hope...

fascinated by my lettuce sprouting up into perfect jade petals...
starting the weekend with a relaxing Friday afternoon massage...
realising i've made a new friend after a serendipitous heart to heart on a Saturday afternoon..
catching up on a rainy Sunday afternoon with old friend who understands..
slurping on homemade spaghetti for lunch in my office and being completely absorbed by Kyra Sedgwick's sparkling performance in The Closer..
latte art on my mocha at Giardini..
just when i feel lost, i'm found.. just when i'm getting pruny from marinating in despair, there's nothing better than a timely sprinkle of hope that helps me see the big picture... guess life is full of these little gems.. only if I could learn to stop, take a deep breathe and look...

Mid Week Break

was ANZAC day on Wednesday.. and though it was meant to be a day of remembrance... for us 'yellow ppl' (or may be it's just my family) we have very vague concept of what this whole thing is about..

my grandparents on both sides did not participate in the war.. i doubt they know much about it other than the fact that the Japanese has invaded China and they are taking over Taiwan.. so we've heard no war stories, there were no medals, we don't even know ANYONE who had fought in the war.. we've only heard about rectangular lunch boxes that only allowed white rice and a red plum placed in the middle to resemble the japanese flag (and great grandma hid other dishes underneath the rice for grandma, where as granddad had no shoes and toughed it out with the plain rice..)..

anywayz, for us it was a blissfully ignorant and much welcomed break in the middle of the week..

so we had a nice BBQ picnic in the local park.. complete with sausage (though gourmet chicken ones.. aussie nonetheless)..and korean beef ribs.. how good does this look eh!

and after a nice walk.. i took over mum's 3D puzzle.. which i finished later that nite..
ahhh.. me like to not work :D

melancholy..

adrift in a sea of questions i can't answer..

barely afloat in tears of sadness i can't control..

lost in a world i no longer know..

confused by feelings i don't understand..

overwhelmed with thoughts i don't recognise..

existential loneliness.. perplexing.. on one hand, we are all interconnected, interdependent on one another.. then why do i feel so alone? no one will have exactly the same experience as we do, no one can live our life for us..

so i reach out, then rejected by others..

others reach out to me.. then i become withdrawn..

genius and insanity, awake and ignorant, interconnected and independent, love and hate, bliss and torture.. different sides of the same coin?

may be i'm just a prisoner in my own head.. with the key of liberation in my hands..

the crush

ok, i've had a crush on Kaneshiro Takeshi since.. well.. forever... ahh.. the days of carrying his photos in my wallet and plastering posters on my walls, obsessively cutting out his photos from anything i can get my paws on.. *swoons* .. owning his every album just so i could fall asleep to his voice.. (though let me just say.. singing isn't exactly his best talent) *ahem*.. even today... he is still right on top of my celebrity free list (u know the list of celebrities that u've agreed with ur partner that u'll be allowed to sleep with if the opportunity ever presents itself).. :D ahh.. mesmerising.. *ahem* ..
(borrowed this pic from http://hk.cnmdb.com/photo/p15_134)

ANYWAYZ, thinking of revising that list after a weekend marathon of Hanazakari no Kimitachi he (a corny taiwanese TV series similar to hollywood's "she's the man").. tho the plot was thinner than a bad comb over.. littered with cheesy dialog that's cringe worthy, lots of silliness.. but OH MY GAWDDDD.. the boys are H-O-T.. there's Chun Wu (from brunei, ex fitness instructor a.k.a mr. BUFF)..
(borrowed this pic from http://image.udn.com/gallery/stars/show.jsp?pid=15853)

and Jiro Wang..
(borrowed this pic from http://datalib.ent.qq.com/star/2449/index.shtml)

*giggles*.. so the marathon tv session turned into marathon perv session.. :)

ok, F-I-N-E.. call me shallow.. call me cradle snatcher.. go on judge me.. u have to youtube them to see them in action to understand.. super hotness.. be warned!

