Feb 2008 ~ Mar 2008

City Baby again!!

Officially moved in to Kensington, I feel at home straightaway! Tram & train stops are just less than a minute's walk away. Its great to be able to get home in 20mins, and having an extra half hour sleep every morning! Awesome. This also means I can go back to cooking, which I have, and whipping up stuffs as I go along...not too shabby seeing the boys haven't complained yet (or rather I think they just keep their mouth shuts so that they won't need to do the cooking...kekeke). And yes, I know I know....I've been really slack in updating my blog. So here's 2 months worth of stuffs...

10 years worth of junk...
Was quite amazed at how much rubbish I have....

13/02/2008: Daryl's Birthday at my place

Meanwhile, Frank (a friend from work), got himself into a motorcycle accident and broke his 'little pinky', and needed pins stuck into them to hold it straight....and a million stitches to hold it together..., ugghhhh....

Leanna in Melbourne again!!! Yay!! She was here towards the end of Feb, and had kept me busy for the whole weekend. Had also organised a rock climbing session with workmates that weekend. Fun fun fun! Unfortunately, did not bring my camera with me. Oh, And the BIGGEST joke of all, we wanted to go to a rave, and neither one of us knew where to go since its been such a long while that I've gone out. So we thought maybe Bass Station down on Chapel would still be a rave club on Fridays. When we got there, while paying the entrance fee, we thought the music sounded kinda funny...little did we know...it was an r&b asian night thingy (something I've avoided as much as I can since a long time back...totally over it)!!! GOSH!!! We were like staring at each other for a full 10 seconds, wondering what the hell we got ourselves into!!! MUAhahahahah......anyways, I ended up sticking to beer (makes me happy regardless of where I am) while she was off her head....farnee....

3 Mar 2008 ~ NO RESPECT 4

Mike Zambidis in action!!! One of the better kickboxers around, this guy is amazing! For those of you who've seen him on youtube, if not you should totally check him out. Puny little guy, but his punches are total Knock Outs!! Held at the Vodafone Arena, his match was at the end being the highlight of the night, the crowd went totally wild when he came out, match vs Daniel Dawson of Australia. Too bad it wasn't a knock out round, although it was a good fight since Dawson is a pretty good opponent. Talk about adrenalin rush!!

Next to the heavyweight champion, makes Mike look like a kid!

That weekend, I had dinner with Wah Kei, Lucy, Ray and Tommy at Movida (1 Hosier La, between Swanston & Russell off Flinders St), my all time favourite Spanish Tapas restaurant...OMG....totally mouth watering and scrumptious, and delicious...after organising so many dinners with Ray (who has real high expectations when it comes to food), finally able to please him 100% with Movida. I had to make the booking a month ahead!! That's how good they are!! yummmoooooo........

14-16 Mar 2008 ~ Kickboxing Camp @ Mount Eliza, VIC

Totally cool!! My kickboxing school organised a training camp at Mt Eliza, about an hour and half's drive out of Melbourne. Tommy totally regretted getting himself into it!!! kekekeke.... Woke up at 6am, started training immediately running the field, then some basic training before breakfast. Then it was more training again. After lunch, we headed down to the beach to train in the shallow waters. Was totally awesome, and blardee tiring!!! I basically paid to get myself thrashed!

Kickboxing team

Tommy in action. We had a mock sumo wresting match on the beach.
Needless to say, I was out on the first round as I was unfortunately paired with one of the trainers, skinny tho as she may be, she has the strength of a buffalo!!!

19th Mar 2008 ~ My Burthday!!!

At work, my whole dest was filled with streamers and balloons...felt good to me a kid again :) But just a quiet one at home with Tommy & Tay, didn't exactly felt like celebrating this year. Check out my birthday cake, TOBLERONE CHEESECAKE from David Jones, the purest form of sinful indulgence.....mmmmmmmmmmmm

People please, don't drool all over your pc...it ain't waterproof...

21st Mar 2008 ~ Good Friday BBQ at my place

I had been hanging out for a BBQ all summer, finally had the chance! Had Ray & Lucy over with Jan, and some of Tommy's classmates as well as Tay's friends. Poor Tay had a toothache and could only watch us eat all the yummy foods. Lamb, beef, wings, mushrooms, eggplant, with spinach dip compliments of Rebecca....yummmoo....

22nd Mar 2008 ~ The Grampians with Tommy, Terri, Angeline & Imelda

Made a day trip out to the northern side of the Grampians with frenz from Papa Gino's.

Attempt to eat the world's largest mushroom...please do not try this at home

Me & Terri

Imelda & I

June - August 2007

29 June 07: Team dinner at the Steakout Restaurant, Crown Casino

Rating: 5.5/10
Very ordinary steaks and ribs...

