The Starry World

The birth story of Natasha Lee Ya Qi

2011-04-04T21:15:00.009+10:00

Date: 23 March 2011

How it began..

It was about 2am in the morning and I still can't seem to fall asleep. Been tossing and turning around in bed and baby seemed to be moving alot inside me. Felt a little crampy but not pain. So just wondering to myself if its time. Suddenly, I felt something weird "down there" and decided to get up and go to the toilet. Just as I stood up, I felt a gush of water flowing out, hence I knew its time.

Not panicking (although I felt abit excited), I went to relieve myself before waking Nic up from his sleep. After that, I took a quick shower and we took the hospital bag and called for a taxi. Nic made me a cup of hot milo while we waited for the taxi to arrive.

Upon arrival of the taxi, we headed to the hospital. Thank God that it was in the middle of the night, hence there was no traffic and the journey was smooth. In the taxi, Nic started sending out SMSes to friends and relatives to inform them that action is about to begin.

We arrived at the hospital at about 2.45am, and headed straight to the delivery suite. There I was brought to the observation ward where the nurse gave me a robe to change into. After changing into the delivery robe, the nurse did an examination on me and found that I was already 2cm dilated. She then proceed to strap me on the monitor to monitor the baby's heart rate as well as the contraction.

The contraction pain was not that bad in the inital stage. I managed to adopt the deep breathing method to ease myself during contractions. I can only describe the pain as that of menstural cramps. At about 8.45am, Doctor Joycelyn Wong came to did an examination on me and told me that I was 4 to 5 cm dilated. As my cervix did not dilate at the rate of 1cm/hr, Dr Wong suggested that I should be put on a drip to quicken the contractions, otherwise I might have a longer labour. As such, I was put on a drip. Shortly after, at about 9+am, I could felt that the pain was getting intense. At this point, I could no longer smile or talk. Nic has been a great support all these while. He tried to comfort me by talking to me and also offered to massage me.

At about 10.30am, the pain was getting unbearable. I started to moan out loud, at the same time, holding on to the bed rail and lying on my side. Shortly after, a nurse came and told us that she will be pushing me to the birthing ward. After I was in the birthing ward, she examined me and said that I was already 9cm dilated. 1cm more to go before I can start pushing. However the pain was really excruciating. No words to describe the pain. All I knew was I was screaming whenever the contraction kicks in. The nurse, saw me in such a pain, offered me to use the gas as a pain relief. Initially I was reluctant as I have heard of side effects, however I decided to just give it a try. Whenever the contraction starts, I just kept breathing heavily through the gas mask. Although I can still feel the exact amount of pain, but the gas made me feel high and I didn't struggle that much.

It came to a point when I suddenly have the urge to push. So Nic called out to the nurse to inform her. At first, the nurse said I wasn't ready as I was only still 9cm, however shortly after, they gave me the "permission" to push. The nurses also place my legs in a wide open position and told me to grab onto my thighs whenever I push. At about 11+am, I started pushing. When the baby's head was crowned, the nurse asked me to not to push so hard. So I did the 'breathe in and pant' method to prevent myself from pushing the baby out before Dr Wong arrives. At the interval of each contractions, I breathed through the gas mask to relax.

Soon after, Dr Wong arrived at the birthing ward. I was then told to push hard. I did a total of 6 pushes (3 contractions) before my baby is born. The time was 11.59am.

Straight after the baby was out, Dr Wong placed her on me. She was wailing and her body felt so warm. At that moment, all the pain that I felt was gone. All I could think of was the baby and I thank God for giving me a healthy and beautiful baby. The nurses then brought Nic and the baby out for a clean up and also to take her measurements. She weighs 2.725kg, with the head measuring 32cm and length being 48cm.

What should be done?

2011-01-14T00:20:00.002+11:00

The only question I have in mind now is whether to get back to work after the 4 months of maternity leave, or to take no pay leave from work or if that is not permitted, should I resign? There's so much to consider. I really don't know what should I do. I hate the idea of placing my baby in an infant care centre at the age of 4 months old, but if I don't my only other options will be either to get a nanny or to stop working. There is really no one available to take care of my baby.

What should I do??

I hope God can give me some enlightenment on this soon.

Meanwhile I should just relax and eat more to grow my baby!

My poor baby is still underweight as of the last scan. Next scan will be next Thursday, which I hope by then my baby will have grown much more.

Go Baby Go!!!!

The wonderful journey of pregnancy so far

2011-01-06T13:34:00.012+11:00

Happy 2011!!

It has definitely been a great year for myself in 2010, where I experienced the two major events of my life: Marriage and getting pregnant. This year will be an even greater year for both myself and Nic as we will be welcoming the arrival of our little bundle of joy (Princess) into our family. We are definitely looking forward to the coming of that day... although for myself, its definitely a mixture of feelings, scared and happy at the same time.

Anyway, since it has been awhile from my previous post, I have got plenty to write this time, mainly on the journey of my past 28 weeks of pregnancy.

First trimester:

My pregnancy was not a smooth sailing one to begin with. During the first trimester, I experienced several times of spotting and hence was give a month of MC to rest at home. But thankfully, baby and I managed to tide through this difficult period. It was definitely torturous to stay at home and in bed for the whole 1 month, but for the sake of my baby, I am willing to go through anything (i guess that explains the power of a mother's love).

Because of the spotting, I was asked to see the doctor every week during the first trimester. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, as being so, we are able to see our little one every week.

Here's a few scans and a video of our little princess till she is 12 weeks old:

(Baby @ week 5)

(Baby @ 5 and 6 weeks - left to right)

(Baby @ 7 and 8 week - left to right)

(Baby @ week 9 and10 - left to right)

(Video of a scan when baby is 12 weeks old)

Second trimester:

The second trimester went past smoothly. Everything went well and because it happened during the peak period of my work, I didn't really do much during those 12 weeks except working. And because its already the second trimester, we only visited the doctor once a month. We also did a detailed scan when baby was 20 weeks old. Results were positive. During my 24th week visit, doctor noticed that the baby was a little underweight (based on the estimation of the tummy size) and hence she told me to eat more carbo and meat. But nothing worrying since baby is actively moving inside me.

Here's somemore scans and video of our little princess till she is 28 weeks old:

(Baby @ 12 and 16 weeks - left to right)

(Baby @ 24 and 28 weeks - left to right)

Currently, I am in my third trimester. Been feeling her movements inside me alot, especially in the morning and and night. She probably sleeps during the day. Hopefully she won't become a night owl after she is born. :) Feeling her movements is the best part of the pregnancy, as this is when we know and can tell that she is healthy and active. So really thank God for this wonderful gift and for keeping her safe and sound all these while.

The next thing to look forward to will be the labour day itself. Although I have been watching many shows and hearing alot of stories about delivery, but I suppose nothing will be as real as experiencing it myself. And since young, I have always wanted to find out the level of pain the labour provides, therefore I am opting for natural delivery without epidural. I have always thought that I have a high level of threshold for pain, so let's see if its true. But I have been telling myself that as long as the baby is alright (i.e. not jeapordising the safety of the baby), I will strive to endure all the way. Anyway, will leave everything to God and pray for his blessing during the L-day itself.

Oh, forget to mention, we have also thought of a name for our little princess. Her name shall be Aleisha Lee Ya Qi. :))

We love her so much!

2 weeks of good news, 1 week of bedrest... Will it be a GO or a NO?

2010-08-12T20:48:00.002+10:00

The good news was discovered when we decided to take a test on 22 July 2010. When the positive result came on, we were still in an unbelieving state of mind. Never would we have expected God to bless us with this baby this soon (considering we just got back from our 1 month Melbourne trip). Nevertheless, this is definitely a great piece of news, a piece of news that got rid of my fear of not being about to get pregnant.

We didnt managed to get an appointment with the doctor till 2nd August 2010. Till then, everyday was a worry for me. Being a worry freak, I worry about every possibility of a bad event happening, which in this case was being worried about the test result being false, worried about the pregnancy being an abnormal one, and etc. Just worry. My mind was only rested after the first doctor's visit.

During the first doctor's visit, we did an ultrasound scan to see for ourselves if we are really having this baby and also to get the EDD (estimated delivery date) for the baby. When our gynae showed us the waterbag and the little blinking light inside the waterbag (which is the heartbeat), we were elated. No words to describe that kind of happiness, but we definitely are looking forward to becoming parents to this baby.

Everything went well for the next few days. I had no morning sickness and no other discomfort except for some mild cramps which the gynae said was normal. However, on the morning of 7 August 2010, I woke up and felt some fluid trickled out from the V. Thinking that it would be just normal discharge, but no, it wasn't. I saw blood, not alot, perhaps I would describe it as a drop of blood. Of course seeing blood is not something normal, especially not red fresh blood. So immediately, I called my gynae and made an appointment to see her. Nic was out for soccer then, so I quickly called him to tell him the situation. At the same time, I was praying very very hard that it would not be anything serious.

Our second visit to the gynae was on 7 August 2010. She did a scan again to make sure that there's nothing wrong. This time, we still saw the heartbeat (thank God!) but when we scanned further to get the rate of the heartbeat and the size of the baby, apparently the results wasn't positive. The rate of a normal baby's heartbeat should range from 150bpm, however mine was only at 100bpm, and the size of the baby wasn't ideal too. At these results, we were all worried. The gynae explained to us the possibility of having a miscarriage but also told us to keep our hopes high as long as there is still a heartbeat. She then gave me a week's MC to stay at home and rest, and also a hormones jab.

Now, its only 2 days left before we get to see her again on 14 August 2010. Hopefully the baby's heart is still beating and the size of the baby can grow to at least 12mm.

I pray that my baby will be strong and healthy. We really want this baby to be a part of our family.

10 months of planning, 6 days more to go...

2010-01-24T03:48:00.002+11:00

Its has been a long while since my last update. Been busy lately with the wedding preparation. Been doing alot on my own as I would like to get things moving faster, plus I guess I feel more assured with myself overseeing all the preparation. As of now, things are moving slowly but surely, just hope to finalise the guest list by mid week and to get all the duties delegated and sorted out by next Friday. Next Saturday is the big day, and hopefully everything goes as planned and God can bless us with a wonderful weather!

Anyway, perhaps just to note down what happened during the wedding preparation phase:

1. Bridal shop hunting

Luckily this was done way before. Settled on Volans Couture (don't ask me why), and till date I am still not 100% pleased with my choice of bridal boutique. But as I have always believed, things happened for a reason, and perhaps the reason of my choice of Volans is so that I got a chance to be a model for a day as they have chosen me to model for their gowns. But then, I don't think they are really satisfied with the photos in the end cos I did not personally see them displaying my photos in albums to show their customers. *disappointed* But again, this is a good experience and in return, I got to be dolled up once more and gotten 8 more photos from them for free to add into my own bridal album. So perhaps its not that bad afterall. Plus I still do really like their make up artist, Vivian. Anyway, I guess God will definitely bless me with a good choice (even if I cannot see it now.)

2. Videographer

We ended up using Sean & Shyan Videography. Well, the main reason we chose them was because they are within our budget (unlike those professional ones, they really cost a bomb), and they are really quite experienced. These 2 videographers are still uni students, studying filming I suppose. But they have got good creativity and they are really nice people to work with. Just today we had our pre-wedding video shooting. It was quite fun and I guess Nic and I both enjoyed the whole process. And thanks to Sean and Shyan, we managed to get some ideas and constructive feedbacks from them, and hence I believe this video clip should turn out great. So now just waiting to see the final product!

3. Photographer

We are using Teng Ngan, the same photographer who did for Kor and Jie's wedding back in 2005. And of course, we got a 'friendship' quote from him. Plus he was quite good back then, so I suppose he should be better by now. ;p

4. Hotel for Wedding Banquet

We chose Meritus Mandarin to hold our wedding banquet. One of the main reason is because we know the director of catering in the hotel. And that being so, obviously we got a good deal out of it (not disclosing it now). We went for the food tasting, though we ended up making quite a number of comments, but overall the food still taste good. We will be swopping some dishes, and the food tasting will be held on the coming Monday. So hopefully everyone will be satisfied with the dishes and we can have a great dinner!

5. Wedding bands

We have 'custom-made' our ring from this factory called Poh Kim. And apart from the wedding bands, I gained an Eternity ring (with 0.02 carat diamonds) and a Solitiare (0.65 carat, F colour, VS2). *very happy* :D

6. Brothers and Sisters

We managed to gather 5 brothers and 5 sisters for the wedding.

Brother gang: Gerald Low, Gerald Ying, Jelvin Soh, Yap TX and Peter Zhong
Sister gang: Janice Chan, Linda Tan, Elaine Chua, Sonia Yang and Fiona Qiu

And fyi, I believe this is the only wedding where all the brothers and all the sisters are so good looking! *wooohoooo*

Anyway, they have been cooperative so far. Apart from the fact that its rather hard to gather everyone together for meetings, but each brother and sister have really been very helpful and supportive towards us. So really appreciate their help.

So having said the above, I believe though we have not really put in 100% effort from the beginning, but I do think (and believe) that God has blessed us with wonderful people and wonderful decisions.

Now we just pray that everything will turn out perfect and we can live happily ever after! ;p

Something inspirational~~ Life is like a Busstop?!

2009-10-27T01:59:00.003+11:00

Suddenly thought of this when I took a bus home earlier:

Life is like a busstop

Don't you find this saying so familiar? But do you actually ponder what this phrase means? Taking it literally, a busstop is where people wait for the bus that they plan to take to embark on a journey to a destination which they aimed to go. So how can we apply this phrase in our daily life?

Simple..

Look at it this way... The destination of our aim could be our career life, our relationship or anything that we planned to do. And what usually happens at a busstop? Well buses come and go, and we jolly well know in mind what kind (or rather number) of bus we want to take (just like our ideal job/partner). So when one crowded, old and non-airconditioned comes along we would often decide to wait for a 'better' one and thus waited. We always have the thought that the next bus will always be 'better', just like the other saying goes "the pasture will always be greener the other side".. but how certain are we to say that? Can we 'predict' what lies ahead of us? Can we be certain that the ideal one will definitely come into our life? Be it the ideal job or the ideal man... We must stop complaining and be contented with what we already have. Say for example, a worker will always complain that working at a particular company is tough and unbearable, thus decide to quit and seek another job. Another example will be a husband/wife complaining that their other half is not good enough, always comparing him/her with someone else's partner or some character in a movie, worse still, living in the past of their own life and compare their current partner with their previous one. Ironic isn't it? In the first place if the previous one was so good, why bother to change? But that's human.. that's how we will always think. In a way its good as it helps us to improve ourself by wanting to become better.. but at the same time, being so unappreciative/discontented in life will often cause us to bring hurt to others.

Back to the busstop.. So when a 'lousy' bus comes along, we thought we would definitely get a better if we wait for the next bus.. and the next bus.. and the next bus... and by the time the better one doesn't come, we are too pressed for time that we just have to board anyone that comes along.. even if its an even lousier one... Come to think of it, don't you think that this scenario is also applicable to relationship/career? Example, say we decided to leave our current partner in search for a better one (or to be with another one which we think is better), and when the better one doesn't come along, getting older and older.. and when time is running out, when we are pressured by people around us to settle down, we just got to settle with any one that comes along the way even if they are worse off than the one we left. Same goes for career. We leave the current job thinking that we can find a better one but not knowing there will never be a better one as we are always greedy and not satisfied. So when such things happen, we tend to regret... yes, the word is REGRET!. We often look back to think that why didn't we this why didn't we that.. but have you ever thought of it in the first place, why can't you just be more appreciative and contented with what you have? If you have made the decision to stick to what you already have and bend yourself to make sure that things go the smooth way, then you could also be satisfied and be happy.

Life is always about decision making. We can choose to decide what we want to be, who we want to be. We can choose to love, we can choose to bring hurt... what do you choose then?

Remember, life is never smooth sailing.. its through set backs that make us stronger.. its through the decisions we made that make us what we are. A marriage can be a happy one if we decide to make it one.. A job can be fulfilling and satisfying if we decide to appreciate and see meaning in what we are doing.

So the morale of the story:

"Make the right decision, be appreciative and thankful to what we have, and be contented..."
"The pasture is NOT always greener at the other side"
"The sky is NOT always brighter at the other part of the world"
"Life is full of uncertainties... so why not choose to be certain about it with what we are already certain of?"
"Sustaining a marriage is about decision making, not about feelings"
"Enjoying a piece of work is about understanding and knowing the meaning to it"
"If there is a will, there will always be a way"

In my case, I have made my decision and I am happy with it! :)

-End-

its been a long time.....

2009-09-18T00:16:00.002+10:00

Quite sometime since my last post back in July... well, these 2 months flew by quickly...

