Memories of Winter

Memories
Light the corner of my mind.
Misty water coloured memories
Of the way we were
~ Barbara Streisand (The Way We Were)

Now that the weather is getting warmer, memories of those cold winter days are starting to fade away.

While I'm sitting here typing this entry in my singlet and shorts, I can only remember vaguely how a thousand layers of clothes still failed to keep me warm in the chilly wind. Humans are forgetful, aren't we?

Till the next winter, that is. And then we're reminded all over again.

Found these pictures I took to show Bee (but never did).

It was a particularly foggy and cold Saturday morning, and I was the only person who had to brace the icy weather to go to work.

Oh those winter days.

Dilemma

"Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world"
~ ABBA (Money Money Money)

Ain't so funny in my world at the moment.

To quit. Or not to quit.

To help. Or not to help.

To stay. Or not to stay.

To give. Or not to give.

If only money grew on trees.

Discount Shopping

Went to DFO in Essendon with Fook and Wen after work.

Bought this Julius tank and flannel boxer set in black and red.

Bought a pair of Julius cotton shorts too. Couldn't be bothered to try them on, so I opted for the smallest size I could find. Came home and realised that XXS is actually a tad too tight for sleeping. Bugger. :|

The star buy of the day is this pair of Witchery Deni Buckle Court flats in black at $69.95, down from $149.95.

The smallest shoe size by Witchery is 36, which is still a lil too big for me. But who can resist bargains like this huh?

Discount shopping rocks!

Learn Chinese in 5 Minutes

This is too funny not to share.

Learn To Speak Chinese In 5 minutes
(Important: Read Out Loud)

English Phrase / Chinese Translation

1. "That's not right"............... Sum Ting Wong

2. "Are you harboring a fugitive?".. Hu Yu Hai Ding

3. "See me ASAP".................... Kum Hia Nao

4. "There goes Stupid Man".......... Dum Dum Wa King

5. "Small Horse".................... Tai Ni Po Ni

6. "Did you go to the beach?"....... Wai Yu So Tan

7. "I bumped into a coffee table"... Ai Bang Mai Ni

8. "I think you need a face lift"... Chin Tu Fat

9. "It's very dark in here"......... Wao So Dim

10. "I thought you were on a diet".. Wai Yu Mun Ching

11. "This is a tow away zone"....... No Pah King

12. "Our meeting is next week"...... Wai Yu Kum Nao

13. "Staying out of sight!"......... Lei Ying Lo

14. "He's cleaning his automobile".. Wa Shing Ka

15. "Your body odor is offensive"... Yu Stin Ki Pu

16. "Great"......................... Fa Kin Su Pah

A Little Warmth Coming My Way

It's my first day back to work, officially.

My head swelled to twice its size when I saw the mess left behind by the locums. And the phone has been going off like crazy sirens all morning.

I was seriously starting to feel like I'm being punished for having a holiday.

Then a regular patient, Mr Carr, dropped in. He brought me a bouquet of flowers to welcome me back.

10 long stem roses! Each of them nearly the size of my fist, and they are of a gorgeous peachy orange colour.

As he handed me the flowers, he kissed me on my cheeks and said, "I just wanted to come by to give you this to welcome you back, because you are absolutely special."

Aww, isn't he the cutest old man in the world?

Another old lady, Margaret, came in to give me a nicely wrapped present, which turned out to be a huge box of chocolates and a scarf.

She wrote in the card, "One for going away, one for coming back. I am glad you are back. Welcome."

It absolutely melted my heart.

I guess it's little things like this that keeps me going, and maybe that is the reason why I still can't just pack up and leave this job no matter how I hate it sometimes.

On some days, I actually feel like I do make a difference to some people's lives.

Suddenly this cold Monday in Melbourne is getting a little warmer.

P/S: Pardon the poor quality of pictures, blame it on my phone camera. :/

It's A Rainy Day

As I put on my scarf to brace myself against the chilly wind and heavy rain this morning, I wondered why did I even chose to come back again.

Then the tram broke down.

Not. Cool. At. All.

Back in Melbourne

Landed in Melbourne on a cold rainy day.

Grey. Wet. Dark. Sad. Gloomy.

The weather reflects exactly how I feel to part with my family and Bee again.

The dark clouds hung so low in the sky that I could almost feel them pressing on my heart. Heavily.

As I walked out of the airport, the cold wind was biting into my skin. Isn't it spring already?

The place I once called my magical city suddenly looked so dim.

