Chinese New Year 2010 & another visit to Miss Marples.

This year was yet another Chinese New Year celebrated overseas. I think ever since I came to Melbourne to study and stayed on to work, spending chinese new year back home in Malaysia is hard especially since where I'm working now, mid Jan to mid Feb are like the most fire-prone periods where the CFA gets really busy and so taking leave is almost impossible.

But lucky over the years, we've made quite a few good friends here who are also around during the this festive period and so we met up for our own reunion dinner at Ocean King restaurant in Glen Waverley on the first day of chinese new year which also happened to fall on the same day as Valentine's Day this year! 14 Feb 2010!

The view from our side... :D

Everyone digging into the yummy food... Crocodile meat, fish, prok ribs, egg plant etc...

The group of us that day and thoughful Daniel bought each of us a rose for Vday.

After that, some of us decided to head over to Crown and for the first time we actually bothered to go there, I was pretty fascinated and amazed at how CNY is much celebrated what with all the stalls of food lined up outside Crown along the Yarra River.

Check out the walkway outside Crown decorated with chinese lanterns and the crowd!

Didn't know they performed chinese opera there as well! Or cantonese opera to be more precise!

Super duper happy to find my favourite CNY treat Bak Kua there as well. Which is known as Pork / Beef jerky in english.

Animated dragon display inside Crown Promenade. Lucky to be able to catch the performance time.

Lion dance performance by the CYSM (Chinese Youth Society of Melbourne)

Dragon dance by CYSM (Chinese Youth Society of Melbourne)

Finale of the Lion and Dragon dance performance CYSM (Chinese Youth Society of Melbourne)

Darling and I also decided to take CNY day 2 off just for a break and we bundled Jasper and us trio went up to Dandenong's. Even on a week day, there was a line up outside for table. They don't take bookings and people have to line up and wait. Lucky us, we didn't have to wait too long that day.

Inside of Miss Marples, named after famous detective Miss Marples herself in the background.

The yummy scones with cream and jam - their house specialty. Can never have enough!

Cutie darling Jasper was quite happy with his walk that day!

Dinosaurs Alive @IMAX / Melbourne Museum and Australian Open 2010

Okay this post is a little back-dated - cheating abit haha cause I didn't have time to update earlier. Here's a couple of events for January:

Visit to IMAX to watch Dinosaurs Alive and Melbourne Museum- I was expecting more from the 3D 45-min documentary Dinosaurs Alive. I thought it had more CGI on dinosaurs itself, but instead they had more talking about how dinosaurs were discovered and which continents were prominent digging sites for fossils and stuff. Interesting yes, but I reckon it wasn't what most of the kids who went to watch expected as well. Anyway here are some pics:

Promotion poster in the glass case just near the IMAX ticketing booth.

Promotion displays near the ticketing booth

A walk with Dinosaurs - another museum display in the main area

One of Melbourne's old horse carriages - in the Melbourne Story displays

Soft toys! - My fav at a new shop created just outside Wild Life displays

Tubby looking all intriqued at the Mind and Body displays

We also went to watch Australian Open live! First time ever and one of the best experiences. Lucky Tubby got free tickets because one of his supplier's company always bought corporate booths for the Open. We went to watch the Men's Semi-finals: Andy Murray vs Marin Cilic.

Nice weather and sunny evening when we arrived at Rod Laver

Just outside Rod Laver where they always advertised who was playing for the day and what matches were on

Tubby and me just outside Margaret Court and Show Court 3. As you can see, we bought quite some stuff from the AO shop. :p

Serena and Venus playing in the womens doubles at Margaret Court

Their opponents: Samantha Stosur and Renae Stubbs

Venus doing a return with the forehand

Andy Murray getting ready to serve

Marin Cilic returning the shot with a volley

If you haven't been to the Australian Open, you should really go as it's one of the best experiences live! Not only for the avid tennis fan/players like us, but it's like a real big event in Melbourne that happens in January every year. When a great point is won, the crowd just goes bonkers and when it's live, it's such a different experience and nothing like what you watch on TV at all. :)

Till then, belated CNY and other updates coming soon!

Trip back Malaysia and Singapore 2009/10

The saying, "Time and tide wait for no man" is so true especially when it seemed like just yesterday that there were mix feelings about going back to Singapore / Malaysia, then there was the scene of Jasper clawing on my jeans refusing to let go as we tried to board the cab to the airport. But in a flash, the holidays back there came and went and for now at least I have photos and videos and the sweet memories to hold on before the next visit back. Here's some of the hundreds of photos taken... :p

My family: Brother Rodney and Sis-in-law Jane finally got married and this is from the wedding dinner.

