It's be almost a week since getting back from Melbourne and the first few days were spent back home keeping mum and dad company. I haven't had the time to check my blog for some time and when I did, 2 unpleasant comments greeted me. It's been more than a year and people out there still wanna harp on the issue of darling and I. Yes, he may be one of those rare nice guys out there hard to find, but HE'S MINE NOW and will always be(so he says), so GET OVER IT! Somehow or other, people will always find something against you especially when they are PLAIN JEALOUS. So it's some sort of consolation to them by being a bitch, but I won't let it be at my expense. Whatever they say doesn't change anything, don't they ever get it? What's wrong with these FEEBLE THICK-HEADED MORONS?Anyway back to some updates and happy stuff. Left, you'll see the dishes Joewiz and I cooked the last afternoon the six of us were staying in the clayton house. We all set down like family and ate together, trying to finish the food and to clear the fridge. I think it was on a Friday the 9th of Dec. There were left overs, but it was all good. A night before, the guy tried to charge us the extra rent because darling overstayed a week, but with some of my negotiation, I managed to bribe him into keeping mum and charging us only for 3 days of rental. *grinz*
That weekend after we moved out to my uncle's place, darling and I took my parents to visit Helen and Michael back in Gippy on a Sunday. We drove my aunty's car because darling was worried about his car piling on the KMs because he had just serviced it. It was an enjoyable trip and we had alot of good food plus Helen and Michael gave me meaningful prezzies that I will bring with me wherever I go. No corn beef for darling this time, but we had roast chicken and pork. Deserts were Pavlova which Helen wanted mum and dad to try a real aussie delicacy. Lovely people and we feel really fortunate to be able to know them. Will be keeping in touch always...
On 13 dec'05, it was finally that time of our lives where we can wear our graduation gowns and receive our testamurs. My ceremony was the later one at 8pm, but lucky I could get my gown earlier to take photos with my chabohs. So, there you go on the left, plus the top blog banner where it would be up for some time. Was really happy that the most important people in my life were able to attend the ceremony and I could graduate with a couple of my besties. Wished Tigger and Kitty were here too, but hey its alrightz.. Took quite alot of photos and sent some of them for developing already. Was supposed to have a last minute coffee together before we all returned to our home countries but after my ceremony it was already too late and my aunty wasn't too happy with people going back late and making noise in her place, so... we just talked on the phone.Anyway, more shocking news that I myself am still amazed by the decision I made today. I had received an email from my ex lady boss asking me to return to the company to work and never did I expect that the visit today would make me agree to a 3-mth contract to help out because there are really heaps of things to do. Let's just say the pay is not too bad, more that the 1.7k I was getting last time. Plus my ex colleages still made me feel really welcomed. And I really needed to save more money to return to Melbourne. Yeah, Love is a big sacrifice, ever since being with darling, including having to swallow all the shit others give you.
Currently listening to: S.H.E: "Once Upon A Time" and Jay Chou: "November's Chopin", thanks to the Jay CD given to me from my bestest pal S.K. *Huggies*
Thanks to my dear friends for their congrats and stuff. Nah, here's some more good food I cook for you all! Haha, just joking lah, this was darling and I's dinner yesterday night. -> **Sorrie Len, still got prawns for you, don't worry!** Anyway, the last few days have been spent going out every time especially to shopping centres and more shopping that's all. A group of us went to Amber last friday to celebrate the aftermath of the release of results: both good and bad. It was bloody pouring that day and the rain never stopped. Darling managed to find a carpark nearby, but by the time we were dashing in and out of the shops for shelters, most of us were wet like anyting but at least we manage to get in without much queueing and waiting. There were Darling, me, Len, Tim, Joewiz, Sheali and Lidwina. The music seemed alright although it's been ages since we have gone clubbing. Barely half the night was gone when we already felt bored and lethargic and it was then we realised clubbin not really for us anymore, especially when you see the younger generations there. Maybe we should go more "mature" places next time... ;)
We already made plans the night before that we wanna go IKEA at Richmond. We browse through the showroom with different lovely bedroom / kitchen / toilets displays and start fantasizing how to decorate our place in future. I took some pictures on my phone but was too lazy to download and upload here, I am sure everybody knows about IKEA right? Anyway darling teased me, he said, "You are not a "Desperate Housewife", you are a desperate wannabe wife!" So mean of him, but we decided when the time is right, it will come naturally. :) Today, was just Joewiz, darling and me who went for Yum Cha. We had wanna go a long time and finally found the chance. Len was like *sob sob* Yum Cha? cause she was still at Gippy. That's why I reckon why she's the "pai kuat" among us. When we go out for good food, she's misses out sometimes due to the other "supposingly" other-half. This new place was recommended by Joewiz cause her auntie brought her there. Food was not too bad, but somehow I still like Sharkfin House in Bourke Street. The bill was really "fantastic" too, 3 of us ate till $75 bucks! Joewiz was jokin we all macham rich people, eat one lunch also $25 each! Heehee, I reckon once in awhile, indulgence in good food should be alright lah, considering the number of brain cells we have used while we were studying, take it as a reward!
