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.
Showing posts with label Chinwagging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chinwagging. Show all posts
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Dreaming of Insignificant People
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
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
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Moving or Staying
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.
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.
Friday, February 19, 2010
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”.
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”.Sunday, February 7, 2010
Animals Big and Not So Big
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.
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.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
No Photos, No Chocolate Bars & No Asking, “How are your cows, Roger?”
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.
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.
Friday, January 8, 2010
The Need To Chill
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!
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!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year Everyone!
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
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
Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas Everyone
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.-
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.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Money to Burn
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!
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!
Friday, November 27, 2009
A Wish to Explore the Northern Capital
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.
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.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Busy Busy
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
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
Saturday, November 7, 2009
A Bit of Self Improvement, An Observation & A Timely Change
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Vesuvius Hath No Fury like a Woman Scorned
The beautiful Royal Exhibition Building
Outside the museumSaturday 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.
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.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
My Mum’s New Gig
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.
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.
Monday, September 28, 2009
A Bit of Lion Dance to Cheer Me Up
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Exhaustion Due To Too Many Dreams
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!
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!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
The Bonus Bundle Finally Arrived
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
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.
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.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Surprises from Long Ago inside This Little Diary
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.
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