So where shall I start... ok let's talk abit about work then... since that's probably where the bulk of my time is spent on.. hmmm... let's begin: well, I am still working in EY.. but just transferred to another department beginning of this month... to be honest, deep down I am regretting alittle cause life in the new department is a little tougher than what I imagined.. not that the people are not good, in fact people are very nice there. its just that the work is really new to me.. previously I have not taken any local tax law studies before... so everything is fresh from the start... need to do a lot of self learning.. and seeing that everyone else are so willing to sacrifice their personal time for work makes me very guilty for not being able (or rather not wanting) to do so... to me, work is work.. I definitely need to balance my life with work, gym, dramas and relaxing at home with my love ones. so really looking forward to every weekend.. but guess I will have to see how it goes.. perhaps I really do have to give up some freedom to climb far... that's reality... *tata*

Alright, next... Wedding... its really getting closer now... as of now, we are only left with 4 months to prepare... I would say most of the preparation are still undone though.. looks like we got to fasten up our pace... the things that are still pending are:

- wedding invitation cards (church and banquet)
- flowers for church
- my bridesmaids' dresses
- invitation list (now that I might have to invite people from my new department)
- wedding cakes
- misc. issues...

So hopefully we can be on time... guess more or less we know where to get the stuff... just need to contact those people... we are also done with our photography and bridal album... the photos are really nice.. so satisfied... and good thing, I don't look fat in the photos... *phew*.. really thank God!.. our rings are also ready.. we tailor-made them from this factory that makes jewelleries for those retail jewellery shops... and got a good deal too.. so whoever wants the contact, can get it from me..

Well.. guess that's about all to blog at the moment. need to catch an episode of my korean drama and then off to bed.. need to wake up at 5am tomorrow for gym before work... tired.. tired.. tired.. but good thing that this weekend is a looong weekend... :)

Ciaoz....

2009-07-04T13:27:00.002+10:00

Its really difficult to churn out the invitation list...

Got to take into considerations of the feelings of those people who will be seated together; will they feel comfortable with their fellow guests on the table, etc. Or is it me that is worrying too much?

Anyway, since there's still much time left, guess I can do this slowly... *headache*

Going to source for some wedding bands later....

And once again, pray that it will not be a rainy day on Monday....

Sneak preview: Wedding Gowns....

2009-07-02T23:25:00.008+10:00

Alright, after a long while... finally I am done with choosing my gowns... Will be going for my photoshoot session next monday... pray hard that it will not be a rainy day... anyway, enough of words, have a preview of my gowns! :)

(Front view - Outdoor White Gown)

(Back View - Outdoor White Gown)

(Actual day White Gown)

(Actual day Evening Gown)

The one I love best is still the blue evening gown... will post up the 'real' photos after the photoshoot!

2009-03-17T01:13:00.003+11:00

Finally, we have decided on the bridal shop to use: Volans Couture.

So far, the reviews of Volans on Styleweddings have been good, and plus when we were there, the service provided was good and we are all satisfied with the gowns and photos. So hopefully *keeping our fingers crossed* that everything will turn out superb! :)

Now that we have settled one issue, and more or less done with the church and hotel banquet, the next issue to settle is our guest list, my gown and our weight! lol... time to lose weight.... for my once in a lifetime BIG day, I am going to put in 102%... :)

Alright, update again in time to come.

A leap to the next phase of life...

2009-03-09T02:26:00.002+11:00

Its finally decided that 30th Jan 2010 will be the day for us to enter into the next phase of our life - marriage!

The topic seems so far, but yet so near. Can't believe that it is finally happening (as though I have been waiting for a long time).. anyway, for the past weekend, we have finally embarked on the preparation of the wedding.

Saturday was a tiring day for Nic cos he has got to 'accompany' me and his parents to survey some bridal shops. We went to a few of the shops along Tanjong Pagar road, but none of them were perfect (i.e. nice gowns + nice photography + reasonable price)... however we manged to shortlist a couple out of the few that we enquired: Digio & My Dream Wedding. Will have to continue to survey more bridal shops until we find the perfect one. The dateline for us to sign up the bridal package will be end of March cos after that we will have to start doing preparations for other stuff. And most importantly, I got to continue losing some weight before the wedding.. :)

As for today, Nic finally sat down for a formal dinner with my parents to ask for my hand in marriage.. hehe.. so now, everything is sort of confirmed. If nothing else goes wrong, we will be holding our wedding on 30th Jan 2010, OLPS Church for day and Meritus Mandarin ballroom for night!

Need to also RSVP my close friends to be my sister gang.. :)

And btw, work at EY has been good so far. Made a few friends at work. Am really happy to have found this job. May God continue to bless and guide me in my daily life! Amen~~

A start to my career path

2009-03-04T02:05:00.002+11:00

Finally got a decent job! ;)

Started work at EY yesterday... mixture of feelings.... scared, anxious but yet happy to work in EY.

Anyway first day of work was quite bored... Didn't have much to do as everyone else was busy. So ended up reading notes and some tax guide for the day. At the end of the day, I was so mentally drained! lol... but today was alittle better. Went for a few hours of training with a senior and was briefly taught how to fill in the respective forms in order to calculate the taxable income. It was really confusing... so now I am a little worried I might not be able to perform as expected.

Nevertheless, will still try to do my best! ;) Never give up!! Never say die!!! hehe...

2009-02-24T15:05:00.002+11:00

It has been a long while since my last post... Not that I am lazy, but just nothing significant to take note of. Today I am just too bored at work, so decided to just drop by and write a few stuff... Currently temping at Luxury Tours again. Suppose to be back for some project work.. but seems more like being a office-girl... Hate to say, but the past one week here has been quite a waste of time..

Anyway, went for an interview at EY last wed. Followed up with a phone call last friday and was told that I have been selected for the position. Was told that HR will call be by Mon, but now its already Tue and no call still... getting a little worried that something 'bad' might have happened and I may have lost the job without even starting it. :( *praying very very very hard to get the call soon*... Late is better than no call...

During the last weekend, we (Nic's family and myself) have been discussing about some serious issue... "Wedding" and "Renovation for Nic's house"... As we will be shifting in to stay with Nic's family after we are married, the parents are thinking of extending the house to make it more spacious for everyone.. especially there will be more than 10 people staying in there... so the plan is either to renovate the house first then hold the wedding, or to hold the wedding first then wait till economy is better then do up the house. We are seeing at the latter option, so started looking around for bridal places and hotels... Our choice of the big day is on my 25th birthday... but when we called up the hotel, it was already booked, so got to change to another date... tentatively will be in Jan 2010... anyway, still got lots of aspect to settle... so shall confirm the exact date later...

Sigh... now just want to get the call from EY.... *bless me*

Back in Singapore

2009-01-23T09:45:00.002+11:00

Just arrived in Singapore... getting really hot and sweaty... :(

For the past few weeks in Melbourne, we have been spending most of our time fishing and catching up with mates...

New Year 2009

We welcomed 2009 in Lakes Entrance... spent a whole week there... had 3 days of good fishing, and the rest of the week, the weather had been bad hence no fishes caught. We spent those days playing scopa (Italian card game), and even gave Lazza a nickname, Cacca (which means shit in Italian), cause he was shit in Scopa even though he was meant to be our 'master'. We had lots of fun learning some italian words, and some italian culture.

Packing the House

After the week's break, we got back to Melbourne and started getting ready to return back to Singapore. We packed our stuff in boxes and luggage, shipped some back and the rest came with us on the plane. We spent approximately 2 days cleaning the house and officially bid farewell to the apartment on the 16th January. It was sad to leave the place, afterall it has been our home for 2 years...

Moving into Lazza's place (Parkdale)

After moving out of our apartment, we moved into Lazza's place and stayed there for a week. The week flew by so quickly as we spent most of our days going to the beach, shopping, drinking, eating and playing scopa.

Our flight back (SQ218 Depart 1.05am 23 January 2009)

Last night, Amar, Lazza and Andre took time off to send us to the airport. It was really nice of them and I am really very glad that Nic has got such a good bunch of soccer mates... and we managed to get so close to the extend that Lazza actually sobbed when we were entering the gates of the immigration. When Nic saw him crying, his tears too flowed uncontrollably. It was really a touching scene, and I was quite surprised as I didn't expect Lazza to be such an emotional person..

Alright, time to take a rest... the flight back was not a comfortable one as we travelled on the old SQ plane instead of the new 300ER plane.

First Christmas away from home

2008-12-25T00:14:00.002+11:00

Merry Christmas!!

This is the first time in my life that I am spending Christmas away from home... not that great to be exact.. though Christmas back home isn't that fun too, but I must say its still more enjoyable to spend this day with family members... but now, its only Nic and I... but we will be having a Christmas BBQ at Amar's place again... having seafood and some steak... awww... feel so full.. have been eating for the past two days... and hopefully all the massive eating won't cause any weight gain for me..

Anyway, we will be heading to Lakes this coming Sunday, and might spend a period of 1 week there. No concrete plans as to what we will be doing there, but I suppose its just fishing all day long... so pray for some good catches... ;)

Its less than a month before we head back to Singapore. Still in the midst of selling away our stuff.. we have just managed to sell off our fridge last Sunday, so now the items left are just the bed, the sofa bed and washing machine... and also the car.. so hopefully we can sell them away shortly after we get back from Lakes.... looking forward to go back too...

As for today, we did a bit of shopping at Chadstone and had dinner at Amar's place. Now we are back at home, going to bed soon. Gotta wake up for Christmas mass tomorrow morning...

BBQ at Amar's

2008-12-11T01:43:00.002+11:00

Just got back from Amar's place and had a nice hot shower. It is a cold summer night. We had BBQ dinner over at Amar's place, to try out his new BBQ. Nic had prepared lamb and beef for the dinner. They taste great and everyone at the table was praising his dishes. :) He did put in quite a bit effort in marinating those meat I must say... for the lambs, he used a lamb leg, red wine, italian herbs and garlic, and marinated them for 2 days; as for the beef, he used rump steak and T-bone steak, garlic, HB sauce, oyster sauce and Johnny Walker to marinate the meat.

Anyway it was a nice dinner, and its also sort of a dinner to send Reuben off for his trip back to Columbia, and it might also be the last few times we will be meeting him since he will only be back to Melbourne on the 27th Jan, and by then we would be back in Singapore.

Its really sad to have to bid farewell to these people. They are really nice and sincere people, and they treated us really well too... They have been encouraging Nic and I to look for a job here so that we can stay on, and they are rather sad that we have got to go back. But well... Nothing much we can do especially since we have yet to get a job here. Hopefully they will come and visit us in Singapore, or that we might be able to get a PR here after applying it from Singapore. Anyway, I am not going to fret over it as I believe that whatever God has arranged for us, will be the best path.

Nic is drunk tonight, so he has gone to bed. I am going to watch one more episode of the HKG drama online before going to bed!

Just a quick one...

2008-12-10T01:59:00.002+11:00

Thought of dropping a few lines while waiting for the drama to load.

I have received my results last Thursday, and did pretty well for the two papers. Better than what I expected. Well at least I have managed to complete my Bachelor studies with a HD/D average, and did not let my parents or Nic's parents down. :)

Its almost mid-December now, and we are only left with less than 2 months in Melbourne. Thinking of this brings about a mixture of feelings.. Happy and yet worried. Happy that I can get to see my parents, sister and Rico soon, worried about the outlook of my future. Wondering if it will be easy for me to get a job in Singapore. At the same time, I do feel a little upset at the thought having to say goodbye to my friends here. Hopefully in future, there will still be a chance for us to come back here, or for them to visit us in Singapore. It will really be a pity to lose contact with all the friends here.

Anyway, we shall see how it goes. We might probably come back next year to attend Tim & Michelle's wedding. Hopefully Nic will be willing to come back. Arghhhhh..... I am goonnnnaaa miss Melbourne!!! Melbourne is really the best place to live! Nice people, nice environment. I have never regretted choosing Melbourne as a place to study, and I am really glad that Nic made the decision to come here instead of going to Perth. :) Oh well.... no matter how good things are, there will still be a time to say goodbye....

We have also started to sell all our stuff now... furnitures, fridge, washing machine, car, etc... hopefully we can managed to sell them off before we go back. We haven't really started our packing yet, but will probably do so soon... its so frustrating to see the house in a mess...

Sigh.... but nevertheless, I am still looking forward to spend CNY back home... lots of goodies to eat! ;p

Lakes Entrance Trip Nov 2008

2008-12-03T12:54:00.013+11:00

Nic and I spent the past weekend at Lakes Entrance, with Lazz and Deanne. It was a great get-away from the 'busy' city life in Melbourne. We spent the weekend fishing and eating. :)

Day 1 (Sat - 29 Nov 2008):

We departed Melbourne at 7.30pm, and drove 3 hours to Lakes Entrance (the first long-distance drive in our Skyline)... We arrived at Lakes at about 10.40pm. Our initial plan for the night was to have BBQ, but when we reached there, the BBQ that Lazz has over at the Lakes was ruin by the the mud-slide which was probably due to the heavy rain some days ago. So we just prepared something simple as our dinner (or rather supper)...

(The holiday house!)

(feasting on our food after a long drive.. yummy!)

Day 2 (Sun - 30 Nov 2008):

We attended Mass at 9am. After which we went over to Lazz's aunt's place to drop off some stuff. In the noon, we went for a fishing trip at the Tambo River. Prior to the fishing trip, Nic & I had a quick 'course' with Lazz on how to prepare the rod and tie the hook to the fishing line. Apparently the weather was too windy to fish in the ocean, thus we got to settle ourselves at Tambo River which is the next best alternative to the ocean. We casted out fishing line and waited for quite some time. We almost wanted to give up and go to another spot when the other people who were fishing near us came to share with us their fishing achievements. They managed to catch a few big breams and a carp, which they had to discard it at the side as it is a pest fish and is illegal to keep the carp. Upon seeing their catch, we decided to stay on. After a while, we got our first bite - a small bream. :)
We caught a total of 3 breams for the day.

(learning to fix up the rod)

(attempting to tie the hook.. be careful not to hook your finger Nic!)

(my very first catch!)

(our catch for the day!)

After fishing, we returned back to the house and pick up the stuff for crabbing. We went to the pier and tried crabbing for an hour, but no catch. Seeing that the sky is turning dark, we decided to head back to prepare for the BBQ.

For dinner, we had pasta prepared by Deanne, BBQ sausages, beef, chicken and the fishes that we caught, and a bottle of red wine.

(setting up the Weber for BBQ)

(our sumptuous dinner for the night!)

After dinner, everyone else rested on the sofa and doze off, while I had an icy shower (cos the hot water has been used up), and watched the Bee Movie before going to sleep.

Day 3 (Mon - 1 Dec 2008):

The initial plan was to head back to Melbourne in the evening, but in the end we postponed our return to the next day instead.

As we still have some leftovers from the previous night's BBQ, we invited Lazz's aunt and uncle for lunch. After lunch, we decided to go for more fishing. This time round, we managed to catch 11 Breams and 5 eels. As no one knew how to prepare eels, we gave some to Lazz's uncle and released the rest. We spent a total of 5 hours fishing.

(team at work - cleaning the fishes)

We had pizza for dinner. That night, we planned to watch the horror movie - Dead Silence together, but end up I was the only one who was awake to finish the movie. Was a bit disturbed by some of the scenes, hence decided to play another movie to get those scary images away from my mind before going to bed.

Day 4 (Tue - 2 Dec 2008):

We woke up at about 5.30am and did our packing and cleaning, and left the house at 7am. Drove for another 3 hours before arriving at Melbourne. Lazz and Deanne got to head for work, while Nic and I came home to rest.

We might be going up again to spend the new year, hopefully by then the weather will be good and we can fish more and get some tan.. :)

----------------------

Last night, we went over to Lazz's place to feast on the fishes that we caught on Monday. Deanne prepared some using her style, and we prepared one fish using the sambal paste that was given to us by Tania.

Yummy...

--------------------

Few more hours before results are released. So anxious... pray that I can get satisfied results... :S

A wasted day..

2008-11-26T23:13:00.002+11:00

Went drinking last night after the poker session, mainly to have a chat with Keith and see if there's anything we can do to 'save' his marriage with Karmna. Apparently, they are now facing a possibility of divorce, which is due to problems such as Karmna restricting Keith's drinking and poker sessions. From my point of view, I can understand what they are going through now. I truly believe that for 2 person to be together, they must learn to compromise and respect each other, and of course, Love. I believe that what is lack in their marriage is the level of compromise. I must say that I am in no position to give any advise or influence any of their decisions, but if what we as friends said can help to salvage their marriage, and so that they don't simply give up the relationship just because of some personal nonacceptance, I suppose that will be the ideal. Its simply not easy to maintain a relationship, let alone a marriage. But since the promise to love and care till death is given, this promise shall be kept as far as possible. Marrying someone is definitely not a child's play. It is a form of responsibility for both parties, therefore it is not permissible to just divorce because of matters which are within control.

Obviously, I do not agree that in a relationship, one party should try and change the living habits of the other so long whatever he/she does will not bring harm to the relationship. I have came across couples breaking up due to issues such as smoking, drinking, etc.. What I feel is that as long as those things doesn't 'harm' the relationship, why make it a big deal?? Is it worth to lose the person you love or you have promised to love just because of such immaterial issues?? I believe the restriction is imposed out of concern, but to end up quarreling is definitely not worthwhile. So this is where compromising plays a part. If each party in the relationship is able to let go and don't be so persistent on things like that, I am sure everything can be worked out.

Anyway that's my personal views, and that is what I have always been doing in my own relationship with Nic. I must say that both Nic and I are very different in many ways, and also very stubborn. But one party must definitely give in and not be so obstinate, so if the situation is such that Nic cannot give in, I will give in. If the situation is that I cannot give in, Nic will give in. I must say that somehow this year has been pretty good so far. We haven't had major quarrels as often, and we are somewhat more loving. And of course, I am happy for what I have.