for the whole Honours term should still get me a 2nd Class Honours, Division A I hope... Oh yah thanks to all my chabohs who have been giving constant support and also Tigger who told me everything will turn out fine! Love you all heaps! *muaks* Now I can look forward to seeing Mummy and Daddy next week when they arrive in Melbourne for my 13 December Graduation! Congrats to all of us who will be graduating in this december ceremony. Those whose turn have not yet come, don't worry, study hard and it will come soon! Darling's results wasn't what he had expected and he's pretty upset about it. Guess his PC games and television will have to go next year as I really hope he can do better. Decided to make Lotus Root and Peanuts with Chicken soup today and lucky I did, so that at least eating something he likes made him feel better, even if just a little bit.
Last Sunday, Alvin our "ex-campus" mate invited us for a BBQ he had organised for us and his friends in Clayton in a Garden Park or something, I forgot what it's called. The food was not too bad, thanks to those standing at the BBQ Pit taking their time to cook the food for us. ;) But he missed out on the sting ray, prawns and other stuff he had promised! Ah well, we still had heaps to eat anyway and were really stuffed. There was a playground nearby and we "BIG" kids couldn't help but take a dip at the swings and slides. Erm, darling's butt was a tad too big and couldn't fit in. (o.o) Then we each had a go at something which darling said is called "Flying Fox", where you can see a shot of me there! OMG yes, we were playing amongst the little kiddies! Then as usual we must take more photos and so there's one on the right and yes, Joyce's eyes are closed. Too lazy to edit, sorry ah...
We also found out that Carine couldn't get a job she wanted to stay on here, so she's returning to SG. What a pity, a girl who knows how to appreciate the life in Melbourne yet not given the chance. I reckon if she had spent more time studyin here, she could apply for PR like us.. Wish her all the best anyway, back in SG. :) Then there were people walking their "SO CUTE" doggies where I couldn't help but take a shot with one of them. Yeah he's lookin at the food! Later on came this cute little girl who dugged out her toy bag and asked us to play with her! She's really pretty. Then you can see darling climbing down the "Firemen's" pole where he tried very hard to convince Len to give it a go as well, but she wouldn't.
