Friday tomorrow YESSSS

It's been a long day. A productive and happy day, albeit a tiring day.


Beautiful fresh banana cupcakes from Cakiepoo! ♥

I will be working full-time in two weeks. As much as I am looking forward to it, I honestly wonder if I'd be able to cope with having to wake up by 7am every morning, God help me.

A massive pimple on my face popped last night, leaving a swollen scab in between my eyes/eyebrows today which was still too fresh to pick at.



Today, a student asked if the 'thing' on my forehead was a bindi and if I was trying to be Indian or something, bless him.

And man, I am so addicted to Zuma. I'm so SICK of it already, but I cannot stop until I beat Eddie's high scores!! Rawr.



I stayed home tonight playing this shit when I was supposed to be out having dinner and catching up with Judith & Co., FML.

(... Hang on, what life?)


By the way, only four people turned up for THURSDAY NIGHT SOCCER. I can't wait till everyone is back from holidays. Watching the boys play isn't as much fun without the WAGs either.

Been itching to kick some balls too so I'm hoping we can round up enough girls sometime to book a court!

Weekend...

Gone waay too quickly :(

As usual, we kicked off our weekend with a good hearty Saturday morning breakfast..



Picked Benjamin up from the airport early this morning. The Herbert St household is complete again! :)

We had planned to do a BBQ lunch and finally put our new BBQ to use, but then it started pouring cats and dogs so we postponed it -_-

This afternoon, while watching telly, we noticed an Asian guy in a flash new-looking BMW trying to park his car outside our house. And we kept looking and looking in amusement because he had absolutely NO idea what he was doing!! He had no idea how to parallel-park a car!! He spent a good 15 minutes jerking and reversing and adjusting the car, and he kept getting out to check his progress (WHAT PROGRESS?? The fella was still one foot away from the curb and more than a car's length from the car behind him bwahaha)

I think he became self-conscious when some people came to look at the junk we put out on our lawn (it's Curbside Collection Day tomorrow, and there's been a lot of 'scavengers' checking out the stuff other people put out on their lawns to see if there's anything worth salvaging), so this guy drove off and decided to park on the opposite side of the road. Same thing - reverse, jerk forward (sometimes with his handbrake on), step out of car, step in, adjust car again.

When it looked like he's finally happy with his shitty parking, he got out, rummaged through the boot for the longest time, and fished out two bags. Closed the boot, started to walk away but glanced back at his car, decided he didn't like his parking and promptly turned back, chucked the bags back into the boot and got into the car again.

By this time Eddie and I were already contemplating taking out the folding camp chairs and sitting outside on the deck to watch this fella.

The guy decided he needed to change spots again cos the more he adjusted his car, the more its butt was jutting out, so he moved two feet up the road... and repeated the whole process again.

OMG HILARIOUS.

By the time he was done (for real) and had finally walked off and left the car, Eddie and I decided to leave a note on his windscreen to let him know how much we appreciated the entertainment! *chuckle* (We're not usually this mean. Really. This guy was just too funny to pass up!)

I wanted to wait to see the guy's reaction but I fell asleep on the couch and when I woke up, the car was gone already :(

I can bet two cents though that he's never gonna park on our street again LOL.

Okay random picture of the day cos I stink like a rafflesia and desperately need to take a shower:

Overgrown weeds on our lily patch! kthxbai.

Quickie

I haven't been in the mood to blog lately, so here's just a brief update on what's been happening.

First of all, Happy 老虎年 to everyone celebrating Chinese New Year!


Love love LOVE Rhonda's homemade CNY peanut cookies!

I've been feeling rather gloomy for having to spend yet another CNY away from home. Been missing my family so much it aches.

Last Friday, one of my colleagues, who is also Malaysian, gave me a pink makeshift angpao! So sweet of her :) It made me very happy (it's been a while since I've received an angpao)... and also very homesick.



Kookies came and Kookies went, and I miss the woman as much as I miss her awesome sausage fried rice.



