now anyways.

My blades still have not arrived. It had better come by this week or I will cancel the order. The power of consumers here... amazing.

Had my first day of volunteer work today - okay lah, time killer is what I'd call it. It's quite menial, doing paperwork and saying hi to patients and helping register them. But that's about it... not very mentally challenging but I guess beggars can't be choosers.

Though, that said... maybe will get to go to a conference in Chicago for ST next week. Of course, I leave all my work-y clothes back home. So... *ulps* no jacket! No serious skirts or anything. Cham man.

Some construction going on in the yard outside the apartment at the moment - must say ah... construction workers here very high class. All of them wear these luminous T-shirts and vests, and all very well kitted out in these timberland type boots and bermuda shorts. They go home at 5 on the dot. And everything's done by machine, all sorts of machines, digging a trench? There's a machine to do that. Digging up the weeds, oh there's a small tractor that does exactly that....

Back home, a poor Bangladeshi worker will be lucky to get nice reflective clothes and will be digging everything up by hand and with brute strength.

We treat construction workers too badly in Singapore.
Singaporeans are a bunch of condescending bastards: you from poor underdeveloped country? Then work your ass off for a measly amount of money because hey, that's supposed to be a lot of money where you come from anyway.

And you should be grateful for the awful conditions, the hazards we put you through and dammit yes, and you should be happy about the too-much-work and too heavy loads because we can find someone else to replace you ANYTIME.

We are all phuckers. Really.

On another note: Minn is experiencing its hottest summer in years, there's not enough rain and about 78 per cent of the crops here are suffering - not enough water.

And the Weather Channel on TV is REALLY popular here. :) well, i suppose it is important to watch when temperatures can plunge freakily. Someone was telling us a few years ago a bunch of people died because they were out in the river in a nice 20 some deg C day, then due to a freak storm, temperatures plunged to the minus region... like hummm.

okay... will post more another day.

There's a cute new boy at home. He's got a lovely personality and eyes to match. He's fat.

Folks, meet Brock.



He is about a year old and was found wandering around. He's fairly large.



Brock was going to be put down, so am homing him temporarily until he can get adopted. Nookie would be proud.

He is a needy cat. He really wants attention and will hop up onto your lap for cuddles and he will knead you oh so gently when he is happy and purring.

He however has a problem with yowling at night.
He was yowling his heart out and banging on the door until I came out and he promptly snuggled up and went to sleep with me.

Any suggestions to dissuade him? I suspect he's used to wandering out in the yard and yowling is his way of getting his human to open the door but its not going to work with so many cars and stuff out there.

Might buy a collar and leash and see how he deals with walkies tomorrow.

Squeaky has also been getting dirty: Check out what gene drew on Squeaky. Will have to bring squeaky to car wash before I go for my driving test next week.

Hey all,
Thanks for the welter of concerned comments.

Gene's grumpy about spending more money but he's okay. We're both fine, and yes, it IS quite hilarious in retrospect. He's getting the HP and hopefully it makes him a bit happier because he's a hard person to live with when he's feeling pernickity.

Eugene and Gina Wee had a GREAT time in Chicago (double sighs) - but am glad for them. On sunday, we drove up to this small town called lake city. Its very small. Scenic. Erhm. Nothing else to do but drink cocktails and sit in the sun.

Gene swears that he will NEVER complain about being too busy again. I'll have to verify that for you, dear readers, when he comes back today. His first day of work, post orientation. He's in Cardio-thoracic ICU i think this week, and next week is... Nutrition. Wonder what's that all about.

Highlight of the day: Got to ride in a brand new Corvette Convertible! woohooo. Very very nice car dealer we bought squeaky from - Floyd Albee - (you can see a mugshopt of him here hehhe)drove around in this bright red 6L V8 and he very graciously gave lil ole me (yes, big big eyes and going "whoooohooo")a ride to nearby Byron.


Yeah, that's what it kinda looks like, only the one I sat in was bright red.
I very graciously turned down the opportunity to drive it - even though I was itching to, mainly cos I KNOW I have a lead foot.

Turns out Floyd has THREE Corvettes at home - as he says, his grandkids are very spoiled - and a couple of Harleys to boot. Yes, he has a five car garage. His son has another five car garage and his son-in-law too.

Things are in motion for me to start volunteering at the hospital, and maybe tomorrow I'm going to pick up new (temporary) addition to the family. A cat was going to be put down so providing a temp home until something better comes along.
Though I suspect she's going to be spoiled rotten here. She's just getting spayed so... she's gonna need some TLC. Okay lah, someone else in my life is always good. Have too much time on my hands anyway.

Sigh, miss home.

Yesterday, we went canoeing. It was a lovely spot about 45 minutes away in a town called Lanesboro. Its this small town, very quaint and old world. It's also got some really gorgeous scenery down the Root River. And it offers outdoors-ey activities like canoeing and inner tubing (essentially you sit on a ring float, like a big car tyre and erh, float downstream.)

Kenneth Tan had previously mentioned this town so we did want to go to check it out and when TK suggested a trip, we jumped at the chance.

