happy happy jou jou

thankful

2010-10-28T22:25:00.002+11:00

For all the things that I have said, loved or hated about Melbourne, it has brought me friends that I am thankful for.

Is it really the curse of the 10 year cycle?

2010-09-18T18:36:00.000+10:00

I am still getting over the last one.

Turning back

2010-09-02T23:17:00.002+10:00

As much as I wished, I couldn't turn back to the time where I could have chosen to go to a better school; or did a better course.

on certain generalisation

2010-07-23T00:34:00.003+10:00

I remember watching 'up in the air' and the character george clooney played said that it's more efficient to use steoreotypes to your advantage. I wonder if it's the placebo effect, i.e. that I unconsciously wait for something to occur, and then say, see, that's how that stereotype started.

I couldn't help myself sometimes because, I have to agree, to a certain extent, that that was how it is. Today, it was one of those days, and I just need to step back, and not listen to those sweet nothings, and just judge people by their actions. It felt as if all those years, running a team, amounted to nothing.

It is one of those experiences, in which you take a step back, and slow down for others, but then the other person thinks that you are that slow, when in fact, you were slowing down for them, and then they move ahead and think that they are so far ahead, when in fact, you have already been there longer than they have ever known.

being a heartless bitch

2010-07-07T21:20:00.003+10:00

I love being a heartless bitch sometimes, only to move on from evil peeps, especially those that you go 'I am so glad I got out of that relationship'.

I found this new term, negative energy vampires, i.e. people who suck the energy out of you because they don't have the energy to carry on with your lives and just download all their negativities on you. I am just sooo glad I got out of that.

Private-public life

2010-01-03T22:39:00.001+11:00

A friend told me that managing her personal life was far more important than her career, and I realised that when that was sorted out, everything else actually falls into place.

Happy 2010

2010-01-03T21:42:00.001+11:00

2010 will be a brilliant year. I know it.

life is grand

2009-10-31T21:38:00.002+11:00

and why not? whenever I'm in the downs, I think of my nephew's laugh. He's 4 years old, still protected from the perils of reality, but today I thought, why would we want to lose that and say 'life is like that', 'oh life is hard', 'oh, it's difficult'?

Life is grand, and happiness is hard work if you think it to be. It took me a long while, but it is really simple. Just be. Really, that's it. 'argh, it can't be so simple, there's mortgage to pay, there's a job to find'... i'm not asking to shed the responsibilities, less so, but that to think that there is a roof over the head, there's time to write this blog, or more importantly, there is something that I can do about.

Life, is as grand as can be.

Choices

2009-09-20T21:57:00.002+10:00

It is hypocritical to have grand visions and to try to reach out and save the world when the homefront is at stake.

Silver lining

2009-09-17T23:06:00.002+10:00

The roller coaster ride ends here.

Spring does make a difference.

Hiatus

2009-09-12T22:57:00.004+10:00

I have almost forgotten about this blog. Taking up a design studio eats up a lot of time, in between coffee, bagels, design lab, unhealthy fast food, slogans, photoshop, indesign, paceway.

That aside, I loved my trip back and is still hungover by it. I miss so much about home, and it is tiring to be this transient.

I need to dock soon.

The year in review

2009-08-01T01:31:00.001+10:00

I have a sketching and drawing pad now.

sepet

2009-07-26T04:18:00.003+10:00

I've never watched sepet, but the recent turn of events in which the film director suffered a stroke led me to weep through the show. This is the same brilliant person who reminded us we all are born colour blind and that families are important through the many heart warming Petronas ads.

Unfortunately, 2 days later, the director suffered a tragic fate and left the world. RIP.

Completing the cycle

2009-07-22T21:19:00.006+10:00

Looked for materials on the net and found this eye that took up approximately an hour plus.

RIP MJ

2009-06-27T03:52:00.002+10:00

1993, I went to the MJ concert with my dad, and we waited, only to be told some 45 min later that he was not well to perform. We went back a second time, hopeful, and then he appeared. It was my first music concert (the cameo by Tommy Page in Plaza Pelangi does not count), but yes, my first full fledge concert, and I went with my dad who promptly abandoned me midway because he wanted to better view.

I bet he was as excited as me to see the King of Pop. RIP MJ.

major-minor

2009-06-19T23:55:00.002+10:00

my first concert at the opera house. amazing. loved the second set of tchaikovsky piano concerto no. 2. brilliant performance by stephen hough.

What is your story?

2009-06-17T14:33:00.004+10:00

Just came back from uni. In an attempt to finish an assignment, I could not find a seat in the library and wandered off to the faculty building but was freezing my ass off on the uncomfortable stool and thought the postgrad room was too toxic what with the designers' glues and stumbled into a students' photo exhibition.

Most of the projects were very personal, one spoke of his 20-year-old friends, another of the anniversary prayers, and another with a portrait and close up of their deepest fears, together with a survey of what they feared the most. I like most of the works and the storyboard and creativity.

What is your story?

Healthy living

2009-06-14T22:39:00.002+10:00

I found out last week that my housemate's friend has high blood pressure at the young age of 27 and the doctor told her that she has to change her lifestyle or else.. so she and my housemate decided to live more healthily from Monday (15 Jun) by cutting down on cigarettes (him) and salt (her) and wine (them). And the spillover effects were that our household has also decided to do the 1 month challenge because we have just been eating way too much and not exercising enough, me especially since the month of May has literally become a month of eat, sleep, assignments and exams. Totally unhealthy...

So... 15 Jun shall be day 1!

How do you destress?

2009-06-08T10:28:00.004+10:00

Guess who is so stressed from assignments that she has to channel her energy to baking / cooking to destress... Hey, it's a step up from drinking coke / coffee.

