Another Day Older.

Today,
My man turns 30.

It started off being just another day at work. I think he had quite a stressful day at work, because he came home letting out a big sigh, and looking rather tired. I felt guilty. I felt guilty having arranged a little bowling and drinks get-together with his family and a few close friends. The thought of him having to "entertain" when he's so tired kinda made me feel bad.

But I suppose I didn't want him to usher in this special day on his own. He kept saying that it's just another day... But, it's his 30th! It's not just another day. It's one of those "significant" birthdays you know? Like your 21st, or 50th, 60th, 80th and so on... Perhaps the thought not being "twenty something" anymore scares him.

But anyway, we got through the night okay... He's made it! We even went to have a few hits at the pool table before we headed home.

He is officially 30 now. Hehehe. I have a little something arranged for him tomorrow (actually, I meant later on today), but I find it tremendously difficult to hide it from him as durrr... well, we live in the same house! Everything needs to be hidden away carefully. Even things that I browse on the internet, appointments etc need to be erased. Don't wanna leave messy clues everywhere! He's on to it like a sniffer dog!

So, we shall see what happens tomorrow. I hope he hasn't guessed it already by now. Somehow, my surprises never work well. Maybe I'm just a lousy planner. But so far, I don't think he's caught on yet.

Perhaps he's right... Perhaps it is just another day.
As he lays asleep next to me... I realise that everything's just the same.
He still looks the same.
He still sounds the same.
He still acts the same.

I still love him the same.
30, is just another number.
WE are still the same.

I love you darling. Happy 30th Birthday! :D More to come later... hehehe.

Artsy Fartsy

It's been 13 years or so since I last picked up my art brushes. I remember having really nice, expensive brushes and I kept them, tucked away in my book cabinet, perhaps hoping that some day, I'll make use of them... 

Well, one fine day, I realise that mom had given my whole art set to the maid! For her grandchildren!! OMG! My nice brushes...all gone! :( :( I was devastated, of course. But then again, it's not as if I needed them. And if giving them to someone else, means lending them a helping hand, why not? I thought...

But that... was the last time I ever laid my hands on them beauties. 

Last Christmas, Uncle Peter and Aunty Eng got me an art set. The canvas, acrylic paint, brushes of all sizes, palette etc. Well, you get the picture. (haha, no pun intended). They know I like drawing and painting, artsy, crafty stuff. Not that I'm any good, but I just enjoy doing them. 

Needless to say, I wrap all the birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, Wedding gifts etc. Half the time, Jon doesn't even know what's in the box! Hahahahha.

Well, since exam's over for me... I started painting again, for fun. As a past time, I suppose?? I unwrapped the paint set, and sat down to start painting something. 

Oh man, was it difficult~! 

First of all, acrylic paint dries quite quickly, and can be quite difficult to do blending... Quite different from the poster colour that I'm used to back in school...

Secondly, I realised that my skills have deteriorated so bad it's practically non-existent now. I can't remember how to do lots of things! Well, I suppose that's not the point... it still helps me destress, and I really enjoy painting :) 

And this was what I came up with at the end of the day - looks like something a kid would do, don't you think?!! :( I reckon my work in the past was better than this. 

Anyway, nothing stopped me.... and I was painting until I forgot the time! I was supposed to meet up with Uncle Peter to bring Remy for a walk, but before I realised, it was almost 5pm. Time to buy groceries and cook dinner.

But yeah, I suppose it was still a very productive day for me. I did 4 pieces altogether... Although, the geometric lines probably doesn't really count as a piece. Hehehehe... Merely testing out the brushes and the colours. 

Well, I reckon there are still areas that need to be touched up again... but I'll let the colours dry and set for now... Will see what happens tomorrow huh??

ps: Don't laugh please... heheheh. I know they are kiddy looking. 

Gong Xi Gong Xi

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!!! How did you guys celebrate?
Hope this year of the Tiger will bring lots of happiness, good health and fortune to all.
It's also a special year of daddy :)

We had Yee Sang for reunion dinner tonight with Jon's extended family. Jon had never tried it until tonight.
We managed to buy them from the asian grocer in Glen Waverley this afternoon when we were there for lunch.
For the first time, I felt like the CNY spirit has come to Glenny.
There were red lanterns everywhere, and all the asian grocers had yee sang's and chinese new year cookies displayed on their shop front.
They were also "promoting" their products by saying "Kong Hei Fat Choy" to everyone that walked past. And after you buy something, they'll mutter auspicious phrases to you.

