And back againnn..

So my trip back to Malaysia ended, in a flash. Nahh.. it was three weeks but it felt like three days to me. Fun time passes quickly. Oh, well. That's how life is. Back to reality. Been busy since I got back to Melbourne. Busy catching up at work. Busy shifting house.

Still a little lazy and unmotivated when it comes to work, but got to start showing some performance. It's been almost nine months and there are still no presentable results. I suppose I'm still in my comfort zone as I know things won't be happening even if I'm ready to do it. How I wish things will pick up the pace a little. If only people would speed them up. If only things are up and running!! If things are going to continue going at this rate, I would need a plan B!! Ughh..

Work aside, shifting house has been an ... INTERESTING process. The idea of moving out of my 20 x 10 ft unit is exciting!! The process though was unbearable. I'm okay with packing, unpacking and moving the stuff. But the thought of house hunting makes me shuddered. Fortunate for us, we manage to get a decent place that we both like in a peaceful neighbourhood at perfect timing. Velocity's out and we've a place secured. Now that we're more settled and got almost everything we need for the new place, I'm beginning to like this place more and more. No pictures to share here though. Not yet. Maybe later when the place is more organized =P

This weekend has been interesting. We were on our way to Chadstone to do some shopping when we heard weather warning that a typhoon is going to hit Melbourne in the evening. And we thought, "ahhh..maybe just heavy rain.." We parked our car in basement and started hunting for the stuff we need in K-mart. As I was bouncing happily towards the rack of DVDs on sale, I notice there's leaking on the roof, and the floor is wet. Darn, have to take the long way around to get to the DVDs. Fine. Got the DVD I need, start looking for bedsheets. Then there's announcement:

"Attention shoppers. Due to severe water leaking at several parts of the store, we will be closing for safety purposes until the condition is better. Please finalise your purchase and head to the counter for payment. Thank you." (or something like that)

And I was thinking, it wasn't that bad. Just a lousy leaking spot. Then water started flooding to where I was standing. Uh-oh, it is bad. So I have to leave before I got everything I need. It appears that other parts of the mall are affected as well. Red-and-white tapes are everywhere blocking people from passing through the leaking area. It was that bad. Maybe the buildings here aren't build to withstand heavy rain coz they don't get much of that?? No idea. Continue shopping.

*Shopping part skipped*

So it's time to leave. Drove out, and it's still drizzling. Darn. Tak apa, at least the rain is not as bad already. The road condition looks bad though. Sand and leaves everywhere, looks like betul betul kena typhoon. We head to a friend's house for dinner. When we arrived, they asked if we witnessed the hail. We said no, we were inside shopping kan. There were still hail stones on their courtyard. Whoo~ Can't believe we missed that. It was on the news that night. One of the residence said that it's nothing like he's ever witnessed here in Australia his entire life!! Some of the stones were as big as golf ball I heard. Looks like we really missed out on something!! But well, I'm just relieved we weren't outdoor when it hits. The thought of hailstones hitting me, ouch, not pretty.

And today, I'm having a lazy Sunday. First night on my new Sleepmaker bed. Don't feel like getting up. But my stomach was grumbling, so HAVE TO get up. Did some laundry, watch the new DVD I've got, and now blogging while sipping a cup of coffee. Ahh~ time pass so quickly. Time to cook dinner already!! Didn't do anything work related today. Tomorrow's Labour's Day in Victoria. But no day off for me. Huhu~

I'm BACK!!

Yess!!! I'm BACK. In MALAYSIA. Hohoho~ Suprise!!!

Let's meet up!! and catch up!!

Let's go for shopping and makan session!!

Let's !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Slip! Slop! Slap! Seek! Slide!

It is extremely hot in Melbourne today. It is about 4 p.m. now, and the temperature is about 42 °C. The sun is ridiculously harsh and there are bush fire alert everywhere. Everyone here loves the sun. Take today for example, it's 40+ degree outside and people are going to the beach!! Whereas for us, the typical Malaysians, will run and hide under the shade whenever possible. I was just walking outside for 5 minutes and I could barely stand the heat. It's like putting myself in an oven. Siaoness!!

The protection against UV and skin cancer is extremely poor despite government's effort in raising the awareness of the people. There are campaigns and advertisement everywhere and yet, people still love sun tanning. What's so good about that, I wonder. Here's the 5 S's for sun protection available on SunSmart :

• Slip on sun protective clothing that covers as much of your body as possible.
• Slop on SPF 30+ broad spectrum sunscreen liberally to dry skin, at least 20 minutes before sun exposure. Reapply every two hours when outdoors.
• Slap on a broad brimmed hat that shades your face, neck and ears.
• Seek shade.
• Slide on sunglasses.

The UV alert is 11 out of 12 (EXTREME) today  people!! Prevention is better than cure. So use protection!!

