Long Weekend

14^th June was a public holiday as Australians celebrated the Queen’s birthday (as well as Volunteer’s Day in SA). The long weekend started typically for us. After work on Friday, we went to Chinatown for some grocery shopping and dinner as usual. The rest of the night at home was spent webcam-ing with brother in-law in a Q&A session about home loans. I am in awe of people who are really quick with numbers. Whenever he gave me examples on interest calculations, I had to stop him while I let my brain and calculator churn out the figures and try to make sense of what he said. *sigh* I am an embarrassment to my fellow Chinese who are known to be good in maths. My brain automatically shuts down and my eyes glazed over whenever anyone starts talking in numerical terms. My boss probably knows that well enough. A few days ago, we were discussing about one particular project and numbers came up. In answer to his question (can’t remember but it’s a multiply equation---real easy) I shoot off a number, looked at him and he was like..huh? and I was like..why huh? and he said..no, it’s xxx and I was like (in my mind of course) WTH..how could I have gotten something like that wrong?

Back track---back track. I only went to bed around 2 something and had to wake up early the next day. We rented out yet another room to one of my brother’s friend and had to clear out the front bedroom. I re-organized my walk-in robe to make space for my brother and sister’s clothes. Brother starts complaining about how we always fret that we have nothing to wear when our wardrobe is already packed to the rafters. Note to boy : Most of the clothes are only for shows and not for wear. This is perfectly NORMAL FOR GIRLS! Anyway, I had to pack away all my summer clothes to make way. We also moved the furniture around and now the room looks more spacious. It feels like I’ve moved to a new bedroom. Everything looks different.

We went to Sunday Mass the very next day and did some ingredient shopping for vegetarian kuey teow and mashed potatoes to bring to the picnic on Monday. Hanging out with vegans made me more aware of what to actually look out for when preparing vegetarian foods. Who knew that even sauces (fish sauce the obvious example, sweet chilli sauce which contains garlic the not so obvious) may potentially render the dish unedible. After that I went back to the office to save some drawing that I need to complete for Tuesday’s meeting.

We made plans with another group of friends (about 10 of us) to have buffet at Fresh Choice that night. A friend’s boss recommended the place so we thought we’d give it a go. I’d rate it a 5 out of 10. The food’s nothing special and it comes at a fairly high price in my opinion ($21.50 p/p on weekends). I foolishly wore a tight skirt and halfway through the meal, I had to consciously stand/sit up straight as my sis told me that I’m beginning to slouch like an old man. (Standing straight made me feel like my stomach’s about to burst). Pure torture…Never again! Until the next craving that is. (refer to previous post about buffet). Well, after that, everyone decided to hang out at the Pool Lounge at West Terrace. I’ve never been to a pool lounge before and thought that it’d be a really shady place but it’s surprisingly interesting. Go google up “Empire Pool Lounge at West Terrace, Adelaide” and you’ll get to see the interior picture. I tried my hand at pool but I suck. At some point, even managing to get a white ball in is preferable. My brother played a really good game and my sis did ok too. Overall an interesting night out.

On Monday we had to wake up early to prepare the food to bring to the picnic. It starts at noon and took place at a park NEXT to the Botanical Garden. We ended up walking around in the Botanical Garden with the foods for up to an hour getting lost as we assumed that the picnic will take place IN the Botanical Garden. That walk serves its purpose though. It whipped up our appetite. Everyone prepared a sumptuous feast and I especially like the vegetarian curry. There’s also curry puffs, chocolate fig cake, fried bee hoon, our kuey teow and mashed potatoes, palm sugar and santan jelly, ‘luo han guo’ drink, fried mee and some snacks. It’s a beautiful day out if a little cold.

By the time we reach home, it’s nearly 5 and I was exhausted. Took a nap and woke up to do a bit of work that I’ve put off until the last minute. Back in bed by 12am and spent the next half an hour stressing about work.

Argh… no more holiday till October!

Potty Conversation

Conversation that took place between my mum and nephew while he was sitting on his potty.

Joel : Everyday you have to let the stool come out huh.

Mum : Who said that? (She actually meant 'Who told you that?')

Joel : Joel

He then saw the cross on my mum's necklace and pointed to it.