And with that, today was yet another shopping, "burnt more holes in your pocket" day. Darling had to drive over to the mechanics to pay up the car service money and so he dropped us at Brandon Park, The Centro shopping centre. It was just like any other shopping centres in Melbourne with a supermarket, an anchor tenant and other small shops. We missed KMART from traralgon and thought it would be good to walk in the one here. There were a couple of other smaller clothes shop, but nowdays when I buy clothes, I make sure I really like it before I buy, else they will land up for sale in ebay again anyway! Then we saw some CUTE puppies at the pet shop and darling as usual again was going on like, "Orh, can we bring him home pleaseee?" **Frown from mel** Anyway, got a cheapo but pretty nice watch from KMART, to last for the time being. Been looking to get a new watch for a long time! And I like Fossil watches, but they are much cheaper in SG and it's so expensive here.. So I'll wait and pester darling to get me one back in SG *Sly Grin* ;)
Haven't found the time and mood to update my blog till today. The pass two or three days didn't go by smoothly what with my thesis stuff and assignment markings and maybe today's shopping was a little consolation but until I get an answer from my Honours head and supervisor, it's gonna be a heart-wrenching wait till next week. Anyway, we silly girls decided to make a last minute decision and go sun tanning on Tuesday. Erm, yeah it was not a really good day for lying on the sand or playing around in the water because temperature forecasts for that day was windy and cloudy. But we were still sturbbon arses who wanted to make the trip before darling sent his car for servicing that day. So we're sure there's gonna be a next time when the weather forecast is sunny! :)
Sweet darling made dinner for me on Wednesday night, it was pasta with chicken and his self-made cheese mushroom. It was really yummy.. Glad he's always there for me, to calm me down for everything, to be the level-headed other half. I really screamed on Tuesday night when I saw the email from my supervisor asking me to edit the thesis and return to Gippsland to reprint it again! I was really firmed and decided I am not making another trip back Gippsland but will edit the thesis through email, and luckily my computer systems officer was really kind to help me with the reprinting and binding. Then, my Honours head came with yet another shocking news, that is my thesis might not be marked in time for my graduation. My mum called him up to have a chat with him and he said his last resort will be to call up the examiners and try and speed up on the marking, but all's not confirmed. And I might have to change my graduation to next year, March in Gippy. Please people, never ever trust that the uni will get things done for you, the different depts. do not liaise with one another at all and everything depends entirely on ourselves! Still praying and keeping my fingers crossed that all will be fine. Lucky again in the meantime, I am still working for the uni and earning my own keep...
So back to more happy stuff and shopping is definitely one of them. I got this Clinique Gift Set, "All about eyes" for myself a couple of weeks ago cause I was running out of eye cream. Anyway I guess certain brands suit only certain people. In the past I used Clinique Anti-Blemish range and it was really good for me, clearer skin with hardly any pimples. Now I've got these pimples that are here since the last "that time of the month" and I am using Biotherm now. Guess we all could never do without a pimple cream and so I had to get the Clinique Anti-Blemish Spot cream today, AUD$32, expensive but worth it! So we escaped the usual schedule of going to the gym today and went down Melbourne central shopping instead. The interesting part is that SeXy-H is not back yet, so we took a bus from Clayton campus to Glen Waverly and then took the train down. It took us like 1.5 hours just to get to the city compared to the usual 20 minutes by car from the same place.
It was then I realised how spoilt we are since darling came into our lives, or much more into my life. But it was all good anyway, consider that a form of exercise since we missed gym today. Spent a total of about AUD$150 odd bucks including the items on the right and some earrings from Diva and a "Breast Cancer Support" bangle, in aid of the support for breast cancer research in which my mum is also an active supporter back home. Stuff bought included Sports Girl and from Myers. Lucky us too, in the evening, the mechanic called and informed darling that we could pick SeXy-H up! We had a pretty interesting tram ride on our way to pick up the car as the driver was a learner and the instructor was a pretty charming old man with deep "all-english" voice. We had fun hearing how he directed the learner tram driver how to move about the tracks when a tram broke down. So now we are back home, Joewiz and her brother is at their auntie's place, but we've got something planned for tonight: Monopoly and drinking session as we got a couple of cartons of Jim Bean and SmirnOff. So people who are bankrupt and can't pay rent will have to drink! Yeah, pretty lame but aw, it's the simple pleasures of life when you are really bored.. Looking forward to BBQ on Sunday!
Anyway, today was a tiring but fruitful day! It's called TOTAL WORKOUT DAY! Working out and swimming! Geez, if only I were that "hard-working" back in Gippy too, then I probably would have trimmed off the extra layers earlier.. heehee.. First, I went to the gym with joewiz, a.k.a looloo and her bro came later, as usual.. ;) Did the normal 1 hour plus workout. Check out some photos of the gym. It has two levels and usually we are on the second level 
because that's where all the treadmills, steppers and cross trainers , plus cardio machines are. Ground level is more for guys where all the heavy weight lifting machines are. But I step down there for awhile too, to lift some weights to tone down the flabby arms, do abit of the hand lifting bars and back-toning lift-ups. Plus it's a change of environment to look out for cute guys lah.. But a pity, looloo and I haven't really seen a cute and muscular guy yet. 6 packs most of them got lah, but face... erm... heehee.. Anyway to me, my darling's still the most charming one, even with his big round stomach, so it doesn't really matter... *grinz*...
