Playing Tug

Back to work in less than 1.5 weeks

Arrgg.. times going by so quickly, I feel like there's still a tonne of things I want to do before I start work. Like..
1. Clean & tidy my room
2. Stay at home & wait for the delivery of my other 3 parcels
3. Read the Financial Review ASAP
4. Read up on new pension/super rules + revision on insurance
5. Start digging out my work clothes... perhaps some ironing as well..and making room for the other 3 parcels
6. I really really wanted to go to a day spa... have a nice massage & body wrap...
7. Still haven't had the chance to darken my tan... want to go to the beach again on a nice sunny day and bathe in the sun =)
8. Vacumn & wash my car.. and try to fix the windscreen wiper
9. Need to visit Penny at least a couple more times before I start work
10. Join the gym? or yoga? climbing ? or kickboxing?
11. Get my photos developed. (I was told that photo's burnt on discs are not reliable and they won't last more than 7 years.) My usb has been sitting here for at LEAST 5 weeks..
12. mm.. i know there's more but I can't think of it right now.. still people i want to catch up with, still people i still need to visit..

nnoo....I wish I had a longer break.. hehee =)

Feeling a little sad...

Last night I met up with a very good friend of mine for drinks. He left Sydney this morning. I've known this friend for around 3 years, during these 3 years, we've built a very solid and close friendship.
Saying goodbye was hard. Saying good luck and wishing him all the best was even harder. I'm sure that he knows that I wish him the best from the bottom of my heart. I know he will be very successful wherever he goes. I know he will be more happier to where he is going as this is where his family is.

In the past years, despite working & relationships, we've managed to get together on a regular basis, organising steam boats, parties for different occasions, playing badmington on weekends and dinners. Today, I felt a touch of sadness that this really good friend is now starting a new life away from Sydney.

We will no longer be able to catch up and chat on the phone like the way we used to. Thank goodness there's msn. I hope our friendship doesn't go stale =)

Running out of time

Time has gone by so quickly and i've already been back in Sydney for 5 weeks. In another 2 more weeks, i'll be starting my new job at ANZ. I am really looking forward to it =)

The decision process was definitely tough & challenging. The offers that were made, which to decline and dealing with grumpy recruitment consultants.

When I was in HK, I had an urge to change fields. I seriously considered going into the HR industry. After my experience with HR consultants this time back, I have decided against it.

My retirement practising lifestyle time is running out... need to make the most of the rest of my holiday!!

Maitre Karl

I had a very nice lunch at Maitre Karl in Willoughby today =)

This is what we had;

Salade Croisette & Omelette du Fermier



Followed by an Expresso Creme Brulee with Frangelico ice cream ~ yum yum!

I made profiteroles...

For a special friend =)

Brian's Farewell

A farewell dinner for Brian, we went to Gordon for dinner followed by our usual dessert for dinner. We wanted to go somewhere far.. so we ended up in Brighton. We didn't take as many pics as we hoped, and we forgot to take one with Andrew =( Sorry ~





Brian, I wish you all the best in Hong Kong =) I know you will succeed & enjoy working in Hong Kong very much!!

Balmoral Beach

I love pracising retirement lifestyle!!!! YAY !!!
Having a very very nice and relaxing 2.5 hr lunch at Balmoral Beach, absorbing as much Sydney sunshine as I missed in the last year... and will be missing in another 2weeks... I'll be sure to be there again !! (also to try their yummy mussells hehe)

Grey **

On a big green grassland, there's a little grey cloud sitting above my head. It's pouring rain and i'm all soaked. How I wish I can step away from the cloud and allow the sun to dry me up.

It started with a kiss

If your feeling a little lost or down right now

Because you constantly remind yourself that:
Someone loves you :)
Things will get better, I know it!
You can get through this, because you have the strength inside of you.
Don't forget who you are, what you love, and the people who care about you.