For Valentine's Day, Eddie brought me out for an extravagant dinner @ Cha Cha Char where we had the best steak in the world- $85 Grade 12 Wagyu. GRADE 12 okay, highest grade on the marbling scale!! It was soooo OMFG goooood that I didn't know whether I was high from the champagne or the steak.

Thank you dahriinngggg for giving me the wonderful opportunity to know what grade 12 steak tates like Amen ♥ ♥ ♥



Oh yes I'm back to having black hair! So sick of having to fix my regrowths, and it's been almost a decade since I've had black hair. Kookies helped me DIY :)

Anyway after our awesome dinner, Eddie and I joined the rest of the 'gang' @ Moorfield for 年三十countdown~



And oh so so so happy for Yoshi & Ron, who just got engaged!!!
Three weddings this year. Gosh it's gonna be a blast :D

In contrast to the happier times, the lowlight of the week was definitely failing my driving test.



Yeah, for CLUTCH COASTING and for turning the steering wheel with one hand inside the wheel, fuck.

OK abrupt stop here, gotta pick the boyfriend up from work now so here's random pic of the day: My messy desk at work hehehe.



Btw Eddie's flying back to Singapore again next week on a business trip! Lucky bugger T_T

Kookies and kream

A little more than 7 hrs till the woman touches down in the Sunshine State.

*EXCITED* :D

I hope I don't get called in for work tomorrow morning!!

Fish head curry

What else would you do with a fish head sitting in your freezer? :)



Ingredients. I'm not the best cook when it comes to curries, so I took a short-cut and just bought fish head curry paste from Yuen's nyeheheh.

And look!



Mutated okra! :P

The curry turned out pretty gooood..



Not burn-your-tongue-make-u-cry kinda spicy (cos I cannot take spicy food FML), but spicy enough to hit the spot and make you want more!

Before this fish head was just a fish head, it looked like this:



We didn't keep this one I caught lah, we kept the one Eddie caught cos there wasn't enough space in the freezer for two.

Eddie caught a big thready too but his line snapped before he could land it :( So Mariah had to do without her threadfin salmon sashimi this time.

Anyway, we cut the jew up into three portions. Eddie cooked up the middle section a few days ago:



Pan-fried and doused in sweet sugar soy + ginger shreds fried to a crisp. Super scrumptious!

Now thinking of what to do with the tail bit. Sweet and sour?

Burn baby burn

While I'm waiting for Eddie the Phattie to come home, let me tell you what happened at work today.

Fridays = presentation days, so I had lugged the school projector and laptop up to my classroom and set it up. Its projection on the whiteboard was slanted, and because I couldn't find anything else, I took out my half-read novel and used it to prop the projector up. I used half the book to cover the lens so that a couple of the students could use the whiteboard first.

While one of my students was setting up for his presentation, he suddenly started grunting (well grunting wouldn't be the right word, but what's the right word to use to describe someone who's desperately trying to grab your attention, but in panic cannot find the words he needs in English?) and waving frantically at me as he seized my book and started huffing and puffing and fanning it.

My heart stopped for 10 seconds because my precious new book was freakin smoking and sizzling, and the bright amber patch in the middle of the page was about to burst into flames!!! The room quickly filled with the smell of burnt paper and for a brief moment there was chaos. I quickly opened the door for fear of setting off the fire alarm, but luckily there wasn't enough smoke to set it off anyway because my student managed to extinguish the sizzle just in time!! Close call or what!!! O.O"

P H E W.

So I now have holes in several pages of my book, like so:



Looks like I'm gonna have to do a bit of cloze passage reading when I get to those pages.

Goodness I am so glad I didn't start a fire and burn down the whole school. SO GLAD.

*kicks self repeatedly for being careless. Kick. KICK!*

By the way, one of my Japanese girls and her friend got attacked two nights ago as they were walking home past/from a pub in Springhill, by what sounded like drunk racists. She's going out again with some of the other students from my class tonight, and while trying to explain why she wanted someone to accompany her home, burst into tears as she showed us the big greenish bruise on her cheekbone, still apparent under layers of foundation.

I was shocked beyond words. Must be freakin traumatic can, to be attacked in a country where you don't speak its language!

