Guess it's been that kind of a week, with me feeling all self-indulgent and not making much more than brief comments about the stuff I've been ingesting. But that in itself is significant in that throughout the week some of us did manage to find time to socialize and unwind, for which I am truly grateful. It took some co-ordination, and there were a few last-minute decisions made, but I'd say the effort was worth it. Yes, this week was special. Thanks, everyone :)

So much protein in my diet. The past few days it's been a carnivore's paradise. Last night we were at Sunset with me pigging out on a fabulously thick, juicy hamburger with cheese, bacon and 'shrooms. Table for 10: Amy, CQ, Dee, Gary, HP, Jo, me, Q-tip and Vince; Anthony and Wendy joining us later.

Not often so many of us can buang our responsibilities and enjoy an evening out, but we pulled it off anyway -- without guilt too, I daresay.

Dropped in on the parental residence last night. My bro had brought back an Austrian salami as a souvenir for me from his sojourn in Germany, and it needed collecting.

Makes a nice change hanging out with the parents. It's so relaxing being with people who have all the time in the world on their hands. No rush, no schedule, just doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, no earlier.

I walked with them to dinner, and for the first time in a long, long while, I walked through the old route along the storm drain that cuts a narrow path between our neighbours' backyards to the coffee shop that was once my dining room. It bears a new name now, Seletar Corner, and the most popular stall there is the Western food one. The steaks are functional at best, but cheap and tasty nonetheless.

Al fresco dining on a breezy cool sidewalk with the folks. Wonder why we don't do it more often?

Busy days, nights of good eats. Sunday's dinner was at Tonkichi, Suntec City. There's a 20% discount off the menu on Sunday evenings until late September. Pretty generous! Food's substantial -- a thick tonkatsu pork chop on rice for me 'cos I wasn't feeling particularly imaginative, and June settled for her usual prawn tempura, pork fillet combo. We walked around the mall to digest dinner, then went for a goldmine and a lemon shiver (what a concept: a scoop of lemon sorbet floating in freshly squeezed lemonade) at NYDC.

Last night Vince and NBS kept me company -- June's flown off to Manila -- at Secret Recipe, J8. Vince just had to try the Irish lamb stew. Having to carve meat off a large bone brings out the utter carnivore in me. Fortunately, the meat was tender enough to grant the illusion of being a primitive savage ripping flesh from a fresh kill without having the proper canine development to do it for real. With Og Mammoth Hunter's face smeared with gravy, we ended the evening with a civilized slice of yogurt cheesecake. Thanks for picking up the tab, NBS!

Mary invited us over for dinner. We had a steam boat, which is how she usually entertains her house guests. The difference was, this time she added a few bottles of Brand's Essence of Chicken into the stock, and perked up the soup like nothing else would. She assured us that the bottles were close to expiry and that it wasn't an unnecessary extravagance on her part.

Looks like everyone's making some kind of career change too. Adrian's making a lateral shift in his company, and both Jen and Mary have gone back to education (though not as Ministry minions but rather as independent consultants) after several years of self-exile from the Ivory Towers.

Jen brought over a set of Star Wars themed Monopoly for after-dinner entertainment. Adrian appeared a bit upset at the trade alliances that were forming around him, so June gave up her 'Park Lane' equivalent so that he could develop the prime property in that corner of the board in exchange for rent-free status should she ever land on that property. The game went on till past midnight.

When we finally decided to call it quits, we took the opportunity to go look at Adrian's new Civic in the parking lot. Mary got a new car too, a Mazda 2 SP! Yay! Another M2 owner. June pointed out that if we drove all our cars together in a convoy, we'd look like the Mafia.