Roy's birthday weekend

It was Roy's birthday on Friday night and we went to a vegetarian restaurant in Newtown. It was the second time to that restaurant for me, and this time, we could order more dishes since there was about 14 people. After dinner, we went K at Greenbox Plus. I feel like an "old biscuit" because I haven't been to half the new K's that have opened. My excuse - I was in HK last year, how do I know? hehe =)

On Saturday night - we went to Lucio's in Paddington and had their degustation menu. Click HERE to view the menu. The atmosphere was very nice, lots of paintings on the walls. The food was fantastic. I think it's the best degustation meals I've had so far =) ** Thanks to Mike who highly recommended it **

Sunday, went to a vegetarian yumcha with Roy's family near St Mary's Cathedral. I was there a ^*little* early so I went into St Mary's Cathedral. It's been a while since I've been in there, and when I went in, I felt like I was in somewhere warm and safe. No words can describe how calm and peaceful I felt. I sat there and looked at the alter. I knelt down and said some prayers. I looked on the left hand side and there were candles. I went over to light a candle, closed my eyes to say another prayer, and flashbacks of when my brother and I were young came across my mind. I nearly laughed out loud, but trust me, I had a huge smile on my face.

Reason? I remember we were at St Joan of Arc Church in Haberfield. It was a Sunday Mass. My brother, being around 4 or 5 years old at the time - while it was communion time, ran to the candles, sang Happy Birthday very loudly and tried to blow the candles on tippy toes. Everyone looked over and my dad had to go and pick him up and bring him to his seat. This a memory I cannot forget =)

After I sat at St Mary's Cathedral for a while, I went outside and walked around the gardens. I saw some flowers that reminded me of someone very special. One that would make me smile just looking at it. Someones favourite. They were so pretty, I had to capture it =)

Arn't they prettttttty ??? =)

Clock to tick

I'm sitting here in the office, waiting for 5.15pm so I can shutdown & leave the office. I've finally finished my 6 week training in the City. I have to say, the 6 week training was very unorganised and somewhat boring. The only good thing about being in the city is that ;

1. I don't need to drive
2. I get to have lunch with my friends that work in the city too =)

Now i'm back in the suburbs, I'll have to look for nice places to have lunch.

I've already booked client appointments for next week and I'm very happy with my "flexible" hours. A 11.30 am appointment in Blacktown, means I can wake up at 9.30am... or even 10am on Monday morning. How good is that ??

So far, I like everything about my new job but having to drive.

I'm not looking forward to having drive alot, but i'm sure going to be learning alot more new roads and suburbs. On Tuesday, I went with a collegue to Winmalee, 20 minutes away from Penrith, Wednesday I went to Windsor. It was the first time I went to both those suburbs. I'm sure going to be going out of my comfort zone with driving to places I don't know, especially on my own.

I wish I never told them I had a car, then instead of driving, I could just get cab charges to go everywhere I need to hehehe =)

mmhh..... or maybe I can get a driver =) ** i think i'm dreaming here !! **

Buddhist Seminar 佛

My aunty hosted a Buddhist Seminar at her house this weekend. Being a good niece & daughter, I had promised that I would attend, even though I do not follow the Buddhism religion. The good thing was: the main speaker spoke in mandarin & there was a cantonese translater.

The first couple of morning sessions were pretty interesting. I learnt values of life. The sacrafices and the love our parents give to us. How much pain our mothers suffered while they were carrying us. How to be a better person. How to appreciate those around you. Not to be greedy. The value of a brand new $20 note is the same as a old and tacky $20 note.. but why do some people want a brand new one?

The afternoon sessions got abit "deep" so I stayed out.

After lunch, we experienced something very amazing. Something I have never seen before. It must sound weird when you read this, but trust me, it feels weird typing it too. We experienced a spirit going into a lady's body and coming in talking to us. The spirit was the 佛. ( thanks to pt. for msning me the chinese word!! hehe )

We also saw the lady collapse after the 佛 left her body - while her spirit was placed back. Sounds silly ey? But it's true.

I don't know why, but when I saw the lady, my heart pounded hard and fast. So fast that it nearly popped out. It was like that for 2 hours. I felt very uncomfortable. I felt that I shouldn't of been there. It wasn't the right place for me.

I spoke to one of the preachers there who follows Buddhism after and both Mike and I threw questions at him and he explained how the 佛 went into the lady's body.

He gave me an overview on his beliefs and he told me that the lady has followed the 佛 to heaven and hell. Apparently there are 11 levels in heaven and depending on how good of a person you are, you're ranked. The highest level - 11, is the most luxurious. But funny enough, when he gave me an example, he said level 11 in heaven gives you the peace of being with God. I was shocked when he said that.