(No, I only made the sticky date pudding cake - ma housemate didn't line the sides so the crumbs came off..)

Very simple breakfast...

Presentation

2009-06-07T13:57:00.002+10:00

In the midst of discussing the presentation format for our report, a coursemate used the following analogy:

As shallow as it might sound, if a guy wants to 'kao' a girl, he will see whether she is pretty first, i.e. to be attracted first, before taking the next step in getting to know her, if there is no first attraction, no matter how good the girl is, he will not be interested in wanting to get to know her better.

I think it's not about being shallow, but in knowing and working with the hard truths.

Merci!

2009-06-05T23:20:00.005+10:00

My housemates' folks are here for a week, and we just had a 3-hour dinner made up of 1 Malaysian and 5 Vietnamese (with 5 nationalities split between them - Original, German, French (ex-Cambodian), Australian) and 1 French. Dinner was a spread of oysters, sashimi, garlic bread, spring rolls, steak, wine and bubur cha cha - almost as diverse as the nationalities, no points for guessing who made desserts!

My attempted conversation with the French granduncle were just hilarious. Even though we were seated next to each other, it went round the table starting with him him showing me his four-faced buddha pendant that he bought from Bangkok and then speaking to his wife (in French), his wife relaying to my housemate in Vietnamese, and then her to me in English before I looked back at him and nodded my head in delight.

Despite the language barriers, the universal love for good food was shared. Dinner was great.

Time

2009-06-01T00:42:00.005+10:00

I've been reading Time Magazine since I was 12. Although it's been an on-off relationship of sorts, I've always felt an affinity to the magazine, even though it is very US-centric. I don't however remember most of the writers as I am very much a content seeker. Today I picked up the magazine again and decided to resume the affair and pay more attention to its contributers.

Image source: http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20090601,00.html

Overtime

2009-05-28T09:53:00.004+10:00

My 5-min rule ran overtime last night and I just need to run to the top of a hill and release the balloons of angst. Constant reminder to self: Don't waste time whinging about things / people you can't change, analyse and acknowledge the risk before making any decisions and don't try to convince yourself the risk can somehow disappear on its own.

My 5-min is up, another brand new day beckons.

Image source: http://elissestuart.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/balloons.jpg

Soup

2009-05-27T20:48:00.004+10:00

Yummy French Onion Soup...

I'm a soup person, and on days when things are rough, nothing beats a warm bowl of soup to remind you that things will only get better, just like the josh scene in the west wing (Yes, I quote a lot from the show, I think the writers are the most brilliant ones around and I miss such shows, and am severly lacking them in daily conversations).

Again frustrated with the tennis syndrome (will not elaborate any further), but have to constantly remind myself that I have no one to blame for the (good and bad) decisions that I make.

It is still very frustrating. On a happier note, French Onion Soup was great, and so was Italian theme night!

Cookout

2009-05-25T22:18:00.010+10:00

Yes, I realise that my blog has been rather dull. So the next best thing is just to put this:

wagyu!

ma first spring rolls (okay, done together with da housemate)

da housemate frying da spring rolls

oysters in xo sauce grilled!

ta da....

I can't wait to finish....

2009-05-22T23:30:00.002+10:00

You know you're in for the shits when you start saying 'I can't wait to finish 'insert activity'.

Rhyme or Reason

2009-05-20T02:14:00.004+10:00

Recently I've been addicted to 'R' words... recycling, resilient, ra-ra... no, that's not true, I don't have a favourite letter in the alphabet, oh, I do, it's 'J', for obvious reasons. I have 6 weeks to go before end of semester.

6 weeks is like a magic number to me now since my urban planning venture. So I need to get through this. If May is the month of assignments and June is the month of exams, then July will be the month of decisions (Semester 2 courses, where next, travel plans). It's the cross-roads again.

Home

2009-05-17T22:48:00.002+10:00

I think I may be ready for a decision by Winter.

Image source: http://dryicons.com/files/graphics_previews/winter_swirls.jpg

Work in progress

2009-05-17T14:47:00.003+10:00

I was looking at my friend's photos which was set on a dark grey background and loved the effect, and so I'm still fiddling around with the colours / fonts on this blog as a break from my essay (again, I'm writing at a rate of one word per hour).

I think the whole irony is this is an essay on sustainability and the rate I'm going, the efficiency of this essay-writing is killing more trees and emitting more carbon dioxide. But otherwise, it has been really interesting.

Ghosts of past girlfriends

2009-05-16T00:04:00.004+10:00

In a spur of a moment, because I cannot write another word on my essay anymore, I went off to watch a chick flick with my housemate.

Call me shallow and what have you, I am past the phase of heavy weight films, having indigested a few doses of shows like revolutionary road and rachel getting married, which, yes, are thought provoking - I may have linked revolutionary road with automobile dependence and the whole concept of suburbanisation at an earlier entry - but gosh, I needed days to recover from the show. There are enough dramas in my real life, I don't need anymore from reel life. So yes, I now watch movies (not films) for relaxation.

Matthew McConaughey was an absolute sleazeball, though I tend to like ahem, long-hair guys, that gay pirate look for so off. Storyline was predictable and half of this.

Anyways, I am absolutely flat out from my multiple attempts at completing the sustainable essay. And I'll be revamping this site over the winter holidays, gonna dig out those creative skills that I've been shelving for ages.

Reason

2009-05-15T00:46:00.003+10:00

只与有理的人论，不与无理的人争；有理的没有对手，无理的不是对手

This is so apt - took it from a friend's FB status.

You Kara, I Oke!

2009-05-10T23:05:00.004+10:00

Yeah! I get to sing my James Morrison song - You give me something.

Over MSN:

Ex-colleague: I thought you didn't like to sing.

