ping . . .

pre-cny away from home

2012-01-22T19:13:00.002+11:00

The past week has seen recurring episodes of me being home sick and reminiscing out loud to Matt of how much fun the lead up to Chinese New Year is every year. So after much whinging and a little bit of sobbing from missing my family and all the nostalgic yummy goodies, loud and sometimes obnoxious chinese new year songs everywhere soon after Christmas, Matt took it upon himself to make me feel better. He googled and found a Chinese New Year festival we could go to today that I had no idea about :) After 20 minutes of what felt like forever in the car we finally arrived at Springvale! Hoo ray!

We're here! I was all excited. Sure the weather was boiling hot but nothing was going to get me into a crummy mood!!! We had to park a few blocks away from where the festival was but the walk from the car to the gradually louder clanging of chinese music made the anticipation that much greater! I gave Matt's hand another squeeze telling him how excited I was and how he was again 'the best boyfriend in the whole world'.

Must. Eat. Ba. Gua!

Char siu boa really isn't exclusively a Chinese New Year delicacy but it was still yum :)

That's us struggling to watch the dance shows and the lion dance because there were already so many people squished under the large tent and all around it. We could barely see anything so we just left to go look for more food while enjoying the festivities of the blaring music and the many happy asian people.

That's Matt and (me) relieved to be in an air-conditioned shopping centre close by. Matt doesn't like smiling in photos. I swear he was enjoying the day as much as I was. In fact, he saw a little dollar store from where we were sitting and suggested we go look for lanterns and what-nots to hang around the apartment.

We got these two little lanterns. They are battery operated and can light up :)

I love them! Absolutely adorable!

This is us in an asian grocery store and me loving the familiarity of the items on the shelves, the smell of it and the friendly old ah-ma made me feel right at home. Snapping this photo, Matt said to me, "Maybe you're missing home a wee bit too much?". I replied, "No such thing!" humph :(

"It fell sideways! Quick, fix it!"

Tee Hee...

depressingly homesick

2012-01-21T14:25:00.001+11:00

"We need to go to Chinatown right now and buy all sorts of chinese cookies!!!"

"Can you give me an ang pow on monday please?"

My sad efforts of trying to get Matt to help me feel better.

I'm feeling sad and it's making me grumpy that I'm missing out on Chinese New Year with my family :'(

first thing every morning

2012-01-16T14:28:00.006+11:00

You have 10 seconds to feed me or I'm calling PETA.

sunday at the movies

2012-01-16T14:27:00.000+11:00

Matt read wrong - the movie was at 9.30 p.m. instead of 8.30 p.m. and we already had our Ben & Jerry's in hand ready to go for the movie. We did get a free ticket though, which was a nice surprise. The lady we were buying tickets from over the counter said, "Because you watch lots of movies you have a free ticket". Not sure how that happened but yes we do go to Hoyts a lot - A LOT.

With an hour to wait, we thought we'd go outside and enjoy the fresh air but I found it too cold with the absence of any sunlight whatsoever, naturally at that time of day I suppose :) So we walked back in and sat at a designated seating area in the shopping centre with colourful plastic and wicker stools.

Urghh... overkill. I have realised the older I get the more I dislike sweet things. I have however learned to enjoy chocolate and have actually had moments of craving, something that almost never happens! But yeah, ice cream really doesn't do it for me. I need to stop adding choctops at the snack bar by default on movie night. Definitely no snakes, jelly beans and definitely not milkshakes. There are the exceptions when 'I feel like it' though :) Or the need to just munch on something. The idea of flavoured milk other than chocolate sort of makes me cringe. Cake on the other hand, I enjoy cake. I love cake :) Pastries in general is ♡

So an hour later, armed with a large barrel of popcorn and a coke as usual, we finally got to sit down and enjoy our movie after 20 minutes of trailers and advertisements *yawn*. The movie was better than expected. I wasn't sure what to expect as all I could really get from the trailer was a cheating dying wife and Clooney in a previously-absent-father-now-needed-full-time-due-to-current-circumstances parenting dilemma. It was a very real movie, I'm at lost for words at how to describe it. It wasn't over-acted, glossed with special effects or had hot girls prancing around half-naked. It was like a reality tv show- a real 'non-scripted' one. I gave it inverted commas because it's obviously scripted because it's a movie and reality tv shows really aren't reality tv shows and are mostly scripted as well. Oh god, I'm so awful at describing things. Anyways, it's slow paced but not boring. Clooney with his sharp suit no where in sight and substituted with Hawaiian print shirts, haunted with real life issues actually made him look physically less attractive. I believe that's a good sign :)

a boost! in the afternoon

2012-01-13T15:44:00.001+11:00

Cause when we're together it's like (mango) magic!

Lol!

after him!

2012-01-13T00:52:00.004+11:00

Matt and I were in the car driving home when we saw a man spriiiiintiiiing across the street! "Let's follow him!" I thought it and he said it! :D "Quick he's turning right!" and Matt made a quick serve to the left to make it for a hook turn. "Come on come on!" We were impatient at the lights waiting for us to make our right turn. I looked back to the direction he was running from and was disappointed to not find anyone frantically chasing him. Never mind! We should all always be vigilant citizens! The lights finally turned green for us and Matt quickly made his turn and straight up the hill to quickly catch up to him. "There he is!" He wasn't too far away but now just walking and not running anymore. Matt caught up to him and I asked him to slow down just so we don't scare him. Matt ignored me and similar to the movies followed him slowly a few meters behind. I was starting to feel embarrassed and bad for the stranger because Matt was being so awkwardly obvious! His slowed down walk quickens to a stride and he starts running again! Matt pushes down the accelerator in response and the chase was on again! "Not too close! He knows we're following him, surely!" Again Matt ignores me. I tried looking around as if we were looking at the new apartments in the area just in case he turned back to see us stalking him but my excitement got the best of me. "He's crossing the street hoping to lose us in the park!!!" Good one Ping, too many movies perhaps? He stopped in the middle of the street on the way to his attempt to escape in the park when a tram soon arrived and on he hopped.

Oh, he was probably just running to make it to his last tram twenty past midnight.

Or was he really? Hmm...

mmm...

2012-01-12T14:53:00.001+11:00

Just a photo of a portion of breakfast from December with Matt and my parents ♡

graduation gift

2012-01-12T14:42:00.001+11:00

"Please don't bother getting me flowers or soft toys"

"Ok"

Matt really didn't get me any flowers at my convocation :( lol. The soft toy I was relieved was no where in sight. Matt instead quietly pulled out a little rectangular box wrapped in gold paper and whispered into my left ear in the midst of the chaos "Congratulations, I'm so proud of you" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I quickly slipped it into one of my bags while juggling bouquets of flowers and making sure my mortar board stayed put on my head. Finally home after all the hoo ha, I remembered I had a present to open.

I thought it was so sweet and appropriate in an academic = pen kind of way, if you know what I mean. I thought of getting Matt a Mont Blanc pen for his birthday but thought it was a little boring as a birthday gift and the fact that he's in I.T. and almost never uses a pen which kind of defeats its sole purpose of existence. lol. I love it :)

matt's 30th birthday

2012-01-11T16:59:00.002+11:00

Not the best start to a blog post of exciting events but... I don't know if you all read or heard but a hot air balloon caught fire and there were 11 casualties :( My heart dropped and I felt an instant cold sweat. It was almost as if Matt and I cheated death and I had gruelling scenes of 'final destination' run through my head.

I told my mama about it and all she had to say to me over and over again the past few days was, "Please don't ever do anything like that ever again" Very sternly... and worriedly. I don't think I could ever put my parents through the worry. Even the night before the flight when we had our new year's phone call, I consciously made a point not to mention anything about the flight and to only let them know how it went when we landed... if we ever landed. They both weren't too keen about the idea in the first place to I'm happy Matt and I are both safe.

Anyways, back to happy thoughts :)

We were supposed to fly on the 17th of December but it got cancelled due to bad weather. I was very disappointed but better safe than an awful experience up in the air. It was midnight, New Year's Day and Matt was already sleepy. I convinced him to stay up with me to watch the New Year celebrations on tv... he did :) 3.30 a.m. and just as he was getting really sleepy I told him we had somewhere to leave for in half an hour! I'm not sure that was the best idea but it worked out alright I suppose :) Surprise!!!

How beautiful is that?

At this point I was nervous as hell but sooo excited at the same time.

Eek!

This is the only thing between me being alive and a 3000 feet drop down to my death.

How reassuring :/

Thank God we're back on land! If you are mildly afraid of heights like I am, it really isn't so bad. I did feel a bit queasy but otherwise, it wasn't too bad as long as my whole body was in the basket.

You know what the best part of it was? The preparation for it. Everyone worked together, watched the balloon spread on the open field, started with the fan thing and later the flames. Us later climbing into the basket and finally take off! Pretty cool :)

This view now, is from an entirely different place; 55 floors up at the corner of King and Collins Street. It looks like a pretty crappy view but with a bit more of the city on the right, it was actually quiet amazing. Really.

"Where would you like to have your birthday?"

"I don't know. Anywhere"

"Spice Temple?"

"Yeah, sounds good!" :)

So that was me suggesting Spice Temple at crown weeks before Matt's birthday. It's actually pretty good. Great food, dark and cosy, almost mysterious atmosphere. Matt and I went a few months ago and have been wanting to go back again for a while now; what better opportunity too we both thought. Or rather he thought and I implanted in his mind... inception! Anyways, so hooray we're going to Spice Temple la di da. On the 15th, the day of Matt's birthday we had agreed that I'll meet him at his work and we'll go to Crown together. Little did he know that in the 15th drawer of his advent calendar I had made for him, was a message saying to meet me at the corner of King and Collins street at 11.45 p.m. I had called an hour before our planned lunch 'diversion' to make sure he had checked his day's candy drawer :) So long story short, he knew at once we were going to Vue de Monde instead of Spice Temple for his birthday... and he was very surprised and excited! Yeay!

"Happy 30th Birthday Bao Bei!!!"

"Thank you!"

*and I present to him, his awesome present*

"Would you like to open this now or later?"

"Now!"

and this is what I finally decided to get for him...

and he was genuinely surprised!

Mission accomplished! *upward air fist punch*

It looks much better in person I assure you!

I'm really happy with it. I really wanted something Matt can keep for a very very long time and the only lead I had was that he wanted a dark faced watch to add to his collection. After going through so many designs within my budget I felt this was it.

A week before his birthday, walking around Chadstone shopping centre I suggested he get his father a watch for Christmas just so I could maybe see if Matt liked the watch I had picked for him. And of all things do you know what he said to me??!! "There's nothing worse than buying an expensive watch for someone who might not like it". Was it a sign? I thought. Matt tends to be very particular so... I was a little worried and didn't go through with engraving... just in case! Besides, I didn't think Matt was the engraving type too :P No, I was not doubting my taste! Thank goodness Matt loves it and it was obvious from the many loving looks he gave his new watch already on his wrist throughout lunch. Phew*

After 4 hours of mind blowing degustation and at the physical brink of explosion, Matt was presented with a little birthday treat. I thought it was very sweet of them :)

I can't say the same for Jacques Reymond though. So... I took my parents, Matt, Tian and his girlfriend for a nice degustation dinner 2 nights before this lunch for my graduation, Tian's as well and Matt's birthday. It was my first big treat for my parents, first of the many to come of course.

