Christmas at a beach

3O121O - Joes's 19th Birthday.

31121O - Cindy T.'s 19th birthday.

We had a spontaneous road trip to La Perouse beach on Christmas afternoon. Seeing that we were driving with five cars, 15 people in total, difficulties were expected to rise; and they did. Honestly, I strongly believe it was the faults of the two cars which sped off in front of the rest when they didn't even know where the place was. Their excuse was that we were driving so slowly, we were almost stopping traffic. We were only going slow enough to let the others follow, to watch out for the right sign to turn at and to follow the car that was leading. I didn't mind if they sped off, but at least know where you were going. If you didn't, then don't act all mighty and drive off like that =.=. Either way, it's their own fault for getting lost and having to turn back to exit at the right place. 

When we got there, it took us a while to find parking. I guess it was our fault, seeing that we left pretty late in the afternoon. The beach was pretty small, almost like a bay. We practically did all the things you usually do at a beach: build stuff with sand; play in the water; play football; tan; run around; etc. For some reason, the water seemed much colder than normal beach water =S To me, it was extremely cold, or maybe I just don't really like the cold in general. With football, my deepest apologies to Stephen and Raymond for ripping their clothes T_T I swear it wasn't intentionally. It's just ... with sport, I tend to get a bit aggressive; adrenaline pumps through my veins when there's competition. Sometimes, when I feel unwanted, I want to prove that it's their loss when they don't want me and that I'm actually a fierce opponent. Though, I think my behaviour may have ruined their game, so I apologise for that as well. Jack and Evan joined us later on.

It was not until around 7:30PM before we decided to leave. Strangely enough, rather than getting dressing inside the changing room, even if it was pretty small, we were changing at the back. Why? Apparently, it was because it smells =S ? I just hope no one was looking at us >.<. We all decided to go back to Canley Heights to eat, except for Sandra, Thanh and friends because they were going to go to another party. While driving back, it vexed yet amused me to see Jack and Ellen do tricks on their motorcycles. Jack even burnt himself while trying to dry off his pants LOL. Oh, and unbelievable thing happened: A guy in a civic wanted to race Steven and his sports car, and the civic actually won O_O. Never have I thought that a sports car could lose to a civic O_O. Apparently, it had something to do with the engine of the civic. My Linh said something about it being a turbo. I have no idea about cars, so I'll just stop there. 

After dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant, Steven, Alan and Bonny left to someone's house while the rest of us went to have desserts at Little Star, at Canley Vale, which used to be Blue Haven. We had an 8 scoops of ice-cream desserts. The place looks pretty modern and its style seem to aim more at younger customers. They even have an aquarium full of fish, exactly like the ones in the movie Finding Nemo =D. They were so pretty =D. After desserts, we all went our separate ways. Many thanks to Linh for driving me and for inviting me out =). Many thanks to Raymond for shouting me Maccas for lunch and for listening to me talk =).

Odd. We went out on Christmas day, but we didn't really celebrate it LOL.

Mr. Claus is a Miss ?!!!

Just kidding =).

Linh and her family held a Christmas party on Christmas eve and she invited her friends over, including me. It was a BBQ Christmas party in her backyard; friends were separated on a different table to family. I guess not everyone was too hungry because after a half an hour of eating, the kids, Linh and friends decided to go to the park to play some football. It was pretty fun but I must apologise to Alan and Bonny for scratching them. It was unintentional of course! I also felt sorry for Jack because he did most of the running while the rest of just stayed back LOL. It was cute to see the kids run around though =) one of the little boys even tried to take me down; he was so cute =D. After an hour or so, when we were playing stuck-in-the-mud, Anthony and friend met up with us. Surprisingly, Anthony's friend was Long. When we saw each other, we were quite surprised because we didn't expect to see each other at ALL. It's bee a couple of years since I last saw him.

I had to leave them at around 8:30PM to get my hair cut. I must say, I now understand how people feel when they miss their long hair after cutting it off. I MISS MY HAIR T_T WHY DID I CUT IT FOR T_T. Actually, I just wanted to cut my fringe shorter and my hair shorter, but the hairdresser cut it too short T_T!!! *sigh* I'll just have to wait for it to grow again =(. 

I got back to Linh's house an hour later. We were watching some Christmas shows on television before everyone got hungry again. By then, Linh's relatives have left so we had the backyard and BBQ all to ourselves =). So for the next couple of hours, we ate, drank and talked. Cool weather, bright Christmas decoration lights and good company; it was a great night to be out. Hearing fireworks in the neighborhood made me wish to have sparklers of our own. Oh wells. 

For the rest of the night, we played Bloody Mary, drank cruisers, ate chocolate, sang karaoke and took photos. There were some things that I realised by then: guys really suck at playing Bloody Mary - and I mean REALLY; don't drink too much cruisers of the same colour because it'll just stain your lips; and some guys just don't like following the notes while singing. We played until midnight because Linda didn't want to open the presents until Christmas Day. Tradition is that you're suppose to open presents on Boxing Day, but whatever. Our hostess, generous Linh, have bought all her friends that she invited gifts for Christmas =). Isn't she sweet? For 30 minutes, on Christmas morning, she was Santa Claus =) just without the beard and all. Mind you, although she didn't have flying reindeers, she transformed her car into a reindeer =D. I received a leather handbag and a box of Rose chocolates. Don't worry, Linh also received her own fair share of presents too, just at different times of the week =p. 

Linh, you're a sweet, generous and considerate girl. I wish you all the happiness of the world because you deserve it =). I thank my lucky stars for having someone like you as friend. Merry Christmas and thank you for your generosity and hospitality. Good things will happen to good people =). 

Linh's Reindeer Jazz Car =P.

PS. Thanks Long for driving me home =).
PSS. Thanks My Linh for the photos =).