So the big workout day includes swimming next. The Doug Ellis pool in Clayton also has a spa/sauna/steam room and I went with Joyce only because ehem, looloo couldn't join us cause she hadn't got a new swimsuit! Can you believe it? I half-heartedly took the new FREE Bikini given by Newwoman Magazine I bought last week thinking Joyce would wear something else. But nooo! As usual that girl cannot find her swimming costume and so like TWIN sisters, we wore the same bikini and it even was the SAME colour! OmiGod, if darling was around I could 
picture him saying, "oh Nooo..." Haha, but it was okay, I tried finding pictures of the pool but couldn't get any except this cute shot of little kids at the pool. Picture this, it has 3 indoor heated pools, one for children, one 1 metre deep, the other varies from 1 metre to 2.1 metres deeps. We soaked in the spa for awhile, enjoying the water jets massaging our backs and then turned our stomachs there as well, (to try and disintegrate the fats) haha! Then we swam a few laps before heading off to the steam room and sauna for awhile where we heard a conversation between two uncles about going to Kuala Lumpur for a holiday from S'pore. Sats/Suns are party days for children to have birthday parties and also days where the big inflatable slide is put out on the pool! One of the sports people approached us asking if we would like to try and we were like sure! why not? Erm, but the slide was a tad too slippery for Joyce and she couldn't make her way up. As for me, once was enough lah, very embarrasing to go up second time when you have kids making their way round you..
Now, lets get back to better things. Just sent darling to the train station at Caulfield this morning, it's just along the Princes Hwy and takes only about 10-15 minutes. Thought it would be nice to have a quite drive back home alone after dropping darling off, but Nooo, it was raining on and off with the drizzles and pouring every now and then. So I got home and didn't feel like jumping back to bed and thought might as well do something with my blog. Well, so these were some of the stuff we took up at the Dandenong Ranges, the Miss Marples Tea Room. I think I've got the description and website in a previous post a few months back. Yess, the scones are absolutely awesome, but a couple of them is enough to make you feel bloated. Then there's the Vicar's Folly ice-cream as they called it, shown on the left shared by darling, Joewiz and Joyce. The Jam and cream for the scones were really good as well and a small bottle only costs around $6. The place has an old english feeling to it and it's really a nice place to bring your parents for tea and scones!! Oh yah, the place closes at 4.30pm everyday and is easily accessible by car only though. Lotsa tourist busses go up there too..
Okay I know, this event has passed some time ago already, but anyway it's the MUGSU Awards Night where Student Union awards student volunteers. Congrats to Sheali who won for ISA. The date's written on the top right hand corner. Then we went bowling with Kal just a few days before he went back to SG. Not bad after not playing for so long, and he's pretty good at it as well. And now I'm blogging from our rented house in Clayton. We just roamed the whole of Monash Clayton campus today and initially we almost got lost, but it's okay after awhile. We found the gym and swimming pool and Joewiz and I are intending to go for regular workouts starting from tommorrow. Man, students at Clayton campus are spoilt, they have every facility you can imagine under one roof, yes you name it, they've got it! From banks, post office, restaurants, cinemas, hairdresser and more! And we are so jealous! Yeah, but such big campus doesn't rent out bicycles! We walked from our place to uni today, thinking like Gippsland Student Union they would rent bicycles, but darn, I reckon the Sport Centre people must be thinking what "koo-koo" people we are and which village did we come out from, fancy asking for bicycle rental!