Sad thing was, it was such an occasion and we were all very excited but the service was such a let down. Food was sublime. Service was absolutely shocking. Never again. Never. I'm hoping we just had a bad egg because it would be such a pity for others too if the experience and unworthy major dent in my bank account is the biggest impression left as opposed to the pretty amazing dishes.

The 17th came and instead of the prior planned hot air balloon ride that was cancelled, we just had a typical breakfast because you know, it's just another weekend.

Wrong! :)

This surprise was spoilt though :( Matt's dad called up to see what we were doing in the afternoon because the family came down from all around Victoria to Melbourne for Matt's birthday party later that evening. Just as Matt got off the phone with his dad he turned to me and said

"So is the day spa still on for today?"

Nooooo..... but on the bright side, Matt had his suspicions. So it wasn't completely his dad's fault.

Champagne and chocolates after our day spa. It was amaziiiing :)

We were both all relaxed and smelt nice from the oils. Oommm...

And finally here, is Matt's birthday cake. Anyone who knows him would know if had an item to represent him in his entirety, it would be coke. Well, maybe not his entirety but a pretty big portion of it! I took a risk and had this arranged with a company I googled up online but I was a little disappointed with it. Oh I don't know, I guess I was hoping it wouldn't come out looking as tacky as it did. But never mind, everyone found it very amusing and it was enough for all 40 of us with plenty left for us to bring home.

So there you have it, Matt's 30th birthday. Doesn't seem very exciting now that I think about it but it sure cost me a fortune! Phew* never in my life have I splashed so much money around! But Matt deserved every bit of it and I've made sure to tell him that it was a 30th bash and I wouldn't be spending near as much until his 50th birthday... just cause it's the sensible thing to do. Lol. Now we've got bigger fish to fry together. Ah, the exciting near future :)

Happy 30th Birthday Boo. I love you so very much ♡

lego fan

2012-01-04T16:19:00.000+11:00

Was walking down Swanston street pass the town hall and saw this!

Excuse the horrible photo but I was very excited :)

I need a group of friends to have Lego night with me every Tuesday :(

lucky I don't act out my thoughts... most times

2012-01-02T16:45:00.000+11:00

The first thing I thought of when I saw these shiny bins at Bunnings was,"Kick it!"

Cause in video games you either get a gold coin, a ♡ to 1up or more ammo.

D.I.Y vs. plumber

2012-01-02T15:58:00.001+11:00

Ping: Maybe we should call a plumber.

Matt: It's alright, chill. It's just a little leak.

...

After 3 trips to Bunnings

...

Ping: Maybe we should call a plumber?

Matt: It's ok. Really. I've almost got it!

I'm quite terrified of what's going to happen to the toilet but...

I.must.have.faith.

sigh* men.

finding love where you least expect it

2012-01-02T03:15:00.001+11:00

I serendipitously found the perfect concrete air bubble ♡

on top of the world

2012-01-01T03:40:00.001+11:00

Matt has been sleepy for the last 3 hours but I've been annoyingly keeping him up, reminding him it's the 1st day of the new year and I just wanted to cuddle, enjoy 2 minute noodles and watch the news with him.

Come 3.30 a.m.

Ping: Bao bei...

Matt: Yea?

Ping: I have something to tell you.

Matt: What?

Ping: We need to leave in half an hour

Matt: Huh?

Ping: We have a balloon flight to catch.

Matt: WHAT?!

Oh, I don't know.

I figured we could start 2012 by being on top of things :)

pa's little girl

2011-12-28T00:51:00.002+11:00

After just thrown out the rubbish and making my way back to the apartment, I all of a sudden remembered I had left a $5 note in the right back pocket of my jeans. I had done the washing the day before and had left my black pair of jeans on the rack to dry. A little worried I might have lost it because I had forgotten it for a while, my fingers touched the familiar crisp plastic-ky sheet that was said $5 note. I let out a sigh relief and had a bit of a flash back.

In a hurry on convocation day, I was trying to figure out what to do with my hair and was thinking to myself how awful it would look with hat hair after the night. Ma was ironing my black gown and piece by piece had it laid on the bed for me to put on when I was finally ready. Pa was notably more excited than I was, checking and making sure his camera had battery and was talking to himself of where we should go around the city to take photos. I on the other hand was still full from lunch and was feeling sleepy.

Pa and ma walked down with me to Storey Hall to take some photos of and with me... with my bouquet, without my bouquet, side shot, front shot, wide teeth smile, closed smile. How embarrassing I thought. There I was in full gear on the busiest street of Melbourne. But it slowly sank in and then I realised how blessed I was that my parents had dedicated a great portion of their lives working towards this for me, giving me the opportunity to further my studies in such a comfortable environment and so much more. And so I smiled, great big cheesy smiles for my pa who was snapping away with his camera with darling mama standing next to him smiling and laughing at the ordeal I was going through thanks to pa.

Finally, after the photo shoot, I had to quickly go to the stadium first and my parents back home to meet me later in the evening at the event. Ma passed me my bag and I realised I had forgotten my purse. Pa quickly said to me, "It's ok, I'll pass you some money so you don't have to worry". Here I am at 24, having been living away from my parents for the last 6 years and my 59 year old pa hands me a $5 note. Initially I just didn't like that I was taking any money from my parents. But when I saw the $5 my pa was handing to me, I thought, "$5?!" I did a quick mental calculation that a tram ticket would cost me just over $3 and hopefully the change could get me a bottle of water if necessary. Highly unlikely I thought, oh well. I quickly thanked my pa, gave them both a kiss and headed off to the tram stop.

The $5 made me feel like their little girl again. Parked just outside primary school, pa from the driver seat would lift open the middle compartment where he kept his change and rummage through for a 20 cent coin. I'll stick out my palm from the back seat, have the coin placed in my hand and I say "thank you pa" and give him a kiss on the cheek just before hopping out to go to school... 15 years later only getting a $4.80 raise. Haha! Anyways, I didn't need to use that $5 note and have had it in my back pocket every since. I'm going to keep it somewhere safe for a very very long time.

Always and forever pa's little girl ♡

matt being a romantic doofus

2011-12-28T00:33:00.001+11:00

He was making up lyrics and rhyming really badly. But it slowly got better and it turned out to be quite hilarious. Between the oohs and the yeahhs and jeng jeng jeng I worked out that it was a love song to me. Very tenacious D with a romantic twist.

finally on christmas day

2011-12-24T21:47:00.004+11:00

Merry Christmas everyone :)

and now... we wait

2011-12-06T01:42:00.001+11:00

The biggest and final piece of Matt's birthday preparation is complete!

Matt's 30th birthday present is in the bag ;)

With only 9 days left to spare!

Finally.

Took me forever to find something I really wanted to give him & I'm really happy with it.

I'm so excited!

too few and far in between

2011-12-04T19:33:00.002+11:00

I haven't had a day off like this in a while. I woke up to the sun's warmth on my face shining through the curtains... my alarm clock slept in with me this time, thank goodness. Matt and I took a drive and had yum cha for breakfast out in the suburbs. I love shared meals. No individual plates of you having what you want and me having what I want - what's mine is yours and what's yours is mine - ours. The loving gesture of scooping a heaped spoon of fried rice into Matt's bowl or picking up siu mai with my chopsticks and placing it on his plate - always reciprocated with a gentle smile and him doing the same for me. As inefficient and clumsily redundant as it all plays out, I hope we never end up like the older couple where the husband sits there with his paper and coffee oblivious to his wife's struggle to calm their distressed baby.

Super Mario on the wii and an episode of 'The Office' later the sun begins to set; marking the beginning of me missing time together with him throughout the coming week :(

advent calendar countdown

2011-12-01T08:11:00.002+11:00

Matt gets some candy and a little note filled with TLC or hints on little surprises towards his birthday every day at work and on the other side of each 'day' box is a photo of us slowly spelling out a 'highly intelligent' crypted message! His birthday is on the 15th, so guess the message ;)

on matt's work desk

2011-11-28T14:57:00.004+11:00

I initially thought countdown post-its would make it exciting for Matt.

Now I think it's a little mean... poor thing.

movie buffs

2011-11-28T13:29:00.000+11:00

'Drive' was so much better than expected.

'Ides of March' was disappointing.

'30 minutes' was a little dry.

'I don't know how she does it' was relatable and fun to watch.

Looking forward to 'J. Edgar'.

Leonardo better finally win an oscar this time.

Re-watched 'The Bucket List' on the couch with Matt last night.

No matter how busy we get, Matt and I always manage to squeeze in a movie or two each week in whatever 2 hour window we have together. That's really all we get to do together with both our busy schedules - us side by side, hand in hand, quiet pecks on the cheek in between scenes and gorging down a large bucket of popcorn.

Matt's 30th birthday is fast approaching. I've been doing lots of planning and so far so good. I hope everything turns out well :) I'm so excited for him! My bao bei is turning 30! O.M.G!

it fits... or does it really?

2011-11-18T18:37:00.001+11:00

This poor person was deprived picture puzzles as a child :'(

Made me laugh while waiting for the green man to let me cross the street.

too literal

2011-11-11T10:11:00.001+11:00

Matt and I drove down to Bendigo for a family get together to remember the one year since Matt's mum passed. It was a little solemn leading up to the weekend with the family exchanging calls and heart felt emails but all in all we had a wonderful time being together and also with the lots of cake we all gobbled down in celebration of two birthdays!

I was looking at this container of candles with the 11 year old birthday girl and was thinking to myself, "I can't wait to have a family and have a container filled with novelty candles and used over again candles over many birthdays sitting in the pantry" I can imagine myself hoarding the candles and putting them in ziplock bags after every birthday and labelling them to whose birthday each year - lol.

Anyways, so the birthday girl Melanie was rummaging through the pile of candles with her little fingers, slowly picking out what she didn't want... like the boyish footballs. After taking out a pink and white polka dot number '9' candle, she looked at me in utter frustration and said, "Ping, why is there no number '11' in here?" *sulk* I panicked a little not knowing what to do for a second there but in a split second very cleverly, or so I thought, picked up two stick candles and said, "See, if you put these two close together they make a number 11!" *big accomplished smile*

She gave me a look that I interpreted as, "that's stupid" and shook her head sideways. She ignored my idea and just went ahead to pick out 11 candles for herself to put on the cake. I suppose that was a pretty stupid idea to give to an 11 year old cause I would have probably done the same as she did :)

away from home but never from each other

2011-10-25T23:42:00.000+11:00

Matt's away for work.

He's got a can of pringles and I've got a punnet of strawberries to finish.

I miss my boo.

share a coke with...

2011-10-25T23:15:00.000+11:00

white, fluffy & cylindrical

2011-10-25T11:04:00.000+11:00

Matt served me my rice all fancy last night.