Drive to Wisemans Ferry

On a spontaneous sunny 27 degree Wednesday morning, clear blue skies, with my favourite Simpsons cloud's, not knowing where to go for lunch, we decided to go for a drive past Dural, to Wisemans Ferry. The drive was very scenic and very pleasant. One lane road, with tall green trees on both sides of the roads. There were also small houses and acres of land on both sides with cows and sheeps.

It felt so good to absorb the Sydney sunshine. Something that I have missed alot in Hong Kong. Sitting on the outdoor balcony in a small cafe in Wiseman Ferry, looking out to see crisp green still trees, yards of clean green grass with fresh cut grass smell (there was a guy downstairs mowing the lawn), it was so relaxing. It was like a picture from a painting. *I wish I had brought my camera!!*

Having a tender steak sandwich, rack of lamb, a bottle of white wine made the atmosphere so comfortable and relaxing. So sensational. The coffee and a chocolate bavarian for dessert just topped it off =) ** and of course, the great company I had **

I love Sydney. The slow'ness of how people work, the relaxing friendly smiles from people you don't know, beautiful sceneries just a drive away, just makes me remember why I love Sydney so much. I felt so happy today. I haven't felt like this for a very long time.

My Latte is injured AGAIN

Today my Latte had his first mobile grooming wash. The stooooopid mobile dog groomer man - while shaving his coat, cut his leg & shaved some hair off his balls... now he's limping =(

When the mobile groomer man asked me what his name was, I said "siw bak", the guy just looked at me and said "pardon?". Both my brother and I couldn't stop laughing.
Anyways.. to solve this problem, now that i'm back, we're naming him Latte.

The stooopid mobile dog groomer man.. i'm never going to call you again!!

First stop in Sydney

My first stop as soon as I got off the plane, went to see my best friend K and Penny!

Business class back to Sydney

I was so happy when the girl next to me in economy asked whether I would like to change seats with her boyfriend because they would like to sit with each other and he was sitting in business class.. hehe.. =)

see how spacious and how luxurious my flight back to Sydney was! hehe



Massage function on my comfy chair

My yummy lamb dinner

Dessert!

Breakfast - banana muffin
Plus creamy mushroom with egg and mash..
What a wonderful flight back to Sydney! hehee

I love this!!

Chinese New Year - Day 2

Today is the second day of Chinese New Year. I did something that sounds very weird. I went to my ex's house to "Bai Lin" with his mum. It's been about 6 years since we've broken up. His mum is one of those super nice and friendly mums who can just talk non stop. I remember one year when his mother came to Sydney, she bought me bags of clothes and bags. I haven't seen his mum for over 6 years, yet, when I saw her today, we hugged, smiled and still had that warm fuzzy feeling. She's asked me to her place for dinner, asked me for yumcha, however, I kept refusing because I felt abit awkward. Today, she asked me to go to visit her, at first I hesitated, but since I was leaving, I went. I thought it was going to be awkward. But it wasn't at all.

Another odd thing is, I actually went there with his ex-wife! His ex-wife is one that was with him when he cheated on me. At that time, 6 years ago, I really didn't like her. I thought she was a mega biaaatch for stealing my boyfriend, but funny enough, today, we're actually very good friends. In the last year, we've become very close friends and we both have supported each other through many ups and downs. Today, she, like me 6 years ago, has been cheated on. I feel sad for her, but i'm glad she's finally let go and is moving on and letting other guys in her life.

Today, we sat around a table with his mum and 2 younger brothers, talking and laughing without him. I never ever thought that this scene would ever happen again. I remember this year when his grandma passed away, I wanted to ring and send my condolences to his mum, but I never got the chance to ask for her number.

Took pics today, but can't upload them till i'm back in Syd. 4 more days =)
Will definitely upload them so you can put a face to who i'm talking about.

