..::velvet shots::..

A brief reunion

2009-10-13T11:23:00.004+10:00

Have you ever wished you could push a button and rewind time? I’ve experienced so many moments like these especially when catching up with family and old friends from Singapore.

My parents and brother came to visit me at the end of September. It was their first time seeing our new place so it was exceptionally exciting for us. It was so lovely having them around and catching up after almost nine long months. I don’t think any words could accurately describe how happy I was while driving to the airport to pick them up. The week before they were due to arrive, I found great joy in cleaning up the house and preparing the rooms for their visit.

I was cracking my brains on where to take them around town – they’d been to Brisbane before and had done almost all of the ‘touristy’ stuff. I left my car for my dad to drive around and gave him directions to the nearest shopping centres, attractions and of course, Sunnybank! However, I was surprised to find all they wanted to do was to stay at home to cook and clean for us! They were so content just being able to help out around the house.

Good thing we had a four-day trip to Cairns all planned for them. We visited the Far North Tropical town in the first week of October and had an amazing time. We snorkelled at Green Island, went on the Skyrail and Scenic Train ride at Kuranda and drove around Port Douglas. My dad spent so much time filming our adventures on his new video camera that I suspected he saw 90% of our trip through the camera lens.

Unfortunately, all good things always come to an end. My dad and brother left last Sunday much to my dismay. Where did time go? Surely it hasn’t been two and a half weeks already? It felt like only two days to me. I fought back the tears when saying my goodbyes at the airport. I’m so thankful my mum is staying for another two weeks. I don’t know how I would cope if they all went back on the same day and left me alone in the house.

The house had suddenly gone a whole lot quieter without their chatter. It’s no secret I’ve been missing my family ever since I moved to Brissie but I never knew just how much until I finally saw them after months of separation. I’ve always been a very homely girl and am extremely close to my parents. It certainly hasn’t been easy being away from them. Even after a few years, I still cannot imagine spending the rest of my life without them near me.

I’ve been toying with the idea of moving back to Singapore for a couple of years. I find myself missing Singapore a whole lot more lately. I’m not sure why – I guess I’m a Singapore girl at heart and will always consider it home. It’s not an easy step though, so we’re praying for God’s guidance and intervention.

Bye bye P plate

2009-09-22T08:20:00.002+10:00

Today marks the day when I'm no longer a P plate driver...I'm officially on my open licence! Yay! Can you believe it has been one year? I must admit it does feel a tad different driving to work this morning without seeing those green Ps on my windscreen. Hehe...

In other news, my parents are coming to visit this Saturday and I am *so* excited! Pen and I have been busy getting the house spick and span for their arrival. And when my brother arrives on 1 Oct, we'll all go to tropical Cairns together for a short getaway. Can't wait!

A rockchic purchase

2009-08-05T11:58:00.003+10:00

Have I ever mentioned that I really love ebay?

I bought this fabulous Korean-made faux leather jacket online last week and it arrived in the post for me yesterday!

The material feels soft to the touch, unlike those cheapo stiff fake leather sort in the shops nowadays. The quality is awesome and it fits me like a glove. Happy!

I've become a fan of online shopping ever since I moved to Australia. It's becoming impossible to find anything in my size here and did I mention the fashion trends are like five years behind?

Colour me a rainbow

2009-07-23T16:30:00.003+10:00

If you know me well enough, you'd come to realise that I love all things bright and colourful. If I could have my way, everything I own would be a splash of colours!

So...why didn't I buy this beautiful leather wallet at Byron Bay when I had the chance? Now I'm missing it. :(

Oh right. Because my current Braun Buffel is still in near perfect condition and I still have a new unused Kate Spade which Pen bought me a few months ago. Argh. But but...they're not as colourful as this one.

Anyhoo, check out mywalit for some of the most colourful leather gear there is.

Taking a day off

2009-07-21T16:09:00.013+10:00

Pen and I decided to give ourselves a well-deserved break from work by taking a day off two weeks ago. I really wanted to get away from the bustling city life and retreat to a peaceful country town. After a fair bit of research and recommendations from friends, we decided to take a road trip to Byron Bay and the little town of Bangalow.

Byron Bay is a small coastal village in the far north east of New South Wales. It's about a 2-hour drive from where we live in Brisbane. Famous for its great surf beaches, arty farty people, award winning restaurants and cafes and some good village shopping.

We were pleasantly surprised at what the towns had to offer. Byron Bay was jam-packed with European backpackers hitting the surf and the streets were filled with people dressed in eclectic clothing. The shops were amazing! They stock the most unique items from local designers albeit with really hefty price tags. (Pen thinks the ice cream was pretty amazing too.)

We also hiked to the famous Byron Bay Lighthouse, the most easterly point of Australia! It was extremely windy as you can see from the photos. Hair flying everywhere.

Bangalow boasts some of the most trendy cafes and eateries I’ve ever seen – pretty impressive for a small town! We had lunch at a contemporary bistro called Utopia. It was quite an experience being in a little community away from the city of Brisbane. Though Utopia was modern, a glance outside the window with an old taxi in view reminded us we were in the historical town of Bangalow. Very surreal.

I’m happy to say both villages certainly didn’t disappoint. We had such a lovely and relaxing Friday – one of the best we’ve had in a while. I think we all need a day off once in a while to rejuvenate ourselves.

At Byron Bay's beach.

Byron Bay's main 'city' strip - see the car's yellow number plate? We're in NSW!

A must-have on the Bay - a double scoop gelato.

On our way up the hill to see the famous lighthouse.

Weee! I've got the lighthouse in my hand...

Almost there!

The streets of Bangalow.

Dining at Utopia.

Pen loves checking out the property prices in every town we visit.

"I can be arty farty too," says Pen - a mural in Bangalow.

It's here!

2009-07-20T13:54:00.003+10:00

My iPhone cover arrived in the mail today and it looks soooo good. If you've got an iPhone and want a stunning cover, I'd highly recommend checking these guys out.

Ah, the joys of online shopping! It's amazing how a simple package can brighten up a day.

Is your bag making you sick?

2009-07-13T15:21:00.001+10:00

I’ve never been one to throw my handbag on the ground. I love all my bags too much and would never dream of putting them on the floor, not even at home. But if you do, you might want to think twice about it…

I came across an article on The PurseBlog today suggesting that ladies’ handbags may be one of the dirtiest items around. Actually, I’ve read something on that ages ago that says it’s one of the top 10 dirtiest things. That’s right girls - it ranks up there with the kitchen sink, handle of a supermarket trolley and the toilet brush. Just think about all the places you’ve put your handbag.

With swine flu cases on the rise, we should start being mindful of keeping not only our hands clean, but our bags too.

And here’s why…

We wanted to find out what kind of germs a woman’s bag might pick up along the course of a day. A lab tested more than two dozen handbags for traces of various bacteria. Even the scientist who conducted the tests was surprised at what she found.

“I had no idea that it would be that much bacteria,” said microbiologist Amy Karren of Nelson Labs.

This was not just the harmless kind of bacteria you find around your house, this was the kind that makes you sick.

“We found pseudomonas, staphylococcus aureus, E-coli family and salmonella”, she said.

Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staph aureus can cause skin infections and E-coli and salmonella can cause serious intestinal problems.

The test found leather or vinyl purses were generally cleaner than cloth bags and women with kids tend to have dirtier purses than singles.

[Taken from purseblog.com]

See full article here.

Smartphone convert

2009-07-13T14:36:00.001+10:00

I finally got my hands on the latest iPhone 3G S and I totally love it! Now I can see why iPhone users say you’ll never go back to using any other phones again after you’ve experienced what this baby can do. And I haven’t even utilised it to the max yet!

