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Showing posts from 2006

Small town girl

We're back in KK.... And FINALLY have some internet connection at last! (after being MIA for sooooo long) We had a busy time in KL racing around running errands, settling admin and banking stuff, meeting up with friends and family... it was soooo tiring driving around, getting lost in the ever expanding matrix of new flyovers, roads, and traffic light intersections... So it it is certainly a refreshing change to back in little old Jesselton. I love KK. It's not a fancy place. But I've met a number of people from different places like KL, Singapore and Perth who say there's just something different about KK. Life slows down and you feel a sense of peace. I have to admit that the traffic is getting a bit more congested in some areas (what to do? majulah Sabah mah!) but despite that, driving in KK is still somewhat more relaxing, and after some reflection with hubby I conclude that it is because: Number 1: Drivers are nicer (especially compared to KL-ians) they are not so ...
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Furnished

My handyman hubby with his trusty power drill finally managed to put everything together... and so I finally feel ready to display photos of our home... Our couch and ottoman which we got at a fantastic deal from Myer. This item didn't need any assembly, but I just couldn't bear to take any photos of it until the rest of the furniture was up Another angle of the living room... our $50 TV is sitting on a hubby-assembled TV bench. I really like this shelf (also assembled by hubby) and besides being very functional, I think it also adds a nice touch to our green wall Dining table and chairs (yup, assembled by hubby) in our sunny dining area... I like the purple wall too! Bed frame... I like the matching side tables which are attached to the bed... hubby-assembled, with assistance from his sidekick - me! Just a quick snapshot of our bathroom so you have a rough idea what it looks like I'll be adding bits and pieces of loving and homey touches over time.... like cushions and ...
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Our home is coming together

Yay! Our IKEA furniture is here! So exciting... Just need to put it all together Will take more photos when our house is more presentable
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Post-it love notes

Yesterday was our second anniversary... seems like a lot has happened in just the last two years since we got married. Time just flies by so quickly. I still feel like we just got married not long ago (as if it was just less than a year ago). Hopefully, our marriage will always remain this fresh! The first thing that greeted my eyes when I went to the bathroom was this... How sweet! The I reached over to grab my toothbrush and then I found this... So cute! Then when I went to disarm the house alarm, there was another one... On the TV... I was running all over the house looking for more little post-its... So fun! It's like an Easter-egg hunt, but with post-its. I found nine post-its altogether... I thought nine was quite a funny number, until later at work when I opened my purse... Too mushy? But I like it. My colleagues and friends at the marriage enrichment class were very impressed with hubby. I was very impressed too!
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More Jacarandas

A little bird told me that there was one street around my area that was bordered with Jacarandas and looked absolutely beautiful at this time of the year... I kept a look out for it all week and finally discovered this... Lovely... Never can get enough of Jacarandas... if the whole of Perth was chock full purple of Jacarandas, how pretty it would be...
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Attitude and 'Luck'

Hubby says I have knack for making my own 'luck' Now I know that 'luck' is not a very good word to use because as many people say "There is NO such thing as LUCK" But I suppose what I mean by 'luck' is the ability to create and seize my own opportunities... As my dad always used say " It's not about WHAT you know, but it's about WHO you know " And who you know seems to be the golden key to helping people secure jobs, projects, deals etc. etc. etc. But as I set out into the wide world on my own, my first stop being Singapore, I landed my first job completely on my own merits. I wouldn't say I am a very extraordinary or extremely beautiful and hardly even a genius of any kind. But (also as dad liked to say) " by the grace of God " I got in. And overall, I think we've had a very blessed life. We've expanded our territory in our own little ways. And I NEVER want to be complacent about it, but simply GRATEFUL. Even f...
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Masak Masak

I just started cooking for the first time in our house last Thursday.   When we went to get groceries, hubby had the brilliant idea of getting those instant dish flavour packs by Maggi. It was really one of his finest ideas... They were on special at 99cents each... And they really helped to make cooking so much easier in the meantime while I get my kitchen sorted out (I don't have salt, pepper, soy sauce or even oyster sauce yet!)   Thursday's menu was this English chilli sausage dish... just throw in sausages, onions and chopped apples...   On Saturday, I was about to start on my next culinary attempt in my new kitchen... and just as I was about to pour the pasta into a pot of boiling water, hubby yelled out "STOP!!!"... so I did. Apparently a friend had just called and asked us to join them for dinner. Good thing he stopped me just in time. So I saved the dish for Sunday instead. It's an Italian mince meat dish with penne pasta. And we're having it fo...
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Our Amazing Race