My Grown Up Christmas List

My Grown Up Christmas List by Amy Grant

Do you remember me?
I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you
With childhood fantasies.

Well, I'm all grown-up now,
And still need help somehow (can you still help somehow)
I'm not a child,
But my heart still can dream.

So here's my lifelong wish,
My grown-up Christmas list.
Not for myself,
But for a world in need.

No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start (and wars would never start)
And time would heal all hearts.
And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end.
This is my grown-up Christmas list.

As children we believed
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely
Wrapped beneath our tree (wrapped beneath the tree)

Well heaven surely knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul.

No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.
And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end.
This is my grown-up Christmas list.

What is this illusion called the innocence of youth?
Maybe only in our blind belief can we ever find the truth.
(there'd be)

No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.
And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end, oh.
This is my grown-up Christmas list.

This is my grown-up Christmas list.

Merry Christmas everyone =). I know it's a day late, but that's okay =). I hope that you're enjoying the celebratory season with happiness, laughter and loved ones. I hope that no one is lonely during this time and that miracles will occur =). I know it happens every year, like birthdays, but every year Christmas will always be a special time for family and friends. Whether it's snowing or not, I hope every one is smiling during this time of the year =).

This is the Kelly Clarkson version of the song: 

Firework

Firework by Katy Perry

To view her official website, press here.

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag,
Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper-thin
Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?

Do you ever feel already buried deep?
Six feet under screams, but no one seems to hear a thing
Do you know that there's still a chance for you?
'Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the Fourth of July

'Cause baby, you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "ah, ah, ah!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go "ah, ah, ah!"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane, comes a rainbow

Maybe the reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow
And when it's time you know

You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the Fourth of July

'Cause baby, you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "ah, ah, ah!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go "ah, ah, ah!"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through

'Cause baby, you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "ah, ah, ah!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go "ah, ah, ah!"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It’s always been inside of you, you, you
And now it’s time to let it through-ough-ough

‘Cause baby you’re a firework
Come on, show ‘em what you’re worth
Make ‘em go “Oh, Oh, Oh”
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go "ah, ah, ah!"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

This song is dedicated to those who feel insignificant and replaceable. I know that when you do feel like that, you feel as though nothing will change and that you will always be unimportant; but just keep facing forward with a smile because there will always be something or someone special out there to keep you going; to make you feel as beautiful and extraordinary as a firework =). 

To others, it's a reminder to give some acknowledgment to those who are important to you. Sometimes, those who are special to you forget that they are or are unaware of your feelings completely. So take the time to express your gratitude or your feelings towards them every once in a while. Call it 'strengthening a bond' if you like =).

여행 (A Short Journey)

여행 (A Short Journey) by Super Junior

 

널 사랑했던 이 내 맘이, 널 바라봤던 내 두 눈이 아직도 여기에…

* Oh Baby say Goodbye Oh 잠시만 Goodbye 안녕이란 말은 잠시 접어둘게
저 문을 열고서 한 걸음 내밀면 코 끝으로 전해지는 너의 숨결

차가운 그 바람 속에 따뜻한 너의 손길이 한동안 남아 있는 걸
온통 그대 흔적이 눈물이 되어 내 두 뺨 위에 머무는 걸
잠 시 동안 여행을 떠나 가슴 아픈 상처 닦아 내고서 시간 흘러 그댈 만나면 보고 싶었다 네게 말해줄게

*Oh Baby say Goodbye Oh 잠시만 Goodbye 안녕이란 말은 잠시 접어둘게
저 문을 열고서 한 걸음 내밀면 코 끝으로 전해지는 너의 숨결

그렇게 또 해가 지고 달이 뜨는 오늘 역시 변함이 없는데
Oh, 왜 자꾸만 내 맘은 이렇게 빠르게 달라지는지
파란 하늘 닮은 그대의 모습은 어느 샌가 비를 내리고
이 빗속에 몸이 젖으면 흐르는 눈물 따윈 감춰둘게 yeah~

* Oh Baby say Goodbye Oh 잠시만 Goodbye 안녕이란 말은 잠시 접어둘게
저 문을 열고서 한 걸음 내밀면 코 끝으로 전해지는 너의 숨결

지난 시간 너무 어리석었던 내 멋대로였던 그런 내 모습 모두 감싸줬던 네가 너무 소중한 걸

* Oh Baby say Goodbye Oh 잠시만 Goodbye 안녕이란 말은 잠시 접어둘게
저 문을 열고서 한 걸음 내밀면 코 끝으로 전해지는 너의 숨결

*Oh Baby say Goodbye Oh 잠시만 Goodbye 내가 있던 그 자리로 돌아갈게
저 문을 열고서 한 걸음 내밀어 보고 싶던 네 앞에 설 수 있도록
널 사랑했던 이 내 맘이, 널 바라봤던 내 두 눈이… 기다릴게

PS. The music was composed by Donghae and the lyrics were composed by Eunhyuk (Lee Hyuk-Jae) with thoughts of their fans, E.L.F.s (Ever Lasting Friends), and Kang In (Kim Young-Woon), of Super Junior, who went to the army. It'll be 2 years before he can reunite with the rest of his band members.

receiving life lessons from a drunk drug-addict

15121O - Christine N.'s 19th Birthday.

16121O - Katherine W.'s 19th Birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY =D !!!

Yes, you've read right. But before I go on to that, let me start from the beginning. Last Sunday, we were taking Linh's cousin, Tracey, out for the last time before her flight the next day. She wanted to go to karaoke, so we went to GreenboxPLUS at Townhall. I guess it wasn't so bad. The rooms were okay and we initially had some trouble with the audio and remote control but it was because we weren't pointing it at the right place. The service wasn't so bad and the decorations were pretty nice. For 3 hours, we sang our lungs out, danced like maniacs and had some drinks and snacks while we were at it. It's been almost a year since I last went to karaoke, so it was pretty fun for me though I wished there was more hms... craziness? Either way, I hope Tracey had fun =).