My reply: I do, I prefer English songs and some Chinese songs.

Truth be told:

You need kakis to sing karaoke, someone that knows the song you're singing, and can boogie crazily with you. My karaoke sessions used to be with colleagues: mostly older ones, so have to sing the retro type: Teresa Teng, ABBA, Bee Gees and the like, and the younger ones mostly choose Chinese songs (Jay Chou, Sammi Cheng, Jacky Cheung and, oh crap, I can't name them). Anyways, the long and short of it, I've enjoyed some of the songs and the sessions have been fun, but I've never really sung a lot of my songs because they don't really gel with the people I go with. Maybe it's also coz I had to somehow maintain some level of professionalism, work mah...

Anywaylys, I've gone for two karaokes here so far, and it's been fun! I get to sing the songs and dance and just be oh, myself! Woo hoos, the crazy, dancing, ra-ra girl, as opposed to the uptight, only-sing-the-songs-that-people-know girl. And I get to sing James Morrison - I'm so in love with the song! Current favs (mostly for karaoke) also include hot n cold, who knew, love story, and there were even some high school songs (Read: Backstreet Boys - okay, it was more Uni for me).

Yay! Back to essay now....

Just a thought

2009-05-09T17:06:00.004+10:00

I've been brought up on a dose of wide streets for the grandeur of such boulevards, but so am I a fan of intimate laneways like those found in Melbourne. The 40' local street has always been debatable due to off-street parking by residents that one needs to meander around to reach one's detination.

And then I learnt about transit-oriented developments and walkabout cities; and Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy who talked about automobile independence. Personally, I am still two hearts about it because of the need for personal mobility, but I recall the design briefs for houses back home are always for dual parking, and then 4-cars parking would be highly marketable products.

But what if you took that out of the equation, and increased your usable (Read: Sellable) area by eliminating that car park spaces, and then narrow the streets ==> walkable cities ==> increased density / public domain ==> increased net sellable area ==> profit. But really, maybe I'm being too simplistic about it, because there's always the public realm for activities to consider as well...but... isn't this walkable city a good way to make the enviros and developers happy?

Okay, this is just one layer of thought, there's still many other overlays, but this is a starting point, both sides just have to understand each other's points of view.

Irony

2009-05-09T00:41:00.002+10:00

Somewhere along the lines whether you're studying or working, there will be people who will say 'ar.. take a break', 'don't have to work so hard', 'why so stressed'...And then you are left with an 'F', or that you got a sounding from the boss. And then you looked around, and you are alone.

Somewhere along the lines you meet a guy / girl, and there will be people who will say 'oh, he/she has a reputation' 'he/she is not reliable'. And then the person runs along and have a baby, and that guy/girl that you like ended up with someone who took the chance. And then you looked around, and you are alone.

Somewhere along the lines you lowered your standards to make someone comfortable and then one day the person turned up with an LV bag and said, hey, where's yours? And you think, wtf, I knew LV long before you know how to spell Louis Vuitton.

What I was really trying to get at is this, you can't let someone's values be imposed on yours, you have your own goals to pursue and your own standards to follow, and if you don't get it, then what? And if you lowered it, then what? You can't say, oh, I listened to someone, or that I wanted them to feel comfortable, because why then did you not listen to yourself or did it your way?

Okay, I'm trying to distract myself from the 3,000 word essay due the following Monday.

You make it real

2009-05-08T23:57:00.002+10:00

Current obsession: James Morrison.

The road ahead

2009-05-06T11:17:00.007+10:00

A conversation on Tuesday's happy meal brought us to Tan Hong Ming, the cute chinese boy whose girlfriend is malay - a Petronas National Day commercial made by Yasmin Ahmad, an acclaimed storyteller, filmmaker, writer, advertiser in Malaysia on colour-blindness in children. The two Malaysians (me included) among us excitedly you-tubed to share it with our Hong Kong / Korean friends. Then I saw this and my heart broke.

Happy assignment

2009-05-06T00:55:00.003+10:00

It was a very enjoyable assignment - this round - building on each other's strengths. Loved it.

Ingredients for a happy assignment:

equal contribution, building on each other's strength, targets, accepting suggestions and holding onto your views, trials and errors, moving forward, working around each other's schedules, power of excel, decoding master powerpoints, trust, msn.

I had an architect tell me that architects are the most difficult to organise and they often finish work last minute etc, but the two members in my team are architects and I worked well with them.

It was a happy assignment and we finished off with a happy meal.

Awkward conversation

2009-05-04T01:18:00.004+10:00

I shall stop engaging in awkward conversations with people from the past, even if they are on my msn list, unless I want to at some point see them in real life, otherwise it would be a waste of my time, and the weird position I'm put in.

The Chi around you!

2009-04-29T00:32:00.003+10:00

I just got off a conversation with someone who was just perpetually pouring cold water over what I've said. Is the person being realistic? being practical? being truthful? I dunno, but after a long while, such negative tactless speeches annoy the hell out of me, especially when they're not the experts and I seem to be channelling these less-than-positive energies into this blog! Farout, I'm polluting my blog with all the insensitivities, instead of the rara-happy thoughts.

So anyways, I have an assignment due in 1.5 days and I am very calm about it. Oh well, I guess this comes with age - this zen approach - I need to look for more positive people to associate with!

Dum dee dum...