I received a comment that implied that we have been living very nomadic lives up until now.   I guess it seems that way because we've moved across to a different country and then to a new city over a span of the last 5 years or so.   Most people settle in quite quickly, but I guess we took a different route of experiencing life in a different city first before settling down.   I think that I've learnt to appreciate the places close to my heart even more after seeing different places. Plus, I now have tiny heart strings tied to these other places which I've called "home" before.   I only realised how much of a nomadic-type impression we gave when we were having lunch with some friends in Sydney one time... we were just telling them the news that we were moving back to Perth... and then we started reminiscing about some of the good times we had in Burwood and Sydney and how we will miss our apartment in Burwood etc... and then one friend said " Well, I...
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How we're keeping ourselves occupied

We've finally moved into our own place.   It's 3 bedroom house (somewhat villa-sized) and definitely much bigger than our apartment in Sydney.   We're putting it together from scratch step by step. We went shopping over the weekend for a bed, various kitchen items, bathroom items, laundry pegs and little knicks knacks like that...   We're still pretty much living out of suitcases and boxes, the unpacking business is being done slowly because both us are now working full time and we seem to always have something going on on evening or another.   So besides work, what else is keeping us occupied at the moment? Well, we have church on Sundays, Monday nights we've just started joining this marriage course with other couples in church, Tuesday night is movie night, cell group is every Wednesday, Thursday is late night shopping night (for groceries)... and for the next few Saturdays, we'll be spending Saturdays cleaning, unpacking and shopping for household i...
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2nd day of work

It's 5.40PM now on a Tuesday and I'm all alone in the office. Waiting for hubby to pick me up. He's passing through the city, so he said he could swing by to give me a lift home.... how nice...   So far everything seems pretty good.   Colleagues are nice. I'll be working closely with this guy who's traveled around a bit and can speak Indonesia and Thai. Quite interesting fellow actually. We joked and said the two of us and pass secret messages to each other in Malay/Indo without the others understanding us...   I think I will enjoy what I will be doing here.   Something that needs more brain juice for a change.   OK, better run now... will tell more soon... Be one of the first to try Windows Live Mail.
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Home and car

It's been a whirlwind week for me here in Perth. My last day of work at my old company was last Friday. I bought some pastries and cakes for my colleagues to enjoy during tea break. They were of course very happy to have free food and they all wished me well in my future endeavours. Hubby had already arrived a couple of days ago. We rented a car for a week to run around to do house-hunting and car-hunting. I don't really like car-hunting... very sakit hati to pay a hefty sum for a depreciating piece of metal... we are planning to get a used Mitsubishi Mirage to start with... can upgrade to a better car in the future... We went around looking at different Mitsubishi Mirages all over Perth. Spoke to different people... test drove them all... but somehow or rather there was always something not right. Either the price was too high, or the condition of the car was not quite up to standard. Felt so sian going around asking the same questions, and playing the same bargaining game, ...
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The drama continues...

Maaaaan... Yesterday was one of the most emotionally draining days of my life. I prepared myself mentally before approaching my boss. He didn't suspect a thing and even proposed we go out for coffee to "chat". Hmmm... don't know about that... but what to do? Our "chat" started out with usual niceties and small talk. And then, I proceeded to break the news as gently as possible. And his response was an astounded "YOU'RE RESIGNING???". So I realise that there's really no gentle way to tell your boss this kind of news. After the so called "chat", I could sense a shift in the atmosphere and the mood. A sort of tension... or maybe it was simply just me being sensitive and emotional... After that I immediately called a friend working nearby and asked her out for lunch. I just needed to get out for some fresh air to clear my head... The worst thing is that back at the office, the computer servers were down. So we couldn't access any ...
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Putting a decision into action

Tomorrow should be an "interesting" day for me. I shall have to try and break the news to my current manager that I will be leaving. I got an offer from another company, with better pay and hopefully a more fulfilling job. Although I'm still in my probation period. Which is supposed to be a time of assessment for both parties (i.e. the employer, as well as the employee). I still feel quite bad to have to do this. I am already starting to think of the repercussions on my manager's side... time time invested in training me so far... the reduction of his team size when I go... and more time that has to spent to look for my replacement... Waaaaahhhh... so terrible! Plus, the fella is going on his annual leave for 2 weeks starting next week... what a time to drop bad news on him! I can't imagine how some people can job hop from company to company every few months. I would find it so emtionally draining... Maybe I'm just thinking too much. I really, really hope I ca...
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Cosmopolitan Gurlz...