Joel : Why is Jesus on the cross? (and proceeded to answer himself) Because Jesus can protect grandma. Jesus died on the cross. (awwwwwww)

He's so cute and innocent!! I feel like I could float over and give him a mighty hug. My sis told me that I cant call him a baby anymore since he is turning four in December. Well, makes no difference to me. He'll forever be a baby in my eyes. Ah man...I miss him!

First Post in 2010 (haha...lame title but I cant think of anything else)

Oh man...it's been ages since I last visited my own blog. Imagine my surprise when I see that I’ve acquired one spanking new follower while my blog is rotting away. Thank you whoever you are! (Ma, if it’s you, I don’t want to know)

Anywayyy, very sad to say that we’re already 5 months into 2010 and this is my first blog of the year. It’s not from lack of things to write about, that much I can say. Our end of the year trip back to Malaysia is but a distant memory. My birthday has come and gone. Our Easter trip to Melbourne has also come to pass. And this year sees a lot of activities in the social front especially with the Fringe, Clipsal and the much anticipated SkyShow making a comeback. *sigh* I’ve put off writing about all those for too long and there seems to be no point in even trying now. I’ve posted all our photos in fb to make up for the fact that I’ve turned my back on blogging. The only sad note is that mum’s not with us in Adelaide this year. She’s back in Malaysia babysitting for our sister. Poor mum. Hope she comes back to us soon. And then it’ll be poor sis as she’ll have to cope with everything on her own again.

Tomorrow’s going to be another full Saturday with 大扫除 in the morning, an appointment with a hair stylist in the afternoon (I’m going to get a haircut! Doki doki…hope I don’t get suicidal with the result) and dinner at a family friends’ house. We have been hanging out with them at least once every week for dinner/movie session/karaoke(they sing and we listen). It kindda feels like we’re ‘going out’ if you know what I mean. Haha…weird.

I could go on and on about everything and nothing at all but I haven’t taken my bath. =p So adios for now~

p/s: *sniiffffff* my birthday perfume that I sprayed on this morning still smells so good! I LOVE Kenzo Amour’s Indian Holi!! Thanks bi!

How Do You Do Etiquette

I wonder what the deal is with How do you dos. I don't think I've ever had so many how are yous thrown my way back in Malaysia. The most I get as a way of greeting is a Good morning/afternoon/evening. It's probably an Australian thing. I get at least 4 of that everyday and one of my colleague has a tendency to ask me that everytime we walk pass each other.(hopefully not because he sees me frowning all the time) My responses have always been predictable and lame. "I'm fine thank you" (remembering to smile here)..and I sometimes like to vary it with "I'm good! How about you?" or "I'm ok..it's a bit hot today don't you think?" To spice things up, I sometimes just said good morning, smile and left it at that. Even if my house had been swept away by typhoon and my body is crippled with a disease, I'd probably still answer "I am fine thank you" (with a smile). I've never really felt comfortable talking about myself and I am almost sure no one would want a long winded story of how I REALLY am. Everyone probably just ask that and expect to hear the customary answer. Imagine asking that and having someone answer "Not good...not good at all. I just found out that I am in the last stage of cancer" (silencee~~~~sounds of crickets) (-___-)

I have a client who always seems to be in a hurry. An example of our phone conversation would be as follows;-

Me: Hi..Peggy speaking
Client: Hi Peggy. xxx here. How are you?
Me: Fine thanks. Yourself?
Client: Peggy, can you help me with.......

See that? See how he didnt answer my question and left me hanging?? He did that EVERY SINGLE TIME!! and still I am obligated to ask as it is common courtesy. *sigh* I sometimes think why bother.

Canberra Trip

Back from Canberra! I guess it's a blessing in disguise that we have to fly all the way there to get our passports renewed. Eventhough it's an inconvenience, not to mention made us a few hundred dollars poorer, I really needed the break.

