The one with the birthdays

Officially the worst blogger ever. period

I have not even looked at this page for months, let alone update it with words and pictures to keep everyone happy.

You know they say that your life changes the moment they call your name. Loud and proud, walking up the stage, grinning your teeth out; you try not to slip and fall before grabbing that most important piece of paper from his/her hand; your passport to the next realm.

Then, your life is officially. over.

For the next 30 years, it's going to be 9 to 6 day weeks, 20 days of annual leave a year, and the very few public holidays we have here in Australia. I'm not complaining about my job. In all honestly, I love my job. I just wish we had three day weekends once a month, longer lunch hours and maybe a bonus twice a year. That should do it.

I've been insane busy with work since I got back from my super-awesome three week holiday back home. I no longer have the privilege of going back for three months. It has now been cut down to three weeks. I did an insane amount of shopping, had nasi kandar ever other day and drank teh tarik every morning for breakkie. That should last me for the next 11 months.

I'll be going to Sydney in two weeks for an event so I'll remember to take pictures to post em up... But till then, this should be enough to tell everyone that I'm alive and well.

Till the next one,

Stay well, eat your fruits and party like a rockstar!

Just as I was about to sign off, I remembered something important.

Ee, remember how you said I've never wished you happy birthday here??

Happy Birthday EE!!! 24! ha.ha.ha

Another one of my besties turned 24 too.

Then (it took me alot of courage to post this up)

Happy Birthday Angela!! Hope you had a blast!

Spring Carnival: Derby Day

It's the Spring Racing Carnival season here and the entire Melbourne has dolled up for the season. Fascinators and hats can be seen in all the window displays in the city.

As part of a work function, I went to the races for the first time yesterday. AAMI Derby Day to be exact. This race day has a traditional black and white theme; more classic than colourful. I spent hours over the past weekend looking for a fascinator from Myer. There were thousands to choose from. I didn't want one that was too big and getting a hat was wayyy too expensive (they cost around 250-300 dollars).

Days before Derby Day, all everyone could talk about was the terrible weather that was about to hit Melbourne. "One months rain in 24 hours" That is A LOT of rain for Melbourne in one day. Considering that the races is an outdoor event, the bosses made sure that Vitality got geared up for the day. They made sure there were enough marquees to cover our booked lots at the races. Considering what we were going to be dressed in, it would be terrible if we were drenched in our stilettos.

The first race started at 11 on a Saturday morning. It was meant to rain the night before and all Saturday morning. When I woke up, I looked out the window and realized it wasn't raining. I thought to myself, wishing that there might be a chance the weather would be better than what we expected. We are in Melbourne after all. We made it to the races by train and got to our lots just as it started to drizzle. An hour later, the rain started to pour. Not just rain but heavy 'Malaysia-like' rain. Such a terrible day for the races. By the afternoon, the temperature dropped and the ladies started to take their coats out of the car. Even the suits were not enough for the men.

Nonetheless, it was a great day. Rain and all. Everyone had plenty to drink and after a few glasses of champagne, wine, beer and food, the rain did not bother us much anymore.

I managed to take some pictures.

The Marketing Team




See what the rain did...


Some of the boys


After plenty of drinks on the train home


Yours truly

Till the next one,
Have a great 'Movember', boys start sprouting your moustaches!

Just a spoonful of sugar

I just got back from Her Majesty's Theatre where I watched Mary Poppins The Musical.
It was AWESOME!!

Will update soon enough...

Till the next one,
Have a great week ahead. I know Mondays are always the best!

Doing it just like the boys...

Just like the boys at home, I finally did it.
I think I had just as much fun as the boys did, being very careful at first, making sure I don't spill anything and eventually make a mess. You know how messy boys can get when they're so into something.

It has become a thing of the past since everything evolved, becoming so high-tech. It's no longer practical to do models the old-fashion way, from scratch, starting slow and picking up the speed as you go. It used to be known as a skill. People ask each other "Are you good with your models?" and they proudly reply "Of course, I've been doing them for years. I do one every two weeks or so".