On Saturday's Hyatt Buffet Dinner, Audz and I arrived punctually and in style... BUT the other girls were laaaaaate... So we went over to the bar to enjoy some pre-dinner cocktails... COSMOPOLITANS ala Sex and the City style... Here's our bartender... And here we are... two very happy girls...
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I have nothing to wear!!!

Well people... let's tackle the usual questions first... It's been an okay first week at work. Mostly induction and training... so nothing exciting happening yet. Colleagues are nice. My desk is right by the window, which is also nice... almost everyone clocks off at precisely 5.00pm. In fact they all start packing their things away at 4.45pm... so funny! It felt very strange leaving work so early... I remember back at my office in Singapore, I almost felt guilty if I ever had to leave before 7.00pm! Missing my hubby... but I'm coping... having a teeny weeny taste of single life... stopping by a cafe for a quick cappucino after work with a girlfriend... girls night out at Hyatt and Burswood Casino on a Saturday night... enjoying my first Cosmopolitan at the bar... Don't worry... I kept my wedding band on the whole time... so I (sadly) didn't enjoy any unwelcome (or even welcome) male attention... Tomorrow is Monday. I wonder what the day will bring. More importantl...
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Am I a good friend?

Phew! What a week it's been so far. Meeting old friends... Making new friends... a lot has changed in ZPH since the last time I was serving and worshipping here. Last night I joined them for their Mamak Nite ... sampled their satay, nasi lemak, roti canai, pulut hitam, ondeh-ondeh... yumz! It's amazing that even though I've been away for some time, and I barely even kept in touch with most of them... the moment I see them, it's ALMOST like good old times again. I say ALMOST because for many of them, things have changed like such as getting attached, getting married, getting babies... etc etc etc... I was just reflecting over this past week that hubby and I have been so so BLESSED to be surrounded by so many GOOD FRIENDS... not just in Perth, but also at all the other places that we call home... KK, Subang/KL, Singapore, and more recently even Sydney... We've only been in Sydney for a year, but I was so touched at all the little gestures and some gifts we received f...
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I'm not blue

Well... I finally touched down safely in Perth on Sunday 27th August. The flight was pretty good. Uneventful (which is good). They showed a movie, R.V. Runaway Vacation during the first half of the 4-hour flight. I watched it while eating my lunch of pasta and meatballs. I had a window seat, so after dozing on and off for a while and looked out at the wide expanse of clouds and a blue horizon. It was such such such a beautiful day. I spent at least good hour staring out the window, soaking in the beautiful coastlines and farmland stretched out before me... and pondering on what was awaiting me in Perth. After the plane touched down, i switched on my mobile.... beep beep... there was a message waiting for me. It was from hubby... "I lost my wife and am locked out of the flat "... what could that possibly mean??? After unloading 5 boxes and 2 suitcases from the baggage carousel, I called hubby to investigate this mysterious message... Horror of horrors! The key to our apartmen...
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@ Darling Harbour with my darling

Today was such a beautiful sunny day. We decided to walk around and enjoy the sunshine and to reminisce at one of my favourite places at Sydney: Darling Harbour Hubby sitting back and getting comfortable for a short siesta in the sunshine Me getting bored... hubby trying to think of ways to entertain me Chasing the rabbit Thumb wrestling Dunno what we trying to do here Sigh... I will miss you hubby
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Sign of spring

The daffodils are out! Spring is nigh! Yippee Hooray!
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Best yum cha in Sydney (IMHO)

Today is the eve of my departure from Sydney to Perth. We spent the morning at Zilver for yum cha (dim sum) with friends KK&K. I think this place serves the best dim sum in Sydney I highly recommend their siu-mai, honey pork ribs, yau-char-kuai, green tea bun and especially their mango pancakes which taste just heavenly... mmmmmm... just thinking about it makes me swoon... Hubby likes their pei-tan-juk too! These are friends, KK&K, who invited us out for a final yum cha session together... The har-gao is not bad too! We ended up eating too much (which is quite usual when eating dim sum) but feeling very happy and satisfied. I look forward to another yum cha session at this place the next time we're in Sydney...
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Some progress...

