Time Of My Life

Hello from Korea!

2012-01-06T14:48:00.001+11:00

As I am typing this, I am listening to Korean jazz music, sipping green tea latte, nibbling on scones, people watching and defrosting my toes!

If you don't already know, I am currently in Seoul, Korea! And I'm loving it!

Jessi is here for a short study abroad stint and I am here enjoying whatever freedom I have left before I start work officially!

It's the first time jessi and I are both traveling together without anyone else. We went to HK with dove, ponx and aiming. Our recent trip to Sydney was with Ponx and Jake.

But, what's not to love? Our final one on one sisterly bonding trip before I start work and she resumes her studies far away from me. Thanks to dad and mom for the opportunity!!! Gonna have to start contributing to my holidays soon. Brrr. The thought of it makes me shiver!

Been having so many OMG moments! Getting lost, taking the wrong train, trying to handle the language barrier, speaking with body language, experiencing new things. Loving it!

It's been a wonderful few days. It was pretty cold at first, and even snowed! But now, the weather is getting warmer and we are both getting more acclimatized.

Seoul National University is huge! Was walking in the snow for 45 mins...

I'm waiting at a cafe for Jessi to finish class and come meet me.

Intentionally got lost just now. It's fun! Being in a foreign land, walking around neighborhoods, soaking in the local atmosphere. Of course it's a great plus that it's not toe numbing cold and there is even sunshine today!

Visited Ehwa Women's University just now and I must say, the rumors are true! The girls that go to the school are prettier and generally dress better!

Ewha Women's University at Edae

Going clubbing tonight with a few of the girls from the dorm that we're staying. The plan is to have dinner at 7, prepare and leave for Hongdae at 10. Club for the whole night, and then take the earliest train back. Earliest train is at 5am. That's the norm here because the train service ends around 1am and cabs are super expensive.

OMG. Can I do this? An I too old for this?! Who cares, I'm gonna do it! Bwahaha! Maybe if we get too tired, we can go to one of the Jimjilbangs. (Korean spa houses- the ones that you always see on tv where the guys wear blue and where the girls wear pink scrubs like outfits and have those Princess Leia head towels)

Jessi and I taking purikuras for the first time! was so fun

Got my hair washed and blown in a Koren hair salon.

Having dinner at Myeungdong.

and lastly, having hot chocolate and cakes at Paris Baguette.

Look at how cute their cups are?!!

On the MAS flight from KL to Seoul

2012-01-02T14:04:00.001+11:00

Me: excuse me, can I get ear plugs please?
Noobshit air stewardess: what's wrong with your ear?
Me (with stunned face): huh?
Noobshitter: what's wrong with your ear? Why do you need earplugs? (with super hahaz face)
Me: because there is a baby next to me?

I didn't know that I needed to be medically diagnosed by an air stewardess before I can get me some earplugs!

Jessi said that I should have replied her that I needed earplugs because I'm deaf. Answer a stupid question with a stupid answer.

-_-

Only in Penang

2011-12-28T12:49:00.001+11:00

#1 Mismatched. No fine dining hoo ha. As long as its clean and it serves it's purpose.

#2 Disinfecting your tea cups and utensils with hot water before the meal

#3 Door to door mechanic. Just call, they will come to your house, take the tyre, bring it back to the shop, and come and fix it back on. All this for RM 15.

Ahhh good to be home!

Moneyball

2011-12-12T13:54:00.001+11:00

Just watched moneyball (starring brad pitt) with jessi. I really liked it.

It is a show that shows that you should always do something that you believe in, always do something for the right reasons.

Sometimes winning or money is not everything. You must be able to live with your decisions for the rest of your life.

The main character did not set out to win, rather he set out to make a difference. That was what he believed in and that was what he did. A little bit like Arsenal perhaps. Trying to win with limited resources.

Should watch!

Sydney Wardrobe

2011-12-11T10:33:00.001+11:00

I love fashion! Wearing pretty things, looking at other people wearing pretty things. So, a fashion post of my recent trip to Sydney!

I was not prepared for the sudden drop of temperature in Sydney. So I packed for summer and only brought a Zara blazer... haha.

I noticed that all of my outfits, except for the one on Day 4 and 5 are from my recent Taiwan/HK trip! haha. After posting my pictures and comparing them, I came to the realisation that I am actually not very creative with my wardrobe!

I don't mind rewearing my clothes. I am no fashionista and I tend to buy clothes of good quality that are made to be reworn. So please don't judge!

Day 1: HnM dress with Zara blazer. Jessi's Longchamp bag! The bag is super light and perfect for travelling cos it has a zipper. Good way to ward off pickpockets!

Location: Bondi beach

3 months ago. In Taipei 101. Same HnM dress!

OMG I look so noob in this picture! What is with that pose? Seriously! And I think I tied the belt a little bit too low. Makes my body look awkward!

Day 2: Dress from Taiwan. Super cheap! RM 50 only!

Location: Circular Quay

3 months ago, I wore the same outfit in Taiwan! Why spoil a winning outfit? haha.

Day 3: Top from HnM (Hong Kong), jeans shorts from Cotton On. Wore this exact outfit when I was in HK/Taiwan! haha. I've noticed that when I like a combination, I stick with it!

Location: Darling Harbour

3 months ago. Picture taken in Hong Kong.

Location: Ritz Carlton, Hong Kong.

Day 4: Sheer top HnM and shorts from Cotton On. Wore this exact same outfit when I was in Spain.

Location: Blue Mountains, The Three Sisters

6 months ago. Same combination. Picture taken in Valencia.

Day 5: Dress from Forever New. Bought it last year and didn't have an occasion to wear it until now.

Location: Tea Rooms at the Queen Victoria Building

Jessi is wearing a dress from Zara.

Don't you think the three of us are dressed like brides maids? So pretty! tee hee hee!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

and that ends my Sydney outfit post!

Hooray!!

2011-12-08T19:06:00.001+11:00

Just received my final results! and I’m graduating!! Yahoo!!

Took this picture in the Royal Exhibition Building. Jump shot after my final exam ever!! Gonna treasure this picture XD

Just got back from Sydney with Jessi, Jake and Ponx. Was fun! But honestly, there is nothing much to do in Sydney other than eat. I found the people there to be less friendly compared to Melbourne. Boo!

Picture taken at Westfield Bondi Junction. We were supposed to channel Mia Cillan (some tai tai that owns a blog). I think I nailed the look pretty well! haha.

At Bondi Beach.

Jessi and I at Hurricane’s Grill. We ordered the full rack. Waaayyyy too much! Had to tapao half and had it for supper! hehe.

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The second day, we went to the two hatted restaurant – Aria!

Address: No.1 Macquarie Street, East Circular Quay

Aria did not disappoint. It gave what any two hatted restaurant should give. Balance of flavours, pleasing presentation, good fresh ingredients and lots of good surprises for the palate.

Starters:

#1: I had the tuna sashimi and tartare of yellow fin tuna with yabbie tails, cucumber, honeydew melon and wasabi. (the fresh and sweet honeydew melon goes really well with the tuna)

#2: Sydney rock oysters with Thai basil, cracked long pepper and Banyuls dressing

#3: Kurubota pork belly with pork croquette and caramelised apple

#4: Roasted scallops with kimchi puree, silken tofu, steamed eggplant and tapioca crisps

Mains:

#1: Grass fed scotch fillet with lyonnaise potatoes, green asparagus with a bone marrow and cornichon sauce (beef cooked to perfection and hints of the creamy and rich bone marrow certainly brought the dish to a whole new level)

#2: Roasted lamb rump with ricotta gnocchi, pumpkin and mustard fruit puree and a sage balsamic sauce (lamb was tender and pink, and the sage sauce was really nice)

Ponx and I ordered the beef while Jake and Jessi ordered the lamb. Both were equally yummy!!!

For dessert:

I would say that the highlight of the day were the desserts!

#1: Black currant jelly with poached peaches, quinoa tuille and vanilla ice cream (Jessi loved her dessert to bits. She got some oohs and ahhhs from the table next to us when the dish was brought out.)

#2: Mango and lime bombe with black sesame tuille and a passionfruit sauce. (YUMMMM! A bombe is basically an ice cream dessert. This bombe was sweet, sour, fruity, light and refreshing all at the same time! Loved the diced mango and jellies)

Look at the presentation! How can you not fall in love?

Service was great too! Our dining experience could have been brought to another level but sadly the view was a let down. Given that we were dining in Circular Quay, we were expecting a table with impressive views. When I made the lunch reservation, I requested to be seated at a table with views and I made the reservation one month prior to dining. We were seated by the window, but behind a pillar. So we couldn’t see anything but the yuck looking pillar and 1/3 of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Boo for the bad view!!

But overall it was a nice experience! Matt Moran’s Aria did not disappoint!

Walked around the Quay after lunch.

Till next time toodles~ Gym time!

Post Exam Snippets

2011-11-29T15:21:00.001+11:00

Happy that exams are over. Fingers crossed that I’ve passed my last three papers.

Immediately after exams in the Royal Exhibition Building.

Probably my last time in there as a student.

Straight after exams, E and I walked to 3 bags full for brunch.

Some mushroom thingy on bread

Slow cooked lamb with grilled capsicum

Interior of 3 bags full

The next day, the girls met up for champagne. Toasting to our 5 years of uni life.

All dolled up for the Commerce Graduation Party at Eureka.

Took this in their toilet. Amazing view!

Had a backyard barbeque at E’s house.

Law friends.

Been eating like mad!! Going to Sydney soon! whoo hoo!!! Can’t wait!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUMMY!!

2011-11-20T08:13:00.001+11:00

You are the best mom any girl could ask for.

No matter what happens, I always know that you will be supporting me, giving me a guiding hand.

When I'm sad, you would always be there to comfort me. But when you felt like I needed a good waking up, you would be the one who told me the truth.

Without you the house would not be a home, and dad would never have clean underwear or socks to wear! haha.

Please never renounce my position as your partner in crime! hahaha. If not, I wouldn't have nice clothes and pretty things to wear :P

LOVE YOU MUMMY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! XOXOXO

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

2011-11-19T11:00:00.001+11:00

Words cannot express my love and gratitude towards you.

Love you.

I know you rarely express it but I know you love me too.

see, is this how a dad treats her daughter? push her away?
but fret not. this daughter will always run back to you. bwahahaha!

LOVE YOU!!!!

"Facebook will make a breakup 10 times harder"

2011-11-19T00:00:00.001+11:00

So true.

The constant news feed updates, the incessant stalking/ profile/ photo viewing. Deciphering every status update like it's from the Da Vinci Code, wondering if it's about you.

The friendship page showing the timeline from when you first started, the wall posts back and forth, photos of you and him.

But all the above will slow down, and eventually it will stop. He will turn into an 'acquaintance'. That's when you know that you have moved on.

And then you move from being "lovers to strangers"...

When we were together, the video "Strangers, again" from Wong Fu productions didn't really make sense to me. Now, I can so relate.

the video is quite long. and can be a bit boring. so you have been warned.

Two topics in a day! I must be on a real procrastination roll!

Good night :)

2nd last paper of my university degree

2011-11-15T12:59:00.001+11:00

Waiting for the time to come so that I can walk to the exam hall.
Have prepared the best I can. Not 100% but should be enough.

Wish me luck!!

15 more mins. Having done this for almost 40 times (5 year degree, 2 semesters each year, 4 subjs on ave per semester), you would assume that I should be a veteran by now. Nope. I still get butterflies and sometimes even lausai before exam! Haha. I just did!

Owh well, time to flip through my notes one last time and 冲啊啊！

Why is my dad so funny?

2011-11-13T12:53:00.001+11:00

Was chatting with my dad this morning about future plans. I was being super indecisive and he sent me this picture.

with the message: "make up your mind!"

so encouraging! hahaha.

and another picture he sent me:

yep, you've got that right! after 25 years, that old man must still have a hard time figuring mom out. now, to add to his list, he has 2 daughters to be baffled about! haha

Happy Yo-11 Day!!!