1 more month

2009-04-27T21:58:00.002+10:00

I just came back from home, but I want to go home. It's ultimate sianness and I just don't have the energy to go through another cycle again. blehs.

okay, that's my five min. Back to assignments.

taxes, reits and the lot

2009-04-26T19:10:00.004+10:00

Have I turned into a commerce student already? My head is filled with all these figures, and am trying to break the code of them all. I should mind map the whole tax system related to property, and I immediately thought of this hillarious post:

http://klaustoon.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/building-services-i-how-to-reserve-a-room-in-the-gsd-goes-wild/

Writing

2009-04-25T01:01:00.003+10:00

I am in a writing mode, as opposed to doing assignments, rather than facebook, I've taken to blogging as a way to ahem, relax... But that said, I just wanted to say that my very short 6 weeks at the GSD was truly inspiring. I've never really talked about it, but I've learnt

- to respect and appreciate the work of architects, especially architects like Dan Piteira

- that we are all deep down the same

- that it is possible to learn and create in 6 weeks

- to wake up and be inspired to learn and absorb, and just be excited to attend classes (yes, how nerdy)

- to be environmentally more aware

- to appreciate chocolate chip cookies (and that it is NOT a substitute for breakfast)

- Diet Coke ("DC") is addictive

- Macbooks are super light and should always be chosen over a heavy dell

- having a pink dell is so not the way to be popular

- there are strange people walking around, e.g. girl in red bow

- that things that I don't do in my youth do come back and haunt me (e.g. drafting)

- the wonders of google, wikipedia, planetizen, sketch-up

- that every city has its own issues, e.g. the big dig, the fort point channel

- that the departed was shot in South Boston

- that urban sprawl and suburbanisation are not the way to go

- how New Orleans was affected and that people who cared about their homes wanted so much to do something about it

- sometimes in a s***ty neighbourhood, people do want to do something about it but don't know where to start

- to sort out the recyclables

- group work is tough sometimes

- that I have to make a decision and every stroke of a pen reflects your thoughts

- about transit-oriented developments

- precedents

One year onwards, a little late on the entry, but I have to say it has been a great 6 weeks and I do appreciate what I have learnt.

A break from CGT

2009-04-24T17:50:00.004+10:00

Lately I was affected for days by what someone told me over lunch about how my decision had disappointed someone. It was stuck in my head for days, until I remembered how that period was marked one of the darkest in my life. Had I chosen to stay on just so not to disappoint someone, wouldn't I be letting myself down if I had then lost it all?

What then?

On a happier note: I have cracked the code of Capital Gains Tax!

What a mixed bag of Friday

2009-04-18T23:47:00.005+10:00

I now allocate 5 min of my day to b****ing about things that irk me, just so I spend the rest of the 23hrs and 55 min being happy. It is impractical to assume perfection that there will be no complaints or disgruntles for any given day.

So here's for today for what happened yesterday that I felt bothered and thought that it was spoiling my mood for the entire day, hence the 5 min limit.

I used to 'fong fei kei' quite a bit, and though it was unforgivable, I found that it is actually a clear indication that things / relationships are not working out. However, I was in constant denial that this lack of effort was actually more about me (a) not being interested (b) feeling obligated. So when somehow I was on the receiving end, I have decided, along with this 5 min rule, that I was going to streamline.

Because I could not find a better explanation for me making a journey and having someone tell me he/she could not meet because of some half-arsed excuse. Maybe it's karma for all the feng fei keis that I've done, but I'm glad in the meantime, I found people who mattered.

These are some of the best decisions I have ever made - this pruning and the five minutes rule, along with my low tolerance for people who turn up only in need.

Meanwhiles, ingredients for a fabulous Friday:

REITs, fish head, bkt, drive-thru, drums, cars, kopi-o ais, low traffic on the f1-bridge, all sorts of crabs, hell's kitchen, emerald hill, mojitos, HH dolls, alley bar, gollywogs, real fake goods, blackboards, streamlining, pretending to be PC phrases, low traffic on f1-bridge back.

Closure

2009-04-16T00:44:00.004+10:00

In my walkabout, I find myself having to shed the familiarities that people expect of me, the way I spoke, reacted, walked, dressed. I have moved on, somehow, and the things that I used to enjoy no longer interest me. It appears not to make sense but I have taken on a different path some time ago and I no longer want to look back anymore. There was a story of how a group of people's decisions were affected by just one person. It just doesn't make sense because at the end of it, then what?

5 mins

2009-04-06T22:17:00.004+10:00

Of late my patience have deteriorated, or rather I have learnt to appreciate myself more, i.e. I suffer no whines! (Even though that's what I'm doing here). I no longer tolerate trivial pursuits of how the universe is out to get you, and make it a point now that I don't complain.

No more weather too hot, too cold, too far to walk, too late, too rainy, too fast, too slow, how now? How come? Should have.

Rather now, weather too hot? stay out of the sun, weather too cold? wear an extra jacket, too far to walk? cab! too late? Run. You get the drift.

All the whining etc will not throw the sun out of its solar system or make it hide behind the clouds, autumn is here so temperature's falling, it's nature! How can anyone spend time talking about something one can't change?

Change yourself, move on, find a solution!

easter break

2009-04-06T00:56:00.002+10:00

I'm excited about going home, to see the 3 boys, them screaming across MSN is simply not good enough!

The pace has been rather good, so far, not the best, but improving, and I have dropped the extra subject that I had originally wanted to do so that I could focus on my core subjects. I didn't think I could give my all in it. Already sustainability, REITs and trust accounting are all that I can think about nowadays, in between the gazillion things I want to do in a week's time:

play with the nephews, bak kut teh, eclipse clothes, beef noodles, hair straightening, colouring, facial, massage, shoes, play with the nephews, drive, meet up with friends, bags, earrings, club, play with nephew.

note the recurring items.

Yo-Yo Ma on Bach´s Cello Suite No. 1

2009-03-24T23:30:00.003+11:00

I first heard this watching The West Wing, where Yo-Yo Ma played in a scene where Bradley Whitford's character was suffering from post-trauma stress and broke a glass at some point (Yes, I love the show, the pace, the walk-talk scenes of all the characters - it was my all-time favourite). There is no relation to this blog entry, but I go back to to this music when I needed to pause.