Just going to the city for karaoke was a bit mundane so we decided to show Tracey Bondi beach afterward. Oh, it was actually around 11PM when we got to the beach because we only started karaoke at around 6:30PM. Benefits of having cars xD. I was actually pretty excited to go to the beach because I've never been to the beach at night before =D.At the beach, although throughout the whole day it was around 30 degrees Celsius, it was pretty cold at night with the sea breeze and all. Hence, before facing the cold, we had a pit-stop at Maccas. It amazed me to see so many people wearing almost nothing in such cold weather. Then again, I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt as well; but that was because I was already out during the hottest time of the day. 

I digress. Anyways, to warm ourselves up, we ran around and played touch football with a thong because we had no ball =P. After a couple of minutes, a couple of friends/lovers asked to join in as well. They were pretty good; actually the boys in general was good since they all liked doing sports. I mean, come on, Anthony's even a personal trainer lol. But us girls weren't so easy to deal with either =). I actually managed to tackle Anthony done a couple of times; well, more like pull/drag xD. It was really fun; I haven't played sport with a group of people for so long so I enjoyed it a lot. Of course, I ate sand;  been forced to hi-5 sand with my face, been showered with sand; been scraped by sand; been pushed, pulled and sandwiched by people but it was still fun =). After many games, it ended up being 3-2 with the other team winning. They were all good games though =). 

The couple left us afterward and we decided to take a break. We all sat in a circle and started playing that rule game, but it got on everyone's nerves quicker than usual; must be because we were all tired already. We were just about to finish when a middle-aged man with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist came towards us and just sat down between Linh and Raymond. Since he didn't seem like he was leaving soon, we asked him if he was okay and he replied yes. It was the most awkward and weirdest moment ever ... He then began asking us things like 'what do you think life is?' and all those philosophical things O_O For first couple of minutes, we kept laughing at what the guy was saying. Must've been the nervousness or awkwardness of the situation. He talked about his job and his life, he asked us to talk about ourselves, etc. Throughout our conversation, he kept going on about life and all, and even made a metaphor about stars and life =S In my opinion, I think he just wanted to talk to someone about his unhappiness or his own understanding about things and strangers were the best audience since it's not like you'll meet them again. Yes, he was a drug-addict because he confessed of taking in 'so much drugs that it'll be more than all of us put together' or something like that. At one stage, we even thought he was gay because he said he was from Kings Cross and was paying extra attention to Raymond. Apparently, he was half naked because he just went swimming naked. I don't think he was gay because he didn't really act like one, or maybe I was just being stereotypical. 

Christoph's in the middle, with the towel around his waist.

I think we were all too nice to actually tell him to go away or something. It was all thanks to time and parents, or else we might've had to stay there til morning or something. By around 1AM we decided to take our leave. We bid our goodbyes, told him to take care of himself and to have a good life. In the car, Raymond and Anthony said that he was actually drunk because they could strongly smell the alcohol on him. Linh also thought he was a drug dealer and maker from the description he gave us about his job. By the way, his name was Christof. Either way, it was the weirdest night I've ever had. Many thanks to Linh for driving us all home =). 

PS. Congratulations on the ex-HSC students of 2010 for passing their HSC and getting their marks back =). May you have a bright future in front of you and good luckies to you all =). Congratulations to the students of Canley Vale High School for being in top 200 again, for 3 consecutive years. I'm very proud of you =).
PSS. Thanks My Linh for the photo =).

dreaming about death

I know Asians tend to be quite illogical and ridiculous as times with their myths and fallacies, but as unlucky or superstitious as it sounds, with every rumor, there's a small percentile that it's true. Call it coincidence or supernatural, but there are people who do dream about other people or their own deaths. Kind of like how there are people who are capable of seeing ghosts. Call it pseudoscience or just being mentally challenged but sometimes, there are even things that science can't completely explain - just yet anyways. Yes, I am one of those people who are superstitious, or just mentally disturbed - either way, the definition's pretty close in my world. 

Just the other day, I went to visit a friend's dad at the hospital. He's a very friendly, nice person and every time I visited their house, he would warmly greet me back. On the way, my friend told me about the night before her dad suffered an attack so serious that he was sent to the hospital for some sort of operation. Apparently, her sister and her cousin both had a similar dream where they were subconscious, when they were actually asleep already, and that the heavy breathing of the father/uncle came closer to them. It got louder and louder and eventually, they felt something heavy on them. They couldn't scream even when they tried to, so they reached for the phone to try to call someone. And that's how their dream ended. Right after they woke up from their dreams, the father/uncle suffered an attack. The oldest sister suggested that it was their father/uncle sending out a message to them that he was about to die. The attack was so serious that even the doctors didn't think he could get pass to the next day. Luckily, he survived and it resting up at the hospital right now =). 

I told my mother about this and apparently, she had similar dreams about deaths of relatives as well. Every time when her relatives died, the few nights before she always had the same dream. It was a dream where her teeth feel out and that she was bleeding. Confused, I asked her isn't it normal for your mouth to bleed if teeth was falling about. According to her, in her dream, when she bleeds, it actually meant that a relative was going to die; if she doesn't bleed, it was okay. 

Luckily, I don't have those types of dreams because it would just be depressing to know someone close was going to die soon. I do have a couple of dreams that repeat every once in a while, but they're nothing like premonitions or whatever. Whether that's true or not, it's up to you to believe but being the superstitious person as I am, I think it's true, to a certain extent.