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000+11:00

Previous yo-11 posts

During 2006

During 2007

if you click the posts, try finding me! :D

When I was in high school, I had a bunch of friends, we would call ourselves 'yo-11' (quite embarrassing to actually call us that) but the 'Originals' of this gang/club consisted of three smaller groups. 5 monsters (they were given this term by their English teacher so you can just imagine the stunts they pulled off during high school), +4 (ls,rj,poly,tps) , +2 (me and dove, both from kwang hwa). I guess the smaller groups formed when we were in Form 1 and then during Form 2, we merged. Omg! This sounds so childish but as I am typing this I am smiling like a goon.

I tried re-branding us at one point, but failed. Somehow, yo-11 would just stick and not go away.I wanted something cool that started with 'X', but instead of actually starting with 'X', I flipped through the dictionary and searched for something cool under 'Ex'. I found exult which means to show elation. But, my idea was turned down but that was how my blog got its name.

Anyway, back to my story. History: I can't really remember. Someone who remembers help me out here. My version of this is that the name came about when we were at training camp. We were acting all cool and shit and 'yo' was the hip term at that time. So, there being 11 of us, we called ourselves yo-11. (true?)

We did all sorts of crazy shit when we were in school. I'm sure I've written this before but during our last year in high school, we all got ourselves into the 'graduation dinner committee' and the 'graduation book committee' and that meant that we had legitimate reasons to skip class! We would ~~mis~~use our special 'powers' to get 'class exit slips' and climb up the locked gate to the verandah. In the verandah, we would do all sorts of stuff that violated the school rules. We would tapao char koey teow from the canteen and eat there, we would bring laptops, mp3s, and ~~steal~~ borrow speakers from the computer labs and watch videos/ movies. We would be dancing, singing, talking, bullying toh.

During one of our 'ponteng kelas' sessions, our lovely tohzzy decided to step on pipe of the water tank. Lo and behold, the pipe gave way, and the verandah was flooded! (no joke). I was not there when it happened, but I can assure you that it was a funny sight. Toh was screaming/crying/wailing while the others were laughing. A few of us were called to the disciplinary room for that. LOL.

I remember once, after a few of us got out drivers licence, we woke up super early like 5 in the morning to have breakfast before school started. We were a crazy bunch! I remember we went to pulau tikus market for wan than mee because that was the only shop that was open at that ungodly hour!

We had great plans for 11.11.11. We promised each other that we would all meet on this day to reminiscence the old days. I am so sorry I cannot make it! :( Still have exams. But a few of them will me meeting in our high school to play netball (a sport that half of them were involved in during high school). Please have fun on my behalf! Netball wasn't my sport seeing that I was short and was involved in a gazillion other school activities (only 3 other, but I was busy enough).

Before our graduation, I made everyone in our group write in my 'memories book'.

In that book, we had a poll and whoever wins that poll owes us all a meal/ treat.

Some questions of the poll: (please bear in mind that we were only 17 when we were writing that book/poll)

The rules page of the book:

Rule number 1 says if anyone lets another person read the book, they will die an ugly death. does this mean by me showing the contents of this page to you I will die an ugly death? owh no please no. Also says that if you are a girl you will turn fat and have zits all over your face. omg, what was I thinking back then? why would I curse such evil things on someone. haha.

The first to have sex (the verdict of the poll nor the answer will be revealed here) :P
The first to get married: poll was a tie between cy and pot - we are still waiting for that answer!

currently, my best bet is pot. potty potty, when will you get married?!

The first to have a baby: poll says tps, still far from that in reality (I hope)

come to think of it, we voted for pot/cy to get married first, but most of us voted for tps to have a baby first. we were already really forward in our thinking back then huh? having a baby out of wedlock?

The first to get plastic surgery: dove, the poll says you (quite unanimously) haha. till date, afaik, no one has had surgery yet.
The first to get an abortion

omg, we were a morbid group back then weren't we?

The first to get a car

I think this has happened. Ls/dove, is that you?
tps's comment on the poll: I would be the first to get my own car because the others have their parents to buy it for them (quite true actually)

Our group is not as close knit as we used to be (we used to see each other at least 5 days a week, now we would be lucky if we could meet 5 times a year). But when we meet up, we still talk and joke around like nobody's business.

pot and cy's birthday hotel stay circa 2005.

our latest gathering

tps missing from the picture.

prettier and wiser than we were 5 years ago.

Most of them have already graduated and are in the work force, while others (like me) are in our final year, waiting for our turn to be slaughtered by the big bad world.

Thank you my friends, for making my high school such a memorable one. Till we meet again! (very very very soon!!!)

As cheesy as this sounds

HAPPY YO-11 DAY!!!!

De Clieu

2011-11-10T11:46:00.001+11:00

I woke up super early this morning (by my standards anyway) showered, prepared and woke jessi up (much to her dismay as she just finished two exams and was looking forward to sleep in). Nope, the evil sister woke her up and dragged her all the way to Collingwood for breakfast. But it was all worth it though! Was such a nice walk there, ate and bought lots of food :D

So, we visited De Clieu on 187, Gertrude street, Fitzroy.

It was pretty full when we were there s, we were given a seat by the muffin/cupcake/brownie counter much to our delight. No complaints from me! Sitting by a glass panel full of sweets made me happy :D

Cool hip atmosphere, really cool interior that only melb brunch places can pull off.

Jessi and I shared an ice coffee. They asked if we wanted our coffee with ice or ice cream. Erm... Duh?! Their coffee is from Seven Seeds. I'm no coffee connoisseur, but I thought that the coffee was a tad sour. Don't know.

We then ordered ham and cheese croissant to share and the pork neck roti.

Croissant was okay, above average;but the Spring onion roti with pork neck and fried egg was the highlight!!!

don't you think everything just looks extra pretty and appetizing with micro herbs?

The pork neck had Asian flavors and was soft and tender. Melts in your mouth type of goodness. Reminds me of the stewed pork that mom used to make. The roti was a bit like roti canai a bit like pastry. The type of pastry that you get from 'Penang hill chicken pie'. The softness of the pork coupled with the crispy warm bread and gooey yolk = ahhhhhh! Not to mention the spring onion really brings out the pork flavour and gives a certain freshness to the dish.

All in all was a very pleasant experience!

Dreams

2011-11-08T09:43:00.001+11:00

Just woke up from a dream. In that dream, I was running with 2 other people. Running away from people hat were chasing us. I kept falling down and was very scared. But the weird thing is that the setting is not somewhere dark and gloomy. I was running on green grass with the blue sky as a backdrop.

What does this mean?

Could it be because I was ogling at topless guys running on the track field yesterday? Owh those boys were yummy I must say. With their lean perfectly chiseled bodies and their long legs.

Lol.

Gami fried chicken

2011-11-05T21:43:00.001+11:00

Jessi and I were feeling fried chicken and beer. So we decided to try a new Korean place.

The store is at 100 little Lonsdale street, Melbourne CBD. If you walk down Rathdown street, turn right when you see 'Trunk'. Gami is a small shop on your right. Just google it lah!

Jessi and I ordered their kimchi pancake but the highlight of the night was the fried chicken. The fried chicken came with coleslaw and pickled radish.

We ordered half-half. Half sweet chilly the other half garlic soy. Personally we preferred the garlic soy better cos the sweet chilly was a bit too sticky and thick.

But overall the fried chicken was great!!!! What's not to like about crunchy, tender fried chicken dripping with sweet luscious sauce. And eaten with the sour and fresh radish, yummeh!!

Owh and on top of that we ordered their house beer. Beer with fried chicken. Beer even came with prawn crackers. HEAVEN!!!!

I highly recommend this place for people to sit, drink, nibble or gobble on fried chicken and chat.

Service was great too!!! We brought our own Tupperware and filled it up till we could not close it tight so, we planned to walk around the city with a half closed container. But they automatically offered us a plastic bag and a rubber band so that we can tie the Tupperware together. How thoughtful of them!

Anyway go try!!

- Swot vac so make-upless and hence the sunnies to shield my eye bags.

update: just had leftover fried chicken and pancake! took it out from the fridge and ate it just like that. tastes awesomelicious!! perhaps even better because all the sauce has seeped into the chicken! even though the chicken is not crunchy any more but it's just another type of yummy!

Doing revision and...

2011-11-02T11:43:00.001+11:00

Why can't judges just come up with one rule and stick to it? And if they are going against that rule, why can't they just say that this is an exception rather than having a gazillion inconsistent versions of that one rule? Ma9fan *insert angry emoticon*

-end of rant-

A mothers embrace

2011-11-01T19:11:00.000+11:00

I wish for things that I don't need.
But that doesn't mean I don't want them.
But certain things in life are free. In fact, I would go further and say that most things that matter the most money can't buy.
Got to remember that.

A letter to my 30 year old self

2011-10-29T21:22:00.001+11:00

How are you? I hope you are healthy and well. Please don’t tell me that you’re overweight!! Your 23 year old self will be so disappointed! I did not gym everyday and watch my diet to see my 30 year old self get fat. If you are fat please do something about it!

Jokes aside, I hope daddy, mummy and Jessi are doing well. I also hope that you are still good friends with your primary school and uni mates. How’s life anyway? Any different from what you envisaged it to be?

To put it bluntly, this year, you were dumped.You were devastated at first but now you are slowly accepting the fact that it is over. You knew that once the words were uttered it was over but your brain and hormones has done weird stuff and is sometimes making it difficult for you to move on.

The thing with your younger self is that you are stubborn and refuse to show weakness in front of your partners but only weep when you are alone. I wonder if things have changed now.

Sometimes you still think about him and certain things still makes your heart skip a beat but its affecting you less and less.

You previously told mom that you wanted to forget. But the advice that mom gave you was that you cannot forget, you just have to accept it. With your previous relationship, it was easier for you to move on because you were the one who did the dumping. Do you still think about it often now?

Hopefully by now you would have had a few relationships, even better if you are already with ‘the one’. Pre B, you were always of the opinion that for every person, there is a perfect match and you don’t have to change yourself. The other person will just fit you. After the breakup, you started to question that ideal of yours that perhaps there is no such thing as the missing piece to your puzzle, rather ‘if you want a relationship to work, you have to work hard for it, you have to sacrifice and give it all you’ve got to make it happen’. What are your thoughts now?

(The above was written 20 days ago)

(20 days later)….

You have just finished university. Today is Saturday, and Thursday was your last day ever. On your last day of uni, you went out for lunch with E and Ps and then went for ice cream at Freddos! (yumm yumm, can you still remember the taste of Roche in Freddos?)

Do you miss your university days? Are you still in contact with your university friends? This is a little reminder that you should contact your friends!!! Catch up with them. Has anyone invited you to their wedding yet?! Omg! Have you been a bridesmaid yet?

At this point in time, you have already made up your mind to go back to Msia upon graduation. It’s a bit sad because most of your friends will still be in Melbourne. Are you are missing the brunch places, awesome food places, the Aussie milk, yoghurt, muesli, awesome coffee owh and being fully subsidised by dad?

At this point in time, you’ve had a few interviews but so far you have not had an acceptance yet. You are trying not to worry or think about it and focus on your final essay and 2 final exams but you being you, are always stressed about getting a job before grad. You know that you actually have the luxury to take some time off after uni but your kan cheong self just cannot push that thought aside.

As for your relationship worries, what you were thinking 20 days ago is totally different from now. You don’t miss the person per se but you miss the companionship. You miss someone being there to cuddle, to hold hands with, to share your day with, to lean on, to hug, to punch, to joke… You are sure that you will feel like that again, you just don’t know when. Hope that by now you have already found that someone.

Your 23 year old self is going to stop here because she wants to watch Brother Bear on tv (yes, you are still watching cartoons at this stage in your life). Yes, you still have an essay due but hee hee fuck it!

Blek!!!

Hope this brings a smile to you (in the future). Perhaps even a chuckle on how childish and funny you were when you were younger. Perhaps this can also serve as a reminder on how not to be too serious in life. I LOVE YOU!! <3

A little photo for remembrance.

Green Day - Time of your life

2011-10-28T11:20:00.002+11:00

Another turning point;
a fork stuck in the road.

Time grabs you by the wrist;
directs you where to go.

So make the best of this test
and don't ask why.

It's not a question
but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs
and still frames in your mind.

Hang it on a shelf
In good health and good time.

Tattoos of memories
and dead skin on trial.

For what it's worth,
it was worth all the while.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

The end of a chapter

2011-10-28T00:19:00.001+11:00

Just wanted to mark this day down. Last day of uni. Has been a great experience. 5 years of being a uni student. The time has come for me to move on.

