Simplicity at its finest is NOT what i would depict how my life was, nor would i suggest the continuation of my naivety however, as my life escalates into complexity, i hope to keep my optimistic hindsight on life in order to live. Just live. My personal ordeal is to live with no regrets, as though i will die tomorrow. I follow the path that will lead me to who I want to be: someone who people can confide in, to go to when they are in their deepest hour; that's who I want to be. That is my aim in life. Hobbies and interests make my path more flamboyant and enticing, while my family, pet, and friends are the reasons for my existence; the reasons why i try and improve myself. My lack of self motivation for change may be quite obvious, but it doesn't mean that improvement did not occur. It may be so petite, so small, that it's practically invisible, but i guarantee you, i do try. Indefinitely.



Blog By EGO BOX

Sunday 30 January 2011

Diary Entry #1: Taking Off

 Dear Dairy,

The day has come for me to reach for the skies and land safely (hopefully) in a completely different place. Leaving in an hour, I'll be traveling to Malaysia for 5 hours. This will be my first trip in ~10 years. This will also be my first time seeing my Malaysian relatives, from my dad side, in ~10 years. I'm actually quite worried and scared for a number of things. For example, being the idiot who gets drugs shoved into her baggage without her knowledge and gets sentenced to death (the death sentence still exists in Malaysia, and they're not very considerate people); Toby not being looked after properly; I won't be able to communicate well with my relatives; missing my flight and wasting my ticket; etc. I'll be spending Chinese New Year over there and so far, I only remember 2-3 blessings that you say to people on CNY =S *sigh* what am I going to do? Under certain circumstances, my trip's been extended to 3 weeks. 


Thank God I checked-in online because the line was really long O_O. Many thanks to my cousin for telling me to do so. Many thanks to her for driving me there, paying for my sushi and paying for the parking fees with prices so high it sky-rocketed through the roof. No, seriously. The parking fees were REALLY expensive; $7 for just 0 - 15 minutes! You know, my cousin was so worried about me that she asked the staffs to help direct me through the process. Hence, I end up following  two elderly people in wheelchairs to the plane. I guess, although it's embarrassing, I was pretty lucky because I get to skip the line and get right on xD. And although my seat was pretty far back, I managed to get a sit next to the aisle. I would've preferred the window, seat to look out the window,  but seeing how many times I had to get out of my seats to go to the lavatory, I didn't really care about the window anymore. My bladder was more important. They also gave us a lot of food =P ahaha it wasn't so bad like everyone said it would be. I also get to sit next to a pretty cute, tall guy ;D AHAHA. I'm very thankful to him. He helped me a lot after getting of the plane =). I managed to get a photo with him before he left. I'll upload it next time. For safety reasons, I shall not reveal his name =) (Andrew).


Fast-forward 8 hours. So apparently, the trip was 8 hours instead of 5; I forgot to consider day-light saving ahahah ... Lucky, my Aunt, and cousins San San and Mun Fei recognised me. I was a bit scared that they were late, or didn't recognise me. We caught up, went to eat at a near by restaurant that was close to their house. The food was a lot different to what I usually eat in Australia. I felt myself getting excited by the minute. We got home and they helped me back up. I had a nice, mildly serious chat with my Aunt. She's a very nice lady =). I feel comfortable already, though every once in a while I keep thinking about Toby. I mean, I know mum can look after herself, so I'm not too worried, but Toby can't look after himself. I wish I gave him a better hug and a kiss goodbye before I left. I hope he's okay =/. Anyways, that's it for today =). It's pretty late. 



 Ginger tea.
 
Hamburger with more eggs than the usually Maccas burgers.

Hopefully, I'll be able to upload a post every day about my events. I rather not write 3 weeks' worth of adventures at the end of it, in one go lol. See you peeps in 3, and I wish for your safety =). Take care =). Oh! By the way, thanks for the blessings my friends and family gave me =). Many thanks to Vicky and Eric for coming over on the day, it was quite a surprise, and helping me put my luggage into my cousin's trunk =). Oh, and thanks for the souvenirs Vicky =).

Peace out,
FiONA =).

Saturday 29 January 2011

R.I.P Mr. Duong

Mr. Duong's funeral was held from the 24th to the 27th of January. For the first days, relatives and close friends were there to listen to the prays and blessings of the Buddhist monks. I tried not to cry, to stay strong for Linh and her family but I couldn't help it when I saw the family's tears of sorrow and grief. I stayed there until they were closing the funeral place for the day. I was driven back home by Anthony; I was very grateful. The next couple of days, I didn't manage to go because of certain inconveniences. 

