Bad traffic

I must confess.. I LOVE THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT! I’ve just reached home after an hour of slow moving traffic to Preston, hindered by hundreds of traffic lights and trams. What a total waste of time! I reckon I would reach faster if I took the rail or even cycle as the roads to the northern suburbs during the weekend are insane. All of them!

Anyway, while being stuck in the jam, I thought of a cheeky idea (and only a true Malaysian would think of this). I decided to use those small roads to reach Preston and get that yummy loaf of white bread from Bread Top, assuming that Victoria’s road system are all in blocks and hence would make it easy for me to just slid through the bad traffic. Oh, how wrong am I… Not only did I fail miserably to ‘slid through the traffic’, I also hit a couple of dead ends and got lost in the labyrinth of god-knows-where. In the end, I gave up and drove home, which was just 10 minutes away.

Moral of the story is; do not go to any Northern suburbs by car on a Saturday! L

Salute!

Today was a beautiful day; with the sun up high on full blast, clear blue sky and the reduced level of turbine power. So I decided to grab my notes and Mom out for a nice walk at the park and naively thought of doing some readings. Even had Mom brought her story book along. The plan was to visit the Shrine of Remembrance and followed by a tour of the Royal Melbourne Botanical Garden. The Garden part did not work out in the end, and so was my reading. Anyhow there was a ceremony at the Shrine today and while we were sniffing around, we heard some gun shots. Here’s the funny part:

(After three gun shots.. BANG, BANG, BANG)

Mom: Hmm.. there must be sending someone off today. Three gun salute.

Ean: Yeah? Wow.. We are attending some soldier’s funeral! Cool! (thinking mom should know all these military stuff since Dad was in the Air Force last time)

(another gun shot)

Ean: eh.. Four? I thought you said three? Auz must be doing it different.

(still followed by subsequent gun shots.. By the time it reaches the seventh/eighth ones..)

Mom: Wah!! This fella must be some ‘big potato’ ya! So many gun shots for him. Usually Three only!

Ean: Wah!! So happy that we can attend big shot’s funeral.. =) May he rest in peace.

Later that evening, as we were skyping with Dad, we told him of the privilege of attending a ‘big shot’ funeral that had Twelve gun shots. He must be pretty high ranking since he has four times the usual Salute! Then dad said this:

Dad: Funeral usually only got 12 or 24 Salute la…. Don’t have three one.

………….. The end ……………

 

( If you squeeze your eye really small, you should be able to see Mom and I. )

Last week of 2010 (^^)

Before this beautiful 2011 goes any further, I just wanna wrap up bout the last week of 2010.

IT WAS AWESOOME !!!

omg... feel so American-o bimbo now.

But anyhow, it is good. The Christmas eve party at Tingting’s place had been accommodative. There were many more people than I expected and gosh... the presents.. are simply to fall for. I’ve never received sooo many presents before!! I just declared 2010 Xmas as the best I ever went through. I know I’m pretty much acting like a kid now.. yet since I’ve been deprived of Xmas celebration for 20 years of my life, acting like a kid is totally cool. And what is better than spending Christmas with company of close friends?

Christmas day was nothing less. Went out with Tika’s colleague for a family-work luncheon. Felt so homey being with them. Almost felt like I belong there although ironically I only got acquainted with them on that day itself. LOL! There were unlimited supply of food and lunch eventually dragged on to supper at midnight. Lots of cheery conversation and nothing emotional. I just love their style!! We were also crazy enough to join the last minute planned trip to Marysfield which had been the cherry on the icing. The sunset view had been absolutely heavenly. In fact, there was a point where I thought the heaven door did open for us! Halleluya~~

Few days before New Years were spent in Phillip Island with Tash, Samora, Lachy, David & Tash’s family. Lots of sun, tanning, freezing sea water and of course, drinks. It is the beach after all. Though there were some issues on those boys, I can’t say the same with the house. It is such a great place to have a group of crazy friends over to crash it. But the cleaning up next day would be a pain. Hehehe. But yeah, spent enough time with those fellas to ensure they wouldn’t complain again if I ever stood them up on the weekly drinks. =)

New Year Eve... Tika, Linda & I went down to Docklands Pier to enjoy the marvellous fireworks. I had to admit.. it is the best show so far! We were neither too near nor too close so we don’t have to tilt over head till it hurts. It was the right place to be for that 10 minutes show. (and its free too.. hohoho!)