Friendships that have formed,
Knowledge that I have gained,
Experiences that I will treasure,
And memories that I will never forget.

Felt a wave of sadness when I was in the final class evar! It all ended so quickly, just like any other semester. But today, instead of being glad that the semester is finally over, i found myself not wanting it to end.

But all great things have to come to an end, to make way for even better things.

No one can predict the future but I am grateful for my past. It has shaped me into what I am today.

To my family, thank you for making it possible
To my friends, thank you for making it filled with laughter and joy
To those that cannot be named thank you for making it colourful

No regrets I say. Only sweet memories of once that was.

PMS

2011-10-26T11:12:00.001+11:00

I've been feeling so pms-ey of late. This only happens when I'm stressed i.e. My stupid essay, exams. When I'm on holiday, partying, glammin I'm like what pms?! So just shut up, don't judge and let me rant okay! it's my blog and I can do whatever I want with it. (get what I mean by me being pms-ey) now I'm angry at you for no reason! Heck, I might even be talking to thin air.

Feels as if nothing is going my way and I get agitated so easily (many times over the smallest of things).

When I'm pms-ing I feel like a vampire in Vampire Diaries. Everything that I feel is just heightened. Feel super jealous, super kan cheong, super angry, super emo, super left out...

Need to control my emotions and not let petty things bother me. Honestly how am I going to deal with myself when I start work? Be known as the pms bitch in office? mlm

Not everyone's life revolves around you bitch! Grow up!

A weekly sisterly thing

2011-10-25T20:31:00.001+11:00

Has come to an end. From the beginning of semester, Jessi and I have been having lunch together almost every Tuesday cos she has a two hour lunch break.

Sometimes we talk a lot, sometimes we just do our own thing, or look at the world pass us by. We don't have to talk a lot and not feel uncomfortable. It's the type of comfortable silence that only happens when you are with people that are really close to you.

What way to better end this weekly event than having our final Tuesday brunch session at Melbourne Uni's Lot 6 which is conveniently located within the main campus and 3 mins away from home.

Farewell to Tuesday brunches but never to sisterly bonding sessions!

Fingers crossed

2011-10-25T11:48:00.001+11:00

Having an interview later. Wish me luck!

Been going to quite a few interviews but haven't been getting replies. I always think that the interviews go relatively well but somehow I just never get called back.

Owh well. At this point in time it doesn't bother me much anymore cos I think that having a bit of time off after grad wouldn't be such a bad idea :p and sometimes the more you want something the more nature wants to be at odds with you. So, I'm going to take it as it is.

And also, I seem to be having the problem of not knowing what I want. But I've set a goal for myself and I do think it's attainable. Haha. Might or might not tell you what that goals is.

Rejection is a bitch. But the only way is to deal with it.

Now, back to reality and my essay! Boo!

Lunch

2011-10-24T09:53:00.001+11:00

Trying to eat more healthily and also lose some weight at the same time. Been gumming almost everyday but been getting heavier due to gain in muscle but also because i haven't been watching what I eat. So my aim is to lose some weight before graduation.

Must practice self control! No more second helping and junk food! Must control portion and exercise self restraint!!!! Sigh, food has always been my weakness.

What I wore

2011-10-23T18:51:00.001+11:00

Top: Dorothy Perkins
Cardigan: HnM
Shorts: Esprit
Shoes: Melissa jelly flats
Occasion: studying in the library

Progress of essay- slow. But progressing.
Don't know how 5 hours of my life just passed like that.

Trying out blogger on my iPad

2011-10-23T08:46:00.001+11:00

Let's see if this works and if I can post pictures too! If it's possible then it would be way cool!

#1 when jessi and I were out for brunch last tues.

#2 chocolate soufflé from vue de monde When I visited with aiming a while back. Super noms!

#3 pretzel mnm that we got from Taiwan. Which we visited during the 2 week sept holidays

#4 Super awesome Thai style prawn class noodles. Was our first attempt and it turned out really well.

p.s: don't you hate it when you wake up with a massive headache? damn! breakfast then cafergot for me! What are you waiting for?! Today is the day!

Listening to some old Jay Chou tunes

2011-10-22T23:45:00.000+11:00

I used to love Jay Chou a lot!!! But then, after he got all mainstream and put too many instruments/ techno/ dizzy stuff into his music, I started to dislike his songs.

Owh and I used to have this old skool samsung yepp battery operated mp3 player. At that time it was the most amazing piece of technology and had a memory of less than 1 gig. If I'm not wrong it was only 512mbs. Can you imagine that? Now even my USB drive has four times the space. I think the maximum amount of songs that I could fit into the mp3 was like 12. Inside, I would put Jay's Fantasy album songs and listen to it every night before bedtime. Sometimes I would even listen to it until I fell asleep and the mp3 player would just keep going on repeat.Listening back to his songs brought back so many high school memories! I would print his lyrics and bring it to school and write little pin yin's next to the chinese words and practice in class. It amazes me on how I have put his songs into my long term memory as up to this day I can still sing the songs by heart!

I used to just sing without actually taking the time to understand and savour the lyrics but now with maturity and more life experience, suddenly his songs mean so much more and have such a poetic beauty to it. Some of his songs just paint a picture and when you listen closely, you can totally imagine the picture that he is painting through song. ( 分裂 totally paints a picture in my mind- it's like your being transported into a rainy taiwan, sitting on a mortocycle, watching the world pass by as you drive aimlessly reflecting on life) ha!

So, as I go through Jay Chou's songs on my iPod, I'm going to post lines of his lyrics that I think are really beautiful. I have a problem though, I kinda stopped listening to his songs after November's Chopin. boo! Should find someone who has full albums or try to download them :P

最後的戰役

~有些事真的來不及回不去

龍捲風

~愛情走的太快就像龍捲風, 不能承受我已無處可躲, 我不要再想... 我不要再想你

~不知不覺你已經離開我不知不覺我跟了這節奏後知後覺又過了一個秋後知後覺我該好好生活

浪漫手機

How romantic is this song? It's about the beginning of a relationship. How awkward and torturing it can be and how lovely and sweet it is when the other person replies your love. (The song expresses the feeling of a couple being in the early stages of a relationship through mobile phone) - gosh, it sounds so bad when I type it out in English.

~想關上這城市所有的燈光, 黑暗中專心聞你的髮香

~電視牆吵雜的情歌還在拼命播放, 我安靜在鬧區等來電鈴響, 有一些話打好了卻不敢傳, 怕收到信息的妳在為難, 街道上人潮襯托我的孤單想像, 誰幸運的陪在妳身旁卻誤會一場, 妳也在等妳手機響

*abrupt end*

that's all I have time for~ going to listen to more Jay tunes before I go to bed.

Random

2011-10-07T12:36:00.001+11:00

Instead of updating my fb status, I think I'm going to start posting random's in my blog. Maybe because I don't feel like compelling other fb users to read what's on my mind and I think less people read my blog than my fb statuses. haha. random. you don't have to get me. some things only make sense in my head.

I think James Morisson's voice can melt a girl's heart :P Owh please serenade me!

Anyway, exam timetable is out! Quite happy with it, but I just have to get my essay out of the way. Hate essays! Grrr! But no matter how much I hate it, I know that when I graduate, I will miss it. Humans are such weird creatures (well, maybe not all just me..)!

Seriously, what to do after I graduate? I know that I have to start work. But where, as what, when? Not helping that I've been going to interviews and not even getting rejections. More like interview then no news for months. Whatevehs! Not too fussed about it :) Even hoping I can start a little later so that I can 'nua' at home for a bit :P

For the time being, I don't know what I want but I know what I don't want. I guess that's enough.

Day 5–Valencia

2011-10-02T10:07:00.001+11:00

For day 1 and 2 *click*

For day 3 *click*

For day 4 *click*

We travelled by train to Valencia. Train ride took 3 hours and cost 44.50 Euros each.

Some pretty pictures that would be a waste not to share.

Watching life pass by.

If my memory serves me correct, this is the central market of Valencia. Mercado Central.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After a little siesta, we headed over to the beach in search for dinner. Took the metro to Maritim Serreria.

There was a carnival when we were at the beach! With entertainment, lots of beer, lots of mojitos, snacks etc.

clockwise left to right: stalls selling knick knacks, xena princess warrior, stall selling olives and preserved stuff, guy preparing a hawk for departure, lady selling best chips ever!!!

Vendor selling grilled sausages and meats

Dipping our toes into the Mediterranean sea.

Dad our bag hanger while we were taking pictures.

We had dinner at La Pepica. Food there was alright. To be honest, the Spanish food that we had this trip was so-so only. Lots of hits and misses even at highly recommended restaurants. Perhaps they were mostly over commercialised and targeted at tourists.

Row 1: Asparagus salad with tuna (passable), prawns in olive oil (another pass, we all preferred the gambas that La Bodega serves)
Row 2: Local Valencian speciality – rabbit paella. Was pretty good.
Row 3: Self explanatory

The interior of La Pepica:

Fireworks when we were on our way home.

Boy do I miss Valencia already.

Till next time~~~

'It just makes everything you worry about so pathetic'

2011-09-04T15:17:00.002+10:00

Watched this on X-factor Australia.

Every time I watch this I tear.

Seriously, who am I to complain about life?

I have so much to be thankful for.

Why ish my dad so cute?

2011-08-31T15:53:00.002+10:00

Dad: We're going out for a movie later any tips? I guess tips meaning any recommendations.

Me: Don't snore in the cinema?

His reply (which made me LOL even louder): I'm going to nap now la, so that I won't sleep later.

Me: Don't think your nap will make a difference.

HAHAHA! My dad is famous for his sleeping. He was even dubbed the 'champion' of the tour group when we went to China. He would wake up, go eat breakfast, check out of the hotel, hop on the tour bus and sleep. To make things worse, he snores.... loudly! T_T

<3

Vertical Horizon

2011-08-25T11:22:00.000+10:00

One of the comments: 'used to love this song. was very meaningful to me, am over him, but still love the song'

I'm waiting for mine to be in the past tense.

Day 4–Barcelona

2011-08-22T09:27:00.001+10:00

I have to be really honest. I didn’t really do much research this trip. So, we didn’t really go to all those touristy places. This was more like a shopping trip for us. Looking back, we didn’t really take a lot of pictures because most of the time we were busy trying on clothes and queuing up to pay.

Well, I shall just post whatever pictures that I have.

Due to our jet lag, we woke up early and visited St Joseph la Boqueria. Basically it’s a market. But unlike the wet markets back in Msia, this was a nice market, selling all sorts of stuff like candied fruits, meat and poultry and fresh juices.

Entrance of the market

Pinotxo bar- a breakfast place that serves good coffee, sandwiches/baguettes and the most amazing pastry with custard filling ever!

Location: when you enter the main entrance, you should see the shop on your right.

From left to right:

#1 sardines on baguette. what I found really interesting was their ‘tomato sauce’. They cut up very fresh ripe tomatoes and rub it on the bread. It’s the purest form of tomato sauce that you can get! Straight from the tomato!

#2 spinach egg omelette. Yummehhh

#3 I really don’t know what this is called. But it’s the yummiest pastry/bread/croissant thingy ever and inside there is this super light and yummeh custard type filling! I think they deep fry the bread so we didn’t dare eat too much cos I could feel my throat tightening from the dry Spain weather and from all the fried stuff that we eat. Yeah, so the four of us just shared one superb-ly awesome pastry! Damn, should have ordered another!

One of the fresh juice stalls in the market. The Spanish love their fruits and their juices. Or maybe they turn their fruits into juice because their fruits turn bad really quickly due to the heat.

The Spanish are really serious about their cured meat. Jamon, salami etc. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think this is because they needed to preserve food for their long voyages at sea.

#1: I see head, brains, tongue

#2: Seriously some I can’t even identify

#3: Little piglet! I would love me’self some roast piglet! Bwahaha!

After breakfast, we braced ourselves for the first day of the Spanish sale!

Look at that first aunty queuing up. She is the most serious and gung-ho aunty I have ever seen. The shops open at 10 but she was already there at around 9.30. This aunty really came prepared. Look at the stack of paper she’s holding. The papers were actually print outs from the Zara lookbook. She circled items that she was going to buy alongside price, colour, size and code. I knew cos I sneaked up behind her. Not only that, she was ‘studying’ her notes with full of concentration while in line. What’s more interesting is her outfit. So ready for her shopping war! Backpack instead of handbag, sport shoes instead of heels, comfy clothing.