On the last day, Thursday, it was the day of Mr. Duong's cremation. The day started at 9:30AM, at the Fairfield funeral place. The monks said their blessings and prays; a close relative made a speech in Vietnamese while Linh and My Linh made a speech in English. Linh did all the talking since My Linh seemed as though she couldn't stop crying. By the end of it all, we lined up outside and waited for them to carry the coffin into the car. It was heartbreaking to watch the mother. I felt so sorry for her. Tears fell. The day was sunny; I thought it was very fitting for Mr. Duong's personality. It's as though he's saying, 'don't be sad that he's gone; smile, because it's a beautiful day.' I miss him. Throughout the whole event, I kept replaying all the little, special moments I shared with him. 

Anthony was generous enough to drive me to the cremation place, at Camden Valley, Leppington; but we passed by Linh's house before that. I guess it was tradition. It was also tradition to turn our headlights on throughout the whole trip. Jack and Elin did a good job guiding the cars there. At the cremation place, more prays were said by the monks. Flowers were given to everyone to place it on Mr. Duong's coffins. Respectful bows repeated again. Then he was gone. Hugs, kisses, comfort and tissues were given to the family while vegetarian pork rolls and water bottles were handed out to everyone. After 10 - 20 minutes of waiting, our next destination was the temple. 

Funnily enough, all the friends of My Linh and Linh went to the wrong temple. Made sense, since we were all following one another. Then calling Linh for directions, we went to another temple. Wrong one again... We were all laughing and shouting in annoyed mood. Then finally, third time lucky, we made it to the temple. It was the one across the Bonnirigg Plaza. We paid our respects and made one final bow of respect at Mr. Duong's photo and left. After a couple of minutes of chit chats and eating outside the temple, everyone went their separate ways. Most of Linh's friends decided to go back to her house. I asked Anthony to drop me off at Cabramatta so that I could buy my travel insurance. He was generous enough to take me back to Linh's house as well. 

I was a bit surprised to see the family handling so well and moving on so fast. But I guess Anthony was right; they want to move on, they want to be happy and continue living. I'm sure it's what Mr. Duong wanted. They're just following his way of life. I'm glad that I've met such a family. Majority of us have changed out of clothes, either because they had spare clothes packed in their trunk or they went home, changed and came back to Linh's house. Before we headed out to dinner, we played card games and watched tennis. We were all having fun and joking around; it felt like it was just another normal day. I guess we were all trying to not bring up anything sad, and be happy for the family's sake. 

It wasn't until around 7PM that we left for Canley Heights for dinner. It was funny how we had dinner at one restaurant and then desserts in the restaurant next to it. It was even more embarrassing to come out and see the boss of the previous restaurant standing outside LOL. For once, I actually took away my dinner to save it for the next day. Seeing that I'm currently living by myself for a couple of days, it wouldn't hurt to grab as much food outside as possible =P then I wouldn't have to cook or wash the dishes. Initially, I thought I wouldn't be able to finish the dessert on my own, so I thought of just having half, and give the rest away. But I end up eating it all anyways. I guess you really always do have room for desserts =D. Sorry  Kenny, I ate all the dessert even though I said I'd give it to you lol. We all went home after that. Many thanks to Anthony for driving me all around the place =). I hope Linh and her family wont be sad for too long.      

R.I.P 22O111 Mr. Duong.
You welcome everyone with arms open and a bright smile on your face. I couldn't help but feel comfortable with you as you try to converse with me in Cantonese. I hope you rest in peace and continue watching your family and friends up there. You'll not be forgotten because you'll always be loved by those who care about you.

Thursday 20 January 2011

Mount. Druitt, here we come

19O111 - Shirley C.'s 19th and Nelson's 20th Birthdays.

Last Tuesday, MG held a birthday outing, in Mount Druitt, for her 19th birthday. Apparently, it was her first time celebrating her birthday in Australia; she usually celebrated it in the Philippines. We went to a pub and had steak. Unlike other normal pubs, we get to cook our own steak and take as much salad as we can; the only thing was that we couldn't go back to take more. Since it was a special, $6 on Tuesday and Wednesdays, the generous mother treated us all =D YAY!!! MG had 2 birthday cakes; one was an ice cream cake and another was a chocolate cheesecake. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish my piece of the chocolate cheesecake because I ate too much ice cream cake =S. I would've just shoved it down my throat for the sake of manners (I prefer to eat everything that's on my plate when I'm eating out) but I rather not make a scene >.> ...





