Weekend of Happiness...

This weekend is more precious to me than any other weekends I get off, because it was time for us to celebrate Remy's birthday, and also because I'm returning to night shift after this :( :( So I gotta make sure I put it to good use! Spend quality time with the family... tee hee hee.

We slept in on Saturday. Woke up at about 10'ish... and by the time we ate breakfast, and got ready at a relaxing speed, we made our way to Chadstone for lunch so Jon could collect his suit pants from SABA. 

Mei sporting her favourite Mimco scarf, and the interesting, refreshingTEA. We went for yumcha at the Tea House, at the gourmet food section in Chadstone. 

They have like a hundred different types of teas in this place! I like it! You get to choose from a vast selection of hot, or cold teas, to match the weather, or your mood.... whatever you feel like really! 

Jon demonstrating how to drink this tea from their special glass. The crysanthemum and wolfberries are infused in a separate compartment in the tea. When you want to drink it, all you need to do is lift the compartment up, and it automatically "strains" or filters the things out so all that remains in the glass, is nothing but fully flavoured, aromatised tea. 

If the taste is not strong enough, you can dunk it back in, and leave it in for longer - and keep them in there till the taste suits you. 

I lurve lurve lurve yumcha on a weekend :) Somehow, going for yumcha on a weekday *on my days off, of course* just doesn't seem quite right! Hahaha... Don't ask me why!

After lunch, we dropped by the Apple store so I could get my iPhone. As I walked into the store, I was shocked by how many people's actually in there!!! OMG! *faints* 

The Apple store never used to be soooo packed! There was hardly anyone there when I bought my Macbook years ago! Now, it seems like everyone has an iPod and an iPhone.... I don't think the majority of people are using Macs at home yet, but they are surely catching up! I don't feel so special anymore!! :( boohoo... eheheheh.

Crowded!!! 

And they now have people dressed in different colour codes - to provide you with different levels of help / assistance that you need. The black t-shirt guys are just general sales assistants, the orange t-shirt guys have some technical knowledge, and are mostly Mac users themselves, but are not formally technically trained. Lastly, the blue t-shirt guys are the ones you should approach if you have some technical questions.... You are just wasting your time if you asked someone else... 

We found it out the hard way. 

Jon wanting to enquire about the Leopard package. 

More surprise in the Apple store!!!

They now run workshops to teach people how to use Macs and iPhones!!! There was a class running when we were there! I was veryyyyy impressed!! With video camera and all that gadjet! 

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We celebrated Remy's birthday in the evening by rewarding him with not one, but two of his favourite cupcakes!! It's not quite his ultimate favourite (which is chocolate) but we couldn't risk giving him 2 chocolate cupcakes!! He might just drop dead! 

Daddy and Remypoo, the boy who just turned 2~!!!

Mommy's favourite boy, Remy poo. He was too busy staring at the cupcakes, to look at the camera! 

The boy, all happy after having his cupcakes :) Note the smile on his face? hehehehe...

Remy's not quite a puppy anymore! With a blink of an eye, he's already 2 years old! He's still my little boy though, no matter how old he gets! 

Oh, a little digression, I watched Marley and Me, again - and cried buckets both times!! I couldn't bare the thought of our beloved doggy leaving us! I couldn't stand the fact that he's going to grow old, and eventually die!

Happified Remy - trying to climb over to Mommy's side of the couch. Heehee... Please ignore my pink socks. It was cold ok??? I obviously don't wear them out! They're my home socks... and oh, my ultimate must-have in the plane too :) 

We were playing with him after that... Chasing him around, playing ball, playing with his toys. He absolutely hates it when other people touches his toys. When you pick up toy A, he'd want to run to you and play with Toy A. When you pick up toys B,C or D - he'll do the same! And when you leave them alone, he ignores them! 

My boy's just so spoilt and possessive over his toys! That's how we get him to run around, by playing with his toys, so he'll wanna come and snatch them away from us! Hahahhaa...

This... is... Remy... by... the... end... of... the... night. 

KNACKERED~!!