cuteness overload

got these for baby Ally.. i think the picture speaks for itself... :)

happiest food..

sigh, even at the risk of turning from a food "enthusiast's" blog into a food obsessive blog, i had to show you these Whitman's Sampler.. or what's left of it..
mum's friend gave these to us for easter.. now, in a household where chocolates lasts for YEARS sitting untouched in the cupboard and usually have to wait till Halloween for 'clearance' or re-gifted to someone else... we were very skeptical at best..

but.. it only took one.. and we were SOLD.. ohhh.. they are beyond the descriptive capabilities of my limited linguistic understanding... but i shall try.. they are... *chomps down the chewy almond nougat*.. *munch munch*.. *savours*.. ermmmm.. little bundles of melt in your mouth oh-me-buddha-it-can't-be-this-good cosmically divine PURE JOY...

the only problem is the box is so massive the only place it fits is on the highly accessible kitchen bench.. and everyone who walks past (i.e. grand total of 3), judging from the rate at which these babies are disappearing, obviously can't resist temptation..

blame it on the festive season..

now where was i.. ah yes.. Dark Choc Molasses Chew.. *mauls*

Day 4 - I *heart* Melbourne!

on my last day in melb, i was determined to make the most of it.. however, since i only slept at 5am that morning.. i struggled to wake up at 10am.. then i spent 1hr prancing and lazying around my room to work up the energy to peel myself off the couch to get out and DO SOMETHING! coz by god, i was not going to let the sleep deprivation get in the way of my shopping spree.

so here's my top 10 things i love abt melb...

1. 7-eleven's (YEP, there’s one on every corner.. tho it’s not as good as the ones in Taiwan, it makes me feel safe just knowing its there..)

2. Direct Factory Outlet - i went to the one on spencer street. i emerged 2 hours later, 1 pair of country road pants, 1 pair of work pants, and 1 wolly vest heavier.. $100 lighter.. and infinitely happier.. could've done more damage but had to meet up with the new couple for coffee..

3. Old Buildings - ohhh.. i love history, i love old stuff, and when every second building you see is this beautiful.. i don't know how NOT to be in lurve with this city.. i practically floated/skipped across the road in true SJP style..

4. Brunetti - ok i know it's nothing new, but nestled in the middle of the Italian district on Lygon street.. is this.. oh sweet mother of all cafes..

after much deliberation.. mulling over literally THOUSANDS of sweets.. i've managed to get away with only these..
D: are you going to eat all those by yourself?!?!? (with disbelief in her eyes) J: *nod nod* i'll start with these first then see how i go..
*D tries to politely hide her jaw drop*

5. oh.. did someone say GIANT chocolate fountain.. yep..

6. Bun Shop - pork floss buns.. mmmm.. ok i know it sounds weird a fluffy sweet white bun topped with some mayo and some pork floss, but it holds special nostalgic childhood memories for me.. so i had to have it.. why Perth hasn't quite caught on with this special treat is beyond me.. (@#$&#)

7. sparrows - this is a bird that i miss.. cute and fearless..
i took this while enjoying my first so-so coffee since i've been in melb on hardware lane.. note the name of the bun shop - BREAD TOP (as oppose to muffin top? a preview of consequence?)
8. Krispy Kreme - of course, no trip would be complete without taking home two dozen donuts.. I had to stand in a 15 min QUEUE for these!! these are no ordinary donuts, don't let it's innocent appearance fool you.. these are melt in your mouth deep fried goodness unparalleled by any gastronomical experiences in this part of the galaxy.. you may laff, but the joy and contentment these babies bring is beyond any mere mortal imaginations... ahhhh..
9. Rhododendron Gardens - the place that D had her wedding ceremony was in a national park.. this place was beautiful, you have the most incredible view of a valley.. everything is lush and green with old pines and conifers reaching for the sky.. most importantly it's not FLAT (unlike perth)! it's on an actual mountain!!