We (eugene, me, Kris and TK) piled into a friend, George's Jeep and drove though some pretty scenic areas. The canoe outfitters set us up with two canoes (sits two) and a kayak for George. The outfitter guy goes "everyone's canoed before right?" and we go "yeah, no worries", George's been canoeing/kayaking in seas, so yay...

So we get into the river - Gene is cox (ie steering at the back) and first off it goes all wrong. We head into the river backwards, gene keeps trying to take photos (note this) and we slam into everything possible, a wood pile, the bank (several times) He sends the front of the canoe (and me) into the reeds, I was yelling "steer gene, steer! Forget the damned photos"... it doesn't work so well.

But 20 minutes in (its about a two hour ride) Gene gets the hang of it and it seems pretty cool - we see great scenery, the air is fresh and there's like a water creature that is either a beaver or a water vole that allows us to come fairly close - then we hit a spot of rapids (not really lah, just faster flow cos quite shallow water) and we go in perpendicular to the flow and next thing you know, we're tilting at a crazy angle and this was slow motion for me... I was thinking: "ohhhh, f*******k" and the world tips, tips, tiiipps and then...SPLASH DOWN.

Nat's first thought: *insert hokkien vulgarity*

Nat's second thought: *Its super damned cold!* (I also holler this)

Nat's third thought: *Where are my slippers?"

Luckily, the rest of the chaps come to our rescue. TK bravely took off shirt and plunged into icy waist deep water to help us upturn the canoe... Kristin and George go after Gene's shoes and oars and what not.

Gene is laughing hysterically at this point.

The theory is that we hit something submerged. I shan't tell you what my theory is..

Anyway. Drama over. We decide to jump back into the boat and I decide, that's it, I'm coxing. And the rest of the way proceeds without much more drama - except once when I did not pay attention and heh, almost hit (or did I hit?) the bank as well.

Except. Gene is brought - in addition to his camera - everything on board, including his passport, his 02 PDA, his phone. He says he didn't think a canoe would capsize. I didn't think we'd capsize as well, I actually have never capsized before either - but hey, there's always the first time.

We have invested in a couple of waterproof bags after G did his phone in in Bali when we crested a wave in a small outrigger and *bamf* got soaked - we were trying to get to a dive site - but hahhahah, G didn't bring them. He had thought: "Minn is land-locked, so why bring them?"

The short version of the story: Bye bye electronica. Also bye bye to my sunglasses.

The rest of the canoeing trip was spent in much sullen silence. Mainly cos I was freezing. But it was very nice nontheless - and there was a doggie who jumped into the river to say hi, very cute, if super hyper active. Gene got grumpy towards the end because he was tired of paddling. Then, it started raining. *Nat gets even colder*
But I can feel my abs today, so it was a great workout and am quite thankful for that small mercy because last night, TK had a BBQ at his place and gosh, I ate so much. We brought our chao fan (fried rice) - which was a hit.

Today, Gene is trying to resuscitate his electronica with a hiardryer. But I think its all gone lah. Need to get him a new PDA and stuff. This is going to be expensive.

Wait. Here's the irony. Eugene and Gina Wee are in Chicago, but we gave it a miss cos it was a bit hectic and ahem, I thought it was going to be a bit expensive.

An update just for my girlfriends... these are just some of the outlet mall purchases - top left you can see striped top? From Polo Ralph Lauren 9.99 USD. Below that - thong slippers, Banana Republic, 5.99 USD. Cute cat zipper puller? From Samsonite shop. 3 USD. Cute t-shirts from Aeropostale, 2.99 USD. Shoes from Nine West, 15 to 20 USD. Time to come visit and do some shopping! ;)

Caught the 4th July fireworks last night. It took place at one of the man-made lakes in the area - one right in the middle of town called Silver Lake.

The sun sets fairly late here - about 9 plus pm - because its summer so it happened only at 10 pm local time.

 

Nice huh? Sunset on Silver lake

It was fairly surreal... the locals come in early, about two or three hours ahead and "chope" their spot. They bring out these foldable lawn chairs and blankets and sit down and just hang out.
There are people selling neon sticks; pop, you name it... On the far side of the lake there's a concert stand set up, but as gene says, our ge tais during Hungry Ghost month are bigger and better organised. Hahahhaha.

But lots and lots of people though. And for the last few weeks, we've been seeing tents at the major shops like Walmart/Target etc etc, selling fireworks, but these are rudimentary ones that spin on the ground. The locals kinda roll their eyes and scoff at them, so what happens is that they drive across the state lines to Iowa and Wisconsin and buy these huge-ass ones that go up and blow up - they are quite large ones, like the ones you see at the River Hong Bao festivals.

And through the night, people are letting off their own fireworks. These big ones that go up in the sky are, by the way, technically illegal here in Minnesota, but the police kinda shut one eye on the 3rd and 4th of July. Do not try on the 5th though.

The main show was even more surreal.