He then told me hell was extremely scary. Even before you reach there, the sounds and the noise is already very scary.

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Arrgh.. this is so weird. I'm trying to write down and share my experiences but I'm having alot of difficulty and I don't feel I am making any sense and something just doesn't sound very right.. i think i'll just stop and leave it as is.

Pretty Pink

From someone very special =)

I am going to learn MANDARIN

I am going to learn Mandarin =)

I started today with my fabulous mentor, RL teaching me the pinyin of consonants from Chinese Made Super Easy from Dymocks! hehe

From my heart

After having a sleepness night, I woke up of feeling sadness. I've learnt through my past experiences the value of life. The need to keep yourself happy. The need to value what you have. Not to be greedy to ask for more, not meaning that you can't challenge yourself in life. I feel pain when I hear about illnesses in my family, my friends and people I know.

I wish from the bottom of my heart that D recovers very very soon. I can feel the sadness and the pain that my dear friend is suffering. Knowing that my dear friends husband is suffering from a life threatening illness Pulmonary Embolism, and after doing my own reading and research on it on my own this morning, my heart cringes with pain.

I pray that D will recover soon. I pray that everything will be ok for you going forward. I pray that the treatment will be successful and that the blockage will not come back again. I pray that you 3 will be a happy family again soon.

Fine Botanical Art

On Sunday, we went to the Botanic Gardens to see an exhibition of fine botanic art. The artwork was amazing. Artists have so much talent. When you look from a distance, you admire the artwork from afar, and when you walk up close, you admire each pencil stroke, each shade, each colour.

Each illustration was informative, showing very detailed features of each flower and fruit drawn. I can imagine the amount of time and effort that is needed to draw each one of these beautiful pictures to perfection.

One of my favourite was a corn that looked like it sparkles, cherries from a fruit basket, a small pineapple on a stem (so imagine a pineapple the size of my hand on a stem) and many many flowers, including a purple tulip that RL liked =) I liked them all.

One talent that really facinated me was a white flower on white paper. The shading and the fine penciling made the white flower really stand out and look stunning.

Very very very impressive =)

It's happened again

I received a phone call this morning and found out that my aunty is diagnosed with breast cancer. I know that chances of getting cancer is alot higher nowadays and that one in four women are diagnosed with breast cancer - it's more common.

I can't help feeling a knot of pain in my heart, hearing news like this. The pain was so painful that I can't even explain how sad I suddenly felt. I cannot say that I know how my aunty feels, but I can say, i'm pretty close. I can feel the sadness of my cousins, I can feel the sadness of friends and family that would know.

Even though my aunty is in it's very early stages - an operation needs to be performed (scheduled for end of this month) and Chemo. Hearing the word "Chemo" makes me shiver. Weight loss, vomiting, loss of hair... the list goes on. But who's to guarantee the cancer won't come back years later? Who's to say that once doctors have seen the cancer with their naked eye, it wouldn't of spread elsewhere?

This morning, I was lost for words. There's only so much I can say. Stay strong and we're thinking of you. But I know, in reality, they are just words and to them, it doesn't mean much. I can only offer them to call us if they need anything, and know that we'll be thinking of them. I will be praying that she is looked after and all goes well.

I tried to say " I hope she get's better soon" but for some reason, those words couldn't come out of my mouth. I don't know why. Deep inside, I know that some people just "cannot get better soon" and hearing it, just makes the conversation more silent, more awkward.

I hope that after the operation, all the bad things are gone and she can be happy again. Hope from the bottom of my heart that they won't come back and attack her again.

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Super Doopa

I was sitting on the bus into work today and I was smiling to myself. I nearly giggled out. It's been a while since I have been doing something random and thinking of things that have happened that make me happy & smile =) It's such a great feeling!!

I'm feeling very happy today today. Double super happy perhaps from my "not usual" double shot coffee this morning.

Now I have to get back to work and keep reading life insurance PDS's. =)

Hi Tea at Swiss Hotel

A new start

I'll be starting my new job tomorrow. I face the challenge of waking up at 6.30am so I can get to work by 9am. It's been a very long time since i've woken up at that time.

It's been a very nice 2 months off work. I feel I can still laze around for another month, or maybe longer, yet, I also feel the need to go back to work. Mentally.

For some reason, i'm not excited. I wonder why.

A very nice dessert website

This website has lots of yummy cakes and desserts .. haven't followed it to see if they really are good recipes, but the desserts look yummmm!!

Click HERE

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 =)