Thought it’d be a good idea to switch to a smartphone after my contract had expired. Then along came the HTC Magic and iPhone 3G S which I had to test-run for a series of media trials. Strange, the iPhone 3G didn’t really tickle my fancy when it first hit Australia last June. The whole idea of getting so many fingerprints on my screen really turned me off. (Can you tell I’m a neat freak?) But voila, the iPhone 3G S now comes with a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating.

Also, I absolutely love the applications you can download. I suspect I’ll be spending hours on my iPhone… Best part of all? The chance to personalise your phone with gorgeous accessories! Look what I ordered online! Tell me this doesn’t just scream my name.

Available here: www.ultra-case.com

Turning 27

2009-06-29T14:02:00.008+10:00

I haven’t had such a fantastic birthday in a long time. It was simple and relaxing with good food, company (and awesome present!) – just what I needed after a stressful couple of weeks.

I slept in naturally, after a 6am start the day before for the iPhone launch. Pen was waiting eagerly for me to wake up so he could wish me a happy birthday. He also refused to let me clean the house that morning (my usual Saturday routine) as he declared he’d planned a day for me on the Gold Coast. Yippee!

After breakfast, he whipped out my birthday present – a Mimco leather bag.

The 'Marble Button Zip Top' in Mink colour

I fell in love with an older version of this bag a couple of years ago (the buttons were different) but gave up after seeing the hefty price tag. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that Pen remembered. Guess he couldn’t find the Fendi Spy I wanted? Haha.

Later in the morning, we set off for Gold Coast Harbour Town for a shopping spree. But seriously, did he really think I could still shop after realising he had bought me a bag that cost just as much as our new coffee table?! What does he think I am? A shopaholic? We did eventually pay Oroton a visit and bought a couple of things though… and I should clarify they are gifts for people…mostly.

After shopping, we drove to one of my favourite restaurants, George’s Paragon for a sumptuous seafood lunch. OOooo I don’t think I would ever tire of that place. Delicious seafood feast all at half price if you order before 6:30pm.

As if that wasn’t enough to fill our stomachs for the rest of the day, we strutted off to Max Brenner on Marina Mirage for some to-die-for chocolate dessert.

Dining at George's Paragon - this is just the entrée!

Actually, we had to walk around the shops at Marina Mirage for about half an hour before we could load ourselves up again with food. Even then, Pen was struggling. So we had to settle for one of their chocolate dips with strawberries instead of the fondue for two. Oh well, there’s always a third time I say. :P

At Marina Mirage - home of the yachts!

We wrapped up the day at Kev’s new house. He had a house-warming party in the evening and we got the chance to catch up with old friends.

Logged on to Facebook later at night and was surprised to see a long string of birthday greetings from my good friends from Singapore and Brisbane. Ally and Dia – thanks for the sms. Thank you everyone, from the bottom of my heart!

Zorbing on the Gold Coast

2009-05-28T11:14:00.008+10:00

Right, so I’ve been back from Emerald City for two months now. Another overdue entry. It's the same excuse no doubt. I have no idea where my time has gone. Work has been busy as usual and any left over time I have at home is usually spent preparing for my Sunday School lessons, church meetings or catching up on my reading. Oh and I also do the laundry and ironing on some evenings. Geez and I don't even have a kid yet!

I started this entry a month ago so apologies if it’s a little outdated…

Anyhoo, I can't wait to tell you guys what I got Pen for his birthday (on 2 April!). I brought him to breakfast Creek Hotel for his favourite steak and also presented him with a 'Zorb' package. What is zorbing you ask? Quite simply put, it's an activity where you get into a huge inflated rubber ball and roll down a big hill while screaming your lungs out. Loads of fun really. Have a look at some of our pictures and videos below.

We decided to make a whole day of it on the Good Friday holiday since we had to drive to the Gold Coast to zorb. Ooo ooo ooo! And Max Brenner just opened shop at Marina Mirage so I was really excited to get my chocolate fix. After the upside-down harness zorbing, Pen and I felt soooo nauseous that we had to lie down in the car for a while. I tried to vomit but couldn’t…and then I had this sudden urge to eat fries! How odd. This must be how a hangover feels?

Anyway, it was such an unforgettable experience and I’m glad we did it!

Arriving at the Zorb Park...all ready to go!

We're getting ready to go into the ball. This is just the hydro zorb. Ball is filled with some water and we don't actually go upside down.

They're filling up the ball with water!

That's us halfway down the hill.

Arrived at the bottom of the hill after 15 seconds I think? After that, Pen and I did two individual hydro ones.

This is the harness one where we're both strapped to the ends of the ball. We get turned upside down while rolling down the hill. It was so intense! I have to admit I screamed a lot. And it's the first time I heard my husband scream too I reckon.

That's me doing the individual hydro.

And that's Pen.

And this is the upside down one - can you hear my screams?

Back to the present…

Our 2nd wedding anniversary is coming up next week! Pen and I were in the car on Sunday when I exclaimed:

Me: Hey! Next week is June already! Oh my gosh 2 June! It’s our wedding anniversary!
Pen: Oh yeaaahhhh… this one crept up on us hey?
Me: What do you mean crept up on us? You mean you forgot?
Pen: Errr… NOOOOOooo!
Me: Okaay. So what are we doing?
Pen: *silence*
Me: Well, I planned last year so this time it’s your turn to shine.
Pen: Ok. What should we do then?
Me: *thinks what the heck – didn’t I just say it was his turn?* Hmm…dinner somewhere nice maybe?
Pen: Yeah ok. *pause* But can we not do anything on Wed? Coz it’s State of Origin…

*sighs* Oh well… I’m sure that was just a cover up right? I’m sure he has something extravagant planned next week. You think?

Back from Emerald City

2009-03-20T10:22:00.011+10:00

I’m back in Brisbane after a fun-filled weekend in Melbourne. And I simply must say this – Wicked was fantastic! I absolutely loved every single moment of the musical and would really like to watch it again if I could. Why can’t they come to Brissie?!

I also have to add that I’m quite proud of myself because I didn’t get sucked in to buy all the musical merchandise. It was tempting and extremely hard to resist. Everything was decked out in green when we walked through the grand entrance of the Regent Theatre. It was almost like we’d walked into Emerald City. There was a bar with a green fridge and they were selling ‘Ozmopolitan’! Instead of the usual orangey pink, it was luminous green (and I really mean luminous!) in a cocktail glass that lighted up in…yes GREEN! I was squealing in excitement and pointing to all things green but Pen didn’t really share my excitement for the merchandise it seemed.

And I tried so hard to talk myself out of buying this!

Back to the musical – I was really impressed at how the story just flowed seamlessly into Wizard of Oz. I quote an interview with the producer; it was really as though the camera was tilted to another angle to show us what was happening concurrently to the familiar events in Wizard of Oz.

One thing that struck me the most was a particular line from the Wizard. He said, “To bring people together, we need to create a common enemy!” That thought stayed with me even after the musical was over and it made me think about how true that was. It dawned upon me that sometimes our ‘enemies’ may not always be as evil as the media makes them out to be. Just like how Elphaba isn’t all that bad! I’m talking about this from a political point of view, of course. Anyway, I digress. Just some food for thought I guess.

Probably not a surprise to you but I also managed to squeeze in some time for shopping and also to hunt down the best breakfast in town. We (or me rather) decided to drop by Chapel Street this time as I didn’t get to visit the area on my last trip. H’oooooh! It’s a really long shopping strip and I don’t think we even got close to the end of it. We might have lasted a bit longer if it wasn’t for the horrendous weather! Can you believe it, the moment we set foot on the street, it started bucketing down and the both of us had to seek shelter under my little orange umbrella. I was wet and cold and not really in the mood to shop at all.