PS. Thanks to my friend, for driving me to the hospital her dad was in =).

a sense of vertigo

On Sunday, Derek made an outing to Villawood's indoor rock climbing gym. I'm actually kind of afraid of heights (batophobia), or the fear of falling (bathophobia) anyways. However, since it's the first time I've ever been to rock climb and since it's such a fun sport, I can't restrict myself from such enjoyment just because of my fear of heights. Hence, I continuously challenged myself to reaching the top of a number of different rock climbing activities. Although I had a sense of vertigo once I reached the top, when I finally got back down again, I felt quite satisfied and accomplished =). I know it's a small achievement for most people, but it meant quite a bit to me =). I wish I bought icecream just to reward myself =P oh wells. There was one that i wished I could've been able to accomplish further, which was the rope one. Of course, knowing that I lack upper body strength, I wouldn't have been able to reach the top anyways, but I wish I could've went further. I guess it wasn't so bad since the first time I tried it, I couldn't even go past the 3rd knot, but in my second try, after analysing how other people did it, I managed to get up to the 5th knot or something =). It wasn't half way, but at least I went past my previous record, so it's all okay. 

Once again, the strength of males fascinated me. With my own eyes, I saw Derek lift himself up 10 steps with only his fingers; I saw Nicholas climb a wall that I couldn't even jump onto; I saw Kenny challenge himself and climbed on the rock wall using only specific coloured rocks; and Edim's flexible will always fascinate and annoy me. Yes, I am envious of Edim for being so flexible because I want to be flexible myself. He have me a few pointers but it really depends if I'm motivated enough to use those pointers to help make myself more flexible. Speaking of males, Kelly and I saw Jason S. and Peter D. #2, along with people a grade above us, there as well. Apparently, it was also their first time too, like me =). We talked a bit before going our separate ways. They just came while we were leaving for lunch ^_^ oh wells.

That's Mimi (white), Nicholas(light blue) and I (dark blue) climbing =).

Many thanks to Kenny and Derek because we used their cars to get back to Cabramatta for lunch. For lunch, we ate at the Noodle House. It was a bit more expensive than your average Cabramatta restaurant, but I think it's worth it because the food taste better than the average Cabramatta restaurant. Seeing that Kelly was leaving to America in a couple of days, we decided to shout her the meal. *Sigh* another person leaving =(. So far, it's mostly been girls who're on vacation =S. I honestly wonder why. Anyways, I hope she has a great time and that she takes care of herself and her sister =). Hopefully, I'll get to see her again just because she leaves this Thursday. Well, we had nothing else to do after lunch/dinner so we all just went home =). I should stop typing now because my arms are killing me from yesterday T_T, so that's it for now =). Hopefully, I'll  be more consistent and on time with my blog posts next time =P.

PS. Many thanks to Andrew, Mimi's brother, for driving us to Villawood =).
PSS.Thanks to Hanh for the photos =).

thai-sation

Recently, I've been eating out a lot, either with family or with friends, and it's mostly been Thai food for a change. Last Saturday, Mum and I went to Mounties to celebrate an early Christmas dinner. Apparently, mum got a discount on dinner tickets fur playing table tennis at Mounties.Mum thought it was a buffet that's why she bought them, but it was actually a dinner where families and friends in table tennis sit together and eat =S. Since it was only my mum and I, I thought we will be sitting by ourselves. Luckily, mum's friends joined us because it would've been embarrassing if it was only us two sitting at a table for ~10 people =S. Though, I must admit, I did have the urge to just go home instead because I was the only young person on the table and I was getting lonely, but since mum has already paid for the tickets, it was okay. What they meant by buffet was the dinner was a buffet type. The food was okay; I mostly ate salads since I already earlier that day. I guess it wasn't so bad since I get to talk to senior who does/did nursing, like me =). That's one family dinner over and done with.

The next night, I had another family dinner for my cousin's birthday at this Thai restaurant called Yai. My cousin decided to change restaurants for a change of taste, or location, etc. Since majority of the family stop liking the Golden Seafood restaurant, I wonder if we'll continue changing restaurants for the rest of our dinners... Anyways I bought my cousin macaroons from Adriano Zumbo, a a famous French patisserie. Speaking of which, many thanks to Linh for driving me there the other day. We went to the one located at Rozelle. It was a completely different place there =S. Everything was more expensive, there were many dogs, many rich cars like BMX, and there was even a wedding horse carriage driving down the road! As expected from a rich area. Though, to be honest, the Vietnamese food that we tried wasn't as great at Cabramatta. Both the meat and rice as a bit too try for my liking. Maybe we just grew up in Cabramatta and just got used to the taste there =S. Anyways, back to the family dinner. The food was pretty nice though I think I'd like it better if it was more spicy. Unfortunately, I ate an entree that was made of chicken because my cousin ordered it for all of us to eat. Because it was inside the dumpling, it was kind of hard to remove the chicken without removing the entire filling. Though, I must say, it was delicious =D. I think it was one of the most delicious dishes I had all night. Since I don't usually eat Thai food, the food tasted different, in a good way, especially that dish with banana leaves, prawns and noodles in it; it tasted kind of exotic to me =). Anyways, overall, I had a pretty good evening with the family =).