30 June 07
Super spicy hotpot in Boxhill with the housemates and Vunita (far right)
Don't remember the name, but the sauces that came with was yummm...

14 July 07: Lucy's birthday dinner at Tao's Restaurant, Bulleen
For the price we were paying, AUD 48 p.p. for a seven course meal, it wasnt' too shabby. The atmosphere was good, and it was something a little different where you can choose what you like for each course and still end up paying the same set price.
Rating: 7/10

5 July 07: Lisa's Birthday!!
Lunch date with my Aussie mom at Laurent on Lt Collins St
MMMmmmm....the chocolate doughnuts there are just irresistable.
Can't get over them!!!

ME Awards Night :) ~ Melbourne Aquarium 19/07/2007

Yessss....!!! I got nominated for the Special Mention Award July 2006. Thanks John (my team leader)!! MembersEquity has this half yearly award thingy where every team nominates 2 people, one for the Special Recognition ($50 cash award + a bottle of wine), and the Special Mention Award ($100 cash + a bottle wine). Its a good feeling to be recognised for your efforts and to know that you have made a contribution at work. Personally, it gives me more reason to strive harder. Special Recognition was snatched up by Carmina, this Phillipino girl who sits next to me who well and truly deserves it...(she always squeals with enthusiasm when she gets something done...I should know cos i sit next to her...cute...kkekeke). Anyways, we all got call to a short presentation in the afternoon, and then invited to a function at the Melbourne Aquarium after work. Finger foods, and little bowls of entree gnocchi and lamb racks...yummy. And free flow drinks of course...wine, bubbly, beer (my choice naturally), and juice/soft drinks. We were taken on a short tour of the aquarium, then given a short introduction to local mangrove fishies by this cute guy. Anyways, got to meet ppl from other teams, and it was a good night overall.

3 Aug 07: St Kilda vs Western Bulldogs

My first ever footy game!! I can now officially call myself an Aussie!!! Ended up a tie game, which is supposed to be very rare. It was a team outing, and although I had no idea what was going on (except that if the ball went through the sides, the score is 1, and if its in the middle then its 6), it was really fun. Just getting absorbed into the atmosphere and the crowd was really exciting. So yes, reaction from me was a few seconds late as I had to keep asking my colleagues what the hell was going on....hahahha. And I was barracking for St Kilda that night, don't ask me why, maybe I like their colours better :)

28 Apr 07 Cirque Du Soleil - Varekai

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/varekai/intro/intro.htm

This is the first time I've been for a Cirque du Soleil, and I must say it is worth going. If I were to give points, technical difficulty wouldn't have scored too high, I'd give a 6.5 tops. But in terms of choreography and creativity, I would have to say its got my highest scores. The costumes and settings were just so beautiful & colourful, and if you're a person into mystical fantasies like me, you'll definitely love this. And not forgetting the theme songs as well, really good overall.

Take a look at these chinese boys, they're around 10 of age I think, one of my favourite parts of the show.

Birthday Weekend March 2007

I've never really celebrated my birthday, but this year was an eventful one. hehe....really felt like a spoilt kid.

Fri 16/03/2007: Team bbq by the Yarra

Just so happened that my workmates decided to have a bbq after work by the Yarra river (just a little further down from flinders station and the fed square). Yummmm.....grilled meat....




Sat 17/03/2007: Dinner & Karaoke

Mmmmm.....had the bestest dinner at Jade (somewhere in chinatown) with my housemates - Wil, Ray & Lucy. The whole point of going there was for the jumbo sized oysters they have. Unfortunately, they ran out :( Didn't get to eat my beloved oysters, what a bummer!! But anyhow, dinner was still fantastic. And guess what, I had an upset stomach straight after dinner. Was pretty bad and nearly fainted (i have no idea where i got it from). Terrible, nearly spoilt my night out, especially going to the karaoke after that. Alcohol + bad stomach = die hard. But I had a really fun time, the guys got me a cake (the last time I had a cake was for my 21st bday). No photos, didn't have a camera then, only the camera on my phone.

Just a little something from the kids, Jordan & Rodney...how sweeeet!!! Totally melted when they gave it to me together with the biggest hugs and kissess....awwww....



Sun 18/03/2007: Miss Saigon
Went to watch Miss Saigon with a friend, Tay. The tickets were originally 2006 Christmas presents from him. Worked well seeing it's on my birthday weekend. Two birds with one stone...kekeke. It was really good, I like the music and all, but somehow felt that it lacked power in the presentation. Its no phantom, but still a good watch. Stage settings were pretty impressive, especially the scene when they were in Bangkok. All the neon lights and hustle bustle of Bangkok's district, so pretty. Enjoyable!