I surely hope he had a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 

Mommy loves you, Remy poo... although sometimes, you poo at the wrong spots!! Arghhhh!

p/s: OMG... autumn is officially over, and tomorrow, it's officially winter! Time surely flies...

Just a random little update...

I suppose everyone knows that Remy is the apple of my eye... The other day, Jon sneakily snapped a photo of us... I thought it was quite funny, as it captured Remy in his element! Hahaha...

I was having a piece of honey dew after dinner, and Remy just wouldn't let his eyes off it! He was climbing onto me, and was trying to stand up to "beg" and grab my attention so I would give him a piece... 

Oh, how could you resist this cutie pie?? 

Up next, my favourite new Mimco scarf! :) 

You can't really see it in this pic, but Jon bought me a Mimco scarf with part of his stimulus money :) It was similar to the tie-dye scarf I wanted from Oroton, but it was 200 dollars, and then I saw the Mimco one for half the price! So I thought, I'll get it on my days off, but Jon bought it for me over the weekend! 

Thank you baby! *muah muah*

You'll see more of the scarf in my other posts, I'm sure... it's my current favourite! :) 

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On a separate note, I met up with Bhav for dinner the other day. 

Haven't seen this girl since 2000! That's almost a decade! And of all places to bump into her, we saw each other at work, in the ward on a night shift! I thought I was too tired.... and was seeing things! But she shouted "Mei!!" and I was like... "Ohhh.... I'm not dreaming! I'm really seeing you!" Hhahahahah....

We spent a good few hours in the empty, and possibly haunted hospital cafeteria, catching up on each other's life over the past 9 years...

Mei and Bhaveen :) 

We've grown so much from the college days. We've lost touch and went our separate ways... flew off to different countries and pursued different things in life. But the irony is... after all these years.... we ended up at the same place, with the same company, doing the same thing! Hahahaha. I suppose some things are just meant to be? 

We talked, and talked, and talked some more. It was certainly good to have someone who knows you from ages ago. And apparently, she said I haven't changed! I don't know if that's meant to be a compliment, or not... 

I'm back on night shifts again tomorrow night. I'll probably have the opportunity to catch up with her again! :) Seems to be the "in" thing to do at work, if time allows...

Oh btw, HAPPY BIRTHDAY REMY!!!! YOU'RE 2 NOW! 

Next up, Remy poo's birthday post! 

My Little Bit

The road in front of us, is never clear... That's just part of life. You learn as you go along, and you make decisions when you approach the junction. 

I may not know entirely what's going on, 

You may not want to tell me to burden me,

You may want to keep it from me to not offend me... 

I suppose change is exciting...

Yet it can be really scary at the same time. 

I am always here if you need to talk, 

Or just a pair of listening ears. 

I only want to see you carve a smile on your face.

Stimulated yeah~!!!

Man, I must be like the last person in Australia to receive the stimulus package!! I only got my cheque like 2 days before the cut-off day, and only managed to find time to bank in the cheque on Friday itself! :) 

But oh, I suppose better late than never~! :P hehehehe... But then again, I've already spent the money before I even got it. Bought a handbag ( yes, another one. And yes I know I have too many bags and wayyy too many pairs of shoes!) and a snowboard!!

I don't know what got into me, but I decided to take the plunge and bought myself a snowboard! hahahaha.... Hopefully, I'm not gonna fall on my ass too many times when I head to the snow. Can't wait for New Zealand in August! 

Speaking of holidays, I am going to meet the family again in June :) Sort of at the "in between" point for us. We're going to Perth over the Queen's Birthday weekend... My colleague, Ling has agreed to cover a half day shift for me so I could spend an extra day in Perth before coming back on a midnight flight :( Blergh... and then returning to work in the arvo! That will be fun **sarcasm maximus**

Besides that, nothing much is new... Life's been pretty much the same. Jon's on his week off, so he's been doing some work around the house, tiding up, cleaning, even cooking!! Who would have thought?? He made soup the other day, and grilled some pies in the oven today... No masterchef, but I'm still impressed! 