It certainly wasn’t the best weekend to be in Melbourne (it was freezing even though it was only March!) but having the chance to watch Wicked in third row centre seats made it all worth the while! And who could pass up the opportunity to spend time with the most patient husband in the world?

Outside our apartment

The pool and spa area

Breakfast at Degraves Espresso - down one of Melbourne's famous alleyways

I was craving for Eggs Benedict, naturally!

And Pen was craving...well...everything!

Shopping at Chapel St despite the gloomy weather

Going to see Wicked!

And of course, always lovely to catch up with Lou and Nick whenever we're in town. We were at Brunetti, best dessert place in Melbourne and I dare say Australia!

In a nutshell

2009-03-10T15:57:00.009+10:00

I’m guilty once again of not updating my blog as frequently as I’d hoped to. It could just be a matter of time before I start ‘twittering’ here instead of writing actual paragraphs. Sure hope not!

Anyhoo, I’ll spare you the lengthy details and just give you a glimpse of what happened over the last few weeks or a month and a half by the looks of things!

In a nutshell, Pen went to America for almost a month in Feb. I was moody and lonely – drowned my sorrows in books and dvds. Pen finally came back bearing loads of presents for me including a new Coach bag, Kate Spade wallet, Fossil watch, a CD, book and some magazines. I was happy again – purely because I was privileged enough to enjoy his company again of course! Actually I’m exaggerating. It was not that bad. I managed to catch up on some ‘me’ time. It’s not every day I get to read for hours on my couch/bed and drive Shadow to work.

A couple of weeks ago, Pen took me and his dad for a V Australia staff open day to tour the new long haul plane scheduled for the Sydney-LA route. See pictures below! The queue was soooo long and we waited for almost 40 minutes before setting foot onboard. I had to keep telling myself while standing in the heat that I was there to support Pen and all his hard work. Actually, you’d think this would be the perfect opportunity for a Mexican standoff between me and the plane – after all, it kept my husband away from me for months (if you add up all the long weeks he’d been away in the past two years)!

Group photo while waiting to get on the plane

Talk about national pride - I look like some patriotic Aussie. Nice shot by Pen though.

Here's a first look at the retro-looking seats in economy class. I had to hold my shoes as we weren't allowed to wear them onboard. Instead, they made us put our footwear into clear plastic bags.

Ahh...premium economy seats. Pen went to the ends of the earth to search for the reading light on my right. I was his guinea pig at some point when he brought the lights home - had to test them out to see if they were bright enough for reading. The husband seemed to think the bookworm at home would know best.

And being the geek that he was, Pen insisted I took a photo in front of the... what's that called again? Engine?

There's also a photo of me lying down in the business class seats but thought it wasn't ideal for public eyes. Haha. Looks like flying business class will soon become a reality for me. Pen said the staff rate was only $1,400 return to LA! New York, here we come!

In other news, I’m leaving for Melbourne this Friday evening to catch ‘Wicked’! We’ve booked ourselves into a semi old-English looking apartment called Somerset Gordon Place! Look at the photo gallery, it’s so pretty. Fingers crossed it’d be a lovely weekend hey?

Homesick on CNY

2009-01-27T15:53:00.003+10:00

Happy Chinese New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone!

I think I can safely say that all of you who are reading this blog will be having much more fun than I am during this time of festivities. Can’t believe I missed celebrating CNY in Singapore two years in a row. There is zilch atmosphere here in Brisbane – well maybe there is a little bit but I avoided Sunnybank and Fortitude Valley altogether last weekend. But CNY to me is not just about the lion dances, pineapple tarts and mandarins. It’s more about spending time with the family and close friends, be it sitting around the table eating ‘gua zi’s or sharing a joke or two over the much anticipated reunion dinner.

Having said that, I must admit I had a relaxing long weekend with Pen’s family and my good friend Izaeel. What can I say? Thank God for friends who are in the same boat as you? Haha.

Izaeel and I caught the much talked-about Twilight on Friday night at Garden City. After two hours, it was not difficult to see just why so many teenage girls had fallen for the made-believe perfection that is Edward Cullen. Even us ‘oldies’ were smitten for a moment but were quickly pulled back to reality upon seeing the ring on our finger.

Come Sunday evening, Mummy Luciana once again made us daughters-in-law feel at home by preparing a feast for ‘reunion dinner’.

On the first day of CNY which also happened to be Australia Day (Yay for me coz’ it’s a holiday!), I joined Izaeel, Ranger and their Indo friends for Yum Cha at Shangri-La. That was probably the most ‘Chinese’ thing I did all weekend, apart from giving ang baos to Xiao Xiao and Qi Qi.

So…I don’t suppose you had a more exciting CNY than I did? Humour me.

It's Wicked!

2009-01-22T11:36:00.003+10:00

I’m finally going to watch this – on March 14! I’m so excited! Since its launch in August last year, I’ve eagerly wanted to watch it. Problem was, the Broadway musical was only staging at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne and I haven’t managed to steal any time away.

But now I have! They’ve just announced new dates for the musical this year so I’ve tempted Pen to go on a weekend getaway with me to Melbourne! He agreed in a heartbeat and has even booked our air tickets.

Best thing is, the air tickets and hotel stay will be freeeeeee! All thanks to the husband’s job and frequent flyer/credit card points.

Oooh, can’t wait. I’ve always wanted to fly into a city JUST to watch a show/musical. Sounds like something out of Pretty Woman. Haha. :p

Recession shock

2009-01-06T16:10:00.002+10:00

Someone whispered in my ear on Friday night at Changi Airport before I left - “Remember, we live vicariously through your blog!” And I remember nodding my head in amusement. So yes, I’m keeping my promise.

Here’s a piece of news for you – I received a rude shock when I stepped into the office early on Monday morning. Apart from finding myself ‘chair-less’, I was also alarmed to find out that…(and I quote my colleague Nicole)

“Oh my gosh! When you were away, Mandy and Tracy got made redundant!”

At this point, I almost fell off my chair (after I dragged it back from Nicole’s little corner). Mandy’s in my team and she only recently joined the company a couple of months ago. She’s a really likeable girl and I’d grown to enjoy working with her. She also used to give me rides to the Homemakers’ Centre (where Pen sometimes parks Shadow) after work every now and then. On the other hand, Tracy our trusty Office Manager, had been with the company for ages. She was our administrative arm who painstakingly took care of our needs. I don’t know what they were thinking retrenching her.

Long story short, apparently the higher powers have decided to streamline all the teams and only keep the managers and ONE senior staff per team. The retrenchment was done while I was away in Singapore but I’m sure they would have planned this way before. This was when I started thanking God profusely for His blessing and protection upon me. In the midst of the current economic downturn, I should be thankful I still have a job. Although I must admit I’m still a bit nervous about the whole episode because this means extra workload for me on top of the fact that I’d have to work extra hard to ‘recession-proof’ myself.

Please pray for me!

Old times

2008-10-16T15:26:00.003+10:00

I took a trip down memory lane this afternoon while going through Ally’s Flickr photos. How I miss the girls back home and the laughter we used to share every time we got together. I don’t think there ever was a dull moment with them. Sometimes I wished I were still living in Singapore…

Me & Dia at my hen's party at Ritz

Hui, Ally & me at Shirhaini's wedding

The 'yearly' transfer of our infamous Makan Parade cup. Who has it now? Is it you Dia?