Christmas and Boxing Day

Christmas (251209)

This year's Christmas is quite different for me. It's my first Christmas in Australia. And I must say it is very different from back home. Back home, we can feel that Christmas is just around the corner when all the shopping malls starting to have fancy deco involving huge Christmas trees, ornaments etc. Here, the deco are pretty simple and not much impressive as back home (at least to me) because everyone is busy decorating their own home. 9 out of 10 people who walked into a mall or departmental store must come out with a Christmas tree (I even see people buying on the 26th, they're buying and keeping it for next year?!) The Christmas spirit is in the air a month before, and people are already slowing down at work. Many departments start to shut down one to two weeks before the big day. Saying that the malls and departmental stores are packed like "sardin" is an understatement. The market is jammed on Christmas eve as everything will be close the next day (I mean EVERYTHING). You'll have to get enough food to at least survive Christmas. I was at my office on Xmas eve and when someone asked me what am I doing at office on Christmas eve and I said that I was working, he looked at me as though I'm an alien. A typical Aussie will either spend his/her Xmas eve at home with family, at church, or at the bar/club. Since I don't have my family here with me and I don't fancy drinking, I spent my Xmas eve watching live carol on TV.

The initial plan was to spend Christmas Day with an aunt at her orchard, but on second thought, it's a nice day to work at office without all the distractions. I'm NOT a workaholic, I just tend to be in the mood to work when everyone else is not. So, I drove to office (since parking will be free) and the whole place looks like a ghost town. Let's just say I can reverse my car all the way from my house to office and nobody will be honking at me. I reach the office and unlock the door as usual. Little did I know the alarm of the building is armed and I set it off as soon as I walked in the door. I ended up calling the security to disarm it. Again, the security asked me "Why are u at office? You're not supposed to be working on Christmas." Sigh~ I guess I better not step into office till it reopens on the 4th of January. Otherwise the security will get so annoyed having to disarm the alarm for me each time.

Christmas dinner is very filling for me. The only thing missing is a turkey. The rest of the night was spent watching TV. But I still got my Christmas gift. So, not bad-lah.

Crumpler bag for me

My new red Crumpler coin pouch

Five Must-Know facts for Crumpler bag

Christmas card for me

Christmas gift for him

Boxing Day (261209)

Traditionally, Boxing Day has been the day when servants get a day off from work and get to visit and spend a day with their family. The celebration involves giving to those in need and servants receive a box containing gifts from their employer. However, modern day Boxing Day has become Malaysia's equivalent of Mega Sale only triple the people in the malls. People from all walks of life flooded the malls, departmental stores etc. For those who have been waiting for a great deal to buy something, be it furniture, electrical, clothes or even books, this will be the perfect time to get them. Some stores open as early as 5 a.m. but the people are there even earlier, they have been queuing since midnight (according to the news).

We have always wanted to go to Chadstone shopping mall (the biggest mall around here) to look around, so we decided it would be the perfect day to go since I have a free $100 gift voucher. I need to get some new clothes anyway. The mall open early on Boxing Day, at 7 a.m. So we thought, going at 7.30 a.m. would be reasonable. Boy, were we wrong. Let's just say we got stuck in the traffic into the mall and we spent the next 40 minutes searching for a parking spot. The crowd was crazy. Most of the stores look like a war zone. People even have to queue to get into some shops.

Being a movie freak, a day would not end with me not watching a movie. So first things first, we went to the cinema. It wasn't even open yet. It opens at 930 and we were already there at 830 =_= We hang around the nearby shops for an hour and managed to get tickets for:

The movie is at 630, so there's plenty of time to shop around. My stomach was grumbling by the time we got the tickets so we went for a quick bite. We had our first roti canai in 6 months. Roti canai which costs us RM21.00. And what's breakfast without a nice cup of coffee?!

There goes breakfast, and now comes the good part. It's time to shop!! The crowd has not dampen my shopping mood, although my shopping mood would normally have vaporizes as soon as I saw the crowd. Probably I have not been out for far too long. So we excitedly explore the huge complex. By 2o'clock we have already finish touring the whole place. Went for lunch for a place called Noodle Box. Food, not bad. Service, not so good. My grumbling tummy has turned numb by the time the food was ready, and I thought it's supposed to be served fast?! But anyway, we've got four hours left to burn by the time we finish lunch.

We literally have to drag our feet through the mall the next four hours, and even ended up ALMOST falling asleep on the sofa. We found this shop that give good massage. Nelson tried out their neck and shoulder massage since he's always been complaining about his stiff and aching neck & shoulder (and reported that his neck and shoulder are much better after the massage, so we concluded that their skill must be not so bad after all, - end of report -) Wanted to try their foot massage since my feet are sore, but never have the guts to go for it. Heard it hurts like H***?? Anyone with experience, please let me know how it feels. Maybe I'll go for it next time. Maybe.

Nothing much happens after that. Went for dinner then movie. Sherlock Holmes is one of the movie that I have been wanting to watch, without the friendly cinema staff telling me that it's a must-watch. I have not been reading novels of Sherlock Holmes (although it has been sitting in my book rack for several years now), so I didn't know what to expect. I only knew that Sherlock Holmes is this fictional intelligent detective who is very skillful in his observation and forensic skills. Overall, it's not a bad movie and even funny in a way. But let's not spoil the suprise.