Look at all the crazy people queuing to get into Zara before it started business!

We had our own shopping strategy *proud face*.

Strategy #1: The day before the mega sale, we actually went to Zara and Massimo Dutti and tried on some clothes but we didn’t buy them. On the day of the sale, we rushed in, collected the clothes that we pre-tried and paid. It was a good strategy because the queues into the fitting rooms were long and massive! Not only that, they have this annoying policy of not being able to bring in more than 5 pieces of clothing at once.

Strategy #2: If we needed to try on a piece of clothing, we simply just wore it over our clothes (preferably somewhere in the corner). Just to avoid the queue to the fitting room. Ahhh the sacrifices that we make *lol*

Hard at war! Equipped with walkie talkie as dad didn’t have the patience to wait while we shopped.

Some Gaudi building. Took this picture solely because we passed by it while making our way to Ferragamo No Sagrada la Familia for us because we were too busy shopping and it was too warm for us to go anyway *excuses*

*sudden change in the feel of my pictures because I am hiao and decided to edit the pictures* hahaha.

The Spanish pronounce Chanel differently. They pronounce it Ceh-nel. Instead of the ‘Ch’ pronouncation. (don’t know if you get what I am trying to say)

Yummeh lunch. The paella was the best I had for the entire trip. It had baby squid in it! Yumms!

*like* Daddy resting while we scurry around El Corte Engles which is the biggest department store group in Europe (source: wikipedia).

*intermission for some pretty scenic pictures*

We had an awesome dinner at Tapas Royale. Got drunk on sangria, margarita, beer and wine *slurpsssssss*. Address: C/Escudeliers 19

Walked around a bit after dinner and then called it a night.

Some beautiful artwork while we were walking around La Rambla. The last two pictures are not edited in anyway. Too pretty. Just too pretty.

Till the next post. Toodles~~

Gym adventures

2011-08-17T15:11:00.001+10:00

So, I went for a free consultation at the gym today.

Firstly, I would like to say that the PT is a HUGE MAN. Perhaps 30 cm taller than me and soooooooooooooo buff. But weirdly not the disgusting buff. The buff that I would like to rest my head on. *hehe* Sadly he has smokers breath (either that or he has really bad breath because I find it difficult to comprehend that a person that takes such great care on his outer appearance and gym all the time would smoke and harm his body). Besides, he's too old for me anyway! :P

The first thing the personal trainer asked me was what did I want to do with my body. I told him I wanted to lose weight, have a smaller tummy, and reduce my calf size. (my calves are weirdly disproportionate to my thigh and body size). He told me that there is no such thing as target weight loss (i.e. targeting a specific area and lose weight there. Weight loss happens to your whole body, albeit some areas faster than the others).

Also, he said that I should get rid of the weighing machine. (do you hear this mom!?) He said that the weighing machine is to weigh food and gold. Not body weight. Which has some truth in it because as you exercise your body fat will turn into muscle and well, muscle weighs more than fat. I have noticed that ever since my persistent gymming, I have been getting leaner but not any lighter. In fact, I'm getting heavier *emooo*.

But then again, maybe the weight gain has something to do with my non stop eating *once again emo*. So, I guess the key to weight loss is actually maintaining my exercise routine and eating less. (very difficult to eat less because I am trying to brighten my social life and there are very little socialising activities do not involve food!)

Anyway, back to the gym thing, he designed some exercises for me to do in the gym. It includes 'glute ham raises, atlas lunge, arm rows, tricep kickbacks, mountain climbs and crunches' *insert cannot make it tired face here* He did not assign cardio exercises for me because I attend group classes to increase my heart rate around 4 times a week?

So, after the session, he made me fill out some paperwork asking me if I experience body pain, if I have a history of illnesses and stuff. While I was filling it out on their table top, I had to tip toe...

The trainer said: "you might want to move over to the shelf there"

Once again T__________T (emo to the max). But I did move to the shelf because it really was easier for me.

Maybe that is where I get my disproportionate calves from! My excessive tip toeing because of my height! Come to think of it, I do tip toe a lot because a lot of counter tops are just not made for people like me! *discriminators!!!* I have to tip toe when I'm using the stove because it makes it easier to stir the pot T___T

Some pictures for your entertainment:

Exhibit 1: This was in a Swiss toilet. I have to actually tip toe to look at my face in the mirror! Such audacity! Have you ever thought that shorter people need to look at themselves in the mirror too?!

Exhibit 2: At the Zurich airport. This was taken in those monorail thingys that take you from one terminal to the other. Jessi didn't take a good picture but the rail was damn high. I had to stretch my body, arms and tip toe to reach the hand rail. T_T

Maybe they think that short people don't need to hold onto anything while the vehicle is moving because our centre of gravity is lower and therefore we are more stable.

That concludes my funny story of the day! Till next time :)

ps: I really need to start hitting the books!

Sometimes, I feel like this

2011-08-16T23:02:00.002+10:00

But, we just have to wake up for real and face reality. And coming to think of it, reality is not that bad after all. Seriously, what is not to love about my life? I think I react to things slowly. and only react a while later after incidents occur. So, I am slowly reacting :) at my own pace. I feel like I’m growing up (which is a good thing)

For everything, there is a time and perhaps its not my time yet. But I know what time it is… Time for me to finish my education here, time for me to enjoy my last few months here, time for me to spend quality time with friends and family. Time to be happy! This is probably the last period of life where I can fully depend on my parents financially before I enter into the workforce *gloom*

I’ve been going out more and talking to more new people. I don’t know how long this ‘new’ me will last before I become all lazy and revert to my shell (which might be a good thing because I really have to get my essay done) but if not now then when? Besides, I’m enjoying it *hehe*

*blows kiss* ~‘lovin each day’~

sidenote: I was so channelling kim kardashian in this outfit! and I love it! I wore this to a friend’s 21st party which was themed ‘New York State of Mind’.

I'm slowly getting used to it.

2011-08-14T19:01:00.001+10:00

Sometimes small random things still make me think of the past. No one said it would be easy, but I guess it's for the better.

Facebook is evil!! Yesterday on the sidebar, it said 'Today, two years ago, you and B became friends' and displayed small thumbnails of our pictures. T___T UNCOOL!!

I get strength from the random-est places! Like zumba class. For the past two weeks, Jessi and I have been attending this zumba class taught by the best instructor ever! Makes us all happy and bubbly! and this song has been stuck in our head since Saturday! Lol! Both of us will hum to this song and do the dance moves in the middle of the street because it's just too enjoyable!

Para no verte mas

심장이 없어

ps: I'm on a roll aren't I? Guess I am back!

The other day...

2011-08-12T15:42:00.002+10:00

I was stuck in my dream. I was in a maze, running; at the same time, trying to solve a puzzle. At 7.45 a.m., just like every other day, my body alarm automatically woke me up. At first I was frustrated that I didn't get to finish the maze and the puzzle so I was stuck with two options. 1. go back to bed and finish the dream or 2. wake up and be frustrated all day because I didn't solve my dream.

I was about to go back to sleep to finish up the dream but then I figured, why not do it differently? So, instead of going back to bed, I sat up, solved the puzzle and figured out a way to exit the maze in all my consciousness! Ha! Betcha never thought of that! *haha*

The point of my story besides me being weird and solving my dream in all consciousness is that there is no fixed rule for approaching something. Sometimes there are other ways of looking at things, we just have to trust our instincts and go along with it.

And that, was how I had a great start to my day ;)

Day 3–Thun off to Barcelona

2011-08-07T12:50:00.001+10:00

From Thun, we took the train to the Zurich airport and from there, we flew Swiss air to Barcelona.

When we arrived Barcelona it was already in the afternoon. Walked around the alleys a bit and then had dinner at Los Caracoles. We had Los Caracoles previously when we were in Spain and I swear that it was better then. Perhaps it has become a little bit overcommercialised.

We got a lil tipsy after dinner because of all the sangria and beer that was consumed Ahhhh, happy times.

Given that we didn’t do anything much on the 3rd day, I shall just post up random pictures.

Jamon

Smile and the world smiles with you~

Los Caracoles. (disappointment)

I think the interior is super cool!

My parents are just too cute!!

Too pretty! The sun sets really late during summertime. I think this was around 9 p.m.?

Pier at night

La Rambla at night

Till next time. Goodbye~~
Time to get some work done. Been procrastinating too much!!

Aja Aja!!

我

2011-08-05T00:26:00.003+10:00

我哭，因为我是人不是机器.
我会笑, 因为我会学习坚强.
时间一天一天的过，我也一天一天的成长.

今晚必须好好睡.
明天醒起来又会大一点,

哭少一点，笑多一点.

晚安.

I have decided

2011-08-03T15:13:00.001+10:00

To start blogging again!

I stopped blogging because I became lazy. But now, considering that I only have one day of class a week, with so much free time in my hands why not blog and keep track of my last semester as a student!

Blogging feels alien and I feel so out of touch, but what the heck. One of the reasons I wanted to start blogging again was because when I was travelling over the winter I found out that I have actually forgotten a lot of the places that I’ve visited, the things we did etc. So, my blog will serve as my travel diary as well.

My 1 month winter holiday was fun filled and packed with fun.

My travel itinerary: Mel – Sin – Pen; Pen – KL; KL – Pen; Pen – Sin – Zur; Zur – Bar; Mad – Zur; Zur- Sin – Pen; Pen – Bkk, Bkk – Pen; Pen – Sing Mel [and all that in one month!!] *phew*

I shall blog in snippets and only add in commentary when I feel important.

Went to KL for a meeting with dad. Am posting this picture up because I think I look so pro! Haha!

Seriously, sometimes I wonder how my dad does it. I followed him for a day and I had a massive headache for two consecutive days! Woke up at 6am (partly due to my jet lag) and flew to KL. Once we were there, we went for the meeting. Then after the meeting, we went to the airport and flew back to Penang. Right after we came back, we went to a party and stayed until 2 am. Needless to say, after that jam packed day, I knocked out. Dad was okay and up and awake and back to work the next day. Maybe I’m just too weak T_T

Look at this man! Full of energy after I was sprawled on the table massaging my temples for the past two hours.

4 days after my KL ordeal, we were off and heading towards Europe!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Singapore airlines to Zurich. What a way to increase our Krisflyer miles

Zurich Flughafen

Mom, Jessi and I had to travel to Thun ourselves as dad went to another town.

61 Swiss Francs per person. Swiss trains are efficient, clean and very pleasant. But it comes with a price. A very hefty price.

We went smack during summer so it was very comfortable when we were in Switzerland. (can’t say the same for Spain though)

Day 1 - Thun

Teens jumping off a bridge into the lake. Looks damn scary. I dipped my toes into the water and it was pretty cold!

We were treated to a special steamship ride. The BLS Schifffahrt Berner Oberland.

The weather was perfect.

Enjoying the lake breeze :)

Was wearing French Connection’s maxi dress. A tad bit overdressed for the Swiss’s very relaxed sense of dressing. But better to be overdressed than under aye?

Our little private dining area.

For some odd reason, European beers and wines just taste better.

People swimming in the lake. Because it was summer, the sun set really late. Around 10 p.m.

We cruised on the lake until the sun set. Then, we called it a night as we were all jet lagged.

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Day 2 – Thun

Usually, we will stay smack in the middle of the town but because of the peak holiday season due to summer, we had to stay a bit off town. This meant taking expensive bus rides to the town centre.

At the park by our hotel

Breakfast.

I love the bircher muesli in Switzerland! It always tastes so good!!! Will attempt to make it soon ;)

A very simple yet very satisfying breakfast. Bread, ham and warm milk.

The bread is so-so-sooooo amazing!!! I really cannot explain to you how amazing the bread is!

After breakfast, dad went to work while mom, jessi and I went to town and did a bit of exploring.

We decided to visit the castle of Thun.

We had to make our way by foot to the castle in the background. It wasn’t a very long walk but it did rain when we descended.

On the way to the castle, we passed these little plots of land where the locals plant vegetables, fruits and whatnot. Mom said that the plots of land are rented by people who live in town and don’t have space for a garden.

