Updates

Hmmm….since I’ve posted 2 entries in my blog today, might as well post another one!
On the first week of August, we went back to Melbourne for the weekend. We brought Shannon up the Snow Mountain to Lake Mountain Resort. It was a rainy day n the snow was very slushy. It was a good experience tobogganing and building a snowman despite the weather.

We went to see snow on Saturday n on Sunday, we went to Church. Shannon had a great time catching up with Katelyn and Ben. For some reason, Ryan was not in Church. Shannon loves Melbourne and calls Melbourne her home because that’s where her friends are. She misses Vona, her 8 years old neighbour whom she calls her best friend. Sometimes she even cries for her here in Brisbane saying, “I want to go back to Melbourne to play with Vona….” And once in a while she’ll bug us with “Are we going back to Melbourne this week?”

She looks up to boys and girls who are much older than her and doesn’t seem to relate with those of her age or younger. Ben is 10 years old while Katelyn and Ryan are teenagers. Well, hopefully this will change once she goes to school.

Benji came on the 7th of August and we really had fun with him. We went to the zoo, drove 3 hours to see wild dolphins, went to one of the best market in sunshine coast, took pictures by the beach and did lots more activities!!! Check out his cool website at http://joygerm.blogspot.com/. Since he has started blogging of his stay here in Brisbane, I’ll not blog about it. Hehehe… I’m suppose to study remember??? Hehehe….

Anyways, there are pictures of us on the weekend we went to Melbourne. Check it out on Facebook. Not sure when I’ll write again, but till then, have an awesome day and God bless. By the way, I have yet to read the last 3 chapters of Galatians for cell group tonight!

Blogging is really a distraction!! Neways, till then….

ps: oh, one more thing, I'm sending Shannon for her first swim class next Monday. It's once a week for half an hour at AUD 12 per session. It's especially for toddlers her age. Hope she'll have fun. Will take pictures and update this blog once i have time. chiao!

Shannon's First Visit to the Denstist

Since my last blog entry was therapeutic, I decided to upload pictures of Shannon’s first visit to the dentist. She has always been terrified of dentist. Not sure of the reason, maybe because when I got my 2 wisdom teeth remove, she saw how painful I was and associated dentist with pulling of teeth and pain.

At the dentist, Shannon was bribed with stickers and a little toothbrush! With that, she went of the chair!
Picture taken on 31 July 2008

Shannon looking at the dentist
Shannon showing her teeth to Daddy
Dr. Cheryl asked her to lie down...
Shannon voluntarily opened her mouth before being asked too...
Dr. Cheryl putting shades on her eyes...
Dr. Cheryl about to on the lights
Lights on and she checks Shannon's teeth.

Shannon has 2 teeth missing at her bottom front teeth and her top jaw is protruding due to the pacifier she takes. The dentist advise the sooner we take her off the pacifier the better. She also told us to continue to brush her teeth twice daily till she’s 9 or 10 years old.

The damage for our visit to the dentist is a great one. The total cost for the whole family is AUD 562.00. Thank God for insurance and we paid AUD 84.00.

I never did scaling in my entire life and this dentist actually did it for me. She even flossed my teeth! Each one of them! I have a cavity on my right wisdom tooth and that needs filling up. She also advised me to remove my last 2 wisdom teeth soon.

David’s teeth needs gum treatment. We have yet to make another appointment with the dentist to get the next treatment. Mine would take 45 minutes and David’s about an hour. The estimated total cost for our next treatment is AUD 471. Mine costs AUD 171 and David’s AUD 300. Mine is partly covered by insurance while David’s is not!


Anyway, after our visit to the dentist, I brought Shannon to “TARGET” a shopping mall nearby to get toys for her as she has promised Daddy to give up her pacifier that day. Apparently the 2 of them made a deal when it was my turn to be on the dentist chair. We visited the dentist during David’s lunch break and he has left for work after paying the bill.

Outside the mall, I asked her again, “Are you prepared to give up your dum- dum?” Sadly, she said, “No….” So we went back home empty handed.

2 weeks later, when Ah Khoo Ben (Benji ) was around, she actually did. We went shopping that day and Shannon saw a roller blade and wanted it. Daddy said he will get it for her if she stops her dum-dum. She said OK. The moment she reached home, she stepped on her pacifier and threw the pacifier herself in the dustbin. I even video taped the ceremony. I will post the video on another day.

Why the Long Silence...

It’s almost a month since I last posted! Pictures n stories are accumulating! Would try to catch up soon! The truth is, I have been busy. Benji was here for 10 days, and we went out a lot that week. On top of that, my computer had super slow internet connection and has to be re restored a couple of times! Sighhh……thankfully now is better.

Time flies, and it has been 8 months living in Australia for us as a family. For David it has been a year plus. We thanked God for His faithfulness and celebrated the occasion at a Vietnamese Restaurant.

I’m currently busy applying for the Graduate Entry Teaching in Victoria. It’s not easy as there’s lots of reading to do. It’s not as simple as going to the uni and register for the course and start attending classes at the beginning of the semester.

