My Bumpy Ride So Far...

Bye-bye P

2010-07-07T17:12:00.004+10:00

No more Black Moors. Our second and last pet fish died around 1:00 am on the 6^th of July. Mighty P did put up a big fight but after nearly 50 hours of pain and suffering, it sunk to the back of the tank and died alone. It was on its left side and I could clearly see its bloodshot right eye. It was heartbreaking to see P fighting for its life.

On the 24^th of June, I noticed that P was hanging around the back of the pump near the water surface too much. I thought it must have been feeling a bit cold. (This clearly shows how little I know about fish.) To make sure that the water is perfect, I removed and replaced about 750mls of the tank water on the Friday and Saturday. P responded well by behaving as normal again. I also tested the water and the ph level seemed ok. I had planned to remove and replace another litre of the tank water on Wednesday (30^th of June) but P was once again behaving a little abnormal on Tuesday. So, I did it one day earlier than planned. This time I also popped in the neutralizer block after another ph level test.

When I fed P on the 1^st of July, I noticed two white dots on its right eye and its left eye looked a little blurred. I was convinced that it would fight off those bugs like last time. I told M that if they were still there the next day, I would immediately start the multi-cure treatment whether he liked it or not. In the past, M never liked the use of that medicine. I did just that and bought another lot of fish food thinking that P might prefer the type of flakes that we gave both of them when they first arrived. We thought that P responded well to the treatment. It was swimming around gracefully and ate as normal. Unlike F, P never swam up to the surface to eat the flakes. It preferred to look for soggy flakes that had sunken to the bottom.

Seeing that P was fine, I went willingly with M to watch a tearjerker at Hoyts on the 3^rd of July. It was Toy Story 3. I don’t like going to cinemas these days but this movie was worth it even though I had to put on glasses that made me look like Roy Orbison. When we walked into the pigeon hole, we were greeted by a P that appeared to be swimming around happily. We were happy, thinking that P had pulled through again. What a super fish we thought. Shortly before I went to sleep, I went to feed P as normal. It was around 11:00 pm and that was when I first observed its erratic swimming. It was swimming all over the place like F on the day before it died. When I got up on Sunday morning, I dashed to the tank to see how P was and it was still swimming all over the place. With the light coming through the window nearby, I could see that the white dots on its eye were bigger and tiny white dots on one of its fins. It didn’t look good at all. Not knowing what else to do, I carried out a water change in the hope that I could remove at least some of the bad invisible bugs in the water to even things out. The multi-cure treatment was also readministered. After that, I didn’t want to stay at home. So, we went to Victoria Gardens. We had wanted to buy something at Kmart but it was out of stock – there is something fishy about the much advertised toy sale. I had also wanted to buy something from IKEA but they too weren’t at the shop and the meatballs didn’t taste quite the same because I was missing P.

P’s condition never improved. We found out from the internet that it was swimming around like this because it was trying to shake the bugs off. P was in agony. I was tempted to remove the white stuff for her. By Monday, I had given up hope. I just wanted it to go. This wasn’t because I didn’t love it no more. P didn’t deserve to be in so much pain. She should join its friend F. We went to the new Big W store at South Yarra – would you believe it that there is one in that part Melbourne? Again we came away without the thing we were after because they too were out of stock – there really is something fishy about their toy sale too it seems and it wasn’t P.

48 hours after the erratic swimming began, P was becoming lethargic. Just like F, it would attempt to swim as normal. Every time I stroked the side of the tank nearest to it, P would flap around. I fed it as normal and sat on the couch nearby waiting. I knew the inevitable was about to happen. M headed off to bed just before 1:00 am. He said goodbye to P. I was very sleepy all of a sudden. It was like that early morning when my Guinea Pig was very sick. For a little over half an hour, I asked myself a few times to go over to the tank to check on P but I was reluctant for some reason. Maybe it was because I didn’t want to see P flapping its fins like someone waving their hands calling out for help. Eventually, I dragged myself over to the tank shortly before 1:40 am and P was gone. I felt sadness and relief all at once. We buried P in the same flower pot as F. Unlike my poor Guinea Pig, it is good to know that they are there together. We are waiting for Spring to come before we plant something in it.

P was unisex in our minds. LOL. I usually use female pronouns when referring to it while M had always used male pronouns. We never knew the gender of the two Black Moors but I assumed that P was female simply because it didn’t have a pretty fantail like F. I am pretty sure that I am wrong. Before we relocated the fish tank, P would sometimes stare at me like F as I prepare food or cleaning up in the kitchen. I often wondered what it was thinking. Does it know something about me? “Do you like me, P?” I would often ask. If it swam away, I would often ask, “Would you like to join the other queue? The queue is extending as far as Kew. Can you swim all the way to Kew, P?”

Bye-bye F

2010-05-09T22:25:00.000+10:00

On the Friday morning of the 9th of April, I woke up feeling that I must clean the fish tank because I felt like I had postponed it long enough. My Mum had asked me only days earlier if I would allow her helper to clean out the fish tank for me. I politely declined. So when I found out that the duo had plans to go to the city by themselves, I jumped at the chance of a few hours of me time. I had a short list of things that I wished to tackle but the first thing was to clean the fish tank. As I went about setting things up for the job, I noticed that F looked a little weird and when the job was nearly done, I noticed that there was some white stuff on poor F’s eye and parts of its body. It was acting quite erratic but we weren’t alarmed because F had a tendency to swim around like that every now and then. M went online to see if he could find out what that white stuff was. He learnt that there could be some kind of fungi infection going on. After he left for work, I just carried on with my chores while keeping an eye on that poorly looking F. By mid-afternoon, F was becoming lethargic but every few minutes or so, it would attempt to swim as normal.

Without my own set of keys because I had lent them to my Mum and her helper, I was stuck at home and was unable to go to the pet shop for advice. I waited and waited until around 4:30 pm before the duo came home. I explained to them what was going on and left quickly to get to the pet shop fearing that it might close at around 5:00 pm. I won’t whinge about my experience at the pet shop but I did end up buying a bottle of multi-cure. On the way home, I was feeling pretty sure that F wouldn’t survive. I had knots in my tummy just like when I discovered that my Guinea Pig had passed away two years ago. As soon as I got home, I added the medicine according to the instructions and it turned the water inside the tank green. By then, F was quiet, preferring to hide under the big rock. MT (my mum’s helper) said that a change of water can sometimes affect the fish’s behaviour and my Mum suggested that I should add a bit of salt to the water because that’s what MT did whenever she cleaned my dad’s fish tank. I brushed their input aside because I thought I know best.

On the next day, MT went on a bus trip to see the ’12 Apostles” by herself and we took my Mum to Footscray. We have not been to that part of Melbourne for a long, long time. There are now Filipino and African shops at Footscray!
When we got home, poor F was still alive but it was on its side. Every time I pat the glass closest to where it was, it would try to swim. We knew the end was near and we made the decision to move it to a separate fish tank for P’s sake. This wasn’t carried out without any drama. M and I had a disagreement that led to one big argument with my Mum stuck in the middle. We were all tired and stressed out. Before I headed to our room for a nap, I checked up on F one last time and it looked sadder than ever without P by its side. After M and I got up from our naps, F was gone. It must have passed away between 3:30 – 5:00 pm.

Of the two Black Moors, F was the clown. As soon as one of us turned on the light, it would come up to the surface thinking that feeding time had arrived. F knew how to eat from the surface while P prefers to look for leftover flakes that had sunken. P is the quiet one but it would occasionally chase F around and head-butt it. LOL. When F was really sick, P hung around to keep it company. There were instances when P would nudge F a little. I have seen such behaviours in the past. So, they probably do have feelings for each other. F is buried in a flower pot on our balcony. I am looking to plant some flowers in the area above its burial spot but I haven’t decided to plant what yet. It is good to know that it is in that pot.

On the day that my Mum and her helper left Melbourne, I noticed three white dots on P. We replaced 25% of the water plus the required amount of Ager drops, and added about half a teaspoon of salt. M found out from the internet that it is indeed a common practice to add a bit of salt. The dots disappear within a week. Then last week, P acted a little weird all of a sudden. Fearing that it might die too, we replaced 25% of the water again and threw out the plant that we bought the two Black Moors for Christmas 09. It didn’t look very healthy and I think it had something to do with the position of our fish tank. P is almost back to its usual self. There are no dots on it. We are hoping that all is well. We are looking to buy another fish soon.

I have wanted to blog about F for nearly a month but refrained from doing so because I hate to look like a fool for loving my pets. I have been feeling sad about the outcome of this blog as recent as this morning but now as I write this piece, I felt like I don’t give a damn what other people do.

Three Bumpy Weeks

2010-04-17T20:38:00.000+10:00

In the days leading up to Friday the 26th of March, our little pigeon hole was turned upside down as the tradesmen worked hard to fix up the two bedrooms that were damaged by the freak Melbourne hailstorm. I was happy that they were fixing our bedrooms so soon because my Mum and her helper were arriving from overseas on that Friday and they would have to stay in a hotel if the spare room wasn’t fixed. Imagine staying in a hotel for three weeks!

In the weeks leading up to their arrival, I was feeling uneasy about having my Mum around for three weeks. I have felt increasingly distant from my family in the recent year or two. It’s like I am drifting further away from them as time goes by. We still communicate regularly but things are changing. I admit now that I wasn’t really looking forward to my Mum’s visit but nothing could stop this Superwoman’s decision. Not even a storm damaged bedroom could stop her!

The first week was quite weird. I felt like I didn’t really know them at all. I was actually counting down to their departure date. Is that sad or what? I had to learn again how to communicate with them in person. I was also more than a little rusty in the language that I had to use to speak to my Mum’s helper. I used to speak that like a native as a child. Other than a few words, M doesn’t speak that language at all! By Good Friday, I was beginning to enjoy their company but that didn’t stop me from having an argument with my poor Mum on Easter Sunday!

In the first week, we mainly went to places around the little pigeon hole. Food is the number one thing that the two women like to purchase. Both my Mum and her helper are petit people but food is very important to them. Almost every meal that we consumed at home had to be elaborately prepared by the helper and ‘assisted’ by my Mum. Their favourite places to buy food were the Queen Victoria market, Victoria St (Richmond), China Town and QV. The two of them also liked buying clothes and souvenirs, so we spent many hours looking around Queen Victoria market, Outlet Stores in South Wharf and Harbour Town (Docklands) and Chadstone.

The second week was spent mostly visiting places where my Mum could gather ideas for her work and purchasing books. My Mum and I are literally in the same field, so I had fun going to these places as well. By the end of the second week, the two women realised that they had bought too much to lug home. A few church going backpackers came to the rescue. My Mum had managed to talk them into helping her carry some stuff home. I flew into a rage of course. I never like it when she approaches strangers but the deal was done behind my back. It is hard for me to believe how trusting some people are and I am not just referring to my Mum.

Last Saturday, my Mum’s helper, whom I shall call MT here, went on a bus trip to the Great Ocean Road on her own. I was a bit reluctant to let her go on her own but the poor woman needed some time to herself too. So off she went with a group of Chinese speaking tourists from various parts of East Asia. MT is not Chinese but she understands basic Mandarin & English. She is also semi fluent in the dialect I speak to my parents. She was the odd one out in the group that day. Apparently there was only a toilet break every three hours or so. She was so worried that she drank and ate very little during the trip. That evening, M and I took them to a popular Vietnamese Noodle shop for a budget dinner that I suspect was laden with MSG! LOL. MT was chuffed that she had eaten at a place where Jackie Chan had eaten in the past. They liked the place so much that the duo went there again with those helpful backpackers from the church and after the second visit, MT proudly told me that American President Clinton had two bowls of the same kind of noodles that she had! LOL

With the kind backpackers carrying some of their goodies home for them, the last week was spent purchasing even more things. MT was absolutely crazy about anything with the word “Australia” printed on it. My mum was not just buying for our own immediate family. She was also buying for our extended family in China. In the end, they weren’t able to take home a Sandwich Press that M and I would like to get for my Dad. We also went to popular places around the city to take photos. MT had asked over and over to see the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in person so she could go home to brag to her friends that she had been to the place where the Carols by Candlelight Christmas Concert is held each year. LOL. The place is within walking distance from the pigeon hole and we spent a few hours exploring it and the surrounding parks on Monday. I was happy to see my Mum getting around with greater ease this time. The surgeon and his mentor (another surgeon) have both done a wonderful job with my Mum’s left hip. When my Dad comes in the next trip, my Mum has already planned to go walking with him on the Tan Track – something that neither of them was able to enjoy in the previous trips.

MT has been working for our family for 12 years or so. The others were not aware that she was travelling with my Mum. They thought that she had gone back to her village. She is very kind to my parents. My Mum likes her because she is very alert and picks up new skills very quickly. She often jokes that MT is multi-purpose. If my Mum is the Superwoman, MT is the Wonder woman. MT is not perfect though; no one is. She has a quick temper on some days. She had never cracked it in front of M and I but she does get impatient if my Mum meddles too much. Hopefully she will work for us for years to come.

Although I didn’t want them to visit me at first, I did end up enjoying having my Mum around. I managed to tell her something about myself and I am glad that she has accepted it. She even bought books to learn more about it. We talked about my childhood, reminding her things that she had forgotten. She updated me with news of friends and family. Again she came with another business proposal (proposed by a good family friend) for M and I and again, I turned her down before she even finished explaining. I was surprised that she took my decision just like that. It was with great sadness that I saw my Mum and her helper off on Thursday night (16/04). She was in tears. She has never been in tears whenever we separate. It’s like she has finally realised why I remain here. Seeing my Mum in tears reminded me of my Grandma’s sorrow when she recorded an extra long voice message on a cassette tape that was to be taken to China during my Mum’s first trip in the 80’s to visit the siblings that returned to China when my Mum was only a small child. Citizens of my birth country weren’t allowed to go to China until the 80’s and then only people with immediate relatives were allowed to visit. This was because China is a communist country. Three of my Mum’s siblings were stuck in China after 1949 and I think my Grandma blamed herself for the hardship they had to endure over there. I sometimes wonder if my Mum blames herself for what had happened to her siblings. I hope she doesn’t start blaming herself for my wish to remain here for the time being.

The little pigeon hole is all quiet again. My neighbours no longer have to put up with loud conversations in 4 languages filtering out from our place. Not for a while anyway. One good thing about speaking Asian languages in public is that people collecting money for charitable organizations tend to steer clear of you but it doesn’t necessarily stop beggars. MT just couldn’t understand why Aussies have to beg anyway. Before my Mum’s visit, my sense of loneliness was further heightened by something that had happened to my blog, but since they left Melbourne I feel truly lonelier than ever. With the 2nd anniversary of the death of my beloved Guinea Pig looming and the arrival of winter, it will take me ages to get over this sadness inside me. I am glad that M likes to have them here. I think that he felt it too that our little pigeon hole is a whole lot livelier when my family is here.

Visited the Jumbo Baby and Friends (Content Edited)

2010-03-16T15:15:00.016+11:00

We went to the Zoo on Sunday. The animals were wonderful as usual and we got to see Baby Mali twice. Sadly, a few of my favourite animals were nowhere to be seen. I am still waiting to find out what happened to them but we will never go to the Zoo on a Sunday again. It was very busy.

"Mum, can I go into the pool yet?"

This is Makulu. He had grown so tall so quickly.

Oh Look! It is the Paddle Pop lion. What do you think he is dreaming of?

Apparently people can pay a fee to pose with some zoo animals including this tortoise. While this photo was taken, an evil male was pinning down another female among the trees. That poor female couldn't outrun the big male. I swear I have not seen tortoises moving so fast before. I thought they were meant to be slow.

What are you looking for Monifah? Isn't she just pretty?

Watch out, Mali! Don't be naughty Mali or those spikes can really hurt.

Here is Mali playing with her red ball. She has a blue one as well.

This is Menyaruh and he is NOT stupid! The zookeepers had left a few chunks of ice on the netting covering the Orang Utans' outdoor area. Menyaruh found one and tried to retrieve it. Later when I was in the building, I heard something knocking against the wall above one of the windows and I could see Menyaruh dangling right there. It turned out that he was trying to smash the ice into smaller chunks!

OK, I am off. I am suppose to stay away from this blog.

One Of My Favourite TV Chefs

2010-03-15T14:09:00.007+11:00

Jamie Oliver was at MYER on Saturday morning. M was happy to go with me. We thought we had secured ourselves a nice spot until minutes before the chef appeared when this camera guy from Channel 9 came to set up his camera on a little stage in front of us. How annoying?

Some lucky people (mostly kids) scored themselves sets of TEFAL cookware and a select group of people (winners of a competition) got him to autograph their cook books. We didn't have anything for him to sign. Even though I enjoy most of his TV shows I don't own any of his cook books but I do borrow them from the City Library from time to time. Tonight I am making Bolognaise Sauce according to his recipe.

Dreaming of Insignificant People

2010-03-11T17:35:00.003+11:00

I have been dreaming about insignificant people from my past lately. It's BIZARRE!

On Monday night, possibly early Tuesday morning, I dreamt about a girl who attended the same school I did. I think I have spoken to her once or twice. Today, she is some kind of IT hotshot that travels the world. In the dream, we were both teenagers again and I was at a fairground of some sort with my Dad. When she saw me, she came over to hang with me. She was following me around like I was supercool. Is this because I felt so rejected recently? LOL

On Tuesday night, I dreamt about D. You could say that he was my first boyfriend. ROFL. D's mum and my mum are good friends and when we were little, we used to play together. D is bi-racial. His mum is Chinese and his dad is English. He was very fair and looked nothing like a Chinese. When we were out together, grown ups would joke that I was his mum's daughter and she was D's nanny/amah. I absolutely love playing with D but unfortunately, good times come to an end when D's dad decided to move back to England. I can still remember the lost I felt to this day. Anyway, in the dream, we were both kids again. I was around 6 and him being a year or two older, was around 7/8. We were in the car driven by someone to a new tutor's home because our mums have decided that we need to learn the local language. During the car ride, we went past a little house next to a small park where we used to go for art classes. I know where D is today but sometimes I wonder where our art teacher's daughter is. Nicole is about two years younger than me. It was fun playing with her but her mum was always worried that we could be too rough. Like D's dad, Nicole's parents were expatriates.

On Wednesday night, possibly early this morning, I dreamt about Henning. I really do not know how he ended up in my dream. Henning was a German exchange student staying with the same Aussie family that I was staying with in the 90's. I was only staying with this family for about 9 months and after learning my lesson recently, I am not going to blog in detail about this family. Henning is about 3/4 years younger than me and I think we talked may be a handful of times. He was somewhat curious about me but I won't go into it here. So, in the dream, he was back in Melbourne again and we bumped into each other at a small park not far from Prahran Market. Isn't that location weird? I hardly ever go to that market. He looked a little bit older and was asking me a tonne of questions. Apparently he had wanted to ask me these questions for years but couldn't find me. LOL.

My dreams baffle me. When I get up, I always see the need to tell M about my dreams. M doesn't remember his dreams most of the time. The ones he remembers most are the ones where someone is trying to chase him. LOL

Before I upload this post, I would like to say that I will keep this blog going for now but I won't be blogging much. I will make the final decision in either April/May

The Big Storm

2010-03-08T12:50:00.005+11:00

Our little pigeon hole was battered pretty bad on Saturday. Here are a few photos for anyone dropping by to enjoy.

Moving or Staying

2010-02-28T22:45:00.001+11:00

Lately I have been thinking about what to do with this blog. M has suggested that I should move my blog over to Wordpress. One thing I like about Wordpress is that I can upload a post that is password protected. It might be possible to do something similar on Blogger but I am not so sure. I will have to explore a bit to see if there is such a function on Blogger. When I started this blog in 2008, it was partially because I needed a space to remember my little Guinea Pig and I still do but I am also increasingly aware that my need to write about my (dead) Guinea Pig makes me look like I have gone cuckoo. So it might be wiser to password protect any post about him. Another idea would be to move everything except the posts on my Guinea Pig over to Wordpress for a fresh start and then turn this blog private in loving memory of my beloved pet.

I am going to take a little break from blogging to think about what I want to do but the first thing I have got to do right now is to take down our decorations for CNY.

Two New Bottoms

2010-02-26T23:36:00.002+11:00

Just before Australia Day in January, I bought myself two new pair of bottoms from Target. I wore the denim shorts on Australia Day and wore the other grey cropped pants on the first day of CNY on Valentine’s Day. I desperately need new clothes. In fact, both of us need new clothes because more and more clothes are becoming too big!

With Summer coming to an end, many end of season clothes have been drastically reduced in shops such as Target, but we don’t really dare to buy any because if we lose more weight during the year, they may not fit by the time Summer comes around again at the end of the year. The new shorts we bought M in January 2009 are now so big, they don’t stay up without a belt. LOL. The new belt he received for Christmas is also becoming too big. He is down to the last hole. Is there a place to go to punch another hole? Mr Minit?

My own need for a transition wardrobe started around April 2008. I noticed that I constantly need to hitch up my jeans every few steps. I thought there was something wrong with my jeans and it was happening to all of them. It never occurred to me that my weight was dropping. So, I solved the problem by wearing a belt but by the time AFL Grand Final came around in September 2008 I had no other option but to ditch those jeans. Reluctant to buy new clothes for the warmer months because I tend to only like to play dress-ups in the cooler months, I went digging in the wardrobe for pants/jeans that I wore back in 2004 and found some Levi’s that fitted just nice. They looked alright still but they didn’t last. They too were becoming too big by May 2009 so I went back to the wardrobe for another dig. It was like going on a trip in a time machine. So until I bought the two new pairs of bottoms from Target last month, I have been wearing clothes from circa 2001! LOL. Believe me, the clothes from 2001 do look quite outdated and I don’t mean in a fashionable vintage kind of way. I did buy a few new pieces for Winter last year to mix and match with the old clothes but I just can’t bring myself to buy a whole new wardrobe every time I drop a size. That is just too wasteful don’t you think?

M and I are not on any miracle diets. We love food, including junk food. As I type this now, I am craving for some Pulut Udang - ewww… to some but absolutely delicious to me right now. We have however added more vegetables into our meals and we walk everywhere. I think the walking is playing a big part in the weight loss because I think we are losing more from the waste down. That doesn’t mean that my upper half is not shrinking. It happens a little slower than the rest. When M and I were queuing to buy super cheap Korean instant noodles last year, some guy behind us was going on and on about another guy’s unusual weight loss. He insisted that his friend must have undergone some kind of treatment (e.g., liposuction) because the resulted weight loss was ‘uneven’. LOL I tried desperately not to laugh at the time. Someone else I know also insisted that walking alone does not result in weight loss because according to her, walking is a good exercise for your heart only. I beg to differ and I think M will agree too that all the walking we had done had also contributed to greater improvements to our lower halves.