10. FABULOUS coffees - unlike you have to search high and low, work through a barrage of burnt/acidic/overheated milk/fake espressos in perth.. good coffee is on every corner in melb.. and out of all the coffees i had (and believe u me.. i had a fair few) i've only had ONE so-so coffee..
just look at this crema and u know it's good S#$%.. :)

ahh.. i believe i have found my Manhattan.. *gently packing away sweet melb memories into happy places bank*

Day 3 - W Day

Though it was hard to feel excited at 7am after 4 hours of sleep.. I was really looking forward to the big day..

Rushed out to the tram stop located opportunistically next to a Starbucks. (I was however, later shamed and shunned for even being inside of it.. I coped so much crap you’d think I’ve committed a crime against gourmet).. tho the coffee was as tasty as mouthwash.. I liked the feeling of the warm big cup of coffee in my hands.. it was just as soothing.. perhaps an equivalent of a mental dummy?

After a frenzy of make up, hair, dressing up, half a can of hairspary and 1kg of pins later.. the bride and her maids emerges a vision of beauty... the groom (JT) finally arrived to pick up the bride.

In traditional Chinese customs, the bridesmaids were suppose to set up a obstacle course for the groom for him to prove his worthiness. We had a quiz to test how well he knew his bride which he passed with flying colours.. I did however can see the deep panic in his eyes the whole time and can almost hear the churning sound of his overworked brain..

the second obstacle was the multi-flavoured dumplings that TY and I made the day before, one of salty, sweet, sour (vinegar), bitter (coffee), chilli. The groom had to eat each one and tell us a particular memory he had with the bride associated with each of the flavour. I can tell it wasn’t exactly pleasant but he was a good sport, TY was so worried that he’ll have a bad stomach after.. tee hee hee..

the final task, he had to sing a song to serenade D and she will only come out of her bedroom when it’s to her satisfaction.. JT some how struggled with this as he can’t seemed to remember lyrics.. his bestman (DH) forked out his new Motorola and googled.. was a juxtaposition to see a modern take on an old tradition.. you just have to laugh at the ingenuity..

yet.. it does make me wonder whether it has just made us lazy and over dependent on it? may be i'm just the old school thou shalt only enjoyst the fruits of thoust labour if thou provst thou ist worthiest thru abundancest of bloody sweat and toil.. :)

ANYWAY.. Wedding was lovely, lovely lovely… weather was perfect, setting was perfect, vows were perfect..

except I was put in charge of the groom’s ring to hand over to D, there was a point when I accidentally put it on my finger so I wouldn’t loose it, and I pushed too hard that it became stuck.. I FREAKED OUT! HOLY GUACAMOLE!! i'll be damned if I was the one who ruins D's wedding!! i quiver at the thought of if I wasn't able to produce a ring when it came time for the exchange!!! Though I kept smiling and prayed that the cold sweat streaking down my forehead won't show up on film.. my mind was blank with panic and no amount of twisting and tugging would make the ring come off.. eventually after some strategic persuasion.. the ring did come off just before the exchange.. PHEW!!!

here's the only shot i have of me and new couple in the car..

the girls.. awww.. look D's all grown up.. :)

the banquet was traditional with lobsters, abalone, shark fin soup, crispy chicken, steamed fish.. in hindsight i should've rethink that two sips of champagne that made me feel so buggered to even be politely social, or that extra bowl of shark fin soup that made me miss the dessert.. :(

anyway, after the banquet was a mad rush to get the bridal suite romantic as a surprise for the new Mr & Mrs... brand new sheets, rose petals, bottle of penfolds, countless candles, rose scented oil burner.. THE WORKS, the whole shebang n caboodle! mmmm.. have to say i'm pretty proud of our handy work..

except since we are unable to leave the open flame unsupervised, we had to wait for the new couple to arrive.. and boy did they take their time apparently running errands.. so at 2am.. this is what we looked like.. i just hope Dr K will never come across my blog or i might just have to take a 'vacation'..