Model making has evolved to a stage people spend more time in front of the computer doing 3D ones with a mouse. But seriously, how much fun can you have with a mouse and keys? Hell, it's much quicker but I don't think that one gets the satisfaction one gets when it comes to doing the actual thing from scratch.

Since there were scraps lying around on the dinner table, I decided to work on my own little project. I tried to be creative since I only had leftovers.

It takes a lot of patience. If you rush it, you've got to start cutting the pieces all over again.

Behold, my masterpiece.

A side view of what I spent one and a half hours on.

my roof with a gutter so the rainwater will flow out to the sides

That's panels which block the harsh Melbourne winds. It's an outdoor space inside minus the wind.

Obviously I'm not as good as they boys. They've got so much experience. Here's my boy's model.

Now that I've completed my first ever one, I have dreams for better ones. What I want to create next is an outdoor space where events can be held. I've already give it quite a bit of thought, how I want the columns to be, for it to have a roof so that people don't get wet if it rains since Melbourne seems to be raining quite a lot these days. I'll post pictures if I am able to finish it.

Till the next one,
Have a great Sunday because Monday is just around the corner.

the-work-post

I remember the last time I spent this much time on my blog. It was way back when I used to (constantly) procrastinate my uni assignments, journal readings and thesis research. After 16 years of schooling, I don't think I have changed much. I've learned a lot but old habits die hard. I still try my best-est to come up with considerable good quality work although I've always managed to take the longest time possible to finish them. It's just a skill that I have. One that I'm obviously not willing to give up.

Not even now. When I'm working.

It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Not as sunny as I want it to but thankfully not as cold as the past week. After a Malaysian char koay teow lunch at this place called "Gurney Drive" (I-kid-you-not) down the street from my place, I'm sitting in front of fatboy's PC (with two screens, which allows me to play Restaurant City while typing this entry) with a hot mug of tea, only because I'm warming myself up after having an ice-cream. For the first time since I started working, I brought work home over the weekend; not because I wanted to, because I had to.

You think I'm careless because I'm young and forgetful and irresponsible. That's not true. Other people leave stuff to the last minute too and it really annoys me when I've got to pick up the pieces and rush all because "THEY FORGOT". Yea, you forgetting means me having to bring work home over the weekend. dumbo. I don't really give a shit if you forget your own work and have to stay back half an hour. I've got a life too (even if I want to iron my clothes on a Sunday afternoon with my brand new iron).

I've got to get back to work. The advertising artwork is due tomorrow and I've got some editing to do. I'm just trying to get as much done and I'll ask hunlin to help me when he gets back home from uni. That's just the few benefits of dating an architect-to-be nerd.

Till the next one,
Have a great week ahead!

It's all about the money

I think this place deserves another entry. It has been two weeks since my last weekend shopping craze. I bought an iron and clothes. I promised myself I'd stay away from shops last week, and thankfully I managed to. I only spent money on food over the last weekend; a dimsum lunch and desserts in the city.

Unfortunately, my bank balance dropped AGAIN over the past couple of days. I spend 1500 dollars on air tickets! My three week leave got approved last week and I finally got my ticket back to Malaysia for Chinese New Year. I'll be back on the 23rd of January, for three whole weeks. I'm really looking forward to that; although before that I'll be busy with Australian Open since my company is the official sunscreen supplier for that event. If the camera comes my way, I'll remember to wave to say hi to everyone at home. dodgy, I know. I also bought tickets for my mom and grandma to visit me in July next year. I managed to get dirt cheap tickets. $600 dollars for TWO RETURN tickets. Was that a bargain or what? Of course it wasn't Singapore Airlines or Emirates. It was Air Asia.

I realised that once I'm around the city, I tend to spend money quickly AND easily. We bought mooncakes this weekend, a box of four for $44.50. I know that's expensive, but I was rather fussy. I wanted low sugar, white lotus with 2 yolk. I mean, we only eat mooncakes once a year. No harm spending a little more on something that will taste much better.

Oh well, I'm getting paid this Tuesday. Lets hope I manage to save more this month.

Till the next one,
Happy Merdeka Malaysia!
No parties this year, I've gotta work the following day.