You know you've reached a new stage of life when...

1) Some of your friends are talking about job interviews and not Uni app interviews
2) Some of your friends are talking about HDB application not uni applications
3) Some of your friends ARE already married
4) Late night transport arrangements home after a party consist of arranging carpools and not taxi pools

5) Some of your friends are speaking of parents who are already retired andhow the burden of providing for the family will soon fall on them.

5) Some of your friends can no longer touch their toes without groaning or injuring their back (heh heh...)

6) You find joy discussing the weekly supermarket specials instead of the latest nail colour or Gossip Girl episode.

7) Dinner converstions with your girlfriends may actually revolve around recipe exchanges.


That's it... I'm officially entering 'auntie' stage!!

Gatton!

Finally I'm able to sit down and devote some time to writing a proper update since the start of semester. Being in 3rd year hasn't been half as bad as I expected initially, however I think I'm falsely comforted by the lack of ongoing assessments and therefore am under the illusion that I have it 'all together' when actually, I don't think I do.

It's been an epic 8 weeks back in brisbane! In the past 2 months, I think I've accomplished what on would accomplish over a way larger timespan if not for the pressure of living overseas. You'll see what I mean in a bit. In 8 weeks, I've:

1) Searched, viewed and applied for so many properties that I have all my houmates' softcopies of their passports, bank statements and letters from guarantors all in my hardrive. I would think that in normal situations, most of us wouldn't actually have to deal with looking at houses let alone applying for one..

2) Drove a ute (utility truck) when we were moving! I don't think it would be something I would ever do unless my father was a gas tank changer or something!

3) Worked several days a week at a daycare for children with Autism (which is actually the field I've always wanted to work in!) and I'm really thankful that God gave me this opportunity!Many of us wouldn't get a chance to work to something so close to our ultimate goal before graduating and I'm damn lucky to be able to do it! Even though this means getting occasional bites, head butts, slaps and kicks from some kids...

The fella didn't wanna go to the toilet when I wanted him to.. *chomp*

4) Bought a car!! =)) Thanks to mummy who understands my need to drive to work and clinic on the other side of the bridge and how a car would save me time, energy and sanity. And it's purpur too!!Similarly, if I were in Singapore, I probably would be 39 before actually owning a car... and I would actually probably still be paying off the loan.

Here's the hottest car model in town: Mr SM Lee, (I told him I was taking a photo for my mum, hence the 'guai' pose)

5) Driven to Gatton! Driving 90km is no joke, I really think the vet students who drive up frequently are damn poor thing.. Especially with rising petrol costs! It's ridiculous! (Milk is cheaper, if only cars ran on milk..)

Fantastic 'sua deng' scenery of Gatton

And guess what?? Who do you think is behind this wheel??

*drumroll*

Mr Lee Sheng himself!! :D He's just gotten his Learners and I am now officially one fo the many people who will supervise him and help him collect his 100 hours in order to pass this momentous milestone! (We've already had 1.5 hrs worth of lessons, haha)

so., this brings me to...

6) Teaching my boyfriend/someone how to drive. Seriously something you would never ever EVER get to do in singapore unless you a) were over 50 and male and signed your life to BBDC (Bukit Batok Driving School), or had b) were over 55 and had your own 18 year old kid you were teaching illegally.

Which concludes my entry for today. I sure am glad I've been given the opportunity to come here and experience so much, even if it means growing up faster. I enjoy it, it's been the life I've been waiting for =))

Gaby!

I can't believe I have such an adorable niece.. I still can't believe my sister is actually a mother. MOTHER leh..

OMG I feel old.

But she's SO SO SO SO SO adorable!!! I'm gonna have my own little play thing to experiment on with speech/language assessments and techniques next time!! Muahaha!

But now, for now, Gaby serves to be the thing that brightens up my day and brings a smile to my face no matter how stressed, pissed or upset I am, because she's so far, the purest form of cuteness, fluffiness and warm, raw human nature =)

I love my niece! I can't wait to see her again in June! :D

Living Normally

Whew, been finally living like a normal person the last week, after returning from KL for chinese new year, no more flying out of the country until I return to Brisbane. I realised I didn't finish with the whole list of things which I wanted to post about... But let's think of 8 things that annoy me:

1) Places that are awfully crowded with unpleasant people (e.g. the MRT at peak periods)

2) People who shout when they're angry, thinking that that is supposed to bring the point across better when all it does is just annoy and damage vocal cords

3) High humidity in singapore = sweaty niam niam skin. ee yer..