The girls at one of our board game nights

Strolling along the bridge after one of our annual Christmas dinners

Over the years, we've become so accustomed to sleeping together

Looking forward to catching up with the girls this December!

A hiking we will go...

2008-10-15T10:14:00.001+10:00

Work has been a madhouse lately and the weeks seemed to have flashed past so quickly. I had lots to blog about but just couldn’t find the time to and it’s probably old news by now.

But, busy as we may be, Pen and I still managed to steal time away for our sixth year anniversary! Has it only been six years? Seems way longer to me…

We (or me rather, seeing I was the one who organised the trip) decided to do something a little different this year. Instead of our usual nice dinners, we chose to ‘rough’ it out with nature, hike one and a half hours, risk being attacked by wild animals (I was, in fact, attacked by a bird who wanted a piece of my egg and lettuce sandwich) and have picnic on the rocks.

We set out at 9am on a Saturday morning for our two-hour drive to Lamington National Park. I must say though, we were delayed for about 45 mins because half an hour into our trip, we realised somebody forgot to put the backpack with our food, water, insect repellent, sun screen and first aid kit in the car! Hehe.

Didn’t let that dampen our spirits though! After driving up the mountain’s long and winding road for 50 mins, we finally arrived at the park. I’d already planned beforehand to go on the Picnic Rock and Elabana Falls trail (a three-hour return hike), hence the picnic. We wasted no time – after arming ourselves with a map, spraying ourselves with insect repellent and a final check that we’ve got all our food supplies, we were off!

The man with all our supplies - at the entrance of our trail

Venturing deeper into the jungle, i mean, forest

Finally made it to Picnic Rock after a 1.5-hour hike

After stuffing ourselves with sandwiches, we continued our hike to the waterfalls

Our final destination - the gorgeous natural Elabana Falls

Picturesque beauty

Here's a slide-show with more pictures!

Have you seen my shadow?

2008-10-13T17:15:00.001+10:00

I’m officially the proud owner of a cute little Toyota Yaris ! Meet Shadow, my one-year-old greyish blue, 5 door YRS hatchback. I bought her two weeks ago – wasted no time after getting my licence.

She’s such a joy to drive and I love how easily she zips everywhere. I love my car!

Here's Shadow, sharing her new home with Pen's Corolla!

Show Me What's Your Flickr

2008-08-28T10:49:00.001+10:00

Spotted this on Ally’s blog this morning and thought it’d be fun to do.

All you have to do is type your answer to the following questions into flickr search:

What is your first name?
What is your favorite food?
What high school did you go to?
What is your favorite color?
Who is your celebrity crush?
What is your favorite drink?
What is your dream vacation?
What is your favorite dessert?
What do you want to do when you grow up?
Who/what do you love most in life?
Choose one word that describes you?
What is your Flickr name?

- Using only the first page, pick an image
- Copy and paste each of the URLs into the Mosaic Maker
- Post your mosaic!

Here’s my mosaic.

Updated - Meeting Mr A-Z

2008-08-20T08:26:00.001+10:00

I've finally managed to upload all 5mins of Life is Wonderful. Here you go...

Meeting Mr A-Z

2008-08-15T16:20:00.005+10:00

I kicked up quite a fuss when I missed his gig earlier this year in March coz’ of my trip back to Singapore. Ever since, I had been crossing my fingers (and toes) and hoping Jason Mraz would return to Brisbane for another concert. And come back he did, and so soon too!

Izaeel and I eagerly made our way to the Tivoli last night to see the wordsmith play. It was my second time seeing him “live” and I was soooo excited. He was absolutely fabulous at the 2006 Mosaic Music Festival. I was quite certain he would work up another mind blowing performance so we bought tickets regardless of the fact that it was a free-standing concert.

We were so glad we were allowed to bring our cameras in!

Me and Izaeel, thrilled that we scored ourselves second row spots!

Opening act by Melanie Horsnell

Oh my gosh, it was the longest opening act I've ever witnessed. I personally thought she had a beautiful voice but she failed to engage the crowd. After the third song, everyone got really restless. We had to endure almost 45 mins of her monotonous singing. We suspected she probably sang her entire album at that rate.

After she finally got off the stage, we had to wait another half an hour. Good grief, our legs and back were so sore by then. Nonetheless, all was forgotten by the time Jason finally came on at 9:30pm! Yipee!

Jason opens with an oldie but goodie - The Remedy

Jamming it with Toca Rivera

Finishing off with my favourite song - Life is Wonderful

Here's a clip I took at the start - Jason warming up the crowd. I've got another one of him singing Life is Wonderful but it's taking me ages to upload to Youtube. :( Hopefully I'll get that up soon so you can see it.

My verdict? Jason wowed the crowd as expected but I personally felt his overall performance was a bit "rushed". He mingled with his audience but he did it much better at the Mosaic Festival in Singapore. I think the long opening act coupled with my aching legs and back played a big part in making the experience less than perfect.

But being the fan that I am, I'm so happy I went! Thanks Izaeel for going with me - and Ally, we missed you heaps! This post is for you. Wish you were here...

A country drive

2008-08-14T17:20:00.006+10:00

It was the EkkA public holiday yesterday for Brisbane – the perfect opportunity to drag Pen with me away from our house. (We’ve moved by the way!) We’ve been burying ourselves in house stuff for the past month or so ever since our move and I was getting really sick of it.

We decided to take a country drive to Boonah, a small, old town in Southeast Queensland with stunning mountain scenery. We felt a bit iffy on our way there as the surroundings looked really deserted. When we eventually arrived at the “heart” of Boonah city, we felt like we had ventured into a ghost town. It wasn’t a public holiday there and yet you could count the number of people walking around town with your fingers.

It was fascinating when we walked into the local Lions club for lunch. It was like being taken back into time. The diner was buzzing with 70s tunes, the furniture was old and the lady in charge was the waitress, chef and cashier all at once. Funny enough, I personally thought WE were the tourist attraction instead of the town itself. It was probably not everyday the locals see Asians in the community.

How strange, I thought – how do people live here? On the surface, there doesn't seem like there's much to do. There’s no traffic lights and no street lamps anywhere, so I’m guessing people don’t really go out at night. Surely we didn’t drive all the way from Brisbane just to see a deserted town? We had to hold back from asking the locals where the famous Scenic Rim was for fear they might tell us we were staring right at it!

Our patience paid off after we finally found the visitors centre. And no, the Scenic Rim wasn’t that sleepy town we had lunch in – it is actually an arc of spectacular mountains lying on the boundaries of Boonah. We didn’t have time to see all the mountains and certainly didn’t have the right attire to bushwalk our way to the top. So we opted for a simple trail at Mount French and a drive to Lake Moogerah.

It was then that we realised just how beautifully untouched the place is. Pen and I thoroughly enjoyed our time off there. It was so good to escape from the bustling city and spend some quality time with each other in a true “return to nature” style. We’ll be back with our trackies and hiking shoes!

It's Hollywood! (almost)

Boonah City - parked cars aplenty, but where are the people?

A local diner

Boonah's petrol kiosk with only one pump

Local fruit shop

Pen considers moving to Boonah - I don't think so darling.

Setting out on our trail walk

Made it to the top of Mount French!

Considering there's not a single soul in sight, we had to take our own photo.

Do the Japanese thing, he said...

Which way back?

On the bush trail

Made it to Lake Moogerah

Pen attempting to indicate the water level in the dam

Juicy Anticipation

2008-06-20T13:41:00.003+10:00

Today! I get my Juicy Couture bag today and I cannot wait to get home to see it!