Gold and Lollies for the Gold Digger

2010-02-24T14:11:00.002+11:00

Back in early January, M went up to Ballarat for work. While he was there, he also went to Sovereign Hill and bought me some gold and some lollies. Aren’t I lucky? LOL. After so many years, M has finally bought me a vial of gold. ROFL. In response to the ‘Gold Digger’ label, M has always jokingly said that I have been digging up more mud than anything else. LOL. So, this must mean that I am doing a poorer job than those Chinese miners from all those years ago. Anyway I am super lucky that M didn’t simply buy an empty glass vial and fill it up with mud. LOL

2010 – Year of the Elections

2010-02-19T13:50:00.006+11:00

Time really flies. It felt like just the other day when the other guy’s game was over and the Chinese speaking Rudd came to play, but the fun and games are nearly over again. I don’t like elections. It does very little for 2nd time round minorities. On Sunday, M and I spotted three Victorian pollies in Chinatown. There are always a few that make an appearance every year. Do you think the ones that make an appearance on a non-election year pulled the shortest stick on the Friday before the event?

Do you recognize this man? No, I am not referring to good ol' Richard but the guy in a suit. Don’t blame me if you can’t see his face properly. M took the photo.

Where is Teddy?

Who is this? C’mon, surely you know this guy. Let me give you a clue – “Neigh”.

Dragon Parade 2010

2010-02-17T22:21:00.005+11:00

Things were done a little differently this year. The Millennium Dragon didn’t gatecrash the main lion dance this year. In the past, the dragon and his entourage would gatecrash just before the finale and it was fun to watch how the ‘creatures’ and humans greet each other to negotiate the tight space. This year the dragon and his entourage were later than normal. (Could it be the pollies’ fault?) M and I left the car park hoping to find a good spot where we could pat the dragon’s ‘cheeks’. We thought we found a good spot but when the dragon made its appearance, we were totally pushed back by the people. Pretending to be small and important like everyone else, I pushed and shoved until I got to pat his back as well. Surprisingly, M followed suit. LOL. We were so bad! We should have done the ‘right’ thing by letting all these small (in size not in age) people walk all over us. LOL. Below are a few snaps of the dragon parade.

As soon as you see the procession of small creatures like this Qilin pictured here, you knew that the dragon was not far behind them.

In the middle of the procession is a small group of lions and following his entourage ever so slowly at the back is the dragon loved by many Melbournians. His name is of course the Millennium Dragon. For years I had mistakenly call him Dai Loong but that is actually the name of the other dragon. Dai Loong has retired and the two live in the Chinese Museum. M and I always stay long enough to watch the dragon’s safe return to his home.

Welcoming the Year of the Tiger

2010-02-16T14:13:00.021+11:00

We welcomed the year of the tiger on Sunday. I got up nice and early to cook ourselves the same breakfast that I cooked on Christmas day – Bacon, fried eggs, grilled tomatoes and toast. After our showers, we put on our outfits that I had pre-selected and then headed off to Chinatown. We didn’t take the traditional ‘herbal’ baths because I still have no idea on how to prepare them and we only wore one new clothing each. M had a new T-Shirt and I had a new pair of cropped pants. I will post more about our clothing situation soon.

Our favourite destination to watch the celebration is at a multi-level car park. I prefer the first floor but there were two families already there standing at my favourite corner. So we went up another level and then up another level to the third floor. Although no one was there at the time, we returned to join a father and 3 kids on the second floor because I thought we could take better pictures from there. The only problem was that the floor was a little flooded. Below are a few photos taken of the event. Oh, by the way, I now know what it is like to be a guy who feels a bit inadequate. LOL. The guys who turned up equipped with all sorts of SLRs and big lenses made me feel very small. LOL

As with the previous years, once the VIPs were seated, the lions lined up to give them a warm greeting. The skinny CYSM dragon joined in as well.

Two VIPs marked the new lions to awaken their spirits.

The two are wide awake and ready to play. They are so cute!

This year the HGYS kids really did a wonderful job with the drums. I saw them performing the drums 6 times over three days. You should see the little guy with the little dragon boat drum. His confidence was clearly soaring by Sunday evening.

M and I used to laugh at these boys because they used to be so shy and were all over the place when they were younger. Look at them now. They are improving every year especially the one that has virtually turned into a muscle boy overnight!

The CYSM dragon dance team did a better job at Chinatown than at Crown Casino. They were a bit goofy over at Crown and I think the reason was because the stage was just simply too small for all of them to move around freely.

Oh look! The Big Head Buddha is getting up from his sleep. When I was very little, grown ups used to tell me not to be afraid of this character because he is only a little drunk. LOL. Because I am a little face-blind, I love looking at the faces of the people behind The Big Head Buddha in this picture. I have tried to study their facial expressions to figure out what they were feeling at the time. LOL. I have always wondered if people really want to celebrate Chinese New Year in Chinatown.

The two new lions came to survey the new obstacle course while this other one rested on a rock.

Just when I was distracted by another lion dance across the road, this little fiery lion emerged from the box with a puff of smoke! Luckily M had the camera.

This was one gutsy lion. He stumbled a little at first (which I still suspect to be part of the show) and then completed the crossing with some fancy footwork.

As the red one worked, the other lions were working hard too to entertain everyone.

Hooray! Everyone is up, but nooooo, did one lion fall over?

Never mind the fire crackers. This is the fun bit for lions big and small. Flash a big cheesy smile and get a big fat red packet from the generous VIP in return. Anyone would want a job like that!

Then a copycat who was not even smiling came to try his luck and he was offered two! Wait, wait, it looked like he was going to get more! Look at John So’s action. He was the gentleman seated next to the guy with a white t-shirt and red cap. It looked like he was reaching into his pocket, a common action repeatedly carried out by all grown ups during the 15 day long celebrations, to get a red packet. LOL.

The lions lined up again for the finale and this part of the event was over for another year. “Sob, sob”

Happy New Year Again

2010-02-14T00:03:00.002+11:00

Animals Big and Not So Big

2010-02-07T00:02:00.002+11:00

It is the 7th of the month again and normally I write a piece starring my beloved Guinea Pig, but this time other animals will take the centre stage (or should that be centre ring?!). I will try to keep it short because I have less than a week to prepare the Pigeon Hole for CNY.

Let’s start with something not so pleasant first. M and I recently read in the paper about a lonely circus elephant named S in country Victoria. The paper dubbed her as the saddest elephant in Australia. This 55 year old is the last of her kind. I don’t think the circus will keep any other elephants after her. She is apparently not performing anymore. Click here to read the article. M reckoned that S should be retired to the zoo at Dubbo like other circus elephants have, but I wonder if she could really live without her familiar human handlers. I read somewhere that when factory farmed pigs (sows) are ‘rescued’ and transferred to a free-range setting, many die due to the sudden change. Maybe there is a way to slowly ease S into a new life at the Dubbo zoo. Meanwhile I hope her owners look after her properly and that the RSPCA will continue to keep an eye on her wherever she goes. I just want to make it clear that I do not condemn her human owners. They had the elephants long before most humans came to accept the idea that animals performing in circuses was cruel. It must be awfully hard for them to decide what is best for S next. Humans have a tendency to take ages to come to terms with their mistakes and may take even longer to figure out an acceptable solution. I am no elephant expert but I know from experience what it is like to never ever see your pet again. If S is retired to a zoo with other elephants, I am sure her owners can strike a deal to visit her often.

Now I wish to air my anger at what happened at the Melbourne Zoo. I am so very angry to learn that a certain person was there when Dokkoon delivered her baby. Is there a shortage of zookeepers at the zoo? Why does that person have to be there? Isn’t it enough that Dokkoon was giving Australia a second baby elephant? I actually thought that this person was transferred to another part of the zoo, like carting zoo poo, but boy was I wrong. Apparently elephants do not forget. So if that is true, imagine being stuck in labour for two days with someone you absolutely loathe.

I can keep on writing about unpleasant things but I won’t. Many hours were spent watching the Flying Trapeze at the City Square in these last two weeks. Unlike last year when I (and another child that sat next to me) was spat at on Australia Day (which happened to be the first day of CNY in 2009), I had a pretty good time of being left alone this year. Two weeks ago, a couple of men and a super beautiful Golden Labrador named Shelley came to sit under the big tree at the City Square. The dog arrived in style. She was riding in her own trailer attached to her owner’s motor bike. People walking past came to pat her and she loved the attention she was getting from so many passersby. Her owner would introduce her to anyone who looked her way and she would put out her paw for a paw/handshake. She probably worked with little children before reincarnating into a dog. LOL. When Shelley approached a yappy West Highland Terrier puppy, she crouched down to his level. It was like she was trying to approach him in a non-threatening way. She was such a friendly dog. Then on Friday evening, another dog turned up at the City Square with its owners. Now, I am still not sure what breed it is but it looked like the ICI Dulux dog (an Old English Sheepdog?!) except that it was brown all over. It was so beautiful and I absolutely loved its paws. Again the owners were happy to let people pat it and in return it absolutely loved the extra attention. One guy even hugged it. It is so nice to have such friendly pet owners that don’t mind sharing their pets with total strangers. Today is the last day for me to enjoy watching the Flying Trapeze for another year. After this the City Square is really quite boring unless you enjoy being approached by religious minorities being persecuted overseas or by people asking for money. I know that I sound insensitive for not liking them but try walking past them almost everyday and you will soon realise how unpleasant it is.

Oops!

2010-02-03T20:41:00.015+11:00

We went to the city to get our groceries on Saturday. On the way to QV, we had lunch and then stopped by the city square to watch a show put on by the Flying Trapeze. The group is giving free lessons to the public and they put on a little show at around 1:30 pm each day. They have been doing this for a few Summers now. I love turning up to watch the volunteers teaching people who had signed up for a free class. They have no problem communicating with strangers. When they put on their little show, you will know right away that these amusing people have been practising their tricks a lot.

So here is my slip-up. It has nothing to do with the Flying Trapeze. Well, not really. After we got home, I was in the kitchen putting away the groceries when my thoughts turned to the little show we watched earlier. I asked M what he thought of the show and he said that it was pretty good and that we should go again on another day so we could take a few photos. Without him asking me what my thoughts were about the show, I invited myself to tell him that the best part of the show was this guy – one of the volunteers. M looked a little puzzled to me and so I thought I had better elaborate. I went on to tell him that this guy’s upper body is designed like a Mountain Buggy! M looked even more puzzled after this and I thought that I had better explain more. So I went on to compare this guy’s upper body to things like Tripp Trapp (by Stokke), Maserati, Nienhuis and I think I also mentioned Mountain Buggy again twice. I was trying to say that this guy’s upper body is well designed. By the time I finished talking, M didn’t look too happy. I now know that this was a look of dejection but at the time, I was thinking, “Just what is his problem?”

As I was preparing dinner, my thoughts turned to M this time. I wondered why he reacted the way he did. The TV was on and the local news was on a loop. I keep hearing about the murder of a millionaire and something about someone who now has his old mobile phone was receiving weird phone calls. Then for some reason I asked myself, “What if M said that so and so is build like a Goddess?” I paused and inserted Naomi Campbell’s image. Well, I didn’t like that at all. LOL. OMG! I hurt his feelings! But I wasn’t thinking about that guy in a sexual kind of way! The guy is probably married! I was comparing his sculpted torso to other well designed pieces. Anyway, I ran to the room to apologise and gave M a hug. A hug from me is precious because I am not the lovey-dovey kind that is forever hanging onto a man physically. M was surprised that I actually figured out the problem. LOL.

When I was reading a book I got for Christmas just last week, I skipped to the beginning of a chapter about the lack of empathy. I almost instantaneously discounted that I have any problems in that area. LOL. What happened on Saturday is a typical example of my tendency to say things without considering the emotional impact on the listener. I wonder how frequent does it occur? Talking can be so hard. There are so many things to take into considerations. Sometimes I think I am in too much of a hurry to get my message across.

Below are photos taken of the Flying Trapeze Show today. I hope they will be in the CBD again next year.

The guy hanging onto the bar just bumped the other guy off. LOL.

We have contact!

See how happy this guy is?

How I wish to be able to do this! May be I will pluck up enough courage to try it next year.

Mid-air photo shoot.

Missed again! That's OK. It was a difficult trick.

This guy falling down is funny.

Bill’s Tree

2010-01-28T15:53:00.009+11:00

Last Thursday, M and I went over to Government House Drive to spot Prince Bill. After the Prince and his entourage disappeared inside the big iron gates, I dragged Moosh to a particular part of the Royal Botanic Gardens that is situated right behind the Government House. There is where Kings, Queens, Dukes, Duchesses, Princes and & Princesses had come to plant trees. I thought that Bill might do the same but he didn’t. He probably planted one just outside the house.

While Prince Bill was doing his gig inside, we checked out some of the trees his relatives planted.

This shows that the current Queen (Prince Bill’s grandma) planted a Brush Box.
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The late Queen Mother (Prince Bill’s great-grandma) planted this one.

This really tall tree, if I am not wrong is planted by Prince Bill’s great-great-grandma, Mary.

When we visited the Government House again on Australia Day, we did the house tour and then checked out the backyard as usual. As we were leaving, I stopped to check out a tree next to the driveway and learnt that the Queen had planted it. That prompted us to explore further. Almost every tree is planted by either royalty or a VIP. Then we came to two trees planted almost right next to each other. Guess who planted them? Diana and Chuck did. Not so far behind them is the little tree that Bill planted last Thursday. It is so sweet of them to keep them close together like a family. There is space for Harry’s tree too if he visits one day. Below is a photo of Bill’s tree. I didn’t take any photos of Chuck and Di’s trees because a father and two sons were picnicking under them.

This little house sits inside the Royal Botanic Gardens and I absolutely adore it. The house is used for private functions. Every time we come to the park, we would sit on this bench so I can day dream a little. I recently saw a book about the gardens in the library. In it, I saw an old photo of this house taken long before the trees surrounding it were this tall. Did children live in that house? Did they play where M and I always sit?

Australia Day 2010

2010-01-26T23:27:00.006+11:00

Today is Australia Day and we went to the Government House again.

Imagine eating with so many people. Do you think the person setting the table was trying to squeeze as many potential diners in as possible?

No, these men are not selling plants. They are getting the fireworks ready!

There were plenty of cars on display for M to drool at but sadly I didn't spot one single Maserati!

O Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz?

We were inside the Government House when the fighter jet was zooming around outside. Later when we were outside, we missed a photo opportunity because it zoomed past so fast but M did manage to take a few photographs of the Roulettes. Even though we see this sort of things a few times a year, they don't cease to amaze me one bit.

Up, up and away!

There was an Australia Day Indian concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. We went to have a little look around and found this very cute Rangoli. It was part of a competition.

The day's event ended with a fireworks display as usual. I love fireworks. With Australia Day over for another year, bring on CNY ASAP.

In case if anyone is interested, the next post is about trees.

Prince Bill

2010-01-21T20:25:00.007+11:00

I dragged M over to the Government House this afternoon for a chance to spot a handsome Prince. We left the pigeon hole some time after 3:00 pm because I thought that no one else in the city would be interested to see anyone from the Windsor household nowadays. I was wrong. By the time we got there, there was already a large crowd gathering.

This is the Prince we were waiting for. Oops! This is a bad shot. Can you recognize him?

Aren’t these horses pretty?

It must be hot and uncomfortable under that thick make-up!

Oh, here is a better shot of Prince Bill.

No Photos, No Chocolate Bars & No Asking, “How are your cows, Roger?”

2010-01-17T20:32:00.001+11:00

After buying my books on Monday, we made our way back to the city. Before we headed home we dropped by Safeway @ QV to pick up some bread and a brush. While we were still browsing in the supermarket, M grabbed me, signalling me to check out some dude. I didn’t pay much attention because I was dying of thirst at the time. M insisted that the guy was a tennis player but later that night, he couldn’t pick out which player the guy was. We have seen a few tennis players when they have come to play in Melbourne and this year, I told M that I wanted to see Roger Federer.

On Thursday, I played goody-goody by returning the DVDs that M had borrowed from the library. After that I walked down to Clegs to see if they sold Burda Grid Tissue Paper, because I am in the middle of designing something and needed the tissue paper to help me draw my design accurately. Unfortunately Clegs looked like they didn’t have it, so I left and headed to Collins St. After I turned into the street, around the time that I was walking past this shoe shop that M and I have dubbed as the “Must Speak English Shoe Shop”, I made a decision to take a deep breath as I walked past the Lindt Café’s doorway. The shop always smells so delicious. I looked up to see what was ahead of me and saw a small crowd gathering outside of the Lindt Café. There were crowd controllers there too. Some guys who worked in jobs like crowd control are really not my cup of tea so I chose to walk on, like the footpath was all mine. As I walked past the people I saw a small group of energetic fans wearing red hats/caps and other clothing items in red. One particular hat stood out. It has SUISSE printed on it in bold and that was a tell tale sign. Remember those tennis fans who painted the Swedish flags on their faces? Who did they support? So when I added a word that means Swiss to Lindt a few days before Australian Open 2010, I get Roger Federer!

Before I left home, I told myself to bring the camera along but changed my mind at the last minute because of my own pure laziness. I could have dashed home quickly to pick it up but I wasn’t sure when he would arrive. It seemed like no one else knew when he would turn up either. I so regret not having my camera because when he arrived his chauffeur stopped briefly in front of me and there he was, Roger Federer, sitting in the back seat right in front of me. He had a big smile on his face. After the car was properly parked he was briefly mobbed by his fans. Some were singing. LOL. One of these teens took a very nice photo of him and I was tempted to give her my email address hoping that she would send me a copy but backed away because I didn’t want to scare her off. He was welcomed by some VIPs and Lindt’s chefs before entering the store.

I peeped through the display window to see what he was up to and caught glimpses of him. As I stood there waiting for him to come back out a man approached the group of devoted fans. They were invited to join the people inside the café but others, including me, were left waiting outside. Eventually a stretched limo turned up that was not the same car that dropped him off. I parked myself near its rear end so I could see him getting in but when the people emerged I soon learned that my plan had backfired. The stretched limo was here to pick up the VIPs as Roger Federer had already been whisked away via the back door. LOL. So yeah, I didn’t get to ask him about his cows. LOL. I also missed out on those mini chocolate bars that Lindt was giving away. The wrapper had Roger Federer’s photo printed on it. I did get to see him though and he isn’t as big as he is when seen on TV. I do hope he wins the Australian Open this year.

Just Because I Like Maria

2010-01-15T14:04:00.004+11:00

90-95% of the books relating to Montessori that I own are bought from montessoribooks.com.au. When I emailed them to see if I could pop over after Christmas to purchase a few books in person I was sad to learn that my favourite bookseller (Mr G) had sold his business to another organization. Not very good with changes beyond my control, I felt kind of odd that I would now have to deal with another unknown person whenever I buy Montessori related books. Yes, I was a little apprehensive even though I was communicating via email. LOL

The lady in charge now replied in an email stating that they are re-opening on the 11th of January. Desperate to finally pore over two of the three books I was interested in purchasing, because they have a tendency to be out of stock, I jumped at the opportunity without thinking twice about the weather. Monday turned out to be the hottest day in the New Year so far. I normally do not venture out of the pigeon hole when the temperature goes above 36°c but that day I was bursting with excitement to leave. I will do anything just for Maria. LOL. M was late because of work commitments and we made it to the school just before 1:00 pm. I did indicate in the email that we would be there between 12:00 – 1:00 pm. As we looked for a gate on a side street to enter the school, I saw two small groups of women leaving the school building. I instantly turned to M and said, “Oh WOW! M, those women are Montessori teachers!” M looked puzzled and asked, “How do you know? Is this a Montessori school? This is a state school isn’t it?” and I answered, “They are. I am sure of it. They have just finished a day of training.” Despite walking past them, I typically didn’t give any of them any eye contact while M was probably wondering if Montessori teachers have distinctive features making them easy for me to tell apart. LOL.
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The women leaving made it easy for us to find the entrance to the office. We just followed the way they had come from. Nothing prepared me for what was up the stairs; I was just hoping that Ms A was just as friendly as Mr G. M did let the front door slam shut loudly startling me a little. Yes, I am not very good with sudden loud noises. Funnily though, loud noises made by children do not bother me. When we got up to the landing, we entered an open door that led into a large room. There standing slightly to the left was Ms A and guess what? Her facial features are like mine. She is an East Asian! (Before we entered the building, I told M that I thought that Ms A was of Indian origin. He was puzzled but he predicted that Ms A was of Italian origin because Maria Montessori is Italian.) Next I tried really hard to scan her voice to see if she was OK about us. At this point, I was still making sure that I was looking in her direction courteously, which meant that I was looking towards the left side of the large room. After she said something about me picking up my books, she came towards us to get to the door behind us and that was precisely when I turned my head to the right and saw what I had been wanting to see for really a long time. The problem was that Ms A had left the large room and as guests, I thought we ought to follow her but by the time we stepped out onto the landing again, she had disappeared into another room. I really liked what I saw and couldn’t resist popping back into the large room.

So what did I see? I saw a full scale 3-6 Montessori Classroom on display. For someone who had only seen some Montessori apparatus and visited classrooms with some Montessori apparatus (while the rest was locked up) all so many years ago, and for someone who had been reading so much about Montessori in recent years, the display was truly quite a sight. The only thing missing would have to be the children (+ the teacher)! How delightful it would be if only there were children working, for me to observe from a separate room, how they interact with such a special environment made especially for them! People like me do not normally engage in excessive physical displays of affection but that day, I felt like squeezing M to make sure that he was also absorbing the sight in front of him. When Ms A came back with my books, I told her that the classroom was very special and she told me that it is a typical 3-6 classroom. After I paid her, I asked for the permission to look at the farm and the ‘video camera’ inside my head went to work. The farm looked somewhat different from the one inside my old Nienhuis catalogue but someone told me that Nienhuis changes their product design ever so slightly from time to time. I did notice that the craftsman had applied gorgeous lashings of glossy red paint on the barn’s roof making it very attractive. Yes, I have a tendency to notice little things that are usually insignificant to most people. LOL. I do prefer my own collection of Schleich animal figurines but theirs were better scaled. See, Schleich should really make scaled figurines for consistency. (I am aware that Schleich makes a small range of scaled dinosaurs and another small range of scaled sea creatures. The other animal figurines are realistic but are not scaled.) The Long Division material that fascinates me so much was also there. It is smaller in real life. Why it was there is a mystery. I thought that it belonged to the 6-12 class. Nevertheless, I am happy to have seen it. The Fraction Circles that could have saved me from pain and humiliation were also there. Worried that we might have overstayed our welcome, I went over to say goodbye and we left. As I stepped out of the building, M quietly asked, “Are you happy?” I was more than happy. Despite the heat, I was talking non-stop about the things we saw. I even forgot to put on my hat and got sunburnt!

I have been reliving the footage I taped in my head a few times since that day. It would have been so wonderful if when I was between the ages of 3-6, I had a classroom such as the one I saw to go to. The freedom to be allowed to get on with one’s work with as little distraction as possible would be PRICELESS. As for the books, they are sitting on my desk waiting for me to cover them with Contact before I can study them in earnest. M suggested that if I hurry, we could organize to buy more books for my birthday so I could see the classroom display again. That would be great but imagine when we rock up next time and they have turned the display into a 6-9/6-12 classroom. I think I might collapse to the ground. LOL. Raise your hand if you would like to see the timelines that the children use in the Montessori elementary classrooms. “Yes, me please!”