At the end of the day, we only gotten ourselves a jacket each. Didn't manage to get any new clothes for myself, I suppose I rather have buy them at a slightly higher price than have to Q up to get into the store, then Q again to get into the fitting room, then wait in a long Q to pay. I still have my $100 gift card with me at the end of the day. How nice if I could turn this into a RM300 gift card and go back to shop in Malaysia. I would have gotten myself so much more things with that. Sigh~ Dream on! Oh, did I mention that it's the first time ever, after my six months here, to see shops are still open after five? The whole mall is brightly lit and pack with people till midnight. Incredible! Where does all these people come from?

 

Oh, have I introduced you to my newly adopted daughter, Micra? Behold....

 

Visit + PG Conference

I know, I know. I haven't update my blog in a while. Sorry! Things are going crazy around here. I'm going into my sixth month here, and my boss is starting to expect some results from me. Stress!! So that's basically what I've been doing all these while. Work. And why am I not working now? Because I'm sick. I haven't been feeling well this whole week. I know I should be resting, but what better time to blog than now? So, here I am, blogging while I'm sick. I tend to like to do things when I'm sick (an excuse to not be working), like cleaning, cooking AND blogging. But anyway, two big events since I last updated my blog: my parents visit and PG Conference. How did they went? Well, that's what I'm going to tell you now. Be patient! A word of warning though. This is going to be a long, long post.

Parents Visit

The best way to share is by showing pictures. Well we didn't do much on the first day. Jet lag PLUS lotsa catching up to do. On the second day, we went to QV market. It was a special day. So we went to the market and get some food to be cooked for dinner (I'm cooking dinner!!). And of course, QV is a must in to-visit list. Lotsa things to see. Perhaps it was pre-Melbourne's Cup Day race on that day, a couple of stalls were closed and the market wasn't as crowded as usual (Good for us!!). Bought lotsa souvenir..

Usual me being a "si lai"

The rest of the day was spent shopping and preparing for dinner. We were celebrating daddy's birthday!! Whee~

The next day was spent on Bacchus Marsh. We went to visit Aunty Jenny and family at Payne's Orchard. Very nice orchard I must say, but too bad it wasn't cherry picking season yet. Thank you Aunty Jenny and family for being such perfect host. Thanks Graeme for the lovely barbeque pork :D and thanks Kim and Lee for the bag of lemon (still sitting in my refrigerator).

The well known Avenue of Honour

Payne's Orchard

Ride around the orchard on quad bike

Sitting from left: Playful Zara, Aunty Jenny and Graeme

Standing from left: Sabina, Kim and Lee

The next day was spent with Uncle Moo Chong and family. We went for an outing to Yarra Valley and Philip's Island. Yes!! We manage to go two places in ONE day. All thanks to Aunty Wing's perfect planning. And of course, thanks to Uncle Moo Chong and Hon who drove all day long with us sleeping at the back of the car =P

From left: Daddy, Uncle Moo Chong, Aunty Wing, Mummy, Me and Darling

Yarra Valley

Yarra Valley

Colourful birdie

The bird whisperer

Chefs of the day

Yummy!

Lovely barbeque lunch in the midst of nature. Fabulous! We moved on to Philip's Island right after the lunch. Didn't manage to snap any photo of the cute penguins as cameras aren't allowed. But it's a once in a lifetime experience, this I can say. It's a must visit place if you come to Australia. It's the only place where you can watch wild fairy penguins upclose.

Then of course, there's tour around Melbourne City. We went to several places. Among the higlights: the state library, Royal Botanical Garden, Melbourne's Aquarium, Melbourne's Zoo and Eureka Tower. I was quite disappointed with the zoo. Perhaps we went a little too late, most of the animals were sleeping. Some were hiding. Can't even spot any koala and elephant (yes, I know they're gigantic and supposed to be easy to spot!). But others were quite okay.

The Victoria State Library

National Gallery of Victoria

Melbourne's Cup Day parade

Melbourne's Aquarium

The King penguins

Melbourne Zoo

From Eureka Tower (Day scene)

From Eureka Tower (Night scene)

Yarra River (Day scene)

Yarra River (Night Scene)

Night scene of Melbourne City

Night scene of Melbourne City

We saved Ballarat for the last. Went to the Wildlife Park and Sovereign Hill. Not bad-lah. The Wildlife Park is actually more interesting than the zoo!! We finally get to see koala!

 

 

Wildlife Park entrance

Kangaroooo...

Emu

The lazy wombat

The tai ko

Some funny facts on koalas

Sovereign Hill is particularly interesting. A lot of things to learn. Traditional processes in making wheels, candles, bakery etc. Couldn't post much of it here so just show couple of pictures.

Candles making

Printing shop

Old time express train

Two refugees

Traditional Chinese herbs store

Singing cowboys

The Gold Museum

That pretty much conclude the trip. But not bad-lah, took a few places off my to-visit list =) Did a lot of catching up, and I'm homesick again!! =(

PG Conference

This is going to be relatively short. Nothing much to talk about. Presented my poster and gain some experience. A small conference, but not bad for my first conference lah. Took a group picture at the end of the two-days conference. And I was awarded with one of the Dean Poster Award. Whee~

Okay, time to really get some rest.