We are making some progress Luggage all packed and boxes all sealed Friends coming to pick us up tomorrow at 8am
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Gi-normous Wantan Mee!

Look at that... so huge!!! Cost around AUD8.00 Definitely enough for two of me But the ideal portion size for hubby
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Pressies for friends

Went shopping at Myer on Tuesday to get some gifts for various friends... including some for our connect group... I had a lovely time on Tuesday night wrapping up the pressies. I'd forgotten how nice it felt to do a little craftwork... lovingly crafting each piece to make it looks as pretty as possible. Hubby thought it seemed quite pointless to put this much effort on something that will be just torn up and discarded... but he diligently sat beside me and helped wrap some presents as well, so I can't complain. Gooood hubby... pat pat pat..... hehehehe See the little flower I made at the corner of one of the boxes? Cute eh? I comfort myself by imagining the recipients looking admiringly at the wrapping before painstakingly peeling it off carefully without tearing it.
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Our current state: Frazzled

Our place looks like it's been struck by a tsunami... Thought you could use some visual aid to help you picture our current state It's very frazzling.
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Clever me!

I didn't think that I would have anything to write about cooking nowadays because I didn't expect to attempt any interesting culinary experiments since I am basically bereft of all the seemingly basic kitchen equipment (I don't even have a microwave, fridge or even a kettle now!) But then I had to crack my head to think of ways to finish the food in our larder (besides instant noodles). I boiled the rest of the eggs (10 of them) and kept them aside for hubby and I to eat for breakfast over the next few days. Next I made a simple rock sugar syrup to go with the can of grass jelly... yummy indeed! And then I pondered over the spaghetti and can of tomatoes. Then I had a sudden inspiration ala Surprise Chef . Earlier, I also had gone out to get a small slice of fetta cheese. All I had left was a teeny tiny saucepan, a mini food processor and two teaspoons... I made a desperate attempt to create a culinary masterpiece... I blended the tomatoes with some garlic, a dash of red wi...
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So much STUFF!!!

Weeeeell... last night the last of our "BIG" items was sold off... i.e. the sideboard, the vacuum cleaner and the microwave.... YEAAAAH!!! Quite a relief... the fellow didn't even bargain and paid everything according to what I advertised it for. So here we are... vaccum cleaner-less... and microwave-less... how will we survive???? somehow we will.... we are SURVIVORS! But oh my... packing is hard! Why does it always seem that we don't have that much stuff but when we actually start packing you then realise how much stuff you REALLY have... So far I have packed 5 boxes and 2 suitcases of STUFF. I am targetting to limit everything to a limit of not more than 6-7 boxes, 2 suitcases and 1 big duffle bag. WHY ON EARTH DO WE NEED SO MUCH STUFF??? Oh yes... I just bought my plane ticket today. Initially I wanted to leave on August 24th, a Thursday. But today when I went online to the QANTAS website, I saw that they were having some promotional sale for Sydney-Perth flights ...
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'Tis the season to get married

Lately, I've come across many engagement/wedding announcements from my peers from secondary school... It almost feels surreal... I look at the faces of these crazy girls I used to see every day at school years ago ( only just a few years ago it seems ). Many of them have been living the ideal Sex and the City girls' life. Partying... Trying out different men as they would try out shoes... Working in high-flying careers... Or ekking out a living doing their dream job... And basically just having a good time... And one by one... they meet The One . And then it seems almost instantly... we hear wind of another engagement... another wedding... another one of us has gone off to tie the nuptial knot. Then come the photos on Friendster or on their blogs/websites... (I love looking at people's wedding photos... it always gives me a warm mushy feeling inside to see the ear-to-ear smiles on the couple's faces )... Another happily every after is over and done. I know it's no...
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Surviving on the bare minimum