Useful Scraps II

2010-01-14T13:40:00.003+11:00

Despite plenty of chores waiting for me, I chose to make my favourite book a cover on Sunday. It was quite warm that day and thus I didn’t want to do anything too stressful. The book was bought when it was first published back in 2005. So it has a hard cover and a dust jacket making it very hard for me to read without damaging the dust jacket. This is why I prefer books with soft covers because it is easier to protect them by covering each with Contact. I have begun to read this book from cover to cover again for a second time and I now leave the dust jacket sitting in the book case while I am at it but without the dust jacket, I worried that the light blue hard covers might become grubby over time. So, I set out to make it a washable cover. The floral print drill is from my growing pile of fabric scraps and the fabric’s colours turned out to match the book’s covers quite well. Do you think I am happy with how the cover turned out? Well, not really. It does serve its purpose but I think if I do make another one in the future and if I use an outer fabric like drill again, I will make sure that the inner fabric (lining) is made of something lighter to make the turning easier. I am not too satisfied with how the corners turned out and I am pretty sure that is because there is too much bulk within for each corner to turn out nicely. Yeah, I know that I can be fussy.
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The book’s new jacket is also useful in hiding its identity. For fear of being judged, I never felt comfortable reading this book in public like when I am stuck with nothing to look at inside a super packed tram. This doesn’t happen very often because I try to avoid taking public transport but it does. One word in the book’s long title is bugging me. I know for a fact that another word (also starts with the letter ‘G’) with a similar meaning to this word bugs other people out there.

The Need To Chill

2010-01-08T19:08:00.004+11:00

Today is only the first day of the heatwave and here I am feeling gloomy already. We are only 8 days into the new year! I hope this is not a sign of me giving up before I even get started again. It doesn't help that M is very busy over the weekend. I should be alright by Monday. M and I are going to pick up my first lot of Christmas Pressies. We are also going to order my second lot of Christmas Pressies that same day. It took me a long time to decide what M should get me for Christmas and by the time I finally made up my mind, both vendors were shut for the festive season!

Newsflash: I just heard on TV that Dokkoon is very likely to give birth over this weekend! Despite my current gloomy state, I am truly happy for this elephant and can't wait to see her baby. I hope the zookeepers will keep her comfy. Imagine giving birth during a heatwave!

Useful Scraps

2010-01-07T15:15:00.002+11:00

Here is the coin pouch that I made for M when he was away on Tuesday. It is similar to one that I made for myself recently. It is another chance for me to practise making a pouch with lining. Because I wasn’t quite sure how to repeat it, I didn’t spend much time altering the overall design. The pocket at the front is deeper this time and a key ring is also included. It is hidden inside the pocket.

Other than the zipper, this coin pouch is made entirely with scraps, which includes the interfacing I ironed onto the wrong sides of the fabric pieces. Even the key ring is recycled from the old worn out coin pouch heading for retirement. I also made the pattern pieces using a cereal box so they can be reused when I make another one in the future.

M loves it!

Small Animal, Big Influence

2010-01-07T14:38:00.004+11:00

Before I came here, I had many Aussie pen-pals and almost all of them wrote about their collection of pets. After I came here, I began to see on the news how awful ‘my people’ were in the way we would treat animals. From bears forcefully taught to dance with a rope harness through their snouts, to bears held captive in cages for convenient bile extraction, to Orang Utans kept as pets, to Whales getting harpooned for scientific purposes; Asia, a big continent was fast becoming a super bad place in my head. Then in 2003, we bought our beloved Guinea Pig and I began to become more aware of local animal cruelty in the news. Although I have no scientific evidence to prove it, I also began to notice that such cruel incidents tend to happen during school and public holidays. I find it hard to believe that such heartless people live here regardless of whether the person has been imported, born here or is someone who can trace their ancestry back all the way to the first fleet!

One evening, 7-10 days before Christmas, I sat myself in front of the TV but I wasn’t really watching it. I think I was looking at a pattern book trying to decide which patterns I should buy on Boxing Day, when I first heard the sound of elevator music and then the noise of an animal in distress. When I looked up, I saw a pig lying on its side, thrashing about with a metal bar stuck between its jaws. Because I was so disturbed by what I had seen, I only heard snippets of what the narrator said. It went a little bit like this: “Now that you know…” I wondered what it all meant. The ad appeared again the following evening. In fact, it appeared multiple times during the next evening but I have not seen it again since! I just blocked it all out by switching channels. Ironically the ad almost always appeared just before or after an advertisement for Christmas ham. The truth is that I was pretty angry at the organization responsible for this ad at first, as I thought they were ruining my Christmas, but the sight of that pig haunted me over the past two weeks. I remembered something that happened in the 90’s when I read about a foul mouthed VIP (P for Pollie) who was linked to a piggery that kept its pigs in very small pens. I sat in my bed wondering whether the ad had anything to do with the pork industry and wondered why the poor pig was thrashing about like that.

3 days after Christmas, we had to go to the library to drop off some DVDs. While we were there, I went upstairs and found these two books: “How Good Are You?” by Julian Lee and “A Lighter Footprint” by Angela Crocombe. I think I had previously picked up the second book for a quick glance in the past. Anyway what is written in these two books has managed to enlighten me on the horrible practice of factory farming. YES, factory farming is here in Australia too! I am sure there are other countries that are doing the same thing, but I really expect a lot more from Australia. Reading about Factory Farming made me want to puke as it is completely opposite to an article (Pig Birthing Plan by J Owens) that I read in the latest issue of Grass Roots - Australia’s most popular self-sufficiency magazine. This caring Tasmanian’s little farm is almost like a dream! Humans are omnivores even though some choose to be vegetarians but what have these poor animals ever done to humans for them to be treated in such a cruel and brutal way. I am realistic and I am going to openly declare that I can’t ever see myself becoming a full time vegetarian, but we are going to really try to change the way that we buy our meat products. We are now looking to buy organic or biodynamic meats, even though the shocking price tags may force us to eat less meat in future. As I write this, I wonder if Temple Grandin’s ideas have been implemented here in Australia.

It is now 20 months since our beloved Guinea Pig left us. I have written many times about the little things I have learnt from keeping a pet and even though I have always liked animals, it was the experience of keeping our Guinea Pig that has explicitly taught me true empathy for animals. In 2008, we changed the incandescent light bulbs in our pigeon hole to the energy efficient CFLs. This year, we are looking to improve the kinds of food and personal care products that we consume. Already I have changed my soap. Yes, I still use soap bars for my showers. For years after I came to Australia I did use fancy shower gels from the Body Shop because I thought they were trendy but secretly, I have always preferred holding onto a bar of soap. So I reverted back to soap and have always bought Aussie or UK made ones. Then in early December 09, I saw that Safeway now stocks the ECO STORE Goat’s Milk Baby Soap and thought that I should give it a try. I have heard that Goat’s Milk is kind to dry skin. Since it was just under $2 a bar, I bought one to try and I can declare now that I am totally in love with it. Each bar lasts about two weeks. That means that if there are 52 weeks in a year, which is equal to 26 fortnights, I will need roughly 26 bars of ECO STORE Goat’s Milk Baby Soap annually, which equals around $52 a year (except if they suddenly put the price up). The soap is apparently GE Free, New Zealand made and most important of all, the product was never tested on animals, which I hope is applicable to each of the individual ingredients listed to make the soap, and not just the finished product. Do you know that some humans in the cosmetic industry strap little animals down so that they can cruelly test the ingredients used to make cosmetics and personal care products on their eyes?

Happy New Year Everyone!

2010-01-01T14:33:00.004+11:00

Happy New Year everyone! We didn't go anywhere for NYE. We just ate pizza ( a first in a long time), drank 7 UP and watched the fireworks from the balcony. I didn't even bother to take pictures because the sky wasn't that great for fireworks display last night. I did spy some crazy people starting their own private fireworks display inside an apartment in another building. LOL. Australia Day will be here soon and hopefully it will be a good day for fireworks. After that I will be looking forward to the sounds of firecrackers marking the celebrations for Chinese New Year!

Oh yeah, three crowd controllers were hired to babysit everyone in the building yesterday. Yeah, I saw just three this time and they were dressed in suits. Just like the AFL Grand Final day, they spent their day chatting in the club house. With everyone behaving so well, crowd controllers everywhere must be wishing to babysit us at every opportunity available. LOL

Reuseable Christmas Hampers/Stockings

2009-12-31T14:51:00.006+11:00

M and I have managed to continue our new tradition that we started for Christmas 08 by buying his family gift cards and food hampers again this year. The idea was to make Christmas less commercialized or to at least make it look less commercialized, in preparation for something that might or might not happen in the near future. Unlike last year, M was all for it this time round.

Inspired by those bloggers who make Christmas gifts by hand, and increasingly wishing to minimize our impact on Planet Earth in some little ways, I made three Christmas stockings that can be filled with food and gift cards year after year.This meant that we didn't have to wrap the food up in paper or cellophane. I have noticed in the past that the paper and cellophane was almost never reused, even though they both make great material for children to reuse in their art and craft activities. This year we didn't buy from Suga or Haigh's. We stuffed the stockings with a gift card each, organic tea from Oxfam, mini soft toys from IKEA, boxes of Walkers shortbread, Cadbury chocolates for the kids and Lindt chocolates for the adults. There was also an extra block of Fair Trade dark chocolate from Oxfam for M's Dad. We are aiming to fill the stockings with more ethical products next Christmas.

Making the reuseable stockings doesn't mean that we no longer use wrapping paper. We still have at least half a roll of wrapping paper that I will continue to use until it runs out. After that, I will start making individual drawstring bags to 'wrap up' birthday pressies. They can be used over and over. At this stage, I am not sure if I will make bags of different sizes to hold different sized pressies or make each family member a personalized bag. What do you think? I am sure that M would prefer the second option but that would mean that we will have to shop for pressies that will fit in the bag! That is kind of restrictive!

Dirt Cheap Reads

2009-12-30T14:31:00.006+11:00

M and I went to what looked like a temporary bookshop on Elizabeth Street on Monday afternoon. It is called Dirt Cheap Books. They have other stores around Melbourne as well and we only spotted this one on Christmas day. It is opposite St Francis Church and next door to JB Hi-Fi on Elizabeth Street. We bought four items as pictured above. The Sewing Calendar was only $5. I bought it simply because I wanted to check out the sewing projects inside. There are more than 100 sewing projects sourced from various blogs. Because each project's designer and blog address is also listed, I suddenly also have many new blogs that I can visit in my spare time! The New Yorker 2010 Desk Diary is for M. It was also just $5. A sticker on its back cover indicated its recommended retail price in the US was USD$32.95! I am trying to stay away from the diary because there are a few maps in it, including one of Manhattan and I have a tendency to study them. LOL. The other two books are for a young relative who is about to turn 12 in a few days. The green picture book (my idea) is about Don Bradman. It was also $5! Elsewhere the same picture book is priced as high as $32.99! The fourth book is the most expensive. LOL. It was $7.

On Boxing Day, I dragged myself to Dymocks on Collins St for their twice yearly 20% off most items sale. There were two items I had in mind to get but only one was still on the shelf when I got there. This sale is on till Thursday (31/12/09). I love the sale at Dymocks because it is one good opportunity to actually buy cheaper books after sampling parts of the contents first.

Merry Christmas Everyone

2009-12-25T19:25:00.006+11:00

I have just finished ironing a small pile of clothes and before Taggart starts at 8:30 pm, I thought I come in here to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! My day has been OK so far. I got up early to cook a hearty Christmas breakfast of Bacon, eggs, tomatoes and toasts for the two of us before we walked to the church for a midday service. We missed the 11:30 am mass featuring the National Boys Choir by a couple of minutes so we waited for the next one at 12:30 pm.
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The photo is of the Nativity Scene displayed in MYER. The photo was taken back in November well before the window was smashed. One drongo or a pack of drongoes smashed the window last week and the Nativity Scene had to be moved to another window on Lonsdale St. We walked past it today and it was fine. Since today is a good day, I shall refrain from criticizing people with appalling behaviours. Other than the Nativity Scene at the Catholic Bookshop (also on Lonsdale), this is the only other one that is on public display for all to see that I know of in Melbourne.

Oh No! Posties Going On Strike!

2009-12-21T14:26:00.005+11:00

I am running very late with Christmas preparations this year. I had to stay up till around 3 am to finish making the Christmas cards. M took them to Australia Post on his way to work. And then I learned from the news that the Posties are going to walk off their job at midnight! I told my Mum on Saturday that my Christmas card will arrive late this year because I have been busy with other things. She didn't mind. My family do not celebrate Christmas in a commercialized way and they don't feel stung if Christmas cards arrive late. To us, its the thought that counts and any thoughts can also be communicated via the phone. My Mum even suggested that I should have emailed the card. Well, that is a 'Green' idea but my cards are handmade with lots of Love. We hope that the recipients enjoy receiving them as much as us putting them together.

The Skinny Fly Annoying the Bad Driver

2009-12-11T18:30:00.011+11:00

I did a bit of sewing in October and November. I made a simple coin pouch to replace my kawaii Japanese coin pouch at the end of October. The Japanese coin pouch was one of the last things I bought from Daimaru before it closed its doors. It is sad to see it heading for retirement. The new pouch that I made is lined. It took me a long time to figure out how to make a lined bag. Yes, I am that annoying type of customer at Borders who studies the insides of the cutesy lined bags and pencil pouches to figure out the mystery construction.

Ever since I stopped going to sewing lessons yonks ago, I had become less adventurous. Without my teacher’s guidance, I lost confidence in trying to create complicated looking sewing features and chose only projects without them. Towards the end of November, I thought that I ought to challenge myself a bit. The mock fly is something I really wish to perfect. So, I thought I could practice by making someone a pair of shorts. The following are photos of the shorts. My first attempt without my teacher’s help is less than desirable! Oh! I did use a pattern to make them.

I made the shorts using a small piece of fabric bought so long ago that I couldn’t remember why I bought it in the first place! I ran out of fabric and ended up using some scraps to construct the inside of the pockets. LOL. Can you see what is wrong with the shorts?

Let’s have a closer look at the mock fly. Can you see what the problem is yet?

This is the view behind the mock fly. Can you see my mistake yet? Well, there was meant to be a two layered flap for me to overlock around before stitching the mock fly outline through all the layers from the front but my driving was so bad that the overlocker had gobbled up most of the flap as I drove over and over to get things right. In the end, I was left with only a little bit of the flap. Enough only to make a skinny mock fly. LOL

Here is how wide the outline for the fly should be.

As can be seen here, I am still quite obsessed with the ‘adjustable waist’ feature. This is an improved design. They are different from the ones on the skirt I made a few months ago. Back in October, I went to ask a few mums about the ‘adjustable waist’ feature on some children’s pants. It is no surprise that quite a few didn’t like it. Other than the discomfort caused by the rubbing of the buttons against the child’s skin, two mothers also mentioned the frustration of losing the ends of the elastic inside the short’s/pant’s casing when the elastic is released accidentally while adjusting it. Now, while I haven’t figure out how to eliminate or decrease the discomfort caused by the buttons as yet, I have decided to hide and sew the elastic ends inside the casing so they can’t run away from any carers trying to dress a growing child.

I am not very happy with the outcome of this pair of shorts. The skinny mock fly bothers me. Due to this flaw, I am refusing to give it away as a gift to anyone. We don’t have any children to wear it either. So for now, it has gone to sit among my favourite T-shirts. My next sewing project will be carried out in the next few days. I will blog about them once they are completed. It looks like I won’t have time until after Christmas or the New Year to start practising making mock flies on little shorts again. Although I am unhappy with the results of my first independent attempt, I am adamant to perfect it. I am thinking of altering the pattern to suit my driving. LOL. Imagine altering the roads to suit my driving. LOL. M reckons that he is in no hurry to be my passenger, even if I am given the go ahead to alter all the roads in Melbourne. LOL. He reckons that not only do the roads have to be altered; everyone else will have to stay at home for me to drive since I can’t share. LOL

Not Unusual To Me

2009-12-07T14:08:00.002+11:00

This is a page from a picture book that I quite like. It is easy to assume that I am attracted to the Guinea Pig in the photo because it looks quite like our Guinea Pig but it is the text on this page and throughout the book that captivated me. I wish that the author had used ‘she’ instead of ‘he’ when referring to the cats in the book. Then the text, especially the ones printed on this page, would have been spot on about me! LOL

19 months after the passing of a beloved pet, most people would have moved onto the next pet and I should too but we are not planning to keep another little mammal until we move to a bigger home. When we do, we will keep at least two Guinea Pigs at any one time so it will always have a companion by its side at all times.

Oh, I just remember that we have moved onto our next pets. LOL. We do have a pair of Black Moors Goldfish. They behave differently from our precious little Guinea Pig and they are certainly not cuddly like him. Writing about them reminds me that we should also get them a Christmas pressie soon. I will have to make a note about it because it is so easy to forget about them even though I feed them every night and one of them likes to stare at me when I wash dishes.

Hey Hey! Borders @ South Wharf is Open

2009-12-04T23:37:00.001+11:00

Someone left me a comment anonymously not so long ago to tell me that the Borders at South Wharf was opening on the 3rd of December. Since I was a little busy yesterday, I popped into the bookstore to have a little look today. The store turned out to be a compact one like the Carlton store. Over the years I have noticed that whenever a new store opens its doors, there is a standard range of books on the new shelves, including a pretty good range of books on Education, normally placed next to the parenting section. This was the case when the stores in South Yarra, Chadstone, Melbourne Central and Highpoint open their doors. Unfortunately this is not the case with the store at South Wharf. There is only one small shelf of books on Education. LOL. There is one title on Montessori and no titles at all on Homeschooling but there is a book by Alfie Kohn. Oh… I sound like I am whingeing here…

I did enjoy my trip to Borders today though. While it didn’t have much of what I was looking forward to, they did have heaps of other books and products for me to browse. At the cooking section, I saw a cup made to look like those take-away coffee cups with a Sippy lid except that this one can be reused over and over. Now, I really like that and am thinking of getting one for M. After staying at the store for an hour or so (or was it more?), I walked out with one of my favourite magazines – Grassroots. The only other place to get Grassroots is at Mag Nation. Oh wait, I think Melbourne Central’s Borders have it too. I used to get it from McGill’s but that closed down a few months ago.

The staff members at this new store are young, energetic and friendly. Well, I am referring to the team that was there when I was this afternoon. Other than a cheery hello or a smile, they pretty much left me to browse without invading my personal space too much – this is very important to me because I hate to be given the ‘Pretty Woman’ shopping experience. My magazine cost only $6.20 but the giggly young lady who served me was happy to give me a cheerful service nonetheless. Now that is what I really like.

Money to Burn

2009-12-02T18:24:00.003+11:00

With the opening of more shops, Chadstone is currently the biggest shopping centre in the Southern Hemisphere. Judging from what I saw on TV, more International Brands have opened their doors there. Chadstone is usually not my cup of tea but Miu Miu is one store that I wish to at least have a look at from the outside when I next visit the place. Being a commoner does not stop me from appreciating fine fashion but the possibility of receiving a ‘Pretty Woman’ shopping experience does stop me from venturing into some of these ‘finer’ establishments these days. Anyway when the news covered the story about the new shops at Chadstone recently, a reporter asked a group of three (1 young man and 2 women) how much they have spent in the hours since the shops opened their doors and to my utter surprise the young man actually answered and the figure given was somewhere around $15,000! Okay, I am aware that there are people who shop like that, but most people are pretty private about such spending. While I endeavour to prove to some people that I am no Gold Digger, I do admit that I don’t mind having $15,000 to play with when I do go shopping. This got me thinking about the sky-rocketing costs of sending a child overseas to study. On top of school fees and boarding fees, there is also the pocket money to ‘cushion’ the child. In many cases, the pocket money is way higher than the school and boarding fees combined! Suddenly everything seems far more expensive than when I was at school. How did my Super Parents manage?

My Mum came home from China in early November. To anyone who remembers why she went there in the first place, her mission was a success. My cousin is getting married. His girlfriend will join him soon. My Mum also came home with a job offer for me! The full story is somewhat complicated and long so I will just simplify it here so readers do not end up all confused by all the characters involved. Anyway, someone had offered me (via my Mum) the opportunity to run a Kindergarten for him in HK. This includes setting up the school in a 4 storey high building this person owns and running it. I was blown away by the offer of course. Wow! I am just a nobody over here but over there someone is offering me this ‘too good to be true’ opportunity. As my Mum explained the offer over the phone, I kept telling myself over and over that I must be dreaming.

I totally agree that this is one golden opportunity. In fact, it is one hell of an opportunity to show some people that I do not have any ulterior motives to be with M and if everything goes well, we will be on our way to starting our own ‘school’ far sooner than the way things are going for us at the moment. It is also an opportunity to live in HK – a place where most people look like me. I can walk down the street there like a Brit walks down the street here. As long as I don’t open my mouth, I can pretend to be a local. Even if I do open my mouth, Hong Kong natives have asked me in the past as to when I left HK for the West. This meant that my Cantonese is ‘native’ enough to their liking. I will never get that kind of compliment from native English speakers for my crappy English. I certainly will never be ‘qualified’ enough to set up and run my own school here. They even made John Marsden jump over all sorts of hurdles to start Candlebark.

The job offer is just so attractive but it also seems to be too good to be true! Someone else made a similar offer once upon a time and I turned them down almost right away when I figured out why they needed someone like me. To me, a school is not simply a place one sets up so that one’s other half can assume the important role of the establishment’s founder and be paraded as a generous contributor to the welfare and education of little children. At best, such a person may just quietly enjoy the new role bestowed by the loving spouse but at worse she could stir up trouble in any decision making, despite a lack of know how in the field of education, because she has the power to hire and fire. Furthermore if we do sign up to this offer, it may also be hard for us to move on to our dream project ASAP because severing such ties may also affect other existing relationships. I may be wrong but judging from the information I had received, it looks like they are all for running a pretty big school while I, on the other hand have a dream of offering an alternative learning program in a small setting that offers an intimate service. The offer just seems too good and too big. I also doubted my ability in running a school in a foreign place governed by an education system that I am not very familiar with. In the end, I turned down the offer much to the disappointment of my Mum even though she tried to hide the fact. I felt absolutely rotten for not stepping up to it and even though I am less affected by others opinions of me nowadays; I spent a good few days wondering if anyone else heard of my decision. It saddens me immensely that despite the many opportunities and my so-called ‘world class education’, I have amounted to nothing to make my parents proud to this day. My parents are apparently proud of me but I can see that I have not given them the kind of glory that many people my age have achieved. M is apparently always proud of me too. He doesn’t think that this is the last opportunity heading our way. He could be right. Things are absolutely going crazy over there. People suddenly have so much money to burn; they are willing to pay ridiculous amounts for what I reckon to be pretty basic services!

A Wish to Explore the Northern Capital

2009-11-27T15:01:00.004+11:00

I had just finished reading Jan Wong’s “Beijing Confidential – Lost and Found in The Forbidden City” recently. The truth is that I had started reading bits and pieces of the book last year when it was first released in the bookshops. When I saw it sitting on the display shelf at the City Library recently, I borrowed it right away so I could read it from cover to cover in the comfort of my pigeon hole without having to worry about overstaying my welcome at any one of three bookshops I frequent quite regularly in the CBD.