I thought it was adorable ♡

finally - a fairly relaxing sunday together

2011-10-25T10:56:00.000+11:00

Last Sunday Matt and I visited one of his brothers out in the country. We rarely see him as he isn't as close to the rest of the family as everyone is so it was quite a daunting experience, even for Matt as his brother is 20 years older than him and they really didn't spend any time together at all growing up. So I whipped up a batch of large chewy centre chocolate cookies, made cute paper boxes which looked adorable by the way ;), and had a wonderful afternoon with coffee and home baked cookies with Matt and his brother.

Not to mention a coincidental not too bad lunch... at Laksa King!

Matt and I were on our way to this other Malaysian restaurant but it was closed... CLOSED! I blew my top, well, not really but I was disappointed and Matt just said, "It's alright, we'll see what we can get on the way". I knew what that meant...no Malaysian food fix. I get pretty grumpy and irritable when I'm hungry - haha. Matt as always can tell and always asks me, "What's wrong?" That's after me being quiet for 5 minutes in the car and that for him is unusual. I'm not sure if that was a good thing for him and some quiet he should appreciate. Hmm. Anyways, I just said to him, "I'm starving" with a sad sad face. So Matt drove further and further out and me being grumpy had concluded he was ignoring my starvation and continued my silent strike. Not too long after we arrived in a little suburban area (I say suburban area because I had no idea where we were somewhere just outside the city. I have no sense of direction and am unfamiliar with the suburbs even after being in Melbourne for 6 years. Lol).

"MALAYSIAN RESTAURANT!!!!!" - my silent strike was there and then broken; or rather pulverised to smithereens! Matt went "Ok, ok, ok and started looking out for a car spot. I went on about how I've heard of this place and read that it's pretty good but I've been here only once ages ago but it wasn't at this spot and it was all new and shiny now yada yada... ramble ramble. I was so excited. We opened the menu and I wanted everything ;) But I decided on the west malaysian laksa which was alright and Matt the hainanese chicken rice which wasn't great and we shared a roti chanai which was ok.

Before diving into my soupy dish I said to myself, "Aiyah... I'm wearing white! But it's ok, I'll be very careful" Just at 3 spoon-fulls ... I already had a spot on my top :'(

puss asleep

2011-10-19T16:32:00.000+11:00

Puss' tongue stuck out a little as he sleeps :)

aaww...

2011-10-18T16:16:00.000+11:00

"You know... I'm so lucky to have you"

4 years on and he still makes me feel so special ♡

my man in a pink tie

2011-10-15T16:54:00.005+11:00

THE donald was here in Melbourne a few weeks back. As obviously successful as he is as a businessman and I don't doubt at all that he knows what he is doing, I always had this impression that he is much more focused on his celebrity image and not so much as a 'business guru' - if you know what I mean. But what the heck, we had to see and hear from the man himself. I had wanted to secretly get tickets for Matt and I to surprise him but alas needed to know if he was free or if wasn't to work his schedule around the 3 day event.

Anyways, long story short, he is quite the entertainer with great pointers to boot.

2 weeks after the event and also as an anniversary present with Matt still Donald Trump smitten, I got him a little something online from Macy's :)

lining up for the iPhone 4s

2011-10-15T16:31:00.001+11:00

Here is Matt lying on the floor, us in the 6th row in front of the apple store at 2 a.m. We've always wanted to 'line up' for something in great anticipation so there we were. 'Stay in line forever for something' has been checked off our bucket list. I wasn't nearly as excited for the phone as Matt and Tian were; in fact I wasn't even there to get one for myself. The only thing that rationalised staying in line for hours for something I didn't even want was grocery shopping and packing a picnic for us three to share with fold up chairs and blankets to keep us comfy :) Matt and Tian were there from 8 pm the day before the release - that's a whopping 12 hours in line. Nothing compared to mega apple fanboys but me spontaneously rocking up 4 hours later at 10 p.m. was a big enough challenge!

Here's to Steve Jobs. R.I.P. ♡

something new about me

2011-10-09T19:05:00.001+11:00

On a lazy sunday afternoon snuggled together...

Matt: Tell me something I don't know about you.

After giving it a bit of thought...

Ping: Well, when I was younger you know how you have those signboards that say 'trespassers will be prosecuted'?

Matt: Yea.

Ping: And you know how the sign usually has this logo of a guy shooting down another guy from behind?

Matt: Yea.

Ping: I literally thought people got gunned down on other people's property. I thought that was kind of harsh.

Matt: LOL!!!

galactic circus

2011-09-08T16:48:00.001+10:00

Matt and I at the arcade with the adrenaline of high school kids playing hooky.

home grown

2011-08-31T18:51:00.000+10:00

My first batch of fresh home-grown coriander :)

best boss ever

2011-08-31T17:56:00.000+10:00

Aaawww... so sweet ♡

still going

2011-08-30T08:28:00.001+10:00

I angled the shot so the pink stood out more than the murky brown. One's aesthetically pleasing while the other is essentially nourishing :) I just realised I wouldn't be able to do this today or over the next few days for that matter... or even the whole month before for the buka puasa late markets! lol! if I was back home in Malaysia. Selamat Hari Raya everyone!

p/s: Matt looooooves masak hitam :) 3 more days and I'll take Matt to a Malay restaurant to celebrate Hari Raya with me. I hope they will be open by then. Sounds like a plan! Mmm...

reboot

2011-08-29T16:51:00.006+10:00

So I've slowly gone off coffee, bless my soul - loooove coffee and I've never really drank alcohol so that was easy, but the toughies are the usual suspects, fast food and snacks like crisps. I figured I could do without most of these and have started a healthier diet and lifestyle altogether. Thank goodness I don't have much of a sweet tooth. I guess in this phase where I'm in between graduation and the working world, I sort of had an epiphany (from boredom) that I had to get myself into a routine I would happily carry on for the rest of my life before I got caught up in the 'no time for anything else but work' world. Nothing I couldn't physically keep up with, so I've been experimenting a little with food varieties and healthier options, work out timetables and basically going back to square one and reminding myself to drink a lot more than I'm used to.

Above here is breakfast :) Yum! So, a few posts ago I briefly mentioned Matt and I were watching this documentary by Joe Cross called 'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead'. In a nutshell it's about Joe ballooning over the years and one day packing up to america for this 60 days only juice diet. I like food related documentaries. It's sad to think that a head of broccoli would probably cost twice the amount needed to feed a family with fast food. What has the world come to ey? Anyways, back to myself :) No, I'm not going on a 60 day juice diet, neither is Matt. I mean, he probably might end up doing it, but he'll most definitely be gearing up for it slowly before anything as extreme as that. 'Reboot Your Life' is a community website for anyone interested by the way. It's very informative and you can have a read if you're just curious.

Here is lunch. A lot greener than breakfast but I assure you all that celery, kale and spinach taste pretty damn good! Really! I feel full but not too full like a typical meal plus the bloatedness if you know what I mean. A juice so far holds up pretty well for about 3 hours before I start feeling hungry. Because I'm on a 5 day detox, I'll need to suppress hunger with water and soldier through thoughts of crisp, salty, oily chips *salivating already omg* and other things I'm not going to describe for my own sanity.

Anyways, I might lay off the running over the next 5 days and see how I feel after in which by the way, my 5ks are going great! I would like to continue having a juice daily after the detox, most likely for lunch ... because I am already missing my crunchy and very wholesome, I assure you, morning cereal :'( But you never know, I'll have to see how I go and like everything else, moderation is key. Wish me luck!

colouring time

2011-08-28T23:54:00.000+10:00

I've walked past this aisle in Big W soooo many times but never have I stopped to take a look and to fondly remember how when I was younger, I would be so excited if any of our family members would travel abroad to bring back with them little gifts and candy for us kiddies. Crayola was such a hit and the variety of point styles and fun packagings were sooo cool! I almost had the urge to buy a colouring book, basic colour pencils and try out those funky colour changing ones with cool tips that draw out patterns to enjoy for myself... but I didn't. Imagine that - instead of older girls gossiping over coffee, we can have colouring sessions like when we were kids and talk about, I don't know... happy things :)

eeeewww

2011-08-27T16:06:00.003+10:00

I've never been poo-ed on by birds, or anything for that matter. Wait, maybe my hamster when I was 12. Saying that just made me feel like I just jinxed myself :'( Anyways, never in my whole life until today. I was happily grocery shopping with my bag over my shoulder under my arms when I saw it and thought, "OMG!!! I wonder how many people have seen that gross sludge on the front of my bag under my arms" How embarrassing! I quickly removed it from my shoulder and carried it off my hand low on the ground. As soon as I got home I quickly googled how to clean my bag and cleaned it like there was no tomorrow! I relaxed on my couch relieved... only to all of a sudden discover these weird markings on my hoody... and realised I had gotten some bird poo on myself :'( Well, I'm grateful it was just my bag, a little on my hoody and not right on top of me :)

new green buddy

2011-08-27T10:04:00.003+10:00

p/s: my herbs are growing beautifully! :)

daffodil day

2011-08-26T22:03:00.001+10:00

Today is Daffodil Day! It's my first time volunteering so I was quite excited. Sure, I woke up feeling like a lazy bum after a late night of watching this "fat, sick and nearly dead" documentary but I got ready anyway knowing it will be a lot more exciting once I got there. Myself together with two other girls, one in her late 20s and another who has been doing stuff like this for the last 20 years! was there with me. We had a stall set up and had merchandise such as pens, pins, brooches, footballs, soccer balls, wrist bands and fresh daffodils. We had to restock both the soccer and footy balls three times because they kept running out!

I remember one of the first things I noticed about Australia when I first got here, everyone is SO nice. I've never personally been racially attacked except for an ignorant comment ages ago asking me to "go back to korea" but other than that, nothing but stories from other international students. Anyhoo, Australians are just so incredibly friendly! Throughout the day everyone was genuinely excited to support the cause and would tell us what a great job we were doing and to keep up the good work. On top of that we had lots of cash donations and "keep the change". Hooray! Ooo, one of the girls even had a cup of coffee on the house from a nearby cafe because they noticed her volunteering badge!

Every once in a while we will have a person come up to us and tell us how a member of their family has cancer, a mum, sister, grandfather and one even came up to tell us she's been battling breast cancer and how she very proudly just got her hair done at the salon after having it finally grow after chemotherapy. I guess it was just nice having people be so transparent about their personal battles and having strangers encourage one another. Packing up at the end of the day, this man with this bright blue hawaiian shirt came up to us with a tin. He told us how their work place especially organised a 'Hawaiian Shirt Day" today to raise funds for Daffodil Day. Aaawww, I thought that was such a thoughtful, brilliant and fun idea!

We had this many fresh daffodils left at the end of the day so I bought all that was left. They are so beautiful :) I'm happy I volunteered today and I think this is going to be an annual thing from now on. If you'd like, you can volunteer for "Pink Ribbon Day" to support breast cancer research.