He's been bonding with the boy heaps... so Remy seems to like him abit more now! Yeah, you can sense the jealousy huh? Everyone competes for Remy's love which is really quite funny! Uncle Peter will always brag about how Remy is really close to him and stuff! **He bribes him with yummy treats all the time!!** 

Work's been abit of a bitch! I've been working for 9 days straight now... This is only Day 9 of 12. And, only ONE day off after that! Damn it! So, do forgive me for the lack of updates! I have been pretty good on my days off previously... 

Oh, and we're having hotpot at home this weekend :) YUMMMM.... Wanna come? Tee hee hee...

WINTER GOODNESS

I know I know!! It's officially autumn, but it surely feels like winter to me! I'm not one who likes the heat, so I normally pray for the weather to be cold. But geez, not THIS cold!!!

Everything's been sort of odd lately. I wonder what mother nature's been up to. It's only May, but it has started snowing already!!! (Did you miss the part where I said I went up to the snow field? hehehe) How weird is that? Normally, we'd be lucky if there's snow in July! 

Anyways, it was time for us to dig out all those winter clothes that have been sitting in boxes, and the wardrobe in the spare room. Time to rug up, and crank up the heaters! 

Hot tea to soothe my frozen soul, fingers and toes :) Kekekeke... I loveeee hot tea and hot chocolate in winter... Sipping on it just reminds me of scenes from romantic movies. Just, nostalgic... I don't know why!

Jon and I went out for brunch @ Bread and Butter. I had hearty hot soup, while he had his usual bacon and eggs on toast! Yummooo... 

Sorry no pics of the food cause we were too hungry!

After walking around for abit, we decided that it was most comfortable being at home, in front of the heater! So we got home, and relaxed for a little...

Time to spend some family time, just the three of us.

Remy kept snuggling up to us, it was soooo cute! We thought he felt a little cold too, so we decided to dress him up in some clothes! 

Ain't my boy just the cutest thing in the world?!! 

"Yo, yo wuzzup?!" 

Mommy loves you heaps, Remy poo! Too bad daddy couldn't be in the photo cause he had a hoodie on too **he was the photographer!** 

I lurveeeee winter boots and jackets, I *heart* the snow, but totally hate that it gets dark at 5pm now :( sighhh... I guess you can never have everything you want, huh?? It's soooo depressing to get off work, and it'll all dark! You feel as if you've been at work for more than 12 hours! Crazee!!

Winter sucks bad in that sense!!

On a lighter note, we went to try on snowboarding stuff the other day! I am waiting for K. Ruddy's stimulus money to help me subsidise this purchase!

Taken with Jonny boy's iPhone. Was a "fooling around" shot that turned out quite nice. I like the colourful boards on the background! Please ignore the dress and try to imagine me in snowboarding attire :) 

So can't wait to go to the snow!! Apparently, the forecasts said it's gonna snow sometime next week... and the snow season's gonna be awesome this year. Well, if it's crap, we're still going to NZ in August... so fret not! :) 

Oops, I keep forgetting it's only autumn now! Gosh!

Change...

Do people really change?

Or really, is it merely the circumstances surrounding them?

The Irony...

It's funny how people gets placed into different categories, 

Whether it's from first impression, or after getting to know them better.

how everyone gets stereotyped... Whether you like it or not. 

She's the cool one, she's the fashionable one, 

She's the smart all rounder, she's the nerdy book-worm,

She's the single career woman. She's the married stay home mom. 

Someone told me yesterday that he doesn't want to fall into any one category. 

He doesn't want to be able to be boxed. 

He wants to be a little bit of everything, 

To enjoy every little bit of life :) 

I never thought it was possible. 

Everyone gets categorised into boxes. 

"The one you wanna aspire to be" winners.

"The one that you want your kids to stay away from" losers.

I don't believe in having everything in life. 

Purely because you gotta make sacrifices,

To achieve things that you perceive as important, as essential.

Nothing comes for free after all, huh?

You win some, you lose some they always say.