This is the third book written by Jan Wong that I have read and I have enjoyed it so much so that I feel like it is timely to visit China again. This urge is also further fuelled by an article entitled “Five Things the US Can Learn from China” that I read in the latest copy of Time Magazine on the weekend. Sure the country is known to the West for its human rights abuses and sure there may be a few things they do in life that do not sit well even with me, but still there are other aspects of China that are highly appealing to me and I would really like to experience them with M. In the book, Jan Wong mentioned the rapid progress happening in Beijing and despite being in China on and off in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s plus a trip there with her family in 2003, she was having trouble getting around because the city has changed so much. This got me wondering how I would fare in Nanjing now. LOL.

Going there is also a good opportunity for M to speak Mandarin. My mum insists that his Mandarin is going nowhere because he just doesn’t have the opportunity to use the language here in Melbourne. It is considered by some to be rude to not speak English in public. Even if we don’t go right now, making plans to go could kick-start his interest again. I am all for M to start practising privately within the walls of our pigeon hole. I can see that I am getting sidetracked but there is just so much stuff to blog about. This is meant to be a post about a book I have read… I am about to write about a ‘you’re must be dreaming’ type job offer but I will leave that to the next post.

Olivia - Piggy with Personality (MYER Christmas Windows 09)

2009-11-19T14:26:00.018+11:00

One day in 2001, a little girl asked me to read a new picture book someone bought her. The book was Olivia by Ian Falconer. Just like that little girl, I fell instantly in love with this charming piggy who always wears red – my favourite colour. Ever since then I have been reading the Olivia books to every little Vegemite at work and so far, I have not met any parents who are against the stories. My mum did warn me however that the characters (pigs) in this picture book may not go down well among some people and that I should exercise caution. Oh well, even Olivia can’t possibly pleases everyone.

The following are photos M took when we went to view the MYER Christmas Windows for a second time. M actually wanted me to go and snap photos of the arrival of Santa at the Christmas Parade last Saturday but I flatly refused because I know full well what I am very likely to be subjected to if I rock up at such events. My whole day would have undoubtedly been ruined had I gone that day. We are going back to view the windows again soon to snap more photos and footages. The best time to go is early in the morning or early in the evening - around the time when the shops in the Mall are closing for the day.

The journey began with Olivia heading home with her family after a last minute shopping trip. She is not in the photo because she wasn't carried by her parents and she was dawdling like many Kindergarteners after an outing. LOL

Olivia's Dad put up the Christmas Tree while...

Olivia fed the baby blue berries until he puked!

Then Olivia got entangled with the Christmas lights and her mum helped out by turning the lights on. LOL.

Oh Wow, Olivia did a good job setting up for dinner. Look at that beautiful centrepiece. It's kinda familiar though...

Oh NO! The top of the Christmas Tree had been chopped down to form the beautiful centrepiece on the table!

Always eager to help, Olivia was next asked if she would like to help set the fire. In reply, she asked if her Dad would like to get Santa cooked! LOL

Before bed, Olivia left a few cookies and a glass of milk out for Santa but who do you think had them all before Santa's arrival

Wrapping paper went everywhere as the little piglets excitedly uncover their pressies under the Christmas Tree.

She painted a self-portrait for her parents.

Olivia tested her new set of skis.

Why did she need such a big snowball?

They rolled up big snowballs to make a Snowman of course! Olivia is very good at building sandcastles so Snowman building shouldn't be a problem for this talented piggy.

Busy Busy

2009-11-19T14:07:00.003+11:00

This blog has been neglected a bit. The last post was like more than a week ago! I have been busy sewing and planning to clean up the apartment in preparation for Christmas. There are a few things I want to blog about but I will probably have to wait till this time next week. We are going to move things to the storage unit again and from there we will bring home our Christmas tree and decorations. For a change of scenery, we have decided to place the tree somewhere different this year. We are hoping that we can have Sunday free so that we can go to a big shopping centre to get our mascot's Christmas outfit. Yes, he 'won' the audition again to be featured on this year's Christmas Cards. LOL.

I recently mentioned my wish to blog about some sensitive issues I have been experiencing. Well, I have made up my mind that I will go ahead with that but they are unlikely to be ready before Christmas. I need time to write and then think and then edit before I post them. It is not easy for me to write on somedays when my English is not working properly. LOL

Went To See R2 On Saturday

2009-11-09T17:50:00.020+11:00

M and I went to Scienceworks on Saturday. It was the second last day of the exhibition called "Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination". It was a hot day and it is still hot in Melbourne right now. I thought we were meant to be subjected to a short hot spell late in Spring to prepare us for what to come in Summer but this feels more like a heatwave with no end! The following are some photos we took on the day.

I wanted one of these when I was little and I also wanted Obi Wan Kenobi to be my teacher. LOL

Oh look at R2! Isn't he just gorgeous? M took this photo and neglected to also include R2's feet.

When I was little, I used to worry that Wampa might die of starvation.

Dwellings in Chewie's homeland is based on the kind of Jungles I grew up in. Check out the workmanship. May be being taunted for living on trees is not so bad after all.

I used to think that the Sandman and Sandwoman costumes were likely to be inspired by the attire worn by people living in deserts and I was right.

In my opinion, being chased by one of these would be like being chased by Shuey (Michael Schumacher) on the road. LOL

My brother would have enjoyed every bit of this exhibition. He is such a big fan that he had converted the spare bedroom into a personal museum packed full of Star Wars goodies.

M had fun making an R2 lookalike move.

When it was my turn, R2 went for a Bumpy Ride!

Other than R2D2, seeing Yoda is the other reason why I came along. He looks a little like someone I knew except that she didn't have green skin and hair growing out of her ears.

It would have been so nice if the glass cases were made of one sheet of glass on each side. The joint between two sheets made it hard to take a photo properly.

We were lucky that the exhibition was extended to the 8th of November!

I like how they dolled up the building to look like Darth Vader's head. It would be nice if it comes with sound effects as well. LOL

Other than the heat, the outing had been fun. I was a little worried when I saw the number of children lining up with their parents to purchase tickets but except for one, the parents were largely well behaved on the day. Children do not bother me. Some parents do.

Our next outing is to the Melbourne Zoo. We are not sure whether to go before Christmas or after. It will be very hot in January. I also wish to go before Dokkoon gives birth because I want to see what a pregnant elephant looks like. Is she giving birth this year or will it be the end of next year? She has been pregnant for a while now.

A Bit of Self Improvement, An Observation & A Timely Change

2009-11-07T20:28:00.002+11:00

M was away the night before Melbourne Cup last year. Even though our Guinea Pig died in May 08, I remember I was still struggling to cope and was particularly bad on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I was so grief stricken that I had forgotten that our building tends to become very lively on days like the Melbourne Cup Day. People would start partying from the evening before the actual day. Thank goodness for those party animals because without them I would have spent most of the time crying or feeling sad until M came home. This year M was away again for Melbourne Cup Day but I coped alright by keeping myself busy with sewing and watching foreign movies, including a bit of a French one that was way too weird for me. Recovering from the lost of my precious friend is surely a slow process for me. I did shed a tear or two before heading to bed but that had nothing to do with my Guinea Pig even though I miss him still. The issue bugging me is something I wish to blog about this month but am not sure yet.

Here is an observation. On the eve of Melbourne Cup day this year, I was able to hear may be two or three parties going on in the building and it was all quiet just after midnight. I thought that may be people were heading to bed for a good night sleep before the big day. On Melbourne Cup day, the place was peaceful like on Christmas Day! No parties at all. The only noise came from an excited little tot in the pool with her parents and grandpa. The two security officers hired for crowd control purposes were visually bored to bits. LOL. I am not saying that we have rowdy party animals all the time but there were no parties at all. LOL. It was weird. And by 10:30 – 11:00 pm, most people had gone to bed! Where did all the energy go?

M has a new work schedule finally. Although his working hours are slightly longer, the new schedule will work out better for us. The new schedule is to commence in the middle of the month and I have between now and then to work out a new menu and its shopping lists because our shopping days have to change to suit his schedule as well. He has also put his hand up for three grocery shopping trips per fortnight. Although I find his enthusiasm a bit bizarre, I am just going to enjoy and see how long it lasts. Of course I hope that it will last at least till the middle of Autumn. Doing three grocery shopping trips per fortnight with M means that I only have to do one top-up trip on my own or none at all during that period. Wow. I really like that.

Shut Up

2009-10-30T20:00:00.000+11:00

Most people are comfortable and capable of not telling something as it is. I on the other hand have been struggling with this practice almost since the time I began to talk. With many role models around me, I am beginning, albeit slowly, to improve in what I dub as the “Beat Around The Bush Dance”. But just like my lack of ability and interest in dancing in public, this is something I don’t like to do but have to in order to conform to the norm as dictated by the humans around me. It takes quite a bit of effort to get things right.

At home when I was younger, I was discouraged from giving any opinion because:
1. I am a female
2. I was chronologically too young
3. I ranked too low on the family tree (My dad is the third son of 5 children and my mum is not only the third daughter, she was also the youngest of 5!)
4. I wasn’t a graduate (University qualifications, especially qualifications in careers like medicine, engineering and architecture can advance a person’s status magically.)

In the old country compliant people just knew not to give any opinions on politics or even some social issues that were deemed to be too controversial to discuss at home because of everyone’s fears of getting detained for ‘disturbing’ peace. Being outspoken and investigating options on how to improve human lives, especially via true equality, might also run the risk of causing the original inhabitants to run amok. I didn’t make that up. That ‘reminder’ actually came out of the mouth of an original inhabitant not that long ago.

So you would think that I must now enjoy a total freedom of speech in this country but that is not quite true. Oh, please don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy the extra benefits but nothing comes without strings attached. Here in this country, there are multiple sets of invisible social rules to follow before one opens his/her mouth, and to make things trickier, the rules change without notice, like you are playing a soccer game where the goal posts change location every time you try to kick a goal. I may declare my love for this country but that doesn’t mean that it is perfect. It does have flaws that I should be allowed to talk about without getting told, “If you don’t like it, you know where the airport is.” I shouldn’t be expected to love or pretend to love every aspect of this country.

One thing that I really wish to have a little say is the right to express my feelings to mini offenders when their parents do nothing to stop the appalling behaviour they display during family get togethers. By appalling behaviour I don’t mean the typical rough and tumble play between children and between children and participating adults. If anyone is reading this, and in case you don’t already know, I work with children and over the years I have received plenty of compliments from parents and virtually no complaints on my work. True, some of them probably shower me with compliments hoping that I don’t mistreat their precious little Vegemites but I do believe that most of the compliments are genuine. LOL. At least a couple of fathers have remarked on my high tolerance towards boisterous children. (I really don’t like the word ‘tolerance’.) Outside work, for instance, during family get togethers that I get dragged to, I expect parents to do their job when their children cross the line, especially if they do not welcome a so-called ‘aunty’ from meddling in how to deal with such situations. I believe that if I do ‘meddle’, I am likely to be blasted with a popular phrase: “Wait till you are a parent!” OUCH! DOUBLE OUCH, applicable to people like us. Some parents can be very defensive and so I know full well to shut my mouth and not give any advice until they ask but I should at least be allowed to express my feelings (hurt, anger etc) to a child hell bent on ‘attacking’ me verbally or physically. In expressing my feelings, I don’t mean storming off to the backyard to find a stick so I could thrash the little offender with it. Seriously, what do parents think their children could gain from ‘attacking’ another human being for fun? Is this another skill for a child to learn to prepare them for school and the ‘Real World’ and so we should just let the child safely practice without any protest? I guess the answers will only be revealed to us when we are blessed with a child of our own. LOL

In my spare time, I read a lot of blogs on the internet. If the blogs are not related to Montessori or Homeschooling, most of the blogs I read are written by bloggers who are in inter-racial relationships and/or are living in their spouse’s homeland. Some of these women are very gutsy in expressing their feelings about their new home. Maybe they are brave enough to write about their negative experiences because they are not as acutely affected as I about being ‘accepted’ by people in their new home. Then again most of these bloggers probably have a very different experience to me because they already belong to a specific group that is ‘venerated’ by the local people in their new home. Anyway they don’t just criticize their new home all day everyday. They write also about other (good) aspects of life as well; revealing to readers many hidden gems that one doesn’t always find in textbooks or tour guides about a particular country. I admire these women’s guts in expressing their true feelings. I wish I could write eloquently like them to convey messages clearly without sounding too abrupt or rude. Better still, I wish I could write a piece about an issue peppered with humour and mild sarcasm effortlessly so it will go down easier with any reader that happens to read this blog.

When I was younger, I was controlled by others to keep my mouth shut. Nowadays I find myself doing the controlling. As I compose this post, I am debating with myself as to whether to post it on the blog. Am I revealing too much about myself to people? Are my views offending anyone? If this piece makes it to the blog, it is highly likely that another similar piece will be posted in the near future and many more after that. I have been debating whether I should remove all the posts tagged under “My Soap Box” for months because I was and still am toying with the idea of keeping a “Happy 24/7 Blog” that mentions nothing negative. Should I? But this is my Blog, I should be allowed to say whatever I want and that includes whingeing.

Vesuvius Hath No Fury like a Woman Scorned

2009-10-27T14:05:00.006+11:00

The beautiful Royal Exhibition Building

Outside the museum

Saturday turned out to be one of those splendid days in Spring that was perfect for an outing. The sky was blue and the temperature was mild enough for us to set out wearing T-shirts. I was in a happy mood because we were going to the museum! That is one place in Melbourne that I enjoy visiting every 18 months or so. Saturday was the second last day for us to visit the Winter exhibition – “A Day In Pompeii”.

The Melbourne Museum is in the Carlton Gardens, right behind the beautiful Royal Exhibition Building. It is possible to walk all the way there but we didn’t want to waste our energy before exploring the exhibition. So, we went to catch the free City of Melbourne Tourist Shuttle Bus to take us there but we only managed to stay on for the length of one stop. The bus was jam-packed and M kept bumping onto this very precious little Emperor who is snoozing on his father’s lap. The father shot me angry looks every time M bumped the little one so I suggested that we get off at the next stop. We were not done with battling genuine tourists for a free ride to our destination yet. Next, we hopped on the City Circle Tram to take us there. Although there was no air-conditioning, the tram was wider and with passengers hoping on and off at each stop, the ride was far more comfortable than that bus.

The big fountain at the front of the Royal Exhibition Building was operating. Due to water restrictions, I think they had turned it off when we were here last. I had wanted to take a photo but missed out because two couples on different sides of the fountain were in the middle of a snogging session and I didn’t want them to be part of my photo.

It had only just gone 3 o’clock when we arrived at the museum’s main entrance. We had two hours to kill before we could queue to purchase the “Two for the price of one tickets”. So, we headed straight to the Discovery Centre downstairs. That is one of my favourite sections in the museum and it is FREE! There are plenty of ‘objects’ to look at up close and there is also a collection of books/journals on early childhood education as well as educational kits for teachers to plan their trips. The biggest highlight for me was the lonely chameleon that lives inside a glass tank built in as part of the receptionists’ desk. I am not exactly sure but I think he was sent to live at the museum after he was confiscated by the customs because he shouldn’t have been allowed into Australia. I love watching him but he attracts plenty of attention from other visitors as well. So, I always make sure that I do not block any little Vegemites and their entourage from meeting him. Ok, the chameleon is probably a female. After the Discovery Centre, we went to the museum shop. The shop had shrunk from having two levels to just a single level. It probably is cheaper to manage when the whole shop has only two entry/exit points on the ground floor. We didn’t buy a thing but M did take note of the fossils that I would like to get for my ‘Dream Classroom/Project’. Maybe Santa M will buy me some for Christmas!

With 10 minutes till 5:00pm, we went to survey the queue forming near the ticket counters. We were surprised to see that it wasn’t as thick as when we first arrived. I was also looking out to see if I was the only tight arse that cut out a coupon from the newspaper to buy two tickets for the price of one. I was quite embarrassed to find that M was the only person holding one. Then we saw a sign erected near the queue indicating that tickets purchased then are for the 7:30 pm entry. That meant that we would have to wait for another 2 1/2 hours! Not wishing to be delayed any further, we immediately went to queue hoping that by the time we got served, it would have already been passed 5:00 pm. As it turned out, M’s watch was 5 minutes slower than the museum’s clock and we did manage to score ourselves two tickets for the price of just one. As we were queuing, I finally spotted other people using the coupons like us. Phew! It is a relief to know that I am not the only budget conscious person in Melbourne.

We spent the next couple of hours or so in the park right behind the museum. I will blog about what I saw in another post or this one will never end. When we came back to the museum, the whole place had become livelier. The museum is not normally operating at this time of the day but the extended hours on Saturday was meant to encourage more people to see this exhibition before it ends. It was called ‘Toga Party’ and some people did turn up wearing togas! There were also entertainers dressed up like Romans entertaining the crowds and a DJ playing music outside the exhibition hall.

Now I am finally up to the exhibition bit of the day. M and I are those types of visitors who like to read and learn as much as possible when we go to exhibitions such as this. This, even when we were holding half-priced tickets. Most people were like us on that evening. We got to look at what daily life was like in Roman Pompeii in the first half of the exhibition. I was very surprised to learn that in the days before Napisan, the Romans used human and/or animal urine for laundry purposes! Passersby (not the museum visitors) were encouraged to ‘contribute’ into a collecting pot. In the area where they displayed household goods from those days, I saw a useful portable stove and a portable oven. I like the design and versatility of those two items.

We next joined a group of people queuing to view a short animation in the 3D cinema. The 7 minute long animation showed us what it was like when Mt Vesuvius erupted and how it wiped out Pompeii over a day or two. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention about the hours it took to finish the town off. I was actually a little concerned that there were children standing near the entrance of the cinema watching and waiting for the next session. I wasn’t sure if children should watch without fully understanding the event. As the event unfolded, I wondered about the people’s feelings at the time. Those who were trapped must have been freaking out, not knowing why their Gods had not saved them. After the 3D show, we walked down a corridor resembling the Street of Abundance and then to an area about vulcanology. We hung around a bit to watch a short documentary. Then we entered a circular room with a warning sign outside informing everyone that no real human bodies have been used for the display of the body casts. This is the saddest part of the exhibition. A little boy in front of me told his parents that he would never go to this place called Pompeii. Another little girl said, “This is a sad, sad place. Did you hear the babies screaming, Mum?” and then added, “I heard the babies crying, Mum. They must have been so scared.” The body cast of a slave still shackled and the one of a dog that choked itself to death were the most heart breaking for me. I just can’t help but to feel sad for the people of Pompeii even though it happened so very long ago. We were heading towards the end of the exhibition trail when we came out of the circular room. There was historical information on archaeological excavations of Pompeii and I came away agreeing with what a friend, who visited Pompeii (as part of her honeymoon), said many years ago. D & M went to Europe for their honeymoon. D loves European history. She once told me that Pompeii should be left alone, buried like a time capsule because there isn’t really a proper way to protect excavated sites from further erosion when exposed. M found it disrespectful for archaeologists to disturb burial grounds and remove burial artefacts. All that got me thinking about the Chinese Terracotta Warriors. They are left somewhat exposed too!

Just before the exit was another space for people to sit and watch pictures of how Pompeii looks like today. It was packed but M wanted to get a seat if possible. Meantime, I was curious about what was on sale in the exhibition shop but I remembered not to cross the invisible line dividing the exhibition hall and the shop because apparently once you have crossed the line, you are no longer allowed to re-enter. So, I stood around, casually reading the sponsors of the exhibition on the wall in front of me. M was reading something else just around the corner. We were waiting for the next show to begin. Suddenly, this man wearing the museum employee uniform came at my direction and sternly asked, “Do you know that once you have exited the exhibition, you are no longer allowed back in?” With that, he stormed back to the invisible line to pick up a sign that had been moved and then plonked it back down so I could read what was printed on it. As he marched back towards me again, he looked confused briefly before focusing on another figure that had emerged next to me and barked out, “Have you found your family yet?” In fact, before he finished mouthing off that question, he looked at me again. When the other person responded to him quietly, I realized that he wasn’t talking to me at all or that he was but he thought I was someone else. Onlookers just stared and I hate that. I try really hard all my life to not attract any attention in public and this dumb ass ruined my evening in just seconds. M only appeared after the lady responded to the dumb ass and he didn’t witness what had happened before that. He asked me what happened and I was too furious to explain. And then it was our turn to watch the picture show. I was absolutely fuming. I mean I know that certain people have a tendency to lump all Asians together because they apparently can’t tell us apart but did he need to approach visitors to a museum so very rudely. May be instead of working in the museum, he is better off working as a door dick at a nightclub. M couldn’t understand how this person could get me mixed up with the other lady. She is at least ½ - 1 foot shorter than me with short hair.

We didn’t end up buying anything from the exhibition shop. I was just too angry and just wanted to leave right away. The outing had ended terribly. I was so angry that I walked all the way home! M didn’t suggest any other form of transport. He just walked beside me because that is what I expected of him. The walking did help to calm me down a little. Some people really make me very angry.

My Mum’s New Gig

2009-10-20T14:42:00.001+11:00

I found out about my mum’s new gig a couple of weeks ago. I laughed so hard that I nearly fell off the stool when I was chatting on the phone. Normally I get pretty pissed off whenever she announces that she is heading overseas but this time I wasn’t only worried about her trip, I also can’t stop laughing at her mission. On the night before she left, I called her to double confirm that she didn’t put her hand up for this mission because she is a nosy Aunty. She confirmed thrice (seconded by my Dad 3x) that she was called upon to this very important job because she had life experience and because she is the most alert of them all. LOL.

This Superwoman who missed out on going to a British Law School because she is a female has now been temporarily assigned to be a Matchmaker/Wedding Planner. LOL. Sorry, I just find this too amusing. My mum’s mission was to travel to China with my 55 yr old cousin (never married) to check out his girlfriend, whom he ‘met’ chatting on the internet. If everything goes well, they will immediately start the negotiations for a wedding. The girlfriend did visit my old hometown about a month or so ago but my Mum was away attending someone else’s wedding in the capital city. When my Mum got home, she got wind that something wasn’t quite right. Despite efforts to hush up the girlfriend’s visit to my Mum’s birthplace – a village where my cousin runs the family grocery store, her presence caused an infectious bout of “Discrimination” among my Mum’s extended family. Seeing my Aunt in such a state of distress, my cousin was ready to call off the relationship. My other cousins (this cousin’s younger siblings) who had been supportive wanted him to enjoy the happiness of being married. They turned to my Mum for help because they reckoned that she has the status of an “Old Jungle Boar” among the elders. Not understanding what that crude slang meant, I almost hit the roof when I first heard it but my Mum was almost proud to wear that like a badge! Apparently the title is a way to describe a person with plenty of life experience.