I have too much on my plate again and I wonder if it was the right choice - but it has become a routine, going for classes in the morning, and then rushing off for classes at uni, and then just coming back exhausted, but excited at the amount of information and making up those years when I absolutely found no reason to walk to Uni.

Yes, it's out in the open, I am shaving off this huge chip of uni, and stop losing all self in those senseless debates of what's right or wrong.

There I've finally said it.

pet peeves

2009-03-07T15:27:00.003+11:00

I'm perpetually indecisive, and then I hear it from another person's mouth and it just peeves me and I swear to rid myself of this habit.

'I don't mind', 'anything', 'whatever', only to find out later that it is exactly the opposite to whatever it was said earlier. The worst is 'everything'. For e.g. I eat everything, and only to find out later that there are categories of food that are not eaten. Why didn't you say earlier then?

So next time, be as specific as possible, it saves a whole load of time and energy.

Post

2009-03-07T11:52:00.003+11:00

Australian Post officer to me: 'Your package is more interesting.'

And so begins my journey of wine and dine, okay, this is an expensive new hobby.

My first box of home-delivered wine. Woo hoos.

NSW Wine Sydney Cellar Door

2009-03-01T23:03:00.003+11:00

What a way to start the new month, being insanely happy!

Alcohol-induced as my housemate and I made our way through Hyde Park, tasting everything from Mudgee's Cabernet Sauvignon to Cowra's (where's that?) Chardonnay and then to the all so familiar Hunter Valley, and I find myself drawn to Verdelho, though missing Hastings River for this. Before anyone thinks I speak wine language, I don't, I was just happy tasting away and enjoying my peruvian chirozos along the way.

I couldn't conceal the silly grin as I caught up for a cuppa with an old friend who's a wine expert.

Autumn is here but it is just still sunny happy.

Cities

2009-01-29T01:38:00.003+11:00

A decade late, but I'm glad I've found it.

It was what I had wanted to do, but never found the courage.

Happy Lunar New Year!

2009-01-25T23:41:00.003+11:00

What do a Malaysian, a Thai and a Vietnamese have in common?

Lunar New Year!

Somewhere over the rainbow

2009-01-23T00:35:00.003+11:00

I've overdosed on vanilla coke and I'm thinking about Wizard of Oz and how it is that I am now here in the Land of Oz, really, seeking for a heart back, like Tinman.

20.1.09 (US Eastern Time)

2009-01-21T09:33:00.009+11:00

Excited, yes, elated, yes, inspired, yes.

A word cloud depicting President Obama's inauguration speech

(Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 21 Jan 09)

My favourite line: 'we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.'

Read the speech here.

My alter ego

2009-01-11T21:53:00.004+11:00

I've always thought tiramisu is so damn hard, but i've made it, taste aside, it is possible, it took walking down the aisle of woolsworth @ townhall looking for sponge fingers, it finally took a woolsworth guy telling me what mascarpone is, it took the liquorland dude telling me which fortified wine is good enough, it took using tissue to filter the coffee, it took speaking to the lady at the deli, asking 'are you greek or italian' and then her telling me 'i'm greek but my brother in law is italian and he uses brandy, marsala is not good'. And so now, my new mission in life:

Making the perfect tiramisu.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2009-01-10T22:44:00.004+11:00

Loved the show, my friend did mention before hand that it somehow ran parallel to Forrest Gump, well, yes and no, it's about love lost and found, and detracted from the original story, so I found out through wikipedia.

How is it possible for someone to live their whole life for the well being of someone else?

Photos later, but walked through Hickson Road through to Walsh Bay and discovered the Sydney Dance Company with Kylie Minogue's backup giving master class, and as eager participants queue for the class I cannot help and think how hopeful these girls were.

The death and life of great american cities

2009-01-07T21:20:00.003+11:00

The book i'm reading now by Jane Jacobs and I'm already blown away by the dedication.

'the new york city where I came to seek my fortune and found it by finding Bob, Jimmy, Ned and Mary for whom this book is written too.'

Lately I have been addicted to 'How I met your mother' and the scene that killed me was Barney flying to SF to get Lily back and the next in him getting hit by a bus for rushing to see Ted who was hospitalised.

Anyways, my favourite quote today: While you are looking, you might as well also listen, linger and think about what you see.

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T23:07:00.004+11:00

Ingredients for a fabulous new year's eve celebration

geelong.bbq.balinese.chillis.kitchen.friends.rocketsalad.skewers.champagne.wine.fruitsalad.mussels.stickydatepudding.tiggergettinglost.spa.countdown.texasholdem.pistachios.zuchinni.polarisingfood.topgear.rocketsalad.sausages.hardwords.buble.pig'sears(fortigger).picnicblanket.hats.

Christmas cookies

2008-12-27T09:07:00.005+11:00

An adorable toddler walked around the coffee table to hand me this, wrapped up, ribbons and all, imagine the surprise to find...

sweetness

Tis the season to be jolly, tra la la la la la la la la...

2008-12-25T17:14:00.004+11:00

And so I have found something I love to make: desserts! Week 51: Sticky date pudding for the Christmas eve dinner (recipe downloaded from www.taste.com.au - with rave reviews no less!)

The ingredients, er, obviously the novice in me realised mid-way that I was supposed to fold the flour in AFTER mixing the butter and sugar, almost turned the kitchen into a snowfield.

