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*

Today's random snapshots

Been blogging a bit more recently cos I've been stuck at home with nothing to do. Sien. Another stinkingly hot and lazy day...



无聊死.

Would love to walk around in the city and go to the museum or something, but they've jacked up the price for public transport again and I now have to pay a bleeping $7.80 just to get to the city, which is only 10 minutes away from my house!! O.o

Didn't feel like eating instant noodles either cos I'm sick of eating at home, so I decided to be naughty and splurged on my favourite lunch- Sushi and Boost Juice @ Indooroopilly. :D~



Ate in my car so that I wouldn't get distracted by the shops and go window shopping and fall in l♥ve with something and end up spending munny that I do not have.

MMSed kisses to Eddie at work..



Car park



Then went to Queensland Transport to put my renewed Malaysian drivers license in the system so that I can book in for my long-overdued driving test.

Drove behind one of these trucks again.
Look closer. SCARY CAN!!!



Bloody hell the first time I noticed these trucks, I almost shat in my pants cos I thought the truck was really facing me and we were going to collide head-on fml. I was about to jam my brakes in panic before I realized it was only a fucking picture of the front of a truck on the back of the (real) fucking truck.



Some innocent driver is gonna get a heart attack or cause a multiple crash by braking suddenly one day, and this company is gonna get sued their arses off I tell you.

Anyhoos. Today's word origin of the day is...


Christmas pressie from Bev!

And I'm halfway through this book which got me rethinking about the issue of bullying at school again..



No need to worry about that with my new workplace! :)

Meh too lazy to blog already. Off to play Zuma!

More job-seeking frustration

I've run out of potential schools of employment of choice to drop off my resumes at.

I think I'm just about to go crazy right now.

The jobs I want in Brisbane, I do not have enough experience for.

The jobs I want overseas, I do not have an Australian passport for.

The jobs I could've applied for in Brisbane, I do not want because it's not what I want to do (even tho the money is good T.T ).

The job I want in Japan, I've missed out on the application by months and will have to wait till September before I can start applying for 2011... and if I do get selected I'd need to fly back to Malaysia for the interview because my passport is Malaysian and that does not even guarantee I'd get the job FML.

I am eligible to apply for positions as an English lecturer with some colleges back in Malaysia, but as appealing as being called a "lecturer" sounds, I do not want to work in Malaysia.

Am I being too picky?

. . . . .

UPDATE: So guess what happened immediately after that little rant?? I got a call!!! :D Going off for an interview in an hour, wish me luck! *excited*

Doing the Karen Cheng with what I'm wearing to the interview. It's too hot for anything else -.-*

Today's healthy lunch: Jarlsberg cheese on Bürgen toast, icy-cold fresh pumpkin juice + orange/grapes/blueberries. Spot the Mickey!

Gotta catch the bus now kbyee~

Wide asleep @ 3.30am

Our biological clocks have been totally screwed up from our Singapore/KL holiday (during which we spent many sleepless nights either partying or pigging out), and it hadn't helped that both of us have been sick and drowning in phlegm, mucous, and each other's germs for the past two weeks.

Anyway.

Earlier on we went over to Bev and Bjorn's for a little get-together to farewell Darren, who will be leaving next week. The chef made us yummy onion rings and pulled-pork sandwiches for dinner.

I know you're gonna ask what a pulled-pork sandwich is. It is a sandwich. With pork. That has been... err... pulled. Youmaynowpresentmewiththemostuselesselucidationofthecenturyawardkthxbai.



More fun and yak afterwards, including a few crazy rounds of UNO...



INTERSECT!!!! *slaps down card* wahaha omg I have not touched those coloured cards since I was in primary school! And I won a round so everyone else had to drink!! bahahahaha.

(Now thinking of how I can modify it into a fun and equally crazy language-learning game hmm. Minus the drinking bit of course.)

Anyhoos, the boyfriend ended up having quite a few glasses of vino, and as I am typing this, I am enveloped by the soothing sounds of someone behind me snoring away like a buzz saw...


"Daddy? Daddy..??"

At least he won't be having trouble sleeping tonight ;)

She never learns

Mariah has a bad habit.

She loves scooping her food out of her bowl to eat.



Thus forever making a huge MESS on the carpet with her crumbs.

At first Eddie thought she didn't like the shape of her bowl, and that it might've been hard to eat from.

So he bought her a new bowl.

She still did it.
Turns out, she just likes doing it for the sake of doing it.



This afternoon, I sat next to her.
Reprimanded her and picked up all her food and put it back into her bowl, whenever she scooped out a pawful.

After a while she gave me the sien face.



But still did it nontheless.



And I kept picking it up before she had a chance to eat it off the floor.

Eventually she gave up and just glared at me.



Angry face haha

FML.