I made one of the boys promise to catch the bus/taxi with her, just to make sure she gets home safely.

Bastards. I hope those people rot in hell.

Toxic

You know what? I realize I am still bitter about a lot of things.

I need to let go of the past and let it go. I need to pick myself up and stop whinging. I need to get out of this "You-owe-me" mentality before it completely destroys me.

Of dosh and desires

I love the smell of Borders. I can't resist the smell of new books, and I love the feel of a crisp new page.

Today, I broke my promise to not spend money until I get my pay on Thursday. I just had to have Chimamanda Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun because I absolutely loved her other book, Purple Hibiscus.



I'd also love to get my hands on these titles but alas I don't really have the luxury of affording new books too often anymore (Yes I know I can borrow books from the library but I don't want to. There's always a waiting list for the good ones, and the books are old and grubby and they smell funny!)



Perhaps I'd be lucky enough to get a Border's gift voucher for Valentine's Day? *bats eyelashes at Eddie* ;)

. . . . .

So since we're on the topic of being tight on moolah, here's a question. Would you rather stick to a boring job with a good salary? Or would you reach out for something you love but settle for less pay?


My new workplace in the city!

I opted for the latter. It was a tough decision to turn down and leave a stable job with a stable future without knowing what the future had in store, but I can't be grateful enough to land this new one so quickly, despite my lack of experience in the field.

True I can't afford to splurge on extras now like I used to cos currently I only work a few hours a week, but I'm lovin every second of doing what I'm doing and I wouldn't swap it for anything else.


My little classroom for last week + this week

I work in a place where diversity is celebrated, and I work with great people who are as passionate about diversity as I am. My students learn as much from me as I learn from them. What could beat that? :)


Fundraising for Haiti last Friday. I forgot to wear red!

Today we had a fun, activity-filled day in class. As a bonus, one of the students told me that my dress was nice, and one of my lowest-level students also told me, in his very limited English, that he thought I was great and he loved being in my class! He usually doesn't say much and he stammered and took two minutes to construct the sentences he wanted to say, but he made the effort and it made my heart soar! :D

In addition to that, yesterday the students learnt to say "Bless you" when someone sneezes. Today I sneezed and the whole class said "Bless you" hahahahhah and it just put a big big smile on my face for the rest of the afternoon :))

. . . . .

Anyway, Eddie's away on a business trip and I've been good staying at home, even though I'm itching to go out and catch up with some people I haven't seen in a while. Nehmind, I've got a new book to indulge in tonight :)

And yes, Tiësto on the weekend was raving MADTASTIC. Facebook photos [ here ].

Mariah's gift of love

Our kitteh is excellent at pest control, and I love how (most of the time) we can just trust her to take care of any spiders/lizards/cockroaches that roam the house at night while we're asleep.

Problem is, she loves showing off her prized catch by dropping it under my desk chair or in my shoe FML. -_______-"



. . . . .

It's 5am and rain won't stop pelting the zinc roof outside our bedroom window. He's gone and I miss him already.

Feeling beachy

I thought Eddie would have gotten immune to my random compulsive ideas and suggestions by now, so I could NOT believe my ears when, after a long day at work being sleep-deprived in addition to a hardcore personal training session, my boyfriend said "Yes" to my crazy decision to skip sleep completely and drive 2 hours down south to catch the sunrise at Byron Bay.

I have been to beautiful Byron Bay quite a few times already; the last time I was there it was with [ Cakes ], Lucia & Yao-Yang for Lucia's birthday and we had the most incredible time, so naturally I was really excited about being able to go there again.

We refueled and stocked up on caffeine and junk food at 7-11. Eddie slept in the car while I drove past huge freight trucks lit up like Christmas trees, and karaoke-d to some of my old R&B CDs.

We arrived at Ballina lighthouse at 3am NSW time (they've got daylight saving!), two hours before sunrise. It was pitch black except for the powerful beam of the lighthouse, which came around every ten seconds or so and sliced through the thick darkness above us. We wound down our tinted windows to reveal an amaaaazing galaxy of stars (I counted 3 shooting stars!!! :D) and dozed off under the constellations.

