Plan of Attack

It's time to
- harvest as many ang pows as possible.
- eat as many new year cookies.
- devour as many expensive new year specific dishes.
- watch as many Hong Kong movies on telly.

You can see how deprived I was for the last three years of missing out on CNY celebrations.

Happy CNY to all.

You know you're back in Msia when

1. you get mozzie bites all over your arms and legs.
2. you seemingly become greedier by the day eating more than 3 meals a day.
3. you get shown the finger for showing courtesy on the road.
4. you find grammatical errors in the Star newspaper.
5. you get stuck in traffic jams everywhere you go.
6. you enjoy spending money on cheap but quality Malaysian food.
7. you find ants crawling on your kitchen table.
8. you hear stray cats meowing pathetically in the back street.
9. you can't wait to see how your high school buddies have changed over the years.

JV 221

The Heat
Unbearable. The ladies had to deal with melting make-up and frequent touch-ups. The guys had to make do with their three-piece suit. All for an auspicious event.

The Couple
God-sent.


The Wedding Ceremony
We only had one rehearsal but God made it all perfect that day.

The Dinner
Exquisite. Enjoyed tremendously with friends not seen for a few years.

40 and climbing

It's extremely hot in Melbourne. I cannot imagine surviving another day here with temperatures hitting 40 degrees.

The discomfort of walking on scorching hot concrete floors leading to the Australian Open stadiums was almost unbearable. Taking shade under a tree didn't help much as we waited for a couple of hours for the temperature to drop. No matches were being played when we arrived as it was too hot and all tickets to the main arena were sold out. We ended up walking back to the car, or rather almost crawling back, as we could feel the 45 degrees heat squeezing every ounce of water that was in our bodies. I could feel my body dehydrating into a prune-like skin.

Heat stress is not my only problem. I've got cat stress as well. Chloe decided to fall sick a couple of hours before I was due to catch the train to Sydney airport yesterday. Declaring my case as an emergency to the receptionist wasn't too helpful either as I still had to wait for half an hour before we were seen. Seemingly her stress condition has reoccurred. I remember Chloe having to deal with a similar stress problem the same time two years ago, just that now I'm not sure what she's stressed out about. Maybe she can sense that I will be going away for a long period of time.

Weather report for tomorrow: max 43 degrees. Great, just when I will be attending a wedding tomorrow. I can't imagine wearing a bridal gown in this temperature, I think the guys are worse off - they've got a long sleeve shirt, vest and their suit. Maybe an ice vest would have been better.

I need an air conditioner right now.

Scary thoughts

I dreamt that I might be blind forever.
Ok maybe that's a tad too dramatic.

Perhaps blind in one eye? Or blurry in the other?

I have an eye consultation this Tuesday, a day after I touch down in KL. Am considering the possibility of doing a laser eye surgery.

I can kill many birds with one stone.
- For starters, I can rid my glasses for life, well old age will catch up soon but that's another matter to resolve later.
- I can zap that supposedly inconsistent appearance of a cist in my eyes, the more serious case in the right eye.
- I can wear sunnies and wrapped-around safety glasses without looking like a nerd.
- I can snorkel and swim and be able to see the bottom of the sea bed.
- I'll look different for the first time without glasses. I wonder how that will freak people out, especially when I've never parted with my glasses for many years now, save for the good two years of contact lens wearing.

I wonder.

Believe and be faithful

Church was so so amazing yesterday. I don't even know how to describe my experiences last night. God is so good.

We had Andy Kubala for all our three services. Andy heads New Zealand's biggest youth conference, Get Smart, and is well known for his powerful and inspiring word of God, not to mention his ability to have you rolling into fits of laughter. The second morning service was a repeat of the first, and yet I was still laughing my bum off the chair when he cracked the same jokes and stories. He's good.

The last service in the evening was a special healing talk. Through Andy's ministry, many people have been saved and healed, and I witnessed first hand the miracles he brought to my church, and especially to people I know personally. He called for someone who had ringing in the ears, and my friend, Sam stood up. For over twenty years, Sam had to deal with this ringing in both ears, and wept as he was completely healed after a short time of prayer and laying of hands. Many more were healed, and I thanked God for giving me this experience. I could see everything as I was on stage with the music band. God was indeed moving in the house!

These items have been added to my prayer list, after another day of chatting with people at church. You can join me in prayer and believing God to do good in people's lives!
1) Pray for Aida - her two sons aren't on talking terms.
2) Pray for Gordon - he just lost custody of his youngest daughter and due in court for another session.
3) Pray for Tay - has ear infections. Was admitted to hospital on Monday but has been cleared of anything serious.
4) Pray for Kaitlyn - returning to Minnesota to visit her family but hopes to return to Wolly.
5) Pray for Jono - starting a new job next week.