RSPCA cupcake day

2011-08-15T00:59:00.000+10:00

bake em' cupcakes and raise funds for the RSPCA ♡

birthday blooper

2011-08-15T00:53:00.000+10:00

Matt reminded me it was little Jemma's birthday today last Tuesday so I made her this adorable card.

That's me in the car sticking thick double sided tape onto the letters to make them pop up.

Later today, I found out it was little Koby's birthday, not Jemma's.

Thanks Matt, thanks.

look, it's nemo!

2011-08-13T18:45:00.000+10:00

I make Matt let me take photos of him excited or at least pretending to be because I'm still childless and need some sort of compensation. Haha!

These little jelly fishes are so beautiful!

The penguins didn't look as beautiful and majestic as they do on tv with poop all over the ground.

We need some sort of snow machine in here people *hint hint*

This is what people in antarctica lug around with them to last them about 15 days.

Something like that.

What? No peanut butter?!!!

At Nando's for a snack.

We couldn't eat Fish n Chips at the Aquarium after seeing all those fishes. I mean, how is it that sea themed places like the aquarium and sea world serve fish-everything? It's kind of creepy isn't it?

At first glance, it almost looks like Matt used tomato sauce to write out 'love' but he didn't :P

volunteer your time

2011-08-12T14:08:00.001+10:00

Hi guys,

Why not volunteer for Daffodil Day and/or Pink Ribbon Day.

It's my first time, so I'll let you know how it goes! :)

and before I forget...

It's cupcake day again!

i can has...

2011-08-12T13:36:00.001+10:00

I can has grass.

I can has reflective moment.

I can has looky and no touchy mummy's herbs.

I can has lift heavy pot off ground.

1685th best day ever!

2011-08-12T12:15:00.003+10:00

Me: Can we go to Bunnings... pleassssseeee

Matt: Ok!

It was almost a rhetorical question. Of course I was expecting him to say ok, if he could, he'd find a reason to drive every evening! :) That and because he loves me :) So off we went, me super O.M.G excitedly because I knew exactly what we were going for - plumbers tape, herbs and everything else that goes with it!

Yesterday was quite a big day for me. After finishing with work, I ran my 5km. Ooo, happy to say I'm very comfortably keeping my 5km under 30 minutes! After that I did a bit of cleaning and fixing. The bathroom sink had been in a bit of trouble, always very quickly clogging up with the water running @ face washing. After putting it off for always 2 months now, I finally decided to get it fixed... myself :) I was googling and you tube-ing and with a pair of gloves and a bucket lined with a plastic bag, I went under the sink started unscrewing the 'P'. I was so excited to be doing something new but at the same time hoping what I was doing wouldn't cause even more trouble. Finally unscrewing the 'P' I very cautiously removed it from the rest of the piping, anticipating lots of gunk to spill out. I was right. Urrghh.. I had so much of my hair in there it was shocking! The smell was bearable and the cleaning wasn't half as bad. Very proud of myself, I screwed the cleaned out 'P' back on and it was all great! Except for a tiny little leak which needed a bit of taping which I very proudly again, expected from what I learnt in secondary school back home. Thank you Cikgu Au. I think that was her name :) So there you have it. I fixed a clogged sink all by myself :) I am quite the handy-woman if I do say so myself ;) Score!!!

At bunnings I very excitedly picked out the herbs I wanted. Being a first time anything grower, I picked out herbs I use most - oregano, rosemary, coriander, mint, chives and parsley. I figured with me cooking a lot more now and with how they are a little pricey and how often it is used versus how quickly they go off, it was more economical to grow them at home. Mmm... fresh herbs. All of them came in little pots and Matt found this rustic long pots for me to put in 3 each which I thought were pretty. We chucked in some cat grass for Puss too so all in all we were a happy bunch! Depotting them was a lot of fun. It was quite unexpected because I never liked the idea of getting my hands dirty or planting anything for that matter until recently. So with almost no knowledge of plants whatsoever, I hope I have learnt enough for my herbs to grow well. Wish me luck!

I have to keep Puss in the room otherwise his over excitement over grass will make him unwell.

This is him whinging and being a sour puss.

1k

2011-08-08T14:39:00.000+10:00

I love having a car. We have pretty much been driving around every chance we get and to think we have been stuck in the city all this while! All the fun we have been missing! Anyways, here's a momentous moment of us driving our first 1000 km :)

here's a gold star

2011-08-05T14:52:00.004+10:00

I've made it a point to 'judge' people. Haha, for the better good of man kind I promise. So during holidays, no matter how short they are, I make it a point to look out for sincerely awesome staff at hotels we stay at. I say hotels because those are people I usually have most contact with on a trip. This of course applies to flight staff on long haul flights or really anyone you feel deserves a gold star for that matter. Whether it's the really sweet and helpful room service lady or the go-an-extra-mile-for-you attendant at breakfast, Matt and I make it a point to make sure their good efforts don't go to waste. So me at the risk of sounding like my dear ol' mama, I write in to management. Haha. So using Matt's email address and signing off as Matt because he is racially at an advantage for more serious acknowledgement, sad but true, I write on his behalf to commend these people that made our experience that much more special. Gives you a warm gooey feeling when management replies back and says they will make sure their staff are commended. It's like, yeah! I wrote in and made this person's day! and the extra bonus helped with the kids tuition or who knows, accelerated their career progression into management :) Just thought I'd mention it because good isn't given even close the amount of attention as bad.

how does this always happen?!!!

2011-08-03T19:41:00.000+10:00

diving in K.K

2011-08-03T16:16:00.001+10:00

I am so tanned from my holiday I need to stay indoors away from the sun for a year. Not that I don't like myself tanned, I somewhat like it, but dread thinking of the inhumane torture my skin went through to get to this state. I wasn't as religious in reapplying sunscreen as I should have been. Shame on me. But, I had such a blast! Matt and I went snorkelling, diving for the first time which was awesome and para-sailing also for the first time! I have this new appreciation for sea life. It made me sad imagining all the damage we were inflicting to our waters and the poor poor sea creatures! :(

Matt and I are keen to get our deep sea diving license so we can go further under water. Not quite sure when we'll do it but we'll make sure we do on our next beach holiday. The day in shallow waters was spent learning new skills, techniques and hand signals. I hated flipping off the boat backwards. Urgh. That whole physical motion gives me nightmares.

Later when we felt more ready for our adventure, we explored deeper waters. Being under water is serene. Sure, I am haunted by my impending death where a great white shark might sneak up on me or sea water might sip through my goggles, blinding me and causing me to crash onto the sea bed of poisonous eels or my regulator would just all of a sudden stop working 13 meters under water. But putting all that aside, whenever I can, it really is very beautiful. You, just waddling around the water 'weightless' with only the sound of your breathing.

I admit I was a little hesitant at first. I felt awful if it meant Matt was missing out so I just caved in and went with it. I'm so happy I did because that was quite an experience :)

a present? for me? from you?!

2011-08-03T00:11:00.002+10:00

Tian passed me an old dingy hardware case wrapped with moss green nylon string. I looked at it a little confused, somewhat skeptical, but very well aware of his very odd antics. He said to me, "Nah, a present for you". I excitedly grabbed it and was so surprised as Tian has never been one to be openly affectionate towards me and what more to say give me presents, even if it were my birthday or christmas. Sad, I know. I would shrug it off as him being a younger brother and not let it get to me despite being a little disappointed at times. But even with him being a lousy sport, I always made sure I continued getting him gifts for special occasions despite the zip, zero, nada, reciprocation over the many years.

I ripped off the nylon string, opened the snap locks and lo and behold, Bobbi Brown's Light Peach corrector T_T. I was so touched I teared and said to Tian, "I want to give you a big hug!". He very hesitantly got up his chair as if sisterly cooties would kill him and I gave him the biggest hug he has ever allowed me to give him his whole life! I said many thank yous and all he would say was yea, ok, you're welcome, yea. I looked at my little gift and the note signed off with love and gave him another big hug. I'm over the moon, feel so loved and am so happy that it has only taken 22 years for Tian to finally give me something. Hallelujah!

a quick update

2011-08-02T18:18:00.001+10:00

I've been wanting to blog since I got back from my holiday in Malaysia but I've been busy unpacking and catching up on lost sleep on Saturday, visited Matt's family on Sunday and have been on lock down because I've got work to do for my dad due tomorrow on minimum wage :( Here's to finding a real job real soon. But then again, that's another whole issue. Grr... Anyways, it was a super 2 weeks and I miss home so terribly much. Even more so this time because I don't know when I'll be going back again. Much love to my very amazing parents. Blog soon, take care xoxo

see ya RMIT

2011-07-13T11:04:00.002+10:00

I still get RMIT emails on the upcoming semester, enrolment announcements and information on all the boring formalities to the start of every semester. I smile every time when I see one in my inbox thinking to myself, "Muahahahaha... I've graduated. You poor things still studying".

Yeah, self-amusement and the novelty of having officially but not formally graduated yesterday :)

love is sweet

2011-07-13T10:58:00.001+10:00

I greeted Matt at the door and in his hand was a Red Velvet cupcake ♡

2011-07-12T15:51:00.001+10:00

I love cooking porridge. Almost a lot more than eating it. Not that my porridge isn't delicious, it is! *proud smirk* I love the whole process of it. A very quiet, slow and delicate process. No loud chopping, no pungent smells, no rigorous kneading or tedious wrapping like wantans and no sizzling oil that sizzles and splatters everywhere. I especially love cooking porridge in the winter. It's cold and over cast outside and it's even better when it's raining - very therapeutic.

You know what brought me to blog about porridge? Matt's dislike for porridge. It's the consistency of porridge that he isn't used to. So whenever I have the chance to, because there's only so much porridge I can eat all by myself, I cook for my brother and my aunt too. I suppose it's the same for most non-asians. I should be grateful he already likes most of the asian delicacies he has ever tried, but... I love cooking porridge and it's for someone special or ill that makes it even more gratifying :/ but no... Matt takes a panadol, drinks cloudy apple juice and just sleeps when he's sick *yawn* Such an unaffectionate healing process with nothing for me to fuss about.

matt's first car

2011-07-12T12:43:00.003+10:00

We arranged to meet each other at 3 p.m. yesterday to pick up the car but because Matt was told he'd need approximately an hour to be taught on how to use the car, wwhhhattt?! So I decided to leave a little later because all I'll be doing, for the next 6 months at least, is to just sit back and relax on the passenger seat. I don't really want to be at fault if anything were to happen to it, especially when it's all so shiny and new.

We had to wait a while to have the extras Matt wanted fitted into it. It was a long wait but yesterday finally arrived. On my way to the showroom I thought of picking up a mini bottle of champagne but quickly remembered we shouldn't be drinking and driving. Haha. The walk there was exhausting. It was quite a fair distance away and I couldn't help but think to myself, 'I won't ever need to walk so far ever again! This is my last very far walk ever!' I finally arrived at the showroom and was all excited again after being battered by the cold winter weather.