Monday came, and I was out and about again. This time, I was out with friends. I went to Broadway to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows #1.I must say, the movie wasn't bad but i thought they added a bit too many irrelevant scenes and shorten scenes where they shouldn't have. Oh wells, I guess they had to since it was a pretty long book. I think I'd rate it a 7/10 overall. Watching the movie makes me want to read the book again, but I don't think I'm bothered to do so =P. Anyways, after the movie we went to eat at Newtown, at a Thai restaurant called Atom Thai. In my opinion, I thought the food here was better than the food at Yai. Maybe it was because of the food we ordered or the company of friends. Overall, the meal was quite delicious. My favourite dish of that night was the beef salad that we had first. I don't know if it was an entree or not, but it was really nice. We mostly ordered curry and shared it amongst everyone. Half the food was spicy because half of us liked to eat spicy - Thanh, Derek, Mimi, Hanh and I =D YAY for spicy food! It was kind of funny watch Derek ask the waiter if the chicken was free ranged because it seemed like the waiter didn't really understand English that well. Ah, that's okay because I've haven't been eating chicken for a while anyways, so it's okay if I didn't eat it for another night. The ice Thai tea that Hanh recommended was delicious! If there was another restaurant that had that, I'd order it again =D. Anyways, after dinner, we all went home since we didn't have anything else to do. Many thanks to Mimi's brother, Andrew, for driving me home =).

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows #1 official trailer.

PS. Farewell to Wendy because by now, she would be in Hong Kong with her family, enjoying herself =). I hope you have a great time and take care =D! Hope to see you soon! We'll miss you!!!
PSS. Thanks to Hanh for the photos =). 

when farewells don't seem like farewells

This is a continuation from my previous blog post =).

The dinner at Lianas' was a get-together-after-being-separated-for-so-long dinner and a temporary farewell dinner for Shirley, Kelly and Vicky, and Wendy too if she had been able to make it. Lianas' was an Italian cuisine restaurant where Derek made reservations for us, as well as getting us a 25% discount on the bill YAY =D. Many thanks Derek =).

To me, it honestly didn't feel like a farewell type of dinner because it wasn't like they'll be gone for too long. However, it was until after dinner that I found out that Shirley was actually going to Taiwan for her university course work experience for 6 months. All this time, I thought it she was going to go on a vacation with her family for a month, or two. I felt a bit sad to realise it so late and to know that she'll be gone for so long but, I'm also quite happy and excited for her for being about to have such an experience.

During the wait for our meals, we played some games like personality quizzes which led to some pretty interesting results *nudgenudgeEric,Thanh&Vickynudgenudge* AHAHAHA!!! Then we played another game during our meal, which was the ums... 'figure-out-the-rule game?' I actually don't know what the name of the game is. I must say, Shirley's rule was downright clever; she deserves a round of applause =). It took us a while to get but eventually, we got there =). I had an argument with Eric about who figured the rule out first. Eh, it doesn't really matter now lol, but I personally felt pretty happy about being able to be one of the first people to get such a hard rule =). Oh, a funny, repetitive incident occurred. When I was trying to get their attentions, I gently slammed my hand onto the table and instead of just listening to me, one after another, they put their hands on top of mine LOL!!! It's as though we were doing some kind of team cheer ahaha =D. 

I would rate the food about 8/10 =). I really liked the fettuccine and the risotto was pretty nice too. The risottos that I had before wasn't that good, but this one was pretty creamy =) though I thought the muscles were a bit hard. We also had a variety of pizzas and appetizers but because each person can only have one piece, I couldn't try the other types. I think the others now think I'm a bit picky with my food because I was like... I don't want seafood pizza, but it's okay with prawns, and I can't eat the chicken, unless it's free-ranged. Yeah... the seafood pancakes that Eric ordered me at Pancakes at the Rocks last time left me a bad impression =S. I prefer not to eat seafood with a Western dish. Seafood by itself or Eastern style seafood dishes are fine =D. Prawns' the only exception that I'll eat almost anything with =) kind of like mangoes =P. I think I should expand my palate to other types of food from other cultures, and not limit myself to just Asian food =). 

After dinner, everyone except for Shirley, who went home by car, went to the station. Though, only about half of us took the train and the other half got driven back home. We took a group photo just before we got to the station, courtesy to Derek's camera and a friendly stranger. It was a shame that Shirley wasn't there when we took it =(. We can always photoshop her in though =D. Not me, since I don't have the program not the skills to do it ^_^'. Many thanks to Vicky and her dad for driving me home =). 

To Shirley, Vicky, Kelly and Wendy, 

Have a LOVELY, FUN, EXCITING and SAFE trip. We'll all miss you guys heaps, so for our sake, have fun for us too =D!!! We'll always be there in spirit =D. When you guys come back, let's all go party =D. Shirley, 6 months is too long T_T but if you're having the time of your life, then keep going forward =D. I wish you the best with your work experience, and may you become a wiser and more experience lady once you get back =D. I'll wont say goodbye, because it's not like you guys will be gone forever, so instead, I'll say SEEYA =D!!! 

Much love, 
Fiona =).

PS. MY BAD! Apparently, Shirley's just going over Taiwan for 6 weeks, not six months ^_^'. 

when animals start roaming outside their areas

131110 - Puiyi 姐姐's Birthday.

151110 - William 哥哥's 34th Birthday.

On last Saturday, before heading to the zoo, we had yumcha at Cabramatta at around 9:30AM in the morning so we can eat earlier and go earlier. I haven't been to yumcha in a very long time. It was funny to see Linh ordering the same plate 4x's before she got sick of it LOL. Usually at yumcha, I barely see people order the same thing twice because people just eat a bit of everything that's on the menu or something. Oh! The coke bottles that they gave us was like the ones they used to use in the olden days except they were plastic and not glass. I actually wanted to take one home for memory =) but I don't think they would like that. Many thanks to Raymond for shouting us all yumcha =D!!!

Before going to the zoo, Linh went back home to pick up her cousin, Tammy, and her piano student, Lyn. Linh, Tammy, Lyn and I were in Linh's car, and Raymond and Anthony were in another car. The little girls were full dissing the boys about being losers and slow and that girls are smart ROFLS. I can't believe that I was like that before. I guess I still am like that, but not as much as the kids =D. I need to thank the person who invented GPS. My God. Life is made SO much easier with a GPS. I'd rather read a GPS than a map xD. We got to the Featherdale Wildlife Park within 30 - 45 mins.