Soooo... for the past week, we've started the arduous process of packing and selling of our things. Try imagining the place looking both messy and bare at the same time. Let me just paint you a somewhat unstructured picture of what's been happening lately... Our apartment is looking like the early days when we just moved in with hardly anything. Early last week, we started putting up ads to sell of our furniture and appliances. I advertised it as "MOVING SALE - NEED TO SELL OF EVERYTHING!" We started receiving numerous enquiries almost immediately. Seems like there's also a lot of people moving to Sydney from somewhere else. Saturday was the busiest day. We had one couple who just migrated to Sydney from Beijing who pretty much wanted to buy everything. They arrived with nothing and were moving into their apartment that day itself and wanted to cart of everything on the spot (they had hired a truck and movers ready to transport the things). They basically cleaned ...
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Cooking: the art of preparing food

Food is very important to me. And the art of preparing it is becoming increasingly more important too. This blog is peppered with recipes and stories of my attempts at being a culinary genius. Recently, I recalled one time my mother showing me a little file or exercise book with some note scribblings and magazine/newspaper recipe cutouts, and telling me that these were my recipes. I remembered feeling quite touched that she had collected this recipes for me. But at the same time I felt somewhat unworthy then because I had not been cooking at all when I was still living in Singapore then (instant noodles do not count). But now in Australia, the kitchen has become a very important place to me..... I stand there every day to prepare basic daily meals, recalling all the little basic cooking skills my mother ground into me. Not that I had any difficulty in remembering them, but I just felt nostalgic on the mother and daughter bond formed in this ritual of passing on these knowledge and ski...
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Another one of my hubby's quirks

My Significant Other has a particular quirky habit. He's really into games and puzzles. I'm not blogging about this to box him up or label him in anyway (hubby abhors such things which may lead to stereotyping). I'm simply trying to put down my thoughts, get things in perspective and possibly try to understand him better... or maybe I'm just rambling. Sometimes after ending a long business meeting with some issues yet to be resolved, he'd open a mini puzzle game on his computer screen to do some electronic battling...... finally drawing a sigh of contentment after he has beaten his electronic opponent... (as if a way of disentangling the unresolved issues off his mind). Also, sometimes before starting work on some database systems project, he'll open a little computer sudoku puzzle and proceed to work through it...... and after finally solving it, he'd straighten up and get down to business... (maybe some kind of warm-up exercise to get the brain juices flow...
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The results are out...

I just got a call from the manager in Perth, aaaaaaaaand...... the results of my 3-hour test have come back! The first thing the manager said was "my gosh, you're a nutcase!", to which I replied "I see, and you guys like nutcases I suppose". "Yes, we do actually" said he... *chuckles* So what do the results say about me... Well in terms of my Verbal Reasoning, I'm in the top 11th percentile And in terms of my Abstract Reasoning, I'm in the top 6th percentile Remember the 318 questions? These were suppose to profile my Temperament; So here's what the test said... I am very flexible but at the same time have a keen eye for detail I have a very structured and sequential approach in tackling tasks I plan out my activities and follow through I tend to be very analytical, objective and logical I am a dedicated and committed person I am a quiet achiever "who will get the job done without too much fuss" On the flipside... I have a tenden...
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3 hour ordeal exam!!!

Earlier this week I received a call back from one of the companies I had applied a position at. Apparently my follow-up email after my first interview had impressed the manager. He asked me to go into their Sydney branch for a 2nd session which was basically just a " little " exam. The exam was to last approximately 3 hours long and included a timed IQ test, English proficiency test, and 318 psychological/personality profile questions. " Not to worry " said the manager, " It's just a standard procedure and it's just something to give us a better picture of what kind of person you are " So on Thursday, I joined the crowd during the rush hour to go down the their office in the city before 9.00am. They brought me to a room which was set-up with a few computer terminals. The test administrator briefed me on what I had to do, gave some instructions on how to log-in the computer terminal and how to key in my answers on the computer, and then left me to w...
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Indulgent afternoon

This afternoon after church, hubby and I headed down to The Rocks near Circular Quay for the Aroma Coffee Festival . Our couple friends - KK&K, told us about this event and invited us to join them. There was going to be live entertainment, free live demos by professional baristas, and gourmet coffee stalls offering coffee samples at only $1 per cup (some stalls offered free samples of certain products) My favourite was the Piazza d'Oro coffee stall. It was one of the most crowded stalls that day with long queues of people lining up to sample their coffee. I liked their stall the best because they offered the most generous portions for their coffees, and they let you put any syrup flavour of your choice for free. I had a cappucino laced with vanilla and hazelnut syrups. Hubby ordered a cafe latte with irish cream and caramel syrups. Definitely a real sweet deal for $1. Piazza d'Oro was also giving away free samples of their new hot chocolate. Anything FREE, just go line u...
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Discouraged...