New Year is not so good though. Just realised a cruel fact and beat myself up for being such a desperado bitch. I didn’t realise it had been so long and am making a fool of myself. But ain’t gonnna elaborate and ruin my whole year. We need to start a year with positive vibe to make sure it last the entire year!! Its like starting a day with a good breakfast and a hearty laugh. Yeap. That breakfast & laugh thing is what I will do for the rest of the 363 days.

Cheers!!

♥

To a special friend, for a new year..

Ever had a guy friend that noticed a small difference on your face even when you yourself did not notice it? I do. It makes me wonder... Is it because he harbours such deep feelings for me that he notice every single thing from my perfume to the extra kilo I gained or it simply is because of his keen observation. Well, after years of friendship I would think it’s the latter.

Anyway, the same guy also made me realise that experience is something that you cannot buy. Because you can never buy time. And experience comes with time.. rather than sitting at home dreading about how much time you have left or how much time you have missed, why not just get out there and start spending time! We are all still in our early 20s without much of an obligation and commitment. If we were to go missing now, it’s not like we will cause much material differences. So, why not just go ahead and spread your wings? Go into the World Wide Web and look around for some job overseas. If you see a prospective job that might boost your line of career, just give it a try. If you really felt a burning desire within you that is banging on your chest, demanding for adventures and excitement, then perhaps you are meant to do it. Some might say that it is silly to do so for you would not get paid much. But then, the very same people are also those who had not gained much in their travel life. You have no idea how much you would learn and experience until you actually try it yourself. It doesn’t matter if it is a technical or life lesson, it will definitely made you stronger and wiser. Can you imagine--- in your resume, under working experience there is (a) building up a private enterprise in Indonesia (b) worked in Hong Kong port (c)experienced the business culture in Taiwan by working in a local accounting firm (d) went to India to assist in their technical development... WOW!! Shiok gila. Then again, these things only apply to certain type of people. Some others might enjoy the comfort, love and stability of being near to home. Its nothing wrong with that anyway! =)

With the New Year coming along, we better plan it well. So here’s my few 2011 resolutions:

· Finish with my studies & apply for a TR/PR..

· Hopefully land with a Graduate job in an Audit field.. yes, I still like Audit.

· Try and be wiser and less sensitive/emotional

· Watch at least one horror movie that don’t give me nightmares for 2 consecutive weeks.. its time for me to grow up

· Travel to Gold Coast!!

· Able to meet Ivy’s & Jean’s boyfriends before they actually couple up (they haven’t got one yet.. but am sure they will in 2011)

· Skype more with my family.. especially Jie.. (if she is willing)

· Enjoy the weather more!!!!

That’s just too much I think.. hehe. But a girl is allowed to dream eh?

China Study Tour 2010

I am back in Melbourne! This whole month had been an unbelievable experience. Let’s just say the China Study Tour was much more than I expected. I had abundance of fun, that is a must. But apart from that, I gained much more respect to both China and Hong Kong. Yes, we mentioned about the extreme growth in both areas and frankly being a Malaysian myself, I knew China is growing while HK had already grown yet I still had my doubts. But having to go and actually look at their growth is just beyond imagination and definitely open up my opinion towards those countries. We talked, gossips and sometimes criticize them but you will never know what it is until you go there. Look at their business operations or perhaps look at their business culture. They are just soooo much more advanced than us. And if you compare, you will just realise how shallow you were.. Before I go, I heard numerous rumours about them. And at the end of the trip, I know some are entirely false while some are true. Nevertheless, it is just simply amazing. Also because I met lots of great friends!! (That I will hopefully keep in touch.. hehhee)