Happy Year of the Rat

Here's to wish all my family and friends a Happy and healthy year of the Rat. May this year bring you much much happiness, joy and great health!!
Lots of love
xxoo

Taiwan - Taipei holiday journal

Friday 25th January - cold, cloudy & raining
Depart HK at 11.30 and got to Taipei at 1.30. The flight was about one hour and twenty minutes. The tour consisted of approximately 30 people and we took up 14 of the 30 people. The first stop was to "9 fun" - about one and a half hours drive by coach. It consists of a market laneway, with lots of little food and snacks shops. They also had little gift shops. We had afternoon there where we ordered some cuttlefish balls, fook kin fish balls dry mix noodles, tofu with preserved egg with a special sweet sauce. There we bought back some peanuts & wasabi peanuts.

Then we went to dinner and had a traditional taiwanese dinner. It seemed abit plain because it was just veges, fish, tofu - but their deep fried tofu was very yummy with sweet sauce to dip. Crunchy on the outside and mega soft and smooth on the inside.

After dinner, we went to 101 shopping centre. This is a tall building in Taiwan - where they set off the fireworks on New Years. We went to the supermarket on the lowest level to buy taiwanese fruit. Apparently, taiwanese people are smart growers and they mix their fruits. Eg. Apple banana, strawberry orange. I tried to apple banana, it was very different. Pink on the inside - nice~


Saturday 26th January - cold, cloudy & raining
Morning call was at 7am. We went to Taiwan Memorial Hall to look at old statues and famous chinese ancestors. We were then taken to our usual pearl selling places. You can imagine the ones that the tour guides HAVE to take you to, and whatever you buy, they receive some sort of commission. They were telling us how eating pearl powder will make your skin better, cure diseases, get rid of acne, make your bones stronger, make your eyes look more radiant..the list goes on. After sitting there for 2 hours listening to the power of this powder, we finally got to go to lunch. We went to Miramar shopping centre where there was a huge ferris wheel. All the kids went on it and it was fun.

We had lunch there too - I had a tomato noodle with chicken & egg on a hot plate and mum ordered xiao long bao. Yummm!

After that, we went to a spa spring resort at Burgary Hotel. It was so nice. The water coming down strongly with pressure felt so good on the shoulders. We went to the outdoor hot spring which was 40 degrees!!
After being there for 2 hours, we got dropped off at "Sai moon ding" where it's like a shopping market and food stalls. We didn't go home with the tour guide and made our way eating through the streets and shopped till 11pm.

Sunday 28th January - cold, cloudy & raining
Wake up call at 7am again. This morning we struggled because it was super COLD!! Breakfast was crappy at the hotel. All they gave us was congee and fried noodles and toast with jam. It was all you can eat, but how much of that can you eat?
We went to the National Palace Museu. It is famous for its finest collection of Chinese art and culture in the world. They old over 650,000 pieces.
Our next stop was a famous tea hotel, where we tried some really nice green and oolong tea. After spending some time there and washing our hands with oolong tea leaves (believe it or not, it made my hand super ULTRA soft!! hehe), we got dropped off at "Si Lum" night market where we had lots of yummy goods. I had a deep fried chicken with cheese and bacon inside, mum had a kebab stick full of chicken bums. It was GROSSS!!



Monday 29th January - cold, cloudy & raining
Today was our "free" day. We woke up around 10am, checked out at 12pm. We went to the famous "Din Tai Fung" - for it's famous xiao long bau, vege bau, meat bau, dry mix & soupy noodles, sticky rice - sweet and salty, fried rice with deep fried pork and yummy dumplings. It was the best meal!!

Hate

I hate hate hate men that cheat !!!

To me "hate" is a very strong word and I've never used it on anyone. Not on any people i've ever met throughout my life, no matter how mean they were to me, not on anything. I may have "disliked" people or "disliked" things but in very rare circumstances "hate". I may have used that word once or twice on things that I have come across and have all of a sudden gotten really pissy about.

I can now say that there is one thing I hate: men that cheat.