My job search is underway. But it's not been a easy path. With loads of applications sent out. A number of interviews attended. And zero offers to date. The rejection letters sure leave behind an unpleasant aftertaste. Nobody wants me. At times like this I'm tempted to do either one of 3 things: 1. Start my own business so I can hire myself 2. Ask hubby to start his own business so he can hire me 3. Go back to school
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Feeling nostalgic

Aaaahhhh...... family you either love 'em or hate 'em...... Good thing I love mine * hugz * (BTW, Paul, please don't tell me you don't have any photo of all us that's better than this... I remember you were snapping quite a few shots here... don't only pick the one which you look good in, gotta think of the rest of us too!) After our last lovely guest had left, hubby and I sighed as we reflected what a beautiful time we all had together squished together under one small roof. It's been a long time since we had experienced student life...... cooking and eating together (in a tribal-like manner)...... late night conversations discussing nonsense as well as thought-provoking issues...... waitng for each other's turn to use the shower and toilet...... stepping over sleeping bodies sprawled out all over mattresses on the floor...... sharing stubbies...... and simply just laughing, talking, and playing together! We simply want to say THANK YOU to these lovely ...
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Getting chilly again...

Well the house is all quiet now with just two of us once again... definitely a big contrast to just a few days ago when we ambushed by 3 big kids bouncing around our tiny apartment... I think the extra people really helped to warm up the place. We didn't use the heater at all while they were here... but now they are all gone, the place started to feel a little chilly and we had to switch on the heater again yesterday night. I baked another cake last night (baking helps keep me warm)... this time with white frosting decorated with smarties. This time there was no hungry hoard to pounce on it to gobble it up... sigh... it was nice having people around and being able to cook for others... I already enjoy cooking for hubby and myself... but being able to spread around the love more to others is nice too... And these kids were hungry! I mostly cooked Asian/Chinese food like fried minced pork, bakuteh, green curry etc. because I think they hardly get a chance to eat this kind of cooking ...
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What I've been up to lately...

This has been a looong silence from me. I do apologise for this. This entry is to tell you that I will be updating you all VERY SOON (I hope!). Just to give you an idea on what I've been up to lately... I've been preoccupied with mainly 2 things: 1. Hillsong Conference '06 2. Visitors
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The problem with perception

Sometimes family members can be the ones that horrify and hurt you the most. One of the biggest obstables in keeping close family ties lies within the area of PERCEPTION . It's a common human trait to look at information an automatically form a perception based on what they take in. It could be an instinctive reaction whuch enables us to make decisions and take swift action in a given situation. However, perception can be bad because we can form presumptions and stereotpype based on what we merely perceive. I can think of so many examples where I've been guilty of it... as well as where I've been a victim of it... and I've witnessed so many other friends and family around me falling into the same trap. Squabbles and quarrels between family -- because one party thought that the other had done something to hurt them, when the actual situation was completely different. Then they feed on resentment and refuse to confront the situation because they are SO CONVINCED that th...
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More talk on old movies

I really am a sucker for old movies. I remember years ago, every Friday (or was it Thursday?) after school, TV2 would screen old classic movies like "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "The World of Suzie Wong", "Oklahoma" and so many more. Those were golden years of movies. One of my all time favourites was "An Affair to Remember". It had the most pathetic and sad storyline. A classic tearjerker. I am convinced that all those modern sappy Korean/Hong Kong dramas were inspired by this story. The basic story is actually very simple: A man and a woman,who are engaged to other people, meet on a ship and quickly fall in love. They agree to meet six months later, but due to an accident one of them is not able to make it. Like your typical drama, they spin the story out slowly into a looooong drawn out drama... but they certainly do it well! ( IMHO at least ) Most people find this movie to be very slow moving with too much talking. This is quite true. But i...
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Men are just big boys