Loading the mix into the oven (hrumphz, still had doubts whether this was edible)

While waiting, I had this!

medium-done steak and baked salmon

chilled prawns from randwick

salad tossed in lemon juice, pepper, olive oil, sugar, okay it doesn't look very colourful because the zucchini and the cherry tomatoes are hiding beneath the greens

50 mins later, and 50 x of piercing through with a skewer to check if it's done...

fresh from the oven, literally...

And like a new born I had to turn it upside down and give it a smack in the butt

Alas, the top crust stuck to the plate when i turned it upright and the pudding was exposed in full glory, but well, it was after all about pudding, pokolbin semillon and ice-cream

Slices for the christmas lunch tomorrow

Packed to go, and I am happy.

Next week will be a break when I head down to Melbourne for more indoor culinary adventures. I still cannot believe how domesticated I am now.

Australia

2008-12-23T22:26:00.006+11:00

For all the reviews and bashings, I loved the show.

The main character that stood out was not Sarah Ashley, the Drover or Nullah, it was King George. The grandfather who was always looking out for the grandson, waiting to bring him for a walkabout, to learn about his culture, to grow knowing where he came from, who he is, what he can become.

The show started off very moulin rouge, speed shots, quirky facial expressions, over the top banter and that kangaroo scene was a killer (no pun intended). I went in without any expectations but was captured by the storyline (whether it was historically correct or not was beside the point) and enthralled by the landscape (although I'm still very much a city girl).

And today ends my christmas tree hunting and so I present these trees within 2 blocks of each other:

The 3-storeyed tree enclosed in the Queen Victoria Building

No. 1 tree at Martin Place

The townhall tree

Christmas Tree Hunting

2008-12-22T18:25:00.006+11:00

The obsession with Christmas tree hunting started out on Friday when during a Japanese dinner, a friend remarked how she dread walking pass this ugliest tree on Darling Harbour on her way to work everyday. And then we found ourselves walking towards Lindt cafe for a cuppa and there it was standing in all its glory:

I decided then to start the hunt for Christmas trees and earmarked key locations in the CBD ( Hyde Park, Martin Place, QVB, Townhall and Circular Quay).

Hyde Park was captured after apartment hunting, Saturday in the 10 min window I had before the next bus came.

I stumbled into the Eastgardens tree enroute to the bank (so this was more an accidental capture).

The hunt continues tomorrow...

winter solstice festival

2008-12-21T13:10:00.001+11:00

after an unsuccessful attempt at making glutinous rice balls, I was back on track first thing in the morning, this time adding hot water one scoop at a time. and well, it is pretty much exciting when it went from this last night:

wet, slimy starchy mix to...

The very first ball!

a smattering of balls, that grew to...

a conglomerate of balls

balls heading towards the vanishing point

the king pin

and finally, my very first bowl of tang yuen (glutinous rice balls)

in pandan and ginger syrup no less.

happy dong zhi!

(*Far out, I feel so domesticated here in sydney...)

Traffic, Macquarie Park and other thoughts

2008-12-11T12:27:00.003+11:00

New term learnt in class: Car sewers, I love that term and yes the term does have negative connoctations, but while, I have never thought of it that way, the power of language.

globalisation and other random thoughts

2008-12-08T23:21:00.002+11:00

You know that globalisation has hit a high note when in the midst of eating kimchi offered by the landlords, you remember that they are indonesians, and they went out of their way to buy a whole big bag of kimchi.

I marvel at such acts of embracing and respecting other cultures, and I try, as much as I can, while recently very trying, to see beyond black and white.

Perhaps it is such randomness, or the bus driver waiting for the elderly to be seated before driving off from the bus stop that remind me little things do matter.

the city loop

2008-12-06T21:07:00.001+11:00

I self-checked out my groceries today at Woolsworth Bondi Junction, fascinating, and it's been implemented for months already, how could I have missed it??

And of course the excitement of the new CBD bus loop, which is FREE! Runs from Circular Quay through George Street to Central and back to the wharves, I am impressed by the green bus!

And the discovery of the woolloomooloo wharves.

My friend from Sing visited and it was just great just chatting over coffee at the Rocks and then just people watching by the quay, and having gelati, and discovering so many new things from our friendship. She's one of my oldest friend from Primary 2, and I can even remember my first encounter with her, wow.

Objectivity

2008-12-04T11:24:00.001+11:00

In response to my concerns on how a person can effectively plan for a city without being emotionally invested (aka caring for a place), my friend from Singapore offered this solution: You can have the objectivity to plan for a place based on rational thoughts on what is best for the place.

And today at class, the Professor spoke of the rational approach to urban design that evolved from the modern movement in US and being one part of the influences in Sydney, and the subsequent considerations of human-space relations.

There is perhaps no one right/wrong answer.

the love-hate relationship with Melbourne

2008-11-20T22:52:00.001+11:00

I want to remember.

I had fun in Melbourne, especially on the first day I arrived, and the last day I left, meeting up with the friends, and leaving them again.

yum cha at taipan, hung out at rojak's, coffee at one of the cafes in North Melbourne, frisbees at carlton gardens, dinner at laksa king, death race at crown

and the last day,

brunch at fraus, the christmas parade on bourke, lunch at chomp chomps, johnston street spanish festival, photos at the museum.

and really in between these 2 days, were the best and worst days, as I rediscovered Melbourne, living in Glen Waverley, Balwyn, Doncaster East, South Yarra, found new suburbs of South Melbourne, St Kilda, Boronia. i made kaya, did hot yoga, hung out with the cousins, walked the dog (as in walked behind someone holding the leash to the dog), ate homecooked meals, had urban burgers at Middle Park while waving those pesky flies away, and just well, had really good catch ups.

all that you can leave behind?

Toki

2008-11-05T23:14:00.002+11:00

Eastern Time - the change has arrived.