It's happened to me in the past, it's happened to my friends and it's happened again. I always say that I can never forgive those who cheat. If it can be done once, it can always be done again. I have also seen sitations where it happened multiple times. I really really don't understand why relationships cannot be done the right way.

I have "a" girlfriend who I know cheats on her boyfriends, and for some reason, has this sort of satisfaction - which I can't seem to understand. She knows it's not right and my views on her cheating - but babes, i'm not talking about you so please don't get offended.

I can't believe i'm feeling this way...

After packing away 30 kilos for my brother to bring back to Sydney and after posting back 2 x 20 kilo boxes back home, i'm starting to feel sad. I'm feeling sad because I realised i'm going to miss Hong Kong.

I'm going to miss the busy'ness of this place.
I'm going to miss all my workmates who have been really supportive to me and some of which, have actually become "friends".
I'm going to miss my friends who have relocated from Sydney to HK and some really good friends that I have also met in HK.
I'm going to miss the yummy foods they have here...
despite all the whinging about how I dont like HK, I think my year in Hong Kong, I can honestly say, I gained a tonne.

It may not be a place where I would like to live for a long time, but it's definitely a place where I no longer mind being..

Slowly as I pack away my things, saying goodbye to my workmates, having final catch up sessions with friends, I feel a tinge of sadness.
I realised I leaving more behind than I thought.

Circling back to Sydney!!!

After all the tossing and throwing, I've finally made up my mind to go back to Sydney. For several reasons of course - which most of you already know why.

There's many many things for me to look forward to:
A new job, better opportunities.. bigger space... =)
My favourite shops: Review, Sheike, Mollini, Kookai.. and of course, the list goes on.
My favourite foods: Banana bread from Gloria Jeans, carrot cakes from Muffin Break, Cinnimon doughnuts from Doughnut King.. Red Rock chips which I am already craving for..
Looking forward to absorbing Sydney sunshine and fresh air..driving my black Civic.. seeing my best friend and my God daughter..
and of course, some special people too!
So much to look forward to.. I'm already counting down!!!

We're in 2008 !!!

First day of 2008 ~ What are my new year resolutions this year?

1. Try to loose weight without NOT eating my favourite foods - aim 5 kilos.
2. Once I go back to Sydney, MUST go swimming 3 times a week AND join either dancing, gym or yoga classes - NO exceptions
3. Find a new job
4. Finish off my CFP.. one more subject to go!!
5. Shop less... spend less on things I really don't need - of cos, there are always exceptions =)
6. Do my yearly detox
7. Go skydiving!!!

Mm.. that's all I can think of right now.. i'm extremely looking forward to a fresh new start to 2008 !!!

NYE 2007

This is our NYE celebration cake! As the clocked ticked over to 2008, we cut this yummy chocolate mousse cake!!

My NYE in HK is very memoriable. Being with my closest & bestest friends, eating a bucket of KFC, followed by snacks & fruit along with famous fortune teller Ms Mak, telling us our 2008 predictions. Apparently, 2008 is going to be a better year for me than 2007.. let's see if it's true!!!

Peninsula Afternoon Tea

After lining up and waiting for one and a half hours, we managed to get a table, sit down and enjoy Peninsula's Afternoon Tea set. Being able to chat, watch the girls behind us snap away like crazy, with the same un-smiling pose for all the zillions of shots they took, the wait didn't seem as long as it really was... our stomaches however, was grumbling for the yummy food.

Can you see the scones on the bottom plate? The raisin scones were scrumptious!! The best scones I've had in Hong Kong (with cream & strawberry jam too) YUMMM =)

My first HK Christmas experience

This year is my first Christmas in Hong Kong. Everyone tells me how exciting a Hong Kong Christmas is., but to me, this years Christmas is far from one of the best.