I’ve been pining for a Juicy bag ever since I realised how cute and preppy the brand’s products are. Didn’t take long for me to set my eyes on the Baby Fluffy Velour bag. I lurrrrve the velour material and soft leather base. It’s soooo pretty!

It’s selling at a ridiculous amount of AUD$325 at David Jones and I couldn’t bear to pay so much for it when it’s only retailing at US$185 in America. So Pen came to the rescue! He got his work associate in Seattle to buy the bag for me and hold on to it until one of their guys could meet up with Pen in Japan. Best part was, this bag happened to be on special at the store and it only came up to about US$120. OOoooooh, score!

And as if this wasn’t good enough, my sweetheart of a husband bought me the Juicy perfume to go with the bag on our wedding anniversary. :) Oh, I’m in couture bliss!

Jazzing up an Anniversary

2008-06-03T21:38:00.010+10:00

Yesterday was our one-year wedding anniversary and we celebrated by going to see Michael Bublé sing at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. It was an amazing night and extra special to Pen and I because we used quite a few of his songs at our wedding ceremony and reception last year.

As expected, Bublé gave a spectacular performance and connected with the audience exceptionally well. My favourite song for the night had got to be Me and Mrs Jones. Unfortunately for Pen, his much anticipated Home was ruined by the crowd’s joyful cheers when a photo slideshow of Michael in Brisbane appeared on the screen. To make things worse, we could only see a fraction of the screen as we were seated towards the corner of the stage.

What was truly worth mentioning though, was the opening act by Naturally Seven. They are an award-winning gospel, rhythm and blues, jazz and soul vocal play crew from New York City. Their performance blew everyone away – the “instruments” (drums, bass, electric guitar, etc) you hear in their songs are all their voices! You really have to see it to believe it. See the You Tube video below.

Photos of our night out:

Quick dinner at Wagamama before driving to the Entertainment Centre at Boondall

Tucking into some Japanese

Our tickets!

Happy snaps while waiting for Michael

Standing at our corner seats

Opening performance by Naturally Seven

Bublé struts his stuff

Me with Roger (Rap) and Garfield (Harmonica) from Naturally Seven, at the autograph session after the concert

Pen and Armand, the bass guy

Can’t believe we’ve been married for one whole year! It still feels like we just got married a few months ago. How time flies. God has blessed us so much over the past few months and has kept our relationship going stronger day by day. More exciting times ahead I’m sure, as we prepare to move into our new house in the next few months.

Wedding Bells in Sydney

2008-05-27T10:24:00.005+10:00

Just got back from Sydney on Sunday evening – somehow this trip really drained me out. Maybe it was because our schedule for the weekend was really tight or perhaps it was my body fighting extremely hard not to fall sick. The bumpy flights did not help at all; did I mention I hate flying?

Pen and I went down to Sydney to attend our friend James’ wedding. The wedding was on Saturday but we flew down on Friday evening to get ourselves settled in first. Poor Pen fell sick on Wednesday – so apart from taking care of him and making sure he takes his medicine regularly, I was also desperately fending the virus from myself. Praise God for watching over us! Pen recovered speedily over the weekend and I fortunately didn’t feel too much under the weather.

We stayed in North Sydney, at the Rydges. This place sure brought back some memories – same time last year, I lived in North Sydney for two weeks by myself while working for LEWIS Sydney. Hence, I became quite the “local” and ended up being the better guide for our hunt for breakfast on Saturday morning.

Best part was, the church where James and Roberta got married, St Thomas Anglican Church, was just up the road from our hotel, a mere 5 minutes walk. It was such a gorgeous-looking church with such intricate details that there was absolutely no need to decorate the sanctuary. The landscaping outdoors also made it a perfect picture opportunity for a wedding. After the ceremony, we briefly scanned the grounds for familiar faces from Pen’s Sydney church. A few photos and some refreshments later, we jetted off to...

Paddington! I was soooooo excited because I’ve heard so much about the markets and boutiques there and couldn’t wait to get my hands on some unique finds. We had an interesting journey there though. Pen got a bit lost driving and we ended up at a suburb near Paddington and thought we were at the right place when we saw some tents set up there. We parked, got out of the car and walked towards the “market”. Wasn’t long till we noticed something was amiss – the surrounding looked dodgy and we found ourselves in the midst of a police and thief chase. (A woman had her mobile snatched off her hands and a couple of policemen had just caught the alleged thief by the collar.) Riiiight. Turned out we were at Kings Cross* and the “market” was a mini food carnival.

When we finally found our way to Paddington, I was absolutely stoked to see streets and streets and streets of boutiques. And the markets totally lived up to my expectations. The only downside was we only had about two hours to explore because we had the wedding dinner to attend. Arghh, I knew it was impossible to cover this much ground in two hours, so my joy quickly turned into disappointment. And because of the time constraint, I had to choose between focussing on shopping or taking photos AND shopping, which would greatly reduced my ability to concentrate. So guess which one I chose?

When our time was up, Pen had to drag me away from the splendour that was Paddington. Well, at least I didn’t leave the place empty-handed – I bought a ton of stuff from Make Up Store and a chunky silver ring from the markets. I was very happy with my jewellery purchase and I must say I was glad to have Pen with me as he always does all the bargaining for me! Paddington is an amazing shopping strip and I am kicking myself for not stepping foot into that suburb during my previous trips to Sydney. I will be back.

And oh yes, the wedding dinner was a ball too. Heh.

*Similar to Singapore’s Geylang

Eating at Harry's Cafe de Wheels on Friday night, a push cart famous for its hotdogs

Breakfast at a cafe in North Sydney

At St Thomas Anglican Church - The bridal party and parents after signing the registry

We missed out on the group photo (too busy eating) so we got a private one taken with Roberta and James

L - Susie, Ivan, me and Pen

Wedding dinner at Zilver Restaurant, very good Chinese food. There were suckling roast pig, mock shark's fin, abalone, etc.
L - Pen, Me, Amanda and Luke

Our table
Top L - Luke, James, Ivan, Kris, Susie and Amanda
Bottom L - Susie, me and Pen

Me and Pen

We're going trigger happy!

The boys - Pen, James (groom), Wilson, Luke, James and Kris

Swinging at Manly

2008-05-13T14:59:00.003+10:00

On Saturday, the Young Adult Fellowship spent the morning together playing putt putt at Manly. We split into groups of four and tried to conquer the nine holes. I thought at first that it would be a piece of cake but I sure was wrong about that. Turned out some holes weren’t as simple as they looked because the slopes made them really tricky. Especially this one...

Mic, Fong, Rev Alexis and YC strategising their next move

After putt putt and a few more swings at the driving range, we went to Manly Harbour Village for lunch. It was my first visit there and I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the place looked. There were heaps of boats and yachts anchored at the quay and rows of coffee shops and fish and chips takeaways located along the water. Very picture-perfect indeed.

Manly Village - overlooking the water

Had lunch at this fish and chips takeaway

Waiting for our food!

Just as we were leaving, I was suddenly reminded of the times (yes, plural!) when Ally and Hui took the wrong train and landed up at Manly instead of home. The first time it happened, I was worried. Second time, it started to get funny. Can’t remember if there was a third time. Ahh, those were the days.

A Trip to the Fashion Capital

2008-04-29T09:49:00.001+10:00

Day 1

Pen and I flew down to Melbourne for the Anzac Day long weekend. It was my first trip to the shopping and fashion capital of Australia so I was really excited to embark on my three-day retail (and sight-seeing) adventure.