Day 2 - MORE wedding frenzy

Today, i woke up to this, tho not exactly scenic but it made me happy for some unknown reason.. something abt the crispness of the skanky city air, the cloudy morning sunshine sieving through the high rises, the pigeon hole that is my apartment or the chirpings of trams n traffic.. it all feels very.. ermm.. Manhattan..

it's official.. that I’m just so in lurve with this city, when Dr. K (aka james bond.. our nick for k coz he once told us about his surgeon fantasy of driving to work in a convertible with the james bond theme blasting on the stereo) and I decided to stop for breakky from some little shops enroute to D’s place. Just some innocuous looking suburban café and bar.. I walked in and they had these sitting on the counter just fresh out of the oven.. and illy coffee too!!!

this is not your mass-produced run of the mill SARA LEE stuff, this is gourmet pumpkin, spinach and pine nuts.. it was still WARM!!! serendipitous indeed!! man the victorians are certainly spoilt.. i was deliriously happy that i skipped (on the inside) all the way to D's apartment down the road..

Spent the rest of the day planning the obstacle course ritual for the groom when he comes to pick up the bride tomorrow with the other bridesmaid TY (D's Sis).. We also bought a new bedding set for the new couple.. and some red roses to set the mood ;) after all that stressful shopping we rewarded ourselves with some yummy coffee from this quaint café Leroy Espresso off Barkley St in St Kilda.. man, one just can’t get a bad coffee anywhere!!! (unlike perth where it's everywhere.. *lament*)..

As a perfect finish to the day is the BIG BOWL of Ramen.. mmm.. think I died and gone to heaven.. (tho the japanese probably sneeze at this maccas equivalent quality.. it was good enough for me).. you just can’t get ramen like this in perth, and if anyone says wagamama I’ll just might resort to some violence..

Then we had a last minute logistics rehearsal with D’s friend E who’ll be overseeing the set up at the wedding. I was soooo impressed with the level of organization, clarity and efficiency I desperately wanted her to be my friend.. in hindsight.. guess i should hold off on the desperation may be start with moving to melb first..

By the time I collapsed on my bed and looked over the clock and saw 3.00 am I let out a little ‘f@#$’ under my breath.. so much for beauty sleep.. guess will have to just rely on my natural charms or my sparkling personality tomorrow..

Day 1 - wedding frenzy

Was in melb in for 4 days for my friend D’s wedding..

Took the red eye on Wednesday for melb and now I know why it’s called that.. quite literally..

Spent most of the day doing lots of wedding errands, final fittings, rehearsal at venue, and it was really nice to finally meet the groom for the first time. :)

there's just something about a girl in her wedding gown.. was all a bit surreal.. that D is getting married.. the girl that skipped a whole day of lectures with me only to sit on the foreshore to talk about anything under the sun.. the girl that would swap her tomatoes in her sandwich (her pet peeve) for my carrots (my pet peeve).. the girl that naps in the library between classes.. the girl that we had a karaoke session over coffee at the guild cafe.. was this the girl that knew i was Taiwanese before she spoke to me coz she recognised my only-taiwanese-would-use-this-japanese eraser? ahhh me getting sentimental here..

when we got back to the hotel at 10pm, we walked pass as I later discovered as the Greek district and we came across the MOST AWESOME cafe!! My heart skipped a beat, it was love at first sight.. and there’s very few things/people that can do that in this world.

Obviously I couldn’t fit it all in my stomach and still expect to fit into my bridesmaid dress, I had to settle for limiting myself to 3 items and sharing them with K over a bottle of red (well.. K drank, I watched)..

after a good 15mins standing in front of the cabinets, we finally decided on these.. one mini yo-yo (or Kok.. some how K holds a special facisnation with this name and enjoys repeating it over and over)

and this MASSIVE chocolate rum ball and biscuit.. mmmm..

Though it wasn’t such a good idea to sleep at 2 am after a 1 hour sleep on the plane and a 1 hour nap on D’s couch, I was a bit high on the sweets induced adrenaline rush..

I did regret it a bit when I had to wake up at 8am the next day…