Anyway, the move to the new house didn't come as smooth. On the last day(11 Nov) before we left Gippy, I swear I almost wanted to punch someone! That fella threw away Len and I's salmon and prawns worth well over AUD$15! I have been boiling mad for a long time and putting up with him long enough and the last day I had to snap! If ya wanna know he is, make a guess, a 26 yr old uncle staying in south 6. He's IMPOLITE & UNFRIENDLY(TO US)! We have a shoutoutz that day with him saying he delibrately didn't ask us before he threw it away because of the note we left in the fridge. We had cleaned the fridge and just left a note sayin we had done the cleaning, he got a problem with that and threw our stuff away in the large garbage bin to get back at us! I mean, how petty for a man, and you thought only women did that! But man it felt so good being able to scream, "FXXK U", before I left the house. [EDITED]
So as you can see from above, finishing exams and having nothing to do isn't a very good thing. And staying in the city area really burns more holes in your pockets faster! At Chadstone shopping that day, I just bought a Clinique Gift set with make-up bag, eye cream, eye shadow and mascara and lip gloss and a Clinique Face powder. The next day at David Jones, I got another make-up brush set and a tote bad! All in all plus rental paid, I think we spent almost AUD$1000 in like 2-3 days! And while I had my last two days marking assignments and finishing up my thesis, poor darling, Len, Joyce and Joewiz were bored shitless and entertaining themselves with board games, poker cards and singing to themselves! Anyway, love the Catholic church nearby here, has a warmth feeling to it as well and darling and Len were nice enough to keep me company on Sunday morning. It was the same one Denise and I went last year when she stayed near Clayton campus as well. Miss u gal! :( Check out the house on top. All that's left now is the impending wait where I can finally hand up my thesis on friday successfully and I'm considered totally FREE!
~ Next is Len's birthday. In fact, I guess the plane trip thingy was a gift from Helen. As usual, being the nice people they are... It's really great to know them.. Anyway, this year's birthday was a shorter celebration for her and hope she still liked it though, yeah with the presents she had.. and the "sabo", "I reckon you liked it right Len?" Haha.. Joewiz's and Sheali's cheesecake was really awesome, and they baked it from scratch! Well, Len got her birthday wish, or I guess almost totally, with her BMW "Convertible". Next we had our Mock Gown day which I had mentioned in the earlier post. Was contemplating whether to put up the photos here or not. But guess, just a sneak preview is okay. Haha, we did a copy cat pose, following Zyan and his friends the last Mock Gown day, but guess their's was more successful!
Anyway, I managed to find a house in Clayton to rent for the six of us during the period while waiting for our graduation. Yeah, can't wait to finish our exams and for me my thesis. It's been a long time we had real heaps of fun without worrying about assignment to hand up, must go back study, blah blah blah.. And mum and dad are coming in Dec! Can't wait to see them and hope I can graduate successfully. Thanks to those who have faith in me and who wish me well. **blink, You know who you are!. ** Anyway, I remember there were certain things / people I wanted to bitch about here, but it's been some time, I think I forgot about it already. Oh well, it doesn't matter then... Maybe some things are better left unsaid. Anyway, darling was really sweet to get me flowers today! I was practically crying before my last paper cause I was really stressed about it and the lilies really cheered me up. I reckon he spoils me rotten sometimes. *huggies* to him. ;) ** No wonder his ex GF still cannot get over him! ** He's the bestest in the world (apart from being a lazy and greedy piggy sometimes)..
Man, I just had to show my new baby on your left. Just got it on Thurs after selling off my Panasonic X400 to Sheali's friend. Darling's the sweetest person in the world! He wanted to do everything he could to get me my desire phone. We first went to Optus to see if he could sign an extra plan, but they didn't allow international students to sign more than one plan. So we headed to the Telstra dealer just a few shops away only. And as usual like my dad always tease me, "You are always so fickle, the day you marry, your husband will be a different one you chose!" Haha, cause I was so bent on getting back a Nokia phone, either the 6160 or 7270, but eventually this pretty thing caught my eye. Love the new hp number too, lotsa 3's, 6's and 8's. Paying it off slowly in 18mths so I won't feel the pinch of the AUD$600 odd bucks of the phone! But darn, I don't have much free time to play around with it so far because of the assignment due and my project and thesis still having the many problems and stuff. So far darling was the one who downloaded some songs for me...