Secondary school Bestie Cindy's Wedding. Together with the girls: the pretty bride, Susan and Beiwen. Missing Sharon cause she was not feeling well.

With dearest cousins whom I have played up since primary school! Janice and Kristie with her cutie son Jayden.

With 2 of my chaobohs Len and Joewiz (right) and Miko in purple top. At Midvalley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur.

With Miko and Chaboh Liz (Sheali) this time at Kim Garry restaurant also at Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur.

Stayed with my dear Aunty Ruby when we were in KL. Mum and Aunty Judy on the right.

Pooh gang (and Tubby as well taking the photo! :p) at P.S Cafe at Dempsey Hill, Singapore.

With Secondary School besties again Wen and Ren at a Jap restaurant at Vivo City, Singapore.

With two of the dalpura gang Ying and Eileen: Coffee @ Starbucks!

With Korean trip pals Ailin and Swee Kee at Bugis Junction, Singapore.

So that's pretty much my time spent in Singapore and Malaysia. Apart from that, of course I ate a lot and shopped alot. I bought so many things from Jusco in JB cause they were such great bargains during the sale! I kinda regret not buying more, but then again bringing back the luggages might have been quite a hassle both with the weight and trying to squeeze things in. Oh well, till next time, at least I picked up most things that I needed.

2009 onto 2010 and when love is stretched to its limits...

How time flies and 2009 just zoomed by in a flash and now here we are at 2010. 2009 wasn't exactly one of the best year for me, let's just say there were more downs than ups, more quarrels, more conflicts, more misunderstandings in both personal and work life. Let's hope for myself and for everyone as well that this year may be a better and a happier one.

Some people say when you a marry a person, you marry his family as well. While some say, "why care about others (in-laws in particular) when the person you're marrying is the only one that matters?" While the latter proves to be the one easier to comprehend, somehow things are easier said than done. Would you give up your perfect other half just because his parents objected to the relationship? One would easily answer no and say "we'll fight for it"... But when your partner turns out to be some softie (though already in the late twenties) who cannot turn a blind eye to his parent's opinion, what would you do then? Would you keep waiting until they finally see the light one day? Or would you think that enough is enough and it's time to walk away?

Christmas shopping and/for coming trip back home...

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? I managed to start mine a couple of weeks ago during the weekends and a couple of week nights this week where the shopping centres are finally starting to open late! Chadstone especially is opened from 9am to 10am this Monday to Wednesday and till 12 midnight on Thursday and Friday! They even have free shuttle buses to shuffle shoppers from the nearby tafe! Gosh you should see the crowds at shopping centres when it's near Christmas, it's almost impossible to find a car-park!

Lucky I have already managed to tick off most of the names on my pressie list except a couple more to finish this weekend. And since I have to send my car in for service, we'll be there early and can always leave the car parked at the Kmart parking slot after the service, so it kinda saves us from having to find one. :p

Oh and Tubby and I kinda need to do shopping for our mums as well. I think my mum's got a much longer list than his! lol! Mum's spoilt anyway, she asked for an iPod Nano for Christmas and so she's getting a purple one. :D With that, she's also got quite a few other things that I bought for her over the year as well!

And shucks, this time round during our trip back to Singapore / Malaysia, we also have to attend a few weddings! It's that time of the year isn't it? Everyone seems to be getting hitched! And yeah it's kinda that kind of "age" too I guess! :p

Anyway for my sec school best friend's wedding, I bought a black Audrey Hepburn like dress. Decision was made after the other two besties decided they were going in black as well. :P I guess people aren't so superstitious about black colour these days. I can't believed that it was bought in a jiffy during my 1-hour lunch break last week. I wasn't particularly looking for one that day and just happened to come across it. It's similar to the one pictured except that mine has thinner shoulder straps and is a little shorter.

Then I'll have to get one especially for my brother's wedding as well! Yes, my late thirty-something year old brother (ssshhhh!) has finally tied the knot! He and my sis-in-law solemnized on 6 Dec. How coincidental as that is also the anniversary date for Tubby and I. Anyway their wedding dinner is on the 26th of Dec and so they say when you're out looking for something, somehow you just can't find it! I was out the last few times, tried on countless dresses and I couldn't find one that I like or suited me. :( I guess trying to stay away from black is kinda difficult, but let's hope I get better luck this weekend.

Then there's the wedding of our tennis coach and his wife as well which falls on the 3rd of Jan. We are still debating if we are attending because that's pretty close to the dates that we're going up to KL! Yes, planning a trip up north to visit my chabohs and also dear cousins and my new little "grand nephew"... Excited yet upset about the upcoming trip back, cause we'll be missing Jasper oh so much...