Back in Melbourne, I caught up with a friend, someone I haven't seen for ages, whom I've kept in touch rather inconsistently in the last 10 years. We don't really share any common interests, to begin with I don't have that many specific hobbies, but we've walked the journey together at points of our lives, from chalking, movies, flatting, dinner, pool, studying.

But I appreciate the lunch with her, just pouring out the doubts I had for the past three months, and knowing that someone had gone through the same questions, and that it wasn't unusual.

That there is always the desire to try something new and the temptation to fall back into somewhere familiar and safe when things fall apart.

Making a difference

2008-10-05T21:58:00.003+11:00

This was my reply to a friend who actually put up the conversation in his blog. And yes, in case I lose his blog, I wanna remember what he said, in reply to my material pursuits.

"A good friend of mine, also in the midst of changing her life, had an interesting response to my question on whether she was planning to follow in the footsteps of Dan Pitera.

"...well, need moolah for the time being, remember the rules for flying, oxygen mask for self before you can put on for others rights" (sorry girl wanted to record this down in case facebook crashes ;-p)

Then i thought hard....

The oxygen ain't moolah, its who we were born as, already are and have become- the lucky ones. so for me there's no better time to start than yesterday.

I think it's a supply market now. to sustain themselves and their growth in free market economics suppliers are making society unfairly and falsely demand more and more from us. those who can meet these demands get trapped by more. those who can't get ruined. the manipulators milk it, and milk the futures now.

the price of producing one barrel of oil from a 50-year old saudi rig not reaching peak-oil yet should be cheaper, not 4 times the price. the demand for oil now is not greater than when the US went ballistic industrializing into an economy still 10 times bigger than China is today (just making a point, not sure of the numbers, but there's still a vast difference). The house that my father bought in Jalan Maju for 85K in 1980 does not cost 300K to build now.

So we can continue trying to find moolah to pay for all these crap. Or we can start giving regardless. With what we already are as the luckier ones it won't be hard to survive happily. If enough of us do it, demand might just fall. suppliers might just find that shit these fishes aren't biting. bankers might find that all those oil futures they bought can't go up thru fear tactics anymore. In the end, char kuey teows might become rm1.50 again.

and your conscience is all you, can take to your grave. my 2 cents worth. ;-p

and i keep going... "

back to business

2008-09-30T10:38:00.002+10:00

Amidst assignments, the real world is hitting low with the US House of representatives voting down the $700billion bail out, sending waves around stock markets. It's now just 15 to 9 in Malaysia time, this waiting to see what happens is not comforting, it's as if we're all hung by a string.

On to a lighter note, it's Day 4 of my attempt to lose weight, a-la eating healthily, not necessarily exercising. So far half so good, adopting the 21km strategy of 2 km run 1 km walk, which became a 1 km run, 2 km walk, and then 3 km walk. no good, that was 3 hours for 21 km, i.e. approximately 3.5km every half hour.

the food week

2008-09-14T23:25:00.001+10:00

monday:

assignments, frustrations, tempers, lack of sleep...

tuesday:

assignments + mom and aunt came

wednesday:

assignments, followed by cockle bay wharf walkabout in the evening, and just enjoying the night scene and sharing conversations with the mom and aunt.

thursday:

the fish market, an overdose of fried seafood, prawns, lobsters, calamari! then it off to uni for classes before rejoining the folks for a trip to Manly and loving it. the outlet at the ferry terminal serves the best pad thai so far (not that i have a lot) in sydney. tom yum kung deserves a mention, and so do the fish cakes (which is actually slightly on the salty side - but ahem, i like!).

friday:

the food marathon started on friday night with korean dinner (actually, more like thursday afternoon), what with my silly friend who's probably half pissed and didn't order the bbq meat combo, and me having to just take soup in preparation for the hearty meal only to realise half way through that the main meal was never coming. but of course it was good when a kimchi pork and tofu came as a replacement meal! phew! followed by drinks at two pubs, and i broke my alcohol ban drinking a bacardi freezer. Well well, it's a friday night...

saturday:

japanese bento lunch, paddy's market weekly grocery shopping, good old malaysian food and capped with ice cream at messina, victoria street on a saturday night. and two kids that are so well behaved, i'm missing my nieces and nephews, although they'd probably be running around.

sunday:

dinner at a friend's place was good with a 10-course home-cooked meal, 8 dishes + soup + the 85degrees cake on a mid-autumn night. and i heard that distinct accent in the background coz one of my friend's uncles a malaysian. it's so rare to find malaysians here.

No photos because i'm still trying to get my handphone's bluetooth to work, and i've lost my canon on an assignment saturday morning, i'm upset and am gonna start labelling all my expensive items and hope a good soul gives it back to me, how i don't really know.

seemingly ordinary week but the emotions, stress, food went on a roller coaster ride again, in between all the assignments, readings, learnings, and it's monday tomorrow.

Spaghetti Chow Mein...

2008-09-07T18:46:00.003+10:00

I'm still learning to wean off some of the temper that I may have accummulated from having or not having my way. Even if you travel half way round the globe, the issues are essentially the same, and unless you've learnt the lesson and moved on, the lessons will keep popping up.

Oh, I did a chow mein with spaghetti that I didn't take a photo of.. oooohhh.. my cooking skills are getting better, it's like chemistry I'm telling you... start from the elements, oh wait, is that atoms, oh wait...electrons?

So just chill and keep looking for the right ones.

Of Daffodils and canolis

2008-08-22T19:11:00.002+10:00

Discovered this whole new world that my Nokia phone produces fabulous photos, seriously. I’ve had it for a long while, and have never really taken it too seriously, right until today. Images were clear, except for those half hearted ones, for underestimation of its capabilities.