In a nutshell, being together requires alot of effort by both parties. The relationship will never work out if only one party is giving in while the other is not.

Ok... Back to today.. The reason why it is a wasted day is because I was so pissed last night. Had too much to drink.. and I had such a bad hangover that I puked the whole morning and spent the whole day lying down... Today is suppose to be my gym day, but since I am so drunk, I can only go to the gym tomorrow... :( So in the end, I made a vow not to drink anymore!!! Nic said that I will never be able to achieve that.. But I am so going to do it.. Hate getting drunk.. its no fun!!!

One more week before exam results are released.. Pray hard that I can do really well... though I am quite certain that I will do pretty badly this semester... sigh!!! Regrets... Regrets.... Should have studied harder.....

First time 1st in NPL

2008-11-20T23:30:00.002+11:00

Alright, now its my turn to boast about my poker achievement...

Just won 1st at a NPL poker tournament. But of course that's mainly due to two good reasons:
1. There were only 10 other players competing with me.
2. I had really good luck tonight.

Here's a picture of me with my first NPL Trophy (just nice to replace the one that Lucas broke the other time):

So clearly, poker to me is a lot about luck. Though many may not agree with me, but I am definitely not a reckless nor aggressive player who would keep raising preflop or betting hard when the cards did not hit. There are many theories when come to the technique of playing good poker, but who dares to say that poker is 100% about skill and 0% about luck?? No one player on a poker table will be able to last without lady luck smiling on him/her. But of course, there are skills involved too.

In terms of skill, I am not as skillful as Nic or other of our poker friends, but I must say that I can be lucky and win at times too.. lolx!!

Nic 的爱心烤鸡

2008-11-20T23:19:00.005+11:00

This post was suppose to up done during my exam period, but was delayed till now.

Anyway, here I present..... Nic's creation: 爱心烤鸡 a.k.a Lovey-Dovey Roast Chicken !

As the name suggests, this chicken was prepared by Nic, for me, with lots of love! This was in fact one of my dinner during my exam week. So I really enjoyed it! Hopefully he will prepare it more often for me then.

Alrighty.. here's the picture of the chicken, before and after:

Before roasting but after preparing:

(can you see that heart-shaped BBQ sauce?)

When its ready to eat:

The recipe of this chicken is as follows:

- Chicken drumstick x 4
- Oyster sauce
- Chopped Garlic
- Chopped Onion
- BBQ sauce
- Sesame oil (a little)

Its really not bad... tasted good but one word of advice is to marinate it longer so that the chicken can fully absorb the taste.

He definitely scored 100 for his effort!

Job Hunting

2008-11-19T12:43:00.002+11:00

Been spending the past few days applying for jobs. No response yet, but hopefully I can at least be called for some interviews.

Apart from that, I have been visiting the gym and playing poker every other day. Been drinking quite a bit too (in order to fill up stamp cards). But I have decided not to drink so much anymore.. basically b'cos I don't want those calories, especially not after spending 1 hour exercising 3 times a week.

Find that life is quite boring at this moment, so really hope to get a job soon. At least earn some money and do more meaningful things instead of lazing at home.

Anyway, if all goes well (i.e. got a job), we will still be returning home to spend the CNY and then perhaps return to Melbourne for work. Not sure if this is the best plan, but tentatively, that is what it is suppose to be. Our flight is booked on the 23rd January, departing at 1am. So we will be arriving in Singapore at 6am on 23rd January. So early, wonder how are we getting home from the Airport. :)

Another phase of life....

2008-11-16T00:21:00.002+11:00

Exams are finally over... I believed *cross my fingers*

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I do not know what my path will be ahead of me. There's no concrete plans as to what's gonna happen in the next few months, but most probably we will continue to search for a job while at the same time packing our stuff to go home. Sometimes I don't even know what I want to do exactly. Do I want to work in Melbourne, or do I want to go home? I think I will really miss Melbourne and the friends that we have here if I were to go back, but if I stay, I will also miss my family. Sigh... Life is all about decision making.... At least when we were young, we have our parents to rely on to make decisions for us, but when we grow up we've got to make decisions ourselves. As for myself, I do reckon that Nic is the one making decision on how my life should be. In that case, should I be thankful that at least I do not have to worry much, or should I be upset because I am not really doing what I want to.. See, its just so contradicting.. I do envy people who can do whatever they want, but at the same time I am thankful for whatever that has been given to me. Honestly, not many people are as fortunate as I am. At the very least, I am worry-free..

Well anyway, we shall see how it goes.. my usual saying "what's meant to be, will be"!

So meanwhile, just enjoy while I can. I can so foresee how my future will be like.. Step into the workforce, get married, start a family and then a FULLSTOP. Maybe that's what everybody else is experiencing too.

Alrighty.. that's all for today. Sometimes I really do have much to express, but it may not be that convenient after all since blogging doesn't really protect my privacy. Its probably just a good way for me to jolt down what is 'memorable' for myself, so that a few years down the road, I can still look back and have a good laugh or even 'evaluate' how my life has been and see if there's any room for improvements. lol...

Anyway tomorrow is Sunday, so we will go church, gym and maybe a round of home poker game. :)

tata~

MAE101 paper today and MAA301 paper tomorrow

2008-11-12T20:15:00.004+11:00

HELP!!!! This accounting unit is so tough.. so much to memorise... argh!!! :(

Just had my first paper this morning... Economic Principles... I don't feel too good about the paper though, so just pray and hope that I can achieve my intended results... Anyway, I don't have the energy to waste on worrying about what is over cos the paper tomorrow is the one that I am worried for now. Although I have started my preparation few weeks ago, but seem like its still very tough to memorise so much in one night....

Probably just do my best. Anyway no matter how afraid I may be, I still have to sit for the paper. So might as well spend more energy reading and remembering instead of lamenting and worrying..

Alrighty, say a prayer for my exam:

*God, please help me. Bless me with the wisdom and brain power I need to overcome this exam. Thank you. Amen. *

A wasted Sunday before the Exams

2008-11-09T19:01:00.002+11:00

4 more days till exams are over. Counting down, can't wait for them to be over.

Just had Lazz and Deanne over for a visit. Had a chat and drank some red wine.. yes, in a hot Sunday afternoon. Isn't it nice to be so relaxed? Well, apparently it would have been more enjoyable if there aren't thoughts of the exams bugging me at the back of my mind.

In fact, my plan for today was to stay at home and do some study, as well as go to the gym for a workout. But in the end, I managed to do neither of both. Or maybe I did a bit of study.. but not that much. This morning we went to mass at 11am, went for lunch, came back feeling really sleepy and decided to take a nap.. so end up sleeping from 3.15pm to about 5pm. It wasn't a good sleep either as the day was so hot and I ended up having that 'Sunday' headache. Somehow whenever I take a nap on Sundays, I will bound to wake up with a bit of headache. But its all good now. The headache is gone and now I am back at my table, trying to study. I must at least complete highlighting my econs notes by today. And tomorrow, I will embark on the memorization of the notes for Topic 1,2,3 of MAA301. That's my plan and I really hope that I can stick to it.

Nic is out for soccer at the moment, and after he returns, we might be going to catch a free movie. We have got a free movie voucher from Hoyts for joining the online movie club, and that voucher is only valid till the 12th, so we must use it today if not we will probably be wasting it since I will not be able to catch the movie tomorrow nor on Tuesday. Anyway, guess we have to catch the show "Burn after Reading" since the one we wanted to watch "Quantum of Solace" is not out yet.

So much for a Sunday. Hate exam period! Can't do much.... :(

Cute Puppies...

2008-11-06T01:32:00.004+11:00

awwww..... Don't know who this belongs to, but the puppies are SOOOOO cute!!! *melted*

A new blog template

2008-11-06T01:11:00.002+11:00

Its late now.. just finished a game of online poker.. lost on a K,10 suited, to K,Q... well what to do.. I raised preflop but I guess its alright for the person to call since KQ is a better hand.. used to such beats in poker... anyway its a 10cent game.. so not so bad... think I still got back some money for finishing 17th out of 360 players..

Well, if anyone did notice.. yes, I changed the template for my blog.. finally.. I have been wanting to do so long time ago.. Just that I didn't know how to go about doing it until now.. Just completed the revision for MAA301 earlier.. so thought that I should just work on this blog template thingy while I have the time... Been sleeping real late for the past few weeks.. so I guess my body clock has already adjusted itself to only feel tired at 3am.. Aware that it isn't good for health (especially lack of sleep can make one fat).. but I just find myself more energetic at night.. but definitely got to kick this habit of sleeping late... if not, in future will suffer when I start to work and got to wake up early..

I guess I am just looking forward for my exams to be over and done with... we've got some programmes planned ahead for the summer... we will be spending a weekend at a friend's holiday apartment at the Lakes (i have no idea where that is at the moment).. and probably do more aussie stuffs like beaching... golfing... pokering... etc... just got to experience aussie lifestyle while we are here.... I believe all these will be very good experience for me...

These few days Nic has gradually shown acceptance to the fact that we might not be able to stay on in Melbourne.. Though I understand and can feel that he is really disappointed, but I guess if that's the way our life is planned... there's nothing much we can do... but honestly, to me I feel that even though we don't get to stay on now, doesn't mean that we won't get to come back here and live in future.. I believe if there's a will, there will be a way.. I just hope that Nic can be less disappointed and be a happier man... I know there's a lot of worries weighing on him at the moment.. and guess all I can do is to do my part and put in some effort to search for a job.. if we have done our best, even if things doesn't work out the way we want them to, we shan't feel too bad.. at least we tried... sigh...

Anyway.. hopefully in my next post, I can at least be more certain of what my (or rather our) future lies ahead... I will be wherever Nic wants to be... If he can't get what he wants, at least he has my support... :)

2008-11-03T19:20:00.002+11:00

Its exam period again...

Can't wait for it to be over... Though studying is not as bad as working (i reckon) but then having to cramp one semester worth of information into my small little skull seems rather taxing... and hopefully all goes well for us...

So what's on after exams?? The answer is no idea...

All I know is that at this moment, my options are to either try and look for a job here (which I think will be rather tough without being a PR) or to go back and help Nic's parents till April, then look for a job in Singapore... Honestly speaking, I am fine with either alternative... but b'cos Nic is very persistent in staying here, I guess I would have to too...

Sigh!! I wish God can be more obvious when showing us the way... maybe we are really meant to go back... but then again, I don't wish to upset Nic by not putting any effort to look for a job here.. so I guess I just got to do it and see how it goes...

Anyway now I shall just devote my time to prepare for my exams and nothing else... I'd just got to let the future worry for itself... I always believe that God has already arranged our path for us, so just got to take one step at a time... (I am just someone who hates to worry about the future... b'cos to me, my rational is "why waste energy worrying over things that you have no control over".. right?)

Alrighty... Nic is out to Ben's house for a Xbox gaming session... I chose to stay at home simply b'cos I am too lazy to step out of the house... and perhaps to study... but I think now I just want to take a rest... and watch some show instead.. lolx... ;)

Sydney Trip 2008

2008-10-03T00:04:00.009+10:00

Alrighty, finally 'found' some time to update on the Sydney Trip last weekend. The trip lasted for 5 days 4 nights, we departed Melbourne on the 26th September and came back on 30th September. Ate soooooo freaking much during the trip and therefore put on soooooo much weight (or at least that's what I think).. :( haven't really weigh myself though cos after we came back from the trip, I felt quite sick the whole of the next day (which is yesterday), so didn't make it to the gym. Was suppose to go today, but then postpone to tomorrow instead.. *diez* getting too lazy... Its time to stop procrastinating and start exercising!!!

Anyway, enough of crying over my weight.. let's talk about the trip....

Overall, the trip was quite a good one though there were some unexpected 'cock-ups'. The first issue happened when we were collecting the car from Hertz. Was supposed to provide a credit card for some security deposit, but then my card has exceeded the limit and Nic's UOB card doesn't seemed to work. So in the end we got to call Cass to borrow her card. But who knows her card was also being declined. Damnz.. what a bad morning to start the trip with.. The worst scenario is to go all the way to Caulfield to pick Amanda and Shuqi up first before heading back to the city to get the car and then back to our place to park our own car before heading to Sydney. This way it will be a total waste of time. But luckily, we managed to find a bank that opens at 9am to clear my credit card bill so finally I managed to use my card and collected the car at around 10am. Was already abit behind schedule.

So after we got the car, we went back home to park our car first before driving to Caufield to pick the rest up. We officially left Melbourne at 11+am.

Nic drove all the way up, taking a total of 9 hours. We had 2 toilet cum petrol breaks along the way. Think he sped all the way at the speed of 140km/h. We arrived in Sydney at around 8.30pm.

We planned to go for a late dinner at Pancakes on the Rocks. But before that, we checked into the hotel and took a shower to freshen up ourselves....

After dinner at the Pancakes, we went to meet Amanda's friend and join them for clubbing at night.

Day 2: We woke up on time (around 8am) and left the hotel at 9am as planned. The itinerary for the day was to visit 2 flee markets (Glebe market & Paddington market). Everything went as planned. At night we had Korean food for dinner. After dinner, the girls went partying with Amanda's friends while Nic and I returned to hotel early to chill and relax...

Day 3: Happy Birthday Nicky Boy!!! (its Nic's birthday today!)... and as it was a Sunday, Nic and I made our way to mass in the morning. After church, we headed back to hotel to pick the girls up before heading to Sydney Fish Market... *yummy seafood*

At the fish market, we had sashimi, prawns, crabs, oysters, etc. The seafood was sooooo delicious.. *yumz* and I bet this must be Nic's happiest birthday cos he get to eat his favourite seafood.. :)

After our brunch, we headed back to the hotel. That day was a hot day and so everyone was feeling very lethargic after the heavy brunch. In the end, we took a nap before going out for shopping. We went Myers and spent the $150 gift card which Nic won from last Thursday's poker. I bought myself a pair of shorts, a top, a trial pack of Clinque cleanser, a mascara and a blusher. *happy*

After shopping, we went to Lowen Brau for dinner. We had pigs trotters, sausages, some veal dish and beer. During the dinner, there was a performance at the restaurant. Both Nic and I took part in their beer drinking competition, and of cos, I tied with the other girl contestant in the girl's round, and Nic got 2nd in the guy's round. haha... think we can really drink man!

Anyway that was a happy day indeed, and I am sure Nic enjoyed himself alot that day. :)

Day 4: Second last day of the trip. We had dim-sum for brunch. After brunch, we went to Sydney Opera House and Bondi Beach. In the evening, we had ribs and steak at Hurricane's Grill. (gosh.. so much of eating...). After dinner, we went to Star City and contributed $200 to the casino... *so sad*..

As the night was still early, we decided to play some drinking games in the hotel. So we headed to Coles to buy cards and liquor. We played "I Never" and some "Asshole Tai-di" till around 2am before turning in.

Day 5: Last day of our Sydney Trip. We checked out at 9am and proceed to Pancakes again to have breakfast. After breakfast, we headed back to Melbourne. We left Sydney at 10.45am.
The journey back seems longer than the journey up. Nic drove all the way as well. But this time round, we were not so lucky. We got a speeding ticket of $243!!!! Cos Nic was speeding at the speed of 140km/h and didn't see the police car. *bad luck* So after the fine, Nic drove all the way at the speed of 110km/h, and we arrived in Melbourne at 8.30pm. After that, we had Korean food for dinner.

It was good to be back 'Home' again... Melbourne is still the best! :)

Alright, here are some of the pictures taken during the trip...:

That's all folks! Stay tune for the next post!!!

Time to study.. Gotta rush an assignment which is due next monday!!! -_-

Exams are coming too.. My paper will be on the 12 & 13th Nov.. Nic's will be on the 5 & 6th.. Damn he will be ending earlier than me... then he will be enjoying himself while I am still preparing for my papers... *sucks* :( But what to do.. just hope that both of us can do well for this semester too.... *pray hard*

Ciaoz!

Royal Melbourne Show 2008

2008-09-23T22:33:00.006+10:00

Today we visited the Royal Melbourne Show. In fact its the 2nd day that we went, cuz the first day was with Kor Jie and Lucas, and didn't really get to venture much. Anyway Nic and I had a great time 'dating' at the Royal Melbourne Show.

We reached there at about 2pm+. The sky was a bit gloomy by then (although the forecast said that today will be sunny), so I said a little prayer for God to bless us with a good weather, and sure enough, for the duration that we were at the show, the weather was great, except for a few minutes of light showers but that doesnt really matter. :)

One of the event for the show is the Championship Dog show, where breeders will bring their doggies to compete with other dogs of the same breed. It was wonderful to be surrounded by dogs *grin* I simply love them too much.. and Nic always say that I will go mad when I see dogs.. haha.. but I can't help it, they are just sooooo innocent and soooo lovable.. lolz... anyway, I took some pictures of some giant Schnauzers (its a pity that I can't take any pictures with the dogs):

There was in fact nothing much to do at the show, only atmosphere that brings about the excitment and fun. Initially, I wanted to take some rides, but after a second thought, we decided to give the rides a miss.. (cos they all look so intimidating).. haha... *2 scardy cats* ;p

As we walked around the show, we spent some unnecessary money playing those 'catch-a-soft-toy' games. The first game we played was called '21'. We are suppose to purchase tickets and use the numbers given on the tickets to form 21. This game wasn't simple at all. Firstly, we purchased 14 tickets with $10 and got a few tickets with numbers 4,8,10,6 & 2. However we are not able to form 21 with all even numbers, so we decided to give another try. We purchased another 6 tickets with $5. But still no luck. So spent another $5 (which is a total of $20) and still no luck.