Has Melbourne changed?

Or rather, have I?

Mid-Holiday Crisis

I'm at that point again.

Woke up this morning feeling that tight grip of sorrow on my heart.

Such a familiar feeling.

"Am I back here again?" I asked myself.

Bee said if I feel so strongly about leaving each time, maybe I should seriously consider coming back for good.

Maybe I should.

I just don't feel like leaving again.

Right Back At Home

I'm back in Swan City. Just flew in tonight, actually.

No matter how often or how long I've been away, the moment I change into the old t-shirt I've been wearing since I was 13 (yeap, I haven't grown much since), and follow my mum around the kitchen when she's cooking supper, I feel like a little girl all over again.

There's no place like home.

Bvlgari Engagement Ring

I think I'm in love.

It was love at first sight, yes it was. The moment I slipped it onto my ring finger, my heart instantly knew.

"This is it." I heard it whispered.

The Griffe platinum ring with two lateral diamonds and a central round brilliant cut diamond.

Perfection.

Bvlgari Engagement Rings

My favourite range of engagement rings by Bvlgari.

Apart from round brilliant cut, the same engagement ring also comes with either an emerald cut or an oval shape diamond.

Griffe platinum ring with two lateral diamonds and a central round brilliant cut diamond

Griffe platinum ring with two lateral diamonds and a central emerald cut diamond

Griffe platinum ring with two lateral diamonds and a central oval shape diamond

Not a big fan of the oval shape, but the emerald cut is stunning!

However, I've always believed that emerald or any square cuts requires a much bigger diamond since they tend to be less 'fiery' and show less brilliance compared to round brilliant cuts.

Therefore, for an 1-carat, the timeless classic round brilliant cut is the answer.

Faking It

Bee and I have been arguing a fair bit since I got back.

I guess that's one of the reasons why I can't make up my mind to leave Melbourne and to come back to Malaysia for good. Because if I'm here, then all our problems become real.

Sounds like I'm running away, I know.

Sometimes I feel like we're a fake. We look perfect on the outside, but only we know what's really going on in our relationship.

That's how all couples are, some say.

Maybe it is.

Maybe all couples are just faking it. Faking to people around us, faking to create the image of a perfect couple, and most importantly, faking to ourselves that we're happy.

How many of us are convinced ourselves? How many of us are truly happy?

Or rather, can we ever be truly happy in a relationship?

Coast Yellow Chiffon Tiered Dress

My trip back to Malaysia normally translates into an out-of-control shopping spree.

Well, not this time.

To my surprise, I don't have the slightest interest to shop. I can't even think of anything I feel like buying. Now if you know me, you'll know how abnormal that is.

The only thing that I've actually tried on this time round is this yellow chiffon tiered dress by Coast (minus the belt). And that's because it was in the window display at Robinsons.

The colour is absolutely gorgeous, and the dress looked great on me. Except it was 2 sizes too big. :|

I'm a size 4, or maybe a small size 6. But the smallest size it comes in is size 8. The staff mentioned that they could have it altered for me, but I decided to pass.

It's a beautiful dress, and reasonably priced. I would normally snap it up right away but I guess I just wasn't in the mood.

*Shrugs*

Not in the mood to shop. Now that's something I never thought I'd say.

Asscher Cut Diamond

I first wrote about my desire to have an asscher cut diamond on my engagement ring 2 years ago here.

After a lil shopping around, I realised that it's gonna be extremely difficult to get hold of one at this stage. Even if we could, a reasonable stone will be way out of our current budget.

So I'm putting this on my wish list, in hope that someday, someday I'll have one to call my own.

Asscher cut is a stepped square cut, sometimes referred to as the "square emerald cut".

The original "Asscher cut diamond" was developed in 1902 by the Asscher Brothers of Holland. Technically, the asscher name should only refer to diamonds cut by the Asscher brothers themselves. However, the name is now commonly used to refer to square emerald cuts that are cut today.

The main difference between emerald cut and asscher cut - shape of the latter leans more towards squarish, rather than rectangular'ish of the former.

Also, asscher cuts have 74 facets, while emerald cut diamonds have 57.

The asscher cut diamond is one of the greatest cuts of diamonds ever created.

It is a brilliant modification on the most popular cut of previous century, the cushion cut. The Asscher brothers invented a cut which was square to rectangular with a flat table (top surface), many small step cuts along the top area and larger longer facets underneath the diamond.