The other day, for reasons unknown, hubby had a sudden impulse to tear open all the boxes of cereal bars to retrieve the free toys inside. It was done before I could stop him. I started to get cross with him when he pleaded and said that he never had such things when he was a kid, and promised to clean it all up afterwards. There was a superman x-ray vision pen, a wristband, sports pouch among the little knick knacks he found inside the boxes. Sigh. Boys will always be boys. Since the deed was already done, I made hubby make a solemn promise that we will never tolerate such nonsense from our kids next time... because I'm not going to be the one to clean up the mess afterwards... while he and the kids just fool around. Maybe I will be the fierce parent after all? Hmmm.... naaaaah!
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I'm a lazy lizard sunbathing

This is my current favourite morning spot. The rising sun hits directly right on this spot in the bedroom. And on any clear sunny winter morning, I like to lounge right here... doing some reading, thinking, sipping tea or just daydreaming for about half an hour or so. I am what my dad used to call a "cold blooded creature" because I retain/conduct body heat so poorly. I get cold rather easily. So like a lazy lizard, I need a little sunshine in the morning to kick-start me for the day. This sunshiny spot is precious while the sun continues to shine. I will miss it in mid to late winter when there will be more clouds than sunshine. Trivia time again!!! I also made an important discovery about the sun these past few months... this sunny spot used to be at the other side on the apartment in the living area in summer... in autumn it disappeared somewhat... and has now reemerged at the opposite side in the bedroom. I know in theory that the angle of the sun's rotation changes o...
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There's a chocolate bar with MY NAME on it!

This is a postcard from my bank. I must be really one heck SPECIAL customer!
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A little pain for pleasure

On Sunday after church, hubby and I headed down to Darling Harbour Jazz Festival to catch some live outdoor jazz performances. There going to be performances by string quartet Fourplay, and the legendary James Morrison, ending with a fireworks display at 7.30pm. We sat down together with MH's recently married ex-classmate and his new wife. It was a very cold and windy day... we were all bundled up in coats and scarves, but I could still feel the chill creeping up as the sun went down. I was almost certain that hands and faces had started to turn a little blue. But the cold was a small price to pay for such beautiful music... Fourplay was not bad, more bluesy/lounge type of jazz. James Morrison was just fantastic! They played a number of old jazz favourites and even a jazzy rendition of Greensleeves... I absolutely loved it! His band finished off their performance with a BIG drum solo which syncronised with the fireworks display... an amazing sight! Watching fireworks with a drum s...
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MILD spicy soup (which is actually HOT)

What cold and wet but also very interesting weekend it has been so far... It started with yesterday going out for dinner with MH's ex-classmates + partners for SICHUAN HOTPOT/STEAMBOAT... the perfect thing to indulge in on a cold winter's night. We ordered 2 types of soup, the plain chicken herbal soup and the spicy sichuan soup. For the spicy soup, there were so many different levels of spiciness from ultra-mild, mild, spicy, extra-spicy, ultra-spicy... Should we try some ultra-spicy for some kick? Then someone mentioned that she had eaten here before and found the mild version to be very very hot already...... serious-ah? ok ok ok... so should we take ultra-mild then? But still need a bit of kick, right? Stick to mild then... (worse come to worse, can mix the spicy soup with the plain one). We selected many different types of meat, fishball, seafood, vegies, mushroom, noodles... When the soup arrived, I peered curiously at the so called MILD spicy soup... oh my goodness! It w...
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Pledging lives to one another

MH managed to get a free half-day off to attend his ex-classmate's ROM. I prepared a simple gift to present to the couple... a card penned with some sweet and personal thoughts and a bottle of champagne for them to celebrate their new beginning. I wanted to give them something elegant and subtle to show the significance of how special this day is for every couple vowing to be husband and wife. It was a simple ceremony. The couple repeated their vows to each other, exchanged rings and signed the marriage certificate in the presence of two witnesses. Just 15-20 minutes or so and it was over. Time for photo-taking. How amazingly simple a marriage ceremony is... if you take away all the other extras like sermons, speeches, music etc... in the end it's simply about two people pledging their lives to one another... such a simple act, yet so profound!
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