Our trip started off slightly rocky – I had to drag myself out of bed at 4am because we were catching a 6:15am flight. Why so early you ask? Because we were on standby and the previous night’s flights were all fully booked due to the long weekend, so in order to guarantee ourselves seats, we had to get on a “less popular” flight. It was still a very full flight nonetheless and we were very blessed to get onboard. In fact, they only allowed four standby people on the flight.

Upon arrival, we realised that not only were we on standby, so was our baggage! They left my bag and the 7kg of longans (from Uncle Albert to Lou) back in Brisbane. Good one. My resentment was soon appeased at the sight of our friends Kev and Lou who so kindly came to pick us up for breakfast.

They took us to Retro Cafe at Fitzroy, a picturesque nostalgic coffee shop with furniture that looked like they had been around since the 70s. I had an Eggs Benedict and Pen ordered a massive hangover meal. It was soooo yummy and I knew we were off to a good start. Lou didn’t waste any time and immediately helped me plan my shopping route for the next two days.

Breakfast at Retro Cafe

After breakfast, we had a quick Underbelly tour around North Melbourne and also stopped by Lygon Street for gelati. Setting foot on Lygon Street is like stepping into little Italy. There were rows and rows of Italian cafes and restaurants, alternating with a heap of Gelato shops.

We finally checked-in at our hotel Holiday Inn at 1pm. Still no sign of my bag. Arrrgh. We rested for a while and then jetted off to DFO (Direct Factory Outlet), just across the road. We didn’t stay there long as the shops were all similar to the ones in Brisbane. We wandered around the city streets, albeit a little quiet due to Anzac Day, taking photos and soaking in Melbourne’s old-town sights.

Our hotel

Melbourne tram

In the heart of Melbourne Central

Venturing into Chinatown

Dinner at Sambal Kampung - a Malaysian restaurant in Chinatown

In the evening, Pen took me to Crown Casino along Southbank. He was really keen on showing me the “fire” at Crown. The whole time, I thought it was just a small area of burning flames. Turned out there were actually six tall towers with flames going off every half hour or hour. Think Lord of the Rings, Return of the King’s lighting of the beacons.

Walking towards Southbank Crown Casino

Big flames!

Day 2

We met up with Nick and Lou for brunch at Collingwood Children’s Farm. It’s a “city” farm located just 5km from the CBD, specially established so kids could experience rural life without driving miles from home. Yes yes, people in Melbourne are BIG on breakfasts and brunches. A weekend with friends is almost never complete without one of those.

We ate at The Farm Cafe, a country-side eatery owned by one of Nick’s friends. The cafe is famous for using only produce from the farm – so you’ve got your free-range eggs, organic cereal, goat’s milk, etc. You’ve also got some other “organic things” left behind by the farm animals at the door so patrons have been warned to watch where they walk.

Breakfast at The Farm Cafe

At noon, we went to Bridge Road at Richmond, a street well-known for its warehouse-type shopping. Think Stones Corner but bigger, longer and definitely livelier! We visited shop after shop, with Pen cheerfully tagging along. My poor husband must have been so bored but he didn’t say a word, just stuffed himself with Subway cookies and whatever else he could find in between boutiques. After three hours, I only bought a cardigan, a long-sleeved top and a belt. The shopping was great but there weren’t many things that really caught my eye.

We headed down on a tram to Queen Victoria Markets next, determined to find some bargains for ourselves. Comically enough, the moment we stepped into the market’s compounds, an announcement was made over the PA system telling shoppers they were closed! Arggh! Pen and I scurried through the aisles and aisles of stalls selling fresh fruits, vegetables, chickens, eggs, etc. It felt just like my Eunos market in Singapore, only much drier. The retail part of the market was exactly like a pasar malam, from the set up right down to the products! Fake Hello Kitty stuff, cheap-looking bags and This Fashion-type clothes. Cheh! They don’t fool us.

On the tram

Deli at Queen Victoria Market

Chickens for sale

After another fruitless shopping trip, we walked to Lygon Street for dinner. The Italian food was so authentic and Pen’s pasta was exceptionally good. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. After that, we had a pear and cheese crumble at Brunetti, a dessert wonderland! It was so delicious that I totally forgot to take photos!

Pillow-filled pasta with pumpkin and ricotti

Pen's yummy pasta

At 9:30pm, back at the hotel, we got a call from Lou inviting us for dessert at Max Brenner. So off we went again for more food! Seeing it was raining and cold as, it was definitely appropriate weather for a nice cup of hot chocolate. We also shared some chocolate fondue and dark and milk chocolate suckao. Yes, Melbourne is also a food capital.

L to R: me, Kev, Nick, Lou and Pen

Day 3

The temperature went down to about 14 degrees topped with cold wind chills. Time to layer up!

We strolled to Southbank, had breakfast at the Southgate food court and visited the markets. The markets were somewhat disappointing - I had expected it to be better than Brisbane Southbank's but it wasn't.

Walking to Southbank from another bridge

Southbank Markets

Walking back to the city

We went back to the city centre after that and explored Flinders Lane, a small street in the heart of Melbourne's CBD with a rustic feel and boasting numerous quaint little boutiques. Now we're talking! In the thick of atmospheric cafes and bars, there were fabulous shops selling fun and quirky fashion imports. This old alley is really a treasure cove for shopaholics! Times like these, you'd wished you had really deep pockets. What a pity we only discovered this street on our last day - but we certainly shopped till the very last minute.

Old church building

Standing at Federation Square with my shopping bags

Pen looking terrified of the haunted bookshop

It was definitely good to get away for the weekend. Melbourne is such a vibrant and trendy city compared to sleepy town Brisbane. Now that we've conquered shopping, we'll do the Great Ocean Road drive the next time we visit.

There and Back Again

2008-04-18T11:51:00.001+10:00

Time certainly flies when you’re on vacation. My holiday to Singapore is over and I’m back in Brisbane again. It was heart-warming to spend time with my family, hang out with the girls and catch up with the LEWIS gang. I managed to check off everything on my shopping list, snapping up bargains from Raffles Place, Chinatown, City Plaza and other suburban malls.

One of the main highlights of my trip was definitely meeting my niece E-Yan. She’s so lovable and I really dread the day she turns two and doesn’t recognise me. :( Hopefully frequent visits and toys will prevent that. Going on the Singapore Flyer with Pen and my family was also an eye-opener. Oh and I also added two new items to my Tiffany collection.

I meant to blog much sooner but was waiting to resize all my holiday photos first. Two weeks have gone by and I still haven't done that. Yes yes, I will put them up soon so you can see how much fun I had. Fingers crossed.

The Cutest Baby

2008-03-17T13:09:00.000+10:00

Yesterday afternoon, I saw baby E-Ann for the first time. I’ve been looking forward to meeting her ever since she was born six months ago so you can imagine how excited I felt the entire morning.

She was sleeping when I arrived at my Grandma’s and she looked exactly like a little precious cherub. She’s got the best complexion, the tiniest toes and the roundest little body! Soooo cute! She was all smiles when she finally woke up and had absolutely no qualms about me carrying her although it was her encounter with me, her aunt.

Naturally I couldn’t resist taking heaps of photos and videos of her. Have a look!

Huh what's happening? I just got up from my nap and suddenly there's cameras and flashes everywhere...

*Yawns* Still sleepy
Playing on her mat
Dazed and confused - E-Ann and her granduncle

Feels Good to Be Home

2008-03-15T23:28:00.003+10:00

It's my second day in Singapore and I’m having a great time so far. I’ve missed home so much that even the heat here couldn’t dampen my spirits.