Woke up at 4.30 and groggily set off towards the lighthouse..


Lighthouse in background, taken with a long shutterspeed thus the brightness and blurness. It was actually still quite dark at the time.

And behold, the sunrise!

I can never get sick of sunrises.



The sky lit up rapidly and we could see little dots of people kayaking in the sea, surfing, and even fishing on the rocks in the distance below.



We decided to trek down and get closer to the water.

On the way down we came across this and made up some morbid stories about a missing child...



The sun was warming us up rapidly, and the waves at the edge of the deep blue sea crashing against the huge jagged rocks was pretty spectacular.



Me! :)



BTW I super ♥ this windbreaker we got from last year's NCG. It's so lightweight and warm and versatile! I just can't do without it, especially when we go fishing.

Speaking of fishing..



There were quite a few people fishing on the rocks with their humongous rods. I wonder if they caught anything. I wonder how they even got up there in the first place.



We clambered out on the rocks as far as we dared to towards the edge, and chilled for a while before we decided to hike back uphill. OMG I was so out of breath during the climb up that I could've gotten an asthma attack even though I don't have asthma wtf. And all along the way, these old men and women were breezing past us jogging up and down and running circles around us while we huffed and puffed and wheezed like a punctured set of bagpipes! *shame*

After the horribly tedious climb, we finally reached the top again YAY



View from the other side of the lighthouse..



The sun was starting to heat things up. It was time to tan!

We got back into the car, drove down to the beach and stripped down to our beachwear.



I brought along my new book by Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie which I bought yesterday (hooray for Borders discount vouchers!!)

I am going to sidetrack a bit and say that I loved this talk Chimamanda did a while ago about how important it is to know the different sides of a story before simply making cultural assumptions and stereotypes. I think it the video clip is almost 20 mins long but its well worth watching! [ CLICK ]

Apart from her writing, this book also captivates me because I've worked with quite a few lovely Nigerian refugee students during my prac year, and it kind of provides some valuable insight as to what the repressive situation must've been like for them back home.

Okay lah back to the beach...

The sun was gorgeous and the water deliciously cool! We splashed around in the surf for a while, and then while Eddie tanned and caught up on sleep, I alternated between reading and taking long walks along the waters edge.

By the time we decided we've had enough, it was only 10am. We walked around the little beachside town centre and checked out the shops, eating Baskin Robbins ice-cream which melted way too quickly in the heat and dripped all over my fingers and shirt.

I felt so damn sleepy driving home that I had to pull over at a resting spot. Tried to take a power nap with the engine turned off but it was too hot. Wanted to go to the loo but freakin hell there were like 5 humongous spiders hanging around the dodgy stinking shack waiting to pounce on me *shudder* so I held my pee in, splashed myself with some cold water from the tap to wake up, and hit the road again.

We stopped over at Anaconda and Eddie replenished some of his fishing essentials before we headed to Sunnybank for lunch. By then, Eddie had to take over and drive already because my brain wasn't functioning anymore.

Got home, took the nicest longest shower and scrubed myself down, and collapsed into bed happy.

I hope everyone's had a great Australia Day like we've had. :)

Food for the soul

I went for a walk.

Trespassed an apartment and sat down on a bench on a little rocky cliff overlooking the river.
Water lapped gently on the bank and a mullet flipped occasionally.

A woman glided past on her kayak while a CityCat churned past in the other direction.

Kookaburras and crickets started to orchestrate their mismatched symphony as the sun sank.

I took in the cool evening summer breeze, the sunset hues painted on heavy clouds that hung mid-air, and the faint musty smell of the river.

I was at peace with the world, and it felt good.

Sunny Saturday adventures

Eddie and I thought we'd take the yaks out since it's been a while.

We cleverly picked two Fire Ant TKs from the boatshed cos they were such pretty colours—I took a pink one while Eddie took the red—without reading this sign first:


(Specific words we should've taken note of : UNSTABLE, FRAGILE, and FOR EXPERIENCED FLATWATER PADDLERS!!!)

These TKs were narrower and so much lighter than the ones we normally use, but it didn't really occur to us that this would have its consequences...