I haven't been to any types of zoo for a couple of years so I was pretty excited =D. It was mostly Australian animals, besides a small area called the Farmyard and as you guessed it, there were farmyard animals, but I'll talk about it later. A couple of interesting things happened at the zoo. There were the male peacocks knock out - i guess they were fighting over for territory or something; the workers had to spray them with a hose to stop them from fighting any more. No, they don't actually have a hose at hand just to stop fights, they were washing out the animals' areas. I guess the peacocks didn't like water because they flew up onto the roofs of the shelters. I don't know if they continued fighting on the roof, but I didn't hear any aggressive sounds so I guess they didn't. They weren't the only ones who left their areas. Kangaroos, emus and the Albino peacocks also went jumping all over the place ahahah =D It was pretty cool actually. The Albino animals, the peacocks and wallabies, were really beautiful, especially the peacock =D I was so fascinated by it because it was my first time seeing one =D. I even saw one jumping on the wooden fence and jumping out of its area O_O.

I took a lot of photos of the animals, touched quite a few and fed some too. At first, I thought I saw a lady feeding the animals icecream. You're not suppose to do that because it's bad to feed animals human food; it can affect their appetites and can upset their stomachs. It was only later that I realised that you can actually buy animal feedings in a coin for $1. Of course, we all got a cone each and took this chance to feed the kangaroos and the emus. At first, we were afraid of feeding the emus because people have been telling us that they peck at us if we give them food - unintentionally, of course. So most of the time, we fed the kangaroos, but I wanted to feed the emu as well so i didn't really care about being pecked at. I think I'm kind of used to getting injured by animals anyways (cockatoos, dogs, cats, rabbits, etc.). Anyways, they weren't actually that scary at all =D. They may look huge and all, but their beaks are quite blunt and they don't have any teeth either. Everyone else joined it after me. There were two emus but i think one of them was more aggressive than the other. When I was standing next to one of the emus, another emu can along and just pecked my animal transport out of my hands. I squealed because it was all so sudden and out of nowhere =S. It continued pecking at it on the ground and I attempted to take it away from it. I guess it thought it was food since it was green. Oh! Although the exterior feathers are quite rough on the emus, if you touch underneath, it's actually quite soft. Oh, speaking of pecking, another small bird pecked at my leg when I was standing next to its cage lol. It must've been really hungry.

During lunch, everyone else had a hotdog while I just had an icecream because it was too hot to have hot food =S, in my opinion anyways. To kill time, we played that 'rule of the game' game and Anthony was the last one to get the rule hahaha =) It's a pretty fun game because it makes you think, but then you can get pretty frustrated but then you'll feel good if you know the rule and everyone else doesn't =P. After we finished the game, we went to watch the penguins and Tasmanian devils feeding sections and learnt a bit more about them. Our last stop was the Farmyard area and OMG... the animals there were HUGE O_O!!! The turkey, the pig, the goose, etc. were huge!!! I think the one that surprised me the most was the turkey. I swear, I had NO IDEA that a turkey can be so BIG!!! 

Anyways, it was until around 4:30PM that we started heading back. Many thanks to Linh for driving me home =). I had a blast =). I actually had dinner later that night, but I'll continue it on another blog post seeing that this blog post is pretty long already. Here are some photos I took at the zoo:

 Albino Peacock.

 Albino Wallaroo.

 Barking Owl - yes, it really does bark =D.

 Cape Barren Gooses.

 An eagle.

 A kangaroo.

 A kangaroo and its joey.

 Kookaburas.

 Some kind of bird that I do know because I forgot to find its sign with the name on it.

 Penguins and a Great Egret.

The Great Egret.

 Saltwater Crocodile - very big!

Look at this huge ass turkey O_O!!!

 I thought this looked funny =P This sign was at the parking lot outside.

games night

Taking a break from study, I went to Linh's house for a family dinner after she invited me over. Besides her family, there was Allan (ML's boyfriend), Vi, Linda and I. It was a Vietnamese dinner with spring rolls, pork, rice noodles and lots of herbs. This green looking, sour mango was for dessert. I think it was because of Linda that made the night so interesting. We played a couple of games, like scategories, personality analysis games, and this naming game.We played around for a couple of hours before everyone started heading home. Thanks to ML for driving me home =). That was just a short update. Now I have to go back to studying again *sigh*. 


This was one of the personality quizzes that Linda gave us:


Imagine of an open space (preferably an empty room):

• Imagine a box - Where is it located? Is it small, medium or large in size? Is it solid or transparent?
• Imagine a ladder - Where is it located/leaning on? How far up is it leaning?
• Imagine flowers - Where are they located? 
• Imagine a horse - Where is it located? Describe 3 characteristics/personality traits about the horse.
• Imagine a storm - Is it going away, coming, or staying?

The reasons behind the questions:

• The box is you; your ego/self-esteem - depending on the size, it shows how happy or unhappy you are with yourself; the solidity of the cube, if it's solid, it means your personality changes depending on which group you hang around with, while if it's transparent, it means that you're exactly who you are in, no matter what group you're in (people see you as who you are); the location will be of use for the latter.
• The ladder is your career - depending how far it's located from the cube (you) means how long it took you to realise that career; how far up it's leaning implies the difficulty and/or duration it'll take you to achieve/reach that career.
• The flowers are your family and friends - depending on where they're located and the distance between the flowers and the cube (you), it implies how close or distant you are from them, relationship-wise. 
• The horse is your life partner/soul mate - where it's located and the distance between the horse and the cube (you), it shows how compatible and/or close you are; the 3 personality characteristics are the characteristics of your future partner, or that you want in your future partner. If your horse is a mythical creature (eg. unicorn) it means the guy you want is too ideal/doesn't exist but if they do, they will be close to what you want them to be.
• The storm is your problems/issues - If it's going away, then your problems are slowly going away; if it's staying, it means you still have some unresolved issues; if it's coming, it means that your problems are slowly gathering up.