(look at all the tickets we have.. a.k.a money wasted)

Eventually we decided to give a last try of $2 to purchase 2 tickets (and guess the staff took 'pity' on us and decided to give us a 'joker' ticket cos Nic said that all these are controlled by them) . So at last, we got a CAREBEAR! :) But guess what, the staff did not collect back the Joker ticket from Nic, so we decided to go back later to exchange for another one. So we walked on.

As we walked towards the Grand Pavillion (where the food is), we saw this game stall that says "the highest Poker hand wins". Out of curiousity, we checked out the stall. And how the game works is to roll 5 balls into holes of A,K,Q,J,10, and whoever gets the highest hand will win. So we spent another $5 playing the game, but got nothing.

Feeling tired, we decided to take a rest and grab a bite. We had some Dutch pancakes, German sausage roll, fish & chips and squids, as well as a few cups of beer. Nic had a corn too:

(taken with our 'little one'.. lol...)

After 'recharging' ourselves, we went back to the games stall to exchange for another toy using the Joker ticket. This time round, Nic purchased 2 tickets with $2 and walked aside to open the ticket so that the person will not notice our 'trick'. So after 'opening' the Joker ticket, Nic went up to the staff and told him that we want to get a toy since we got the Joker ticket. Immediately, his expression changed (cos we think that he knows that we 'cheated' as he is aware that amongst the tickets that he gave us, there is no Joker ticket). But there's nothing he can do cos if he were to expose us, then he will be as good as exposing himself. Hence, reluctantly he gave us our 2nd CAREBEAR! lolz.....

(my 2 'babies')

But guess cheaters will really reap their retribution. Why? Cos after that we tried our luck at another stall and wasted $20 getting nothing.. :( So we just consoled ourselves that the $20 is spent to get the 2nd carebear. sigh!!! what to do.....

We spent a total of 4 hours at the show. It was really fun... Fun not because of the things that we get to do there, but fun because Nic and I did this together happily... and we really enjoyed it alot! :)

(A farewell shot with a goat)

2008-09-19T22:23:00.005+10:00

So tired.. after a week of eating and going out... :( No fun at all.. all the eating makes me feel so FAT!!! argh... made a pact with myself to diet for one whole week after Kor they all leave... got to cleanse my system before going for another round of eating during the Sydney Trip (26 Sept -1 Oct)..

Anyway, Kor Jie and Lucas has been here since Saturday.. it feels good to have them around.. Lucas has grown so much and is now so chatty.. though he's abit demanding at times, but he's really sweet too.. especially when he just walks up to me and call me "Aunty Terra" in the sweetest tone.. lol... hmmm.. *thinking to myself* isnt it nice to have a kid??

Well well, dateline for the assignment is approaching... did most of it by now, but really not confident in doing well at all.. somehow my mind seemed to be blocked... can't get any inspirations at all... so guess just try to amend to the best i can and leave the rest to the marker (or rather to God).. :)

Alrighty we are now bringing kor to play APL at Foresters Arms...

Ciaoz!

**O ya, before I forget to mention this.. Last Friday was a very 'fruitful' day for me... cos (1)
I got myself my very own pair of Oakleys last Friday.. hehe... (see the one in the Royal Melbourne Show blog dated 23 Sept) .. and (2) Nic brought me a Gucci wallet:

(^_^)

Finally a STRAIGHT FLUSH!!!

2008-09-05T11:08:00.007+10:00

Lolzz... so happy to have won poker yesterday! Won a $150 Coles-Myer Gift card which we intended to use it for the service of our car. Had quite a bit of luck yesterday, made some good folds, good bets and some shitty-but-winning calls. But the best hand that I had was none other than the straight flush!

I started off with a pocket 9s, I raised my bet preflop to $1000 (worth of chips). 2 other people called. Flop came out K (hearts), 9 (diamonds), Q (hearts). Seeing that I hit trips, I raised my bet to another $2000. This is to prevent any other unfavorable hits by the other players on the turn and river. But the 2 other players went all in on my raise, which I definitely had to call. So I did. Anyway the turn came out a 10 (hearts). At that point, Moss (another player) already had 2 pairs (K & Q). So if any K or Q comes out or J will give him a full house (where he will win the pot) or a straight (where there'll be a split as there's a straight on the board). But then luckily, no Ks or Qs came, but only a J (hearts). Although there's a straight on the board, but because one of my 9s is a 9 (hearts), thus I got a STRAIGHT FLUSH! (^^)

Evidence taken by Nic:

Happy!!!

But then at the thought of my assignment :(

Can't seem to write anything for it.. No inspirations... But hopefully, really hopefully I can get some soon... *frustrated*

Alrighty, back to do some work now... Will be going for gym later and then probably clubbing tonight cos its Gary's (Nic's friend) birthday....

2008-09-01T15:26:00.002+10:00

Again, quite some time since I last wrote something on the blog.. sometimes blogging is really good cos at least we will always be reminded of our good/bad times... and to me, to be reminded of bad times can prevent me from making same mistakes again..

Its officially Spring w.e.f. today! Finally Winter is over.... but then, Summer is soon to come... so which is better?? Human beings are always so contradicting aren't we... we want something, yet we want another thing as well... but its never going to be the way, we can never have the best of both worlds... so guess the best thing is to do our best...

Anyway, did something which made me feel bad yesterday.... Its about the MAA301 assignment... I was suppose to do it alone until Phan asked me to do with him and Shing.. which I agreed.. but because I really wanted to finish it before Kor & Jie are here for holiday, so I did push them alittle.. But anyway things turned bad and I told Phan that I would like to do it alone.. so feel bad towards them.. but then I thought to myself, if I keep thinking of them, i will only be the one suffering cos i will probably need to rush things at the very last minute... so hopefully this is the best alternative for all of us...

Ok now to school work.... almost half a semester has passed, but I am still lazing around.. really hope I can concentrate more on my studies... sigh... these are the last two units.. hopefully I can do well for them... its just like running a marathorn, I want to finish it nicely... don't wanna fall half-way.... so I MUST really get to my books and stop all poker and dramas ... :) Hopefully I can do that....

Alrighty.. that's all I feel like writing... maybe will blog more often from now.. and that's provided I am not lazy.. hahaha...

Pictures of Apartment at Kinkora

2008-08-12T14:11:00.007+10:00

Just tidied the place so thought of taking pictures and upload them here since I have delayed it for so long.... :)

Location: 3.06/769 Glenferrie Road Hawthorn Vic 3122

(Bedroom - Bed)

(Bedroom - Stella's Study)

(Bedroom - Door to Balcony)

(Bedroom - Wardrobe)

(Toilet - Shower Area)

(Toilet - Laundry Area)

(Toilet - Toilet + Washup Area)

(Toilet - Washup Area)

(Living - Dining + Nic's Study Area)

(Living - TV Area cum drying of clothes area ;p)

(Living - a view of the entrances)

(Kitchen Area)

That's all folks... so which apartment feels more cosy? This or the previous one? :p

Semester 1 2008

2008-07-05T12:52:00.002+10:00

The first semester passed so quickly, and it seems as though I have been doing alot during the months, but yet again it seems as though I havent been doing much. Anyway, exams are over and I am now on my school holiday till 21st July.

Just a fast recap of the 'major' events that occurred during the whole semester (and since I have not blogged for so long):

March:

- We discovered and started playing free poker at APL on Sunday afternoons.

April:

- We discovered more APL events on other days of the week, so we went to play almost every other day...

- Attended Tania's graduation and sent her off to the airport.

May:

- Made friends with the APL gang (Rachel, Andrew, Matt, Ben, Cheech, Trudi, Jason, Jaci, ...)

- Went drinking and partying with them and getting drunk twice...

June:

- Poker and more poker

- Drinking and partying...

- Nic's parents and Martin were here on a holiday

- Exams

- Trip to Perth

July:

- Lazing at home...

- Poker!!!

- Awaiting for school to start

- Perhaps looking for a part-time job for income.

Hmmmm... that's the summary of what has been going on for the past few months.. basically we have done really nothing much except poker-ing and partying... I can say that now we are truly leading the Aussie lifestyle.. hahaha.. ;p

Well, next semester will be my last semester... and I think after making friends with the APL people, I began to like staying in Melbourne... and especially working here is definitely less stressful than working in Singapore (which is what I hate most).. so I am having second thoughts about staying here now.. Nic always wanted to stay here, so I guess we will try applying for PR and see if we can find a job... but the only thing that I am worried about is Rico.. who is going to take care of him?? I am sure my parents won't be so cruel so as to release him... but I did promise them that I will take care of him after I finish my studies, so if I were to stay here, I will not be able to keep to my words... and moreover, they really don't like him in the house... sigh!! how now??? I guess if I am really staying here to work, I will probably fly him here..... I guess that's the best alternative.... anyway, I will just pray and leave everything to God's will... :)

Ok, that's all for today... ciaoz!!

2008-04-28T00:23:00.004+10:00

Soon to bid farewell to Tania. She's leaving Melbourne on Tuesday, going back to Singapore.. Feeling sad that one of my two good friends in Melbourne is leaving, and soon will be Janice's turn.. sigh.. that's life....

Anyway spent the whole day helping Tania pack her stuff and clean up her place. You wont believe how dusty her place was.. layers of dust on the window still and on those hard-to-reach places... guessed she only vacuum those places that are accessible to her.. haha.. but anyway, quite satisfying to clean up such a dusty place..

Last Wed (23rd April), I attended Tania's graduation ceremony and took some pictures:

The ceremony was abit boring, so I dozed off... but I am looking forward to mine next year, where my family will be here too! :)

2008-04-06T14:21:00.004+10:00

hmmm.. time to blog again...

Today is a pleasant Sunday, with a good weather and even a mini carnival on Glenferrie Road, known as the Glenferrie Festival. Took a short walk to have a look at what's going on for the festival. Though it wasn't a big event, but seems like all the locals enjoyed these type of carnivals. As I walked, I saw this cute mascot for Yarra Trams (and you know I just can't resist dogs), so I got someone to help us take a photo:

Anyway, now I am back home (der right, if not how can I be writing this blog.. haha).. This morning went for mass and then gym. Did a 5km run and some cycling.. burnt 500 kcal. haha, allows me to eat more for the day.. ;p

Alright, just an update of the steamboat session we had last friday at Tania's house. Tania's mom is really good at preparing food, and though its obvious that she was very exhausted from the preparation for the steamboat, but she still try to force a smile whenever she talks to us. She is really a nice person and a good mother to Tania and her brothers.. Anyway, we had a sumptous steamboat dinner, we had beef, prawns, hot dogs (or what known as bak-tiao by janice and paul.. keke), fish, sotong balls, fish balls, crab meat stick, sotong, veggies, fish tofu, homemade super spicy balachan (chilli).. some tang hoon and rice cakes. We all had a great time eating, chatting and joking...

The funniest joke of the day was when Janice asked this "qian bian wen da ti": What did Miss Zero (0) tell Miss Eight (8)? I shan't tell the answer here so next time I can share with others.. but the answer is really hilarious.. so funny that I rolled on the floor while trying to swallow the food left in my mouth.. luckily I didn't choke myself.. hahaha

Saturday was a lazy day... we slept till about 12pm, then went to shop for car audio system to replace the stolen one. After that went to Chadstone, with the motive of buying nic a jacket. But in the end I bought myself two pairs of flats (very cheap at $20 for 2 pairs) instead.. And nic was unhappy cos I bought myself something instead when our purpose to shop was to buy him a jacket, so we ended up not buying any jacket. sigh.... Anyway, after Chadstone, we came home and watched tv all the way till night....

Daylight savings officially ended this morning at 2am.. so now Melbourne is only 2 hours faster than Singapore.

Alrighty, that's all for today.. getting ready to go out for the free pub poker... hopefully i can last longer today.. keke...

Mahjong-ing time !!

2008-03-27T17:50:00.003+11:00

Played mahjong till 6am this morning, and we started at around 9pm last night! Wow right?! can't believe we actually played this long... first two rounds were rather good... but towards the last round, we were all getting tired.... so took even longer to finish the 4 winds..

Anyway its good...

This whole week shall be our mahjong-ing week... :)

Melbourne once again....

2008-03-19T18:55:00.003+11:00

It has been quite a while since I got back to Melbourne, but only now then I have the time to sit down and blog. Not as though I have been very busy, but just pure laziness! haha... anywayz...

Everything feels the same, familarity, no longer homesick. Perhaps I am used to the life in Melbourne after staying here for about a year. First few weeks in Melbourne wasn't so enjoyable due to the hot weather... the heat is really a torture to even stand out in the sun for a second, but luckily summer is over.. and now the weather is nice and cool.. though once in awhile the heat will still be there, but mild.

School has started for quite awhile too, it is now going to be the 4th week of school (after this week of easter term break). Work seems cope-able, but just lack of the mood to study. Hopefully the mood can kick in soon, if not I will have to rush through the studies last minute again (this is something I really hate but can't help it)..

Ok let's talk about things that have been keeping us occupied for the past one month in Melbourne; during the few weeks without Janice and Tania back here, I was either at home, in school, or out with Nic to play free pub poker and sometimes, at crown. Now that Tania and Janice are both in Melbourne, life is less boring. Last Friday, Janice and I went to a club called Seven.. it was good.. it has been so long since I last went clubbing... pretty enjoyable...

And yesterday, we gathered together to play mahjong at my place, and then second round at Tania's place. We had home-cooked pasta (by Tania) for dinner. Luck wasn't on my side yesterday, so I lost quite a bit of money. Feeling very bad towards papa cos that was the money i just withdrew from part of the pocket money he gave me just before I came over to Melbourne.. sigh.....

And before I forget, I would also like to mention that I have made a few more Singaporean friends over here. They are from the Singapore Student's Association in Monash. I got to know them through Nic as he is quite into the club at the moment..

This whole week as mentioned is the term break, so no school. But will be going to school for assignment tomorrow. And on Friday, Jessie will be flying in, and she would probably be staying with me.. hehe.. so maybe I would organise another session of Mahjong for her, Janice and Tania, who so happen to be ex-SQ girls! :)

Alright, that's all for this moment. Will try to blog again soon...

Hongkong Trip 18 - 22 Feb 2008

2008-02-22T02:15:00.025+11:00

18 Feb 08, Monday:

Took a flight to Hongkong (SQ866) at 1330hr and arrived at about 1715hr. After which, we (Uncle Kevin, Uncle Larry, Nic & I) took a taxi from the airport to Excelsior Hotel where the uncles will be staying, and to Stanley's house at Cairn Street.

After leaving the luggages, Nic & I took the MTR (train) to Kowloon to meet uncle kevin and a few of Nic's distant relatives for dinner. We had a sumptous steamboat (hotpot) dinner.

19 Feb 08, Tuesday:

We met up with uncle kevin for breakfast. We had congee at a nearby restaurant. It was simply delicious! Yummy!

After breakfast, we took a train to Admiralty Station where we took a bus to Ocean Park. We experienced all the rides, including the one that shoots up in the sky and drop down at a rocket speed, gosh.. it was terrifying but at the same time exciting.

Here are some of the pictures taken:

After Ocean Park, we visited the Peak:

As well as the the famous wax museum (madam tussaud) and took pictures with the "stars & famous people":

At night, we went to the Lady Street, a tourist attraction where imitation goods and cheap stuff are found. We didn't managed to get any things for ourselves, but I got a bag for my Sister and some art stamps for aunty serene.

We had congee as dinner.

20 Feb 08, Wednesday:

Met up with uncle Kevin to yum cha, but wasn't successful as the restaurant which we took pains to locate is closed when we were there, hence we settled for something light, thinking to eat dim sum later in the afternoon. So we went to a small chinese cafe to have our breakfast.

After breakfast, we did a little shopping around causeway bay, in shopping centres such as Times Square and Sogo. Uncle bought quite a few items, while I only got myself a trenchcoat from Giodarnos.

We shopped the whole day. At night, uncle brought us to the pier where we can take the star ferry from Tsim Sha Tsui back to Hongkong island. The night view of hongkong island is very beautiful.

As the whole day I was in boots, my legs were killing me and I desperately wanted to get home to rest them. We parted with uncle as he said he doesn't want to join us and Stanley for dinner. As we were still early, Nic and I went home to put our things, and also for me to change into my flats, before we left for Lan Kwai Fong to meet Stanley and his colleagues for dinner. After dinner, we went to LKF Hotel for drinks before heading home.

21 Feb 2008, Thursday:

Our itinerary for the day is to go to Macau.

We arrived at Macau at 1pm, after an hour's ferry ride from Tsim Sha Tsui. After clearing the immigration at Macau, we took the shuttle bus from the Ferry terminal to The Venetian Hotel.

The hotel was very grand and big. In Macau itself, there are quite a few big hotels, all with Casino.