The resident geese were honking hysterically at the sound, there was a non stop commentary-babble in Pakistani from the family who stopped to watch the fireworks just behind us. And its a very different pace of firework show compared to what we experience at home.
Singapore, perhaps reflective of its pace of life, expends fireworks fast. Bam, bam, bam bam - machine-gun fast, there's hardly a break in the blasts. And we send a hell lot up so quickly its over within a few minutes. It's spectacular but it leaves you wanting more...

Here; again, maybe its the pace of life. Its like blast - everyone watches and goes "oohhh" and "ahhh", maybe even clap appreciatively at a particularly nice one - the blast fades. Pause. Then another one is set off.
It means that it lasts very long - 30 minutes - and sometimes it can be too much of a good thing. My legs were killing me from all that kneeling and squatting. But it was nice anyway.



Gene did not bring tripod from home... so warning, pics can be a bit shaky.

Getting out however was murder. When everyone owns a car, it simply means that it gets very crowded trying to get out of the area. Stuck in jam for 40 minutes.

Its the Fourth of July. Americcaaaa, Ammmmericcccaaa.

Tonight we go watch fireworks.

But the other nice bit about being in America? Just bought my first iTunes song! wooohoooo!!!
Ahhh. The benefits of being in the US of A. Shipping from Amazon and other retailers, buying stuff on the net.... oh, there's also the Maury show www.mauryshow.com . Like Jerry Springer without anyone stripping yet but then again, it's early days of my watching this show yet.

Sorry about the radio silence folks; we had a interesting weekend, which therefore precluded any vim left to blog (okay okay, its an excuse).

First up: on Saturday morning, we went... uh.... raspberry picking.

Now, now, do NOT break into song about "cotton pickin'" etc etc.
And it could have been strawberries too, but we missed the season by a week.
In September you can go to the farm and pick grapes, but apparently the grapes are seeded and the skins are hard to eat and stuff, so... despite them being "very flavourful"... hummm.

Can't help it, am becoming lazier in my mid life.

The fruit farm is not far from the main town area either, maybe all of 20 minutes' drive. There, you are handed six punnets and let loose in the raspberry orchard. The ripe ones should come off the plant easily. The trick is to dig in and get the ones hidden inside the bushes.

They are pretty aren't they? And if you do get the ripe ones, they can be really sweet. I suppose it was quite fun, especially considering how darned expensive raspberries are back home - and more often then not, they're pretty squished by the time they reach your local Cold Storage. But they are quite perfect here - except (big BIG "except" here) I plucked some and then noticed there was a green worm crawling on them. Freaked out, dropped the bunch, and have refused to eat any since. Will maybe try some later.

The berry-picking conspirators. ;)

Gene doing his inspection of berry thing.

It was HOT though. Like back-in-Singapore type hot. And it was blazing yesterday, felt like the moisture was getting baked out of me.

But today, there's cloud cover and I would like nothing better than to curl up with some hot tea.

Schizo, I tell you, this place is.

Then, on Sunday, we went to this Outlet mall called Albertville about 2 hours away. It was FUN! Outlet malls = discounts. Add 4th of July sales, and it becomes really cheap.

Ladies: I got Nine West shoes for between 15 and 20 US a pop. ie: I went nuts. Bought t-shirts, slippers, kitchen equipment, hair products, Banana Republic, Bed and Bath Works, Polo Ralph etc etc! Will post more another time - spent too much time on this one already and its my clean-house day because Eugene's at his first day of work.

PS: Ping, this is the diet ice cream. It really isn't half bad. It tastes like ice-cream! And just as sweet as the regular stuff. Really!

Folks, meet Squeaky. He's our 2001 Ford Explorer Sport. With a 4L V6 engine. But it drives like a tank and drinks fuel like we do with G&Ts. He got the name because he squeaks in the mornings - when you just start him up. There are plastic bits *somewhere* rubbing against each other. It can be very annoying, but after a while, he tends to shush up. 

This is the place we went for dinner today - brought there by TK - you can read his blog, its linked now on the right-hand column. Wha piangs.



This, my friends, is the size of a portion meant for two or three. There were four of us, and still had problems finishing it.


There are SIX (five on the plate) and the last one is tomato ketchup sauces to go with the meal. But it was gooooood. Now both of us are going: "Arghhh. too full".

Portions here are immense. Does not help that the gym complex at our apt complex not up n running yet. bleh. thinking of buying rollerblades now.
Stupid me didn't bring mine from Sg.

I am not going to complain about the banal-ness of US TV ever again. The last two days, since wed pm, our cable connection went on the blink. No Internet. No Tv. We almost went NUTS.

We walked around a park. It took about 5 minutes.

We went to the mall. Again.

Argghhhhh. Okay, here's an idea of Rochester. 5 minutes and you've completed your driving tour of downtown. Okay, I exaggerate. Make it 8 minutes. See what I mean?

Net and TV are essential to preserving one's sanity.

But on the other hand we discovered diet ice cream. About 110 cals a pop. A mars bar by the way is about 600 or so.

Cannot eat more than one every few days though. It's a bit too sweet.