Matt was in his suit straight from work and was listening tentatively. Not wanting to interrupt, I waited while I perused around at the hot, leggy women they only seem to hire - and also at the many cars around. I'm no where close to being a car enthusiast but I know a bit here and there from the conversations between my pa and my brother. It can get really lengthy and I don't really care for the manly details until I hear words like, 'cup holders', "Wait did you say six cup holders? SIX?!". Haha, cosmetics of the car, yeay the fun stuff! Sure, like everyone else I can tell a difference between a car and a really sexy car but that's about it really. I don't really mind whatever car I drive as long as it's not butt ugly - in which I'd hopefully have the means to be fussy when I decide to get my own car *fingers crossed*

Finally, Matt was done and he was allowed to take his new baby home. I excitedly greeted him with a hug and gave him a subtle mental probe, "So how do you feel?". He felt good. Excited. Proud that it's one of 'those' milestones. I nodded silently with approval, haha. "So this is it? You're happy with this?" Yea, I guess so. Ya. I mean it's a good car. Urghh.. I was hoping he was a little more convinced about his purchase. I mean, it's not like he's buying a pair of socks at Target :/ That aside, he was genuinely excited so I left it at that. A last look at the car and we went to our opposite sides, hopped in and just sat in there, next to each other silently and breathing in the new car smell. Breaking the silence, Matt reached into his pocket and said to me, "This is yours". Dangling from his fingers in front of me was a set of keys to the car. My own set of keys. I was going to bawl my eyes out there and then because it was just so sweet and romantic and ... so brave! "For me?" "Of course", Matt said. "I can keep it?" Haha... I was just in awe at that point. I took it off him, gave him a kiss and not wanting to wait any longer, Matt started the car for our first ride together :)

Driving out was surreal. It was so much fun. Matt played around with it and as he got used to it he started to really like his new car. Not just yea, it's a good car but really started to like it. Thank goodness! He mentioned the demo car wasn't as responsive, the suspension or you know... all that car mumbo jumbo. Many times he'd remark how much better it was than he thought or expected. A wave of relief washed over me. Good, he finally really likes it and is going to enjoy driving it for a while :) A long while I hope. Haha.

P/S: Guess where we had dinner last night? Outside the city! :)

stretching the dollar

2011-07-08T16:01:00.003+10:00

I've been learning about how to save on petrol :)

I usually grocery shop at Aldi or Victoria market. I get the generic stuff like meat, veggies, fruits, paper napkins, toilet paper, cotton buds, milk, eggs, dish washing liquid you know everyday things we aren't very particular about from those two places. For the things we are a little fussy about though, we go to either woolworths or coles. Our shopping trips there would include a list of mainly food items like sauces, crisps, chocolates, candy, biscuits, coffee, ice cream, cereal and household items that are brand specific like Windex for example.

The thing is, I never stock up on junk food at home. Maybe the occasional chocolate and candy for Matt and packs or crisps for me but I figured we go to the movies enough to chow down enough junk food that we really shouldn't need any more. Oh no, I'm going to be a crazy mum! "Mum! How come all the other kids have cool dinosaur shaped snacks and we only have cucumber and carrot sticks to snack on! I hate you!".

Anyways, so seeing now that if we do top up petrol, let's say once a month, that would mean a $30 shopping list for either coles or woolworths a month for a petrol saving docket. Which is what we are doing at the moment. Only problem is, it's several little trips of, "Oh, let's get a tub of ice cream" or "We just ran out of barbeque sauce", throughout a month which won't work cause it has to all be a single $30 transaction.

Oh no, I have to make a list of needs for every month :/ But it's ok, it's kind of exciting. It's almost like a mission I have been entrusted upon to save us up to 8 cents a litre! Haha. The coles petrol station is closer and more convenient and the woolworths/caltex station is a little out of the way... but I want to save an additional 2 cents! Haha. We'll see how we go travel route wise. See how efficient I am, haha, and the car isn't even here yet. Soon! :) You know, I might be saving Matt more money than he is spending on me. Well, maybe not quite as much, but I try my best ;)

I can't believe I dedicated a whole post rambling on fuel savings.

tee hee

2011-07-07T22:29:00.001+10:00

Hi Ma, I am cooking "cheating dinner" tonight. Frozen chicken kievs and curly fries. One night only! Still very nice okay.

I am also cooking "cheating dinner" - simple fried mee. Fried yellow noodles with whatever veg I have in the fridge. Pa enjoys any noodles so no problem. Matt is "chin chai " as well. Angmo lagi, very senang tipu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bff love

2011-07-06T14:30:00.000+10:00

How adorable is this?!! :)

a car's worth

2011-07-03T14:03:00.009+10:00

I was a little cranky this morning because I was stressed with work related issues. It didn't help that Matt wasn't being very 'sensitive' on today's extra-sensitive mood scale. We just ended up ignoring each other minding our own business when all of a sudden he walked up to me and said, "A car only buys me 24 hours of happiness?! I feel jibbed!" I replied him with a stern face, "Well, you just need to buy another one for the next 24 hours then" It was such an odd tension between us and Matt had the cutest expression on his face that I cracked a smile and we just ended up laughing and hugging it out. Our disagreements are now shorter and our fights are less critical and more constructive. 3 years and 8 months on, I think we're finally starting to figure this whole relationship thing out ;) *phew*

"If the grass looks greener on the other side, it's because they take care of it ♡
- Cecil Selig

he said what?!

2011-07-02T20:15:00.009+10:00

Matt : "Ooo, we can get a baby seat for the car with our Frequent Flyer points!"

Yes! It's in the bag!... not in the oven if you know what I mean. Hooray! :D

light hearts by bruce ramus

2011-07-02T20:02:00.002+10:00

Matt's not keen on smiling for photos :P

joy ride

2011-07-01T23:18:00.005+10:00

Many times Matt and I will weigh the pros and cons of getting a car. We live in the city, Matt works in the city and I study in the city. We are pretty much 5-10 minutes walk away from everything we need and with the cost of petrol, tax, maintenance and car park rates, we would every time agree that we didn't need one and could make do with fairly reasonable car rentals when we need it very occasionally and take the train or trams which were alright. Besides, we have a nest egg to keep building for our happily ever after together ♡

Time and time again, the topic would come up and as of late we've been feeling having a car wouldn't be too bad of an idea. Instead of spending weekends just around the city or inner suburbs, we would be able to head off on a whim to that 24 hour pancake parlour 30 minutes away at 2 a.m. or the 24 hour K-mart at Burwood if I felt like we needed a potted plant to fill a corner a.s.a.p! You know, life and death situations like that ;)

But on a more serious note, it would be nice to just be able to just zip around, make trips to and from the airport easier and well, eat out somewhere a little further than a 10 minutes walk away and explore greater melbourne a lot more than we have limited ourselves over the years. I guess just feeling like everywhere further out is much more accessible makes it feel less claustrophobic for us.

Could I live without a car? In melbourne, no problem. But I can't say it won't be nice to be able to jump in and to go anywhere and not worry about getting mugged too late at night or whether there's a train station or tram stop nearby and do you know how many times we've carried big ass blue ikea bags on the tram? Lol. Matt is very keen and he has been for a while now. Ultimately it all boils down to what he wants and as long as he's crunched the numbers and is happy about his decision, it's all systems go :)

Funny thing happened today :) Matt called up the showroom for a test drive but he was told he'd be given a call back due to them being busy. Still waiting for a call back and with a little free time to burn today, he and a friend went down to the showroom themselves for a visit to have a look and book a test drive. Apparently car sales men have a reputation for a reason. Straight from work through the front door, Matt sat me down at the dining table and I instantly blurted out, "You bought it already??!!".

He laughed and said no. He started telling me about his day and how he ended up at the showroom... and how he was sat down for the sales talk... and how he signed a contract. "A contract??!!", I shrieked. He laughed again and quickly handed me the contract and at the bottom it read

"SUBJECT TO PARTNER'S APPROVAL"

Aaaaawwwwwww

The car is on-hold now and we will be going for a test drive tomorrow. I'm excited but all nervous at the same time. If Matt decides not to get it, he gets a full refund so we aren't committed with a risk of any loss so it makes it a little more of a pleasant experience to soak it in and to think about it thoroughly without any pressure whatsoever.

Things like this make me appreciate Matt so much. He has worked so hard, recently got another promotion and he's pretty much been saving up for the two of us. As much as it is entirely his say especially with such a big purchase, he makes me feel like a part of it and that it is as much my decision as it is his :) He says "we're a team" ...even if he did say to the salesman, and I quote, "My girlfriend will bust my balls if I bought it today".

fruit bento

2011-07-01T13:11:00.002+10:00

birthday month

2011-07-01T10:16:00.000+10:00

It dawned upon me last night as I was setting my alarm in bed that I am 16 days away from my birthday. I hadn't actually thought about it at all as compared to other years where I would be excited for July's arrival. This year, July all of a sudden just happened and I didn't even see it coming. I'm turning 24 this year and for a second there I had to think to myself whether I was turning 23 or 24. Not from denial of old age but an honest mistake of losing count. I guess when you're younger you anticipate your 1st (well, your parents do) your 5th, 10th, 16th, 18th and your 21st. It's all downhill from here :'( Nah, I'm still excited. It's just scary being 24. Oh boy.

baby portrait

2011-06-30T19:45:00.003+10:00

cake pops

2011-06-30T14:49:00.006+10:00

Matt sent me this photo of cake pops in action. Look at those hundreds and thousands! :) They look so happy. You'd think they'd all of a sudden rattle in their cups and jump out of them dancing and singing a happy song. Matt said they taste awesome but as always I think he's just being nice. I don't know, maybe I just don't enjoy chocolate to understand where he's coming from. Well, lucky they are a hit cause cleaning hardened melted chocolate is a pain in the butt. Is it worth all the trouble? Yeah :) I love how Matt turns into the hardest working taste police while asking me if there's anything he can help me with as he hurries off with a handful of chocolate balls. He's such a kid :)

say it

2011-06-29T14:24:00.004+10:00

Matt called me from work 30 minutes ago

Matt: Alex's birthday is tomorrow.

Ping: Oh, cool!

Matt: Yeah...

Ping: Yeah...

Ping: So...

Matt: So...

Ping: Do you want me to bake something for you all to share?

Matt: I mean, only if you want to. *I knew it!*

Ping: I could if you want me to, is it too much?

Matt: No no, it's fine. But only if you want to.

Ping: Do you want me to?! *"i know you want me to just say it" tone*

Matt: Yes, yes I do! :D

I have got to be the coolest boss' girlfriend ever :)

I guess I'll be baking cupcakes so it's easier to share.
I just hope the cupcakes turn out good. Eek!

bridesmaids

2011-06-29T08:29:00.012+10:00

If you haven't watched this.

Go now.

Favourite 2011 movie!

Until tonight when we go watch Transformers - Dark of the moon.

But in 2 separate categories, action and rom com? respectively,

This is No.1!