Anyway, as the normal activity in Macau is to visit the Casino, Nic and I also decided to try our luck. We tried to look for Texas Holdem but to no avail. Thus, we settled to play Carribean Studs. Its real fun, but in the end, we lost!

So we spent the rest of the time venturing the hotel and taking a few pictures.

We depart Macau for Hongkong at 7pm. We then had our dinner at a noodle shop along Elgin Street (Hongkong). Though the shop's location is a little deserted, but the noodle served was delicious.

After dinner, we headed home to wait for Stanley's call ( he was suppose to meet us for dinner but he was held up at work). In the end, I was too tired to go out so Nic went to join Stanley for drinks.

22 Feb 2008, Friday:

Nic and I woke up early to pack our stuff, and also to travel all the way to Causeway Bay just to have our congee breakfast. Yummy..

After breakfast, we returned home to get our stuff and took a taxi to Airport Express Station. We checked in our luggages and took a train to the Airport (which took us only 25mins).

2008-02-15T12:34:00.001+11:00

Happy belated Valentines!!

This year's valentines was spent in pain... went for my wisdom tooth extraction yesterday morning.. it wasn't that painful though, but I spent most of the day sleeping, trying to numb the pain.

Didn't have the chance to spend the day with Nic, but I guess even if we were together, there's nothing much we can do too.

Anyway, will be heading back to Melbourne in 1 and a half week's time... but before that, Nic and I will be going to hkg for a short trip.. how nice, this will be my first time going to hkg.. heard from Shing that its cold now over there.. I am looking forward to it.. and hopefully my extraction can recover fully by then.. hehe... shopping and eating.. here i come!!

Alright, nothing much to blog about now... getting ready to go out now... tata!!

2008-01-28T14:06:00.000+11:00

Haven't been blogging for more than a month, ever since Nic came back from Australia. These few weeks passed so quickly, and in just another few weeks time, we will embark on the 2nd half of our university journey.

In exactly one week's time will be exams again for me, so I am now preparing for the 2 papers. Luckily there're only 2 papers. Really regretted taking summer units. Seeing Nic relaxing and enjoying himself in front of the tv everyday makes me jealous. Can't wait for exams to be over.

Over the past few weeks, I picked up 2 new stuff. One is tennis, and the other one is Texas Hold'em. Ever since then, we have been playing Texas almost every other day. But seems that luck is not with me and I have been losing all the way. Seems like a sign to tell me to play less. haha..

Anyway, I will enjoy the last few weeks in Singapore. Maybe Nic and I will be going to Hongkong for a short trip before returning to Melbourne. Ah... so short of time....

2007-12-20T02:39:00.000+11:00

Went to catch the movie 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' yesterday with Nic and his little brother, Martin.. I looooooove the movie.. the chipmunks are so adorable... especially Theodore... so chubby and cute... haha.. :)

Share some pictures here (and also to keep for remembrance)...

(ooo... look at this picture... Theodore asking for more whip cream!!.. soooooo cute!!!)

Its a must watch movie!!!

2007-12-12T18:09:00.000+11:00

No longer the need to countdown to the number of days before I get to see Nic... Because he is BACK! he touched down on Monday night... thinking of giving me a surprise.. but instead, I counter-surprised him instead.. and kept my words in bringing him soon-kuehs to fetch him from the airport...

He has been planning and collaborating with his family members on how to keep me in the dark and to get me surprised by inviting me over to his place for dinner and then he will come back home and surprise me.. but i guess his efforts were wasted as I am too smart for his little trick.. or maybe because I knew him thoroughly (inside-out).. hahaha...

Anyway, how I got to know of his plan is due to the following loopholes that gave his secret out:

1. One day, while talking to Tania, she suddenly mentioned that he only got a few days left with her in Melbourne... ah-hah.. I smelt a rat....

2. He accidentally told me that he went to place a time-freeze on my Fitness First Membership.. and mentioned that it was on the 10th.. but he tried to cover up saying that its on the 10th of Jan.. hence, I smelt a bigger rat....

So, wanting to make sure that he IS coming back early, I decided to perform series of investigations...

First, I went to Fitness First e-member website to find out which is the date of his time-freeze.. though the website did not state specifically that the membership has been freezed.. but from the transaction history of my member account, I can see that Nic made a payment of $30 in total for the time freeze (being $10 per month)... so now the truth starts to reveal itself.. $30 means he has frozen the account for 3 months, and counting back from Feb 08 (which is when we will return to Melbourne), the month of freeze should begins in December.. which is this month...

Second, knowing for sure (or maybe 99.99%) that he will be coming back early, the next step will be to find out the exact date of return... I then asked Lena (from luxury tours) to check on Abacus system to see if there's any record of his return.. but as he did not amend through the system, there's no record.. so I decided to call Qantas up.. but Qantas is unable to reveal his flight details unless I have his booking reference... which I don't.. So not giving up, I decided to check his email for clues (cos I am sure if he made any amendments, Qantas will sure email him some form of confirmation).. and then...

Yes!! I got it... in his email, shows an subject line which read "10DEC LEE WEY LEON NICHOLAS MEL-SIN"... hahahaha.. so that's how I managed to know his secret of returning back early...

But the story did not end just like that.. Before Jie (stephanie) called me, I was still thinking probably Nic will want to surprise his family members too.... but cos the some days back, I told her that I will be returning her a jacket early next week (which is this week)... and thus she suspected that I know something... but I wasn't told of the truth until Monday morning when she called me again to make sure that I will be going to his place and that he will be coming back in the night... so then we decided to plot another surprise plan for Nic...

So on Monday night, after buying the soon kuehs, I went to the airport with Kor to pick him.. but in order to give him a surprise, I decided that I should hide myself and jump out on him to surprise him.... so I hid in one of the convenient store next to the exit to the car park, and after they walked past, I crept quietly behind them and sprang out at Nic, giving him a tickle.. haha.. and he was indeed very surprised by my appearance.. haha

Successful!!! heh heh heh....

Alright, that's all for the story.. got to now get ready for gym and class tonight... sigh....

2007-12-06T03:15:00.000+11:00

Since I have already signed in, I guess I better write something... haha..

Anyway, been back in Singapore for 2 whole weeks... and during these two weeks, I pampered myself more than any other time in my entire life... well, I had a hair-do last week, went for eyebrow embroidery, did a manicure (cheap & good).. bought myself a pair of earrings from SK (well, no $$, if not I would have gotten a better one.. keke.. maybe that shall be one present from Nic.. ;p)... and ermmm, replaced my wallet and driving licence... Haven't replace my IC yet though, will do so soon.. so lazy to travel all the way to lavendar just to get it done... sigh!!

Now I think its time to tighten my wallet.. but before that, I want a new handphone!! planning to get Sony Ericsson W910i...

Today it rained the whole day.. so irritating.. how I wished I could just stay at home but I can't cos need to attend my lesson for Auditing... so in the end, I went for gym just before my class... and the rain didn't get any smaller even after my gym session, but on the contrary, it suddenly poured heavily just as I stepped out of the gym.. :( Ended up having my legs wet..

After attending today's lecture, I think I got to put in my heart and soul into studying again... how I wish I can just enjoy the whole summer by doing nothing but watching tv at home and relaxing all the way... sigh!!!

Alrighty, shall now watch some tv before turning in for bed..... good nite!

2007-12-01T12:01:00.000+11:00

1 week and 4 days without Nic... 60 more days...

Haven't been doing much for the past few days (after my last blog)... my weekly routine is just to go gym, school, and maybe meet up with a few friends.... So far, had managed to catch up with Selene and friends on Thursday for a dinner at New York New York (Citylink Branch)...

During the week, I went for a haircut too... planning to curl my hair when they are much longer... probably got to wait for another year ba... :)

Today, I am going to JB to do a bit of things... but mainly is to go for an eyebrow embroidery. When I told my parents, they were so against the idea, saying that only ah-lians will do that, but I have seen very nice results on Janice and Elaine, and I don't feel that they are lians at all, so I will just go for it.. hopefully the end results are good.... hehe.... that will save me alot of time the next time I go out, at least I won't have to bother to draw my brows already.... :)

Life is vulnerable

2007-11-26T23:43:00.000+11:00

This morning I received a sms from Sonia telling me about the dragonboat accident in Cambodia and that one of the deceased is my ex-kayaking team mate, Reuben Kee.

Although I do not share much memory with him, but the sudden departure of his strucked me deeply on how vulnerable life can be, and thus the next thought that was in mind was to really treasure those around us.. But its always easier said than done. How many times have we taken our family members and friends for granted? Answer is too many... human beings will not learn how to treasure without loss... and that is always how things are...

65 days more...

2007-11-25T00:05:00.000+11:00

67 days left...

Visited the chinese sin-seh this morning to fix my left thumb... sprained it 2 months back... so the sin-seh did a little "pull" to relocate the bones.. and as the injury has been for quite sometime, the sin-seh did an accupuncture for me... it wasn't too painful, just alittle when the needle was inserted...

After that, dad and I went to Bukit Panjang Plaza for lunch... no much changes during the past 9 months.. well, I guess it isn't a long period for any significant changes to take place... This time back in Singapore, the major change will be on the roads, for eg. there is a new highway called KPE linking PIE to ECP and most of the road signs are also changed.. not to mention the increased in ERP charges as well as petrol costs.... Living standards in Singapore has definitely increased by quite a bit... But why not the wages? hmmm..

Home Sweet Home - Day 1 without Nicholas

2007-11-22T20:43:00.000+11:00

Ah.. finally HOME! after 9 months in Australia... I would say that the past 9 months flew by very quickly....

Yesterday, I took my first lonely flight.. the journey was smooth but tiring.. I can't wait for the plane to reach its destination cos I was sandwiched between two other passengers and was unable to get out of my seat for a walk or even to visit the toilet as and when I wanted to.. but nevertheless, was glad that I had a safe trip back...

When I was alone on the plane, I began to realised how lonely it is without Nic by my side... when we parted at the airport, Nic was so sad.. and because he was so sad, it breaks my heart to see him cry... How I wished he can just be home together with me too... but now all I can ask for is his safety in Melbourne... 70days is really not a short period of time.. especially when both of us are so used to each other's company...

Anyway, just pray that 31st Jan will come soon..

I woke up pretty early this morning.. can't sleep well.. I guess is the pillow (damn hard)... so in the end the whole night I slept without a pillow and only in the morning, then I used the bolster as my pillow... argh.. almost got a stiff neck... but all in all, being home was good.. seeing how happy my family members are made me happy too.... just kinda disappointed that Rico wasn't too exceptionally excited to see me.. haha.. though he did give me a face mask of his saliva... :)

I went to the gym at paragon before having lunch with my sister... she treated me a lunch at Crystal Jade Xiao Long Bao... the dumplings are very nice.. I must bring Nic for a meal when he is back... I am sure he would love the dumplings too.. :)

Now am back home... playing with Rico and also chatting with Nic over the MSN... for the next 70 days, MSN and Pfingo will be our mode of communication....

69days more too go...

2007-11-17T19:53:00.000+11:00

Just had a homecooked dinner of steak and chilli crab... :)

Nice? Crab was prepared by me while the steak was by Nic...

2007-11-14T20:04:00.000+11:00

Thank God that the sun eventually came out... So we went ahead with our sun-tanning plan at Brighton Beach.... :)

We took a slow drive to the beach (mainly because of the slow traffic... haha) Upon getting out of the car, we were surrounded by dozens of flies.... eeeks... so irritating... they are attracted to us like how they are attracted to shit... but of cos, we are not shit.. haha... and of cos we had our shower... its just because its summer, and during summer there will be plenty of horseflies everywhere... gosh.. luckily I won't be here to entertain them...

It wasn't long before we settled down at a spot where the view is not that bad and the sun is strong... We spreaded out a piece of table cover and two towels before lying down for a tan... Although there were flies humming around us, but I was pretty alright with them.. But Nic was very irritated by the flies.. so I suppose he didn't really enjoy the tan... we tanned for an hour or so before we decided to leave that place.... end up we aren't that tan too... the sun isn't that strong today... we we thought of visiting another beach on Friday to get a better tan...

Alrighty, we took some pictures too... hehe.. and of cos, I was in the new bikini that I bought specially for this sun-tanning... ;p

(That's us.. do we look tanner?)

(my new bikini... darn.. still so fair)

(Nic says CHEESE!...)

2007-11-14T11:36:00.000+11:00

Waiting for the Sun to come out before we can head to the beach... but still no sight of the sun since morning.. weather forecast states that there'll be fog in the morning and will slowly become sunny in the noon.. hmmm.. can't wait to go for a tan....

Clouds Clouds go away.. come again another day... Nic and Stella wants to tan..... ~

For the past few days, we have been really taking our time to go shopping... catch a movie.. just doing things that a couple will do during dating period.. we are still dating aren't we.. haha... :)

Sigh... just a week more before I head back to Singapore... Am suppose to be happy.. but because Nic will be left here alone, makes me really worried and sad... how I wish he can go back earlier with me.. sigh!

2007-11-11T20:44:00.000+11:00

Been slacking for the past few days.. feels so good to be able to spend the whole day watching tv and going out without having to worry about school work.... gotta take this opportunity to really relax and enjoy!

Went with Tania to catch the Phantom of the Opera last Thursday.. the performance was very good.. its my first time watching an opera, and I am liking it... hehe... perhaps will try to watch more of them in future... After the opera, we went to Crown Casino to try our luck.. but too bad for me... my lucky Dog machine didn't bring me any luck... :(

On Friday, the four Singaporeans (Tania, Janice, Tien Fun and me) gathered togehter at my place for a mahjong session.... it was really fun.... haven't played for such a long time.. How I missed those weekends where Nic and I will go Gerald's house and play with him and Rachel (and for the period, I think I am alittle addicted to Mahjong).. :p Although lady luck isn't smiling at me, but am glad to have the opportunity to play with them as well as to catch up...

Yesterday and today, we are busy sending our friends to the airport, Saturday is Tania and today is Varun.... Nic seems to be a little sad.. I guess he must be very reluctant to let me go back Singapore alone.. I am also a little reluctant to leave him here alone.. but I really wanna go back.. sigh... :(

Anyway, its only 10 days from the date of my departure... We will try to spend some quality time together these few days.. we planned to have a picnic at the beach and have a feast of crab and steak too... :) I will so miss him.... siggggghhhhhh....

2007-11-06T20:26:00.000+11:00

Finally! Exams are over!!! Yay!! :)

A long awaited day.... so happy and feel so relaxed now that I don't have to study anymore for this semester. Hopefully all my papers will pass with flying colours!

Planned a long list of programmes... will start from tomorrow where I will go with Tania, to buy some nuts back for my relatives... haven't start on the list of stuff to get yet, but am going to plan them out tonight...

Now its 8.25pm in Melbourne, but the sky is still bright... guess that's the whole purpose of daylight saving, to push back 1 hour of the time to enjoy a longer day light (if not it would have been 7.25pm instead).. anyway, although I do love the long day, but when it comes to dinner time, I tend to feel abit confused.. cos the feeling doesn't feel like dinner time, but yet the time is already 8pm... so we will normally end up eating late... haha..

Hmmm, nothing much to update at the moment... so i will just leave it to my future post... :)

Birthday Pest: "December 26 - 31 ~ Bullfrog"

2007-10-31T22:11:00.000+11:00

I am a Bullfrog! (ermmmm...)

If you are a Bullfrog: You symbolize a very happy-go-lucky approach in life. Whatever the surroundings may be, grim or cheerful, you remain unaffected. In fact, you spread cheer wherever you go. You are the leader of your group of friends and good at consoling people in their times of need. You dislike hypocrisy and tend to shirk away from hypocrites. They can never be in your good books, no matter what. You are very methodical and organized in your work. No amount of mess, hence, can ever encompass you. Beware; it is easy for you to fall in love....

I think its so true.... :)

This is Nic's.. He is an Ass! (giggle)

If you are an Ass: A very loyal and sweet person. Your loyalty can never be doubted. You are quite honest and sincere when it comes to your attitude towards working. You are a very simple person, indeed. Absolutely hassle free, humble and down-to-earth!! That explains the reason why your friends cling on to you! You have a good taste for clothes. If your wardrobe is not updated with what is trendy, you sure are depressed. Popular and easy-going. You have a little group of dignified friends, all of them being quality-personified.

I think its quite true too.. he is a loyal person definitely.. like how he will always say 'when I like one thing I will stick to it' .. and he always uses me as an example.. :p As for sweet.. hmmm, he used to be before we were dating.. but he still does at times.. but now its more like a 'being-urself' kind of thing already.. no longer the need for any pretentious acts.... but as for him having taste for clothes.. hmmm.. that's I disagree.. hahaha.. he doesn't seem to have much clothes in the wardrobe expect for a few tees and polos (what else can a guy wear?).. but he does always comment on my dressing.. always telling me this is not good, that is not good.. haha.. (can't stand!!)... and as for the rest, he definitely fits in to the description.. :)

2007-10-31T21:42:00.000+11:00

Finally a short break... has been consecutive 3 days of exams... been a little taxing.. but at least now I can afford to relax before my next paper, which is my last paper, next Tuesday... and after that will be 'yay'.. haha..