And those songs that I’ve been missing.

It’s been raining the whole day, hailing I reckon, the winds blowing against the door it’s horrendous. I’ve never taken to the weather, or appreciated its full effects, and then it’s Boston, with its so unpredictable Melbourne-like weather, and then Sydney trying very hard to break free from winter, alas, spring seems to have taken a backseat, hiding in a corner for its turn.

Daffodil day is today, bought a pen to support, flowers would brighten up the room, yup, that’s the next plan.

Italian forum seems so different from what I remembered 2 years ago, dinner was largely disappointing, or it’s the pressure in the presence of foodies. But Bar Italia was good, the canoli’s still sitting in my fridge, after the gelati and latte (oh now I know why I’m still wide awake), I just had to keep it til the next day.

Public Transport

2008-08-22T13:48:00.001+10:00

Found this while reading a REIT Report.

They say that time changes things,

but you actually have to change

them yourself.”

Andy Warhol

On another random note, read that the M'sian PM took the public transport to test out the system. And today I was frustrated about the public transport and took the next bus to a main bus stand to improve chances. But let this not be an outlet for complaints.

Trip planners are really good, seen them in Boston and Sydney public transport websites, yet to feedle around with the S'pore / M'sian ones, although I must say that the S'pore MRT still top my rank of efficient public transportation system. No more being politically correct.

Economic decisions we make everyday.

theme for the blog

2008-08-20T23:31:00.003+10:00

While reading the (sydney) magazine enroute home the 392, last page on the (sydney) grill where 15 questions were posed to James Valentine (whom I don't know), ABC radio host on all things (sydney), okay that's hell load of parenthesis in one sentence; the opinions page on SMH; and in between washing the dishes, my theme for the blog came up - I've decided to blog about good ideas, good food, and 'wow I didn't know thats (which is a lot)' that should be shared across countries, having travelled 5 countries (Thailand, m'sia - I lived there, so probably doesn't count, S'pore, US, Aust) in four months, recounting 4 time zones, carrying 5 currencies, speaking 6 accents (Hokkien, smattering of Cantonese, Manglish, Singlish, Aussie, and a terrible attempt at sounding vaguely loud (to my ears)) and being officially broke from all that...

it is all rather random, as usual. today's idea: recycling!

The uni at US had a damn good system: bring your own mug and it's 50 cents off coffee. coffee is 1.50 per cup in the US, and 2.80 per cup at a uni in sydney. what gives? although at off peak hours, the aussie bloke over the counter will happily stir in the 2 sugars into your cup (minus the coffee collar, which I am so in love with after the show 'maid of honor', because the guy, Patrick 'McDreamy' Dempsey became rich after inventing the coffee collar). but of course, i'd take coffee in australia anyday to starbucks (opps, might have offended a whole list of people), but i dare say it must be due to preferences more than anything else.

US made it so easy to recycle because there's a compost bin at the cafe (which I always had to refer to the idiot proof way of sticking samples up against the bin to show what you can throw into where), and recycling bins in campus buildings and I actually developed the habit of recycling, i.e. deliberating holding onto used papers and only throwing them into the bins that say 'paper only'.

Imagine the shock I found when, I couldn't find any recycling bin at uni here! okay, there is a set of dumpsters lining up the driveway at the house I'm staying - unfortunately, that's as close as i can get to recycling.

Sustainability = recycling = design for lazy people = make it convenient

hmphz, I'm suddenly a huge advocate for recycling and have 2 woolies, 1 coles, 1 borders, 1 API shopping bags all in 3 weeks. And woolies shopping bag tops as most practical.

oh no, i'm turning into some suburb mall hopping "fill in the blanks". i can't blog further.

SASHIMI!

2008-08-17T13:54:00.001+10:00

Dinner changed from Peking Duck to Sashimi at Toraya in Chatswood. For a good 75 bucks, there's a brilliant serve of tuna, scallop, oysters, salmon and scampi. I absolutely loved it, and so did the four foodies on the table.

Super duper fulfilling...

I wonder if I came to sydney for studies or food.. it's been just days after days of good food, and yum cha three weeks in a row.

And of course, michael phelps won the unprecedented 8 olympic golds, not bad for a kid who was diagnosed with ADHD in his youth, goes to show how one just have to choose the right thing to focus on.

I have a tinkling feeling that this blog may very well turn into a food blog.

Rock on

2008-08-15T00:16:00.002+10:00

The theme for the next 1.5 years is 'Rock on!'

Finally settled down in Sydney, found a place in the suburbs, bought a 75-pc kitchen starter set, bought a 3-in-one blender-toaster-kettle, and all I need is an oven plate and a bit of fitting out and i'm ready to cook.

A peep into my fridge:

Vegemite (yes I do love them), cream cheese (oh I miss those bagels), margarine (which was on super special), strawberries (they are in season!), cereals, apples, oranges, milk (spilled 1/4 from trying to push the trolley down the ramp over the handicapped road furniture which made the 3L bottle not worth it), soy and linseed bread.

I'm eating healthy full breakfast of milk+cereals+green apples, two toast of butter/vegemite, milk, water.

This is winter and I'm allowed to eat more, and well, i'm waking up without the alarm at a decent time, and I'm sleeping before midnight (okay, except for today). So everything happens for a reason.

Rock on!

4th of july

2008-07-05T14:48:00.001+10:00

Went down to the Charles river with a few new friends to watch the fireworks. It was really spectacular. We walked back all the way from kendall stop to the halls.

One of the new friends I met had a huge love for for architecture and the artists of the earlier centuries who are engineers-architects all at once. She wants to work for Frank Gehry, no less. And wants to be an ornithology - study of birds. Amazing.

It's just been really interesting spending the summer here.