Visited the Jumbo Baby and Friends (Content Edited)

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!

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

One Of My Favourite TV Chefs

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.

2010 – Year of the Elections

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

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

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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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”

Oops!

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.

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

This guy falling down is funny.

Bill’s Tree

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.

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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

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!

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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.

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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.

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