Mon 19/03/2007: Work Wishes

Liz, my assistant team leader (the one in the pink stripe shirt at the bbq), seems to think the way to celebrate someone's birthday is to embarrass them. As soon as I walked in to work, I was like "oh my god..." balloons and streamers everywhere and everytime someone walks past they came over and wished me happy birthday. Not that I'm not appreciative of the fact that they are celebrating my birthday. Thanks guys, but I was being constantly embarrassed all day....I'm sure they got a real kick out of that...hahaha.

Thanks so much to all you guys for celebrating my birthday for me.

Sweet sixteen forever....ok, ok, maybe eighteen. It was totally awesome!!! xoxoxox

Birthday March 06

Nothing special this year....just a cosy vietnamese dinner with Wil, Ray & Lucy at Van Mai on Victoria St, Richmond. Had my favourite vietnamese sour soup canh chua, and stewed pork and fish...yummmm.... If you ever go to a proper vietnamese restaurant, those are MUST tries!! I have to say I was kinda disappointed in the standards Van Mai had dropped to...their canh chua used to taste much better...this time around it was kinda bland and the stewed pork was kinda dry :( Nic, Tim & Joko were supposed to join me, but bailed on me last minute...bastards. No fancy cake this year, but I'll settle for warm food and good company :)

BLACKSPLOITATION: Nic's Birthday Nov 05

Tim da Pirate, Nic the Pirate wife, Jen with Joko the Pimp

This was Nic's birthday party 2005. She had it together with Julian (her favourite work friend), birthday just 2 weeks apart i think, don't remember. They had a costume party at Julian's place in Northcote, and the theme was called "Blacksploitation" -- the 60s & 70s, affro style and anything retro...pretty cool. Was fun and drinks all evening, bbqing with lots of booze to top it off. Funky music, with everyone all in good spirits (effects of alcohol and something else no doubt...hahahah).

Nic, me, Joko, Julian & wife
Me & my Pimp
Nic & Wil (one of my current housemate)

The Cat Empire -- Biliyana~Eldorado, VIC 5-6th Nov 05

This was just a totally awesome camping trip with Nic & Joko - Nic's best friend who has Permanent Refugee status in our home, & Tim - nic's bf ( and the rest were Nic's friends). Nic decided to go see The Cat Empire with some of her friends, a pretty cool and fun band that plays mostly jazz with some reggae/funk/hip hop elements (up til then, I had no idea who they were). It was held in the outskirt of VIC at Eldorado, about 3.5 hours drive from Melbourne, somewhere near Wangaratta. We rented a car and as Tim was the only one with proper driver's, he drove all the way there and I took over the wheels for the journey back cos he was buggered. We left on the a Sat morning, and arrived around noon and started our camp site. That's me, Nic, Tim & Joko. We purposely chose a spot next to the river with easy access down for a swim!! Anyways, you know how I told you before that I had drowned my mobile, this is the part where it happened. We had all our valuables put in a bag and Tim was the one carrying it. After we were done swimming, we had to trek a fair bit to get back to camp and we were crossing this section where the riverbed suddenly plunged...water was over our heads and the current was really strong. Being the smart ppl that we are, we had used Joko's cloth bag, so everything in there drowned when we dropped in the water. Damn!! My phone died an instant death, leaving nothing recoverable. That night, we had dinner at the main amphitheatre (its all open air by the way) and got us some beers. Music was great and everyone was just enojoying themselves and dancing away, just the atmosphere alone was awesome. The Cat Empire did a really good job, entertaining us til the wee hours of the morning.

When we woke up the next day, everyone was buggered and trying to sober up. Thank god someone brought coffee and a boiler!! That really saved the morning. Grabbed ourselves some bacon & egg sandwich, and just lazed around and chilled out on the grass. Then it was a long drive back home....



http://www.thecatempire.com/ce_stage_menu.html
For those of you who are interested in what it was like, using the above link, click onto Tour Info, and choose Past Tours. This will bring you to a new page - click on "The Night That Never End Tour" to expand the story. The band put a few lines together on this event, and does alot better in narrating it.

Oh, and did i mention the toilets??? As this was totally feral, they had makeshift dump stalls, built over holes with two planks, and everything you dump big or small goes down to this bucket that contains soil in it to absorb your shit, and when you are done, you throw in some lavender to help contain the smell. OF COURSE that didnt help the least bit. It stank soooo badly I had to hold my breath until i turned blue before i was willing to take another gasp of air. And I tell you what, I LOVE lavenders, and this really put me off lavenders for a very very long time. Uggghhh....