It didn't take long before we realized that aesthetics was a price not worth paying for. As soon as I got onto my little pink floating slipper, I immediately panicked because it felt like tipping over. I couldn't control it at all! And then, to make matters worse, a CityCat roared past and big treacherous waves started rolling in.

Which was when I heard a big *SPLOOOOOOOOSH* and I knew Eddie had capsized. He was yelling at me to come back and help him cos he couldn't get out of the water and his yak was sinking, but I was drifting off and struggling so hard to keep my balance I could not even turn my head around to look at him.

So I grit my teeth and clenched my paddle as I bobbed along with the precarious swells from the CityCat, fervently praying that I wouldn't hit the rocky bank and capsize too.

As soon as the waves passed, I painstakingly manouvered my wobbly yak around and fought my way against the current towards the jetty. My heart was racing at 1000000 beats/second as I reached out and grabbed onto the pontoon and held on for dear life. Thankfully, Eddie had already (somehow) managed to hoist himself and his yak up; he helped me up too and flipped his flooded yak on its side to drain.

I wasn't getting into my Fire Ant again. No way. It was time to change boats.

We were lugging my pink yak up the ramp back to the boatshed when *SPLASH*.. we looked down and to our horror, saw the red FireAnt drifting merrily away from the jetty. We dropped the pink yak and bolted back down the ramp at lighting speed, but we were too late- The boat was already beyond reach. I was about to dive in when I heard Eddie yell at me not to. Seconds later, he was in the water again, towing the yak back to the jetty.

FULL ON DRAMA, can.

After cleaning the TKs and sticking them back into the boatshed, we decided we'd stick to our sea kayaks. This time I didn't complain about how heavy they were; I now know that I would choose these big sturdy yaks anytime over those light skinny ones that tried to drown us! NEVER AGAIN!!

It wasn't over yet.

My pedals had to be adjusted. It took Eddie nearly half an hour to undo and re-tie all the knots on the cord connected to the rudder. Then on the water, one of the knots slipped!!! My boat kept spinning to the left and I almost died trying to get it straight.

Eddie got behind me and propped my rudder up. It made life a lot easier, but it was still extremely strenuous fighting the outgoing tide without a rudder as we were heading upstream.

I was so exhausted, my left arm was falling off and I almost gave up.

We had to park at someone's jetty so that Eddie could have another attempt at my rudder.



And so I had some time to whip out my camera and take pictures lalala...



After about five or ten minutes, the darling had fixed my rudder! OH the RELIEF of finally having my boat go where I want it to go was UNBELIEVABLE :D



:) We paddled on and decided to turn back at the Eleanor Schonell Bridge.

A bit of trivia about this bridge: "The Eleanor Schonell Bridge, also known as the Green Bridge... is the first bridge in Australia exclusively designed for buses, cyclists and pedestrians, as well as the first public transport bridge built in Australia since the early 1900s."
(- Wikipedia)

Also, barely three months ago, some drunk UQ student had jumped off the bridge and killed himself because he wanted to be on YouTube -____________-"



Going in the opposite direction was such a breeze because we just relaxed and drifted along with the tide instead of fighting it.



UQ CityCat stop from the river...



Okay blogged too much, time to eat. Eddie has cooked kangaroo roast for dinner YUM.

Possibly going fishing tonight too, excitingness ! :D

Muses

I am not one to blog about feelings, but I shall try to get these thoughts off my chest.

Sometimes I worry myself tremendously when I think about friends. To cut a long story short, there was once in time when I would give up anything for my friends. People whom I loved with all my heart to the point where I was willing to be a doormat and take shit as long as everything was okay. Sometimes it was upsetting and depressing, but I stupidly thought tha by making an effort, it would be appreciated. Eventually I realized that people ultimately prioritized themselves and you know what? Nobody really gives a shit about you, as long as they get what they want from you.

I know I had probably hung out with some wrong people but as a result, I remember that specific point in life when I told myself I've had enough, and I started to learn not to care anymore. I became guarded and skeptical and cynical with everybody and anybody. I keep in touch with few, value those who have stuck by me, meet new people and gladly embrace those I deem trustworthy, but I have long stopped making an effort in starting or maintaining friendships.