"Sang yee hing loong"
"Man see yue yee"
"Tai kat tai lei" etc.

REALLY. reminds. me. of. home.

I'm half beating myself for not having gone home for CNY but I suppose it just didn't make sense to spend all that money just for a week or so. Besides, I'm going home later in the year anyway.

Well, the reunion dinner tonight with Jon's extended family was real good.
And we're off to the CNY carnival in the city tomorrow! Hopefully, I'll be able to see some lion dances etc.

I hope the weather holds up! :)

Well, I love you mommy, daddy, Funny and popo! *muah muah muah*
Happy CNY to my lovelies and Happy Valentine's Day to you baybee.

Hanging out like old times.

Jon complained that my blog is really outdated, so I suppose I better update something before the backlog gets worse.

I looked back at my last post, and yes, that was probably about a month ago. Hehehhe... so it's not really THAT outdated. Perhaps just a little bit. Hehehe.

Anyways, here are some updates from when Doreen was still here in Adelaide. She has since gone back to Adelaide, and subsequently to KL for Chinese New Year. So I guess I better get my ass moving and do some blogging!

Meeting up with the gang at KokoBlack on Lygon Street for afternoon tea before she heads to the airport.

The med gang came to say hello to Sia and Doreen as well! What a perfect time to catch up with them! Some of them I haven't seen since internship, some since med school! OMG! 

It almost feels like being in med school again, hanging out on Lygon and around the city. I have done so much less of those since I started working. Perhaps it's almost because I've moved out of the city, and most probably because we just don't have so much time anymore. Everyone seems to be working on a different weekend, so it's not easy to coordinate stuff.

Well, anyway we managed to all get together that fine summer day. It was like 30 degrees outside, and they had no tables indoor that could accomodate all 10 of us, so we had to be seated outdoor. But knowing Melbourne's weather.... it started raining half an hour after that, which cooled things down. Phew! :)

Group shot :D 

Doreen and the lovers hehehe... inside joke :) 

Happy happy face! Hehehhe.. Gotta love this shot! It's almost like a toothpaste ad. 

Ok, that's it. Abrupt end to post cause I'm watching Cougar Town! Bye for now. 

Bye. 

Uh Oh... Bollywood~!

I just realised that I have some overdue photos from the bollywood picnic weeks ago... So, here they are!

Amira made cupcakes!! How cute are they?! And they actually taste yum too! This little girl has talents!

Michelle and Tish enjoying the Bollywood lesson :) Totally casual and fun learning environment. No pressure at all if you don't do it right. Hundreds others don't get it right either... so. 

The down side, you gotta share the instructor with hundreds others. Can get sweatily annoying!

En-Lai is trying hard to figure out an excuse so he wouldn't need to dance! And of all things, BOLLYWOOD style! Ain't his forte I suppose... kekeke. Well, he ended up being the designated bag and food minder. 

Did a superb job~! hhehehe.. I still hope he enjoyed himself though. 

Okay, I don't remember what the conversation was about.. but everyone looked very animated here. Kekekeke. You gotta love that facial expression on Amy. 

**Drum rolls~! ** Here I present to you our little family. As if you haven't seen enough of us rite? Hehhe... Minus the stupid dustbin lingering in the background of course! I didn't realise the bin was "in view" until I got home and was downloading the pics into the computer. 

Oh well, too late now! I don't know how to photoshop it away! If you feel like it, you can do it for me. Thank you very much. Hehehehe. 

And this is us, after 3 hours of Bollywood dancing!! :D I'm pretty good now, you know?? 

I can even do this: 

You don't believe me, do you? Tsk tsk tsk...

Yumcha with the "Adelaide-ian"?

Since moving out of the city, the places that we frequent have changed quite significantly. It's only normal, considering the geography, time, convenience and all that. I feel like it's an adventure everytime we try somewhere new, something new! It's exciting! :D 

But one thing about going back to the city and places that we used to go when we were students.... that, feels like.... home. Familiar, comforting. 