I thought this was a pretty interesting quiz and I wanted to share it with you guys =). I wonder if it's accurate for you guys =). It was fairly accurate for me =).

my first DIY pancakes

Yes, you've read it right. I've never made pancakes before until yesterday afternoon. After a job interview at McDonalds at Stockland, Prairiewood, Linh and I did a bit of shopping around. Maybe I shouldn't have since I was suppose to be saving up money for the holidays. I bought quite a few summer clothes that I plan on wearing to Malaysia =). Anyways, big thanks to Linh for driving me there and for lending me money for my shopping. To repay her, I treated her to lunch, which she didn't end up finishing *sigh*. Then I finished the rest for her >.> ... couldn't help it since I didn't have breakfast or lunch yet.

After buying pancake mixture, we headed off to Anthony's house seeing that he lived so close to Stockland. I made my first pancakes at his house yay!!! It may not look edible, but it was! I burnt a couple, but I end up eating them anyways, so the other two didn't have to suffer my horrible cooking =P. Anthony attempted flipping his pancakes; he failed the first time but succeed the second time. After pancakes, we just watched a couple episodes of various animes and played on his brother's piano =).

Around 4:30PM, we went back to Linh's house to wait for the government inspection, but they already came. So I just ended chatting to Linh and My Linh for a couple of hours before Linh drove me home. Linh's mum included dinner for me as well but unfortunately, I couldn't eat it because I was too full from earlier =( I feel bad, I'm sorry! Up until yesterday, I always finish the meals that Linh's mum made for me. Sometimes, I do wish I grew another stomach =S I did manage to eat some mangoes though. How? Maybe either because it was mangoes or because it wasn't a meal. Either way, the mangoes were delicious =D. After Linh drove me home, I paid her back for the clothes and also included a deposit for paintball. YAY! Paintball =D! I know I said that I prefer laser tag over paintball, but it's been so long since I've been to one. This will be my second time going =). Hopefully, I won't spill all my ammunition before I finish my game, like last time =S.


Anyways, I don't think I'll be updating again for the next two weeks seeing that I'm on STUVAC right now, and next week I'll be having my exams. Wish me luck though =).

Hologram

 Hologram by NICO Touches the Walls

真っ白な景色にいま誘われて
僕は行くよ　まだ見ぬ世界へ

迷子のまま旅してた
鼠色の空の下
日替わりの地図　いくつもの夢が滲んでいた

いつかはさ
ちっぽけな僕のこの歩幅でも
あの雲の向こうまで行けるかな

強がって　キズついた
心透かしたように
降り出した　雨粒たちが
乱反射繰り返す

真っ直ぐな光が　交差して
行き先も告げぬまま
どこまでも　突き抜ける
淡い残像　両目に焼きつけて
この空の下
どんなとこにいても
届くはずなんだ
まだ見ぬ世界へ

知らず知らずに貼っていたのは
白黒のステッカーで
大事なモノ 僕らは隠してしまっていた
だからもう地より 花より星の明かりより
綺麗な夢という名のホログラムを ざわめきを
はみ出して 逆らって
いつか描いた風景
悔しさも 寂しさも
今泡みたいに弾け飛ぶ

まっすぐな道で躓いたって
かさぶた剥がれたら
今よりきっと強くなれる
真っ白な景色に今誘われて
僕は行くよまだ見ぬ世界へ

霞む空の先に 虹色の光
明日の影に 震えるたびに
遠くで僕を呼ぶ声がして

まっすぐな光が散らばって
雨上がりの午後に
束になって降り注ぐ
無限のグラデーションが
今混ざり合って
この空の下どんなとこにいても
必ず届くはずさまだ見ぬ世界へ

This song was the epilogue song to Fullmetal Alchemist: The Brotherhood. I thought the song was very fitting to the ending of this anime. The Fullemtal Alchemist: The Brotherhood is similar to Fullmetal Alchemist, however it was based more on the manga while the first one ended with its own storyline. Both versions are quite good, I'd rate it 9/10 for both, but I think the brotherhood version has a happier ending to it =) however, it's also longer than the first version. Anyways, I rather not write too much about it because I don't want to spoil it for people; I honestly want people to watch it all for themselves because it's seriously worth it. You can watch the anime on this website, but you can always torrent it yourself =).

 

The epilogue of Fullmetal Alchemist: The Brotherhood.

10/10/10

10/10/10 - Sarina's 19th Birthday.
24/10/10 - Paz's 20th Birthday.

The 10th day of the 10th month of 2010. That was Sarina's 19th birthday. Now isn't that awesome? Speaking of awesome, wouldn't it be epic if someone's birthday is actually the 11th of November of 2011 next year (11/11/11)? That must make them extremely lucky, and more likely for their wishes to comes true. I hope Sarina's wish does come true seeing that her birthday was on 3 consecutive 10s. 

Although a bit unorganized, Kelly being the most organized one there, we managed to throw Sarina a surprise party at Vincent's house, Sarina's boyfriend; he also happened to live down the street from me, so I guess we're neighbors =). Anyways, it was nothing big; a nice get together of Sarina's friends. We had BBQ food, salad, and my mum's home-made Asian sweet dumpling dessert with sweet soup (A/N: I just know the Chinese name of it - tong yune (pinyin anyone =S ?) - so I just made up an English for it =P). We also had a mango birthday cake. I AM SO JEALOUS!!! Lucky Sarina! I didn't know she liked mangoes as well =D !!! Another thing we have in common, YAY! I wanted a mango birthday cake myself for my birthday =( but mum said it's not in season and that it'd be more expensive so she got me an ordinary cake instead >.<. Still, I'm so happy that Sarina got a mango cake =D!!!