Anyway my Mum and my cousin left on Friday. They flew to the Chinese City where my second Uncle lives with his family before catching a connecting flight to fly to the city where the lady lives. Typically the connecting flight was delayed and the duo didn’t arrive at their second destination until well after 1:00 am! I was blissfully unaware about this until my Dad reported it to me on the weekend. Although my Mum had promised to call me, I knew she wouldn’t until after the last leg of the journey because she knows I am such a worry wart. The next part of the journey is the bit I dislike most. The duo and the girlfriend/fiancée, will fly back to the City where my second Uncle lives before catching a bus to the birthplace of my maternal grandparents to meet my Mum’s eldest sister. I think she will call me after that trip because she knows how much I worry about those crazy bus rides. Meantime, I just hope that the bus drivers will sleep well and do a good job getting them there and back.

Window Shopping @ South Wharf

2009-10-17T15:57:00.007+11:00

During one of the ad breaks that came on when we were watching The Amazing Race on Thursday, we saw an ad for the new DFO South Wharf. We saw Borders in the ad. Whenever Borders open a new store, they always have a few Montessori and Homeschooling titles in their Education section. Ooh...I can't wait to browse through some of them before they get sold out. There was also a full page printed ad on the back page of that day's copy of MX (free newspaper). Studying the map on it, we realized that the new outlet stores are located within walking distance and decided right then that we would drop by the next day to have a look.

The moment we got there, we quickly learned that many of the shops were not open for business yet. We were disappointed that Borders was also in that category. So we did a quick lap of the basement where most of the shops were already up and going, quickly checked out the shops on the ground floor that are getting ready to open their doors and then went upstairs to check out the JB Hi-Fi. I can't possibly give that place a miss if I have M in tow. There are a few more shops (e.g. The Good Guys) in another building adjoining the main building.

With the DFO outlets at Southern Cross station (aka Spencer St station), Harbour Town and now, more DFO outlets at South Wharf, we will never have to drive out there to buy discounted goods. Yay!!

10 Words That = 3 Special Little Words

2009-10-14T14:13:00.002+11:00

There are a few blogs that I regularly drop by to read their latest posts. One lady recently wrote a post titled “Three Little Words”. Her conversation with her husband got me thinking about the way I speak to M. Everyday when M goes to work or leaves to go somewhere else, I say to him, “Be careful when you cross the road. Don’t get mugged.” There, those are my 10 special words that are suppose to mean “I love you”. I didn’t think they were anything unusual until around 4 1/2 years ago. I was on the phone to M when a certain little vegemite was eavesdropping right next to me. This little vegemite decided to copy my words as part of a conversation she made up for her dollies and this time her mum overheard and freaked out. The little vegemite told her that I said it on the phone and her mum called right away to see if we were alright. LOL.

These days I do try to say “I love you” when I remember to but it just doesn’t sound right. LOL. It’s like using the F words. They just don’t seem to ‘fit’ me. In fact the F words were so amusing to M that he nearly crashed the car when I first used it in his presence. LOL. When M learned how to say “I love you” in Mandarin (Chinese), I laughed like mad at first but later I found it somewhat off-putting. There is just no point for him to say it in any other language that I speak. When it is coming from him, “I love you” is fine in English. When it is coming from me, the ten words I mentioned above sound more natural than the 3 special little words in English.

M is okay about the way I speak. He sometimes jokes that some of my vocabulary is uniquely me and only he and I could understand the meaning of it. LOL. Over the years, he has begun to understand things from my perspective. He is slowly learning that the words that come out of my mouth may be English but the usage is still sometimes influenced by my culture or my upbringing. Recently though I have begun wondering if the way I speak has anything to do with a condition I have. That’s something I would like to look deeper into. One of the many beauties of being in an inter-racial relationship is that there is just so much more to learn from each other. Just when you think that we humans share so many similarities another thing pops up reminding us of our differences.

Where Do My Groceries Come From?

2009-10-13T14:42:00.016+11:00

I am currently reading an amusing book called ‘A Year Without “Made In China” – One Family’s True Life Adventure in the Global Economy’. The adjective ‘amusing’ is not chosen lightly. It has got to be amusing if M was caught smiling while reading page after page of the book. It is written by an American journalist named Sara Bongiorni. Printed inside the book’s dust jacket is a picture of her but before I even took a look at it and before I even finished reading a few lines describing the book, I suspected that she had Chinese heritage! Is this spooky or what? I haven’t seen the book in any bookshops and borrowed this copy from none other than our beloved Melbourne City Library.

The book and along with TV shows like “A Current Affair” and “Today Tonight” got me thinking about the so-called invasion of Chinese or foreign made products. Is it really that bad? Both M and I are not really bothered by China’s expansion. China’s steps to become an economic giant have given my Chinese relatives a better standard of living and thus a better life. I used to feel how unfair it was for them to be stuck over there but seeing them moving up makes me feel better for my late maternal grandma who seemed to blame herself for their sufferings all those years ago. Right now China is not a threat to me personally at all. I have lived as a minority all my life and that has given me invaluable abilities of working my way around obstacles even though it is not very nice to be a minority all the time. So instead of freaking out, I just get around any obstacles that come my way, but the thing is that Chinese products are not things I particularly shun unless they are harmful or if the quality is especially bad. Despite saying that, it doesn’t mean that I don’t support Aussie made products.
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I was thinking about what to write about in this blog last week and an idea came into my head. I wondered if it would be a good idea to write a post about where my groceries come from. Just like the author of the book I am reading, I have decided to sort each product according to what is printed on its label. I am not going to call each company to make them give me the country of origin of each ingredient/component that makes up a product. Being a ‘nobody’, the companies probably won’t entertain someone like me questioning them. Since I had a few days before we do our grocery run on Saturday, I had time to think about it a little bit more. If the invasion is really as bad as what people would like me to think, I wondered if this idea would turn into a “Spot the Aussie” game. The vision of a certain type of local visitors turning up at a famous Melbournian landmark only to find the place ‘taken over’ by ‘other’ people came to my head. Imagining the possible facial expressions of those local visitors was almost enough for me to throw out this idea but M wanted to give it a go and see what we would find.

The pictures below are the stuff we bought on Saturday. We shop for our groceries at Safeway (now known as Woolworths) at QV and ALDI (on Franklin St). Because Asian meals are also consumed in this inter-racial household, we also regularly buy certain products from Asian grocery stores but we didn’t have to last Saturday. The only things not depicted in the pictures are sausages and chicken thigh fillets. We returned to get them on Sunday and they were both Australian products.

Australian products from Safeway/Woolworths

These are what I call “Somewhat Aussie” products. They are ‘Made in Australia from imported & local ingredients’ and we bought them from Safeway/Woolworths.

These are the ones made overseas and we also bought them from Safeway/Woolworths.
· Macleans Toothpaste – England
· Home Brand Toilet Paper – China (Aren’t we brave to use 1 ply sheets?)
· Heinz Baked Beans – New Zealand
· Trident Sweet Chilli Sauce – Thailand
· Home Brand Tuna Chunks – Thailand

Australian products from ALDI

“Somewhat Aussie” products bought from ALDI. They were labelled as ‘Made in Australia from imported & local ingredients’.

These are the ones made overseas and were bought from ALDI
· Jasmine Rice – Thailand
· Aluminium Foil – China
· Pineapple Slices – The Philippines (Note: We usually buy Golden Circle.)

A note about ALDI: Some people think that ALDI is not a patriotic option because they are German but they do hire Aussies and when the products are sourced locally, they do come from places that also hire Aussies. ALDI helps to keep our expenses lower.

This is the book I am currently reading.

Judging from just the groceries I bought on Saturday, I bought only two items that were made in China. That is not that bad, is it? There are a few other things made overseas but only two came from China. I didn’t set out to buy more Aussie made/produce goods just to write this post. What I buy during each grocery run is based entirely on the fortnightly menu we are currently sticking to and what non-edible items we have run out (e.g. Silver Foil). Even the shopping list is pre-made (printed from the computer) and reuse until we dump the menu because M is completely bored of the same meals over and over. LOL

How I Use My TROLIG

2009-10-07T23:20:00.006+11:00

Yeah I know very well that I simply can’t have enough of IKEA. I went there on two Sundays in a row in September. I actually went alone on the second trip because Moosh could very well have gone insane if I made him go again. LOL. That was when I bought myself a TROLIG plus a couple of other things. In case if you are wondering what in the world a TROLIG is, it is actually a curtain rod set that requires no drilling because it is spring loaded. And just in case if anyone is as curious as me, I actually went to Google the word and learnt that it meant plausible in English but it could be wrong because people should not believe everything written online. (In that case, people shouldn’t believe a word I have blogged about too. LOL.) M and I have always been curious with the names of IKEA products. They can sound quite funny. If I am not wrong, there used to be a teenager’s desk called BRA!

I have always wanted some kind of cabinet / buffet to store plates, glasses and other serving ware within the dining area but because we live in a tiny pigeon hole with limited space, I am forced to put that dream on hold until we move to a house one day. We have also accumulated other pieces of furniture over the years that we do not wish to just chuck them out yet. One example of such a piece of furniture is this bookcase that I bought when I was at university. It is not a Billy. In fact, it is not even from IKEA but it is made of the same kind of material as those Billy bookcases. One blogger calls this material fake wood. Fake wood or not, we don’t wish to throw it out yet. We had recently placed it in front of the short wall separating the kitchen and the dining area. It has been empty ever since M moved his collection of DVDs that used to be stored there to a new lockable cabinet. Its current location makes it possible for me to use it as a buffet to create more storage room within our tiny kitchen but I was a little worried that the contents may become dusty because this so called ‘buffet’ has no doors. Then I remembered this TROLIG thingy in the 2010 IKEA catalogue. I wondered if I could make a curtain for this bookcase. Out came the measuring tape to see if the TROLIG would fit in between the bookcase’s sides and it fitted apparently. So off we went to IKEA that very Sunday and since it was our first visit after the release of the new catalogue, I insisted that we go through the whole shop to make sure I didn’t miss a single piece of new products. Poor M went along like a gentleman without complaining even when I mentioned my intention to not buy the TROLIG that day because I needed to think a little bit more. LOL. I could see that he was wondering why he was made to spend his Sunday negotiating his way through such a thick crowd to emerge at the other end to buy two jars of Lingonberry jam and a hot dog. LOL. Anyway I made up my mind six days later and went back to IKEA on the following Sunday to buy that TROLIG.

This is the TROLIG in its packaging.

This is the fake wood book case with the TROLIG fitted.

This is my notes on how to construct the curtain. If I am not following a pattern, I have to make notes before I start on a project. Once I have the skeletal framework on paper, I am pretty flexible with any alterations needed along the way. Okay, the fabric I chose is quite childish but that is the only blackish fabric I have in my stash at the moment. And yes, the fabric is from IKEA. I bought it a few months ago.

This is the end product. It is just a basic curtain but M and I are happy with it.

Note: We are happy with the outcome of this little project. The TROLIG mounted firmly to the inner sides of the bookcase and the rings/clips did their job in hanging the curtain but because the curtain rod is not permanently fixed, it might fall out if a curious hand yanks the curtain forcefully. This is not a problem to us since we do not have any children of our own and we are not likely to have any child visitors ever. How lonely, huh? In the catalogue, the TROLIG is used to fit inside window frames. I just thought I made it clear in case if anyone is interested to do what we did, he/she should consider carefully before making an educated choice.

The Vegetarian Guru

2009-10-07T23:07:00.002+11:00

I was considered to be a fussy eater when I was growing up. I didn’t like vegetables and would stubbornly refuse to eat them when I was little. My mum and my carers probably didn’t know that little kids need to try something new multiple times before they come to accept it. The way they used to make me eat my greens was through threats and put-downs. The put-downs only made me angrier and more rebellious. When I started working with children (yonks ago), I was surprised to see so many good eaters. There was a little boy named Daniel who would always come to class with carrot and celery sticks tucked inside his lunchbox amongst the sandwich and a drink. Occasionally, there was also a slice of homemade carrot/banana cake wrapped in plastic. His teachers used to make sarcastic comments because Daniel didn’t get a (store bought) treat everyday like the other children. They were so mean. If I ever have children, I would really like them to eat up their vegetables like this Daniel.

After I came to Australia, my views on vegetables started to slowly change. I love how our food was prepared at boarding school. The kitchen staff rolled out vegetables to my liking. The head chef was an import from Ireland! He was a first of his kind to be imported apparently! But when I started to live independently later, I quickly learned that vegetables do not last forever in the fridge and because I didn’t enjoy cooking back then, I was back to eating only minimal amounts of vegetables again. Looking back, I find it really quite shocking how unhealthy my diet used to be!

In 2003, I decided to buy myself a Guinea Pig for my birthday. It was partly a selfish decision because I had wanted someone other than M to love me. Our Guinea Pig sure loved us and he displayed his love the loudest when mealtimes came around daily. He would squeak and squeak at 5:00 pm or 6:00 pm when we had to move the clock forward at this time of the year. We bought small amounts of different vegetables to give to this furry little vegetarian with a big appetite. One of his vets suggested that we should not limit him to just boring carrots and lettuce leaves. In fact, too much lettuce leaves could upset his stomach.

A few weeks after Safeway opened its doors at QV, I was there for a grocery top up without M. The dude who served me casually asked me the name of the variety of cucumbers I was purchasing. Nowadays, I would tell you that they were Lebanese Cucumbers but back then, I wasn’t quite sure. After telling him that I wasn’t sure, he looked at me deliberately so I would give him some kind of eye contact and then asked in disbelief, “You don’t know what you are buying?” It was so embarrassing. Soon after that experience, I began to take an active interest in the vegetables we buy our Guinea Pig. I also began to cook regularly and since we were already buying vegetables for the Guinea Pig, we might as well buy more for us, the humans to enjoy as well. Gradually, we began to eat more and more vegetables under the influence of the furry vegetarian Guru.

Today, 17 months after the Guru had left us, the good habit formed is here to stay and we are eating more vegetables with our meals than ever. Sometimes I wonder why I didn’t like them when I was a child. Eggplants, capsicums, zucchinis, Roma tomatoes and cucumbers are just so delicious. Celery sticks are great too.

A Bit of Lion Dance to Cheer Me Up

2009-09-28T14:26:00.007+10:00

It was like we didn't have enough of Fed Square that we went back again yesterday. M got wind that there was going to be a Chinese Festival there but because I didn't hear anything about it, I suspected that the event was put up by a cult. I didn't really want to go but went along anyway. M was warned that if the event was clearly put up by a particular group of people that we do not agree with, we will leave immediately. The weather was still cold and wet. I didn't really mind Winter re-visiting us in Spring because it gave me another chance to wear my Duffle Coat.

It turned out that the festival was set up by The Federation of Chinese Associations. We were only there for a few minutes before it started to rain again. During the time we were there, no one came along to hand us pamphlets about crimes against humanity or community papers. I was glad that I wasn't asked if I was Chinese. Sometimes I feel like to answer back to such questions with, "Sorry, no, I am Greek." A very old Greek lady did however asked if I was Greek once though. LOL

I find the Green & Gold scarves decorating the cymbals a bit CHEESY!

I will spare everyone from even more photos of the Chinese Lions by just posting one. I can't help it. I just love them.

Just another little note about something else that happened that cheered me up a little yesterday. A Malay bloke came up to me and asked me for directions on how to get to the Holiday Inn from Swanston Street. I was eager to help since I don't get many opportunities like this because most people probably think that I am a clueless newcomer or do not speak a word of English. The man and his wife took my word for it and didn't even verify my info with someone genuine like M but then again M was somewhere else at the time. I later reanalyze the little experience and figured that I only made one lousy mistake. When I was pointing out the directions to him on his little map, I used my index finger instead of my thumb. Apparently they use their thumb to be polite.

Super Soaked - Grand Final Day 09

2009-09-26T22:11:00.006+10:00

Without our own big size plasma screen or mini cinema, we have been heading to Fed Square to watch the Grand Final matches since 2007. Due to the lousy weather, this year's crowd was pretty thin.

During the Pre-match Entertainment bit, Jimmy Barnes sang and then John Farnham appeared and sang "You're The Voice". Jimmy Barnes even joined in the chorus. I especially enjoyed the kids singing the new version of "I Still Call Australia Home" but I kept my feelings private because I didn't know how the crowd would react to it.

The rain was really starting to pour just before half time. So we decided to head home and watch the rest of the game from home. The dude sitting to my left must have been thoroughly relieved to see us leave. He was so uncomfortable to be next to someone like me but his discomfort was nothing to compare to the utter disgust he had for 4 Indians who popped in briefly to enjoy the game during the second quarter. LOL (There really is no point in getting angry at people like this dude and his friends. I am simply too tired right now to even bother.) We went back to Fed Square again after dinner for the winning team's brief appearance. The place was quite packed.

How I wish that it is the Blues standing up there tonight and not Geelong. It has been such a long time since Carlton won the Grand Final. I just wish to celebrate their win at Fed Square before we move.

Just One More Sleep To That One Day In September

2009-09-25T22:54:00.006+10:00

This year's Grand Final Week celebrations at Fed Square seemed watered down. I snapped a few photos when I was on my way to Safeway after the parade this afternoon. M was working and couldn't make it to the parade today. I ditched the idea of going to the parade by myself because the weather was simply lousy but I did ended up going to the city anyway to do some food shopping or there wouldn't be anything for dinner.

A newsreader for Fox Sports

The screen was showing how many hours till the match starts.

Apparently they are seriously unfunny. I am not sure because I don't listen to the radio.

I bought the 2009 Premiership Cup Pin. In doing so, I supposedly helped LADDER in supporting homeless youth across Australia. I guess I was sucked in by the dude who approached me. LOL

Exhaustion Due To Too Many Dreams

2009-09-22T23:13:00.001+10:00

I have not been sleeping very well in the last 8/9 days. Although I basically sleep the usual number of hours each night, I still wake up exhausted because I spend the whole time dreaming. The kind of dreams that are most tiring are the ones that are very vivid and the stories tend to be filled with emotions. Sometimes a dream continues with a second episode if I get up in the middle of it. Other times I just experience a different dream every time I stir or move to a different position. When I get up in the morning, one of the first things I usually do is to tell M about my dreams. He rarely remembers his own dreams and finds the content of my dreams totally weird! After reading one of my favourite blogger’s post on her chickens/roosters recently, I promptly dreamt about shopping for chicks that very night. In the dream the chicks actually looked more like Guinea Pigs!

Even though I may sound weird because I write posts about missing my Guinea Pig, I am not on any medications other than taking fish oil capsules and Vitamin B Complex tablets when I remember to. I stated this because I read somewhere that people experiencing vivid dreams could be reacting to medications that they are taking.

With the arrival of Spring, my sleep is also easily distracted at this time of the year. If I do get up from a bad dream early in the morning, I usually don’t get to return to bed again because my nose will start to flow. Every year I wish that I have somehow cured myself. This year, I have managed to stay free of Hay Fever for 12 days since the arrival of Spring. Rhinocort is a best friend because it gives me a bit of relief without making me drowsy.

I think I will head to bed earlier. I just want to be rested before the Hay Fever symptoms come knocking early in the morning. As for the dreams, I don’t really know what to do about them. I sometimes try to get out of bad dreams, if I do get up midway, by tricking myself into thinking about a project I am working on but it doesn’t always work and at this time of the year, my conscious thoughts would only invite my nose to start flowing!

Cash Is Money Too

2009-09-17T20:33:00.004+10:00

I love purchasing things or paying bills by cash. It helps me to keep things under control in a concrete way. There was a time in my life when credit cards were attractive to me. To be given them as a young adult was a status symbol. Better still because they were supplementary cards, I didn’t have to worry about paying anything at the end of each month. Nowadays I prefer to complete transactions using cash. It is just so much easier to keep track of everything. Interestingly, cash is becoming less ‘welcomed’ these days. I suspect that people are getting ‘told’ and are subscribing to the idea that cash is ‘uncool’ and low tech. LOL

At IKEA, the self-check machines do not accept cash like the machines at Safeway/Woolworths. When paying bills over the counter, customers are now getting charged a Cash Payment Fee/Payment Handling Fee. I just don’t get it. Why do customers have to pay extra for making a payment? I am so glad that Independent Senator Xenophon is looking into this issue. It just doesn’t seem right for customers to be slugged so many different type of fees even when they are doing the right thing. So there must be other people out there who are bothered by this for Xenophon to take an interest.

Imagine one day when department stores start charging shoppers a fee if they choose not to check out at the self-check machines.

Attacking The Bathroom Cupboards

2009-09-16T15:10:00.004+10:00

With the plumber coming tomorrow, I have finally gone around to removing the stuff inside the cupboards just in case if he needs to access the pipes/drain. You won't believe how much stuff is accumulated inside these small cupboards. Half of the stuff are now ready to be binned and the other half are temporarily stored inside a crate. The cupboards will be properly disinfected again after the plumber's departure.
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At the moment, I am thinking about ways to maximize the storage capacity of these cupboards for when I return the stuff on either Friday or Saturday. There are some cheap but Aussie made plastic boxes at Reject Shop that might be handy but I will have to find out if they will fit into the cupboard first. I am also hoping to 'hide away' some of the things we use daily instead of leaving them on the bench to make the bathroom look less cluttered.
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Our bathroom looks so 90's! Other than giving it a fresh lick of paint, there really is nothing affordable we can do about it for now. At least the plumber is coming to fix the tap that leaks every now and then. He is also going to fix the erratic toilet flush buttons and the mysterious leak underneath the kitchen sink. We will have to go to bed real early tonight because we are the plumber's first job of the day. He will be here at 7:00 am! Two hours after the plumber's arrival, the electrician will be here too to fix a couple of switches and discuss the options of whether to replace the ceiling light in the living areas. It has become increasingly difficult in finding light bulbs that not only fit but are also bright enough for me to sew in the evening.

Lost and Found

2009-09-07T23:03:00.003+10:00

Way back in July when I was cleaning out the fish tank, I misplaced a photo of our Guinea Pig. This was one of the first photos I took of our Guinea Pig when we first bought the digital camera and we printed it out with our old printer. After rediscovering it before Christmas last year, I had placed it along with other mementos next to the fish tank. A day or two after cleaning the fish tank in July, I suddenly realised that the photo was not where it should have been. I looked everywhere for it. I even looked inside the bins thinking that it might have been accidentally thrown out. M also got blamed along the way. I felt quite sad but at the same time I also felt that I had placed it somewhere safe for some reason.

I took a break from all the cleaning on Saturday (05/09) to flip through one of the Montessori manuals to check out one of the basic grammar activities for introducing Verbs using a farm setting. Instead of pulling out my box of Schleich animals to see what examples of phrases I could use, I went to look for the catalogue instead. The plastic drawer where I had placed the Schleich catalogue was quite full and I had to move things around to look for it. I can’t remember what item I had moved when I saw a familiar face staring back at me. It was my Guinea Pig! It was the photo that I had been looking high and low for. LOL. The photo was indeed stored away safely in this drawer. After studying the Montessori manual a little, I came back to the drawer to double check and see if the photo was indeed there and it was. It is now placed temporarily next to the pouch holding his urn.

We Found A Dragon

2009-08-31T14:07:00.005+10:00

During our quick walk around the Fitzroy Gardens yesterday, we found this beautiful dragon. We had to wait for some people (adults, not kids) to leave before we took these pictures. As soon as I finished taking the 3rd picture, 4/5 kids and their parents arrived and we had to leave.