Lately, Nic seems to be quite upset about the idea that we will be apart for the next few months.. he has been constantly reminding and counting down the days we have left to be together before I head back to Singapore.. sigh.. I really don't know how will the 2 months be like without him by my side.. I am quite sure I will feel weird... and a bit unrest as well.. Anyway, just hope that he can enjoy himself alone in Melbourne without me nagging at him.. and most importantly to be safe...

Hmmm, maybe now I shall talk a little about my past 3 papers... well, 308 (Debt and Contractual Securities) is kinda alright.. If everything goes well, I should be able to get a little better than Distinction.. as for Business Communications, it sucks and its crappy... but anyway the exam paper comes out to be 90% similar to the sample exam that they provided for us to study.... but because I was thinking to myself that they can't be so nice to let us have such simple paper and that there probably might be some hidden 'tricks'.. so I didn't copy 100% of the solution for the sample exam.. but anyway I wasn't hoping to get good grades for that paper too, all I wanted is to pass the paper and get over with it... its simply a crap unit..

As for today's paper, Accounting 260 (International Financial Reporting)... I managed to complete the paper.. but then to realise that I did a few careless mistakes like missing out some journal entries... but anyway, overall the paper is kinda 'easy?'.. maybe for people who really studied hard for it... shouldn't have a problem in scoring at all.. but then, I should, if everything goes well again.. be able to get a low-middle Distinction for it too.. so now just cross my fingers and pray hard for the results to be good... (probably that's the only thing I can do now isn't it?)

Anyway, now will start to prepare for my last paper... have got 5 days to do so.... gonna work hard and make sure that this semester, at least I can get Distinctions for most of the units (at least all 3 of them??).. Hopefully I ain't aiming for the impossible.. :)

Alrighty.... signing off now.... ~~

2007-10-29T19:38:00.000+11:00

Just completed my first paper of this semester... won't dare to say that I will score (although hopefully I will).. but at least I answered most of the questions.. and I think that is quite an achievement given that the paper isn't that simple.. anyway, its over.. whether its good or bad will be the will of God... just hope that my prayers will be answered.. :)

Tomorrow's paper is Business Communications.. such a stupid unit.. a waste of money, time and energy.. sigh!

Really can't wait for exams to be over... We (Tania, Tien Fun and Janice) have arranged for a mahjong session on the 9th of Nov.... and before that, I will be going for my first opera "Phantom of the Opera" with Tania on the 8th of Nov... So many programmes awaits for me... so I must study really hard and look forward to the end of exams... hahaha...

OK, till then... byes!

2007-10-23T21:08:00.000+10:00

Taking a breather now from the last topic of 260... have been studying for the past 1 week.. though not really putting my heart and soul in it.. more relaxing than the first semester in fact.. but still, not that I dun want to, just that the mood isn't there... but of cos I know the importance and I will try my best to focus on whatever I will be reading and studying for the following one week... somehow just don't understand why is it that people always like to do things the hard way?? e.g. knowing that I will end up rushing through all my 13 weeks studies into 1, why didn't I start way from the beginning? human beings are just like to keep asking " if only this .. if only that" why do we only know how to ask but just cannot set the initial pace to do things right.... well, that's life I suppose...

Anyway, just another week of 'bitter'... strive hard Stella! you can do it!!!

Last night, while chatting on the msn with my sister, heard a bad news from her... she told me that mama (my grandmother) is diagnose with liver cancer... but was relieved when she said it wasn't at the serious stage yet and that mama is now undergoing some treatment... so just pray that she will be healthy and that she can enjoy the rest of her living years in comfort... I know this is part and parcel of life... but somehow, imagining someone close to you is leaving you forever is just something beyond words can describe... I won't say that I am a pessimistic person, in fact I am a very optimistic one... but I often imagine the day when someone really close to me pass away.... someone like my mother, father, sister, Nicholas or even Rico.. I think no matter how strong I appear to be, at that very moment and maybe for quite a long period, I will be affected.... so I keep telling myself to treasure people around me.. treasure things I have.... cos you never know when they will leave you.... and I don't want to regret only after they left.... I really wish that I can get this point to everyone out there... never take what you have for granted...

ok, talk about the second unhappy thing that happened yesterday... well, I got back the results for my assignment for 308... all thanks to my complacency... I got 6.25/10... all I can say is serve myself right for being so careless.. am really very unhappy about it.... and seeing Janice getting 9.25/10 makes me feel even more upset... we could have fare almost the same... but I guess I was just too confident that I didnt check through my work... though I felt really upset, but I keep telling myself that at least God make me realised my mistake now, so I can be more careful during the exam... and I guess this way of thinking is really right.... why feel sad over some misfortune when that could actually is your guiding light... whenever some bad event happens, they happen for a reason... either a lesson to be learnt ourselves or a lesson for others around us to learn... if you believe this, you will find yourself leading a more fulfilling life...

Be it relationship setbacks, career setbacks or even health... just look things at the brighter side and you will be enlightened.. rather than spending time to lament over things that's beyond our control, why not take the chance to learn and improve ourselves... agree?

anyway, got to return to my books now... aim to complete the last topic by 2am.. so that I can start on practising on the past year papers tomorrow.... :)

All the best to myself and to all my friends!!

Jia you Stella!

2007-10-20T16:30:00.001+10:00

Havent been blogging for quite a while. For the past one week or so, I have been busy preparing myself for the upcoming exams (which is just one week away from now)... :(

Its Saturday again... but this morning I didn't go to the gym, instead Nic and I went for breakfast together... After breakfast, we went to Tania's house to pick her parents before heading to Queen Vic Market. Like every Saturday, all the items were already on sale when we reached (we purposely went there late around 12+pm to enjoy the sale)... We did a little marketing for the following few weeks cos we can foresee ourselves cropping at home studying...

Anyway, its really a hot day today... don't feel like doing anything or going anywhere... luckily I wont be here to suffer the summer heat.. but poor Nic.. wonder how can someone like him, who is so afraid of heat, tolerate through the whole summer? but well, its his choice... perhaps summer is good for him as he can visit the beach and be a beach boy! let's see if he gets tanner when he returns to Singapore at the end of January... :p

Ok, time to get back to my books... pray for myself, Nic, Tania, Janice, Phan, Shing and all my friends.. that they can all achieve the results which they aimed for! God Bless all of us!

Cheers!! :)

2007-10-10T17:35:00.000+10:00

As mentioned earlier, Kor Jie and Lucas was here on a 10 days holiday, from 27th Sept to 5th Oct...

We didn't really get to sightsee or visit any places of interest, perhaps just a few shopping places and the only place that we visited and was memorable will be the Great Ocean Road (Twelve Apostles)... The view of the landscapes and the sea was indeed splendid!

We didn't managed to take much pictures too.. nevertheless, shall now upload all the pics in our camera and share with all my blog viewers (and also to for me to look back in future) ... :)

(Me Nic and Lucas - at Chadstone)

(Us again - at home)

(having beef noodle at Footscray)

(great ocean road - see how my hair just doesn't stay in place)
Can imagine how strong the wind is blowing.. :)

Melbourne Marathon 2007

2007-10-08T17:00:00.000+10:00

Sunday 7 October 2007, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Sunny and Windy

This is one of my 'big' achievement this year (apart from my semester 1 results)! I managed to complete the 10km in 54min 14secs... however, the run was not easy.. perhaps my body isn't used to the cold weather and on top of that, the road is kinda slopey, so it really took me alot of mental determination to finish the race... my target was just to complete before 58mins and I did it! hehe... :)

The details of my results:

Name: Stella Sim
Race No: 10853
Event: 10km
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Team: TEAM MONASH
Category: 20-24
Gun Start: 08:45:00
Finish Time: 00:54:33
Net Time: 00:54:14
Status: Finished
Overall Pos: 1484
Gender Pos: 390
Category Pos: 53

Here's a pic of me (and my agonising look) ;p :

2007-10-02T08:57:00.000+10:00

Few bad events happened recently...

1. Lost my wallet with all my IDs and Driving License and bank cards on Friday (28 Sept 07)

2. Got my assignment marks reduced from 12.1 to 10.5 out of 15... :(

3. Put on lots a weight cos no time for gym lately...

But I believe that all these bad events happens for a reason... maybe is a lesson to learn, or maybe just a reminder for myself... anyway, I am still very optimistic towards life ahead.. hee... :)

Its October already... and 27 days to my first paper.. still have yet to start my preparations... hopefully I will be able to study well...

And only 1 month and 19 days before I can see my parents, my sister and my baby Rico... how I missed them... Looking forward to be back...

Too much a holiday...

2007-09-28T22:04:00.000+10:00

It has been two days since we came back from Sydney... and now we are having Nic's Kor and Jie and Lucas here in Melbourne..

Just to jot down a little of our journey to Sydney...

Day 1: 23 September 2007, Sun, Sunny, 8.45am

Nic and Tania went to collect the rented car for the trip while I prepared the sandwiches.... we departed Tania's place at 8.45am and headed towards Sydney.... The car we rented was a Toyota Camry, nice and spacious.. just nice for the 3 of us (one driver, one passenger in front accompanying the driver and one passenger behind - resting)

It took us 10 hours before we reached our destination... after checking into our hotel (apartment) and washing up, we headed for our first stop - Pancakes on the Rocks.. pancakes that I have been yearning for 3 years... yummy!!

Being greedy.. I ordered a long stack (4 pancakes) thinking that I can finish, but I have got to surrender to my stomach by the 3rd pancake... shouldn't have done so.. especially since its already 10+pm.. *guilty*

After pancakes, we returned to our hotel and rested.. we were all tired after the long car ride...

Day 2: 24 Sept 2007, Monday, Sunny

We woke up at around 10am and got ready for our seafood feast at Sydney Fish Market... Upon reaching the place, we were just like headless flies heading towards the food... haha.. Tania and Nic were so excited at the sight of all the seafood.. as for me, I wasn't a seafood fan anyway, so wasn't really that excited... but I do enjoy the salmon sashimi... so cheap and fresh...

We ordered alot of seafood.. 1 lobster ($20), 3 blue swimmer crab ($19.95/kg), 2 spanner crabs ($?), 350g of sashimi ($16), 1 kg of big prawns ($20+), fried calamari ($5.50) and we also bought additional kg of tiger prawns but only ate a few and we packed the rest back...

After the seafood feast, we headed to Star City (casino) and played alittle... I lost $50 though.. but Tania managed to win back her loss after making the goal to win..

At night, we met up with Hazel (a friend from OLPS) for dinner at Lowen Brau... and I drank the mango beer again.. nice~

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and watch dvds... we watched Sister Act part 1 and 2... however, nic fell asleep halfway through the show (as usual)... :)

Day 3: 25 September 2007, Tuesday, Sunny

Tania and Nic still yearns for more seafood, so back we went again to Sydney Fish Market.. this time round, we ordered some new items.. we had 3 Blue swimmer crabs, 3 small baby abalone ($5 each), a plate of fried anchovies ($6.50), 1 plate of mixed fried salted calamari and grilled calamari ($16), 1 kg of prawns and 200g of sashimi... before we left, we also ordered a kg of pipi stir-fried with chilli and garlic to be eaten at Bondi Beach (our next destination)...

Bondi beach is such a nice and beautiful place... the weather was very good and the beach was filled with people sun-tanning and surfing.... the scenery is splendid....

After Bondi, we met Hazel again for a drink at the revolving tower (Australia Tower)... and for dinner, we went back to Pancakes again to have the pork ribs and the pancakes for one last time.....

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and watched X-men 3 before going to sleep...

Day 4: 26 September 2007, Wednesday, Sunny

Day to head back to Melbourne.. we are looking forward to go back though we really enjoyed ourselves for the past few days.... the 3 days at Sydney really passed so fast...

Journey back took us another 10hours...

27 September 2007, 5.30am

Woke up early and head to the airport to pick Kor and Jie up.... its has been so long since we last saw them.. even Lucas is now a big boy... he's so adorable... just a little too active.. can't stay still for a minute when he is awake.. haha... loves to bite and grab things... but overall, an adorable and chubby baby! :)

Today:
Its Nic's birthday today! Happy Birthday my love..... :)

2007-09-23T01:12:00.000+10:00

6 more hours to Sydney trip... yay!! :)

Never would I have expected myself to go on a roadtrip like this... perhaps its an 8 - 10 hours drive from Melbourne.. but I will not be the one driving (cos Nic and Tania doesn't trust my driving skills... sob sob) However, think I will enjoy more as a passenger cos I will be able to sleep on the car, and also make use of the time to do abit of work.... hee... ;p

Called mummy to let her know again that we will be going Sydney tomorrow.... just to let her have an ease of mind as well as to let her know my whereabouts... i probably guess she will be worried for us even though she never say anything.. anyway, I will be able to see her soon.. its really very soon.. and am looking forward to it.... planning to give her a surprise on that day cos I have yet to inform her my actual date of returning to Singapore... haha.. think that will be fun isn't it?

Anyway, am now with Nic at Tania's place.. Tomorrow morning (or rather 6 hours later) Nic and Tania will be driving to collect the car while I will be at home to prepare sandwiches to eat on the way... I must say that this trip, we will really put on alot of weight man.. hahaha.. but think I should just allow myself to indulge in such eating pleasures once in a while... after which will be back on the treadmills...

Ok, think I better go and sleep too.. kinda tired after a long day...

Nitez!!! :)

2007-09-18T22:48:00.000+10:00

Today: 6 days away from Sydney trip
Today: 10 days away from Nic's birthday
Today: 1 month and 13 days away from the first exam paper
Today: 2 months and 3 days away from home...

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Time passes really fast (yes I know I have been saying this heaps of times).. but especially this semester, time seems to have flew past silently.... the previous exam period felt as though it was only yesterday.. but alas... the next exam period is approaching soon.... and really regretted not studying hard enough for this semester.. too much of distractions especially since i am working.. and also since I have got to know Tania... one more kaki = more programmes....

Am really looking forward for this Sun's trip to Sydney... a roadtrip to be exact... finally I will get to eat the pancakes that I have been craving for... and I am sure this will be a fun trip.. especially since we (Nic, me and Tania) will be driving up from Melbourne... Just a pity that Janice cannot join us this time as her grandmother was admitted to hospital.. nevertheless, will share with her our joy with all the pictures and some food (if possible) when we get back...

Next week will be jam-packed with programmes... wednesday evening will be the day we return from Sydney and Thursday morning we will be picking kor, jie and lucas up from the airport... they will be spending their holiday with us.. and look forward for their visit.. its always nice to have visitors.... :)

Anyway, hopefully I am manage my time well between playing and studying.. am contemplating if I should give up my job at Video Ezy to concentrate on my studies.. but no work = no income... I don't know.... but I just hope that I can cope well... maybe I really should... sigh......

Will update the blog soon... cheers!!

2007-09-09T00:23:00.000+10:00

On Wednesday, Biao Jie and Uncle Goh finally arrived in Melbourne after visiting Kaixiang in Brisbane... However, we only met up with them on Thursday noon, after my gym session with Janice.

We actually planned to bring them to Footscray for vietnamese pho, but we ended up having bbq at Uncle Victor's place. Food and the company was fantastic! It has been such a long time since I last see someone related to me (apart from Nic of cos)... It was really great... and the thought of being able to return to Singapore at the end of the semester really makes me happy... Though I feel abit bad to have to leave Nic behind alone in Melbourne for the summer, but I really have to go back... (Sorry Nic... :( but hopefully he can enjoy himself here and be safe)

Anyway, we had a sumptous dinner and played some games... we played the name calling game (biao jie's idea), and the Australians enjoyed it too cos it was their first time playing this game.. :) We called for the day at around 11pm.

On Friday, I didnt meet up with them as I've got school and I need to work till 9pm. Though work was boring, but at least it was payday every friday, so that makes working on fridays less unbearable.

As for today, we got up early and drove to Uncle Victor's house to join them for a trip to the winery... De Boteli... though the weather was perfect, but the scenery was abit disappointing cos all the vineyards are empty... probbie guess its not the harvest season.... but anyway we tasted some cheese (yummy) and some wine.... We took some pictures too.. but realised that I looked so FAT in the pictures... really truly FAT!! I think I have put on pretty much weight lately... argh... I hate it.. especially since losing some weight is simply so hard... but I have made up my mind, after tml's dinner at Auntie Samantha's place, I am going on a strict DIET... No carbo... no sweet (artificle sugar)... no junk food... plus alot of gym... hopefully I can resume to my previous weight before I came here... :(... I hate being FAT!! but my body just have too low metabolism.. I can simply put on weight just by drinking water.... can you believe it?? sigh!!!

After the winery, we had dinner at this Malaysian food place... food was good... though a bit oily.. especially the fried yam basket... I love this dish.. even back in Singapore.. I will always eat alot of such dish whenever I have the chance to.. though I know that its very fattening... sigh, just no determination....

Now, there's a karaoke session going on for the older people.. and the younger ones are enjoying themselves in a drinking and chatting session...

I enjoyed these days... it is really nice to have some relatives around you.. especially in Melbourne, a far far away place from home....

Its getting late now, but no one is going to bed yet... still got to wake up early tomorrow morning for church before working at 10am... argh... so SIANZ!!!

SIGH!!!! :(

What to do, no money.. need to work to get some income man.... hahahahaha... smile to a better day tomorrow!!

Cheers!!