Cheerios people, Len was asking just me a few minutes ago, "Are you updating your blog again?". I was like, "No lah, just for the EMIT paper, haha".. Yes the uni's paper, the last edition of the year is out and I grabbed a few copies today, one for myself to keep, one for mum and dad and one for people to flip and trash around after reading it. Somehow my ebay article's kinda contradicting to what I just did yesterday. I was still very much into ebay, haha and spent the whole day setting up a "Seller's" account to sell off my unwanted stuff. Keeping my fingers crossed cause my starting bid for my mobile phone is only AUD$20! Anyway, darling got a call from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation(ABC) today asking for an Interview about the Indonesian Crisis here cause he's the ISA President and he's nervous as ever about it. Well, the sememster's coming to an end and one more assignment to go before I can concentrate fully on my thesis and exams. Speaking of which my supervisor just emailed me today asking about my progress after I was M.I.A for so long.. *ooppss*
Thought I'd better start updating before everything slips my mind on what's been happenin for the pass week or so. 22 Sep was the ISA AGM that darling was so worried about and I'm glad that he had gotten the members in their respective positions as he had wanted, else he'd be stressing himself. We had heaps to eat like mooncakes, nasi bryani with curry chicken, pizza, samosas etc. The best part for me was of course the mooncakes!. ;) After which Joewiz and I couldn't wait for the event to end so we can set up the Karaoke system and start singing! Man, that girl can sing pretty well too, what a waste she didn't wanna join us during the Monash Open Day performance.
And after a boring week of being stuck in gippy, we finally made a trip to the city for shopping and to savour the taste of Uncle Danny's food again. After lunch, we headed to Chadstone and I couldn't help myself in getting the Biotherm starter kit plus the scrub and they all came in a nice white bag. Later we went to Melbourne Central for more shopping and boy did our legs ache like mad till we had to sit down, have a break and have coffee. The girls got some stuff too; Joyce got a bronzer with the Estee Lauder gift pack ++, Len got a few tops and a skirt as well. Shopping these days is like a privilage we get once awhile and not something I used to take it for granted like in the past.
Couldn't believed when darling said he hadn't taken a Ferris Wheel before cause he was afraid of heights. And so yesss, we grabbed him to have his first ride then, the view was so great from the top of the carriage. Next was the bumper cars ride and darling and Tim as usual were havin fun tryin to knock Joyce and Len. Hee, I was lucky I chose to sit with darling. ;) So we went on to try more games and stuff and finally each of us won at least one huge soft toy which really made our day! Poor Len had to take all those "Dizzy, stomach-churcning" rides with the boys, I opted out and lucky I did, coz even the wave swings made me so wobbly after that! Guess it's not a good thing to go on crazy rides when you don't have enough sleep and feel really tired. Darling said he almost felt himself flying out of his seat in the Crazy Mouse Roller Coster. There were heaps of other stalls and rides in which we didn't have enough time to finish all. We were walking pass the arena when we saw the huge monster truck and heard the lady being shot out of the canon ball when we were gettin some food. And to end the lovely day was the short but sweet sight of the colourful fireworks.. =)
Love the nights when darling and I don't fall asleep the moment our heads touch the pillow, instead we cuddle up and start talking, about everything , about uni, about things, about people... Last night, he was on the verge of confronting a girl whom he cared for when she first came Gippsland, helping her in every way he could so that she would not feel so home sick and the least he expected her to do was to respect him. But, she didn't and as usual the GF gets the blame for everything and darling isn't too pleased with her backstabbing. Why is it sometimes when you are just feeling a little down, having a little mood swings and just not being yourself, then people start to misunderstand you? Do ya expect us to go walking around smiling all the time, being a sweetie and nice in every way? Tried doing that before and found out the hard way that it doesn't pay to be kind. No matter what you do, somehow people would have something to say about you. Besides, I told darling not to be affected by it, cause I'm not. I mean, whose words could be harsher and meaner than Sophia(ex GF's lesbian fren) right?
Then darling went on to say how he's kinda stressing about being the President for ISA next year and how can he manage the committee well and stuff. We kinda feel caught in between sometimes on matters of deciding what's right and what's wrong. But I have faith in him, that he would do well , and bring ISA to the next level. Manage and not dominate is the key to it I think. Then we talked about a really good friend, one whom we place close to our hearts, someone like Denise or Evon whom I'll always be ready to defend and stand by them if something goes wrong. She was once a person who was ever more ready to defend her close friends and to tell us everything that's on her mind. But all that changed ever since someone became part of her life. But, we still love her heaps and hope her true self would one day return... *huggies* to you, you know who you are...