4) Going to a foodcourt and seeing 243 tissue packets on every empty table

5) People that 'book' library tables in school with their belongings and then go off to class close to exam periods (actually this is the number onme annoyance in my life).

6) Birds in general. especially the ones at UQ who threaten to eat your food all the time.

7) Ants that invade my food and space. (who are all for sure to die a slow, painful death via bygone or liquid paper)

8) the inconsiderate people illegally parking on the main road outside my house just so that they can go and lim kopi when there's a public HDB parking space just around the corner. Walk a bit your legs will die is it??

Oops.. I almost went on, but, thinking of things that annoy are sure to ruin your day sub-consciously, so I shall talk about 7 fears/phobias that I have, which actually, I don't really think I do because I've always grown up telling myself not to be afraid of things. Like what Mark's mum said, being afraid of things is only going to hold you back in life, which I completely agree with (but Mickey completely disagrees with).

1) Cockroaches - dead or alive

2) Dead/decomposing insects which I have to clear (e.g. one half of a beetle, or the body of a lizard after it's been pecked etc..) EWWWW

3) Losing my mummy

4) Losing my bolster

5) Losing my boyfriend

6) Being disliked by everyone, without knowing that they actualyl dislike you because they pretend to like you (sounds potentially Freuden ya?)

7) Being cornered by an ugly ghost of course.. The kind with the insanely long tongue and the rebonded black hair. I wonder if they'll make curly haired ghosts an in thing during our kids time next time??

Chinese New Year Eve = Shop

I've never admitted to shopping much till now! My mum and I (along with grandma) spent a day scouring through 1Utama in KL today, (technically the area is PJ, not KL, but most Singaporeans aren't aware about Malaysian geography anyways). I think I've got most of my wardrobe for school ready? Heh.. we'll see.

I'm so stressed because of the house =(( Stupid gmail and stupid me. gargh...

Anyways, to take my mind of things, I'll continue with that list which I was doing yesterday:

• Day 01: Ten random facts about yourself.
• Day 02: Nine things you do every day.
• Day 03: Eight things that annoy you.
• Day 04: Seven fears / phobias.
• Day 05: Six songs that you’re addicted to.
• Day 06: Five things you can’t live without.
• Day 07: Four memories you won’t forget.
• Day 08: Three words you can’t go a day without using.
• Day 09: Two things you wish you could do.
• Day 10: One person you can trust.

1) Smell my bolster (unless I don't have it with me)
2) Eat my thyroxine and Centrum multivits... unless I forget
3) Sms Mark
4) Wash my feet before I sleep and when I wake up
5) Look at picture/videos of Gaby or think of her and smile to myself at how adorable she is
6) Scour the house for something I can throw away so that I get that sense of achievement of cleaning out all the junk
7) Do something stupid/act silly to keep that inner child fuelled and ready to go, hurhur
8) Comb my unruly hair.. actually wait, I think there are days that I don't... Siyi can probably vouch for that
9) Moisturize my face (bare minimum) to keep the sun spots and wrinkles away!! :S

Enroute to self-discovery

I came across this list while blog-hopping just now, and thought to myself that, albeit this 'blog-task' being fairly self-centred and exhibitionist in some sense, I realised that doing it will actually help me in the process of self-reflection. I realised that as much as I think I'm self-reflecting sometimes, not penning it down or actually recording it makes all the thoughts just go in a circle, resulting in a larger ball of fluff than what I started out with.

Therefore,

• Day 01: Ten random facts about yourself.
• Day 02: Nine things you do every day.
• Day 03: Eight things that annoy you.
• Day 04: Seven fears / phobias.
• Day 05: Six songs that you’re addicted to.
• Day 06: Five things you can’t live without.
• Day 07: Four memories you won’t forget.
• Day 08: Three words you can’t go a day without using.
• Day 09: Two things you wish you could do.
• Day 10: One person you can trust.