The Dragon turned out to be a slide. People are supposed to climb up its neck to get to the top of the slide between her wings and then slide down her spine and tail. Behind the Dragon is a sand pit. That's probably where her eggs are! Better not tell Hagrid about that!

Next to the Dragon slide was what looked like a two legged Giraffe holding a beam with two swings.

I love playgrounds, especially slides. I used to think that playgrounds should not be installed in gardens like the Fitzroy because it will distract the children from properly exploring the plant life. There is one getting built on Grant Street - not far from our Pigeon Hole. I first heard of the council's intention in April last year and nothing happened until a few months ago. I thought the people living in the apartments directly next to it may have objected to the idea. After seeing the plan for this new playground at a notice board, I just can't wait to have a look when it is completed. There is an increase of little Vegemites living in our area in the last year or two. People are slowly accepting the possible idea of raising children in pigeon hole type housing. Small families in our building tend to move out soon after their babies become toddlers but lately we are beginning to see a change.

Happy 174th Birthday Melbourne

2009-08-30T20:20:00.028+10:00

Today is Melbourne Day. We received an Events and Attractions Program in our letter box around a fortnight ago and decided to attend the Official Flag Raising Ceremony and visit a few places listed in the booklet. Despite living close to Enterprize Park, we got there with less than 5 minutes to spare. LOL. A man named Ron Walker walked past me as we were crossing the bridge to get to the north bank and as usual, I didn't recognise him. LOL.

Here is our current Lord Mayor (Robert Doyle). Like Jeff Kennett, he seemed to like dressing up too. Is that jacket cool or what? LOL

Raising the flag ...

At the ceremony, speeches were made, a town crier read a letter from the Mayor of Launceston, semi-naked men danced, old style tram conductors gave away 'tickets' but the things I like most were performed by this small group of 'soldiers'.

The birthday cake consisted of 174 cupcakes made by Epicure. Other food and drinks were also served for free to the public but we took only one cupcake. LOL.

Our next stop was to visit the replica of the Enterprize docked at Waterfront City Marina at Docklands. This was a free event. I was quite surprised to see that it was much smaller than the Young Endeavour.

Docked in front of the Enterprize was the Zephyr. It is apparently Australia's oldest yacht.

We had lunch at Nandos over at Harbour Town and bought a toy for someone's birthday and another Schleich animal figurine, a kid (a baby goat) this time, for ourselves.

After leaving the Waterfront City Marina (Docklands), we took a tram to the other side of the city. We got off at the Parliament and then walked over to the City Museum at the Old Treasury. We have been into its basement to check out the vaults years ago but we have never explored the rooms displaying the development of Melbourne as a city. The picture I took shows a part of Melbourne in the 19th century. We were only there for about 1.5 hours and were the last to leave because it was closing time (4:00 pm). I really wanted to stay longer. I am curious about the family (the Maynards) that used to live there all so long ago. We also didn't have time to check out the shop at all.

After we left the museum, we walked over to see what was happening at the Cooks' Cottage. Although the entry fee was super affordable, we didn't take up the offer this time. We have been in there before and will properly visit this park (Fitzroy and Treasury Gardens) again later in the year. We did find something interesting when were there and I will blog about it tomorrow.

The Bonus Bundle Finally Arrived

2009-08-25T14:20:00.002+10:00

We bought a new printer back in June. As part of the purchase, we were offered a choice of two bonus bundles that were supposedly valued $100 each. To redeem the bundle M had to go online to submit some contact details. Unlike people who turn up on shows like A Current Affair or Today Tonight to complain about being ripped off by similar promotions, we have never experienced such bad luck over the years. The bundle of our choice arrived last week. We chose the Home Bundle and it consisted of a pack of 10 T-shirt transfers, 40 sheets of A4 size, glossy photo paper, 40 sheets of small semi glossy photo paper, a pack of 25 DVD-Rs and 10 sheets of A4 coloured cards. Other than the T-shirt transfers and the DVD-Rs, I have never bought the other products in the bundle before, so I don’t really know if the bundle is really worth around $100. LOL. I did wonder why Canon didn’t offer Cash Back bonuses like other home office products though. Maybe this is one way to encourage us to use our printer more. Imagine the cost of replacing all the ink tanks regularly because we are printing anything and everything!!!

Sad Memories and then a Sweet Dream

2009-08-25T14:12:00.001+10:00

Winter is almost gone! I have been kept so busy all Winter this year that I have almost ‘forgotten’ to feel sad. I have been experiencing gloomy Winters since 2006 and last year was particularly bad because my Guinea Pig died and I was grieving. Winter 2009 has been only short in my opinion. It was only cold and grey for a month and a half. We have been experiencing more Spring-like days in the last week or two. The days are slightly longer, the temperature is slightly higher for at least part of the day and what I love most is when the sky is blue for at least a few hours. Spring is now my happiest season.

I woke up at 4:00 am on Sunday morning feeling a bit sad. I stayed in bed and stared at my Guinea Pig’s photo. This is the same photo of him as the one featured in this blog except that this is a framed black and white version. The photo used to sit next to the fish tank in the living area but because we have moved the fish tank over to the dining area, I had moved it into our bedroom last Friday. Both M and I love this photo of our Guinea Pig but for some weird reasons, it got me thinking about his final hours. Tears started to roll and I began to feel like my tummy was upside down, but the feeling wasn’t as intense as it used to get. It took me nearly two hours of thinking about other things before I went back to bed. When I did eventually get out of bed, I still felt a little sad about my Guinea Pig.

On Monday morning, my sleep was disturbed again when I woke up around 3:30 am. This time I wasn’t feeling sad because I woke up from a pleasant dream. The photo that I mentioned before sits near our bedroom door. In the dream, the area near the entrance to our bedroom had turned into our Guinea Pig’s new home! His cage sat on top of a special metal trolley and I was placing fresh hay into the cage. My Guinea Pig burrowed in and out of the hay. He seemed very happy. I think I went to the kitchen to get a drink and was back in slumber land within minutes.

M came home with the latest catalogue for IKEA yesterday. I can’t wait to look into it. I want to buy a new lampshade for the lamp placed next to my Guinea Pig’s ‘ashes’. I am going to re-organize the things on top of my new chest of drawers. I want it to be peaceful and neat. I also want the lamp to be placed closer to my side of the bed so it can actually be used as a reading lamp for when I am reading in bed.

Surprises from Long Ago inside This Little Diary

2009-08-22T19:59:00.002+10:00

I found this little Sanrio diary in a crate filled with unused or partially used stationery that I was sorting through last Friday. I bought it during my first trip to Melbourne when I was still attending a boarding school interstate. I remember liking it because it has a lock. Lucky for me though that it is not locked up because I do not know where I have stashed the keys!

Anyway this little diary was passed around school, mainly among the population of boarders + a few day kids, in the final weeks of the school year for anyone interested to leave me a few lines as remembrance of my wonderful time spent there. The diary was passed around so much that at times I didn’t even know its whereabouts. Eventually it did come back to me and yes people actually left me more than just a few lines! After I moved to Melbourne, the diary sat at first inside my desk drawer before it was stored inside this plastic crate for years.

After the diary came back to me, I had a look inside briefly but I never read what anyone had written. It wasn’t because I didn’t bother to. I just couldn’t face up to what people have got to say about me. As time goes by, I have completely forgotten about this little diary. When I first saw it last Friday (14/08), I remembered buying it in Melbourne and that’s about it. That is strange for me because I am known to have a superb memory. I am a bit like that TV character called Monk. LOL. As soon as I saw the note stuck just inside the front cover I instantly remembered what this little diary had been used for. This time I was eager to read what had been tucked away inside this diary for so long and because it has been such a long time since I left the boarding school, I was ready. There were no nasty surprises at all. The diary was just filled with pages upon pages of encouragements, reminiscences of shared experiences and what they have noticed of me. No one was rude at all. In fact, they loved me. I can’t believe it but people had actually liked me and this included people whom I thought at the time were a little frosty towards me! Because of my own refusal, it had taken me so many years to realise that they didn’t mind having me around after all! At this stage, I still haven’t finished reading everything written in the diary. I am saving them for when I am down. The little diary is no longer stored inside that plastic crate. It has now joined my drawer of favourite T-shirts.

Homemade Takeaway Meal for Moosh

2009-08-22T19:26:00.006+10:00

I cooked this meal for M to take to work last week. It consisted of three small burger patties, a few slices of zucchinis and some broccoli and carrots, plus a small dollop of Lingonberry jam. A little bit of homemade Teriyaki sauce is drizzled over the food but it didn't show up in the picture.

There used to be a Four’N Twenty pies ad on TV where one tradie declared the food inside his brown paper lunch bag as “Rabbit’s food” and his mate peered inside his own lunch and declared “Mine is still growing” before the two went to buy pies for lunch instead. I used to think that is how M would see any food I made for him to take to work. I didn’t think he would appreciate my effort but it turned out that he quite likes the meals I make for him, including this one.

I don’t think the meals I make are particularly healthy but they are certainly cheaper to make than if M had to buy his meals everyday. My frugalness did and still does to a certain extent bother me from time to time because I don’t want him to look shabby but he doesn’t seem to mind one bit. It is bizarre how he doesn’t care how others perceive him while I am still slowly learning to ignore others judgements and criticisms.

A Walk to Docklands

2009-08-17T23:51:00.007+10:00

Spring is definitely around the corner. We had beautiful blue skies this morning. The temperature was mild enough for me to wear an unlined denim jacket over a long sleeve t-shirt. Since M didn’t have to go to work until after lunch, nosey us decided last night that we would walk to the Docklands to see Costco. It’s their first day of operation. At the entrance, we were given the impression by this lady that we had to sign up for membership before we could enter but M thought that anyone could walk in and that only members could purchase anything. The place looked very busy. There was already a long queue of people entering another door to either sign up for membership or to pick up their membership cards. The membership fee is only $60, an amount that is not too pricey in the eyes of many shoppers but is it worth getting one since there are only the two of us in this little household? On top of that we didn’t have all day to wait around because we had to be home before lunch time. In the end, we decided to ditch Costco and went window shopping at Harbour Town instead.

This is the moment when we first spotted Costco. I was given a few stares by a father and son team for taking this photo. There were no signs indicating that photography was prohibited in that area.

Oh, just look at this poor Ferris Wheel. It operated only for a few weeks and is now getting taken down because it is already broken due to the drought apparently.

We bought a Swabian-Hall piglet and a Gnu calf from Toy Kingdom to add to our collection of Schleich figurines. We also picked up the latest catalogue.

Queuing for Noodles

2009-08-10T14:27:00.003+10:00

There is a new Asian grocery store in the City. This one is located at the old Commonwealth Bank site (corner of Little Bourke Street and Swanston Street). I found out a week and a half ago that they are offering customers a special instant noodles deal for the month of August. At 5 pm each day, 50 customers are welcome to purchase Nong Shim brand Shin Ramyun Noodle Soup at $0.10 per pack but each customer is limited to a maximum of 10 packs. When Safeway had them, these noodles were going for $1.49 per pack and at an Asian grocery store nearby, 5 packs of these noodles were priced just under $3.00. Seeing that it was such a bargain, we rocked up on the 1st of August thinking that no one would be there. How wrong we were. The queue was so long, we missed out. So we tried again last Tuesday. This time, we were two of the first 10 customers. I reckon that M and one other customer must have super thick skin because they were the odd ones out. LOL. I watched and listened with great interest to see if they were looked upon differently or picked on. I am super happy to say that no one gave a damn that they were there. It is nice to know that when you are an odd one out no one attempts to freeze you out passively or actively turns your experience into a negative one.

OK, Ok I already know that instant noodles are no good. As a small child, one of the first jingles I learnt from TV was an ad for Maggi noodles. My parents would buy them occasionally but I was never allowed to eat the noodles with the sachet’s contents added until I was in my teens when I would add it behind their backs. After I came to Australia, I was exposed to a big variety of instant noodles from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and more, to my parents’ utter horror. LOL. I learned very early that here you can buy Aussie style Maggi at places like Safeway & Coles, but if I fancy some Asian style Maggi, they are available at the Asian grocery stores. After sampling instant noodles from all over East Asia over the years, Maggi is no longer within my personal top 10. I can’t even remember when I last bought that brand. The brand of noodles on special at the new Asian grocery store is one of my current favourites. As two separate customers, we have bought 20 packs the other day. They are still sitting on the dining table because there is just no room to fit all of them in the pantry for now. LOL. Greedy us originally planned to go queue everyday to purchase 10/20 packs per trip. That was just a stupid idea. I can’t even see us finishing this lot anytime soon. Where are we going to put the others if we buy more? We might end up going completely bald like someone said if we eat this type of junk food too often. LOL.

Slow Progress but Getting There

2009-08-07T21:53:00.001+10:00

This blog has been neglected for more than a week! So I am doing two posts today. It really doesn’t matter much since I think that I am the only one that pops in here. I am both the writer and reader. LOL.

M has been home for more than a week. The special duty that he was doing had finished earlier than expected. Even though I like to have him home, I wasn’t prepared to have him home for such a long period. Fortunately, he has been pretty nice and helpful. I just hate to be rushed.

We finally went to watch the latest Harry Potter movie last Friday – two weeks after it was released! I had to be dragged there because I dislike going to Crown Casino and we had to go there because that’s the nearest Village Cinemas. I also had to be dragged there because we intended to use up the Gold Class tickets which we were given for Christmas. I totally dislike going to the Gold Class cinemas. The usher who showed us to our seats never came back to take our food orders. That didn’t bother me because I had wanted the whole experience to be somewhat negative so M will never want to take me with him again to the Gold Class cinemas. As for the movie, I have to say that it was better than the last one. For those who have not read the book, it is like a movie length trailer highlighting some of the more exciting bits.

The ‘Pigeon Hole’ is still quite a bombsite. 75% of our clothes are sorted and properly stored now. M put together a ‘flimsy’ metal cabinet to store his DVD collection yesterday. During the construction process, he made one mistake causing an unsightly dent. He also made a mistake when putting together my new chest of drawers last week. I hit the roof of course but somehow, M managed to miraculously rescue it. There is still a small unsightly mark towards the back of the unit but it is almost invisible. I am hoping to do as much sorting and storing in the next few days so that we can start painting the ‘Cave’ (the spare bedroom) next weekend.

I just can’t wait to get everything done so I can blog and read blogs. My wish is to get it all done before the end of Winter. This includes sorting out the kitchen cupboards and pantry. Sometimes the work inside the ‘Pigeon Hole’ feels like it’s never ending because as I focus on something, other things are piling up on the side waiting to be done. Imagine if we are doing all this with little kids in tow. That would be a nightmare. Maybe I am just not geared to be a good mother. I get plenty of praise working with children but somehow, I can’t see myself managing housework and child care efficiently.

Resting Atop a New Chest of Drawers

2009-08-07T21:25:00.001+10:00

We moved back into the ‘Caravan’ (aka our bedroom) last night. It feels weird sleeping on a bed again. The ‘Caravan’ is still pretty bare but not for long. Many pieces of furniture are waiting to be returned. There is now a brand new chest of drawers next to my bed. It is not made of ‘real wood’ and it is one of the cheapest at IKEA. I love it still anyhow.

The top of the chest of drawers is our Guinea Pig’s new resting place. I have put an old lamp desperately needing a new lampshade on it and most importantly, the Guinea Pig’s photo book and ‘ashes’ as well. It has now been 15 months since he left us. Once we get the ‘Pigeon Hole’ in order, we will get another photo of him enlarged and framed to be displayed here. It will replace the photo book because it is starting to wear. Maybe we should make a proper photo book (with hard covers) of the Guinea Pig. We recently walk past a camera shop (Ted’s) on Elizabeth Street displaying photos converted into different types of photo art. We didn’t have time to go into the shop to see if it can be easily done. I suppose we can save some $$$ by tweaking the Guinea Pig’s photos ourselves since we already have Photoshop Elements.

This next bit of the post is a sad news item. According to the media, Sam, the Koala rescued by a CFA volunteer during the horrible bushfires earlier this year had passed away yesterday (06/08/09). We learnt on Wednesday that she was riddled with Chlamydia and would have to undergo surgery. Both her Vet and Carer said on TV that 4 year old Sam may not survive the procedure. We found out from the 4:30 pm news yesterday that she didn’t make it. I am not sure if she passed away during surgery or had to be put down before/after the surgery. I hope that she didn’t suffer any more pain than the discomfort she was already in. I also wish that the people handling what happens to her now will do so properly. She had apparently recovered from the burns on her paws but was not ready to be released into the wild after they found out about the Chlamydia. So maybe if there is such a thing as a heaven for animals, Sam might be one of its latest members. She could be relaxing on a gumtree and munching on a never ending supply of gum leaves, free of pain and misery right at this moment.

Pat, Pat, Roll, Roll

2009-07-26T22:25:00.009+10:00

The title to this post may be weird but that is the technique we used to paint the Caravan’s (our bedroom) walls. It sounds like child’s play buy it has worked for us! We were virgin painters until Tuesday evening when we tried it for ourselves. That evening, we tried to stick to advice printed on a leaflet M collected from Bunnings and a DIY book we had borrowed from the library. I also tried to imitate the actions of the painters that painted the living room at the end of last year. When we downed tools after midnight, we weren’t very happy with the results. M declared that he would never paint again.

We woke up to a surprise on Wednesday morning. The walls looked surprisingly good after 7.5 hours of drying time. There were a few patches that we weren’t too happy with but we weren’t too bothered because another coat would certainly hide them. That evening, we started on the remaining two walls. We were more confident and spent at least an hour less completing the work. When we were painting around the wardrobe door, we noticed consistent results when we applied the paint with a paint pad before going over the area with a paint roller. The two walls looked perfect even before the paint dried that night.

On Friday, we gave the walls a second coat of paint to finish the job. We started at around 7 pm and we were so confident by then that we got the job done around 9:30 pm. After cleaning all the tools, tidying up and a shower, we were in time to watch my team Carlton losing to Collingwood. Wicked me totally believed that Carlton would definitely thrash Collingwood again and had planned to go to bed in my Carlton jersey to annoy M. Even though Collingwood won, M was too exhausted to celebrate. He wasn’t just physically exhausted but the special duty he has been performing in the last week and a half has also exhausted him mentally and emotionally.

We used Nippon Paint Advance for our DIY painting project. The tint we had chosen is a Dulux one though. I had wanted to use Dulux paint because of its washability but had opted for Nippon because it was cheaper. Because I am asthmatic, my mum was a bit worried that the smell may be a problem especially since we were painting so close to bedtime. It turned out that the Nippon paint didn’t smell much at all. We bought a roller plus tray kit when we bought the paint. The friendly man serving us at Bunnings suggested that we buy an extra sleeve for the roller and we chose one that wasn’t the most expensive. Of all the little things we have bought for this project, the paint pad is my favourite. M chose one with an adjustable global handle. If I get to buy this item again, I would pick the one with a non-adjustable knob on its back. The handle on our one was supposed to give the user greater control but we found the opposite was true in our experience. So we ditched the handle.

While we were busy doing work inside the pigeon hole, something was also happening in the communal area of our building. A team of men returned on Friday to lay the new surface for the communal tennis court. They were here a week and a half ago to remove the old worn-out surface. When M left to perform his special duty in the morning, a man was already working on the tennis court. By the time I came home around 4 pm in the afternoon, a team of men were in the middle of finishing off their work in the tennis court. One man was riding on what looks like a ride-on lawn mower going round and round. That looked fun to me. It can't possibly be a real lawn mower because the surface is synthetic. By around 6 pm, people in our building were once enjoying tennis again. That week and a half or so must have been the longest time the court was not used in the history of our building.

Friday Morning

Friday Afternoon

Feeling Mean Sometimes

2009-07-26T22:22:00.001+10:00

No, this post has nothing to do with regret over what I said about M earlier this month. This post is about my Guinea Pig. By the end of the 3rd quarter of the Carlton/Collingwood match on Friday, I was pretty sure that the chances were slim for Carlton to make a major comeback. My mind wandered off when I laid eyes on the beautiful picture of our Guinea Pig. I feel like a mean pet-keeper every now and then because I think that my decision to keep him was a selfish one. From the day we bought him in 2003, he became our friend and for years I thought he would be content to just have us because we showered him with so much love. I sometimes wonder where his siblings/cage mates are now. Did they have a good life? Are any of them still around? I also wonder if our Guinea Pig missed the companionship of another cavy friend and whether we had ruined him for not buying another one. I only learned the importance of keeping at least a pair when our Guinea Pig was a little older. By then, we were told that an older male Guinea Pig may not accept another same-sex companion. I also read somewhere that it was OK to keep a single Guinea Pig provided that we showered it with heaps of attention and care. That’s exactly what we did with our little friend. He was literally smothered with LOVE. Even so, that still didn’t stop me from wondering if we have been mean to him.

My Guinea Pig popped up in my dream again recently. In the dream, M and I had separated. He had moved into a flat and for some reasons, I was visiting his place one afternoon. As I approached his building, I noticed an American style letter box next to a block of identical letter boxes. The metal flag on the American style letter box was up, indicating that it has mail. I was curious to check out this all so American object. When I got the letter box door open, out came my Guinea Pig! Well, I think he was my Guinea Pig except that his colour markings were slightly different. I was somewhat annoyed that M had decided to keep him in a letter box. LOL.

Almost Ready to Paint

2009-07-20T22:40:00.001+10:00

We are almost ready to paint the bedroom (aka the Caravan). We washed the walls with Sugar Soap on Saturday and then let them dry. On Sunday night, I assisted M in filling in little cracks and gaps with Selleys Multipurpose No More Gaps flexible filler. For best results according to the instructions, it is best that we let them cure over a period of 24 hours. Even though the cracks and gaps were only minor, we chose to pretend that they were more serious and so we have decided to not start painting until Tuesday evening, thus giving them more than 48 hours to cure properly. Luckily it hasn’t been very cold today and it has been pretty windy all day too. The window is left open in the hope that everything will be dry and ready for when we do start painting on Tuesday. I really hope that everything will go smoothly.

Camping In The Cave

2009-07-20T20:32:00.001+10:00

We have been sleeping in the ‘Cave’ (the spare bedroom) since last Wednesday. Although I have never been camping before, our temporary sleeping arrangement is probably similar to it except that we are not confined inside a tent. The first few nights of sleeping on a mattress on the floor were more uncomfortable than I had expected. M adapted much sooner than me! I grew up sleeping on a latex mattress and when I was around 4/5, I started using a latex pillow as well. Other than hotel stays, I didn’t have my own spring mattress until I came to Australia but when it comes to pillows, I still prefer latex ones to this day. Even M prefers latex pillows now. LOL.

Unable to fall asleep easily, I had been wondering about other people’s sleeping arrangement these last few days. A cousin of mine still prefers to sleep on top of a straw mat placed above a sheet of plywood. The piece of plywood sits above the bed slats. He is not poverty stricken and he is not in jail. He does live in a remote part of the world but most people around him have pretty much upgraded to proper mattresses since the 60’s or 70’s. I have also been wondering about the thickness of the futons used in Japan. They must not have been very thick if a child’s futon can be washed in coin operated washing machines at a Laundromat. When my brother was in his late teens, right through to when he was in his 30’s, he used to sleep on a latex mattress on the floor. I, at the time, assumed that he did it because he thought the idea was cool. We have also hosted a student who preferred his spring mattress on the floor too.