Like the cushion cut, the asscher cut has an open culet (the point on the bottom of a diamond's pavilion), and a facet plan to draw the eye into the diamond and to give the diamond depth.

In fact, the beauty of an asscher cut is how the eye "dives into the center of the diamond", which contradicts today's modern "brilliant cut" diamonds in which the facets and cut of the diamond repel the eye.

Asscher cut diamonds are called "step cuts", referring to the linear cuts following the shape of the diamond. This faceting is similar to the faceting on emerald cut diamonds. With stepped facets, the sheen tends to be large flashes of the stepped angles on the pavilion of the stone.

Step cuts are comprised of larger facets which act like mirrors. The facets are broad with flat planes resembling the steps of a stair. That's why it is referred to as a "step cut".

However, because of the angle, size, and shape of the facets, the asscher cut shows less brilliance and fire (dispersion) than the other brilliant cut stones.

Personally, I think an asscher cut requires a bigger stone with top colour and clarity to produce the desirable effect. Which is precisely why it's currently out of reach for us.

Do it right, or don't do it at all. Right?

A 3-carat, maybe? In a classic 3-stone setting with tapered baguettes.

Now that's something worth waiting for. :)

(I can't find an exact picture of what I have in mind, so these will make do for now.)

Sleeping In

Today is the first day in the last 117 days that I get to sleep in.

That's how long I've been working straight without a day off.

I love my job, and I love going to work. But sometimes it's nice to have a break, and to be able to wake up whenever you want to without an alarm clock.

Of course, it was only perfect because I got to sleep in my bee's arms.

The perfect sleeping in.

A lil Pampering

This holiday started with a mad rush.

With all the end-of-month paperwork to be finished and start-of-month stock ordering to be settled, I worked till 6pm on Friday before I rushed home to pack and then rushed to airport in a pouring storm to catch my flight.

So the sweet boyfriend treated his overworked girlfriend to a lil pampering with a manicure and pedicure session.

As un-feminist as it may sound, it's nice to have someone paying for you and to make you feel that you're being taken care of.

Or maybe I've just been on my own for too long.

I miss being pampered.

Hiatus

The long silence is because I've been working everyday since Queens's Birthday. 7 days a week.

You get used to it after a while. To wake up everyday to go to work. To not have time for anything else.

The weird thing is, I kinda like it. I must be a born workaholic.

The sudden appearance now is because I'm back in Malaysia for a brief holiday.

4 weeks.

Not quite long enough.

Blank

There's so much that I want to say, but whenever I sit down in front of a computer, word fails me.

Maybe I'm just tired. Tired of explaining myself, tired of constantly trying to make a point.

Home

Home
Michael Buble

Another summer day
Is come and gone away
In Paris and Rome
But I wanna go home
Mmmmmmmm

Maybe surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh I miss you, you know

And I've been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you
Each one a line or two
"I'm fine baby, how are you?"
Well I would send them but I know that it's just not enough
My words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that

Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I'm lucky I know
But I wanna go home
Mmmm, I've got to go home

Let me go home
I'm just too far from where you are
I wanna come home

And I feel just like I'm living someone else's life
It's like I just stepped outside
When everything was going right
And I know just why you could not
Come along with me
But this was not your dream
But you always believed in me

Another winter day has come
And gone away
And even Paris and Rome
And I wanna go home
Let me go home

And I'm surrounded by
A million people I
I still feel alone
Oh, let me go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

Let me go home
I've had my run
Baby, I'm done
I gotta go home
Let me go home
It'll all be right
I'll be home tonight
I'm coming back home

Alone

Wen left Melbourne yesterday.

She doesn't know when she's coming back.

She's my best friend in Melbourne. The one person I know I can always turn to.

And now she's gone.

I feel more alone than ever.

Queen's Birthday

This year, I'm more excited about the Queen's birthday than my own. For the simple reason that it's my only day off after working 46 days straight.

I enjoyed it though, being a workaholic. As much as I whinge about it every now and then.

Life is all about different experiences. I've only learned in recent years that one should appreciate each different experience as its own, even the unpleasant ones.

I'm contemplating on quitting my current job soon. When I do, I might actually miss working in this sucky place with sucky staff.

Okay, maybe not the sucky staff, :|

Georgia Rule

Not!

Went to watch it with Wen in the afternoon after I got off my Saturday shift. Let's just say that it was a complete waste of time and money.

I should've gone with my intuition that it was gonna be crap the moment I found out Lindsay Lohan was starring in it. I optimistically thought that a cast of Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman and Dermot Mulroney would make up for the lack of depth in Miss Lohan.