Basically, I have to apply online thorough the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC). This is an independent centre which looks through all student application to enter tertiary education. It’s like applying for a public university back home in Malaysia where competition is steep and only the best would get the desired course. There’s an administration fee to it which is AUD 36.00.

Looking at the entrance requirement, I have all the required except for the most important requirement which is to prove my English proficiency. I don’t have any documents to prove that I have at least 3 years of full time (or equivalent) study where the course is taught and assessed entirely in English. I don’t even have an Australian secondary English to prove my English proficiency. Therefore, I have no choice but to do the Academic IELTS exam.

I called Monash University and asked whether they accept general IELTS. To my disappointment, the course advisor said no and continued saying that the Graduate Teaching Diploma course is very popular and out of 5 people that apply, only one person gets through. She added that the better your results the higher are your chances.

So, I registered for the IELTS examination and paid AUD 280 for it. The exam is on the 4 October 2008. I need at least a band 7 for all the 4 components (listening, reading, writing and speaking). It’s not as easy test as even expert users needs lots of practice to get good grades.

I get all jittery as I read the application requirements. Apart from providing all the academic transcripts and certificates, I need to WRITE!!! below are some of the extra information that is required by VTAC:

Section 1: Motivation for study
Explain why you chose to apply for the course(s) for which you are applying (e.g., interest in field or employment goal). Please limit your response to 2000 characters, including spaces. Text exceeding this limit will not be included.

Section 4: Academic performance
This section is designed for you to let the course(s) for which you are applying know about any past or current academic performance that may influence your competitiveness for selection. Outline as precisely as possible the exact circumstances (good or bad) and how they affected your academic performance. If the circumstances adversely impacted your performance (e.g. illness, disability, reasons why the course may have been unsuitable) you may need to attach a certificate from a relevant practitioner (e.g., a medical or psychological report) in support of your statement. Note that this section is not a replacement for a SEAS application. Please limit your response to 2500 characters, including spaces. Text exceeding this limit will not be included.

Section 6: Other relevant information
This section is for you to express information of a more general nature, e.g. summary of life-experiences, personal qualities and other reasons, not covered in a previous section, that are relevant for the course(s) to which you are applying. If you wish to direct comments to specific course preferences, identify the course in your comments. Please limit your response to 2500 characters, including spaces. Text exceeding this limit will not be included.

I was like "What the tut. tut. tut....@#$%^@#$%^" Not only that, some universities like Monash, requires you to give more details. So on top of answering the questions above, I need to answer:

1. In not more than 100 words, explain your experience living in an English speaking country.

2. In not more than 100 words, share your experience studying a full time course which was taught and accessed entirely in English.

@#$%!*@#$#%@$@$!!!!

Basically, macam-macam la I have to answer. I need time and concentration to read and write this stuff without my adorable little girl distracting me with,
“Mummy, I need your antention…” or
“Excuse me Mummy, I want to colour/paint/with you….” Or
“Mummy, can I go to play with sand today?”
“Mummy, can I cycle today?”
“Are we going to the city today?” or
“Mummy, I want to play with you…..” if there’s no answer, she’ll pout and say
“Nobody wants to play with me….”

Shannon has been real excellent! I dragged her to University of Queensland to pay for the IELTS test, then drag her to the city to do some more of my important stuff and she did not complain. I rewardED her with a bottle of juice and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for her well behaviour. Hehe.

And last but not least, is the tuition fee of AUD 14 300 for the course. Well, am now looking at various means to get financial aid. Called Monash University and the administrator said I am entitled to the “Commonwealth Supported Place”. With this aid, I only pay AUD 4, 163 a year. Really trusting God for it as cost of living in Australia is high and to save more than AUD 10 000 being in the country for just a year is not easy.

Gosh, this is such a long post! Well, this has been in my mind for the last few days. Apart from worrying of Graduate Entry Teaching, I am well and fine.

Oh, and it's also the time of the year where we look into tax returns. I just found out that I need a TFN number (Tax file Number) even thought I'm not working to claim more tax relief from the government. Well, I have not gotten one and now looking into applying for one. Looks like more reading to do!!! And, I might be to late for this financial year as it takes time for the TFN to process. @@#$%^@#!#$ Well, part and parcel of finding our footings in this new country.

OK. better stop here. Am feeling better dy. By the way, @@#$%^@#!#$ is not a curse word or replacement of a curse word. It's just an expression of my loads of dissatisfied emotion.

Coffee and Chocolate Affair (Part 2)

27 July 2008

The next morning at 10am. We headed back to Port Wharf Hamilton for the Coffee n Chocolates. I'm a chocoholic while David is a coffee addict. Shannon just loves anything sweet!!

Anyways, the festival featured a number of local n international coffee producers as well as chocolate producers. There were a number of retailers showcasing, demonstrating, giving out free samples and of course offering special discount of their purchase.

The first stall that we came across was the...

"Lindt Chocolate" stall.

There were 3 chocolate fountains in the stall. The first is the Milky chocolate, second was the white chocolate and last was the dark chocolate.