But after hearing about a friend's engagement, 

How she's sooo over the moon with the new bling on her flinger, 

Made me wonder...

Can you really have everything??

Career, wealth, recognition... and now she's even found love.

I am truly happy for her.

But I couldn't help but wonder, 

Is this really possible??

Or am I really writing about this because I'm envious.

Because she's one of the few who's found it all...

Of old friends and good times

Ming Yen made a road trip up from Adelaide last week. As you all know, he's reallyyyyy into photography now! He even bought himself a new lens with Ruddy's stimulus money, which btw, I'm still waiting for damnit!!! 

He spent the weekend in Melbourne, just catching up with some old friends like us, and also to snap some nice pictures from all around Melbourne. They drove all the way out to the Great Ocean Road, went to the Melbourne Zoo, and just snapped heaps of random photos everywhere. I have to admit that he's pretty good though, coming from someone who had no lessons what so ever!

Ming Yen and I caught up on Sunday for brunch before he left for Adelaide. We went to Chaddy cause it's one of the few places that he knows how to get to out here in the East. Hehehe. We went to Jones the Grocer for some organic food :) 

The rest of them went out for dinner on Saturday, but I was up in the snow so I couldn't make it. Told him to come and join us @ Mt Buller, but he was too tired from all the driving around. 

"Tsk tsk tsk, you would have gotten some pretty pictures of the snow!" 

Thank you Ming Yen, for showing us your new "wife" and for snapping this pretty pic for us! I like it.... it looks so much better than the "press and snap" photos that I take! Hahahaha... 

It was good seeing you again, knowing that you're doing okay most days. I'm sure everyone will have their down days, thinking about things that are still so fresh in your head. I know it came way too early, but perhaps God had bigger plans for him, and for you... Only time will tell :) 

But yeah, always remember that we're here for you.

Speaking of old friends, Fiona is here in Melbourne for a short holiday! And we managed to catch up a little over coffee. I was post nights, and was super zonked out, but I thought, if I didn't go and see her, I'll never see her again for years! At least I get to see Monica once in awhile, but I don't think I've seen Fiona since high school. 

The last time I bumped into her was like.... maybe 7-8 years ago, @ Dome in Bangsar! I remember that, cause we managed to snap a photo together! Hahahaha.... 

The BB girls - Fiona, Mon and Mei

Mon's a married woman now, but she still acts like we were still in school~! It was certainly good to have a great laugh over coffee! We live in the same city, but I hardly get to see this girl. Mainly, we'd just bump into each other at shopping complexes or restaurants! Haha. 

Mon's branching out from clinicals for a better lifestyle. I applaud her for taking this bold step. Makes me feel like I need to seriously consider my life as well. I don't wanna wake up one day, when I'm 35 - and end up hating my job for the lack of work-life balance. 

Fiona's still the same sweet girl that she was~! The one that laughs with no sound. Kekekeke... Oh the good ol' times. The rebellious times in the prefectorial board. The JWong bitchin' and so much more...

And now, everyone's grown up and getting married, starting a family. Moving on to the next phase in life...

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On a separate note, I did mention that Melbourne's been sooooo freaking cold lately, it's been snowing yeah??

We went up to the snow the other day!! But because it's only early, and the coverage ain't too great at the moment... they only opened the lift to the beginner's run! 

I got bored after like an hour cruising on my ski's so I decided to take a lesson in snowboarding! Yes, I boarded for the first time ever!!! Not bad according to my instructor! He claims I'm one of the best first-timers on a board, but hell!! I felt like an idiot!

Here's a not-so-cool picture of me on the board! Yeah yeah... laugh your heads off if you want!

It's no fun being the noob again!! Going where the slope takes me! Felt like hard work going down a beginner's slope, I tell ya!! I was soooo tired from all the "falling over and pulling myself up again" that I was sweating!! OMG! Need to practise so I can be versatile - on ski's and on the board! Woohooo...

Can't wait for my annual leave! NZ here I come~! 