Christmas Eve, the streets were crowded with people. You don't get to walk where you want to walk, but you get pushed walking in the direction that you want to walk. If you don't link arms with the people you know, you'll end up lost. Yes, there was lighting, but nothing "spetacular". The restaurants were fully booked pretty early, 95% of which served buffet. What about the people who feels like a la carte ?

Christmas Day.. streets pretty quiet. All the important & special people to me arn't here (besides my brother). The close friends that are here had to spend it with family. What did I do? I went to a Christmas Party in Kwai Hing organised by one of my friends. I knew about 7 out of the 50 people that were there.

It was fun, but nothing beats spending time with my bestest friends, or having a nice hot pot or BBQ under the sun with close friends. Nothing beats recieving phone calls from those dear friends to say Merry Christmas.

Family here in HK don't celebrate Christmas, so nothing really special. Christmas to me is time to spend with family and close friends. Not in a noisy pub/bar.. squished with people who smoke their lungs out, every breathe you take is second hand smoke, and eyes filled with tears from the smoke because air ventilation is not good enough. Drinking their guts out till they vomit is not my idea of a great Christmas.

I don't understand..why do people purposly come to HK for Christmas? Why do people pay the extra peak season fare just to be here for Christmas and New Years?
What's so fun about Christmas in Hong Kong?

Merry Christmas 2007

To all my dearest friends in Sydney, New York and Japan and family around the world; Here's to wish you;

"a very very Merry Christmas & a fantastic New Year for 2008!"

Hope all your wishes and dreams come true in the new year and achievements greater than previous years.

May 2008 bring you much much happiness, success, good health and joy.

Take care & lots of love.
xxxooo

Santa Claus is coming ... to town

Christmas to me is full of childhood memories.

I remember when I was back in primary school, when I used to loose a tooth, I was told the story of wrapping my tooth in pink tissue paper, putting it under my pillow at night, and then next morning, a pretty pink fairy, will exchange it for some money under my pillow.

Without fail, everytime, my tooth was taken away from my pillow at night and some gold coins was replaced when I woke up. My dad had a tendency, that when my teeth was wobbly, he would sit there and pull it out for me. In my memory, the image is so clear. I can still picture and remember the whole senario =) He would sit down.. wobble my teeth and say "mm.. I think this one is ready". He would count to 3 and pull it out very strongly.

My reward for being brave and not crying... a great big hug from my dad with assurance it's all OK. He would walk with me to the bathroom sink, prepare some salt water so I can rinse my mouth out, and the next morning, some extra gold goins for being brave to buy lollies at school canteen.

I found it so fancinating at the time. It was like magic. I wondered...

And just like that, Christmas to me is very magical. I was bought up to believe that every Christmas, we'd hang a huge red Christmas stocking at the end of my bed. On Christmas day, it would be filled with goodies, everything that was on my "Wishlist" which, I had to put under my pillow a month before Christmas. There was always an additional suprise present from Santa, who came down the chimney, through our fireplace with a huge bag of presents for all the children who behaved themselves throughout the year.

I remember one year, I wanted to wait up for Santa to say "Thank you". Every year, I never got to say it to him in person, i've always left a card, which he always took away with him. That night, I waited till early hours of the morning, sitting on my bed, but no sign, then I fell asleep. Without fail, the next morning, my huge red Christmas stocking was filled with my favourite things.

As I get older, I obviously started to realise who the real Santa was. I'm really glad i've had this form part of my childhood memory. With Christmas coming soon, thinking back, brings me great warmth and smile of how happy and lucky I was as a child. Here, I'd need to thank dearly that special person who brought me up as a happy child, having these loving memories forever. ** THANK YOU!!

So, this year, as I walked around City Super, I bought a huge red Christmas stocking, hoping this year, i'll get what I am wishing for. hehee ... I think i've been a pretty good girl this year! =)

Christmas to me is very special. A very special day to be with family and friends, lots of love and hugs, and lots and lots of giving.

Diana in Japanese

Japanese name

Christmas Krispy Kremes!