I already started my shopping spree yesterday when I went to Parkway with my mum. Clothes and shoes are so cheap here compared to Brisbane – so really, by buying things in bulk now, I’m actually saving money. Riii-ght? Yes.

Today, I met up with the Ally, Dia and Nessa for lunch at Foo House in Simpang Bedok. One thing about being away for so long is that I get my personal guide to take me around. Dia so kindly volunteered to meet me at a bus stop near her house where she then walked with me under the sweltering heat to take number 10 all the way to Bedok. All this trouble when I could have taken number 2 straight from Eunos. My guide was a bit misguided I think.

Anyhoo, it was soooo good to see the girls again. I know I always say this but it feels like I haven’t left at all. One thing I love best about us is that we can always pick up where we’d left off no matter how long or short I’ve been away. We still laugh over the same jokes and amuse ourselves with each other’s quirky habits.

I’ll blog more over the next few days I’m sure. For now, I’ll leave you with some pictures we took today.

The girls and I at Foo House

Our entree - Beef Goulash and Pumpkin Soup

My beef burger

Dia's roast duck

The Count Down

2008-03-12T16:36:00.003+10:00

Countdown to my Singapore holiday: 1 day!

Yay! I’m going back to Singapore tomorrow! I am so excited, I can hardly wait till tomorrow night to jump on the plane. Here’s a list of reasons why.

1. I get to see my family.

2. I can hang out with my friends again.

3. I’ll get to see my baby niece E-Ann for the very first time.

4. I can go on a shopping spree. BIG one. Need I say more?

5. I’ll be 165m above ground on the Singapore Flyer. (I lurrrrve ferris wheels.)

6. I could use a holiday.

7. I miss my bed.

I’ll see you guys really soon! Bring on the par-taay.

A Farewell Dinner

2008-03-12T16:21:00.000+10:00

Pen and I met up with Chris on Monday evening for a fare dinner at Hanaichi in the city. Chris used to be from LEWIS Sydney and I had worked with him on a couple of accounts when I was still in Singapore. We become friends over the years, “bonded” by the fact that he’s a Brisbanite and I used to live there. But there’s more!

Till this day, I still can’t get over how bizarre it is. When Pen met him for the “first” time over lunch at West End, Chris stopped dead in his tracks. They know each other! Turned out they used to work at Big W together. Oh my gosh, how uncanny! So yes, I told everyone at LEWIS about it and they couldn’t believe it either.

Anyhoo, Chris is leaving for Japan very soon. His girlfriend is Japanese so they’re moving to get married there. She doesn’t know this yet but he has this grand plan of proposing to her when the cherry blossoms bloom in Kyoto. Awww...

Pen, me and Chris at the sushi bar in Hanaichi. Yes that’s right, Pen actually ate sushi that day!

Head and Neck Talk

2008-03-05T10:32:00.001+10:00

Pen is finally back from yet another one of his business trips. The best thing is he has returned bearing gifts for me! Erm, I mean next best thing to actually seeing him of course.

On another note, I came across a saying from wise old Lydia, which made a huge impression on me. We were on the topic of mandarin oranges and how Pen peels the skin off for me every time. And to that, the !Kung bushwoman says...

“Hence, the husband is the head of the household but truly, the wife is the neck.”

How true.

And in tribute to that, I have put together a little visual.

But of course, having said that, I'm still a firm believer of God's instructions - "Husbands, love your wives" and "Wives, respect your husbands".

Chocolate Eggs and a Class Full of Kids

2008-03-04T11:28:00.001+10:00

I am officially “Auntie Karin”, a Sunday School teacher! Last Sunday, I taught my very first lesson to a class of Yr 2 and 3 kids and loved every single minute of it. It was technically my first teaching lesson because before that, I was just assisting Janet for the whole of February. It was a good way to start because by the time I began teaching proper, the kids were already familiar with me.

The days leading up to the lesson, I was stressing about how to get their attention and how to make the bible stories come alive for my kids. I mean, it wasn’t a piece of cake trying to decipher the Transfiguration of Jesus to a bunch of 7 and 8 year-olds. Even I had to read the passage a few times to understand the purpose behind the story.

In the end, I resorted to using heaps of colourful visuals, elaborate actions (from the ahem teacher) and chocolate eggs as incentives! Not only did they participate and listen attentively, they also remembered to raise their hands before answering my questions. Ooo they were adorable.

I won’t deny that a handful of them are a bit noisy and mischievous on the outside but if you take time to explain instructions to them, you’ll discover they are really sweet and obedient on the inside. And my heart melts whenever one of the kids tugs at my sleeves if he or she is stuck on a task and says, “Auntie Karin, can you help me?”

I’m definitely looking forward to my next lesson. Although I really wouldn’t mind if they dropped the “auntie”. Aaaargh. Wonder whose brilliant idea it was to ask the kids to address the teachers as aunties. Must be the principal, who turns out to be, oh my husband.

Can't Fake It

2008-02-22T14:07:00.002+10:00

Today’s post is about a song which amused me silly this morning. You may not find it as interesting as I did, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. :P

I was getting ready for work this morning and had my radio tuned in to Nova 106.9fm. I normally have it switched on just to cut out the silence and I don’t pay too much attention to the songs. Not until this particular song came on – This Heart Attack by Faker - and I couldn’t help but listen closely to the lyrics.

Anyhoo, this was my first time hearing the song and when they got to the middle, I was more confused than anything. Not sure if you guys have heard it before but the lyrics go something like this:

I’m going away to be alone I’m coming back with answers
Don’t try to call my telephone it’s disconnected
And I don’t know where I’m going but can you guide me
But if I find love where I’m going will it survive me
‘Cause in your own space you’re disconnected and in your own mind you’re not affected
And in your own time you’re still attracted but in your own life

This heart attack I’ve gotta get away not coming back
I want some downtime so call me when you can and I’ll be fine
I’ve found the time to be alone I don’t know what you’re asking
I’m waiting by the telephone and you’re still barking
My heart stops it isn’t… going could you revive me
I think I’m lost without knowing so come and find me
‘Cause in the same space we’re disconnected and in your own mind you’re not attracted
But in your own life over reacted and in your own time

This heart attack I think I’ll go away not coming back
I’m off the line so call me when you can some other time
This heart attack I’ve gotta get away not coming back
I want some downtime so call me when you can and I’ll be fine

Sometimes if we don’t go sometimes you don’t know
You don’t go I don’t go I don’t go you don’t go
I’ve got your back but you don’t got mine
This heart attack then I’m feeling fine

This heart attack I’ve gotta get away I’m not coming back
I’m back to flying so call me when you can some other time
This heart attack I’ve gotta get away not coming back
I want some downtime so call me when and I'll be fine
I’m going away to be alone

Do you see it? Scroll back to the second line of the lyrics. He says “Don’t try to call my telephone it’s disconnected”. Fair enough. But then he goes on and laments for someone to guide him and call him. And then he wails to say he’s waiting by the telephone and then asking someone to call him again. And then of course, he ends the song again by asking someone to call him.

First thing that came into my mind this morning was, what the!? Didn’t he already say in the beginning that his phone was disconnected? Talk about inconsistency. I was so confused at the end of the song that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Perhaps it’s occupational hazard that I’m paying so much attention to words...

Here’s the music video if you’re interested.

A Greek Catchup

2008-02-13T16:05:00.001+10:00

Pen and I met up with Nick and Jess yesterday evening at West End for a catchup over dinner. We picked Kafe Meze, a little eatery tucked away at a corner street, for some authentic Greek cuisine. The set-up of the place wasn’t impressive – at a glance, you might even mistake it for one of those old coffee shops in Malaysia selling Ipoh Hor Fun or Teh Tarik. But the food, oh man, was good, very good.