2007-09-04T15:20:00.000+10:00

what exactly is a purpose of a blog? is it to record down only happy things so others can share, or can i also write about unhappy things? but i guess unhappy things are not worth recording.. so maybe we can just forget about that....

well, life will never be the way we want it to be... we must always look things at the brighter side isnt it? if not, life will be hell for us.. but that is not the reason y God created us.... he gave us happiness and unhappiness to make us grow and learn... if we are always so negative about every single thing that happened to us, we will not be able to learn.. but just lament in our misbeing...

so i probbie guess we should always cheer up and smile to a brighter and happier day... :)

Cheers to all!!!

2007-08-30T23:26:00.000+10:00

Have you ever experience true joy from deep within? Well, that's how I felt when I finally got my balance sheet to balance.. The overwhelming happiness almost made me tear.. haha.. abit exgaggerating I know.. but its the truth.. Now I am feeling so relieved and so at peace... Finally I can sleep well tonight without having to dream about figures. :)

I would also like to thank all those people who extended their help to me.. :p

After tomorrow, 2 major assignments will be over. Though there'll still be more to come in the very near future, but at least I can take a breather for the moment.. so am going to relax for the weekend before working on my next assignment.. hopefully I can secure some marks for the assignments so in exams, I can be less worried.

2007-08-28T21:17:00.000+10:00

Still stuck with the balance sheet after so loooong... just cannot figure out where the problem lies... I have sent out several help requests to people I know who are in the accounting industry.. but cuz this field is always so busy, I don't seem to be getting much response... sigh.. time is running short now.. just 2 more days to go before the due date!! Can anyone help me??!!! :(

Not only me, even Tien Fun also cannot balance... we really need to work on this ... praying hard that God can send me the answer in my dreams....

2007-08-27T00:21:00.000+10:00

finally completed one assignment.. so happy.. hahaha... the feeling is so satisfactory... yay!!! at least the load on my shoulders are lighter now... :)

just noticed that we can now upload videos too onto our blog without the hassle of uploading to another site then pasting the html link.. perhaps i will take more videos next time n share with everyone.. hee...

cheers!!

2007-08-24T13:44:00.000+10:00

Hey everyone, check this out... its a good way to call land lines or mobile phones (singapore) anywhere you go with this account (even overseas)... Most importantly, for the first 3 months, all calls are FOC!!! hehe.. do I sound like I am advertising for pfingo?? haha... well, cuz I really think its good, especially since I have a number of friends currently now overseas... ;p

Cheers!!

T.G.I.F?!

2007-08-17T13:46:00.000+10:00

Friday again... just ended lessons.. now in school waiting for Tania to finish her gym session cuz she offered to send me to work later since she stays very close to where I work....

Its so bored!! Nothing to surf online...

Can you believe that for all these months, weekends are equally as lifeless as weekdays... In Singapore, at least Nic and I would go somewhere during friday/saturday nights.. either to play mahjong or to catch a movie, or even to eat a sumptous Sushi buffet dinner... but there's none of such entertainment here... though there's cinema and mahjong sets, but the feeling is just not there...

Sigh... and now, when everyone else is rushing to finish their assignments, there's no way that we will be going out to enjoy.... so I reckon that tonight will be the same as any other Fridays... (reach home after work, shower, do assignment, perhaps watch some dvds... and sleep).. and tomorrow morning will have to go gym again... haiz.. so tired of such routine.. but what to do, there's practically nothing entertaining for me to do here in Melbourne.... sigh....

got to go now.. meeting Tania soon...

T.G.I.F? I doubt so.....

2007-08-16T18:18:00.000+10:00

Another Thurday...

As usual, I went gym in the morning with Janice, but this time Tania joined us too... she is a fun person to be with... chatty, funny and friendly.... glad to have known her... :)

After gym, we went to have our brunch at Amiki, a cafe recommended by Janice for their nice breakfast... the portion is quite generous and food is quite tasty too.. I had Italian breakfast (meatballs with napolian sauce, 2 toasted ciabatta bread and scrambled eggs), Nic had a Big breakfast (2 sunny-side up, mushrooms, potatoes, 2 slices of toasts, bacons and tomatoes).. Janice had a Eggs Benedicts (2 poached eggs on toasts, veggies and a special sauce) and Tania had a Spagetti Marinara... we also shared a plate of caesar salad with grilled chicken strips... although a bit costly, but we enjoyed it.. we had a great time chatting over our brunch...

After brunch session, Nic and I went to the Nike Factory Outlet again.. The intention was actually to get some long sleeves top for Nic to wear during his soccer.. but in the end I bought more than him.. I got myself two jackets... one nice black thick jacket and a normal jacket for spring.. and they are paid by Nic.. hehe.. so happy!! thanks darling!!!

Now back at home, still full from the brunch (due to the oil and cream)... don't think I will be having any dinner... so Nic got to eat the noodles that I fried last week.. but they still taste as good.. :)

Got to do my assigment too.. stressed!!!! two more weeks, and after the submission of all the assignments, I can at least relax abit and take a breather.... can't wait for exams to be over too.. am I hoping too much?? hahaha.... ;p

2007-08-11T13:53:00.000+10:00

A time to blog again... its a Saturday afternoon, just had a filling lunch with Nic at Samurai (a jap restaurant opposite our place) and before that, I went to the gym for a workout.. my usual Saturday routine...

I probably guess I will have to start working on my assignments really soon... due dates are just round the corner... planning to complete at least part of them today... while waiting for Nic to come home and pick me up for church... Nic went to his friend's house to do assignment... he has been really very hardworking this semester... studying almost every minute of his spare time.. makes me feel so lazy as compared to him... :( But I can really see that he wants to do well in this semester.. So let's pray for him... Plus he has not been feeling well since he came back from Buller (keeps blaming me for passing the germs to him, but I feel that its the snow that caused him to fall sick instead) ... Anyway hopefully he can recover and be strong again.. He's like a giant baby when he is sick.. hahaha.. ;p

Before I forget my purpose of signing in, let me just upload a few photos taken during Elaine's trip here... heez...

I heard that there's a very place that serves very good hot chocolate, so I decided to bring her there to try. So after I met up with her in her hotel, I brought her to Koko Black (name of the hot chocolate place) and we ordered a Specialities for Two (which consist of a tray of Belgian Spoil - 1 scoop of chocolate Ice cream, 1 teacup of chocolate moose, 2 chocolates, 1 cookie and 1 chocolate muffin, and also 2 ice chocolate drinks):

We sat and chatted while we enjoyed our chocolates.. they looked so yummy at first ... but after finishing, both of us were so full... and I felt so uncomfortable.. perhaps is guilt + cream & chocolate reject. hahaha... ;p

Shortly after, we went to have dinner as planned. We met up with Nic and proceed to Mount Erica and had our chicken parma... but we were quite disappointed with the chicken parma... it just doesn't taste that delicious as how it tasted the first time I tried it.. or perhaps its the chocolate... :( But anyway, although the food wasn't that fantastic, but we had a great time chatting and catching up..

After dinner, we brought her to our place for a visit.. and both of us chatted for sometime before we sent her back to her hotel....

Ah.. there are more pictures in her camera... I must remember to get them from her ... hee.... and I find that black & white pictures look nicer... and makes me look slimmer.. haha.. so I will take more of those in future.. hahaha...

So that's about it.... ok, need to do the laundry now... washing machine has stopped.. will update more again... ciaoz.... :)

2007-08-08T20:42:00.001+10:00

Assignments are driving me nuts!! :(

Less than one month to submission but am still lazing around.. my brains are stressed up, but not my actions. sigh!

Anyway, am looking forward to tomorrow cuz will be able to go gym and also to meet up with Elaine... she's finally coming over to visit me... so happy... heez... Don't really know where to bring her though, perhaps a nice dinner... hmmm, but what is really worth us bringing her? still pondering.. maybe Chicken Parma at Mount Erica hotel... or Sofias??

May tomorrow be a great day!!! c'',)

Manual work...

2007-08-07T20:53:00.001+10:00

Read this from an email... found it very interesting... :)

Funny isn't it? muahahaha....

Finale for Home Alone~

2007-08-05T22:54:00.000+10:00

Nic is back from his snow trip! Safe and sound!! :)

Past two days without him went pass kinda fast.. perhaps bcos I am occupied with work and gym that I didnt even have the chance to feel lonely... only at night I guess, when I sleep on the empty bed all alone... nevertheless, he is back safely and that is all I ask for..

Had a long day today... Just had dinner too.. normally I don't eat at this hour, but cos since I haven't dine with Nic for 3 days, thought that I should just accompany him to have his "welcome" meal... we had chinese food from this restaurant that Janice recommended... I ate beef hor fun while Nic had roast duck rice.... still feel that Singapore's food is better... and most importantly, cheaper... the dinner cost me $19... *ouch* 2 hours of my salary is gone..

Anyway, didn't do much today.. only went gym in the morning and after that went to work... so tired!!! :)

Now probably going to watch the DVD "Must Love Dogs".. don't think I will sleep before 12.30am... better only to sleep 2 hours after meal... haha...

Home alone ~ Day 2

2007-08-04T21:27:00.001+10:00

Time passes so fast again.

Its already 9pm... soon it will be bed time and tomorrow will come... and I shall see Nic soon.... I kept myself so occupied that I didnt even feel lonely.. haha...

my itinerary for today:

1. Woke up at 8.45am and left house for gym at 9.15am. Decided not to go for the BodyAttack class since I am not feeling very well.. dont wanna pass my germs to other people... so just went for a 5km run and some weights....

2. Went for a yum cha session with my other friends from Deakin (Shena, Winky, Beegee, Lihan, Rach, Tien Fun and Tania).. and got to know 2 more singaporeans (Tien fun and Tania)... its quite a nice session... though I felt alittle lost with their conversations... haha..

3. Went to church at 6pm.

4. 7pm-now : Sitting in front of the pc, revising on MAA260 to get myself familiarised with the topic...

So that's all I did.. and the day flew pass silently...

Just an add-on, I signed up for the Melbourne Marathon (10km) Run on Oct 7... Though I was really tempted to join the 21km run, but was afraid that the cold weather might affect my running on that day.. so instead I signed up for the 1okm run with Edlyn instead... She's a fast runner I would say.. so everytime I go gym I must push myself to the limit! hahaha... but at least a target for me to work towards to... so all the hard work is worth it... :)

And now the weather outside is very cold.... just after a heavy and sudden shower.... that's Melbourne weather... unpredictable!

Ok, that's all for today as well... hoping to catch my korean show later... but gotta finish this topic of MAA260 first... STRESSED!!!! :(

Byezzz!

Home alone~ Day 1

2007-08-03T23:48:00.000+10:00

Nic finally left for his long-awaited snow trip with his soccer friends... and I am beginning to miss his presence at home... though we are not those lovey dovey sort, but with his presence at home, really meant alot to me.. at least more secured and of cos someone to talk to..

Anyway, am down with a cold... these few days the weather are crazy.. strong winds blowing... can't even stand out in the cold for 5 mins without trembling... hate it... sigh.... don't understand why Nic loves the cold so much... melbourne is definitely not a place for me! Ok back to the point, with a blocked nose and sore throat, the night seems more lonely than ever... :( but its ok.. I am an independent person... just spending my time online chatting with my sister.... and planning to finish my korean drama before sleeping so that I can concentrate with my assignments tomorrow... really got to start doing them already... don't wanna push all to the last minute.... now with working, time is really more valuable...

Think that's all I can say today... need a rest soon....... :)

2007-07-24T20:41:00.000+10:00

Now sitting in front of the com talking on MSN to Samantha and Kelly... Msged Janice but she no reply.. super bored!

Started the day very early today.. woke up at 5.40am just to go to the gym... attended the BodyAttack class at 6.15am and after that went for a run of 5km on the treadmill... although it was really good to kick start my day with a good workout, but seems like my energy level depleted by the time noon starts... feeling pretty sleepy during class... but when I came home, I can't seem to sleep.. so just watched a bit of show on my com and cooked some dinner... I can't imagine repeating this schedule every tuesdays.. but what to do... no choice... since i can only use the gym until 4pm... sucks!!

Nic went for his tuesday soccer as usual... so am now alone... he wanted me to prepare dinner for him, so I thought I would just fix up something simple.. initially thought I would just cook soup with fishballs, chicken breast and vegs, but in the end the soup tasted more like a stew instead.. so probably he will just have to make do with whatever I cooked.. haha.. but one thing good is that he never complains about my cooking.. only I am the one complaining about his cooking.. but he does cook well... just that I am a fussy person when it comes to eating.. hahaha....

Btw, I watched a show called RSPCA Animal Rescue... and saw cases of abused dogs.. poor thing, I simply don't understand why human beings can be so selfish at times... why do they want to keep them and yet don't treat them with care and love.. no doubt they are dogs, but they are also living things.. and I truly believe that they don't deserve to be treated like objects, but rather should be treated like a living thing with FEELINGS.. yes correct, feeling is the word.. many people forget or neglected the fact that dogs have feelings too... I simply detest those people who doesn't treat their pets with proper care... If they can't be bothered to shower them with love, why keep them in the first place... argh!!! :( angry!!!

Anyway, today is also Samantha's birthday! Happy Birthday my dear friend!.... :)

2007-07-21T21:39:00.000+10:00

Trying to study now.. but seems really hard... so distracted... one part of me is so stressed up and really wanted to study hard.. but another part of me is getting so tired and wanted to rest.. how how how???

Prayer: God, please bless me with wisdom and patience in whatever I do. Amen.

Inspirational Thought 2 ~ Daily Survival Kit

2007-07-21T21:31:00.001+10:00

Read this from the church's bulletin:

Daily Survival Kit:

Items needed are toothpick, rubber band, elastoplast (a.k.a plaster), pencil, eraser, chewing gum and tea bag.

Reasons being...

1. Toothpick is to remind us to pick out the good qualities of others.
2. Rubberband is to remind us to be flexible, although things might not always go the way we want, but it will work out eventually.
3. Plaster is to remind us to heal hurt feelings, ours or other's
4. Pencil is to remind us to list all our blessings everyday
5. Eraser is to remind us that everyone makes mistakes, and its ok.
6. Chewing gum is to remind us to stick (or perservere) with things and we can accomplish anything.
7. Tea bag is to remind us to relax daily and go over that list of blessings.

And my favourite item is .... Plaster.... if we bring hurt to others, we are also hurting ourselves.. we will feel guilty and therefore will not enjoy true happiness... that's why giving is always a blessing.... :)

Isn't it?

2007-07-19T22:50:00.001+10:00

Just a quick & short update on the first week of school...

4 days have passed since the start of the new semester.. beginning to already feel the stress.... perhaps its due to the higher expectation I set for myself after getting the results for semester 1... *sigh*

Anyway, school seems pretty alrite and there are many assignments already been posted online for us to complete before the end of August... which is like only a month away... so am starting them now.. and trying to do as much as I can as I am afraid I might not be able to cope with all the assignments especially since I am working this semester....

I have already been working in Video Ezy for two days as of now.. and work seems pretty alrite too.. met a few colleagues... they are all very nice people.. and I am glad to find this job even though the pay is a little pathetic... haha... but at least with some income, I can start to shop for things I like...

Today, Janice and I went to gym early in the morning and did some exercises until 12pm. We went to the city and have lunch as well as some shopping... bought a few things (a shoe, a top for myself and Nic)...

Had a fruitful but tiring day... early class tomorrow.. *sigh*

2007-07-15T20:27:00.001+10:00

Today is the last day of school holidays for semester 1 (a.k.a Winter break)... and to reward me for my good performance last semester, Nic treat me to a good dinner. I told him I wanted to have steak for dinner (suddenly crave for steak after watching the korean drama).. and so he brought me to Mt Erica hotel...

He had Chicken Parma and I had Steak... food there was great except that we waited for 30mins for our food to be served... had a bit of beer with an empty stomach so got a bit tipsy... haha....

We took some pictures...

(Chicken Parma & Steak)

( arh.. I looked fat!! :( haiz.... hard to resist good food)

(Nic & his chicken parma)

(Me & my steak.. )

Anyway, looking forward to school tomorrow.. all the best to myself!!! and Nic of course.. haha.. :p

2007-07-14T23:09:00.000+10:00

Just had a full dinner with Nic... we ate Dominos pizzas.....

As mentioned in my earlier posts, I have managed to get myself part-time job(s)... I will now be working at Nic's work place every Monday as an admin assistant (though I do not really know if that's the name of the post) and few other days at Video Ezy...

Jobs and good exam results... all my prayers have been answered.. haha...

Monday will be the start of the new semester... time really passes very fast... a snap of fingers and I am already in Melbourne for 6 months... 5 more months to go before I can see my family and Rico... counting down.....

Anyway looking forward to the next semester... hopefully all will be well.... heee... :)

Verdict out....... :)

2007-07-14T14:39:00.000+10:00

Thank God.... the examination results are finally released yesterday... and the Good News is that I got very good results.. (3 HD and 1D).. and the greatest news is that I passed all my papers!!. its something really worth celebrating... yay!!! immediately called mummy to share this joy with her... I am sure she is very happy for me.. :)

So now the aim is to keep up the good work for next semester and try to do as well as I can.. or even better!!

Cheers!!!