What actually qualifies as random?? Who cares, here goes:

1) I don't like to brush my teeth in the morning especially if I'm going to eat my breakfast already.
2) My right ear sticks out more than my left (it's quite noticable once you realise)
3) Minced meat cooked in any style is my ultimate favourite comfort food
4) I can play the piano... as long as the song is in C major, heh..
5) I absolutely love burying my face in my mummy's belly and once told her that my future boyfriend will only be allowed to have a belly if it's as soft as hers!
6) I like smelling people a lot, especially when they smell nice.
7) And I'm easily affected by their smells,i.e. I respond better to people who use nicer smelling cologne/perfume.
8) I always need 1 comfort item with me to feel comfortable, whether it be my mum, bolster or Mark (slightly interchangable, hehe...)
9) My eyes are abnormally far apart.. even the optomotrist has ever told me so =(
10) One of my dreams is to be able to sing a hokkien song properly!

Whew, that took longer than I expected!

Tribute to Ah Bee

I'm having a bout of Ah Bee (Gaby) withdrawal symptoms!!

2 videos of her, the first of her snoring and squealing in her sleep and the second is a little longer video on how the 3 of us (my sister, mum and I), feed her her daily dosage of Vitamin D.

Unlike us Singaporean kids who get heaps of sunlight and vitamin D, the babies born in Europe are required to have a daily dosage of vitamin D, which is a foul smelling liquid (and probably foul tasting as well) that we give to unsuspecting babies like Ah Bee. *kekeke*

Watch her face change as she realises what she eats!! HAhaha.. It's hilarious!

Taiwan!

After being internet-less for most of my time in Singapore, we finally signed up for Starhub's mobile internet and I've had internet for the past few days. Ironically, I haven't been able to do much with the internet because every tim eI switch my computer on, I find myself inundated with opportunities and my senses are in overstimulated with the bright lights and million youtube videos I coan possibly view. And soon, after 40 minutes of rapid clicking, tab opening and closing and screen switching, I find that I have actually accomplished.... Nothing.

For example, this blog has sat here, un-updated since my return from not only Switzerland, but Taiwan as well. (this post has been sitting in my draft box for a good 5 days at least... or more) heh..

So GOODBYE PROCRASTINATION! HELLO MY BLOGGING MUSE!

Here's how our(Mark and I) week in Taiwan -Taipei/Taichung was spent. We had the pleasure of being brought around by Rex when we got to taichung, which was a HUGE help because both Mark and I are pretty hopeless at chinese and sometimes, directions.Rex who so generously brought us around and fought with mark when any opportunity to pay came!

Certain to say, Taiwan certainly does live up to it's reputation of not only being a shopping haven, but a place which will definitely add inches to your waist and fat to your arteries! Although we didn't really shop much (because most of the stuff was winter wear, which was quite ugly in my opinion), I still managed to pick up 3 pairs of $7 shoes and a pair of tights before returning (now I'm beginning to regret slightly that I didn't buy more!) But I'm glad I didn't buy stuff for the sake of buying only to discover their redundant-ness as well, which thus saved me a fortune. Xi men ding, a youthful shopping area somewhat like our Bugis in my opinion.

Xi men ding was a really fun and unique place, it's an area which is supposedly a little more modern and youthful. That was where Mark discovered the modern toilet restaurant, which is basically a restaurant that is completely toilet themed (except for the smell of course). So basically, we sat on toilet bowls and ate over bathtubs from bowls shaped like toilet bowls. It was really fun and hilarious! Food was decent, I guess you're just paying for the novelty!

The interior of the restaurant, note the bowls that everyone's eating out of!

Mark looking pretty happy with his toilet bowl.. hehh

Needless to say, we paid a visit to Taipei 101, hoping to pay $20 to go up for the view of taipei only to be disappointed when they told us that the open air viewing deck was closed.. Oh well, saved us some more money to eat with then!

Standing tall in front of the building.. it was pretty far.

This was on display at one of their museum-like places (honestly, I don't know what exactly it was la..) But this guy came up with a display that was really cute, bars of soap cut up with the dates carved into them! Each piece was about 2cm by 0.5cm, really really cute and funny@ haha..

The soap.
And more foood in taichung!!! Pork cutlet with tartar sauce and other stuff... I've never felt so fat after eating EVER! Didn't help that Mark's tummy wasn't feeling too good, so he couldn't share most of the food with me!