The trip started badly enough. I took a half day off on Thursday so that I can slot in a doctor's appointment before leaving for the airport. Unfortunately, I missed my bus and had to wait for the next one. The downfall of taking public transport is that a domino effect starts to take place once this happens. Missing my bus in turn made me miss my train which in turn made me late for my appointment. When we reached the clinic, we were informed that my doctor had left for the day. I had to reschedule my appointment to a Monday night and pay for overtime. *sigh*

Reaching home I had a quick lunch and shower before making sure that everything we need is packed and ready to go. And then came the waiting...and waiting...and waiting. My brother had asked one of his friend who lives near the airport to fetch us. We stupidly did not anticipate that there would be a horrible jam at that particular hour. When he failed to turn up more than half an hour after the designated time, we panicked and my brother contemplated calling up another friend to drive us there. At the last minute, he drove up our driveway and we frantically began shoving bags into his car boot. It was a torturous drive to the airport. The traffic was pretty bad and we had to drop by my sister's office to pick her up which made us even more late. Everyone was pretty tense, my brother's poor friend tried his hardest to tackle the traffic and mum prayed real hard for us not to miss our plane. The counter was supposed to close 45 minutes before the flight and by the time we reach the airport, it's already well pass our check-in time. My sis and myself dashed off to the counter as soon as the car stops while my bro and mum trailed behind with our luggages. Fortunately, we managed to check-in just before the counter closes.

Reaching Canberra, we got into our rented car (we received a free upgrade to a bigger car which is a good turn of event) and started the drive to our motel. We took a wrong turn as soon as we got out of the airport and ended up getting lost. Everyone's temper was pretty frayed by this time and blames started flying. We only reached our motel after an hour plus of driving as well as furious thumbing of the local directory. The receptionist had left but fortunately we were able to check-in ourselves. The room was really small but serves our purpose well as it's cheap enough and has an attached bathroom.

After dumping our bags in the room, we left again in search of dinner eventho it's already well pass 10pm. Driving around, we settled on good ol' McD. After dinner, we drove around the city and stopped by the casino to take a few photos. As everyone is already tired out from all the rushing, we agreed to call it a day.

The next morning, we left early for our appointment at the High Commision of Malaysia and were able to reach there without getting lost. There's a hitch when my brother was told that they require a copy of his student visa which he'd left in Adelaide. After sheding much cold sweats and thinking that his journey was going to be a total waste, my dad phoned to say that he has an electronic copy of my brother's visa. Everything went well after that. We bought 4 packets of Nasi Lemak from a jolly man who works in the High Comm. and was told to be back to collect our passports by 3pm.

We stopped by a park in Yarralumla to have our lunch and took a few photos. The next stop was the Cockington Greens Garden. Entry fee was pretty expensive at about aud16++ per person but we enjoyed ourselves as everything looks gorgeous! We then drove back to the city to check out Canberra Centre. A security guard saw me taking photos while we were on an escalator and reprimanded me. He told me rather firmly that photo taking is illegal in the building. I apologized but was mightily pissed off. Well excuse me for being ignorant as to the reason why. I mean if that were to happen in a Casino or a museum, I'd understand but a shopping mall???
-_-"

Our planned destination after that was the War Memorial but reaching there, we couldnt bring ourselves to leave the car as the day had turned really hot and mr.sun is in full glory. We changed our mind and decided to stop by the High Comm. earlier to get our passports. After that, we went on towards the Parliament House. It's a spectacular building. The landscape which is pretty minimal is impressive nonetheless and suits the building to a T. And the view from the rooftop towards the War Memorial is so well planned out it gave me goosebumps.

We drove back to the War Memorial soon after as my brother has set his heart on a photo of the Centurion Tank. We did not get to go inside as the Memorial is already closed which is a pity. After driving all the way to Woden for dinner, we decided to go back to the motel as we have an early flight to catch the next morning and everyone's bushed by that time.

I enjoyed the trip. Really. Eventhough there's a lot of hitches along the way and I felt that we were not being a real tourist by choosing to miss out on museums, I'm just glad to have the chance to visit the capital of Australia.

p/s: Photos to be posted when the author is less lazy. In the meantime, please check facebook for uploaded photos of the trip. =p

Gift confusion

I received a package from a friend back in Malaysia a few days ago. There's a cute little bag with earrings and a bracelet inside. I loOove accessories and I guess everyone is aware of that as I always seem to get them for birthdays, farewells and as gifts. \(^^)/

Well, two days ago a postman came to our house to deliver another package for me. Mum was in the kitchen so didnt hear the knock and mr.postman slipped a notice requesting that we retrive the package from a post office nearby. My brother went to get it yesterday while I was at work but left it in the car and forgot about it. While I was at gym this morning though, mum suddenly remembered and asked my sis to get it from the car. She went to the car and saw the jacket immediately. She tried it on to show mum while I was still at the gym. Apparently, my brother was a little confused by the whole thing but didnt have the chance to say anything as everyone was rushing around getting ready to go out.