Anyways, moving on...

The other weekend, Doreen bought a flight from Adelaide and came to visit us in Melbourne. I'm sure she just misses Melissa too much and wanted to make sure she was okay and all, but it was also a good opportunity to catch up once more! Catching up is always good :P hehehe. 

We went to yumcha at Sharksfin House in the city. Super crowded as usual!

The service was slow and I would have to say, rather unfriendly... but the food was still YUMS! Too bad though, cause the wait staff should have known not to make these two hungry boys disgruntled. Cause in the end, we just cancelled our extra orders and left. 

The girls weren't particularly fussed about the food, because we have the camera! :D Camwhoring first, lunch second. But yeah, after awhile, it got abit stale waiting for the food and hence that marked the end of our yumcha session. I could have still eaten, but just didn't feel like it anymore. 

My little piece of advice is not to be seated upstairs, cause the wait staff numbers and quality dwindles quite significantly. 

After lunch, we hung around the city for awhile before heading off as we have another appointment for dinner. Hehehe. That feel kinda felt like degustation week for me :P 

Food and studying don't gel for me. The more I eat, the sleepier I feel, the less I study! But then again, I am just looking for a million excuses to not study! Ignore me... 

(Dinner post coming up soon).

A person from Victoria = Victorian

A person from SA = South Australian

A person from Melbourne = Melbournian 

A person from Adelaide = ?? What do you call yourself, Doreen?? 

Canberra Trip

I suppose every Malaysian in Australia would have been to Canberra at some stage. Canberra's no touristy town. I suppose it's very much like Putrajaya. You never really think of going there unless you have official government issues. 

Anyways, I had to make a trip to Canberra to renew my passport since it's expiring in July and I can't travel anywhere otherwise. 

The Malaysian High Comission in Camberra - the place where I spent the most time in Canberra. Don't even ask, cause I don't wanna talk about it!! I guess the bottom line is, I got my passport and police clearance done on the same day. ALOT of waiting around, but hey, they still managed to do it for me, so... 

Can't ask for too much. 

Went to have lunch with Uncle Peter and Aunty Eng after that. I was super hungry!! I had a big breakfast before I went to the High Comm, but only left the place about 1ish! Yeah, it took THAT long!

Yeaps, in case you couldn't tell... I was absolutely unamused! 

After lunch, we walked around and did some touristy stuff. Since we were already here in Canberra, we might as well make the most of our time here. They went up for an art exhibition, and I went up mainly to renew my passport - So I suppose my expectation of the trip was pretty much - well, nothing!

So having company, who's willing to drive me around and visit places - was an absolute bonus. And since they've been there before, they roughly still remember their way around, which was particularly helpful. 

I don't even remember now what this is... It was quite a hot day. All I could think of at one stage, was to get indoor - into some comfortable air conditoned place. Kekekeke...

We finally arrived at the National Gallery of Australia - where the art exhibition was held. We went for the "Masterpieces from Paris". More than a hundred pieces of famous art pieces were brought in from France for display. It was actually reallyy good!

We spent almost 2 hours in there, with the audio guide which played narratives on the pieces accompanied by soothing music. After awhile, it started sounding more like a lullaby trying to put me to sleep. I don't think I'd be heading for the audio guide again anytime soon when I go for an art exhibition.

This is sooo cool, don't you think? It's a huge ball hanging across two buildings. Looks like it's just kinda floating from afar. 

Aunty Eng and I at the Senate's (red). The House of Reps is green in colour. You can take photos and stuff in the parliament house, except for when they are sitting. 

Us on the rooftop. Uncle Peter was pretty much the designated photographer of the day, cause he refused to have his photos taken. I don't know why.... kekekkeke.

Canberra was alright, but definitely not a tourist spot. It's filled with government offices and embassies etc. and most people there are workers. You really don't see many "visitors" around... I would have been really bored if I had to stay there another day. 

But all in, it was a good experience, as I got to do some touristy stuff as well as gotten the serious official stuff done :) Good job to me! Kekeke.