I was terribly amused to see both sides of the argument over new fines for inappropriate parking in priority parking spaces at Asda — mainly the statement from one lady who said (not verbatim, but pretty close) the new fines (£60) were unfair because she couldn’t be bothered to look for a parking space metres away, and since those priority spaces are so much closer to the supermarket she should be able to park there ‘for five minutes’ and get her shopping.

Wow. She couldn’t do any more to publicise her all-encompassing self-centredness than to be interviewed for a national news programme, could she?

Yeah, I am. Oddly enough, a publisher publishes books all year round and I’ve got to work on them all-year round. How inconsiderate.

My mum, who was just here, tells me she prefers to window shop now, not shop shop. I like to look at stuff too, but since I have less stuff than her, I don’t mind buying now and again.

Spend, spend, spend. It’s no way to happiness:

Greed and consumption addict people and they spend weekends trawling shopping centres chasing the next hit.

• met Neil’s pal Anne for a drink
• got a haircut first thing
• computered
• had a late lunch at Croftmalloch Inn
• did coffee and tea (and Neil’s fudge cake) in South Queensferry
• did the weekly shop
• drank some wine and watched the teevee
• ‘helped’ (tried to be one step ahead in getting the right number of screws, dowels, and whatever what was needed in the assembly, then watched) Neil and his sister put her wardrobe together (her room’s renovations are complete — one year on — we’ve only got the living room, two more bedrooms, the dining room, kitchen, bathroom, and two hallways to go)
• moved the rescued Imperial-sized bricks from the car to the front bedroom (one benefit to Neil working on a building site)
• watched Knocked Up (not bad, not uproariously funny as I’d expected, still quite enjoyable)

The image links to the set page on Flickr. I’m definitely not as trigger-happy as I used to be. As I said to Neil at Brian and Carene’s wedding, I blame Xiamen. Hehe.

… kinda.

But now I’m back and trying to catch up with work. Hopefully I’ll be able to download my photos (Doug the monkey reckons they’re hilarious, but that’s because I gave him a single malt) some time this weekend.

Loads more old classmates on Facebook, by the way.

No chance to finish my re-design, either, which means I might change my mind and have to re-re-design this site. Ha.

• did the tourist thing by using the Glasgow Sightseeing Bus
• visited the Botanic Gardens (cacti!) and Kelvingrove Museum (the Dali crucifixion is now there, and all those stuffeed animals!)
• had chicken curry for dinner
• went to Livingston
• had lunch at Ravellos
• drove down Clyde Valley
• had popiah for dinner (yum…)
• dropped by Brian and Carene’s for a chat (one week to go before their wedding)
• finally got to sleep in a wee bit
• met my cousin for lunch in Glasgow (cullen skink in Cafe Gandolfi)
• did the weekly shop
• watched a bit of telly while computering (new design is ever-so-close to complete now… but not quite yet)

In the months I have lived in Scotland, a change has come over me. Something I had certainly not anticipated.

I have now got a moderately farty bum.

Being Singaporean, I’ve generally had what resembles a cast-iron stomach. I don’t normally feel ill after food (unless I’ve consumed way too much of it), and the entire time I lived in China, I suffered an upset tummy maybe twice. Considering how often I heard others complaining about food poisoning, I was either extremely lucky, or my years of training (yes, training) in eating hawker food in Singapore has steeled me against the milder of bugs and bacteria.

And then I come here and my stomach rumbles and complains all the time (as distinct from when I’m hungry, which is now), and when it’s not making strange noises, I’m windy and the farts just keep tumbling out.

Hot and sexy, yet demure and well-behaved, my bum is.

I suspect (and it’s a bit of a wild one) that I may be ever-so-slightly lactose-intolerant. I’ve always drunk milk and eaten yoghurt, cheeses, and other dairy products with no problem, so I think it must be the increased frequency of cream sauces and cheeses I am ingesting as part of my meals that could be making all the difference.

From this morning, I’m trying to cut down on dairy* — I’ll continue to eat yoghurt in the morning and drink milk at night, but I’m going to do my best to avoid it at other meal or snack times (two lunches, one dinner, and an after-dinner snack — yes, I have second lunch, and no, I’m not a Hobbit).

It’s really hard to eat a salad without a lovely cream-based deli filler slathered all over it, and what’s a sandwich without cheese or mayo? I guess I’m going to have to go with:

• prawn salad or sandwiches in my secret, really difficult to make marinade (sesame oil and light soy sauce)
• artichoke salsa
• maybe a warm chicken breast and mushroom salad?
• peanut butter and jam sandwiches
• canned soup and melba toast with pâté
• ‘bruschetta’ using Ritz?

I normally bring my lunches four days a week and ‘reward’ myself for being frugal on the Friday. So I’m going to need more ideas than I’ve got now (I get tired of eating the same food very rapidly). The limitation is there is only a microwave and toaster in the office pantry. And also that I don’t cook, but you knew that.

Other things I won’t eat: I don’t like chillies or any type of capsicum. I’ll eat sardines and tuna, but only occasionally because I get sick of them fast. Liver and kidneys make me want to puke, unless they are in pâté. I never thought I’d get tired of potatoes, but I’m tired of potatoes.

Aside: when we were in Ikea and I got lunch (two lunches in one sitting), the girl serving me asked if I wanted “chips or potatoes”. If you don’t see why I would find that absolutely hilarious, we may not be able to be friends.

Anyway. Suggestions for easy dairy-free meals and snacks?

* If that doesn’t work, my next target is tomatoes.