After the food, Sarina opened her presents. A card from Edim, 6 figurines where you have to build them yourself (A/N: yeah, I don't know what those figurines are called either... ain't I literate?), the birthday cake from Anna and a necklace wit the letter S from me =). Well, I hope she likes her presents =D and I hope she'll be okay carrying them home =P. Half way throughout  the Pictionary game I had to go home early because I needed to finish my online discussions due today ... I'm such a procrastinator >.

PS. I was in the car while Kelly was driving, without any adult supervision (A/N: then again, we're almost adults ourselves...) and at first it was pretty cool =D, but then I started to be a bit cautious... especially after she pumped in the curb when she was parking >.>

 PSS. Hmms... How that I think back, I think there were times were I acted selfishly by thinking about myself, and acting before thinking... I apologise for that, sorry!
PSSS. I'm sorry to my mum. Because of my selfishness, she had to do something for me even though she was so busy, though I did have fun cooking with her. I also remembered how selfless and generous mum also was =). I love you mum. I do wonder why I can never really say it to her face.

because family transcends species

To  be honest, I barely mentioned about Toby, so I thought I'd write something about him today. 

Breed/Genotype: Jack Russell Terrier

Birthday of Date: 10/04/2003

Gender: Male

Phenotype: small; white with black spots, and brown eyebrows and chin; a very short tail; 4 legs; ~7KG

There's a reason why I brought this up. You see, Toby recently had a surgery to take out a tumor that was growing on his skin. He received 15 stitches, a couple of nights in pain and a lost of appetite from it. He didn't even smell like a dog anymore. He smelt more like those medicinal chemicals from the vet. You know why I know? Because after having him sleep on my bed for the last couple of years, I've been habituated to his smell and hence, I actually don't smell his doggy smell anymore. But for me to actually smell something from him, that itself proved that chemical structure's have slightly deviated. After a fortnight, his stitches were taken out, and he's back to normal now, including his smell. Well, besides the fact that there's a huge scar across his left shoulder. Luckily, the tumor was benign, and the vet said that they most likely removed all the dead cells already, although there's no harm in keeping watch of that area for a while. Mum paid for the surgery, which was just over $50.

 To be honest, my mum and aunt didn't want the surgery because knowing cancer, or any other diseases, it'll require a lot of treatments to cure it and that'll cost a lot of money. I offered to pay for the surgery with the money I've earned from previous employments, though it never happened. Not because I didn't want to, it's because I'm inept with any banking operations. I know, I'm hopeless. All this time, it was mum whose done all these things for me, so I just assumed that she'd take the initiative to take the money out of my bank herself to pay for the surgery. I guess, what I want to say is that from the moment of Toby's sudden health dilemma, I never realised how important family could be. 

In dramas or movies, I see people willing to give up their pride, their money, themselves for their family, but never have I ever experience that determination - the determination to do whatever it takes to save one's life. I'm not saying I'm a money whore, but I've never used any of the money that I've earned before. I didn't even use the money to buy my mum a present. Hms... that sound heartless. I've always thought I should save it up for some kind of emergency, or to repay debts, etc. that's why I've never really used it. Since Toby was in trouble, I was willing to use that money for his surgery. He may be a dog, but we don't see him as a pet; we see him as family. Mum thought of him as a son, and I thought of him as a brother. Well, not exactly a brother, but still someone that's a part of the family. 

You've got to admit, animals like dogs and cats know how to bring a smile on your face effortlessly. I personally like dogs better because unlike independent cats, they're giving and loyal and between the owner and the dog, their happiness works both ways - dogs naturally provide happiness to the owner with their enthusiastic behaviours and loyal personalities, while humans provide them the attention and care that they want. I just want to say I LOVE YOU TOBY =). 

picnic is for any weather

Last Friday, Susan organised a picnic outing to Hyde Park. To be honest, I recently just learned how to torrent episodes (yes, I've very technology incompetent) and I was on my mid-semester break as well, so I didn't really fancy on going out. But because I haven't been going out, I thought I might as well bath in the sun once in a while. The weather wasn't what I called picnic weather, but it didn't matter. The only thing matters at a picnic is the food =D. I jest. The company's important too. 

So Thanh, Susan, Minhky, Edim, Claudia and I indulged ourselves with snacks, fruits and drinks before taking a trip down memory lane with bubble blowing, wrestling, filming and piggy-back riding. Well, I wouldn't call it piggy-back riding. Thanh put me on his shoulders and many times have he scared the living lights out of me when he pretend to drop me. There were a couple of times which he seriously almost did. Just when I thought I was safe, once I get off his shoulders, I hit head first into the plate of home-made bubble detergent. Yes... smooth move. Apparently, he was trying to 'slip' me off his shoulders like a piece of clothing =.=. Here's some news for you, I may be small, but I'm not a piece of clothing =.="!

Claudia left us early, and Vicky was going to meet us at the station, so we had a short pit stop at Hungry Jacks before meeting up with her. After the rendezvous, we went to the Chinese Gardens to walk around and enjoy the scenery. Thanh and Minhky were having fun taking random photos of everything and everyone, even the random dressed up guy who was performing some kind of martial arts. I must say, I didn't think it was martial arts =S more like a combination of dance moves and made up martial arts moves. 

After walking through the night markets at Chinatown, we had dinner at the food court in Market City. Then I headed home while the others when to karaoke. I had to go home early because if I stayed out any later, I wouldn't have had a ride home. Besides, I didn't have any money left either =.=. The others did suggest that they'll help pay, but I rather not. I don't like owing people =). Anyways, that's it for now =).