On a side note: I love Rose Byrne. I think I have a thing for long haired brunettes ;)

knead & lick

2011-06-29T08:02:00.009+10:00

Puss keeps licking my face and 'kneading' my pillow at night. Never in the past 3 years and 6 months, give and take, has puss ever been so affectionate to me. Maybe when he was just a baby when he amazingly fit in the palm of my hands. He has gotten pretty big and a little chubs but we are much more careful now and feed him only what he needs. Although I have to say his roundness is a major attribute to his adorableness :)

Every night between 10-12 p.m. at bed time I will say to Puss, "goodnight puss. I love you". Whenever I hop into bed or as soon as he hears that, he makes his way to the edge of the bed on a box where he has made it his bed. I don't know why a box but it seems like Puss really likes to sleep on hard surfaces like cardboard boxes. Only a handful of times has he joined me in bed which I would love but I'm sure in time, he will.

Between 2-5 a.m. I will feel Puss creeping up on me. I don't know why, but he insists on walking on me. Being a girl you can imagine how painful 6 kilos of weight on tiny paws feel on your boobs. Ouch! So instinctively now when Puss starts climbing up my legs, both my hands cross my chest just to hold up Puss as he makes his way to my pillow... all that while I'm half asleep. I ignore Puss as he no longer likes crawling under my blanket. Now, he makes himself comfortable by first kneading... a whole lot. So much so that it's starting to really bug me and have me lose precious sleep time over just cause he insists on kneading in my hair and on my head, on my shoulders and sometimes on my face :'( I know it's a sign of affection and him content but boy does it hurt and not to mention how it surprises you from your sleep when his claws are long and jabs through your skin!

After a bit of kneading, he wiggles around and makes a spot for himself on my pillow; even if it means hogging it from me or lying on top of my face. How considerate. Again, half asleep I move aside and give him a bit more pillow because really, there is nothing I love more than Puss snuggled up with me in bed :) He dips his head in my nook or sometimes head butts me and we sleep head to head - lol.

Now, he picks up a new habit of licking my face. So sweet but again, can be so annoying. He focuses on my forehead and my nose. He sounds like a T-zone oil-control police! :) He then moves on to my hair line and just keeps going at it until I can no longer stand it and hide away under my blanket or turn to face the other way. He hates it when I do that, he gets offended and at most times leaves the bed. So I try not to do that anymore because as much as I'd rather have a good night's sleep, I love Puss more than anything in the whole wide world - yes, despite the kneading and licking ♡

cause I deserve it... really?

2011-06-28T17:31:00.017+10:00

When I 'unofficially' graduated two Thursdays ago, I was over the moon. I called my papa, my mama, matt and celebrated with friends. I remember contemplating very hard who to call first, my dad the architect or my mum the non-architecturally related physio but is my mama and might feel jealous I called my pa first. Hmm. I finally decided to call my pa first and then my ma. But they both didn't answer their phones. Sigh*

Anti-climax.

In a way it all worked out cause it was whoever that called me back first that got to hear the news first. Pa called first and ma called later, both with excuses they were both in the middle of something. Uhuh :P They both sounded so happy and went on the, "awww we are so proud of you" default parental ramble.

The sky was a beautiful blue with specks of white and the sun was out in all its glory. I walked out the door of the studio and on to the streets a whole new person. I felt so proud of myself and thought I had done such a great job finishing my studies fairly well. I quickly started thinking of what to get for myself and went on this rampage, making this mental list of extravagant things I wanted because I felt I deserved anything I wanted at that point. It was all my time, my effort, me losing sleep, me stressing and it was all in the past 6 years of my life.

Later that night, after a long nap and more delusions of grandeur I had somewhat of an emotional low. So I sent my parents an emo email. Haha. I wrote them a sappy letter thanking them for the sacrifices they have made for me, working so hard and saving up so much money to be able to support me and provide me with awesome education all my life and especially over the last 6 years. My parents as usual tip-toed around the sentimental drama and said it was a-ok and that it was all worth it and went on another "we are so proud of you" spill. Sometimes I wish they were a bit more expressive and not as formal as they sometimes can be but well, as long as they knew and I know they know; I'm very grateful for everything they have done for me.

I felt so relieved after our conversation. Haha, sure I still wanted and still want so many things and deep down I'm like a kid wailing for candy in the candy store but I'm not going to spend my parents' money on things I don't need. No siree :) *pats own shoulder*

That phase wore off after a while and I strayed a little... but I just looked! and at job openings too. I've been doing visa stuff and will have it all done and sent in in the next couple of days. I'll then be doing up my portfolio over the next couple of weeks and have it sent out before I go back to Kuching to spend time with family again. Hopefully I get a few responses and not too long after being back in Melbourne I'll no longer be unemployed and no longer need any allowance from my parents. Haha, fingers crossed*

So, I still felt I needed to get something for myself to celebrate. So I settled for something I've wanted for a while but never felt willing to fork out dough for... Lancome's Hypnose Drama mascara. ♡ love ♡ I even made sure I got it off strawberry.net so it wasn't way too expensive. To think I even compromised the joy of retail shopping and instant gratification at a Lancome counter! But it was worth the savings :) All in all, a fairly reasonable $29.50. It's no Fendi Silvana bag but it gives me super long, non-clumpy and most importantly absolutely non-smudging lashes! *another pat on my shoulder*

I had forgotten I had another little surprise for myself and had the widest grin on my face when I saw this

did you and your parents have 'the talk'?

2011-06-28T12:09:00.000+10:00

I think it's great that churches have recordings and videos of sermons available on their websites. I especially enjoy videos by Andy Stanley. He is so enjoyable to listen to and watch; he gets his points across in a very entertaining but non-nonsical manner. Well, at least I really think so :) Here's one on "Love, Sex and Dating". There is another one on "Staying in Love" too which would be great if you're in a relationship or want to be in a relationship... or want to get out of a bad one. But start with "Love, Sex and Dating" if you are interested. Give it a shot, it really is very enlightening... and hilarious! You don't have to be a Christian to listen to these. There will be biblical references here and there, but the gist of it is about mutual respect and love for ourselves and between us and our loved ones.

There are other topics too so browse here if you're interested.

honey bears

2011-06-27T13:46:00.004+10:00

i didn't drink enough water

2011-06-26T18:59:00.008+10:00

Last friday I had to go for my medical check up for my Australian PR application. After that, I had to go to the blood donation centre to give blood. I don't know if it was the extra puncture in my arm earlier that day for a little bit of blood or just not drinking enough water and generally eating well that made it such a horrible experience. Although I'm pretty sure it's just me not eating and drinking enough. I donated my usual 470 ml in exactly 7 minutes! I kind of cheated and pumped my squeezy ball super fast in the last 8 seconds to fill up the bag extra fast to make the 7 minute mark :D That is the slowest I've ever been which I guess was a sign because the lady that attended to me did mention how slow it was going and whether I had drank enough water. I lied. I said 4-5 glasses of water but I'm pretty sure I only had, at most 3 glasses of water that day. Oops :/

I had my usual complimentary milkshake and 2 sausage rolls after. Yum! I felt fine and dandy and right after, jumped on a tram to go visit my aunt 40 minutes away. I noticed I felt a bit more nauseous than I usually do on the tram. Sure, I generally have a weak stomach but this was quite a bit more than usual. Thank goodness 7-eleven didn't allow eftpos and I had to throw in a packet of sweets to tip my total over $5 to buy my tram ticket. I hastily tore open the clear plastic wrap and pretty much gobbled up sweets one after another throughout the tram ride and had enough to last me my trip back home later that evening. Me gobbling sweets. hah! Not something I do everyday... or rather, ever!

I blamed the tram ride but later that night in bed my head was spinning like crazy! I was all dizzy and just constantly felt like puking. I tried my best to just keep still and sleep it off. That method worked for most of the night but come 8 a.m., I was hovering over my paper bin puking out saliva. I got Matt to quickly get me anything sweet to eat or drink but he came back with strawberry flavoured milk. Eeeeeewwww. He told me that was all there was and that had to do. To say the least, after a bit of a sip, I puked it all out and couldn't drink anymore. I was able to fall back to sleep and slept in till 10 a.m. I felt a little better but my head was still spinning. I slowly made my way to the kitchen and found some sweets that Matt had got but didn't want them. Haha, and to think I felt like crap but was still fussy over what to eat! All I had were the 2 ends of my raisin loaf, milk, water, some maltesers and Matt's candy. Urghh... I don't like sweets, nor chocolates. Lucky I had some left over ravioli and replenished my iron level a tiny bit. I didn't feel comfortable leaving home so I just stayed home and drank plenty.

It's Sunday and I still feel like crap. I do feel a lot better in the evenings from all the drinks and food I shove down my mouth but the mornings are just horrible. I can't wait to feel better and to stop eating chocolate bars! Matt has them stocked up and candy and those powerade drinks just in case I need a little pick me up. He's so cute :) At the supermarket yesterday, I wandered off to a different aisle when Matt caught up to me and said gently grabbing hold of my hand, "You don't go wandering around alone when you are about to faint any time". Aaaawwwww.... Matt's the best care taker ever ♡

Do I still want to donate blood? I'm a little turned off right now, but I'll go back again in 3 months!

Moral of the story: Be sure to drink plenty of water before donating blood.

preserved guava

2011-06-22T18:33:00.003+10:00

You know those asian shops with preserved fruits and plums and all sorts of wrapped candy and sugared candy and chocolates and cuttlefish in those many clear plastic boxes where you get a scoop or a pair of tongs to put however much you want in a plastic bag and they charge you buy grams?

Well, Matt and I went to one of those shops last night and I got myself preserved guava :) Mmm...

all you need is love

2011-06-22T18:15:00.000+10:00

I was in the lift going down when it slowed down and made a stop on a floor in between. This lady in her early 30s walked into the lift and with a shrilly stern voice said, "hurry!". First appeared a 4 year old girl I'm assuming is her daughter. Next was a much older lady, probably in her 60s walking in slowly just behind the little girl. As the old lady walked into the lift, the younger lady spoke Japanese and it didn't sound like it was anything nice. The old lady wasn't responsive and just walked to the back of the lift where I was standing. As soon as the old lady got to the end and turned round to face the door, the younger lady took her cross-body bag off her shoulders and very roughly placed it over the old lady's head and on to her shoulders. And the younger lady wasn't carrying anything at all! She continued speaking very roughly and the old lady just stood there quiet and solemn looking.

I cannot stand rude people.

And it's so much worse when it's someone being rude to a much older person.

To be fair, the old lady could have brought up, I'm assuming her daughter, in a very unloving, maybe abusive and emotionally distressing environment. Which has now resulted into an angry daughter and a very old mother who can't really do anything about it. But... poor old lady :( No one should ever be treated like that. I know it's 'nothing' relative to the many other horrible things people are capable of doing but really, I wish the world was a friendlier, more polite and honest place.

perve

2011-06-21T17:59:00.003+10:00

O.m.g.

Most disgusting thing happened yesterday.