Chocoholics were already queueing up for their strawberry fondue selling for AUD 1.50 per stick.

Being 'Kiasu' Malaysians, we joined the queue for a fondue too! David had the milky chocolate fondue while Shannon n I had the dark chocolate fondue. We dipped our own strawberry in the fountain. After a few minutes, the chocolate hardens n i had in my fingers the chocolate coated strawberry.

It's yummy-licious!!!

The next stall that we went was the "DARE Iced Coffee" stall. There was even a van next to it. I like this stall because it was giving away FREE coffee.

There were 3 flavours, Espresso, Latte and Mocha. I had all the 3 flavours!! Not at one go of course! walk a little, then come back for a 2nd cup, walk some more and come back for the final cup. hehe..

Well, I wasn't the only one who had more than one cup. Viola had more than one too!! hehehe...

Here, Shannon is holding a cotton candy. Given by a lady from this van. The cotton candy is still in my refrigerator. Anybody want some?? or all??

Stalls along the wharf

Guess what stall is this?

My favourite liqueur chocolate stall

I bought 3 chocolate liqueur balls. Baileys, Rum and Kahlua.

They sell cup cakes too...

Chocolate bouquets

The bouquets are unique and pretty

The chocoholics and coffee addicts at the festival

My hubby purchased a cup of "Campos"coffee. The decorated leaf in the coffee is their trademark.

Viola taking picture of the leaf

Shannon saying "No, don't take my picture!!!"

Hubby with his coffee...he had about 3 cups that morning (i think). I lost count because i was busy sampling the chocolates!
This chocolate stall intrigue me

because it was selling chilli chocolates

They were selling chilli chocolate bar, chilli chocolate sauce, chilli chocolate liqueur and other chilli chocolaty edibles. The chilli is from mild to fiery hot.
Chilli chocolate stirrers n Chilli chocolate licorice

I actually bought a chilli chocolate rum ball. It tastes like the typical chocolate coconut rum ball with a sting of hot chilli in it. It leaves the chilli sting in your mouth after you finish the chocolate. In short, it tastes like spicy chocolate or curry pedas chocolate.

Shannon is so cute that they gave Shannon a lolly pop after i purchased the chilli chocolate rum ball.
This is a coffee bean roaster.

The coffee roaster is roasting green arabica coffee beans.

This is not a Willy Wonka statue but a real person posing as one.


A woman decorating a mannequin with chocolate

Her tools on the table

Her outfit is yet to complete

After 2 hrs of hanging out eating chocolate and drinking coffee we headed back to the car to another festival which was the Middle Eastern Festival.

Dancing in the Street Festival at South Bank

26 July 2008

Later that night, we went for another inaugural event. It was the Dancing in the Street Festival. The whole street was closed off to traffic. Cars just have to de tour or find another route.

The festival attracted big numbers and the crowd was just jumping to the beat of the music with some showing off their groovy move!! I must say, Queenslanders know how to have fun. It was a chilly night with "hot" moves by the enthusiastic crowd!

There were 5 stages set up along the street. Each stage offer up a 40 minutes dance class of different styles- Ballroom, Latin, Hip Hop, Jazz, Belly Dancing, Disco, Swing, African, Bollywood and lots more. There was even a time table at the side of the street informing the crowd of what dance held at what stage and at what time. The event was held from 6pm-10pm.

As we approached the first stage, we saw the crowd forming 2 lines and facing each other. I think it was the 60's dance. The music sounded like the 60's music. They have dance partners opposite them. Anyway, beside the stage, there was a display of vintage cars. We took a few shots with the cars.

Shannon posing with the car

Shannon n Daddy. No idea what car it is. Can someone enlighten me?

Shannon and me with another vintage car

Shannon standing on the bin watching the Belly Dancing Dance n later she did the "shimmy" imitating the dancers on the stage.
We moved on to the next stage where they were staging the Hip Hop dance. They called the kids in front and Shannon was at the second row (click the picture n you might be able to find Shannon and me). Shannon enjoyed herself dancing n trying to keep up with the beat.
We were dancing to the Mc Hammer's "You Can't Touch This". The dance was led my a feisty blonde. She has loads of energy!!

After that, we moved on to the Latin Dance stage. The dance by the 2 partners were very sensual. After dancing, they taught the crowd basic Latino dance. We moved on to another stage where they held the Bollywood Dance. They were dancing to the Bollywood music, just like the one your see on a Hindi movie.

Shannon on the bin, dancing together with the Bollywood dancers. I have to make sure that in her excitement she doesn't fall off the bin!

Bollywood girls in their punjabi suit dancing on stage

Coffee and Chocolate Affair

26 July 2008

We went for the inaugural Coffee and Chocolate Affair at Portside Wharf on Saturday. Tents were up but no stalls featuring or selling anything. It was just jazz n blues music playing on that day. The real thing begins the next day.

Since we were already there, we took pictures of Shannon at the wharf.

That was all we took. Headed home to get our stuff for BBQ that evening n later went for Street Dancing at South Bank.