Seafood craves

Seagulls are opportunistic birds. And intelligent too. The moment I stood up to greet some Melbourne friends I haven't seen in a while, they swooped down to the table, caused a momentary panic, and flew away. It was so quick that no one knew what happened, but an overturned section of our nicely stacked sashimi was the vital evidence that the two-legged thief had stolen our salmon!


Seafood enjoyed with white wine under the sun


The gang at Sydney's fish market


And this was a separate trip just the week before! I've been reminded again to check my cholestrol level. Later...

We're in the semis!!

We arrived as usual for our Monday netball game and were pleasantly surprised to receive a white sheet of paper in addition to our attendance list.

Who would have thought that our team would make it to the semis. As far as we are concerned, we play for fun. Although we haven't practised much together, guess we've got a hang of our positions on court, and would of course love to win every game. I'd say we are an average team in 4th place out of a 12team league. If only we can win the next game, we may be able to up another notch for 3rd place so as to avoid meeting the top team for the semis.

Wish us luck!

Troubleshooting

I hate it when the internet does not work. Two days in a row. Not happy at all. I ain't paying $49.95 a month for broadband access to get shitty connection.

Like what all professional engineers SHOULD do, I calmly clicked through everything I can think of that can warrant such a disaster. YES it's a disaster!! I plugged the ethernet cable to my housemate's mac and it worked. Great. Looks like it's my laptop that's playing up.

And then I thought crap! I must have deleted some files related to the web browser or the internet. I opened up the Recycle Bin in a frantic search for those files....and I don't even know what I'm looking for. Oh bother, I'll just recover EVERYTHING. Still to no avail.

And then I decided to plug in the USB cable instead. Connection was detected. Somehow the ethernet cable isn't working...anybody got any ideas why? how? Johann?

I'm back to square one.
A full load of unnecessary files recovered back to its original location.
Windows popping up all the time, whining 'You have low disk space'.
And I have one hour of deprived sleep.
Thank God it's Friday tomorrow.

The God of Healing

It was an awesome awesome time of prayer tonight. Foreheads anointed with oil, hands lifted up, faith rising by the minute. The name of Jesus is powerful, and we prayed for healing in people's lives, for back injuries, knee injuries, poverty, cancer, and for salvation.

It is not a selfish thing to ask God for. Continue to believe that God heals, even today. Persevere and Persist.

Lord, pour out your Spirit in me.
Refresh me daily.
Make me yours.

They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:23

The Asian Spy

I was snapping some pictures of the crane on plant today when a few men stopped me. They queried my intentions with the digital camera and proceeded to question me if I belonged to the company.

"Who's your boss?"
"It's so-and-so"
"I'll call him now to check"
"Oh he's on leave for another two weeks"
"Who's next in charge?"
"It's do-re-mi. He knows what I'm doing here."
"I don't know him. Then, whose your contact here in this area?"
"Try ABC" and he proceeded to make the call. Coincidentaly, ABC just happened to walk past. Things got a lot easier after that.

Although I must say I was a little bit intimidated at first but later I was grinning to myself. Kudos to them for taking time to stop. I might really be a mole in disguise.

To BB, from me with love

Received 2 boxes of Perth's finest apple strudel from a loved one. The boxes had the pleasure of leaving its hometown, flying to Melbourne for a stopover, arriving in Sydney this morning before catching the train down to Wollongong.

Though wrapped in a combination of brown sticky tape, plastic bag and rubber bands, my favourite delicacy was almost perfect, both boxes neatly tightened and wrapped with much care and thought.

Perhaps two boxes are not enough. My housemate is leaving for Perth next week and I've put in an order for another box. It's too sinful to resist.

Maybe I should find something else to indulge before I eat Corica's into bankruptcy and morph into a pig.

Shockwave survivor

I thought I could conquer it. Easy.
I thought it would be a breeze. No worries.
A friend that I just met thought I was way cool. Impressive.

I was SO wrong.

My arms were clutching the overhead chest rest so tight that I really thought I was going to fall straight into the earth's core everytime my bum was lifted off the seat. The screams did not stop for even one second. I admit I was scared to bits. My heart was frantically trying to beat properly. The pulsations continued at an irregular pace even after I got off the ride. But then, I tried to look cool after all that, with head still dizzy and the sky spinning around me.

After all, it has been about 10 years since I last rode it in Hong Kong's Ocean Park. This shockwave was just one of many amusement rides at the Corrimal Festival last Sunday, up north from where I live. Though the street parade was a bit of a let down, the people's spirits were up, dancing and singing away.

You won't find me doing this ride again for the next 10 years.

Come...and you will see

Albert McMakin had heard that a certain evangelist was in town. He persuaded his friends to go, including a 16-year-old teenager, to hear this guy speak. This teenager had no interest at all, but was persuaded to go when Albert offered him to drive his truck. As excited as most youngsters would, he agreed and probably thought this was a good trade. At the sermon, he was most captivated by the evangelist's speech. Spellbound. And he returned, night after night, to hear what this guy had to say. And he gave his life to Jesus.

Since then, over 2.5 billion people have heard him speak.Thousands of lives have been transformed.

Almost everyone, whether a Christian, an atheist or a Jew, has heard of Billy Graham, one of the most powerful crusader of our times. But have we heard of Albert McMakin who brought young Billy to come and check what the fuss was all about?

John 1:40-42
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.

We are not all called to be 'evangelists' or big-time 'crusaders' but we are ALL called to be 'witnesses'. The power of proclaimation is amazing. We are called to be Andrews and Albert McMakins.

Come...and you will see.

Another hurricane?

I was almost led to believe that another hurricane was coming. This time towards gong. Lamp posts were swaying viciously and the winds were screaming silently. It was almost like a ferocious attrocity was going to hit. I may have exagerrated a little but hey, after what Katrina did to New Orleans, who really knows?