Tao's Foodie Review

Jon and I went to Doncaster Westfield for some "dating" time over the Anzac Weekend. Although I see him everyday (well, with the exceptions on night shifts), but we're both usually busy with work, or... we're basically too tired to do anything after work. So we took this opportunity to go out and spend some time, doing things that couples do :) hehehe.

Watched the new Fast and Furious on VMax - which was awesome! It was so good, that we got home, and watched The fast and the Furious - Tokyo Drift after that~!

Coindidentally, we also bumped into Richard and Karen in Westfield! And since we didn't really have anything planned out for the day, we decided to join them for dinner. Karen recommended this fusion restaurant named Tao's along Bulleen Road.

The ambience was really quite nice at the place. We were seated at a quiet corner, which was perfect for conversation, because the main seating area was really quite crowded and noisy! We were actually lucky to get a table, because they were almost fully booked that night!

This was the appetiser which was rather weird if you asked me. We were served a piece of blood tomato, with some sauce that tasted alcoholic (blek!), scallop with a slice of potato chip (which was quite yummy) and rash with sardines (which was not bad as well).

This place offers "set meals". You have a few options of starters, mains, desserts etc. But everyone kinda has to order the whole "set" for $48.80 per pax.

Mei with Karen and Richard - I haven't seen them in months!! They've just returned to civilisation after med regging in Bendigo for the first quarter. Richard's getting used to driving his new manual car, and Karen's starting to get used to living alone **cough**addy**cough**

My 'Japanese style oysters' came soon after. It was rather yummy! Needless to say, I finished them in 3 slurps, whereas the rest of them were still enjoying their starters... hehehe. Felt a little like a glutton there :) Yes, I'm sure you guys know I lurve fresh oysters! Yummmm....

Jon ordered the 'Ice age sashimi' which was pretty good, but I suppose - nothing to shout about. It was like any other Japanese place that serves sashimi...

Jon and Mei. Jonny boy decked in his new pair of D&G glasses. And Mei, aherm.... has perfect eye sight, still :) After all these years of studying under poor lighting condition, and being a nerd. Kekeke... good genes, I tell ya!

Next on the menu was the mushroom skewer. Grilled mushroom, with capsicum, avocado and cucumber if I remember correctly, topped with some herbs and gravy. This was delishhh~! :) MmMmMm...

Richard recommended the teapot bonnito - He claims it's the best soup in town!! I just decided to go along with it, cause I didn't know what it was. When the soup arrived, I realised that I've had it before in Malaysia, at the posh restaurant @ Jaya 33.

Basically, it's a clear soup, with fish base? if I'm not wrong, and mushrooms. Very delicious! I can understand why Richard's a big fan! This serving was a little smaller than the one I tried previously, but a little less salty (perfect!). I would recommend this to anyone who's planning to diner at Tao's.

Next on were the mains! Richard had the chicken pancake, which came looking very healthy! A little too healthy for me, it looked like chicken salad! Hehehe...

Jon ordered the hot stone steak - which he gobbled down within like 10 minutes! Apparently, the portion was too small for him!

Karen and I had the rockling in miso cream. The fish was good, but I got kinda sick of it after awhile because of the miso cream. I reckon I would have liked it alot better if it was clear miso gravy. Not so "jelak". But none the less, it was still good...

Jonny boy's creme brulee - nothing out of the ordinary. 

Richard opted for the green tea panna cota - and enjoyed it :) 

My mango ice cream cheered me up, as it came with a smiley face frosting! Hahaha. the ice-cream was smooth, and yummy.... 

The four of us after dinner - all smiles :) 

Dinner was very satisfying, the company was entertaining... It would have been perfect if the place wasn't so packed that day, that the waiters were sorta rushing to serve us every dish, and trying to make sure that we cleared the table in time for them to have another seating. Oh well... I couldn't be bothered. I just took my time anyhow~! Hhahahah... 

I would recommend this place if you had some time to spend over dinner. Because they only serve set-meals... and so you gotta sit through the whole seating. Unlike the usual "grab a bite before rushing off to work" kinda dinner. 

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More updates to come~! Melbourne's snowing in autumn!!