Grapes ripening.

On the way up, we saw this cleaner guy with this machine. It’s actually like a wheelbarrow but with army tanker like automated wheels so that he doesn’t have to pull the cart up and down those steps.

The castle up close. We didn’t actually enter the castle because we were too cheapo to pay the entrance fee and also because it started to rain and we wanted to seek shelter before it started pouring.

So, we found a nice cafe and had lunch. After lunch, we walked around town and waited for dad to pick us up.

Some randoms from Thun

I say their lettuce is massive. Do you think so?

Lavender on sale.

All sorts of berries on sale. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, blackberries. Just typing it out makes me happy!

We also bought tickets train in preparation for our early train ride tomorrow.

Later in the evening, we met up with uncle and aunty Zublin for dinner.

Aunty Zublin gave me this during dinner. Guess who? Me! When we met the Zublins for the first time in Penang. Aww, wasn’t I a cutie?

Can we say the same for now?

We went back to the hotel after dinner, packed and prepared for the next day…

First day of work

2010-12-07T01:39:00.001+11:00

One word to sum it all up. UNGLAM.

I had to walk in the hot sun, wearing long sleeved shirt and carrying a handbag and a laptop. To top things off, I had to take public transport.

My walking route.

From home, I went to the office place, then found out that I was at the wrong tower. Instead of North, I went to the South, so I had to rush all the way to the North tower. Then after the initial induction, I had to go all the way to the South tower and go to the main court. From the main court I had to walk alllllll the way to the KTM station (note: the KTM station does not have escalators, so I had to take the stairs up). Upon arrival at my stop, I had to alight the KTM and walk alllllll the way to the clients office. I was sweating, my arms were aching and my feet were sore.

Seriously I have been too sheltered. Back in Penang, I have my own car, have my personal driver aka daddy and mommy, laundry is done by my beloved mommy, and food places are easily accessible.

How is the work place like? Well, basically 6 of us are working in a small corner in our client’s office. That means no freedom and privacy. I have access to facebook, youtube and all the junk websites, but because we are working in such an enclosed space, want to sneeze also must do it discretely.

But, I have a really good senior that has already thought me a lot of stuff and the first day and even fetch me home just now! whee!

Tomorrow is a public holiday and I am going SHOPPING~~~ wheee~~ hahaha

Happy Birthday Mommy and Daddy!

2010-11-20T08:41:00.001+11:00

Yep, my mom and dad’s birthday are just one day apart. Such a cute coincidence.

Jessi and I were just discussing about how blessed we are to have such loving parents.

My family and I have a very special relationship. Outsiders might not always understand the type of relationship that we have. Some might feel that the way we talk to our parents are rude, others might think that the way Jessi and I communicate with our parents lack that element of respect. But that’s how we communicate with our parents and I think what is important is that respect comes from within. So what if children speak to their parents with utter respect? Is it out of respect or out of fear? To clarify things, its not as if we talk back to our parents. It’s just that we are more open with our topics of discussion.

Anyway, my point is that I would never change the relationship that I have with my parents. I can talk to my mom just like how I would talk to a friend. But of course, sometimes mom gives advice that would come from a mom but not a friend. But as they always say, ‘mom knows best’ and mom is rarely wrong

To cut a long story short, I love my parents a lot, they mean the world to me and I appreciate them so so so much.

Old pictures excite me. My dad had so much hair back then and I had no eyes back then. With those braces. *shakes head*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUMMY AND DADDY!!!

love you lots!

can’t wait to see you guys!

Adventures of Killing a Huge Ass Spider

2010-11-13T12:53:00.000+11:00

One fine morning, when I woke up from a nice slumber, I saw THIS HUGE ASS SPIDER on the top of my door.
Owh it was huge let me tell you. With hairy legs and everything. IT WAS SUPER HUGE AND SUPER SCARY.

I swear that the spider was HUGE! Like those we've seen on those scary movies.

Just look at it! I bet you will be scared shitless.

2 videos of us trying to kill that spider.

Guess who chickened out last minute :P

The videos are only friendly to people who can listen to mandarin though. So sorry if you don't understand.

It was very early in the morning when I woke my sister up. Needless to say she wasn't very impressed.

I think she was so brave because she wanted to get it over and done with so that she can go back to bed. haha.

In between this video, and the next, we brought out the vacuum cleaner to try to suck that little bugger. But owh my god! That small spider was so strong. It cling-ed itself onto the wall with such might that even our mighty and trustee vacuum cleaner didn't manage to suck it!

super scared okay!

Fuyohh~ This is one huge ass spider.

This one is when my brave sister decided to take matters into her own hands and kill that bugger!

The front part is a bit draggy though. So you might want to just forward to the back.

Owh how I love waking up my sister in the early morning to kill huge ass spiders.

Thanks mei! I don't know what I would do without your bravery! haha

Short Update

2010-11-12T11:01:00.001+11:00

Well, well… Two papers down, one more exam and one essay to submit.

My remedies exam was very scary. Seriously. But owh well, nothing I can do now but pray that I pass that paper.

10 days till my next paper. I really have to force myself to use these 10 days wisely. Seriously I never learn. I always procrastinate till the very last minute. *grrr*

Btw, good news! Aiming and I will be going to Gold Coast for a short holiday after our exams~~~ Woot woot. Initially we wanted to go for 4 nights, but we reduced it to 3… then 2 because after a bit of research, we found out that there is nothing much to do there anyway. Either the beach, nature walks or the theme parks. All activities involve the sun. So we decided to make it short and sweet rather than coming back to Melbourne like a bunch of baked brownies.

So, we decided to splurge a bit and stay at a nice hotel for the second night First night we will be staying at a normal hotel, then the second night, we will be staying at Palazzo Versace. Woot woot! Initially, Ponx recommended that we go there just for high tea and act atas and take shameless glamorous pictures surrounded by all things Versace. But after viewing the website, we made a very bold decision to stay a night there!

To be honest, I think we were a bit influenced by the hot models on their website. Dreaming that we see lots of hot European dudes with McDreamy hair. Dressed in yummeh casual suits.

But honestly, I think all the men that are willing to splurge and stay there will either be fat, bald or ugly (maybe a combination). Hey, I’m just being realistic okay? I am also very aware that I do not look like the female models in the pictures.

I am soooooo sexcited because Ponx will be bringing us around in his beemer cruising along the coast. Pumping hot music! hahaha. Let’s do a bit of window shopping shall we? *hehe*

Can’t wait for exams to be over so that my holiday can begin!!! bwahaha

Happy Birthday BB :)

2010-11-09T18:37:00.002+11:00

Have a great year ahead. May all your dreams and wishes come true.
lots of hugs and kisses

sorry for the hasty post. have to continue studying

Il Solito Posto

2010-10-31T13:38:00.001+11:00

So after the whole Blair fiasco, Bryan and I went for dinner at Il Solito Posto on Collins Street.

I have always wanted to dine in this restaurant. Every time I window shop on Collins, I will definitely pay Hermes a visit. Hermes is situated on the corner of George Parade and Collins St and if you peer into that street, you will be able to see Il Solito Posto’s inconspicuous entrance.

Yep! Bet the owners of Il Solito Posto did not get the feng shui memo about having your business below road level. Apparently, having that will bring bad feng shui. But judging from the amount of people that dined there, I don’t think that this rule applies to them.

The wine shelf.

Bryan opted for a house white to start.

Antipasti

Bianchetti Fritti – Fried whitebait, lemon, aioli

Primi

Porchetta Arrosto- Twice cooked pork belly, cabbage, white balsamic salad

Secondi

This was one of the specials of the day so I do not have the accurate name. But basically, it’s lamb cooked two ways.

Pasta e Risotto

Gnocchi con coda di bue - Hand crafted gnocchi, wagyu oxtail ragu, parmesan shavings

Everything tasted SO GOOD! The lamb was cooked to perfection. It was succulent and the flavours just worked. Bryan was really happy with his wagyu gnocci. He kept describing the gnocchi as ‘orgasmic’ and that it was one of the best dishes that he has ever tasted. Honestly, it was pretty good. We had a though choice deciding between whose main course tasted better because both were just as great and they each had their winning traits.

Being the sweet dessert wine lover that I am, I opted for a moscato to go with our Tiramisu.

Vietti Moscato d’Asti DOCG 375ml Piedmont Italy

Tira mi su - Salvatore biscuits soaked in liquor and coffee, sweetened mascarpone

nom nom nom

I usually don’t go for tiramisus because I find them excessively indulgent. But hey, I figured that we were in a really nice Italian restaurant and to test if a good Italian restaurant ‘can-make-it’ would be to try it’s Tiramisu. (not that the other mains did not justify it being a really nice Italian restaurant)

Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Everything was prefectly balanced. Not too sweet, not too creamy, a good balance between cream and soaked bisbuit and the alcohol flavour was not overpowering

Moscato and tiramisu is lurrrveeee

Just like how I my baby

Twas a lovely night.

Thank you baby for the wonderful dinner

Overall it was a very nice dining experience. I will surely bring mom and dad there the next time they visit Melbourne.

It was a super lovely dinner :)

So lovely that we cancelled our plans to go for drinks at No 35 because the night was already so perfect we wanted to end at a high.

Thank you baby. For everything. Everything was perfect :)

Dad's on FB?

2010-10-30T17:39:00.001+11:00

After one week of deliberation, I have added my dad on FB.

Now, mom and dad are on FB. Stalking me and my every move.

Nyeahaha

You better watch out, you better not cry~~

Lovely Saturday

2010-10-30T16:00:00.001+11:00

or is it?

The weather is perfect for snuggling at home with a mug of hot chocolate and a good book.

But guess what? I can't! Well, I can but not without guilt anyway.

Time to start work. But owh, its 4pm already. Where did my lovely Saturday disappear to?

Owh well, let this post mark the beginning of a horrendous period.

At least I have 16 mangoes to help me get through this shit period.

My house smells so mango-ey (if that is even a word)

Toodles~

Long Lost Sister?

2010-10-27T21:25:00.001+11:00

Dove tagged this picture of me on her facebook wall and said that this cute little girl model from Guess Kids looks like me when I was younger.

You be the judge.

I showed Aiming the picture and here is what she had to say about it.

Aiming says

WTFFFF

I THINK I SAW BEFORE

AND MY MUM SAID THAT MODEL LOOKS LIKE ME!

Jesslina says

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

THIS MEANS WE BOTH REALLY LOOK ALIKE!!

HAHAHA

Must Be That Time of The Semester

2010-10-27T10:33:00.002+11:00

when I get really stressed out over irrelevant and not so irrelevant things.

there are lots of things that I want to say, but I know that saying it will not change anything.

sometimes things and people change.

is it my fault for letting it change?

have I not put in enough effort to make it work?

should I not care anymore?

should I just let it go then?

I won't do that because it is too precious to me.

Good things are hard to come by

how can I let it go so easily?

Some Random Pics

2010-10-23T12:12:00.001+11:00

that were taken when Spring first sprung.

At that time, every bit of sunshine was very precious. Now, we just hate the sun! *pfft, we cannot be satisfied can we?

No mei, eating pretty flowers won’t make you prettier!

I made Jessi come to school early because I wanted her to experience the pretty flowers :)

Smelling them won’t too!

Pretty blossoms

Bryan reading the Good Food Guide. Instead of helping us pick a nice restaurant, it has created even more trouble. We keep flipping the book, and looking at reviews of restaurants but never ever committing to one. So, after reading the book for like 2 hours deciding what to eat, we just go to back to the restaurants that we’ve tried before and eat what we usually eat –_- should have done that in the first place aye?

I guess it’s also because we are very budget restrained and most things in the Good Food Guide are pretty pricey :( Should have gotten the Cheap Eats Guide instead. haha

Sitting out in the sun? haha this was when the sun shone brightly but the weather was still cooling. Now, it’s just sunny and hot at the same time. Unenjoyable to the max!

I love my pretty campus.

That has pretty flowers that just brighten up your day.

Dear, strike a pretty pose with the flowers!

and my dear friends, this is what you get…

*spirit fingers*

What do you suppose we are preparing ourselves for?

Piggy back time!

Don’t you think that my short legs are just too cute?

Let me finish with a lovely picture of us hugging.