So I got on a tram to go out to the suburbs to visit my aunt. So 10 minutes into the ride, this man in his 40s maybe 50s came up on the tram and just stood up pass maybe two or three stops and then decided to sit down next to me. From right off the bat I knew this guy was odd. Not sure whether it was him in a bit of a mess with baggy clothes and a worn out bag but something was definitely off. I felt a little uncomfortable due to the fact that there were enough seats else where in tram and across from me. But to be fair, my seat was the 'popular' seat where it's just in front of the doors and is facing the direction of the moving tram. So for people who won't be on long or easily get motion sickness, great seats! About 5 minutes later I noticed he had his right hand on the seat, in between the two of us. Again I gave him the benefit of the doubt and thought maybe he felt he needed to hold on to the seat because the doors were just right in front of us. So ignoring his hand, I went back to minding my own business and continued looking out the window of the moving tram as the city turned to low rise office blocks and suburban houses.

All of a sudden I felt something like a twitch on my left thigh. *urgh* now when I think about it's gross but at that time it didn't occur to me that it could have been something else! At first I thought that since my legs have been crossed throughout the ride it might have just been a little muscle cramp or something. So uncrossing my legs I didn't make a big deal about it. A minute later I felt it again! But this time it was definitely not me!

I looked down to the seat and realised his hand was so close to me! I couldn't see it touching me but it was too damn close for comfort! I was thinking to myself, "what do I do what do I do?" I didn't know what to do so as soon as the tram stopped seconds after the incident I got up and stepped off!

I whipped my phone out, called Matt but he didn't answer so I left him messages of what had happened. I got to my aunt's house after waiting a while for another tram and told her all about it. She wasn't very sympathetic but instead asked me if he was handsome or not :P In which the answer is a flat and disgusted no! I forgot I had left my phone on silent in my bag while with my aunt when she said to me in the middle of our conversation, "matt's trying to reach you". I quickly checked my phone and found miss calls and smses with very concerned messages like, "where are you?" "send me your location!" At that point it was just all quite amusing and I was enjoying the attention of being a damsel in distress :)

So, the question is, what is the best approach to the situation and how? Do I want to make a scene? How if it was all just me and I end up falsely accusing and embarrassing this other person? Hmm... but really, if this were to ever happen again to me or if it were to happen to anyone of you, I think it's best for us to put light on the situation and say loud enough for another passenger or two nearby to hear us say, "Excuse me, but did you just touch me?" if the person retracts and stays away I think that's alright, but if unfazed or unresponsive in my situation it would be followed by, "Please move your hand away as it makes me very uncomfortable". But what if the person gets angry and starts getting defensive? I suppose as long as we said it politely but firmly we really are not at any fault - and I'm hoping people around would step up and maybe help diffuse the situation. However way it turns out, I would say leave the tram. You don't want to be around people like that anyway. Eee... At least I'm better prepared now, I hope. I am! Rawr!

We can't let people like this get away with what they do! Hmph!

what's after formal education?

2011-06-19T20:40:00.003+10:00

It's been a while. I've almost just stopped enjoying blogging just cause there hasn't been much going on and the past month has simply been me hanging out with my computer and a flattened, sore bum. Puss has been great, keeping me company and amusing me. He's been a lot more affectionate and I can't help but feel more and more attached to him each day. As long as I stick to one or maybe even two cats I think I'm a far cry from being 'that cat lady'.

My first weekend as a graduate and an unemployed bum has been fairly boring. I spent my first free day cleaning up, doing laundry and grocery shopping. The weekend has been pretty much a lot of eating, hells kitchen and sleeping. There is only so much eating and sleeping I can do and I'm already starting to feel very agitated and bored. I can't stand 'relaxing'. Sure, I can enjoy a few days of good ol' nothing but anything longer than that and I start bouncing off walls.

It's very surreal; this whole transition phase. It's exciting and at the same time scary. But more exciting than scary so I'm looking forward to the next few months of settling in into a whole new world. Family members have been asking what's next but they seem to be more interested in Matt proposing to me. Haha! I tell them I really don't know and I don't really have a say in it otherwise it would just be so unromantic. Matt mentioned proposing on the day I finish my studies was just so predictable. Fair enough. So I guess I'll have to keep waiting. Not that I can't wait. I mean, not that I can either. I mean that in an 'i love you but you know whenever fits best' kinda way. Oh no, Matt's going to read this and be so turned off by my unenthusiasm... sigh* You know what I mean... right?

So, proposal and wedding out of the way, I've been looking out for work! It's very exciting. I have a few options at the moment but nothing that quite fits with the many other pieces in life. It's a bit of a headache trying to get everything right in such a crucial phase. But I've been moving along a little bit each time and it gets that much easier over time so really, it isn't as overwhelming as I imagined it to be. Thank God.

What else... what else. Running! I'm going to start running again! :) I actually really miss running. I just felt I had to focus entirely on uni the past 2 months. So getting back into it, I imagine will be a bit of a struggle. Matt and I are going to try getting up for our 6 a.m. run tomorrow! Otherwise I'll just stick to my evening runs if the mornings are way waaay too cold.

That's about it so far and I'm hoping life will pick up over the next few weeks.

So, here's to life after formal education :)

Cheers!*

reintroduction

2011-06-16T16:13:00.006+10:00

Hi there,

I'm now a masters graduate!

It's been 5 hours.

I had a nap.

Bought a wicked wings KFC snack box.

And just might go back to sleep cause I'm exhausted.

Matt came home with roses ♡

you're on my list

2011-06-03T21:52:00.001+10:00

Ok, I've decided.

I will get either the red and brown or the black and green.

Eventually... :)

not really beauty spots

2011-06-03T13:36:00.001+10:00

I'm almost 24 and I really don't want to jinx myself... but I really think my horrendous life of hormonal acne is over. I really truly think so! :) All that's pretty much left are spots I have from previous acne - thank heavens they aren't those ones that make craters. Just spots that will eventually fade over time. Not that I'm blemish free or anything like that but just three pimples that have been very stubborn and nothing new in the past 2 weeks. My skin is still blotchy red from being sensitive and patchy from the dryness of some areas from medication but all in all it's in pretty good condition. In all honesty and like every other person on the planet I'm sure, I would love to wake up and not worry about make-up to cover up ugly and bumpy heads and red spots. It's the compromise of looking awful covering it up instead or looking awful with cystic acne. Urgh, that as a word is just awful. The imagery that comes with it!

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I can't wait for the day when make up is mascara and lip balm. It will definitely take a while for my skin tone to even out, but I can wait. Haha, I've been waiting for a while so a little longer is alright. So if you're those lucky people that never had such an issue with your complexion, thank your lucky stars cause it sure is a bummer. For anyone like me, it really isn't so bad. It's just acne. Brush it off your shoulder and do a happy dance. Too easy ;)

in his shoes

2011-06-03T10:23:00.000+10:00

fendi silvana

2011-06-01T20:01:00.006+10:00

I'm so annoyed. Why can't I enjoy more budget friendly activities like collecting bottle caps or multi-coloured shoe laces. I want all the variations of the Fendi Silvana bag. Especially the crocodile flap ones. Beautiful ♡

Sigh*

Photos from Purseblog

saturday morning

2011-05-31T11:44:00.000+10:00

Saturday was made very clear to be soup day. Specifically pumpkin soup. Matt and I walked hand-in-hand along the footpath and through lanes and cobblestoned alleyways enjoying the laid back morning of recovering late night drunks and happy budding suburban families. The sun was out for most of the time but sometimes hid behind clouds making the cold winds that little bit more unpleasant. brr...

There was already a long line but it was moving fast. I quickly scurried to the end of the line and signalled for Matt to be on the look out for a table and two seats. We were to slow once but made it in time for the next! A little table on the side walk against a pillar between a stairway and the thoroughfare of bowls of soup. I sat in as close as I could to the table while expecting soup to rain over me every time a wait staff walked out with more to serve. Despite the initial constant paranoia, it quickly went away with Matt holding my hands from across the table keeping them warm. Our soups eventually same with our slices of fresh bread. Matt had pumpkin and I had spicy moroccan soup. It was delish! Lamb, potatoes, carrots and lentils! It was a sun shiny day set in a beautifully quaint alleyway filled with tunes from an old man playing a violin.

As much as we wanted to enjoy our soups slowly, we knew we had to rush through to give our seats up to others already waiting. We gave the old violinist a couple of gold coins and went about our day walking around the city, running a few errands and keeping each other amused with 'yo mama' jokes :)

fleeting

2011-05-27T15:11:00.004+10:00

After spending the day rushing work like a mad woman for the 5.30 p.m. deadline I walked home feeling so relieved under the drizzling sky. I felt relieved and almost afloat, having to readjust to the drastic change of pace of the world around me. I can relax now... phew* It's funny how life is a series of countdowns and no matter how well I've got it all planned out and managed, something just has to go wrong. The week had been another big one and it dawned on my Tuesday morning that I was a subject away from graduating. I think that was the first time I had felt any excitement for the graduation ceremony itself. Just one more and that was it. A very big one more but I'm happy to say it's looking good :) Soon it will be the end of 6 years and a start to what could possibly be a life time of that one same thing. Who knows. But for now until the next big thing, this is it.

I got home and remembered again I had to quickly get ready! The night before while the 'Phantom of the Opera' movie was playing, Matt asked, "Do you want to go see 'Love Never Dies' tomorrow?". Of course I said yes! Matt and I got dressed up and he told me I looked beautiful. Aaawww... Excited with over priced mini pringle cans and choc tops we awaited the dimming lights in the theatre! Of course in anticipation we were also quite skeptical. Why do people bother. Sequels are like almost sure suicides but is it worth the risk on cashing in on the hype of its former predecessor? Maybe. This of course doesn't apply to everything. Cause we definitely have to go watch The Hangover II!

Love Never Dies was alright. The Phantom wasn't really the Phantom in the sense that his personality has changed. And well, Raoul didn't look like Raoul. I won't spoil it for you, so don't worry. There were some boring bits here and there but the stage changes were really quite impressive and the two leads, the Phantom and Christine were surprisingly very good! Not that I expected them to be awful. It's just from watching the Broadway casts that you sort of hope the Australian cast would be just as good and any less would just disappoint. All in all, the plot wasn't great but as a show on its own and not a Phantom sequel, the stage effects, music and the Australian cast get two thumbs up. I'm a little bias because Ramin has stolen my heart :) Also... I said to Matt, "We so need the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at our wedding". He gave me an imaginary enthusiastic, "Yes!" followed by "Anything you want my darling" :P So if you're in Melbourne, I would recommend watching it. Just be prepared to dislodge yourself from 'Phantom of the Opera' comparisons to not spoil it for you.

fight-food-food

2011-05-22T13:18:00.003+10:00

Matt and I got into an argument early yesterday morning. It actually started the night before but surprisingly hung a dark cloud over us even after a night's sleep. Matt had to go to work for the afternoon and I spent my afternoon in bed because I felt sad and all miserable for us fighting over nothing, as always. So I waited...and waited for him. I ate an apple from the fridge at 6.30 p.m. hoping very much he would come home as soon as he was done with work to have dinner with me.