???

Bothering.Heartbreaking.Somethingisnotright.Confused.
Mixedfeelings.Lackofconcentration.Puzzled.Nofocus.
Mindboggling.Bubbling.Slightlydisappointed.

Despite all these,
Iamlookingforwardtogohome.

Seven days to go, and counting....

Hrmph

She bit. I spanked.
She sulked. I ignored.

Post New Year Celebrations

So little time yet so many more things we wanted to see and do. My holiday stories over new years are not finished yet!

1 Jan 2006
We tried another yet unexplored yum cha restaurant as listed in the Sydney's Cheap Eats Guide. This one was located in the Mandarin Oreintal building in Chatswood. We didn't wait too long before our queue number was called. It was the most expensive dim sum I've ever eaten. I've never paid more than $20. Either we were ripped off because it was a public holiday or the dishes were shockingly overpriced. Guess it's back to our familiar yum cha place the next time round.

It was scorchingly hot that we could hardly do anything after brunch. We retreated to Poh Lyn's place to chill out and play cards. Jas and Teddy cooked up some delicious Hokkien Mee and then we hit Manly Beach. I love night strolls on the beach. The waves were pretty fierce, hitting the shore with a mighty bang. The winds carried unseen sand with them and scratched us as it speedily breezed by. We had to cup our eyes to shield from the "sand storm" as I would call it. A nice hot choco and mocha wrapped up our night.

2 Jan 2006
Today was a long day. Need to cover Hunter Valley in only four hours, not to mention a 3 hour journey to and fro. Need to send Lufee to the airport. Need to pack and tidy up PL's house before driving back to Wollongong. Need to buy her a pressie for letting us bunk over for so many nights. Need to sleep early tonight before another long itenarary the next day. *phew*

It was unanimously agreed that I would be the designated driver to Hunter. Everyone else wanted to drink and taste wine. Cheh so much for giving face to the one who would be hosting them in Wollongong. But I did not heed the generous delegation, I drank anyway and bought a few unoaked and sweet wines. We even tasted a whole range of cow's milk cheeses - from feta and brie to marinated fromage blanc and gold washed rind. My favourite is the three year old black vintage cheddar. It was the only one I bought for $46.50/kg. Factory price, my foot. Still shockingly expensive beyond words.

In the end, we managed to complete all the "Need to"s. *double phew*

3 Jan 2006
A special day.

Woke up a little late but still managed to get to Jervis Bay on time. Went snorkelling again, this time round with the perfect weather under our belts. I saw more fish than the last time - sting rays, colourful fish, more Port Jackson sharks, etc. During the second dive, Ted and I sneaked some biscuits under the sleeves of our wet suit as fish feed. We managed to attract heaps of fish towards us, which was such an amazing sight.

Dinner was booked at a nice seafood restaurant in Darling Harbour. On the way there, the other car had engine problems, with temperature hitting an all-time sky high. NRMA was called in to assist. Thankfully nothing serious but we had to forego the booking as we were already running late. We decided to try this Jade Lotus restaurant nearby. We had always wanted to give it a go, passing it by countless times everytime we drove up to Sydney. The flashing signs "Singapore Chilli Crabs" made it all the more tempting. Though slightly out-of-the-ordinary price for a dinner, we had chilli crabs, birthday noodles, and king prawns, just to name a few of my favourite dishes.

Excellent.

Hisssssss

It was that time of the year again for the annual fearful moment. She hated going to the vet, and still does, hissing as I struggled to push her into the travel cage.

As usual on the way to the vet, Chloe made sad-sounding meows, expressing her fear of getting poked with a needle. She knew where she was going, body trembling under her blankets and short white hair flying all over my car. Last year, Chloe actually bit the vet. I wondered if she would repeat her princess-like demeanours this time round.

Surprisingly, the lady vet managed to carry her for more than Chloe would ever let strangers even touch her. This time, she seemed to be tamer. A good sign for the new year?

A few friends have asked me what my new year resolution is. I don't usually have a list, so here's a start:

1) Put Chloe on a strict diet.
She's overweight by 450grams. Right. That means less yummy biscuits for breaky and dinner. No more giving in to pretentious request for food.

2) Make her do more cat exercises.
Time to reignite gymnastic moves and somersaults.

3)Hmm what else can I do about her flabby tummy?
She hates tummy rubs.

4)How about reducing those cat naps?
The owner should do likewise.

Crossing Over to 2006

We had only four days in Sydney and wanted to eat all the rich and famous food there is to devour. The wish list was long and it was unachievable by anyone's standards, even though we were enthusiastic and energetic. We are such full on gluttons, I tell you! Poh Lyn was the self-appointed events coordinator, noting down the pleasures of our heart and the greediness of our stomachs, and helped us come up with an itenarary for our short stay.