There is no downhill though. Am not trying to complain but I got sick for most of the trip. The air quality was just not what I used to and I find myself coughing away. It might also be because that I’m not as tough as I thought I might be. The constant travelling, airports, long bus rides, company visits, seminars, de-briefings and social events totally took their toll on me. The study tour started with Shanghai, Hangzhou, Xi’an then back to Shanghai for a couple of days before heading to Hong Kong. And it is always jam packed with lots of non-stop activities that drag on till 10 pm. I literally only slept around 7 hours for the last 4 weeks, including weekends! For a person that requires at least 1 day of work-free, people-free and sleep-full day in every week, I was exhausted.

Then again, given the chance to do the similar things all over again, I wouldn’t mind at all. And my current wish would be going over to Shanghai or HK for a year to gain experience..

That’ll be so cool!!

Tika Bday + Brighton Beach

I thought it might be a good idea to blog about Tika’s Birthday when the memory of it is still a little fresh in my head. Anyway, all three of us decided to go to Brighton Beach despite the not-so-good weather forecast. The experts predicted it to be windy and expected a late shower. Let’s just say the expert really did know how to predict.

So, we started the day with a late breakfast in Coin Laundry. A great cafe with bright and cheerful ambience to enhance their image. The high ceilings and white background with a touch of nature really did made a great combination. The place was full of laughter and chattering. Despite the late arrival of the food, it was worth the wait.

Next destination is the Brighton Beach. Its not quite far away from my place actually. The main attraction is the colourful huts. They are all filled with interesting designs and tonnes of colours. Its like a mini village where the people are all extremely hippie type. But all the huts are closed. I wonder if they will open during summer to sell drinks and all, though I highly suspect that it is a storage place for the surfers. But anyway, we did spent some time walking around the beach and all. Its a great day after all.

Summary of June & July?

Due to the tight schedule these days, including a specific time for my reviews (Yes, I’ve decided to improved my grades), this blog shall be written in bullet form. Who doesn’t like bullet form anyway?! Its short and precise. How nice if exam essays can be written such a way.. Alright, lets start with a couple of things.

1. I’ve got myself two jobs namely the Postgraduate Mentor Drop In Station Team Leader and the Senior Mentor for Off-campus students. Its kind of hard to explain but the main objective here is I get to be involve a lot more in uni, good things to put in resume and a hell lot of EXTRA pocket money which will fund my China + Hong Kong trip in November!!! ( my mom would love to hear this)

2. Darling Jean came and yes, I’m overwhelmed!! We went to lots of places!!! Hehehe.. Feels so much more like home when my sweetest, oldest, closest buddy come over. But I reckon she would be more comfortable if she can stay at my place!!! Which she would if she comes again this year end. FOR FREE!

3. I’ve got my results and though its not as good as last year, its pretty satisfying. What can I expect with the effort I poured in. Let’s say I manage to maintain my HD’s WAM. =)

4. I get to join this Deloitte forum which will last for 12 weeks long and I screwed the on-line test with Deutsche Bank. Bloody hell!! Its like I had a nervous break down or something. The questions isn’t really tough but if only I had more time...

5. I’m looking and had applied for a new house (yeah, again...) Its just that the current house had some issues and it will be so much more convenient for us girls (Tika & I) to have our own sweet home. And bring guys back... LOL!

6. Went for a Footy match!! Its an Australian thing and I think I’m much more into Footy than Soccer. Its so much more interesting to see the men wrestle and the ambience in the stadium is just amazing!!

7. Pictures in FB!

Ps: Just decided to post the pictures in FB for some reason. =)

♥ Missing home ♥