We were overwhelmed with the Greek words on the menu and wasn’t sure which dish to pick in order to savour the true taste of a Greek meal. So in the end we ordered an eight course meal for all four of us! It was $33 per person and we were treated to pita breads with an array of dips, a vegetarian platter with grilled mushrooms, eggplants, beans and vegetables, Souvlaki (lamb, chicken and pork skewers), Greek salad, to-die-for pan fried goat cheese, a giant mushroom, a pork sausage (can’t remember what it’s called) and a BBQ squid. Every single dish had its own unique and rich flavour. My favourite was the goat cheese. :p

The total bill is a bit pricey (would have been worse if we didn’t have our entertainment book voucher) but good food and company made up for it.

Here are some pictures taken with my new Canon Ixus 75. (Thank you Pen!)

Nick (with goat cheese) and Pen

Me and Jess with the pitas and dips

Pen tucking into the salad

Vegetarian platter - May not look too appetising here, but it really is yummy!

BBQ squid which I couldn't eat much of due to my allergic reaction to Aussie seafood

Wishes from Afar

2008-02-07T08:30:00.000+10:00

新年快乐 (Xin Nian Kuai Lei) from Pen and me! I thought it might be good fun to pull out this photo we took during our wedding shoot. Haha. :p

I had to drag myself out of bed this morning. It sure feels strange to work on the first day of Chinese New Year. :( There are no lion dances, Chinese songs or red lanterns here, so it was up to me to surround myself with whatever Chinese New Year spirit I could muster.

Pen and I put up some simple decorations around the house which my mum had bought for us. We also have a bowl of mandarins on our kitchen table. All we’re lacking are some red and yellow pineapple thingys to hang on our front porch.

Hope you all have fun with visitations today! I miss you guys! *hugs*

Yearning for Tradition

2008-02-06T16:31:00.000+10:00

Hello faithful readers of my blog – Can’t believe it’s already February, almost two months since my last entry. Where did the time go? Well, I never really liked “Januaries” very much anyway because it meant having to start everything all over again and I would usually still be recovering from my holiday mood and dragging my feet into the new year.

Nevertheless, I got through it yet again, this time with a visit from my brother and a memorable trip to Fraser Island. We took heaps of photos which I’ll post up really soon. Loong Loong went back to Singapore on Monday, leaving a tearful sister behind. :*( It is amazing what a few weeks can do to bond a relationship. We took him to the Australia Zoo, Sirromet Winery and the Gold Coast over the weekends while he roamed the city streets by himself during the weekdays. Poor thing must have got really sick of the city, South Bank, Cultural Centre and the Valley by the end of his trip! I was really glad he came – it was good to catch up and have some brother-sister time. At least I’ll get to see him again in March when I visit Singapore and before he goes for his National Service!

Today is the eve of Chinese New Year! I’m still in disbelief that I’m actually not spending it with my family back home, not having our traditional spread of Hakka cuisine and not eating mandarins with my mum! Most of you would already have heard that my leave wasn’t approved for February and I wasn’t able to go back home to celebrate Chinese New Year. I’m still nursing my disappointment as this would be my first ever year that I won’t be celebrating one of my favourite festive seasons. If you don’t already know, I’m a traditional girl who hates changes so this is really hard for me.

My only consolation is that my mum has promised to cook up a feast when Pen and I visit next month. But it’s not the same!!! My grandma (Nei Nei) has also “announced” to the family that she will not be cooking my favourite “Wu Dad Bun” (A Hakka dish – circular-sliced yam fried with mushrooms, cuttlefish, pork and dried shrimps) this year for their reunion dinner because she will be saving it for March when I return! Awww, she is so lovely.

On a happier note, the Thie family will attempt to have their first reunion dinner tonight with the likes of roast duck, steamed chicken and abalone on the menu. The Thie daughters-in-law are quite determined to bring the Chinese tradition into the family but I think it might prove to be a rather challenging journey. See below for my conversion with Pen this afternoon.

ME: We have to go buy some mandarins for tomorrow!
PEN: Okaaay...
ME: Maybe a box because we have to hand quite a few out.
PEN: Huh? How many people are you giving it to?
ME: Your parents, the pastors and all them!
PEN: But my parents won’t know what to do with them!
ME: Huh? Just eat them lah! And we can eat the extra mandarins too. We have to eat mandarins during Chinese New Year ok??
PEN: Okaay... Can we give rock melons too?

And another...

ME: Yay! We’re having a reunion dinner tonight! I can’t wait! It’s Chinese New Year!
PEN: Yeah...
ME: So exciting. We have to make sure we get to your mum’s on time tonight. We must be early, we have to eat together!
PEN: Huh? Eat together? That would be a bit hard, so many people.
ME: But that’s the whole point! It’s a REUNION dinner, you have to eat together as a family.
PEN: But it’s a reunion at my mum’s house every night!
ME: *thinks – this is quite true seeing all the Thie brothers and their wives eat there almost every night* YAH! But it’s Chinese New Year ok? CHINESE NEW YEAARRRR!!!
Pen: Uhh.

I hope you guys have a wonderful Chinese New Year with your family and friends, and for those of you who are not married yet – hope you get lots of ang baos too! I’ll be thinking of you guys (especially you Singapore people). Can’t wait to see you all in March.

On The First Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me...

2007-12-31T10:56:00.000+10:00

A heart tag charm bracelet from Tiffany!

My Christmas was off to a good start when Pen and I exchanged presents in the wee hours of Christmas Day. The sneaky husband had wrapped up the blue Tiffany box in wrapping paper (which I had bought) so I had no clue what it was. But as soon I peeked into the slit and saw that familiar blue, I yelled out in delight and gave him a huge hug. He tried to calm me down and cautioned that it might just be a box but I already knew he’d gotten me what I’ve been pining for for the past few years. Turned out he bought it for me while he was in Yokohama recently. OOooo...how sweet!

Here's a photo of us with our respective gifts. I got him a Canterbury jersey polo shirt (he's wearing it) and a pair of berms to match.

We had a lovely break over Christmas and spent some quality time with the family. On Christmas Day after church service, the Thie father and ladies made our way to the Gold Coast to visit Auntie Helen and family at Jacey’s house by the river while the Thie brothers went off to do their yearly tradition - play golf at Oxley golf course. We also met up with Uma and family at Surfers Paradise. Hui and I laid out a towel and sat on the beach with Daddy while Xiao Xiao amused herself with the sand. The boys finally tore themselves away from golf at 5 and met us at Jacey’s for dinner.

Over the next few days, Pen and I spent our time relaxing, sleeping in, Boxing-Day shopping, cleaning and gardening. We also watched heaps of movies in our home theatre. It was heavenly just being able to get out of our daily work routine and do pretty much whatever we felt like doing without having to stick to a plan.

Christmas is a true reflection of God’s love. The festive season brings with it so much joy, love and warmth and knits families and friends’ hearts together. I hope you guys had a blessed Christmas too!

More photos below:

Thie Christmas Party on 23rd - Thie newlyweds with Xiao Xiao, Jess and Nick.

EMP Christmas Drama Cast

Xiao Xiao and me at church after Christmas drama

Lights at Calamvale Neighbourhood

Thies out on a Light Adventure

Elf Yourself

2007-12-17T10:51:00.000+10:00

Hehe, in keeping up with the Christmas spirit, I elfed my family! Take a look at the screen grabs below. I had a lot of fun laughing at our silly moves.

Wong Family

Thie newlyweds

Go check out www.elfyourself.com to make your own silly Christmas greetings.