29 Dec 05
Arrived at Sydney airport just after 9pm. Qantas food sucks. Period.

30 Dec 05
Lunch
Cheap&good Japanese food at Ramen Khan, Bondi Junction. Highly recommended.

Arvo Activity
Coogee beach was the chosen destination. Because I forgot to pack my swimmers, I automatically became the self-appointed bag watcher while the guys went for a dip. The waves were pretty strong though, almost able to sweep people off their feet. All I could do was bask myself in the hot sun, with eyes catching hot guys on surfboards and wandering at topless women trying to tan themselves and plainly ignoring to slip on some sun block lotion. In the end, I myself had sun burnt on a patch of area on my left thigh that I totally missed slapping the sun protective lotion. The little slightly reddish area was quite hilariously funny in shape.


Dinner
Picked Lufee from the airport and headed straight to Paramatta, passing a huge standalone Krispy Kreme building on the way. We couldn't resist but to buy a dozen donuts. Yum. Dinner was at Istana Malaysian. Crap food. We found out later that there was another Istana restaurant somewhere up north that was the goodfoodtoeat restaurant. Big blunder. Google is to blame.

31 Dec 05
Brunch
Fish Market is a must-stop food world! Notice the little lonely piece of salmon on the left side of the takeaway box. It was almost pinched by a two-legged thief. Those bloody seagulls again almost stole our salmon. We had to contemplate whether it was hygienely safe to eat that very expensive piece of fish or just throw money away. In the end, it was devoured by one of us. Not yours truly.


The Countdown
After many hours (I shall emphasize again, MANY hours) of discussion and reasonings about where we should camp, we finally decided on McMahon's Point which had fantastic views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Our picnic rug consisted of a few pages of newspaper held down with shoes. It was the least uncivilised picnic rug. Everyone else came complete with proper picnic rugs, picnic tables, pillows and even red reflective tapes to mark territories. Others had an inflatable pool and tents to shade from the scorching sun. It was hot, seriously. The next thing to do was to wait seven hours before the midnight celebrations and fireworks, supplemented by a family fireworks at 9pm specially for kids.

But the wait was worth it. Though feeling like idiots in the end, we decided that we'll just rock up at quarter to midnight for the next 2007 new year celebrations, knowing for certain that we'll still be able to find a spot to stand.

TGIF

My spare energy reservoir is dangerously low today. I'm close to taking a cat nap at my desk right now, even daring to sneak in an entry at work.

I need a booster!

Melbourne Mischieves

I only had 5 days in Melbourne. No, rather I had four days after Christmas Day to revisit familiar grounds and explore new excitements Melb now has to offer. No time to waste! Here I go!

Biggest Bargains
A Bardot lacy black halter neck for $10.
A Gripp shorts for $39.95 after a 50% discount. I still don't understand why a pair of shorts are so darn expensive.

Best Shopping Coverage
Covering Myers city, David Jones, Melbourne Central, QV, Bourke Street, Smith Street, Toorak Road, Bridge Road and Chapel Street in three days.
Verdict: Just do Myers and Melbourne Central and you've seen it all.

Most Unlucky Incident
Getting knocked on the foot by a set of pram wheels. I was almost reaching the kerb after crossing the road from Myers to Melbourne Central when a woman pushing a pram rammed into my poor ankle. The woman quickly apologised but I was not-so-quick in saying "It's okay". It's not just any foot, it's my right foot, mind you! The burning sensation was unbearable and I had to hold on to my girlfriend's hand for support.

Best Meal
Jason's homemade nasi lemak. Unbeatable. Unchallengable.

Most Disappointing Meal Not Devoured
Peking Duck at Old Kingdom. They are closed for another month.

Pressie Crazie
Love my Crabtree & Evelyn body silk lotion given by my close friend for my birthday.

Best Christmas Decorated House
...goes to a house in Vermont South. There was a walk-through one-way bridge through the garden for the public to view their spectacular display of lights, colourful ornaments, laughing Santas, and inflatable litted Christmas characters. Oh, they even had homemade snow-white soap "flakes".

Nyeh

I'm officially a quarter of a century old.

Why must my birthday fall so darn early in the year?

Happy Birthday to me.

Engineered to last

Found a link to a cyborg name decoder on a fellow blogger's site that I decided to try it out. Nocturnal gratification? Those days are over ever since I stepped foot into a new realm in the name of W.O.R.K. I shall also make a confession now - I even tried out the sexy name decoder website. This is not recommended for underaged and immature readers, please.

It is now 38 degrees in Sydney. The boys are making dinner in Poh Lyn's kitchen, I'm feeling like a melting popsicle in an inferno and shutterfly is refusing to allow me to load the new year's celebrations and fireworks photos online.

Oh, Happy 2006 to all!