Fireflies

You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep
'Cause they'd fill the open air
And leave teardrops everywhere
You'd think me rude
But I would just stand and stare



I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems

'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand lightning bugs
As they tried to teach me how to dance
A foxtrot above my head
A sock hop beneath my bed
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread



I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems
When I fall asleep

Leave my door open just a crack
(Please take me away from here)
'Cause I feel like such an insomniac
(Please take me away from here)
Why do I tire of counting sheep
(Please take me away from here)
When I'm far too tired to fall asleep



To ten million fireflies
I'm weird 'cause I hate goodbyes
I got misty eyes as they said farewell
But I'll know where several are
If my dreams get real bizarre
'Cause I saved a few and I keep them in a jar



I'd like to make myself believe
That planet earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
Because my dreams are bursting at the seams

- OWL CITY

ONE MORE SLEEP omg.

I woke up at 3am this morning with my tummy churning and gurgling like a Calcutta sewer. I wondered if it was caused by last night's dimsum supper @ the Manor.



Impossible; Eddie had eaten exactly what I ate, and yet he was sleeping like a baby.

And then I remembered the pan-fried scallops I had for a snack earlier on yesterday. There could be no other culprit; I recall that the center of the juicy scallops were still a little cold when I bit into them, and nothing else could've induced diarrhea as effectively as half-cooked seafood FML.



Half a dozen trips to the loo later, I finally felt better and dozed off for a couple of hours before having to wake up to send Mariah to the cat motel.

Eddie drove while I sat with her at the back seat.



Poor darling had no idea where we were sending her, and even though it was only for three weeks, it broke my heart knowing that this was the first time in her life she'd be spending the night confused and alone in a totally alien place.



You couldn't see in this picture, but behind the chalkboard there's a hole leading out to a private balcony where the kitties can sit and watch the birds and the bees outside. This was one of the features I loved about this cattery. The kitties also get to play in a communal play area for an hour or so every day.

I hope Mariah would be too distracted to miss us too much.


Mariah's beautiful neighbours!

Nevertheless, I still burst into tears upon leaving our babygirl behind, thinking of how she had refused to come out of her carrier and thinking of how terrified she must be of the foreign smells and noises and having to be left all alone for almost a month without her daily hugs and cuddles and treats :'(

Yalah I crybaby. I hate goodbyes. Even when parting with a cat also wanna emo.

. . . . .

After my sniffling and snuffling, we made a pit-stop @ Sunnybank. Even though it was already 11am, most of the restaurants werent open yet, so we opted to grab a bite at Malaya Corner.



Went shopping @ Indooroopilly for last minute pressies, then went home and attempted to start packing.

Eddie is officially on holidays already. He cut/punked up his hair this afternoon and dyed it in streaks; he looks like an ah beng now! Totally hot. x)

(not that I think ah bengs are hot OK, I meant Eddie looks hot with his ah beng hair. Must clarify!)

As for me, it's my last day of work tomorrow. Staff Christmas lunch, and having to return my teacher laptop. I felt a bit sad on Wednesday as I started packing my stuff up. Took a few pictures of my cosy little ESL room for memories as I won't be back next year.



I think I'll leave these students' scribbles on my whiteboard so that the new teacher can learn how to say "Hello/How are you" in Tamil and Arabic too :)



Poster of stars I made of our ESL students who achieved academic awards for 2009. It's been an awesome year indeed.



Sigh.

Okay I'd better resume packing, the bedroom looks like a disaster zone right now.

My Christmas wish-list

1. iPod Shuffle



My iPod is my running companion. So far I've coped with either holding the thing while I run, or stuffing it down the side of my shorts/undies or in my sports bra. 越极麻烦!! ... and yes it ends up wet and gross. I haven't bought an armband because I assume it wouldn't hold up on my skinny arm very well. I need something tiny that clips on and weighs close to nothing. Also, I seem to have misplaced my iPod this week... I can't find it anywhere. It's a sign muahahah

Eddie has said he'd get one for me when we're in Singapore. Thanks darling! ♥ :D

2. Bike



Been wanting one forever, but somehow have never succeeded in saving up for one :( Resolution 2010!! There's so much more of Brisbane waiting to be explored, and running can only cover so much distance.

Not that I've been having too much motivation to run these days either...

3. Wok



Like a nice, high-grade, non-stick, flat-based one, big enough so that half my fried-rice won't end up on the stove top! I think I shall ask my parents to get this for my Christmas pressie... Good quality cookware is so freakin expensive here in Australia. Besides, mom loves helping me shop for these things x)

I also need a nice little mortar, a new grater, and a silicone batter spatula. Hah! The aunty in me speaks.

4. Watch



The one I'm using now was given by the ex before my ex half a decade ago. 'Nuff said.

5. Sunglasses



I really should invest in a good, proper pair of branded sunnies. The one I'm using now (and have been using for ages) is a $5 pair I bought in a closing-down sale in China. It doesn't look too bad, but it's flimsy, doesn't sit well on my face cos it's too big, and I can't bring it anywhere cos it didn't come with a case and it doesn't fit in any of my other cases!

6. Mixer :D



Already sittin' on mah kitchen bench, baby!

. . . . .

Maannn I've officially screwed up my bioclock.
And I'm not even on holidays yet :(

Three more sleeps till we fly!
Sleep goddamnit.