Erm, actually, we are not that romantic. In fact, we are wrestling! hahaha

Okay. Time for me to start work.

P.s: I had a cup of coffee with soy milk this morning just because I felt like it. And… I think I can confidently say that caffeine and I don’t mix. Now my hands are shaking and I am feeling so jittery! –_- hiao. I have no idea why I drank coffee. Owh well, hopefully the caffeine can help me write my essay faster! Woohoo caffeine powered speed! I just hope that the effect wears out before I sleep tonight.

The Sun! Arrgh!!

2010-10-20T17:38:00.001+11:00

I have a love hate relationship with the sun. I like taking pretty pictures with natural sunlight because it just gives you that glow-happy effect but I dislike the sun when it burns or when you know that you will get tanned for sure!

If you know me well enough, you will know that I tend to shy away from the sun as much as possible. Being a freckly person, I am really scared that I get more spots on my skin! Furthermore, I like to be fair rather than tanned because I don’t think that tan skin works on me. I don’t give out that healthy tan glow like others do. :(

The last time I was tan was when I was in high school and believe me that is one scary sight!

Yes people! That is me!

I am much fairer now. THANK THE HEAVENS!

My secret?

Sunblock is very very important!
Stay out of the sun whenever you can! (and yes, that means bringing a UV-umbrella around) [my mom is the pioneer of this] it can be the smack in summer or in the middle of winter. As long as there is sunlight, we will take anything available to stop the sun from hurting our skin. Yes we are like delicate flowers.
Try to avoid going to places during summer. You might think WHAAT? Not travel during summer? But it’s the best season bla bla bla. Well, not in the Tan family. Most of our holidays are during winter :) because we find the warm/hot weather un-enjoyable.
Wear clothes that cover most of your body when you know that you will in the sun for extended periods of time.

Some recent pics from our Perth trip. It was very sunny! So we tried the best we could to stop the sun’s harmful rays.

Things we did to cover ourselves from the sun

#1 Cover ourselves using our handbags.

#2 Hide under dad’s shadow

here is Jessi hiding under dad’s shadow

#3 Cover ourselves with clothing i.e. jackets/ scarves

here, we have Jessi covering her whole face with her cardigan. Smart thing is that the cardi has a bit of lace so she can still see where she’s going!

here, I’m covering myself with my jacket while I cam-whore.

#4 and who can forget the ol trusty Umbrella!!

My mom always has a spare umbrella in her bag. More often she uses it to block the sunlight, rather than the rain :D

But of course, the brollies, the jackets and everything will be out of sight when it is time to take serious and pretty daylight pictures. Nothing beats the light that comes from the sun when it comes to taking pretty pictures.

Ladida. Hope you enjoyed this meaningless post. I posted it purely because I wanted to procrastinate and to show you some of our pretty Perth pics. haha.

Who is Ah Wong?

2010-10-16T15:40:00.002+11:00

For the first time ever in Jesslina and Bryan history, I attempted to cut his hair. Bryan couldn’t bother going to the hairdresser so he asked if I was willing to cut his hair.
Here is how it went.

I made Bryan wear one of those disposal raincoats so that the hair won’t fall all over his shirt. He said he felt like processed meat.
Needless to say, it was a very hilarious experience both for me and for him.

The first thing that I went for was his fringe. He always complains that his fringe is too long, pokes his eyes bla bla bla. Honestly, I really don’t know how to cut hair. So I went for the ‘bangs’- straight fringe look.

While I was cutting his fringe, I went: “Dear, do you know who is Ah Wong?”

Bryan asked: Who is Ah Wong?

Me: “Later, when you look into the mirror, you will know who Ah Wong is”

This, ladies and gentleman, is Ah Wong. In my personal opinion, I think Ah Wong is SUPER COOL AND HANDSOME!

Bryan has refused to let me post his picture up. You guys decide how the haircut went.

Have to finish my 5000 word essay

2010-10-16T11:03:00.003+11:00

so, sorry for the lack of updates. Not that not updating means that I am working on my essay :(

I hate writing essays! Blehhh! and I have got to be more productive! Exam is less than one month away and I am still so relaxed it's not even funny.

Okay! Wish me luck!

xoxo

The Blair Waldorf Treatment

2010-10-12T23:04:00.001+11:00

In my eyes anyway.

A few days ago, my facebook status read ‘Jesslina Tan feels like Blair Waldorf. <3 Bryan Xie’

The reason for this was because it was a day before our one year anniversary and I was treated to a lovely surprise. :)

It was a Saturday morning and just like any other ordinary Saturday, Shan, Aiming, Jessi and I went for dim sum. After dim sum we shopped and walked around the city for a bit. Then we bid our goodbyes and headed home. Well, Jessi and I intended to head home but Bryan told me not to go home so soon because he was already on his way to the city and asked that we meet up in the city before going to the library together.

So, Jessi and I waited for Bryan in the city. While waiting, we did what all girls would do… go shopping~ I was trying out the new Mac mascara when Jessi told me that Bryan called to say that he wouldn’t be meeting us because he was heading to the library directly instead. WTF.

I was SO pissed off because HE WAS SUPPOSED TO MEET US AND HE MADE US WAIT FOR HIM!! He said he wanted to study and left me there! Just like that! Grrrr! I was also angry because I bought Bryan a shirt and a belt and we could exchange it if the sizes did not fit.

I cut our phone conversation off and just headed home. He was apologetic on the phone but I felt that he wasn’t very sincere through his tone because it sounded as if he was happy which made things worse! FFK me summore so light-hearted about it.

On the tram ride home, Jessi kept consoling me and kept asking me not to be angry and Bryan kept calling me saying that he would meet me in the library bla bla bla and kept asking me not to be angry bla bla bla.

Pissed off, I got off the tram and headed home. Walking from the tram stop to my apartment unit, Bryan kept asking where I was and if I was already at home… I did not suspect a thing because I WAS STILL ANGRY! I kept wondering why is this guy talking to me and asking my every move when I am pissed off at him! If he is so studious and is already at the library, he should be studying and not talking to me!

When I entered into my apartment (Bryan was still on the phone with me btw), he asked me to go into my bedroom. At that time, I knew that something was up! So to my room I ran, and saw something on my bed. Instantly my mood changed. Suddenly I just had a BROADDDDDDDD smile on my face. I started to run around my little apartment, thinking that he was in my apartment. I checked under the bed, inside the toilet and under my study table. But he wasn’t there, so I went to my window and looked downwards thinking that he would be on the ground floor. Then I heard my door open and to Bryan’s arms I ran!

The wrapped present placed on my bed.

The card says Chocol8. So I thought that Bryan bought me chocolates. But when I picked the present up, it was soft and had the feeling of fabric.

When I tore the package open, I was surprised with a dress! Every time we passed by Chocol8 on the way to his house, I would look at the display and say: “OMG DEAR THAT DRESS IS SO PRETTY!!!!!” He actually remembered and got me that dress with the help of Jessi of course, he had to ask her my size.

The said dress. Pardon the weird pose and the fat face. It’s pretty hard to photograph the dress because from afar, it just looks like a normal black dress. But it has ruffles around the waist and a cute bow :)

The pretty bow.

The reason I said that I felt like Blair because I remembered in the prom episode, Blair was looking for the perfect prom dress but she couldn’t find it. And in the end Chuck surprised her with the perfect dress. I just felt that I was being treated like a princess. Just like Blair XD

But Bryan, please don’t be a male slut like Chuck okay? You only have me in your eyes! No one else!! Not some shit French hooker! (referring to latest episode)

Thanks baby for the perfect surprise <3

p.s: I think Bryan would also like to thank Jessi for helping him execute his grand plan!

Sidenote: we were surfing the internet the other day using my laptop, Bryan accidentally bumped my laptop onto the edge of the table.

I said: “Hey! If you spoil it you have to buy me another one”

Bryan: “Yeah! I will get you another laptop, Chuck style”

Haha!

<3 Thank you BB.

Yellow Bird @ Chapel Street

2010-10-08T08:02:00.001+11:00

Visited Yellow Bird with Bryan and Jessi 2 weeks back.

The quirky interior.

To me, everything that is weird or messy is quirky.

Pretty cool that the bar counter is decorated with different beer boxes.

The food was SOOOOOOO good! Better than Mart 130 I would say. And recently I have discovered something new… Green eggs!! (which is basically eggs with pesto). What is not to love about pesto and green eggs? I heart pesto! Just plain pesto with pasta and you have got me HOOKED!

So, I had the Green Eggs and Ham- scrambled eggs with home-made pesto, premium Virginian ham, and freshly shaved Grana Padano on sour dough toast.

The eggs were perfectly done! I heart scrambled eggs followed by poached eggs. However, the cheese was very rubbery and chewy… which I didn’t really fancy.

Ave Amarilla- corn fritters stacked with guacamole, salsa, sour cream, rocket and a poached egg.

Jessi who is a huge fan of corn fritters decided to order this dish. The corn fritters were deep fried instead of pan fried and the taste was perfect! Way better than the ones we had at Mart 130 the last time. The guacamole was creamy just the way it should be.

But the salsa was a let down. Jessi said that it tasted weird. The taste was neither here nor there…

Death Benedict- hash browns topped with bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.

I Only Take Pictures of the Important Stuff! ;)

2010-10-01T11:04:00.000+10:00

Dad needed some pictures of directional signs from the Lourve for his work, and this was the only directional sign I could find...

and that was because I was posing in front of it...

But, he had no problem with me taking pictures of the directional signs to Rue Cambon (a place where money makes dreams come true XD )

Shows you where my priorities are. Dad says that I am observant but in the wrong way. Pfft, I say that to me, this is the CORRECT way of being observant :P

Now, this is a clear picture of a sign right? It is not a direction sign, but my finger is pointing towards the direction of the holy grail of glam-ness ;)

Movida Aqui

2010-09-30T16:01:00.001+10:00

To celebrate the completion of Jessi’s 3rd term, we went to MoVida Aqui for tapas. (that’s just an excuse for us to go out :P )

Website: www.movida.com.au ; Phone number: 03 9663 3038

We had a very satisfying lunch!

Pictures :)

The sun was shining owh-so-brightly, so I opted for a nice flowery dress which was last season’s FCUK. got it for such a bargain! hehe :)

We had some bread to start with grape seed oil. The bread was so-so nice!

I think one of them was sourdough, while the other had a dense texture (felt like cake to me). but regardless of it’s name, the bread was so good!

Vieira $16.00- Scallops grilled with jamon on pisto, braised manchego style vegetables

This dish was soooooooo good! The scallops were grilled to perfection. Still soft and succulent instead of tough and chewy. The jamon was crispy and added that crunch to the dish. And the sauce is just tdf! Owh mann! This is a must try!

Gambas $19.50- Giant prawns cooked over charcoal served with pea gazpacho

OMGosh! If you love prawns as much as we do, this is a must try! Jessi and I always complain that the prawns in Melbourne always taste ‘fake’ in the sense that they don’t have that chewy texture. I guess coming from Penang where the seafood is always fresh, we are not used to prawns that feels like plastic. (sorry,I don’t know how to explain this better). But anyway, the giant prawns at Movida is so REAL and fresh! Just like the prawns we have back home!Jessi and I have this weird habit of chewing and eating the prawn shells. haha

So, the moment we bit the prawns, the slight charcoal flavour of the prawns plus the slightly sour shell (I think they must have squeezed some lemon or some magic powder on it cos it won me over instantly). Combined with the pea gazpacho. The flavours just WORKED.

Jessi spreading the pea gazpacho on her peeled prawn.

How did we peel the prawns? Usually, we would think that in western cultures, it is impolite to use our hands on the table. But the previous two atas Melbourne restaurants that I went to (Rockpool and Movida) both provided finger bowls!

Yayness to eating with fingers!

A very satisfied Jessi cleaning her hands in the finger bowl.

Bocadillo de calamares $6.50 - Calamari sandwich with Basque guindilla and mayonnaise

This felt a little bit like the calamari sandwich that we had in Spain. Two of us shared one measly small bun! Totally yummy! The calamari is not chewy at all. You still have to chew it (rolls eyes) but you get what I mean, it’s not difficult to eat (unlike those fried calamari rings at those yum cha places)

And for dessert, we opted for the Spanish churros.