Just before 7 p.m. I heard the door open the sound of Matt walking in and the door closing after. In lightning speed I thought to myself, "What do I do? What do I do? Do I ignore him or say sorry or" I pretty much just stood still almost hoping he wasn't home because I didn't know how to react to our argument. He walked up the steps to the upper floor and we made eye contact. No one said anything for a while and I finally blurted out, "I missed you". phew* He told me he missed me too and we hugged it out. Hooray! We said our sorries and said what we always say at the end of an argument, "Let's never fight again" and burst out laughing just cause it's fuh neh and it ain't gonna happen.

Matt told me he drove around until he calmed down after work, no road-rage drama he assured me. He told me he saw a little florist shop on the way home and wanted to buy me flowers but he didn't have any money on him. So he said to me, "Can I take you out on a date tonight?" and I said, "But we had date night last night". "Well, I want to buy you flowers and take you out for dinner again". Cute :)

The night before we went to a buffet. LOL. It was at Sante at Crown for $20 each and 1/2 a kilo of prawns each for free which we didn't claim for just cause we didn't think it would be fresh and didn't really feel like it anyway. Food is of course not spectacular. But you know, just for the fun of it for good value and watching the prettiest girls pile up gross amounts of food on their one plate, it's pretty good $20 spent :) After dinner, we still had an hour and a half before our movie started. Matt wanted to go play with some money so we went to the casino. He told me he was going to double his $20 bill. Lol. He said, "I'll make this $40 and it will pay for our movie. Ok?" I said, "Deal!". So at the roulette table and us studying the pattern from the last few rounds we actually did very well! We doubled our money! Sure we had a bit more at one point but it was all good fun. As long as we kept our $20. This is something I will always remember. The first time Matt and I were at the casino, as soon as he made a bit more he handed me his start up chips to keep so he didn't play more than he had put in. I thought it was very responsible for a bit of fun :)

We later went to the arcade and instead of playing our usual "Jurrasic Park" game, there was this new pirates themed game. It was so much fun! We spent almost all of our $18 credit on that one game going through the different stages. We almost got to the end but died :( I would love to go back and play with Matt again real soon!

We watched the "Fast and Furious" movie. Was ok. The highlight was the "Any 8" combo at the cinema where we picked 2 small cokes, 1 small diet coke, 1 mint choc top, a small pack of twisties and a small pack of red rock deli! Yum :D Best combo ever!

Anyhoo, dinner last night was awful. Lol. We went to this new place we've been wanting to try called Misty's in Prahran just off Chapel Street. It's an american diner themed eatery started by real americans. Well, an american called Misty I'm assuming. We started with oreo milkshakes each and had chicken strips, deep fried cheese sticks, chicken quessiladas, mini pull-pork burgers and wet fries. The food was really bad! I mean, we weren't expecting anything spectacular but it really was really bad and so over-priced! Our dinner totalled up to $90! Haha and found out our milkshakes were $15 each! I suppose we were careless, but it was fun trying out some place new in a pretty cute restaurant with elvis presley and marilyn monroe in 2D. We definitely aren't going back again, especially since they didn't have corn bread muffins :( Oooh, they had an array of American candy and we got ourselves the legendary twinkie! We've been wanting to try one and forgot about it on our trip last year. I picked the little pack up, looked at it and saw 'March 29'. "March 29? As in the 29th of March 2011?" and Matt got excited and said, "No no! Remember in the movie zombieland? These things last for ages! Has to be 2029!" So all excited for a twinkie (that's what she said) I unwrapped it and got Matt to have the first bite. Chomp! Matt shrugged and I gave it another look thinking it didn't look very appealing and had a little bite. "What?! That's it?! What's the big deal?!" Such an anti-climax. They were supposed to taste like gold or something. *yawn*

We got home and realised Matt forgot to get me flowers. But it's ok :) We capped the big day snuggled up on the couch with 2 episodes of 'The Office' and a tub of strawberry yoghurt.

identity crisis

2011-05-17T18:30:00.002+10:00

I usually just call Matt boo. Sometimes boo boo. But lately it's been a jumble of bao bei and a playful bei bei to Justin Bieber's 'baby' and sometimes boobs from boo. Don't know how that happen but 'boobs' just come out some time. Maybe it's a tongue twist from boo with a hint of cute when it's a mash up with boobshum smookums. You know? Maybe not. But hey, whatever gets his attention :)

i got for you, for me

2011-05-17T18:21:00.005+10:00

Walking home from class, I got a message on my phone from Matt saying, "I'm in bed unwell". Recalling he was already feeling under the weather the night before, I knew it had to be something a little more than him finding an excuse to cozy up under the doona. So in and out the nearest 7-eleven on the way and I was home in no time.

Ping: Look what I got for you :)
Matt: What? *puppy dog eyes*
Ping: Tada! Nurofen plus!
Matt: Yeay!
Ping: Guess what else I got for you...
Matt: What? *puppy dog eyes*
Ping: Cloudy apple juice! (It's a Matt's sick drink thing)
Matt: Aawww....
Ping: Wait wait. Guess what else I got for you...
Matt: What?! *puppy dog eyes*
Ping: Maltesers!
Matt: Cheh... you got that for yourself.
Ping: What? No! But I'll eat them since you don't want them. Hmph.

i've got you babe

2011-05-16T01:10:00.001+10:00

Wednesday morning Matt and I had to leave for work and uni at the same time. Walking out to the street we kissed goodbye and wished each other a great day as we parted to opposite directions. A distance away I turned back and found Matt doing the same. We both smiled and waved back to each other. I thank God I have someone I love that loves me too ♡

still THE office?

2011-05-14T22:53:00.000+10:00

Matt: Guess what?
Ping: What?
Matt: We have a new episode of the office!
Ping: Meh...
Matt: Wait. Guess what the title of this episode is?!
Ping: Michael comes back?
Matt: Dwight Schrute Acting Manager.
Ping: Oh...

I miss Michael :'(

walking with dinosaurs

2011-05-14T17:43:00.003+10:00

No, I won't spend $100 a ticket to go see Lady Gaga, Usher or Justin Timberlake but I will to go see 'real' dinosaurs! I'm so excited! I saw the posters and nonchalantly asked Matt, will that be any good? He sounded enthusiastic enough so I secretly got us tickets but my uncontainable excitement was easily seen through and he got me to spill the beans. I tried to keep it to myself but I couldn't! They are freagin dinosaurs!!! Sigh* I need to be better at surprises. We'll be leaving for the arena in 20 minutes. Sometimes I wish we didn't have to leave Puss home alone. If only he were pocket sized and enjoyed dinosaurs as much as we both do. I'm not looking forward to the cold, wishing very much it was a breezy spring's evening. Rugged up in 5 layers and all ready to go!

p/s: The Tutankhamun exhibition was disappointing in case you were thinking of going

aawww

2011-05-14T16:17:00.001+10:00

Walking past the supermarket, I asked Matt:-

Ping: Do you need anything?

Matt: I just need you.

house arrest

2011-05-13T14:14:00.005+10:00

I’ve been a very hardworking girl in the past week. I did half a day’s work on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and full 8 a.m.-11 p.m. days on Monday and Tuesday and again on Wednesday from 9 a.m. till Thursday 4.30 p.m. for my 6 p.m. presentation/ I’m serious! No joke! I ate breakfast in front of my computer, had lunch when I remembered to and had quick 10 minute dinners with Matt. 9.30 p.m. last night, I got home, quickly brushed my teeth, washed my face, skipped all my skin care but scooped out a finger of moisturiser and smothered it on carelessly on my way from the bathroom to under my blanket in bed. It had been 37 hours since I last had some shut eye and I was just relieved it was all over. My body woke me up at 8 a.m. but I realised it was all over and went back to sleep even though I did feel fairly rested. I figured I needed that extra bit of rest.

I finally got up at 10.30 not feeling any better. I found out I lost 1.5 kilos. Always a good thing right? I went down to the kitchen and took out some take away from last night’s dinner for lunch and realised my 2 cans of Red Bull was still in the fridge for emergencies. I essentially just drink water and coffee and nothing else. But I stocked up on Red Bull just in case I really really needed something extra to keep me going. Surprisingly I didn’t need them or any more coffee than what I usually have through the past week. On top of that, I had no cranky over-stressed spells and felt good till 7 p.m. last night when I felt my first headache from what am assuming is from stress and exhaustion.

I don’t feel so great at the moment. My head feels heavy and I feel sluggish. I really don’t want to sleep any more and I need to catch up with washing the dishes, laundry washing, folding and ironing and if I feel like braving the ridiculous cold, some grocery shopping. Funny thing is I am actually happy I have these things to do. I need to constantly do something or I’d feel like a bum. Matt hates it when I’m bored and I start bouncing off walls. Haha. I’m just really happy that I get to relax a little now and enjoy the weekend with Matt before it all builds up again for the final presentation in 5 weeks. 5 weeks and that’s it. My many excruciating hours of labour and stress over the last 6 years will be finally over. I. cannot. wait.

The washing is almost done. I’d better be off. Have a wonderful weekend.

i dance when no one's looking ;)

2011-05-08T23:52:00.001+10:00

90s comeback

2011-05-08T20:57:00.000+10:00

matchbox 20

vertical horizon

the cranberries

blink 182

nirvana

radiohead

no doubt

mother's day

2011-05-08T16:16:00.000+10:00

Today is Mother's Day :) Like most if not all of us, I love my mama very much and have always anticipated this day with more attention and 'i love yous' to make my mum feel that little bit more special than she already does every other day of the year. Well, I hope she knows she's very much loved! So like most of the past 6 years of being away in Melbourne, Mother's Day is celebrated afar and there isn't our usual special dinner, flowers and the occasional cake like how we grew up celebrating it. I made ma a mother's day card and gave it to her before my parents left Melbourne last Sunday. I really didn't know what to get for her and for some reason our family has never really been big with presents. Sadly. Haha. But nonetheless, we always celebrate together as a family and I much rather that than anything else in the world. Truly :)

This year's mother's day is however a little bit different than the many others before. I suppose you could say it's the most solemn of all the year's I've had mother's day in my life. Ever since Matt's mum passed last November, Matt has had his moments of sadness, depression and sometimes anger. It doesn't help that he is after all the very last and very late of all his much older siblings. To have the biggest and most loved figure in your life taken away from you slowly and painfully at such a relatively young age is nothing I have ever experienced nor can I relate to. The emotional torment that feeds off his general well-being is painful to watch, I wish there was so much more I can do to help.

But like everything else, I hope in time he will slowly feel as happy, motivated and content as he once was. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you have lost someone dear to you and are reminded of them on such occasions such as this, please don't harbour resentment but reminisce on the occasions you have celebrated together. I know it's easier said than done but I would imagine like anything else difficult in life, time is capable of great things. If you are however caring for someone in that position, do your best to be patient, compassionate and supportive. It definitely isn't the easiest thing to do, but it sure is the best thing you can do for them. With much love, Happy Mother's Day.

puss reminds me of something

2011-05-08T15:00:00.003+10:00

may is national skin cancer awareness month

2011-05-07T22:58:00.005+10:00