2007-07-11T21:58:00.000+10:00

Days passed quickly again... like usual.. now its already Wednesday.. 2 more days of school holidays before the start of the next semester.. kinda look forward to school.. its so boring to stay at home... the only time, apart from the period when Lucius came for visit, that I went out will be to go for gym... enjoyed going to gym... felt great after each sweat-out sessions..

Anyway, 2 more days to the release of exams results.... so nervous.. scared too.... hopefully Nic n I can both do very well for our papers... and at least to be able to pass all the units....

By the way, I started on my first part-time job on Monday afternoon... at Nic's workplace as an administrative position... not too bad.. what most important is the $$... I need $$.. hahaha.... and the good news is that Janice's boss from Video Ezy called me just now... asked me to go for the training session this saturday! yay!!! finally found myself a job... so happy.. hahaha... lalala..... :)

Mount Buller Ski Trip 07

2007-07-06T22:05:00.000+10:00

Slept for barely 3 hours before we got to wake up at 4.30am and get ready for our trip. Began the day with breakfast at Macs while waiting for the assemble time for the coach to Mt Buller...

Journey started at 6am and ended at 9.30am. On the way up to the mountain, I managed to catch some sights of pastures and animals (cows, sheeps and horses).. It was really good and soothing to see those sceneries... I will never be able to see them if not for the fact that I left Singapore for studies... Maybe that's one thing good about Australia.... :)

After we got up to the mountain, we geared up and prepared for our 2 hour skiing lesson... it was really freezing cold (about 0 to -4 degs)... especially when the cold wind or snow hits our faces... woooo... anyway, the lesson was quite simple and we managed to master the few simple techniques of skiing... after the lesson, we caught a quick bite of chips and hot chocolate each (for a note, the hot chocolate is terrible!!!)...

After fueling ourselves, we took the ski-lift up to the first stop and started to ski... Nic was very excited and eager to ski.. Lucius was doing quite well but still fell when he tried to stop.. as for me, I at least managed not to fall.. however, I am really terrified of falling.. so I had a hard time trying to overcome my fear.. hahaha.. eventually, I managed to ski down the high slope twice.. hehe.. so proud of myself!!

The day at Mt Buller ended at 4.30pm and we caught the coach back to Melbourne.... the journey back was a long one... and was alittle delayed as 2 of the passengers were not on the coach... so in the end, we only left Mt Buller at 5.15pm... and we reached home only at 8.30pm... Initially we planned to eat Chicken Parma for dinner (Nic's recommendation)... however, the eatery closes at 9pm, so we have to make do with a dinner near our place... and since it is a freezing cold day, we decided to eat something hot and spicy.. so we ate the indonesian food opposite our place.. so fulllz (after a day of hunger)... :)

Ok, without much ado, let me present some pictures taken during the trip....

(Just arrived... So cold....)

(Just geared..)

(At the break..)

(Lucius n I.. In Action..)(Us .. Queuing for Ski Lift)

(Nicky Man.. the snow surfer!)

(On the ski lift.. with Snow blowing into our faces)

(Fall of the Snow Surfer)

(Me in action.. a professional skiier??)

(Yahoo)

(Partners in crime.. )

(Same fate??)

(Before the last ski)

(Final pose)

2007-07-04T00:34:00.000+10:00

Lucius arrived in Melbourne yesterday morning... we went to pick him up from the airport and the first thing of Melbourne which we introduced to him was the sushi handroll that we feel (present tense) was the best so far.. after which, we brought him to the Nike Factory Outlet... At night, we finally get to play mahjong (with Shing and Janice).. though not on a winning luck... haiz....

Slept till 10.30am before I was awaken by Nic's return from his morning work... Had breakfast, left home around 2plus to Footscray for the beef noodles... Lucius found it nice too.. :) After a late lunch, I brought Lucius for a tour in the city and to Crown Casino while Nic went for his soccer...

Late at night (ard 10pm) we went to pick Janice, Gwen and her bf Zhiwei up from Janice's house before heading to Stokers for 'dinner'... Stokers is suppose to be 'famous' for its pancakes... the atmosphere in the restaurant was good, but the food was abit disappointing though... the pancakes aren't as good as what I expected them to be... so far, Sydney's Pancake on the Rocks is still the best! Can't wait to go there for pancakes and fresh/cheap seafood.... Nic and I are planning to go there during one of the weekends in August though.... we better start to plan now... heee.....

Before I post some pictures taken tonight, I would like to say that finally I have found a potential part time job opportunity! Bakers Delight will be conducting a group interview tomorrow at 5.30pm, and I got to be there! I hope I will get the job though... (God Bless Me).... :)

Ok, here are the pictures for your viewing pleasure and my memory album collection....

(2 St Michael's "Pri" Kids.. Lucius n Nic)(3 Pretty Ladies?! Me, Janice and Gwen)(Needless to say.. its US!)(Janice, Gwen n Zhiwei)(Me, Lucius n Janice) (Me and my Ice Chocolate .. it tastes like HL chocolate milk!!)

(My orders... Ice Chocolate n Rasberry Jam Pancakes)(Tucking in!)

(Nic: yo.. check out my pancakes!)

(Lucius: Ice-cream is still the best!)

(Me... and my trench coat + boots!)

(us... wooo its coooold)

(3 ladies again!.. )

2007-06-29T17:34:00.000+10:00

Another rainy day today.. it was still a little bright and sunny this morning though, but now its pouring outside again! Winter ah... Winter... Such a gloomy season... as much as I am curious about how it feels like to live in a country with four seasons (given that singapore has only one season all year round), I do not like it at all... apart from being cold and lazy, there's nothing so special about it... what's more with all these seasons, states here are more prone to natural disasters... (flood just happened in Gippsland).. Lucky those who live in Singapore.. complain no more about the heat man.. at least you know you are in safe land... :p Seems like this trip really changes my views in many things.. especially in terms of treasuring people and things around me...

Anyway, didn't waste the day at all.. spent the whole morning in gym with Janice.. introduced her to the membership.. and she got to sign up on a cheaper plan... now am trying to see if I can be allowed to upgrade my plan to hers... she is just paying $16.95 a week, and is able to access to all clubs in Australia as well as 30 overseas trip! that's a cheap deal.. damn consultant didn't even tell me about this at all.. now that I am on this off peak home plan that limits me to only access to the gym at Victoria Gardens and only between opening hour to 4pm... and I am only paying $4 lesser per week... sucks.. I rather pay that $4 more man.. arh.. hopefully they can allow me to upgrade to her plan without having to pay anything more than that $4 per week... haiz... that's the problem when you rush into matters... gerrrr....

I do hope to get a job soon though, so that I can help to pay off this gym membership.. I don't really like the idea of having Nic paying for me... after all I feel its not too fair on him... sigh... money money money.. might not be the most important, but just that you can't live without it.. sigh.. if only there isn't money in this world.. then perhaps there won't be wars.. and more peace.. haha.. just a thought...

2007-06-27T14:46:00.000+10:00

Today is the last day of Nic's exam...

Woke up early this morning to send him to school... after that went for an interview to get a part time job and then to the gym... arh... that's probably all the activities for today...

Its a cold rainy day.. even with the heater on doesn't make any difference.... hate the cold!! I want the SUN!!! haha.. seems like I am having lots of grumblings about Australia.... well, its just not as good as expected... somehow, being in a foreign land is still different... you speak differently from others and the locals look at you differently too.. although not as bad as discriminating... or maybe it is just me...

anyway, am watching this korean drama "Which Planet are you from"... story's about this guy who lost his gf in an accident and after 3 yrs, he met someone who resembles the dead gf and only to find out that the girl is actually the long lost sister of the gf. Being hated by the mother of the gf, they forbid him to be with this sister of the gf as they eventually fall in love with each other... sad story ya.. but a typical korean storyline.. haha.. but as I was watching the sad scenes, I tried to recall those heartbreaking moments of my life... hmmmm... seems like relationship life has been so peaceful for me... which is good.. but sometimes, i still miss the feeling of being heartbroken.. hahaha.. is this madness??? :p

I always believe, without those heartbreaking past, there won't be the current me... those events/memories only made me a stronger person..

Hmmm.. suddenly this church hymn came into my mind :

"To live is to love and to love is to cry... to live is to love with all our hearts... "

Can't really remember the lyrics.. but is a nice song though.. hee.... ;)

Finally a TV!

2007-06-25T20:37:00.000+10:00

After a loooooong wait of 4 months, we finally got a TV! Now the house looks complete! :)

Will follow up with some pictures soon....

Cheers!

Change of Blog name

2007-06-24T19:22:00.000+10:00

Decided to change the name of the blog.. initially, this blog was created to record down our journeys in Melbourne.. but since the contents are mainly about myself.. I shall make it my own blog to post my own feelings and thoughts... haha... more approriate I guess... :)

2007-06-24T19:03:00.000+10:00

Another Sunday just passed without much happenings. hmmm.. Melbourne is SO boring!!!

Just came back from a Subway dinner.. so far, be it in Singapore or Australia, Subway is still the best.. Healthy and cheap... :)

This afternoon, I went to the gym while Nic went for his Sunday soccer. After my gym, I decided to grab a cup of hot chocolate.. hence, bought from Muffin Break at Victoria Gardens.. But seems like those people do not understand what a Hot Chocolate should taste like.. the one I had this afternoon was so blend until it tasted just like plain milk.. the first cup they gave me was bad.. so I went back to the counter and wanted to ask them to add more chocolate for me.. but in the end the guy made another cup for me.. equally as bad.. can't be bothered to waste my time as the carparking limit is up, so I just walked away with whatever was given.. But this shall be the first and the last time I will drink hot chocolate from this particular shop. The best drink (and cheapest) and by far the Krispy Kreme at Southern Cross station.. its a pity that I don't stay there anymore, and can't get to drink it anymore.... haizzzz......

Now shall watch some korean drama... bored!!!!!!!!!! Gym again tomorrow... haha.. think my holiday shall only be gym, tv, sleep, eat... gym, tv, sleep, eat..... argh!

After exams~

2007-06-22T17:06:00.000+10:00

Yay! Finally the long awaited holiday has begun.... Exams are finally over!!! Now just waiting for July 13th when the results will be out... praying hard that I can pass my last paper... No confidence to pass it.. seems to all my other friends that the paper is very easy.. but to me, it was a bad one... can't seem to study well for that paper... my mind was a blank when I sat that exam.. so now, just praying and hoping that my prayers can be answered... *sigh*...

Anyway, for the past few days, I spent my days watching show and going to the gym... yeah, finally went to the gym! it was kinda tough to get the body started after such a long break.. and now am aching all over.. especially my calves.. but then, the pain is worthwhile.. will try to go as often as I can... after all there's nothing much to do here too.. no places for tea in the middle of the night, and all the shops closes so early... how I miss Singapore!!!! haiz.... miss the mahjong sessions every weekend with Gerald and Rachel... hmmm.. I want to play mahjong soon!! I have got tiles with me though.. and also managed to get a small table... just waiting for the legs now.. hahaha...

Am now planning to look for a part time job to supplement myself with some income... so hopefully can find one soon... :)

ok ba, that's about it... will update soon!

cheers!!! :)

2007-06-17T22:42:00.000+10:00

Its really a miracle that suddenly, after seeing the doctor, my toes are better... so much better.. and today, I am ok already! haha.. maybe cos my prayers have been answered! :)

Anyway, am now studying for Tuesday's paper... so much of theory... driving me nuts... but am partly to blame as I didn't really start to prepare for this unit prior to yesterday cos in my mind was thinking that I should concentrate on other 3 units first since I have one whole weekend to prepare for this... but dunno if its because the holiday mood already kicked in, I really have no mood to study at all.. but seeing the difficulty in this unit, I shall buck up!!! Can't afford to fail any of the units cos they are simply too expensive to fail.. haha...

Its father's day today ... msged papa Happy Father's Day earlier today.. He called back to let me know that he had received my sms... :)

Really can't wait for the paper to be over... perhaps won't have the time to sleep tonight... *sigh*... can't wait to go gym on wednesday! its gonna be my first gym session after so long of not exercising and excessive eating... I don't even dare to look at myself in the mirror lately, too fat now.. got to lose them all... YES... ALLL!!!!! hahaha....

I guess that's all.... cheerios.... :) Wish myself luck for this paper!

taaaa~

2007-06-15T19:13:00.000+10:00

ah~~ its so shity... its proven by a doctor that its Chilblain! Such I say luckily or not??

even the doctor was showing that 'o... poor thing' look on her face when she saw my swollen toes and diagnosed it to be Chilblain... apparently, this is a 'diesease' that is associated with the cold weather... and the itch is due to the dilation of the blood vessel when the toes are warmer... that's probably the reason why the toes are extremely itchy cos blood are trying to flow through the vessels.. haiz..... so now gotta keep myself very very warm.. and also start exercising.. haha... yay... finally i can start to exercise!!!

anyway, a little about today's paper... its pretty simple... so let's just hope that I can get a flying colour... one more paper to go... hmmm.. can't wait for exams to be over....

But before that, since I still have got a weekend ahead to prepare for the last paper, Darling and I are going to catch a movie later... Watching the Oceans 13... :)

ok la, update again.. hopefully my toes will recover soon.. and the worse thing is that this Chilblian may last throughout the whole winter!!! (i hope not)....

tata~

My toes are killing me!!!

2007-06-14T20:46:00.000+10:00

Argh!!! the ten toes are driving me nuts... now apart from just being itchy, it has become painful to walk too... after doing some research off the net, found other possible causes other than Athlete foot... the most possible one will be Chillblian... heard before?? apparently, it happens to some people during winter when their toes react adnormally to the cold weather... the symptoms are also itching, swelling and painful... and till now I still don't believe that mine is athlete's foot cos I just can't think of any reason why and how I contracted it... anyway, think after tomorrow's paper, I will go to the docs to check out what's wrong... if its athlete's foot, it might be easier to heal but if its Chillblian, it might take another 2 - 3 weeks!!! omy!!! Is that how I am going to spend my holidays?? and my gym plan!!! ooooo..... :( so sad so sad.... please pray for me ...

anyway, just had my business finance paper... seems not too difficult... and I am pretty sure I should be able to get at least a credit.. but nevertheless, at least its over... tomorrow will be my accounting paper.. from doing the past exam papers, I feel quite certain about this unit.. but still hopefully it will not be too tough... just wanna do well in exams to do myself and my parents proud.... hehehe..... good luck to myself!!

yay!! finally left with only 2 papers.... keke....

happy happy happy...... :)

tata~~~

1 down.. 3 more to go... plus a set of itchy toes :(

2007-06-13T15:05:00.000+10:00

Just had my business law paper... seems quite ok (i wouldn't want to say its easy in case I can't score then will be disappointed) .. tomorrow will be business finance.. I guess I am 60% certain of this unit.. but then again, its hard to say.. just continuing praying then...

Anywaz, about the itchy and swollen toes, I am kinda certain that its that irritating Athlete Feet!! argh.. y me??? :( I have always been washing my feet after coming home.. so sad... so afraid that I will spread to Nic.. but he has been very sweet and caring towards me... he helped me applied medicine, help me to scratch them so that I can concentrate on my studies.. and even to the extend of losing his sleep cos he's too worried that I might itch so badly... poor thing.. but I do appreciate whatever he has done for me... think no one else (apart from my mother) will be showering me with such tender loving care... :)

So now am taking care of these toes of mine very carefully... applying medicine and trying not to dirty it... I can tell u, the itch is terrible!!!! how terrible?? I think its worse than chicken pox.. can you imagine that kind of itch that creeps to you every night in the middle of your sleep?? you can't just ignore it cos it is so unbearable.. but neither can you scratch it with your fingers cos actually athlete foot is a kind of fungi that is very extremely contagious and can even spread to your fingers.. you won't want an athlete fingers do you?? argh!! so frustrating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Haix, nothing much I can do.. just pray and apply medicine then...... haiz............. :(

Ok la, got to go back to the books to prepare for tomorrow's exam.... take care everyone... remember to wash ur feet everytime ya!!!! i think this is a good lesson for me.. from now on, I will keep my feet clean!

tata~~~

Redlight Zone in 24!!!

2007-06-12T11:39:00.000+10:00

Less than 24 hours to my first exam paper - Business Law.... Like I mentioned the other day, its an open book exam. How I wish it will be simple.. I pray I pray... since young, mummy had been asking sister and I to bring the rosary with us to the examination hall and to say a short prayer before attempting the paper... so far, I guess it has been quite useful as I have been through all my exams obtaining satisfactory grades... Although now, as a mature student, the feeling isn't the same (I would say that its more scary and I am more nervous- perhaps cos I really NEED to do well)... Nevertheless, the rosary will still be with me tomorrow.. moreover, I believe that one will reap what he/she sow.. I did put in quite a lot of effort for this exam, so I should be getting at least a credit shouldn't I? :)

These few days are really cold... *shivering*... it will be nice if we can just laze in the bed under the blanket... haha... how I wish that the coldness will go away.. but then again, not too hot as well.. still prefer Singapore's weather...

I have also been getting some itchy toes at night lately.. unbearably itchy.. argh!!! duno what's the cause of it.. I seldom wear shoes or socks too... haiz, anyway just went to get some medication.. I should think that its althelete's foot... :( idiotic man.. argh........ just hope that the itch will go away soon..... at least not in the middle of the night and disrupt my beauty sleep...

think that's about all.... Good luck to myself for all the papers....

Tata! :)