After waiting for 30 mins for the Agnes b VIP staff sale with Dida, got to the door and she said "opps, i think i left the second half of the ticket in my other bag"
We asked the ladies at the door if we could go in without the other half of the ticket,but we couldn't buy, so whats the point? We turned around and left. It was pretty embarressing and the people that were lining up behind us looked at us with questioning looks.."why are these 2 girls leaving after lining up for so long?"
Anyways.. we decided to hit CWB, window shop and perhaps start buying some xmas pressies!

Stopped by Krispy Kremes...I haven't had them for soo long. They were yummy!

Disneyland Hotel - HK

A collegues wedding at Disneyland Hotel. Feels like i've left Hong Kong and gone to another country. The air was so crisp and fresh.

A special dinner

I finally found a place in Hong Kong that does mussells. Frites in Central. Mussell pots very similar to the ones at Belgium Beer Cafe at the Rocks. They don't have as much variety (only 4 choices), and they don't have blue cheese, but it definitely satisfies my mussell fix.

This is lime, lemongrass, coconut and chilli mussells

This is a fantastic deep fried Camembert cheese. Absolutely yummy!! It's a must try!

And having it with a special friend, over laughter, chats and white wine just topped it off!

Christmas decorations at TST

Being my first Christmas in Hong Kong, it's pretty obvious i'm going to snap away and capture the lovely pretty Christmas decorations everywhere I go!! =)

Here are a few to share with the guys that arn't here.

Life is so precious

I cannot stress how precious life is. I feel a knife stab into my heart when I hear stories about people committing suicide. Why do people not appreciate life. There are so many people in this world, who would do anything to keep their lives, but can't because of certain accidents & illnesses.

I have heard yesterday, one of my brothers high school friends committed suicide. He is only 21 years old. He was good friends with my brother and was in both English and Maths class together. He left on the gas fumes in the car, closed all the windows and died in the car. His funeral is tomorrow. It's indeed very sad, I don't understand why people can think so negatively and do something like this to end their life in this world. Of course, nothing is perfect. It's what you make of it. There's no 100% happiness in life. If there's no ups and downs, how do you know what's good compared to the bad?

I just wish that people think very carefully before making decisions like this. It hurts your family and friends and other people that know you.

Counting down

5 more weeks till Christmas. 7 more weeks till Jan 2008.
It's the time of the year again where I sit down and reflect what I have accomplished and what I have done this "fast going by" year.

- Got a new job, promotion and relocated to Hong Kong
- After many questions I posed to our "non chinese" clients who some are over 50 years old and have lived in HK for 20+ years, and have raised their childrens in HK, who can't speak, read or write chinese, if they can do, why can't I ?
- Learned to be more independent, did things I've never had to do, eg. change the toilet seat, buy my own furniture (only to realise the importance of measuring before buying), change the shower hose and build my own kiddy stools from Ikea (which turned out unsuccessful anyways!!)
- Lived on my own for the first time in...xx years!
- Had my patience level for rude and arrogant people tested many many times
- Learnt to look, ignore, forget and move on (esp at people who go "AH HEM" and spit..gross!)
- Met many new friends, but have also realised even more how precious my existing friends are and super grateful for their continuous support throughout this year
- Have a gorgeous god daughter who is absolutely adorable
- Bought a Japanese Spitz - his name is "big white" now - translated to chinese
- Learnt not to trust people so easily. People are not as nice as they may come across
- Realised how materialistic and fake Hong Kong people can be
- Living in HK compared to Sydney is so much cheaper, eating-wise, transport-wise and perhaps shopping wise! hehehe =)
- Became very appreciative of MSN, email and Facebook!

Approaching winter

It's starting to get cold in HK now. I love the smell of freshly dried stir fried chestnuts and hot sweet potato every morning.

So many nice boots and jackets out there ~ WAY tooooo much shopping... =)

Q-Pot 07 Winter Collection

more info: http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/tee_blog