When I got into the car at the train station, my sis told me that the package is a jacket and that it's from the same friend who sent me the accessories. I asked her to describe the jacket to me. She told me that it's a little bulky and black. She didnt seem enthusiastic so I guessed that it wont be to my taste. Surprised as well since she sent such a bulky item. Must've cost a bomb. My brother then informed me that there's another package for me in the front console. It's a box with mooncakes inside. From the same friend. By this point I was thinking, wow, what's the occassion?

Anyway, we went on to the shopping mall and spent lots of money as always. When we got home, my sis got the jacket out and tried it on for me to see. It's black and bulky...that's all I can say. I even remarked..hey..so not my taste. It looks too manly and I asked my brother if he wants to try it on. While my sis was strutting around and twirling in the jacket, my bro who was watching from the sink suddenly remarked "Eh! Where the hell did you find that jacket?" My sis replied "From the car-lah" at which point my brother collapsed laughing. He told us that it's the jacket that his friend left in our car the night before. He belatedly told us that the only package he got from the post office is the box of mooncakes. He initially thought that the postman delivered the jacket personally this morning (Stupid..who works on a saturday??) hence the confusion.

*sigh* My stupid, blur but beloved family.

Festival of Aidilfitri at Adelaide Uni

Here goes...this is long overdue. The event happened like 2 weeks ago and I have put off writing for as long as I can. Frankly, I am too lazy (also because Detective Conan has taken up most of my time. Kyah!! >__<) If anyone asks me, I would say that the hobby I am most dedicated to is procrastinating. *sigh*

That saturday (26th Sept. 2009 to be exact) after our yoga class at the gym, my sis and I joined mum, bro and his friends for free meals at Adelaide Uni. *hic* It's actually an 'open house' sponsored by UMNO for the festival of Aidilfitri. This is the first time I've set foot in the Uni and , honestly, I am impressed. I love the 'feel' of it - Oldish buildings with quirky sculptures and structures thrown in, biggish courtyards, lots of trees, lots of steps and open spaces. What's not to love? Especially since it's situated almost in the centre of the city. I would have loved to study there. Argh..really miss my uni days. Hanging out with friends after class - everyday is different and promises variety. Working life sucks. Everything's so regimented these days!

My brother and friends. ( They look like quintuplets dont they? Same height, same build)

Me and mum

Bro and Sis

The er..event was already in full swing by the time we arrive. There's 2 separate tents set up for food. One's where everyone lines up, holds out their plastic plates and the persons in charge dishes out different kinds of Malay food. We said 'Terima Kasih' and everyone smiled benignly. It's pretty embarrassing for me to tell the truth. I felt like a refugee lining up for food. There's bite-till-your-teeth-fall-off lemang (rice cooked in bamboo), chicken curries (there's 2 types I think but I cant differentiate. I am a failure) which are nice but a little too spicy, nasi biryani (nice!), acar(a type of vegetable pickles cum salad), drinks and cookies. The cornflakes cookie is my fav. I am sure they have a more glamourous name but I dont bake and I dont know so I'll stick to that name.

Rojak - The only food we took picture of

The second tent houses the laksa and rojak. The laksa was a little worrying as I've never had a green coloured laksa with tuna. I initially thought that it's because they couldn't afford to put in prawns and so substituted that with tuna. har har...em..all I can say is it's my first and probably last. My mum and bro liked it though. My friend soon informed me Terengganu laksa uses fish so the laugh's on me. =p Rojak is nice but by that time I am really full.

'Karaoke session'

It's a lovely event. Wish there's something like this for Chinese New Year as well in Adelaide. Probably when hell freezes over?