Diagnosis of a senior twice your age

Maybe he's shy around females... but I wasn't the first female around.
Maybe he hates talking... but communication is important to an engineer.
Maybe he's too busy... but you can't be THAT busy to say more than a 'Hi'.

I acknowledge the different level in experience and superiority, senior engineer versus a fresh grad, yada yada...Somehow I get this aura around him that he just doesn't like talking to me. All the other blokes would stop to ask how I'm doing and how was my weekend... you know the typical questions to start off a conversation. I don't think it's fair to impose his lousy mood on me. I'm just getting impatient having to deal with this old guy everytime I see him making his tea in the kitchen.

Seriously I don't really need to get along with the old mecho guy. I don't have any dealings with him, unless I'd be so lucky to work with him on the same project. Highly unlikely.

And today he walked past, letting the door swing shut on me without holding it open for others like everyone else does.

Maybe he's just a snob.
Maybe I should just ignore him.

Lord, please help me. I need to dig out more of your patience tablets.

Maybe a little kindness pills.
Maybe a sprinkle of joy dust.

All in a day's work

-good fresh sashimi-
-75% off Alannah Hill jacket-
-cheap&comfy DF walking shoes-
-FCUK pressie for my brother-
-more casual tops to fit into my crowded wardrobe-
-$5 Freedom gourmet plunger-

Cheap quality stuff are hard to come by.
Birkenhead Point, you're my next best friend!

I am awed

I can only imagine - his glorious face, his awesome home. I have always wondered what it is like in heaven, commonly portrayed with a palace floating on clouds, pearly white gates with a magnificent fountain, angels in white singing beautiful hymns, God on the throne watching us like a father. It will be much more wonderful than what man can ever imagine.

This is one of my all-time favourite songs. Enjoy!

Mercy Me - I can only imagine

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk by Your side
I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When Your face is before me
I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for You Jesus or in awe of You be still
Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing Hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself standing in the Son
I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine

Canberra

I was reluctant to go to Canberra, having heard of boring stories of a dead city. After some persistent invitation, I gave it a go. Heck, why not, someone else is in the driver seat. I will not volunteer to be a substitute driver, because driving is not my passion.

I suppose I also don't want to end up not having visited Canberra properly. A stopover for a Thai dinner last year after skiing at Perisher Blue does not count as having visited Canberra.

First Stop: Canberra Saturday Market
The Saturday market turned out to be a pure meat and vege market. None of those souvenirs or cultural items to see, unlike Victoria Market. We ended up going to the dog show which was happening on the other side of the field. This was the best accidental stop...with nicely groomed collies, adorable pugs, mischevous jack russells, and a sad husky wailing out loud because its cage was too small to contain its size.


Richard-Gere-look-alike collie

Second Stop: National Museum of Australia
I was surprised to find that this attraction won the recent Aussie Tourism Award. Visiting museums was always a no-go for me. But history was made fun by its rotating theatres, arty ornaments, special effects paintings, and interesting facades. If it wasn't for our growling tummies, my friend's dad would have read every single piece of history in that building!


The striking facade in front of the museum

Third Stop: Lunch at Garema Street
Pure luck was on my side as I frantically tried to contact Kat over Friendster the day before I left for ACT. She woke me up from my already deprived sleep in the car around 8am. Waking up at 6am that morning was a big struggle. Strange girl! I would have happily slept in than checking Friendster early Saturday morning! But it was so good to meet her since she last visited me in Melbourne 3 years ago, and to learn that she's married. =)


Italian for lunch

Fourth Stop: Telstra Observation Deck
Entry to the deck was a total rip off. It wasn't as tall as I thought it would be, in comparison to Rialto Towers. The tower just happened to be sitting on a hill 800m above ground level and we took the lift that traveled less than 100m up. Sight wasn't all that great (Wollongong lookout is way better!) plus we weren't allowed to go the the highest deck.


Telstra Tower


Canberra at a glance

Fifth Stop: Embassy


The Malaysian High Commission - notice the pathetic looking red signboard at the entrance


China embassy building wins hands down! This picture can definitely pass for us being in China

Sixth Stop: Parliament House
By now, I was exhausted getting in and out of my friend's two-door car. Lesson learnt: Get a bigger car! Thank goodness this was our last stop.


We were late for our appointment with John Howard


Senate Chamber


The old Parliment House

You know spring is here when...

the weatherman announces the lowest temperature is 15 degrees. Unfortunately this does not apply to melbourne! This is one of the very few things I can shout about on behalf of gong.

people start getting sick due to weather change. Sigh, this includes me but am getting better! Thanks guys for your prayers!

no one in the office seem to be around. By 2.30pm, there was the draftsman, the chemical engineer and myself. Luckily my back faces the window otherwise I swear I would have walked out the door.

my boss goes on leave for 5 weeks on a kayaking mission. He's mad. And he called into the office on his way to Whitsundays to make sure we did this and completed that. He's nuts. What's wrong with you? Turn off your mobile and go have a H-O-L-I-D-A-Y. Maybe he's forgotten what one is. His total accrued leave is 16 weeks.

I...

stupidly hit my left knee on my office CPU which I placed vertically instead of its original horizontal position under my table just 10 minutes before. Numbness soon became the devil, and still is. My left leg muscles feels dehydrated of oxygen. It's close to midnight now and I foresee that I will not be able to sleep tonight.

only wished three Malaysians a happy merdeka day so far. And the day is soon ending.

watched Amityville Horror just then at the unimovies. Totally crushed the fun I had watching Fantastic Four just before it. But then again, AUD$3 for two movies is dirt cheap.

am happy again by the sight of two tickets which arrived in the mail for the Menopause musical next month.