After lunch, we drove to Westfield's Hoyts, which was on the other side of the railway station =), to watch a movie. We decided to watch 'Burlesque,' starring Cher and Christina Aguilera. The movie reminded me what great singers they are, especially Christina =). And again, MG's mother was generous enough to treat us the movie tickets as well =D !!! That's so nice of her!!! Since I particularly like movies with dancing and/or singing, I would rate the movie about a 9/10. I wouldn't mention much about the movie here because I don't want to spoil it for anyone. It's pretty much about a country girl trying to expand her horizons through determination and perseverance =). I say it's worth your money to watch it =). By the end of the movie, we all wanted to go to an actual burlesque or to start dancing and singing around =). 

Since it looked like it was about to rain, Paz and I decided to leave after the movie. Many thanks to MG's mother for treating us the lunch and movie; MG for inviting me; and MG's cousin for driving us around =). I had a great time and I hope MG did as well =). Oh, and I hope MG enjoy her gifts =).

 PS. Thanks Paz for the photos =).

Saturday 15 January 2011

Say what?! Zoadiac's now 13?!

13O111 - Wendy H.'s 19th Birthday.
14O111 - MG's 19th Birthday.

Normally, logical people will classify astrology and zodiac related concepts as pseudoscience (aka false science). To put it simply, they're theories and beliefs that cannot be proven as false OR correct via scientific methodologies. Though, it doesn't stop people from reading their horoscopes for a bit of entertainment. With so many people in the world, the predictions will undoubtedly be correct every so often and hence, there are people who believe that horoscopes hold some truth in them; this is known as the Barnum Effect. I'm one of those people who likes to read them but don't completely believe in them. However, I do think that our zodiacs play a role in who we are, whether it's a little or a lot. Born on the 4th of August, I'm known to be a Leo. if you want to know about your own zodiac, you can go to this website. Anyways, for Leos, according to Wikipedia: 
Leo () is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Leo. In astrology, Leo is considered to be a "masculine", positive (extrovert) sign. It is also considered a fire sign and is one of four fixed signs ruled by the Sun. Being the fifth sign of the zodiac, Leo has been associated with the astrological fifth house.
Now I can go on and on about how awesome Leos are, but it'll never end and it's not what I'm going to blog about in this post. Apparently, according to this article, the sun is no longer in the same constellation as it was 3,000 years ago. Hence, compared to the Babylonian astrology (website A or website B), where there were 12 zodiacs, the current zodiac system now have 13 zodiacs; introducing Ophiuchus (aka Serpentarius). This is the sign of Ophiuchus:


 
 Video on Astrology.

Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer, was thought to be associated with a real person in the 27th Century BCE, in Ancient Egypt, called Imhotep. With the Ancient Greeks, he was known as 'Asclepius,' the god of medicine. You can read the summary of the myth from this website. Anyways, because of the discovery of Ophiuchus, there have been numerous of debates in astrology, either about the prediction of Doomsday in 2012 or just the dissatisfaction from the normal citizens. Either way, Ophiuchus' causing quite an uproar around the world. 

Under the new zodiac system, I'm said to be a Cancer. I have nothing against Cancers, but I'm proud to be a Leo >=(. From the descriptions of the zodiacs, my personality suits a Leo more than a Cancer =(. It's just strange to know that in just one year my zodiac sign changed in an instant. I was surfing the net to understand more about the new zodiac system when I came across this person's homepage. It was a post about the Ophiuchus. It was one of the most hilarious things I've ever read. Not the post, but the comments ROFLS. Even if I am to become a Cancer by astrologists, I'll forever classify myself as a Leo. I was born as a Leo, I live as a Leo and I'll die as a Leo >=).

This is the old zodiac system: 

    
This is the new zodiac system:

Capricorn: January 20 - February 16
Aquarius: February 16 - March 11
Pisces: March 11 - April 18
Aries: April 18 - May 13
Taurus: May 13 - June 21
Gemini: June 21 - July 20
Cancer: July 20 - August 10
Leo: August 10 - September 16
Virgo: September 16 - October 30
Libra: October 30 - November 23
Scorpio: November 23 - November 29
Ophiuchus: November 29- December 17
Sagittarius: December 17- January 20

Is anyone else wondering why Scorpio only has a couple of days while the rest of the zodiac signs have about a month?

Monday 10 January 2011

Strawberry Sponge Cake with a Christmas Touch

1OO111 - Sohpie's 18th & Vicky's 19th Birthday ; Happy Birthday Sophie & Vicky =D.

I know Christmas is already over but there's no harm in preparing for this year's Christmas is there? At first, I was looking for the recipe for strawberry gateau but I couldn't find an image or the recipe that I like, so I decided to post a strawberry sponge cake making video recipe instead =). I took the recipe from a youtube user, 'cookingwithdog,' which focused mostly on Japanese food; so if you're interested in learning how to make Japanese dishes, check out this site.


