Right... Time to do some major updating, as I keep promising.
Ok. Let's start with the opera. Verdi's
Rigoletto by the Chisinau National Opera. It was beautiful! Trooped down to the Aberdeen Music Hall last Sunday by myself since my flatmates weren't exactly big fans of opera. Ohhh... It was their loss. The baritone, Vladmir Dragos, who sang the part of Rigoletto was no less than wonderful. His voice just rang in your ears even after he'd left the stage. Wasn't too sure about the tenor who sang the part of the Duke though. Thought he was a bit shaky at times. However, that said, he did manage to pull off
La Donna e Mobile quite nicely, although personally I thought he could have done with a little less self-dramatization. Thought his chest was going to explode at the end.
All in all, it was a great show. The live Golden Eagle didn't make an appearance, due to the small size of the venue, which was sad. And the period costumes were just really really pretty. (^_^)
The Marriage of Figaro (can't remember which troupe is singing) will be playing somewhere in the middle of June, definitely going to check that out.
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What next... Oh yes. Last Tuesday. Had a minor case of homesickness and emotional breakdown. Was just feeling generally unhappy that whole day, and kept thinking that my flatmates had some kind of agenda against me. Talk about paranoia. Finally, just before I went to bed, something inspired me to pick up that book of daily lessons that my great-aunt gave me.
The Gentle Spirit's Lesson for May 30 - Calling In The Troops. And it started:
"Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety."~ Proverbs 11:14
The lesson talked about how in our weakest moments, we are made to think that we are alone in our battles and there is no one who could care less about us. But it's not true. Because there is the Man himself, always standing behind us in case we fall. The lesson ended with this verse:
"Confess your faults one to another, and pray for another, that ye may be healed."~ James 5:16
And with that, I went straight to my flatmate's room and asked if she would hear me out for a bit. We talked, I cried and she comforted me, and shared her own insecurities of living in a foreign place, far away from home.
As far as I am aware of, God's sent me an angel once before. I'm sure there were more, but of those that I'm aware, there's one. That night I believe that I was on the brink of slipping into depression again. But something stopped me. Picking up that book brought me face to face with God. He gave me personal reassurance. And then, once more in my life, God sent me an angel.
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Friday night, I had 1 Singaporean and 3 Malaysians over for dinner. I've been hitting myself over the head ever since because I forgot to take photographs of the dinner party and more importantly, of the dinner itself. Bad Siewmai, Bad! Oh well... Here was the menu anywayz:
2 June 2006, Siewmai's Singapore Night1) Chili Prawn (using Prima Taste Chili Crab mix)
2) Chili Tau Gan & Vegetables (also using above mix. My neighbour Sally is a vegetarian, so to be a good hostess, must cater for everyone)
3) Beef Curry (actually supposed to be Prima Taste Beef Rendang.. but I added too much water...)
4) Quorn hamburger Rendang (Quorn is a brand of frozen foods that specializes in vegetarian "meats", their main ingredient is something called mycoproteins.. I think. But it's good!)
5) Vegetable Fried Bee Hoon
6) Stir Fry Mushroom Sauce Choi Sim
7) Thai White Rice
8) Mark's & Spencer Lemon Cheesecake - provided by the SEAsian gang
9) M & S Blueberry Pie (as of yet, still uneaten) - also from the SEAsians
Except for the dessert, everything else was cooked by yours truly (with the help of Prima Taste for the main dishes). Except for the failed beef rendang-turned-beef curry (which was still quite tasty in the end), I must say that I'm quite proud of myself. Everything turned out quite nicely. Everybody seemed to enjoy the food, and even Suzanne and Sally managed to down quite a bit of the spicy Singapore food. And thankfully, everybody had fun! It was a success in my books. I'm glad I managed to get Grace and gang over for dinner before everybody left. I know for sure such dinner parties will not be possible in my new place next year. It's too small.
1 point for Siew Mai. YAY!
Anyone want to request Siew Mai's cooking? ;) It'll only be available for a month. Well... About 3 weeks, really. I'm off to Cambodia during the last week of July.