Right now there are many wonderful people in my life who I am letting slip away because of this fear. The shell I have created for myself is so thick that it is almost impossible to penetrate. I try so hard to not get too attached to anybody. I am so scared of that feeling of being let down or trampled over, that I would rather be the one who tramples first. Yes it is very childish to think like that, but so far it has been effective in maintaining my sanity. I don't worry about what anybody else thinks of me because I only think about myself. I have become selfish, independant and self-centred, I have been for quite a while now, but that's the way it is and that's the way it probably will be for a while.

I've moved on. I am happy. I feel happy. But am I really?

Once in a while I have old memories of certain people I've let slip, and I think of them fondly. I itch to send them a text or an email, just to ask how they are, how they've been getting on, what's new with their lives. I want to tell them how much I miss them but I am chickenshit and scared and so I don't.

One day I will be left alone with nobody to turn to, because those I could have turned to, I have turned away from.

OucH

These shoes will be the death of me.



I bought them in Singapore for S$20 I think. Very versatile and fairly comfortable to walk in.

But today, I discovered the hard way that the bloody soles do not have enough grip.

I was walking to Toowong train station and I slipped. Luckily there were not many people around and nobody saw, so I straightened up, pretended nothing happened, and continued on my way.

Then after work in the city. Peak hour. I was squished amongst a group of mostly professional-looking people, waiting to cross the road.

The pedestrian light went green. Everyone started to cross the road.

I was halfway across when I slipped again. In the middle of the road. In front of four lanes of cars and shitloads of people watching FML MAX. I had flung water out of my uncapped water bottle too as I fell, and I wasn't sure if I had drenched anybody because I was too utterly horrified to notice anything else.

I quickly picked myself up while concerned pedestrians asked if I was OK, smiled and salvaged whatever dignity I had left, limped to the other side of the road and inspected the damage (some small scratches) on my stupid shoe. Luckily I wasn't hurt (apart from my dented ego) and in retrospect, I'm really glad I hadn't worn a skirt!

. . . . .

On another note, it's my second day on the new job and I'm enjoying it. I have a class of bubbly elementary-level students from different countries including France, Japan, Taiwan, Brazil, Korea, Saudi Arabia and New Caledonia who, instead of listening to me speak, have no qualms about chatting away merrily to each other in class despite their very limited English.

I'm only relief-teaching for the moment so I'm not sure what will happen when the other teacher comes back. Hopefully they'll let me stay cos I'm lovin it- The college is great, my new colleagues are lovely, and I'm having heaps of fun with the students!

. . . . .

On another-nother completely unrelated note, meet the latest additions to the family:



My beautiful new granite mortar & pestle (which are so heavy I cannot even lift 'em with one hand), and a flour tin haha. Goodbye unglam ziplock bags for opened packets of flour! :D

I did some baking that very night and used my new tools to crush the biscuits for the base of my NY baked cheesecake slice. It came out too brown on top, but was yummo nevertheless. I am becoming quite the domestic goddess *beams*



It was Mervyn's birthday too so after the boys played soccer, Julia & Brenen came over as well to have dinner and stayed to watch Paranormal Activity: Uncut.

I'm not a big fan of scary movies but this one was pretty good. None of that gory crap and lots to the imagination. Seriously guys. You should watch it. *Evil chuckle*

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Aaargh Mariah was playing with a big fat cockroach and has left the thing under my chair and now it's crawling up my printer and the dumb cat has gone out EDDIE SAVE MEEEEEEEEEEHHH :( :( :(

Good vibrations

My natural highs of the day!

1. Waking up early after a good night's sleep

2. Getting to know new people at the new workplace

3. Donating the $5 I saved from not buying coffee to the lady with the charity box at the traffic lights and seeing her eyes light up with gratitude.

4. Seeing a wrinkly old man kiss his wrinkly old wife on the lips and tell her he'll come around later when she's done browsing at the shops

5. Bumping into an old friend :)

Last but not least- Getting a new housemate! *somersaults*