I must say that the highlight of the holiday for me was the hot springs which we spent about 2 hours and about $30 worth in taxi fares getting to up in the mountain. I forgot to get pictures of the spring pools themselves though!! which was a complete was because apart from the overwhelming smell of sulphur/boiled eggs, it was gorgeous and so zen. We basically paid $25 each to spend as much time as we wanted going around their 10 different pools (half of which were too hot/cold). But I got to feed my feet to the fish!!! Damn fun! Mark kept squirming though, which was pretty fun to watch, ahha..

The view of Tien Lai Resort, which was where the springs were. It's a little more atas la, which is good in a way cos you don't get smelly people, heh..

And, being in Taipei, we had to go for the international Flora Expo, which is AMAZINGLY huge. it spans across 4 MRT stations man, we only covered a small area because well... they are just flowers after all..

China girl hua hua pose.. Actually I kinda fell on my bum after squatting and just decided to stay on the floor.

A sea of red!! The flowers were really gorgeous!

Map of the entire expo, we only covered the bottom right hand corner basically I think..

Taiwan was a pretty awesome and neat place to go to, it felt pretty safe in general and I didn't have to keep watch over my back all the time unlike some other asian countries *coughchinacough*. So I definitely wouldn't mind going down for another short trip again! Plus, hotels were SO cheap and nice. hehh.

And now I'm suffering from Gaby Withdrawal symptoms!!! =((

Home!!

Ima goin' home and reaching sunny singapore in 24 hours!! =)) Yay I got boyfriend to look forward to return to... heheh...

And friends of course, I got many many chocolates to give peeper. =)

Between my mum and I, SQ has allowed 40kg, but we're currently attempting to lug 60kg through immigration tomorrow, hopefully we have a nice nice super nice counter girl (oh please don't let her be racist) who'll allow at least 45kg through and we'll unwillingly hand carry the rest.

Home!

Honestly, the only thing I'm looking forward to when I go back is Mark and church. Home isn't home anymore because that's what happens when your mum changes house without you around. Staying here for the past month has been more home-like than Singapore because of several reasons. For one,

THERE'S INTERNET

and of course family, a mum that does my laundry for me and operates the dishwasher after I cook a meal (which is awesome because as much as I love cooking, I hate washing up), my sister, brother in law and brand new niece, and all the hustle and bustle of having us 3 crazy women under one roof. We haven't all actually stayed together for a while, actually, for more than a year (I would consider it 2 years actually, since I've gone off to Brisbane to study). It's been nice, sitting together watching the tele and consoling Little Miss Cranky, gossiping about people, complaining about the stupid swiss way of disposing rubbish (Note to self: I MUST post about that), trying to figure out why miss cranky is so cranky (Is she having a perpetual wedgie?? Is she teething? Is she hungry for more neh?)

Deciphering a baby's cry is WAY harder than they make it out to be. I just can't wait for her to hit the age where she can learn baby sign. That'll be awesome.

When does home stop becoming home completely? Right now to me it just feels like if the things you treasure most aren't there, it ain't home. But sometimes it also feels like if there's no internet connection to the world, it ain't home. Gosh that's a little disturbing.. hur..

Yay!!!

2011!

It's 2011! It really doesn't feel like it, we spent the last hours to midnight trying to convince Gaby to sleep. My sister said matter of factly amidst her colicky cries,

"Aiya I know why she's still awake la, she wants to stay up for countdown..."

For a moment there, I almost believed that my sister had figured out the reason/solution to why Gaby was refusing to give us some peace and quiet. Spending 24/7 with a baby does things to your mind, especially when you're the food supply of that one crying yet adorable thing. haha... Getting married is one thing, having a kid is a whole new other thing. My sister's life really revolves around Gaby now, and having had my mum around for the past 3 months and me for the last month, she's beginning to wonder how she's gonna manage when we go home and Liner returns to work after his new year break. Hopefully by then Gaby would be a little self entertaining once she learns to grab onto things and extend her currently 3 minute attention span.