And I judged a book by its cover again

*edited*

On Friday night, we went fishing at Shorncliffe again. Eddie caught another stingray, and as usual, people crowded around to check out the catch.



Two swaggering drunks joined in the commotion. One of them hung around Eddie and kept talking to him.

A group of friendly Serbian youths packed up and gave us a nearly-full bottle of Ricadonna they couldn't finish. I took the big bottle, gulped a mouthful, swayed around and said to Eddie, "Look, I'm an alcoholic!" (intending to be comical, not to offend the real drunk in any way)

The drunk snorted and muttered something along the lines of "Pfft right. If you're looking for a REAL alcoholic, here's one for you."

God, he reeked of alcohol.

"I've got a bigger bottle than you," I smiled back, while at the back of my head thinking- At least I'm not you, you sad fella. How can people like you be so stupid and choose to piss their lives away like this?

I put the heavy bottle of sparkling down and continued to busy myself trying to get a nibble from something other than a puffie or an eel-tailed cattie.

Anne and Afiq and their friends arrived shortly.

Now I have always admired Eddie for keeping an open mind, unlike me being skeptical of everything and everybody. However, I was starting to get a little annoyed at the hovering drunk because we had come all this way to fish, the tide was high, and my boyfriend had stopped fishing because he was sitting on the bench at the end of the jetty yakking away to the smelly drunkard like old friends.

The drunk guy hung around, plastic cup of wine in hand, all the way until we packed up. As we left, he waved us goodbye. "See ya Eddie!" he beamed, and to me, "see ya babe!"

I looked at Eddie and screwed up my nose, repulsed. "Did he just call me BABE??"

On the road home, I asked Eddie why he had kept chatting to the drunk guy.

So he told me his story.

The man had just come out of jail only two days ago. He had been in jail for six years for accidental manslaughter. He got into a fight at a pub, and because he knew muay thai (Thai kickboxing), his moves came out and he elbowed a guy. That guy slammed into a pole nearby and died. The drunk was sentenced to ten years, but he got out early. He had never meant to kill anyone, and Eddie said, "You could tell he was definitely not the sort of person to kill someone". He was out on the jetty drinking by himself to celebrate his early release, soeaking up the fact that he was free again, and was excited about going to visit his son the next day.

I burned with shame.

Here was an innocent man holed up for more than half a decade, who was celebrating his newly regained freedom alone, and I had looked down on this poor man and labelled him a smelly useless drunk without knowing anything about him.

Here was a man eager to share his story and celebrate with anybody who would share in his happiness, but people don't want to have anything to do with him because they see him like I see him- a smelly useless drunk.

And if Eddie hadn't been there, maybe he would've been convinced that the world had turned its back on him.

Sigh.

I have so much to learn. And more than anything else, I need to remember that people are not always who they may seem to be.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

the courage to change the things I can;

and the wisdom to know the difference.

- Reinhold Niebuhr

Feeling restless UGH

Haven't gone for karate training for more than a week already. It just takes sooo much effort to muster up enough motivation to drive all the way to the dojo, especially after a long day...

Anyhoos, I went to the city today for my Thursday lunch date with Eddie :)


Christmas tree in the city

After our yummy kebabs, we went to Mont Blanc to get Eddie's Christmas pressie for his dad.

We loved SA Lyoko, who was bright and chirpy and extremely helpful! And nice too... she even chucked in a refill for free :)


Lyoko polishing the precious pen to its blingest, before putting it in its box and giftwrapping it beautifully


This one pen can probably buy a thousand million kilometricos...

After Eddie went back to his office, I stayed in the city and walked around a bit to scout for Christmas pressies.

As usual, got distracted and ended up buying stuff for myself :(

Top purchases of the day!



Crocs Santa Cruz in white/berry :D
I bought the size 8 rather than my normal size 7 cos it fits much better. (Are my feet getting bigger?? O.O ) It looks kinda big on my feet, but it fits nicely and is super comfy... I hope it stays that way and won't stretch too much.

Also...



A bag of JellyBellies in Strawberry Cheesecake and Buttered Popcorn from Darrel Lea. (Buttered Popcorn rocks!)

. . . . .

RIP to Daph's chihuahua [ Pumba ], who died suddenly of unknown reasons (but suspected heart problems).

And it seemed like only not too long ago, that poor [ Twistie ] had to deal with the loss of New York.

I hate it when these things happen. Why do pets have to die? Some might think, Mehh big deal, it's just a dog/cat/rabbit/bird/mouse but somehow these small creatures quickly find a way into your heart and become such a big part of it. When Rocky died, I cried for a week, and (embarrassingly) burst into tears at Cakiepoo's potluck party when someone brought up the topic of dogs (much to everyone's alarm). I was just as depressed when I lost Elvis (my guinea pig). Just thinking about having to go through this pain every time a pet dies is almost enough to put me off getting another one.

:(

Almost.

Stay strong girls. You know you've fed them and spoilt them silly and loved them with all your hearts; your four-legged darlings would not have wanted to live their lives any other way.

Acceptance

You don't question, and you don't hate
'Cos that's not gonna change the way things are.