We were quite disappointed with it :(

Nothing was wrong with it. It just didn’t work. The chocolate sauce was nothing compared to the chocolate sauce we had when we were in Spain. Ahhhh, thinking of the hot chocolate in Spain makes me hungry!! It’s supposed to be thick and rich but instead all we got was some chocolate flavoured sauce that tasted a bit like barley. (hmmm weird I know)

But nonetheless, we finished the whole plate :P

Overall, it was SUCH A GOOD EXPERIENCE! A bit on the pricey side though. 4 dishes set us back about $25 each. But imo so totally worth the price! Will definitely revisit it to try out the other things that Movida Aqui has to offer.

Tau Iu Bak/ Soy Sauce Pork

2010-09-22T12:00:00.001+10:00

Ingredients:

Pork belly- washed and cut into pieces of 2 inches.
One garlic (not clove, one whole garlic)- peeled and smashed.
Chinese mushrooms
Light soy sauce
Dark soy sauce
Eggs (hard boiled)

Method:

Heat up some oil in a wok.
Next, throw in the garlic- fry until fragrant.

Throw in the pork

Add in mushrooms and stir until pork partially cooked.
Add in lots of soy sauce (I don’t know the exact amount but enough to cover half of the pork)
- However, I suggest that you be a bit modest on the soy sauce (easier to add in than take out)

Add in around one table spoon of thick/dark soy sauce (this is mainly for colour)- so don’t add too much later you will have black tau iu bak.

Add in 2 cups of water and let everything simmer.
Remember the peeled hard boiled eggs? Now is the time to throw it in. Let the egg absorb the beautiful dark colour of the sauce.

When the pork is soft and ready, serve and eat!
Yumms!
We had out tau iu bak with steamed mantou.

*walahhhh, our tau iu bak*

Result:

I don’t know if it was because we fried the pork beforehand but some of the meat turned out really tough. Jessi says the frying of the pork beforehand ‘seals’ the meat.
I say that we bought the wrong cut of pork.
Can anyone tell us how to make our pork tender?

We had leftovers, so we saved them and had them with bee hoon the next day.

Super yums!!!

Katsudon

2010-09-15T23:07:00.001+10:00

Bryan and I decided to try something out of the ordinary. So, being the Japanese-food loving couple that we are (we had Japanese food for our first month, for my birthday, and for every special occasion that we can think of), Bryan suggested KATSODON. To be honest, I wasn’t particularly receptive of the whole idea but I found two really recipes online and woot woot we were on our way!

Katsudon is basically fried breaded pork (called tonkatsu) with eggs and onion in a special sauce served on rice.

The recipies that we followed losely. For the tonkatsu *here* and for the sauce for the katsudon *here*

Ingredients:

Pork cutlets

(I don’t know if you guys have noticed this but Australian pork has this very porky smell due to the fact that they don’t castrate their pigs).
So, for people in Melb or Aus I recommend that you go to an Asian butcher and try to get female pork. It’s totally worth the few extra bucks!

Panko breadcrumbs (essential!!!! don’t get ang moh bread crumbs please! Panko is the way to go!)
Flour
Dashi soup stock
Mirin
Japanese soy sauce
Approx 5 Eggs- 1 to dip the cutlets in so that the panko breadcrumbs stick, 4 for the katsudon
1 onion sliced.

Yeah, there is quite a lot of ingredients to begin with but I reckon that you can do without the Dashi soup stock and Mirin. Just the Japanese soy sauce will do?

Method:

For the Tonkatsu

After washing the pork cutlets, pat dry and leave on a plate.
Next, season the cutlets with a little bit of salt and pepper.
Then coat the pork cutlets thinly with a little bit of flour.
Dip the flour coated cutlets into beaten egg.
This is crucial: press the egg covered pork cutlets into the panko bread crumbs. Make sure you try to get as must crumbs as possible onto the pork cutlets.

Press them, massage them, do whatever you can to make sure that the whole cutlet is covered with the breadcrumbs (this is what gives the tonkatsu that added crunch)

Heat oil in deep frying pan.
Fry the pork cutlets until golden brown.
It doesn’t take long. Flip it once so that the other side is cooked properly.

Might need to pat more Panko crumbs! I can still see red meat exposed!

Place the pork cutlets onto kitchen towels to drain excess oil.

Bryan was in charge of frying and he did such a good job at it! None of our cutlets came out burnt ;) I hate deep frying stuff because I have this fear that oil will spill all over me and that I will get ‘dunno-how-many’ degree burns *choi choi choi touch wood!!!*

Next step, try the pork cutlets! OWH MY YUM!!! HEAVENLY!!!

We were supposed to save the cutlets for the katsudon, but we just couldn’t resist and had a few slices beforehand.

After the pork cutlets have cooled down, cut the cutlets into 1 inch slices. Set aside for the Katsudon.

For the Katsudon

Beat a few eggs- Here, for a total of 3 cutlets, we used 3 eggs.
Next heat up the Dashi soup stock in a pan.
Add in 2 table spoons of Mirin and 4 tablespoons of soy sauce. (if you think that it’s not salty enough, add a bit more soy sauce laaaaaa- go with the flowww let your feeeeelings guide you)

Note: as I said before, if you don’t want to get so many ingredients, just add some Japanese soy sauce and dilute it.

After everything comes to a boil, throw in the sliced onions.
When onions are half cooked, lay the pork cutlets into the pan

(note, you don’t want too much sauce so as to submerge the whole pork cutlet- ideally, only half of the cutlet is submerged into the sauce because you still want a little bit of crisp and crunch from the panko crumbs)

Then, pour the beaten egg over the pork cutlets (as shown below)
Put the lid on the pan and turn the fire off.
When the eggs are pretty cooked, you are almost there!
Serve on a bowl of Japanese rice.

This was how ours looked like. We didn’t wait for our eggs to be fully cooked. We thought that it would be nice to have a but of ‘runny-ness’ in the eggs.

We served it with some Japanese ginger.

Bryan had his with Beer.

nom nom nom!

Hope you find this recipe easy to follow and not too confusing. If not then just click on the 2 links that I provided! hahaha

Result:

We were surprised at how good the Katsudon was! And the good thing is that it is not that difficult to make!
We left the onions for too long, they started to get mushy.
The downside is that we had to deep fry the pork and I hate deep frying because so much oil goes to waste! Grrr.

After the lovely dinner, we cleaned the pots and pans, loaded the dish washer (thank god for dishwashers), cleaned the stove and mopped the floor.

Then we settled for some Alsatian wine and watched The Blind Side.

Ahhh bliss. Perfect way to end the night.

Food Glorious Food~

2010-09-12T22:41:00.001+10:00

Time to post some food pictures that Jessi and I have collected over the past few weeks.

These are simple recipes for students who miss home cooked food and can’t be bothered to buy all the ingredients. (In a way we cheated :P )

Our attempt at Chicken Rice

Method:

For the chicken

Rub chicken thigh fillets with salt.
Steam salted chicken thigh fillets with Chinese Shao Xing wine.
Place a few slices of ginger on top of the chicken while steaming.
The left over chicken stock can be used for the soy sauce (refer below) and also as a soup to accompany the rice.

For the chicken rice

We cheated a little bit by adding in those prepacked Hainan Chicken Rice Paste.
Also, instead of adding water, we added chicken salt.
Threw in bits of ginger pieces.

For the soy sauce

We mixed some light soy sauce with some thick soy sauce.
We also added the chicken stock from the steamed chicken.

Result

We added the boiled egg because we were craving for it
For a first attempt, things turned out really well.
We would have preferred if we had a little bit of spring onion. But it’s too ridiculous to buy one whole bunch of spring onion just to use as a garnish so we decided against it.

Kimchi Ramyun with marinated beef

Method (super easy! everything was done in a pot):

Firstly, we fried some sliced onions and some chopped garlic.
Next, we added in some sliced cup mushrooms.
Then we added our pre-marinated beef slices. (we marinated the beef in Korean chilly paste)
Before the beef slices were thoroughly cooked, we added hot water and kimchi ramen. (kimchi ramen is basically a very atas way of saying korean instant noodles)
Next, we added all the seasonings that came with the ramen.
In the last minute, throw in some Kimchi (don’t forget all the excess sauce from the Kimchi- this is the best shiz!!) [we did this last because we wanted our Kimchi to remain crunchy.]
Lastly, add some sesame seeds as a garnish.

Result:

Hot and spicy! Perfect for a cold gloomy day!
We should have added the beef after we added the Kimchi ramyum because the beef was a tad overcooked.
Should have added some Korean fishcake! (nom nom nom)

Pancakes (using Japanese pancake mix)

This is super easy, just follow the instructions on the Japanese pancake mix. (Highly recommended!) We bought the Morinaga pancake mix (available at most Japanese or Chinese grocers in Melb).

This pancake mix came with individually packed maple syrup as well!

Method:

Follow the instructions on the box. (We kinda guessed this because the instructions were in Japanese but they had cute little pictures so we just followed)
Heat the pan with some oil. (Don’t use butter as butter burns easily)
Drop the batter onto the pan. (We weren’t too fused about making the perfect pancake)
Tip: When the top starts to bubble, that means that the bottom is already cooked- that is when you should flip the pancakes

Serve with a dollop of butter and the maple syrup that was provided.

Served with red bean paste – our attempt to make dorayaki

Those cakes that Doraemon loves!

Served with fresh strawberries and maple syrup (OMG YUM!!!!)

Tadaahhhhh!

Chicken egg mayo sandwich

The title says it all! Super easy to make.

Jessi: We finally reunite the chicken and the egg.

Me: Huh?

Jessi: OMG don’t you get it? The mother and the baby egg is reunited!

Me: OMG HAHAHHAHA.

(do you guys find this funny or is it just me)?

Method:

We used chicken breast. So we washed and rubbed the chicken breast with salt.
Next, we steamed the chicken breast.
At the same time, we boiled some eggs.
Next, we cut the chicken breast into smaller pieces and cracked the eggs.
Add in some salt and pepper to taste.
Squeeze in a heck load of mayo! (This is where all the yummyness comes from! So don’t think about those calories! Mom, if you are reading, we used 97% fat free mayo which doesn’t taste as good as the 100% super fatty mayo if you ask me)
Mix everything together.

Serve on bread.

Optional: add in some lettuce or some greenery. But I figured since I already have wholemeal to help me with my bowel movement, and I hate veggies, I shall just skip the green part :P

We used wholemeal grain bread. I hate grain bread! But we always go to the grocer late at night and all the wholemeal bread is usually gone by then! Blehhh!

Hope you enjoyed this installation of food recipes. Next up, KATSUDON!!

Yes you’ve heard it! Katsudon!

Just A Thought

2010-09-09T09:32:00.001+10:00

When I walk around uni, rushing to class with my laptop and my heels clacking on the stoned pathways disturbing the morning silence.

I feel that I have grown, I feel that I have changed.

That somehow I am so much different from when my Nike sports shoes squeaked around timidly hoping that no one would notice me. Now, I couldn't care less.

When I first came to uni, I was always 30 minutes early to class, now I leave house as late as possible.

When I first came to uni, I hand wrote all my notes, now I type everything into my laptop.

When I first came to uni, I had a polka dot Roxy backpack, now I use a old branded bag which to be very truthful I do not really care for because it's already so worn out.

I think being away from home for 5 years has changed me.

And change is inevitable. It is a part of growing up.

Shira Nui

2010-09-06T21:29:00.001+10:00

A while ago, Bryan brought me to Shira Nui (247 Springvale Rd, Glen Waverly) for dinner.

Being the kiasu couple, we arrived there way before their opening time 6 p.m.

However the staff invited us to sit and wait inside because it was freaking cold outside.

The still empty interior of Shira Nui.

Our appetiser. Fried salmon skin.

Sashimi Moriawase. I would say that there is nothing fantastic about this dish. The fish was fresh, the presentation was nice but I have had better.

Nasu Dengaku- grilled eggplant with two types of sweet miso paste.

This dish was seriously YUM! The eggplant was grilled to perfection. One miso paste was sweeter while the other was saltier. Owhhhh just thinking of the amazing texture of the eggplant is making my mouth water.