But man I'm gonna miss the little fatty fluff ball!! (I call my niece all sorts of horrible nicknames, with permission and sometimes, great support from her mum and grandma, haha)

After returning from our short shopping spree in London the past few days, I realised that Ihave only 4 days left here! Time really flies, and you might ask, what have I been doing the past month? Cook, carry baby, cook, shop, carry baby, change diaper, cook, shop, watch tv, read, watch tv, carry baby, multitask carrying baby and cooking.... You get the picture. Thus, I decided to further perfect my egg tart and quiche making skills over the next 4 days. My sister has requested that I make 4 quiches for her to freeze before I go for easy breakfasts. ( I might do that next semester too)Today's tarts.

London was AWESOME. It's always been the country I wanted to return to and made it to my 'countries-I-wouldn't-mind-living-in' list (which was initially a list that had one other country on it.. Singapore) And I was thrilled to experience post christmas sales right in the heart of Oxford Street! (IT's siao man...)

The Toys 'r' us equivalent

Shopping crowd at Oxford Street at 6pm, it was MAD...

And the weather was suprisingly good! Mum and I didn't have to dress up like penguins like we were expecting, temperatures were between 4-5 degrees each day, which, believe me, is surprisingly different from the negatives.

I can't actually remember if this is a view of Switzerland or London... but I'm guessing Switzerland. It wasn't so snowy in London by the time we arrived.

There're a few reasons why I like London so much,

1) Architecture is pretty neat, and it's a place with so many sights and wonders (Big Ben, buckinham palace, Westminster Abbey...) that you would never get bored of looking at them even if ou lived there.

2) They're one of the few places that probably still have a queen and a palace that isn't solely for tourist purposes

3) LONDON WEST END MUSICALS!!!!! We caught 2 whilst we were there, Wicked (again, because I believe it's an AWESOME musical that everyone should watch) and Love Never Dies, the Phantom of the Opera Sequel (which I believe NO ONE should watch).

Theatres in London are pretty small and compact, but still boost amazing acoustics. Plus being so close to subways (most of them are), you'd never have a problem with parking cos you wouldn't drive. And the awesomest thing is that you can eat in the theatres and they sell ice cream during intervals, which, despite being an overpriced gimic, seems to be bought and enjoyed by 75% of the theatre each time we go. Watching the English cast was pretty funny, because all the songs were pronounced differently, and one of them was actually Irish, which was quite amusing (I've never heard an Irish singing on stage.

4) Asian food is easy available and fairly priced (unlike Little Singapore in Australia) And because the pound is always so strong, everythign seem scheap when you're there.

See for yourself! Sushi from Marks & Spencer. We also bought a maternity bikini top for my sister from Dorothy Perkins that was on sale for 1 pound. Cool hey??
My all time favourite asian meal... Rice, minced meat and mushroom stew (it's a taiwanese thing)

5) Subways are pretty amazing and every station is as well connected as singapore. Which makes me feel empowered even though I'm in a foreign country, and if it's one thing that makes me feel home, it's being able to navigate myself around my surroundings. I took heaps of pictures of the subway (since that's where we spent most of our time), but I'm too lazy to upload those pictures of escalators and tunnels.. (They're subways afterall)

6) EVERYONE SPEAKS ENGLISH (I officially have a grudge against swiss.. my sister says it's my inferiourity/racist complex playing up, hahaha). I'll complain another time in case they sue me for posting hostile comments on such a peaceful country.

PEACE OUT! HAppy New Year!! I'm comin' home sooooooooon! :D

Christmas with the Family

Hohoho!! Happy Boxing Day! We've spent the last couple of days at home watching christmas movie after movie simply because every single shop is closed during the christmas period. The day revolved around meals basically, and the baby of course, who looks like such a sweet angel when she sleeps. She's really really adorable when she's in a good mood, she talks to us! After spending 2 years in speech, it really isn't bull shit that babies are communicating with you when they babble. Simple things like cooing at her and waiting for her response introduces the infant to something like turn taking, and imitation (which then leads to them learning sounds and words). It's fascinating watching it doing it live and just playing with her.

But of course when her crankiness comes along, there's no amount of cooing and singing that can soothe her unless it's as nutritious as her mother's neh neh.

But look at that angel!! I love this baby swaddle suit they put her in sometimes when it's cold. She looks like a fat Nanyang girl, haha.. (no offence).

So how did we spend our white christmas?? Everyone keeps pointing that out to me how lucky I am to have a white christmas (like I said, it's really not like in the movies).. But, who can fault me for trying? haha...