Funnily, I slept pretty well last night but that could be because I was totally exhausted. I wonder if I will miss our current sleeping arrangement when we eventually move back to our freshly painted bedroom.

Absolutely Fuming Still (Super Long Rant)

2009-07-16T23:36:00.001+10:00

The last 10 days or so have been horrible. It has not been fun sorting out the junk in the pigeon hole. The amount of junk is also forever increasing. We keep finding things that we thought we chucked out long ago. M, the much needed helper turned into a slave driver insisting that I speed up my effort. Instead of sorting things out systematically, his way was to box everything up and send them all to the storage unit. I was apparently spending too much time deciding what to keep and what to chuck. 3/4 of what we want to store in the ‘shed’ is complete and nasty M seems to think that the success has every bit to do with his push to speed things up. He totally believes that if he didn’t help out last week, nothing would have been accomplished so far. M is not a very nice person when the bully within him comes out of the closet and I know very well from whom he inherited this nasty trait from.

We completed our trips to the ‘shed’ on Friday and I was allowed two days to rest to prepare me for hell. His so-called ‘holidays’ started on Monday. He had to take time off work for a specific duty that I can’t reveal for now but it has nothing to do with the ‘Global Financial Crisis’ or any other personal reasons. We were hoping that the whole kerfuffle would turn out to be nothing and we could use the time off work to tackle the ugly pigeon hole even though I don’t really like working with him. That was not to be. We found out today that M will have to perform a special duty for the next 15 week days. That’s just absolutely great! He is going to be stressed and when he gets home, he is likely to have a go at me for doing things too slowly.

On Monday, we spent the afternoon moving things around within the living areas to make way for when we have to empty the bedrooms. I also spent some time re-arranging my Montessori bookcase and my ECE bookcase. Everything was going great until we stopped work early in the evening. M went to take a shower and he apparently used my freshly laundered PINK towel by accident. I love the feel of freshly laundered towels and had been looking forward to using it all day. I instantly chucked a hissy fit of course. M didn’t seem to see what the big deal was about. He stormed into the ‘cave’ (spare bedroom) to retrieve another one for me but the slave driver had forgotten that I had been so busy of late that a big pile of dirty clothes (including towels) were still waiting to be laundered and there were no fresh bath towels left in the wardrobe. He offered me a beach towel only to aggravate me even more. The beach towels we have received as gifts over the years are all poorly made. They shed a hell of a lot of fluff when used. Anyone reading this probably thinks that I was behaving like a spoilt brat but I think the pent up emotions gathered from previous days just exploded. I love doing things my own way and hate to be forced to do a crappy job just to fit someone else’s timetable. I also do not believe that M picked the wrong towel up by accident because someone like him wouldn’t choose anything PINK unless he had been forced to. Sad to reveal this bit of info but M was conditioned to think from a young age that all things PINK are for girls.

Things calmed down after we walked to Safeway to buy bread and milk but it didn’t stay that way for long. M was surfing the net after dinner and at one point he walked away from the computer for a brief moment and I happened to see a photo of him on the screen. It turned out to be his Facebook account and he had placed a photo of himself on it. The photo looked familiar and I didn’t recognise it right away. When asked, he explained that it was a photo of the two of us but he had cut me out of it. The photo didn’t look like a digital image. I next asked him to show me the original photo and to my utter horror, he clicked on his Facebook photo album to find it. I really believed that M had thoughtfully cut me out of the photo because he knew full well that I prefer to not be shown online. When he showed me the original photo of the two of us from within the photo album, I flew into a complete rage. At that instant, I realised that he had placed a photo of me online without my permission. It was not a digital image and so it was not from our collection. The scanned photo was taken a long time ago by his VIP and I look absolutely UGLY in that series of photos. I am not joking. Whenever the media makes fun of Michael Jackson, they always show a famous mug-shot of the singer. Well, in this series of photos (including the one he had added online), I actually looked just like an oriental/Asian version of MJ in that mug-shot pose. Again M didn’t seem to see why I was offended. The thing is that it didn’t matter if he had posted that photo or another one, I just do not want hideous me to be posted online for the world to see. It is hard enough to put up with stares on a daily basis to worry about what the rest of the world could be thinking as well. I do not wish to interfere with what is going on with his Facebook. I had long accepted that the thing is used by him to maintain contact with his family and other shallow beings but he has absolutely no rights to add a photo of me without asking me first. I have no proof as to who whipped up the idea of adding my photo; it probably was him like he said but I know full well where he got the photo from.

To make matters worse, I also found out that he had decided to tell the world what he had found in my collection of old CD’s. He thought that most of my CD choices were hilarious and had to share it. He conveniently left out the fact that the CD collections he was referring to were ones that I bought as a teenager. Some teens have shonky taste and I admit that I belong to that group but that doesn’t mean that he had to go around mocking me behind my back. As predicted, one shallow being responded with a “Hahahaha...haha…haha…ha”.

OK. If I don’t like him mocking me online and showing a photo of me without my permission, I therefore shouldn’t do the same here on my blog. I don’t think I am contradicting myself though. Here, so far in this post, I have not mocked him. With regards to posting a photo of him, I did indeed post one not so long ago but he was well aware of it and it was a shot of him from behind. When I started this blog, I had never intended to say so many nasty things about M but lately, I honestly feel that he has turned into someone else altogether. I wonder if him being testy has anything to do with how his parents react (ever so positively) to recent events that has happened to his siblings.

Anyway, when I woke up on Tuesday morning, I showed him my dissatisfactions by verbally blasting away at him for 3 hours straight. It wasn’t a good idea because I developed a slight fever after that and conked out after lunch. He probably enjoyed the peaceful hours that afternoon when I was knocked out by a couple of paracetamol tablets.
When I finally got up, I gave him the cold shoulder for the rest of the day and refused to work, full-stop. The Cold War would have lasted longer but there is just so much to do around here. I don’t believe that I have achieved anything by yelling at him.

One of the first things I was taught when I came to Australia is that no one can change another person. The changes have to come from within. This is why I found it amusing on Sunday when I saw people marching down Swanston Street. Are these people so naïve? Do they really think that they are capable of bringing forth true harmony by walking together once in a blue moon? It was just one big media publicity stunt. I found it more interesting to observe the facial expressions of shoppers and visitors who were ‘interrupted’ by the loud and colourful procession.

I have not been very happy since I last blogged. I don’t think I will be cheerful for a while. Oh yeah, there was another thing that happened on Sunday night that ruined the start of this week. It was German Grand Prix 2009. Not only did my favourite driver do poorly, the one and only driver that I had always wished to never win ended up winning! He wasn’t just up on the podium coming in third or second, he won! He came first! Believe it or not, Mark Webber won? I was really hoping that his engine would stall just metres from the finishing line. That would have been a great start to the week. LOL. Mark Webber is actually quite cute but I have never liked him since he started racing in F1. Not his fault actually. My dislike for Mark Webber has a lot to do with how Eddie McGuire ‘introduced’ him to the world during his first race. I won’t go into it too much now or this post will never end.

14 Months On Already

2009-07-08T00:00:00.002+10:00

We are still in the middle of de-cluttering the ‘Cave’. Because there is still a lot to do, I have very little time to blog. The Pigeon Hole is still a complete mess. Our current situation is quite overwhelming at times.

On Sunday, before M went to a family get together, we visited the Bunnings Warehouse in Port Melbourne. That’s the nearest branch to our home. We didn’t know that it existed until around late last year. After all of the de-cluttering, M and I are looking to give the bedrooms a fresh lick of paint. We are also looking to change the door knobs of our bedroom and bathroom. So, we went to Bunnings to get some ideas. It was a bit of a break from all the sorting and packing. M and I love the large garden centre. M saw this sublime plant in a pot and fell in love with it but because we won’t be dealing with the state of our balcony until we have completed the projects inside the pigeon hole, I refused to let him buy it. We may eventually buy one because there is a particular dish that uses lime that M and I really like. Limes can be quite pricey in Australia. I will blog about our plans for the balcony later. Let’s just say that I have been pretty inspired by some of the blogs I have been reading in the last year.

At the garden centre, I also saw other things that I would definitely buy right away if my Guinea Pig was still around. It doesn’t matter that our Guinea Pig had left us 14 months ago. His comfort and happiness is still very much important to us (me, in particular) today. We have always wanted to put a piece of rock in his cage to help wear down his claws. When our Guinea Pig was little, we used to take him to the vet to have his claws trimmed. Later, M bought a pair of special scissors to do the trimming ourselves. It was never easy because our Guinea Pig used to move around and I used to get really distressed, worrying that M might accidentally injure him. It did happen once and our Guinea Pig yelped and bled a little. I nearly fainted on the spot. Anyway, we saw a pile of marble off-cuts; each one the size of a small child’s head. How I wish to have bought one for our Guinea Pig. The marble pieces were $8.95 each. There were also bricks and square pavers that would do the job as well. I used to think that people must buy things like these in bulk because who would buy just one brick?

In the 60 Minutes episode that night, there was a segment on animals helping autistic children to calm down. It was very interesting. Even though there is still a lack of scientific evidence supporting this idea, I totally subscribe to it. It was so true when someone in the show said that people lie, animals don’t. An expert explained that interaction with animals is easier because they have far fewer facial expressions than humans. I totally second that too. Humans can be totally weird. They may seem totally warm and friendly for a while and then transform into something else without disclosing their reasons. That is just so annoying. I really wish to stay here and keep blogging but I have to get back to sorting out what to keep. There is something happening on a street nearby and I can’t wait to blog about it.

Grrr… Don’t you just hate it when posts are loading up too slow? I had wanted this post to be dated 7th of July but because things were so slow, I ended up being minutes late!

Still Pretty Messy!

2009-06-30T15:06:00.020+10:00

Our little pigeon hole is still pretty messy today. M is becoming more impatient by the minute. He just can't wait to get everything done all at once. I just want to sort and store things systemetically so we can track down any item easily in the future. The top photo shows some of the books waiting to be sorted last week. The second and third photos, taken today, show some empty boxes waiting to be filled and boxes that are ready to be taken to our storage unit. The 'Cave' is still a bombsite. There are heaps to do around here but to add fuel to fire, M had also been called in to perform an extra duty that is likely to take up even more of our precious time.

Grrrr...It is so annoying when the photos are not loading up properly. This post is currently missing a photo. There is good news though. It was absolutely pouring a few minutes ago. I hope the much needed rain had washed away the bird poos on my balcony. The funny thing is that, as I type this post, I can hear the caretaker doing his last round of clearing the paths inside the building with his all so annoying blower. Am I the only one who think that was a pointless chore when the paths are wet? On another note, I just learned from the news that I am temporarily sharing my postcode with a famous Hollywood family. They have just flown in today and moved in nearby while one of them is working on a film in the next few weeks at Docklands!

The Day I Saw MJ & My ‘First’ King of Pop’s Cassette Tape

2009-06-26T21:50:00.001+10:00

Weeks before Christmas 1996, I got wind that Michael Jackson was to appear at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. I remember dragging myself there and got a seat in the second row. Seated next to me were a bunch of Aussie girls who must have been a few years younger than me. They were very excited. I remember thinking that they were more excited to see the boy band supporting Jacko’s appearance because they sang to their songs with gusto. Their enthusiasm attracted the TV cameras and I found myself on Australian TV that evening. LOL. I think the boy band was Human Nature and I thought they were like an Aussie version of New Kids on the Block at the time. LOL.

When the man finally appeared on stage, I was quite surprised to see such a shy person. His stature was also quite small, not quite what I had expected. I can’t remember much of what he had said when he was on stage. I guess I was totally taken in by his presence. His songs were my introduction to the pop music world and I never dreamed that he would be standing only a few metres away from me. It was very surreal.

One year in the 80’s, my brother, who is a decade older than me, played the Michael Jackson Thriller album when he came home (not Australia) for his Summer holidays. That coincided with the time when my English was starting to take off and I fell in love with that album, but I was not allowed to operate our family’s or my brother’s record player. I remember having to wait till my brother came home from all his so-called social commitments before I could beg him to put the music on. Then one afternoon when nosey me went to annoy the people working for us, I found a crappy looking cassette with Lionel Ritchie on its cover. I didn’t know who he was then but I could tell from the cover design that it must have featured music similar to Michael Jackson’s. So I asked someone where they bought the tape and they told me that they got it from the Pasar Malam (night market). I planned to talk someone into taking me to the market but I knew no one would have dared to because I was pretty small then. Then one day my mum took me to see the GP because I was running a fever. As we were returning to the car, I walked past a man selling a few items on top of a box. My mum was busy talking to a parking officer and I went over to see what the man was selling. He was selling cassette tapes and one of them featured a picture of Michael Jackson. Wow! I wanted that. My mum didn’t listen to my pleading at first but when I suggested that I would use the record player after my brother had returned to Canada, she gave me the money. She even dropped me off in front of the man, double parking in front of the parking officer that she was talking to earlier. I was so happy on the way home because I thought that I finally had my own Michael Jackson album. Up till then I had only been listening to Disney cassette tapes my father had ordered from overseas. I felt really grown up. LOL. When I got home, I dashed in to try my new tape in my own tape player. I was totally disgusted to learn that even though the tape featured the King of Pop’s songs, he sang on none of them! When I was older, I suspected that the songs were sung by ‘artists’ from a neighbouring country. So, there you see, fakes existed even back then! I did learn from that experience. I became a snobby little consumer instantly. It was also an embarrassing moment that I tried to hide from my family because I didn’t want them to ridicule me. Eventually my brother did teach me how to handle the record player before he left for another school year abroad and I had access to his huge collection that I could dance and sing to ‘til I dropped. LOL. It didn’t matter that I got most of the words wrong when I sang and didn’t even understand most of the lyrics.

Ice Skating & Some Kind of Light Show

2009-06-26T21:33:00.007+10:00

A synthetic ice rink is being set up at QV square for people to try a bit of ice skating. It wasn’t ready when we were there this afternoon. According to the glossy flyer we were handed, the event starts tomorrow and each half hour session costs $7.50 per adult. I am not very keen to give it a go. Ice skating was one of the first things I was introduced to when I went to boarding school and I have to admit that I wasn’t good at it at all. When I wasn’t falling all over the place and worried that I was going to get my fingers sliced off by someone else’s blades, I was daydreaming about this prefect that I really liked. How could a girl concentrate with him around? LOL. This rink at QV seems pretty small. I guess it would be ideal for introducing the sport to little children. In the picture, the lady with the red pants looked like she was sharpening the blades.

What are these people doing? I wanted to find out but M just wanted to get home. The display is called Volume and it is at Fed Square. People get on stage to get up close and personal with the LED columns. I saw a guy touching the lights. I also saw a woman pressing her ear against a column. It seemed to me that the colours of the columns were changing to the beat of loud music. This is not the only display at the square. There are at least another two and one of them featured the different shapes of human eyes from around the world. We will have to go back on another day to properly investigate this event.

We were also given these mini lollybags when we were leaving Fed Square. It is always nice to receive Freebies.

Bitter Sweet Purchase

2009-06-24T16:54:00.003+10:00

There is absolutely nothing wrong with our old Canon printer but the old computer it is hooked up to has ceased to work since a couple of weeks ago. This means that we can no longer use the old printer. It is not Vista compatible and it is therefore not possible for it to be hooked up to this computer. Bummer!

After careful consideration, I gave in to the idea of buying a new printer. We looked at the printers on sale at Officeworks. This is a good time to buy such things. M pretty much let me make the decision on which model to buy because he wasn’t fussy as long as it is a multi-function one that can be hooked up to this computer. I think he was secretly very happy that I have come to the decision of buying one. So we marched into the Officeworks at QV last Wednesday (17th June) and bought our new printer. We initially planned to go to the store on Kings Way but since we were already going to the city, we opted for the store inside QV. This time we didn’t really stick to what was recommended by computer magazines. We just stick to the same brand and our pre-agreed budget. Since we have some gift cards, we ended up saving an extra $40 on top of the already reduced sale price!

There are people out there who are not very fond of IKEA but I am not shy to let people know that I love IKEA. It doesn’t bother me one bit that my neighbour or someone in another country probably has a piece of furniture that is identical to mine because we have bought the item from an IKEA store. One of the most versatile items I have bought from IKEA is not actually a piece of furniture. It is a large blue bag that shoppers can pick up near their check-out counters. We bought one and it is used to lug a lot of things. We brought it with us when we went to buy the new printer and the bag was large enough for M to carry the printer home comfortably.

We are very happy with the printer but I must admit that I feel a little sad also. I find it really hard to have to replace something that is not broken. M promised to have the old computer repaired soon. If it can be repaired the old printer will be up and running again. The old computer is still useful to us because that’s where we type anything in Chinese.

All Messed Up Again

2009-06-23T10:25:00.001+10:00

Less than two weeks after we tidied up the living areas within the pigeon hole because a tradesman was coming to install the new blinds, our little home is all messed up again. This time I won’t be able to tidy up in time for another team of tradesmen popping in to install new intercom handsets today! It is going to be an utterly embarrassing moment when I have to let them in!

We are trying to clear up the clutter collecting thick dust in the spare room (aka “The Cave”). Once upon a time, about 6 years ago, we turned the cave into a home office/spare bedroom. A couple of years later, I suddenly desired a more minimalist look in the living areas and ordered that all the bookcases be sent hiding in “The Cave”. From then on, the room ceased to be a spare bedroom and turned into a space for gaming, books, clothes and junk. It was quite a nice place for M to relax in there at first but all sorts of junk had taken over the space in recent years. The situation is so bad that we can no longer open the door to the little balcony and I found it increasingly difficult to access my own clothes in the wardrobe and tallboy. I am really tempted to shame ourselves by taking a photo of the Cave’s current state but I think it will scare readers away! LOL!

It is decided that the bookcases be returned to the living areas. The minimalist look is out the balcony door until we can afford to live in a purpose built house where I can actually hide my books in a personal library. We are trying to do things systematically by sorting things into different groups. Some things that we want to keep will be boxed for storage while others will be kept here. There are also things that we would like to get rid of by selling them on Ebay and things that we will give away. This is why almost the entire pigeon hole is in such a pitiful state. I think it will remain quite unsightly until the end of Winter. After years of neglect, we have so much to tackle. As things improve, I will start taking photos for when I blog about the progress. It’s just too embarrassing to show the current state now.

Praised Too Soon

2009-06-17T23:45:00.001+10:00

We have changed most of the light bulbs in the pigeon hole to those energy saving ones in the last 12 months. I think I even blogged twice about it and I think I also praised them on both occasions. At this stage, only two lights in the dining area and the light at the main balcony still need to be changed but we will have to be quick in finding energy saving light bulbs that can fit the dining area lights because traditional light bulbs will be phased out soon.

12 months on, I must say that I am not completely satisfied with the change over to energy saving light bulbs. The light in the living area takes three candle shaped light bulbs and without checking out what are available at Bunnings Warehouse, the only energy saving option we have at the moment is Philips Brand Ambiance light bulbs. They are good in that they never emitted any annoying noise but we have only ever seen the warm white ones and overtime, we noticed that they are becoming less and less bright. When we replaced the ones in the bedrooms and the loo, we also ended up buying warm white ones because the cool daylight ones are super rare. So when the electrician came to fix the hall way light before Christmas 08, and installed this cool daylight one that I scored by pure luck, I was overjoyed. It was so nice to be able to see what I am looking for in the pantry and the hallway cupboard but the fun didn’t last long. Everyone kept saying that Energy saving light bulbs last longer than traditional light bulbs but not this one pictured here. It died a couple of weeks ago. The hallway light is only turned on when someone is trying to access the pantry or cupboard. So, it has never been turned on for hours on end. It is not the light’s fault. The electrician didn’t do a dodgy job because after we replaced the blown light bulb with a new one, the light works as normal. It is so annoying to have to buy another new light bulb after just less than 6 months. On top of that, we are now unsure of how to dispose the used light bulb safely. I read somewhere that these energy saving light bulbs have to be disposed off properly. Apparently you can’t just place it in the bin along with the other household rubbish. I think I will have to Google it.

We will be going to Bunnings soon because I wish to give the bedrooms a fresh lick of paint. We will definitely check out the light bulbs they sell when we are there to see if we have more options. Because I sew/craft (even on some evenings) and because my work area is part of the living area, I really need brighter light bulbs because I don’t want to further harm my eyesight. Right now the living area is looking more and more like it is lit with a few real candles.

Buying A Few Things

2009-06-16T14:44:00.006+10:00

Here's a post on what I bought in the last 12 days or so. I know that I only just blogged about the need to stick to a budget that also allows a bit of fun. That’s what we did when we went shopping recently. We left the ‘Fun Police’ at home to make decision making easier and the trips guilt free. I specifically held onto the gift cards and money I had received for my Birthday in May for use during the June Sale. Quite a few items are things for the kitchen because since I changed the menu recently, I realised that I need a few extra things.

Here is what I bought so far:

A pair of tongs because the other ones are broken.

A set of scone and cookie cutters because I want to make sure that my homemade hamburgers are relatively the same size (M thinks that this is pathetic.) but I can also use them to make scones one day.

A plastic butter box. We used to use butter portions but are unable to find them these days. So this box is a hygienic way to store the block of butter we now have to buy.

A pack of three tea-towels because we need more to replace the retired ones.

A pack of 5 dishcloths.

A small fry pan because I want to make blueberry pancakes that are relatively uniform in size. (Moosh thinks that this is pathetic also.)

A pair of wool blend socks from Target and believe it or not, they are made in Australia?

One pie plate because the menu now includes a vegetable pie once a fortnight.

One long sleeve Spencer – I love Holeproof Thermalite and the whole range is now made in New Zealand.

One photo snowglobe because I just want another ornament housing a photo of my Guinea Pig.

The small fry pan is a really cheap one ($4.50) from IKEA. The truth is that I am a little unsure about it. After I got home from IKEA the other day, I suddenly felt a little unsure about using it and still am. If anyone is reading this post, have you used cheap non-stick fry pans before? What do you think? Apart from the snowglobe, all the other things I bought were for practical use. I just hate to be seen as a Gold Digger if I bought only pretty things for myself.

New Blinds

2009-06-15T14:18:00.002+10:00

A tradesman came last Thursday to install two made to order roller blinds to replace our broken vertical blinds. M is totally in love with the blinds. Unlike the vertical blinds, these totally block out the sun when they are down. Unfortunately there is a little gap between the two panels but we can live with it. At this stage, I am still not sure what I think about them. I just hope that they don’t start bouncing off their brackets and knocking me out.

Time for Some Changes: Releasing the Fun Police’s Tight Grip

2009-06-13T19:11:00.001+10:00

I am back! It’s not like I left town. I just didn’t blog much in the last few days because of chores. Here’s a post I prepared earlier.