Yose Nabe- Japanese hot pot with udon

I ordered this because it was really cold outside and this dish reminded me of the Yosenabe mom and I used to have when I was young. There was this Japanese shop opposite our house called ‘Yosenabe’ and mom and I went there almost every week when dad was outstation. I remembered that we always cracked an egg towards the end of the meal and then drink the soup :)

Childhood memories.

Back to the dish. This dish did not live up to my childhood memory expectations so I would say that it’s an enjoyable dish but not fantastic.

Momoyaki Chicken- chicken thigh pan fried with garlic and soya sauce.

Bryan ordered this. The chicken was again good but not fantastic.

For dessert, we ordered the special of the night to share. Blueberry ice-cream with yam tart and mixed fruits.

The moment the waitress introduced to us the yam tart I was sold! I really really like yam and the tart was really good. But the ice-cream was not cold enough. Kinda felt like I was eating a mousse.

Overall, it was a good dining experience. Bryan and I both think that if we do revisit Shira Nui, we will definitely try the ‘Omakase’. Omakase basically means that the chef will decide what you eat- like an impromptu degustation menu. We were reluctant to order the Omakase because being the paranoid us, we kept questioning ‘what if the chef decided to slaughter us and decided that we were going to have an expensive meal that night?’

So as poor students, we decided to stick with reading the menu and ordered within our means :)

Merdeka! Akhirnya, dapat keluar dari hutan…

2010-09-04T22:48:00.001+10:00

LOL! After a long hiatus from the Melbourne clubbing scene, finally I made it out from my hermit crab shell and ventured into the world of happy dancing :D

Poh Fern: “OWHHHH haven’t seen you in a while! Suddenly you come out from captivity.”

Aiming: “Aiyah she everyday practicing Masterchef at home de la… People domesticated already la…”

Me: “wtf! Tonight the lioness will wake up and run wild! Parrrrty!!” *hops twirls skips*

Ladida… Doremi…

We went to the party at Silk Road instead of the one at Billboard. More Melb Uni people went for the party at Billboard instead. But I guess Silk Road was super fun because there were so many Penangnites there! *represent yo!*

It almost felt like we were clubbing in Penang because people were speaking in Hokkien! hahaha. ‘Lim Lim Lim!- drink drink drink’

Me with everything also long Doreen.

Aiming!!!!! Me lurve clubbing withchu!!! Momu ball we will go all out again wokeh? Bwahaha!

Eh look another Penangite!

And another! Thanks for the ride there and back Kelv :)

Eh hurrow Sew Xian!!! We used to hang out along during high school! I was expecting him to start dancing like when we were young. But he didn’t! Owh well next time we shall do our Jlo and Beyonce hot dances ^.^

This year and last year.

Last year’s Merdeka was super fun because Lady Pot was here. and Mr Muscle was puking his guts out even before we count down –_-

For last year’s post click *here*

Sunday tmr! Better make my weekend worth it and study!!! Arrrrrr!

When We Don’t Feel Like Studying…

2010-08-29T22:13:00.002+10:00

we go to random shops and try their clothes on without actually buying anything! JOY!!

In FCUK. I heart heart FCUK! I love the cutting, the styles.
But I don’t think I am willing to fork out 130 aud for just one tshirt (the one with frills that I’m wearing in picture one and two)

Mom, how's Jessi’s black dress? Super sexy right? We didn’t buy it because the shoulders were a bit loose.

Heart the shorts with gold buttons!

Forever New.
Again, all the clothes are always so pretty but always so expensive!
Heart the skirt! So playful. But when will I be able to wear it?

I think this is perfect for a night out no?

Till next time.
xoxo the un-emo Jess.

When I Should Be Studying...

2010-08-29T12:11:00.000+10:00

Can you believe that it's going to be week 6 tomorrow?

HALFWAY INTO THE COURSE ALREADY!

Pfft!

Going clubbing for the first time this semester tomorrow in conjunction with 'Merdeka'- Malaysian Independence Day. Much needed release. I want to dance my worries off! Excited!

Baby don't worry k! I will be fine :D

Sometimes, all it takes are some tears.

2010-08-26T21:40:00.005+10:00

"I love you"

"No matter how difficult you are"

"I will still love you"

"That was not what you said last night"

"You told me that you will walk"

"Cos I need to protect myself"

"Ok I need to protect myself too"

"So what does that mean?"

"I don't know."

For the record, I was being difficult but all is okay now and please don't get any ideas. Thanks for being patient.

Grrrrrr

2010-08-26T21:39:00.000+10:00

"I want to feel good by doing bad"

"Just want to pick a fight"

"Why do you girls have to make it so difficult for us guys? I just dont get it.. goddmanit"

"That is just fucking weird... you are like pulling an elastic band seeing when it will reach a point that it will just break"

"It all depends on the expanding factor k. F=1/2 kx. x is the distance of elongation. K is hardness of the spring. If u put too much force into it, you'll fuck up the spring"

"Hormones - estrogen is the evil of all"

"Lets hope your Hormones dont turn you into a raging amok bitch"

"At least you have a bf to abuse. When i feel like abusing something i got no one to"

"Gays are always happy because they don't have estrogens fucking them up"

"Please be nice to the bf... he's innocent"

yes, the bf is innocent but sometimes I just want to make things difficult for him. all is well now. thanks for taking my shit baby. <3

Emo Nemo

2010-08-24T17:51:00.001+10:00

warning, emo post ahead but before you read this, I just came back from watching Step Up 3 with the girls and RICK MALAMBRI TOTALLY CHEERED ME UP!

please get me a piece of this hot stuff!

slurpssssss

he is a mixture of Josh Duhamel, Channing Tatum and Ashton Kutcher all wrapped up in one.

Me like!

+++++

the below was written a few hours before....

For no apparent reason, I just feel so weird. Not my usual self. PMS perhaps? But it just seemed like I just had my period recently. I know that I should be doing my readings and I'm doing them but at such a slow snail and procrastinating speed! Bloo! Or maybe I'm just being lazy :(

To keep myself happy, I have been stuffing myself with chocolate soy milk, cadbury crunchie ice cream and bread. FML. If I put on weight I will be even more emo. Owh and I have been browsing the web for things that make me happy.

Was too lazy to find a picture of the one in black/brown

I've been ogling over this bag since forever.

But upon seeing the bag in real life I was disappointed.

Maybe that's cos I didnt see the bag in the colour and hardware that I've always craved.

Chanel 'CC' earrings, Chanel 'CC' necklace, come-fuck-me pumps

please forgive me for my rambling. Just had to rant.

ARRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH

going to meet the girls for movie and dinner. hope this cheers me up. bloo

Random Pictures from Chinese New Year

2010-08-24T12:06:00.001+10:00

yea yea I know, this post is long overdue.

I miss my family :)

4 of us will be meeting in Perth soon XD Yayness!

Congratulations B :)

2010-08-22T11:06:00.001+10:00

:)

2010-08-19T15:56:00.001+10:00

Thanks for the flowers <3

Last day in Bettmeralp :)

2010-08-17T17:00:00.001+10:00

*just in case you are confused and thought that the pictures should not be in winter but summer; I went to Bettmeralp December 2009 :) Germany happened 6 months later in June 2010.

parts of this post was written ‘ages’ ago :)

I promise that this is the last batch of snowy pictures from aeons ago.

We had to leave in the afternoon so we didn’t ski on that day.

And we woke up to a sunny day!! Yay!!

Us with the snowman and snowwomen :)

Decided to wash my hair and wear jeans to take pretty pics instead of the super thick ski gear :)

hey! I can see gaps between my legs… instead of this –>

in super thick gear with hair kept in beanie. warmth is ultimate when you are skiing down the slopes with snow beating on your face.

heart mei mei

blur. dad must have caught us at the wrong time.

Daddy, mommy, jessi and I <3

a suggestive plate perhaps?

Pass me ‘the fucking plate’ hur hur hur… geddit geddit?

okay la not funny. obviously all these studying has made me a little cukoo in the head :P

What I Wore Yesterday

2010-08-15T15:13:00.001+10:00

Cute tights with hearts on them <3

Courtesy of AiMing :D Thanks! They are so cute!!

Simple outfit for a friend’s bday dinner :)

Stole Jessi’s bag for a bit XD

Jessi’s 18th Birthday

2010-08-11T19:21:00.001+10:00

Before I start, OMG can you guys believe that it’s week 3 already? I attended my first ever Remedies lecture for this semester and I really like my lecturer! So much structure and he explains things with such clarity! I am not a person that skips class! I missed the last two lectures because on Wednesday the past two weeks I had interviews. Okay back to the blog post.

This post is very much overdue but hey it’s the thought that counts right?

So on Jessi’s bday, we both zh’ng-ed ourselves for a nice night out.

My pretty mei mei. Nv da 18 bian!

No more kakak. My dad used to call Jessi kakak because she used to dress like an indonesian maid when we go shopping. Big Giordano ‘Me’ tshirts with cargo pants type shorts with slippers. Now our kakak has transformed into Miss Glam No 2.

My lacy dress.

We went to Rockpool for dinner :)

23rd July. Remember the date!

We both ordered a Riesling to share. Frogmore Creek Iced Riesling! Very nice!

Warm sourdough bread.

Salt with super creamy butter.

We started with an oyster each. Super YUMS!

Warm chicken salad. With walnuts, apples and celery (not exactly sure)

But we both agreed that the dressing was too creamy for our liking.

My pretty mei mei.

and her pretty jie jie :D

We both shared the wood fire grilled quail with braised dried figs, walnuts and rocket. Not extremely nice imo. Very passable and forgettable.

We were given warm plates hence the warming her hands over the plate pose.

The duck confit with grilled pears. Again, the duck was really dry and not memorable at all. We’ve had better confit.

Using our fingers to make sure we get those excess meat off the bones. You guys might think that we are barbarians that eat with our hands in hatted restaurants but we did so because we were encouraged to do so!

Don’t believe me? Check this out!

We were given wet towels to clean our hands.

Playing with the table lamp while we waited for our dessert.

Previously, I called to inform Rockpool that we were going to celebrate my sister’s birthday and requested for ‘something special’ to be done.

Jessi was surprised with a small cake with a candle :) Awwwww so nice of Rockpool.

The Tan sisters.

Rockpool people hard at work.

Since Jessi offcially turned 18 on that day, I decided to bring Jessi to her first casino visit.

Because we were bimbos that had no idea how to play slot machines, we let the slot machines eat our 2 aud.

Look at her puzzled look!

Acting glam but in reality we were clueless on what was happening.

So after losing 2 bucks, we decided to go and cam-whore in FCUK instead.

I heart my mei mei!

Then after that, we made the treacherous way home. Treacherous because our feet hurt SOOOOOOOOO much from the heels. Pain!!!

Once again to my sister, happy 18th birthday.

May all your dreams and wishes come true. Including all the bags and the frosting in the world! Bwahahaha!

xoxo

My Weekend Filled with Sunshine, Laughter and Love

2010-08-09T13:21:00.001+10:00

Lots of pictures, little narrations just captions.

Blue skies all the way! And we were off to Geelong!

Boats selling all sorts of seafood.

Breakfast for me! Fresh prawns with garlic and chilli. Yumsss! I miss prawns!

Much to my dislike due to the blaring sun, we got a table by the window

Sun was perfect for pictures. But not for my skin.

Huge ass bowl of seafood stew. Crab, mussels, prawns, salmon, scallop. Yummy! and I had to finish it myself cos Bryan is shellfish intolerant.

Bryan had to settle for the Chicken Parmi an the Fish and Chips

Lovely restaurant by the sea.

Heart wildflowers

Erskine falls.

We had to climb all the way down…. and ALL THE WAY UP!!!! *pants pants whines*

Apollo Bay

Testing the waters

Yep! It’s freezing cold! Don’t be fooled by the sunshine and the blue skies.

Twas so windy.

Douchbag attire and pose of the year!

We were mesmerised by the scenery, and so we stopped to snap a few photos.

har har very funny.

Cape Otway lightstation

And again, we climbed up the stairs…

I heart holidays with B.

and B hearts his point to the air pose.

Awww poser much?

The city boy was mesmerised by cows. He says that it is as close to beef as he can get.

Moving towards the cow slightly for a photo op.

Look at that stressed pose with the peace fingers.

The cow decided to lick our mirrors which freaked the hell out of us!

On the way back :)

Lalala~ Till next time.

It was an awesome trip! Thanks B.