It snowed the whole of Christmas Eve. I know because I was running around trying to print photos for my christmas gift to my sister and liner (which I failed miserably at because the blardy machine was kooky). And snow is way way nastier than rain. I mean, it tastes pretty great (like ice kachang), but when you're walking against the wind, snow in your eyes sting like acid man.. I think I looked quite loser walking and blinking furiously (as if my eyes aren't small enough already).

And just the day before I got a pair of pretty pink Nike shoes for only 30 Francs! They were half price, and since I use my 'school shoes' so often when term starts, my mum told me to get them. (I can't wait for post christmas sales in London!!)

So how christmas did christmas get in the house?? Here's how:

1) Christmas Tree: Check

2) Stockings by the fireplace: Check
3) Actual Fireplace: Check4) Turkey dinner (ok we had turkey breast baked rice/pasta: Check
5) Multiple dish dinner (ok it's not quite a spread, but there's only 4 of us!): Stuffed mushrooms, grilled garlic prawns and veggies.. =)


6) Being constantly stuffed with food through the day: Check
I was making mochi and liner was making sushi with the sushi ingredients I got them for christmas ( since I couldn't get the photo)
7) Pretty Breakfast! Japanese pancakes lovingly made and arranged by liner when he woke up at like... lunch time. hahaha..
And we didn't get a family photo during christmas as usual, haha.. sometimes being a camwhoring type actually is good cos it means at least you have pictures as memories. =)

So that's my christmas in Zurich! Now for the real deal.... post christmas shopping sales in London!! :D:D:D

A Holiday On A Holiday!

On Monday we had our first family holiday with Gaby to the city of Bern (the capital of Switzerland), which is approximately an hour's train ride away. Well, basically you can think of it as going from Jurong to Tampines for a holiday ok? The qualifying factor which makes it a holiday is the hotel stay of course! (Staying in a hotel, no matter how fantastic or cheap, always makes a holiday a holiday)

Bern's the federal city of Switzerland and is mainly German speaking, with a pretty small population of a little over 100,000 people. I've concluded that apart from being the somewhat Canberra of Switzerland, Bern was also once a home to Einstein! We went to the Einstein Museum (more details about that next post) which was pretty insightful. (I think I now almost understand the Theory of Relativity fully).

Our first and only photo with everyone!

We went to this tourist spot which hosts several Brown Bears, the animal icon of Bern. (I don't know what the exact story is, but I'm sure you can read about it on Wiki or something.

And look! Ang moh huat kueh! (Those chinese prayer cakes) We didn't try any of that though, it was huge.

The train which we took to Bern was similar to this one, a double deckered train that runs from one end of Switzerland to the other. Tickets to Bern cost about 60Francs each. (But Liner, my sister and mum bought 50% discount cards which give them cheaper tickets). Expensive MRT hor?

Not only is transport expensive, (a daily tram ticket would cost about 8 Francs, and my monthly pass was 80 Francs), housing is pretty pricey, food is pricey (my sister and liner's meal for 2 at a restaurant was 70Francs, and it was Schnitzel of all things! I was appalled that they charged 30 bucks for fried breaded meat and veggies man...

But... there are some cheap things here in Switzerland. Alcohol, for one, as it is in almost all European countries, seems to be cheaper than water. Just look at the extensive range of wine, liquor and what not in their larger supermarket

That's just a third of the area my camera could capture

GIANT PLATE OF ICE KACHANG!!! I bet ice kachang would be dirt cheap if it were sold.

On a more serious note, cars ARE cheap here. Look at the price of the Porche!

And the price of the Jaguar! An old Jaguar is still a jaguar...But toys are expensive, this tiny pink lamb was 4 Francs (But it's cute and I'm reliving my childhood)

Speaking of toys... I can't believe christmas is coming! It feels sooooo distant because I feel so cut off from all teh festivities in church or at home. And since it's snowing all the time, it takes that 'christmasy' feel away. Even our fireplace doesn't look as christmasy as the movies make it out to be. Right now I'm just replaying Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is You just so that I can get into that christmas mood.

Fireplace!

Well, Merry Christmas everyone!! I wish I could be spending it in Singapore with the hot weather and friends though, but I am thankful for the nice cold weather and potential fireplace. OK I shall put up stockings on the fireplace!