I first noticed the price of groceries going up and up in the Winter of 2007. Around that time, I also began to hear stories of foreclosures in the US. Being a super worry wart, I began to think that something disastrous was heading our way. Way back in 1997, Australia was not affected by the Asian Financial Crisis but this time, I was sure that the Global Financial Crisis would hit the Land of Oz and it did. There is a photo in a Children’s Encyclopaedia that has spooked me since I first saw it. It was a photo of an American standing outside his shack taken during the Great Depression (1930’s). The shack was made of pieces of cardboard recycled from boxes and pieces of recycled wood. I just find it hard to believe that the English speaking world has been through such a terrible phase in the 20th century. With the way people (including us) have been spending in recent years, I thought that it would have been a very scary situation if an incredibly large number of Aussies suddenly lost their jobs. How would Centrelink support everyone? Would there be riots? Would people start to judge who deserves more handouts? I can’t stand those handouts. They just complicate things in the long run.

I freaked out and became our own in-house Fun Police. The first thing I did was to draw up a brand new budget to strictly control our spending. Things like going to the movies, eating out at fancier establishments, magazines and even most of our clothes and hobby allowance went out the window or drastically reduced. I thought we were set to live with only the bare necessities. The budget was like a Starvation Diet. It worked at first but by April this year, we were breaking some if not most of the rules. M was spending money behind my back and whenever he bought something openly, I was quick to want to out-do him ASAP.

We did stick to the super strict budget for a little over a year. Although we had begun to break the rules, we did gain from it as well. We certainly realised how little we needed to live quite comfortably. So, it’s not entirely a bad budget/experience. What we need now is a budget that also lets a little bit more fun back in. It’s good that Winter is here. We tend to stay home more and thus spending less. I also tend to be happier with my cooking duties on cold days and as a result of that we tend to also eat out less. Of course I wish, like a lot of people, to be able to live without any money worries but with so many uncertainties around and ahead of us, it is definitely not a task for us to strike a balance easily. Because I am not sure if M will play ball, I will have to think up some ideas to get the ball rolling.

Blogging Less Again

2009-06-07T22:52:00.001+10:00

A tradesman is coming on Thursday and I have heaps of cleaning and tidying up to do before his arrival. My skin is just not thick enough for me to allow anyone other than us into this pigeon hole in its current state. So, I won’t be blogging much in the next few days. I have heaps to tell the world though. For instance, we went to IKEA again today. Aussies have been told that they have narrowly avoided a recession last week. If you were there at IKEA today, you would be asking, “What Global Financial Crisis?” People were buying like IKEA won’t be here tomorrow. LOL. I confess that I bought a bit too but one item was a pressie for someone else. No, the pressie wasn’t a $1.50 vase.

I Guess I am Really Moving On

2009-06-07T22:45:00.000+10:00

Today is the 7th of June. In the past year, I have always written a post that has something to do with my Guinea Pig on the 7th of each month. It was like a mourning process. Today, I didn’t even think about the date until just now! I guess that I am ready to move on but that doesn’t mean that I will simply forget about our little friend who played an important part of my/our life/lives for nearly 5 years. We still speak of him every day.

I watched half an episode of Martha last Monday and in it I saw a little sea otter by the name of Gracie getting fed by her keeper. Gracie was floating around on her back and was using her chest as a little table top. When she was handed a bit of crab, she went over to the side of the rock pool and proceeded to bash the crab’s claw against the rocks to crack it open to retrieve the meat inside. Who says little animals are not inventive? That sea otter was using a tool. We humans are not the only ones using tools in our daily lives. If I had a lot to type on the computer, my Guinea Pig used to join me in making a similar tapping sound by playing with the marble stopper inside his water bottle. He would do it and then turn to look at me. LOL. We humans have a tendency to not just underestimate little humans but animals all the time.

Goodbye McGill’s and Hello Mag Nation

2009-06-06T20:31:00.002+10:00

I heard on the news that McGill’s, my favourite magazine shop is closing its doors. Apparently it was bought by Campion but they found it too much of a struggle to keep it operating. This reminds me of a well known toy brand A from Europe. It was taken over by toy brand B, also from Europe. After the take over, all of the toys from toy brand A were renamed toy brand B. It was like that for a while until they decided to move the manufacturing offshore – to where else but China of course. When I saw the new batch in toy shops again, I was totally shocked. The quality was beyond dodgy. This is not turning into a China Bashing post as I have seen products from China that are of high standards and good workmanship. After a year or two, we stopped seeing the toys in the shops. Some people are totally against plastic toys but I really adore some of the classical pieces that were made by toy brand A. Unfortunately, they can only be bought occasionally on Ebay now. I am also a fan of toy brand B as they too used to make great quality wooden as well as plastic toys. It’s a pity that when they went offshore, their standards lowered beyond belief.

Oops! This post is meant to be about my favourite newsagent. Before Borders’ arrival, most Melbournians’ access to magazines from abroad was via McGill’s. At one point, they even stocked a magazine from my country of origin! They also stocked some lesser known Aussie magazines like Grassroots. The store had always been busy. So it was quite a shock to learn that it will not be around anymore. Also situated along Elizabeth Street is another big magazine shop called Mag Nation. We had been in there a few times but we have always been loyal to McGill’s. It looks like we will have to buy from them now. Mag Nation is actually quite a friendly place. There are comfy seats on every floor for customers to browse before making a purchase. When we were there on Wednesday, after checking out McGill’s one last time, I noticed that Mag Nation stocks some of the magazines that I like to buy from time to time. M also said the same about his selection of magazines.

Show & Tell: Two ‘Extra Large’ Yo-yos

2009-06-05T20:38:00.004+10:00

I finally sat down to test-drive the Clover brand “Quick” Yo-Yo Maker the other day. The gadget is indeed a quick and easy way to make nicely shaped yo-yos. I am pretty happy with the results of my first two attempts. There is an example of what the finished product would look like on the packaging and the two that I made are roughly the same size as that. When I stood there at the shop deciding which one to buy, I selected the Extra Large one because it seemed easier to manage at the time. From experience, sewing smaller things tend to be fiddly and I didn’t wish to be frustrated when attempting something new. In the end, I didn’t think that size really mattered because the Yo-Yo Maker makes the whole process so easy. I am however surprised that the finished product really did turn out to be as small as pictured on the packaging. And when I first unfolded the printed instructions, my first impression was, “Gee, I am not going to like this. There are just way too many steps.” It was after closer scrutiny that I realised that I only need to read a quarter of the instructions sheet because the rest are in other European languages. PHEW! The instructions are indeed very detailed. In my opinion, I think that maybe they can summarize it a little to make it less ‘repetitive’. Now that I know how to make yo-yos with this gadget, I am not sure how I could use them in my projects. That’s something to think about.

On another note, the spectators are loud tonight. I not only hear fireworks but I can also hear the cheers of a large crowd from either Etihad Stadium or MCG. I am just too lazy to step outside to find out. May be Richmond is finally defeating whoever they are playing against tonight. LOL.

Cute Magic Pudding Statues

2009-06-04T23:27:00.005+10:00

When we were out walking on the Tan Track last Friday, we snuck into the Ian Potter Foundation Children’s Garden @ the RBG to take photos of these beautiful statues of the characters from a popular children’s book called “The Magic Pudding”. We didn’t really sneak in. Two gardeners were near the front gate when we marched in. They saw us and one of them even smiled. So, it is obvious to them that we entered without any little humans and it didn’t seem to be a problem or they would have asked us to leave. That was the first time I entered the Children’s Garden and we stayed only long enough to take a few snaps of the statues. How I wish to hang around to see if the award winning garden is an ideal place for me to take photos of plants for my pretty empty Montessori Botany box. I am aware that there is the rest of RBG for me and other adults to enjoy but I really do wish to learn more about the design of the Children’s Garden. I often wonder how they select the plants and whether they relied on any child development principles. Maybe one day a book about it will be released.

Note: Before and after we entered the Children’s Garden, M read the information erected near the gate. We are pretty sure that there was no mention that adults not accompanied with children were not allowed. In the website, there is a little note reminding adults that they are solely responsible for actively supervising children and keeping them safe while in the garden.

Japanese Bikkies with Strawberry Filling

2009-06-01T23:00:00.002+10:00

We bought this as a treat when we were at the Asian grocery store the other day. We used to love tasting junk food from abroad even though they were often over-priced. This pack is a first in at least a year or so and it is aud$2.99. These bikkies are quite like the Koala ones that we used to eat, except that they have a strawberry filling. Each bikkie is printed with the headshot of a different Disney character. Another thing I like about Japanese junk food is the packaging.

A New Plant +/- a Snail

2009-05-31T23:36:00.002+10:00

M bought a new plant and a snail for the Black Moors around a week and a half ago. Up until then there was just a rock and two plastic plants in the fish tank. I read somewhere that plastic plants can be dangerous to Black Moors because they have poor eye sight and may accidentally pierce their ‘goggles’ if they bump onto them. I wanted the plastic plants out of the tank after reading that. M wanted to replace the plastic plants with a live plant because it will increase the oxygen levels in the water. He picked one that is ‘potted’ so the fish can’t dig it up easily. M also bought a little snail but unfortunately I don’t think it is still with us. Its job was meant to be an underwater ‘vacuum cleaner’ but I personally don’t think it survived the water change. M took out some water during his turn to clean the fish tank. I suspect that when M was refilling the tank with fresh tap water, he created such a ‘whirlpool’ that the little snail didn’t stand a chance and probably died instantly of shock!

Show & Tell: Little Denim Skirt with Petticoat

2009-05-28T00:14:00.007+10:00

I just can’t wait to show off this little piece that I nearly finish constructing. There is only one embellishment that I have yet to apply. Can anybody guess what it is? LOL. Since I am not willing to use what I have, it looks like I will have to buy one just for this skirt.

The little skirt is made using a pattern I bought back in April. In case if anyone is interested, the pattern is Burda #9613. Since I relied on a pattern, I obviously didn’t design this piece from scratch; neither did I follow the instructions religiously. A few things were altered for easier construction and aesthetic reasons.

-In the instructions, I was supposed to apply zigzag stitch along the folded lower edge of the ruffle and then trim it. Instead of doing that, I finished that edge with a Rolled Edge Stitch on my overlocker to give it a more professional look.
-I knew very early on that I would be struggling with the way the patch pockets were supposed to be constructed. The fiddly bits would be a definite struggle but my high expectations on how the things I make turn out would certainly do my head in. So to make sure that the shape of each pocket is not compromised, I decided to make lined ones to make doubly sure that the turning of the seam allowances to the other side is as accurate as possible. The end result is not perfect but I am happy with the outcome. Little ‘annoying’ things like this are very important to me. LOL.
-This is meant to be a pull-up skirt with a ¾ elasticated waist but I turned it into one with an adjustable waist just like many commercial children’s garments available these days. Some people like this feature while others totally dislike it because the buttons and elastic rub against the child’s skin causing discomfort.

It can be hard to find some of the things required to make a garment from a store bought pattern. I was unable to find metal rivets again. They are needed to secure the top corners of each pocket but I will have to go without. There is a place in Melbourne where I could have gone to buy the rivets but I think they would only sell to me if I bought in bulk. I only need 6 for this skirt.

This skirt is likely to go to a little girl from M’s side of the family soon. It has been my wish to give home-made items as gifts since I read about other bloggers doing the same thing. I am not very sure how it will be accepted. I will look for a pretty belt, one that has a popular character, to make the skirt more appealing to the recipient. I am not willing to apply an iron-on patch of a popular character on the skirt. If it falls off, it is likely to leave an ugly mark and unlike an iron-on patch, a belt is at least removable. It is also less visible. We had always refrained from buying clothes for any children (over the age of 2) from his side of the family because of the Free Speech policy. I wonder how I would react if the skirt was openly rejected.

I have packed away my sewing machine for now but my overlocker remains on my desk. I am going to take a little break from sewing to spend a few days on Montessori. I also wish to test drive the crafting gadgets I bought in April. After that, I will either make some simple bags or a little double breasted jacket.

The little denim skirt with petticoat attached.

The adjustable waist

The lined patch pockets. (The fingers belong to Moosh.)

Dull As Ditch Water

2009-05-27T17:31:00.003+10:00

I just learned a new idiom. To help me remember what it means, I have to use it within a self-constructed sentence. I am one of those who have to learn such things explicitly. No, it has nothing to do with being an ESL learner. So, here is the sentence: This blog of mine is as dull as ditchwater. There! That's exactly how I feel. Other blogs that I read are way more interesting than mine. I think I will go and do the dishes now. By the way, instead of ditch water, dish water can also be used. Apparently '(as) dull as dish water' is a modern version.

Time for Some Changes: Food

2009-05-21T18:06:00.002+10:00

There have been gentle requests lately for me to stop using Dashi, Gomashio and Nori in our food. I love those three ingredients. The same person also asked that maybe I should make the Chicken Hotpot less often or make it without the Dashi. My Chicken Hotpot is not complete unless I cook it with Dashi. Okay, I do admit that I have been going a little overboard lately. I confess that I have been serving up my Chicken Hotpot 3 nights in a row per fortnight since mid-January. What baffles me though is that he requested that I should serve the dish less often or cook it without Dashi last Monday but then I also found him gulping down every single drop of the liquid in last Tuesday’s serving. So, does he like Dashi or not? (The liquid is made up of Dashi, Soy Sauce, Sugar and Mirin.) Another request for the hotpot is to reduce the amount of Lotus Root but that is so good though.

It looks like it is timely that I change our fortnightly menu again. I haven’t changed it since mid-January! Before that there were three changes in the period between December (08) and mid-January. From the mouth of the ‘fussy-pot’, I heard that he is yearning for comfort food. The nasty devil inside me felt like to tease by saying, “You should have married an Aussie wife like what everyone has been telling you if you want to eat wholesome Western food all the time.” Of course I didn’t say it to his face. Why would I? The truth is that M is not very fussy at all. While I can live with the same food over and over, M needs variety more than me. For example, when we used to go to Pancake Parlour, I used to order the same meal but M would try something different in each visit. At home he had been eating the same dishes repeatedly over a two week cycle since January. So, I do agree that we need a new menu.

M had been asking for his favourite soup and something with lamb. So perhaps my Chicken Minestrone and Irish Stew will be back on the new menu. The soup will replace the Chicken Hotpot but I will try to cook enough to only serve it over two dinners per fortnight. Oh, another dish that we both love in Winter is Chicken with Tarragon and Mushrooms. Now that we know that chicken is cheaper at ALDI, we can’t seem to have enough of it. LOL. I am still not sure what Asian dishes I would like to include this time. I will have to consult my cookbooks in the next few days.

Our menu always consists of dishes from both the West as well as the East. This inter-racial couple is always seeking to achieve balance in every decision we make. I admit that I am a pretty dodgy cook and I am glad that M has been putting up with my dodgy food for so long. I have seen Asian men complaining about their wives’ cooking in public. That is just awful. I have also seen one Aussie personality (some people reckon that he was quite a celebrity) who used to sell his wares on TV complaining about his second wife’s cooking after he ditched her to return to his first wife. The second wife is a youngish Asian (Thai/Filipino). When they first got together, he gave her heaps of thumbs up for everything. Anyway, as an outsider, I do not know the full story behind the fallout and I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead too. All I can say is that I am super glad that M does not put me down in public. But I still don’t understand why he doesn’t like Gomashio. So, would I be banning those three ingredients from our kitchen? The answer to that is NO. Regarding the Dashi, I will dilute it before I use it in some of my cooking. Not all dishes require Dashi. M never said anything when I used it diluted. As for the Gomashio and Nori, I will sprinkle them on my food and not his. He will just have to peg his nose while I am eating. LOL.

Doing the Stretchies

2009-05-20T20:16:00.001+10:00

Early on Thursday (14/05) morning, I dreamt about my little Guinea Pig again. It has been some time since I last dreamt about him. In the dream, M was talking to someone on the phone in the bedroom regarding a need to postpone our plans to relocate overseas. I stepped out into the hallway to see that there was something moving inside the Guinea Pig’s cage. I looked in to find my Guinea Pig in there. He was very lively. In fact he looked like a very real, digitally animated version of himself. He was playing with the hay in the corner furthest from me. When he saw me, he decided to show off his new ‘yoga’ skills. LOL. It was hilarious! He balanced himself with his front paws to lift his little bottom in mid-air. Holding on to that pose, he turned to look at me before shaking his bottom (still in mid-air) from side to side. He was smiling! I was amused but I was also thinking and asking, “What are you doing here? I thought you were gone. Oh no, how are we going to move overseas? Are you back for good? Are you fit enough to travel on the plane this time?” He continued to do a few more stretches and then I woke up realising that it was just a dream. I was glad that he popped in for a visit.

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-05-15T21:38:00.001+10:00

It’s my birthday today. I started the day telling M what we did on this very day 6 years ago. We went to a pet shop far away to buy our Guinea Pig. I was happily going through all the details when M decided to interrupt by reminding me of the incident when I pinched my Guinea Pig’s fur a few years ago. I did it as a way to move him away from sitting on his own puddle of wee and I totally regret doing it. The incident taught me that corporal punishment is also ineffective on little animals.

When I finally emerged from the bedroom, M was already in the middle of his breakfast and watching the news. As always, I asked if something disastrous happened while we slept. I really shouldn’t have asked. M turned on the Sky News Active for me to read the headlines. As always, I started by reading the last headline listed on the first page because the top story was too hot to handle but M was too eager to make sure that I got it. Aside from highlighting the first headline, he announced that Bud Tingwell was dead. I read the headline a few times before accepting the fact that one of my favourite older actors had gone to heaven. It was beginning to feel like M was trying to sabotage my day.

We had to pay some bills on Elizabeth Street so I suggested that we get into the CBD via Southgate. I normally do not like going via this way but it just made more sense to do it this way today. As we crossed the busy intersection (corner of Elizabeth and Flinders) right after we emerged from the Flinders Street Station Underpass, something lying flat on the road caught my eye. It was black and white. When I glanced at it again, I saw white fur moving in the breeze. I knew immediately that it was a small mammal and told Moosh not to look. Every time I asked him not to look at something (e.g. puke), he would look and then complain about it. We were both very angry with what we saw. We think the animal was someone’s pet. It was probably a Guinea Pig, a small rabbit or even a puppy. When I reached Flinders Lane, I felt like going back to pick it up but M didn’t think that was a good idea. As I ate my lunch, I wondered how many cars went over it. Since I do not know what exactly happened, I have no right to judge the human/s involved in this but I am certainly not happy with irresponsible pet owners.

After lunch, we went looking for a new headphone for the iPod. I like the ones with silicone cushions that go into the ears so I do not disrupt anyone who happens to be close to me when I listen to the iPod. Frugal me is only willing to spend around $50 but most of them are priced around $70. My favourite (BOSE) is $149! So, this mission failed.

Once we finished paying the bills, we were ready to go somewhere I picked especially for my birthday. You won’t believe what a stupid destination I had picked. No, it’s not the museum. No, it’s not another shopping centre and no, it’s not the state library. LOL. I told M yesterday that I wanted to go to Baillieu Library (Melbourne Uni) to check out a phonics kit. How unromantic? LOL. It’s been a while since we visited the Uni and we got quite lost. When we eventually found the library, we searched the catalogue to find the kit and manual that I had wanted to take a peek at were gone! Had they been in, they were usually kept at the Education Resource Centre. We did go to the ERC. It has been renamed the Eastern Resource Centre. It wasn’t a good idea to visit the Uni at all. I came away feeling really old.

We are home now. The dinner lady is not working tonight. M volunteered to cook dinner – Spaghetti Bolognaise. I am more than a little nervous about that. He has already cleaned one load of dishes. The man is trying to be nice after buying those DVDs behind my back. I am just going to put my feet up and watch an episode of Law and Order but it won’t be easy.

A ‘Duffle Coat’ for Me

2009-05-14T23:54:00.001+10:00

I have always loved Duffle coats. I love the toggles. The length and thickness kept me warm. I am no fashion guru but I think that the Duffle coat is a classic piece that doesn’t seem to be unfashionable. I could be wrong. People like me are notoriously known to need more than a little help following fashionable trends. LOL. Comfort and practicality are top priorities for us.

Here is what I look out for in a proper Duffle Coat
• It has to be made of wool.
• It has to be Navy (so dark that it is almost black), Black or Red (Radio Flyer Red to be exact but red is only applicable if I am buying for myself for when I was 6!).
• Ideally, I would like one with a detachable Chin Flap but not all models/versions have this feature.
• It has a collar as well as a hood.
• Ideally, it has a detachable 3-piece hood with or without a little peak/visor.
• It should have at least two pockets externally and two more side entry, hand warming pockets around the middle of the coat.
• Internally, the colour of the lining must complement the colour of the coat.
• Plastic Toggles are quite acceptable. (Can’t be too fussy now can I?)
• On top of the toggles, there should also be a zipper or some other way of doing the coat up to keep me warm and toasty.

I had a Duffle Coat when I was at University. It didn’t have all the features outlined above but it was one of my favourites. I even wore it when I went to China on an extended study trip. Eventually, it had to be put away because ‘shallow’ me didn’t want to be seen wearing the same thing too often.

This last Sunday, M and I (Dumb and Dumber) went shopping at Highpoint. It was the first Mother’s Day we spent together. It was surreal that he wasn’t required to go home. I do not know the full story but I was super happy to have him to myself. Our intention was to shop for presents and a pair of Winter boots for me. The pressies were easy enough but I had little luck with the boots. Coats were on sale and I found one that looked somewhat like a Duffle Coat. It was meant to be $99.99. With a 25% discount on all coats, this coat would be reduced to around $75. That’s pretty good I thought. M was just happy that I finally found something I liked. When we got to the counter, we received further good news when we learned that the coat had been further reduced to just over $50. I was over the moon of course and was in a hurry to pay for it in case if there was a mistake. LOL. Later, my Mum too was delighted to hear that I found something nice for myself. It looks like the fun loving Priscilla is slowly re-emerging or did I make this purchase because I wanted to spend like M to match what he had spent?

This Old Man

2009-05-13T23:36:00.003+10:00

ARTPLAY recently used this tree in one of its ads. In the picture from the ad, I could see the boat sheds in the background. This meant that the tree must have been on the north bank. So, I went looking for the old man (referring to the tree) when I went for a walk along the river. I kept thinking that it was the trunk of one of those tall gum trees and couldn’t find it at first. Since it was part of an ad for ARTPLAY, I thought that it must be a tree near the facility. As you can see here, I found it. These pictures were taken today but I found the tree a few weeks ago.

ARTPLAY is another reason why I can’t wait to be a mum. There are so many activities for children and it is only a short walk from our pigeon hole. The place was closed when I was there this afternoon but even if it was open, I don’t think I would be welcomed for now. It is clearly stated at the back of their program guide that children under the age of 8 must be accompanied by an adult and all adults must be accompanied by a child. Since I haven’t participated in any of the activities they offer, I can’t vouch for the quality but I like checking out their program guide every now and then to read about the activities on offer. They all seem pretty interesting. In the Winter 2009 guide, there is even an activity called Shadowplay for Adults! If we had a child, I can see M taking him or her to the Playmation workshop. There weren’t things like this where I grew up. How I wish to be able to observe these activities and perhaps implement something similar in our project.