Watching that video makes my mouth water =P. The video provide the instructions while the 'more information' box provide the required ingredients for the strawberry sponge cake.

Currently, I'm craving for strawberry gateau but honestly, when I look at a strawberry gateau, strawberry shortcake and a strawberry sponge cake ... I can't really tell the difference in appearance =S I'm sure they all taste differently. Then again, I've never had a strawberry shortcake or a strawberry sponge cake before, not that I remember anyways. Anyways, I hope you'll be able to learn how to make this delicious looking sponge cake and spread the happiness from eating and/or making sweet desserts toward your friends and family =). 

PS. Since I can't give Vicky or Sophie a birthday present, this can be her virtual birthday present from me =) it's delicious looking AND it doesn't give you the calories ;D.

Saturday 1 January 2011

for once, family comes first

O6O111 - Zak's 21st Birthday.

It's been years since I last celebrated something at my aunt's house. Yes, there were special occasions where we'd have special dinners at the city. Yes, there were a couple of times where I hanged out with my cousins. But eating a home-made dinner with the family at my aunt's house has been rare as we all got older. To be honest, nothing particularly exciting or crazy happened; just a small get together with the family, including Marina's boyfriend and family friend, Andrew. 

For that night's dinner, it was cousin William who became the chef and she sure whipped up a scrumptious citrus and chicken salad =). Everyone all loved it. We also had cooked salmon, fresh oysters, raw salmon and Japanese seaweed for dinner. It was a mixture of American and Japanese cuisine =). because there wasn't enough chairs around the dining table, cousin Marina and Andrew went to eat in the living room. Conversations during dinner mostly consisted of food, my studies, food, my face looking better, food, Chinese things and oh, did I mention food? I know we were eating but the topic about food became a bit mundane as it repeated continuously throughout dinner lol oh wells.



 Jaffa =).
 Hector =).

After dinner, we watched a bit of TVB drama 'War and Beauty' before playing a game of $1000 minute. It was a board game of trivia. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of trivia board games because I suck. I utterly and completely suck. You know why? Because I live under a rock; my knowledge about the world around me is quite minimum. So little that, it all honesty, it's pathetic. I admit, I really do need to be more aware of the world around me. Anyways, I practically saw the results of the game already - me in last place. And I was. We played until 12AM to watch the fireworks. 

Honestly, I didn't feel as excited and happy as I was last year when I was watching the fireworks with my friends. Maybe it was because of the atmosphere ... My cousins and Andrew were too busy sending out NYE messages to pay much attention to the fireworks. if I had credit, I might've done the same thing, but I didn't. Or, I don't know, maybe they could've sent it earlier or something so that we can all watch the fireworks in peace. I mean, they all didn't succeed in sending it to all their friends anyways, with all those errors they kept receiving =S.

After the fireworks, we just talked a bit before I decided to go home. The only thing I wish I did was taken a photo with my cousins because it's been years since we last had a family photo of some sort. Unfortunately, they didn't want to take photos because they weren't dressed up and all. Oh wells, maybe next time. 

New Year's Resolutions for 2O11

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND ALL THE BEST, HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS TO ALL MY DEAREST FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND TO THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY =) !!!

To all my dearest friends and family, I thank my lucky stars for having you in my life and I hope that we will grow old and share our happy, and sad, times together because I want us to grow closer and closer as the years pass by. I sincerely thank you all for being there for me when I needed it the most. I understand I can be an insufferable fool at times (or most) and I apologise for that. I deeply appreciate your friendship, and your existence in general =). My experiences with you all have gradually changed me into the person I am today. In the past, I may have done some regrettable things to those close to me, either intentionally or unintentionally (at the moment, it's the latter since I can't think of anything so far that I've done to intentionally hurt someone, or I hope I didn't anyways) and I'm sincerely sorry about that, but the past can't be changed. Hence, I aim to achieve a happier future with my close ones by making sure I minimize my regrets in the present. This may sound selfish, but I hope you will all continue to join me on the path to a happier future =). I LOVE EACH AND EVERYONE ONE OF YOU and I truly mean it when I say that I wish for your happiness =). You're all irreplaceable and original, and I hope you all know that =). 

This is my new year's resolutions for 2O11 (in no particular order of importance):
  1. Be 45+ Kgs.
  2. Listen to people more.
  3. Do better in my studies.
  4. Get my Ps.
  5. Learn to cook more food.
  6. Interact with my family more.
  7. Sleep at the appropriate time.
  8. Find a job.
So far, I have 8 resolutions. Hopefully, I can achieve them all by the end of the year =). I hope everyone can achieve their own resolutions as well =). All in all, I welcome you 2O11 =).