Well, I was wrong. It's a completely ridiculous film with a lame storyline and even crappier acting.

At the end of it, I couldn't even put to my finger to whether it was a comedy, or a drama, or what message was the movie trying to convey. It wasn't funny, it didn't make you think, it wasn't even entertaining! All it had was 1-dimensional characters, cheap acting, and a story that makes you go "What the?!".

Read a more detailed review here.

And I quote, "Georgia Rule is a bad flick with cheap laughs that will leave a sour taste in your mouth."

Ditto!

A Moment to Grow Up

"When real people fall down in life, they get right back up and keep walking." ~ Carrie Bradshaw (Sex and the City)

I slipped and fell in the bathroom last night.

I got up and finished showering. Had my dinner. Washed the dishes. Like nothing had happened.

Then I realised, I'm all grown up.

No more crying until someone comes to your rescue. No more pouting and whinging so others pamper you like a 3 year-old. No more waiting for someone to call you a poor baby and tell you that everything is gonna be alright.

You gotta do what you gotta do, bruised knees or not.

Wen said everyone has a moment when they realise that they have to grow up and stop being a kid.

Mine was when my mum got sick.

What is yours?

Little Happy Things

When you're working 7 days a week and have no time to shop (and hence the lack of retail therapy), you gotta seek comfort else where.

Small things in life that made me happy lately:

• A working heater.
• The privacy of my own room.
• Learning to use Bittorent. (Shh, don't tell anyone!)
• A nap on Saturday afternoon when I only work half day.
• A nice patient who calls me by my name now.
• A thank-you from random customers.
  
• Toiletries bought at work.
• A nice movie.
  
• No cars when I need to cross the road.
• The train comes on time.
• Sweet messages from Bee.
• A box of Cheezels and a bottle of Coke.
• Being able to have lunch without getting interrupted.
• Having an umbrella on a rainy day.
• A cup of hot tea at work.
  
• Etc etc.
  

It doesn't take much to be happy in life. It only depends on how much you need.

Mayday Mayday!

It's my 28th day at work since Anzac Day, with no day off in between.

I've been programmed to wake up to go to work every morning. Weekends don't exist for me no more.

I'm not complaining though. I love my job. Well, most of the time anyway.

I don't have a problem with the workload or my job per se. It's the people working under me that I have a problem with.

Let's put it this way. People whom I love and care for, are too far away. People who annoys the hell outta me, I have to see everyday.

I need that holiday.

Calamari Rings

I wrote about my choices for lunch the other day. Or rather, the lack of it.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised today when I tried out the calamari rings from the chicken shop around the corner.

It's sensational! They literally melt in your mouth.

The calamari rings are crunchy on the outside, but soft and mushy on the inside. Sometimes they're a little over-fried, but it doesn't bother me much as I like them a lil burnt anyway.

I had them with chips and plenty of tartare sauce. And that kept me happy for the rest of the afternoon.

I can't wait for lunch time tomorrow.

Yum!

Lunch Dilemma

My lunch has been rather pathetic ever since I started working.

The fact that I can't leave the premises at all time cuts down the choices significantly. And the fact that I have to get the assistants to go out to buy me lunch makes it even harder.

I'm a boring person, and once I like something, I tend to like it for a very long time. I can order the same thing for lunch everyday for a month and still not sick of it.

But it does get a little embarrassing if I get the girls to buy me the same thing over and over again. And I don't need everyone at work to know that I'm having the same thing for lunch everyday.

Things got even worse after I came to my current work place, because there seriously isn't anything to eat around here.

Wait, that's not true.

We have an Indian restaurant, which I had takeaway from on my first day here. But the strong flavour and aroma doesn't go quite well with my line of work.

We have a Polish bakery, their cakes and rolls are alright but the Asian in me needs to have hot food for lunch.

We have a Spanish takeaway cafe, but for some reason, it's always closed. *Shrugs*

We have a grill restaurant that sells pizzas too, but it only opens for dinner.

And we have a chicken shop around the corner which serves reasonable roast chicken but their bread rolls are the worst I've ever tasted.

Now, what should I have for lunch today?

Missing Leonard Drake

So I had a facial with Dermalogica.

Not very impressed.

Personally, I much prefer facial with Dermalogica at Leonard Drake in Malaysia, many times over. Minus the hard-selling of products afterwards, that is.

Well, I guess there's good and bad in everything. Can't have them all, can we?

Having said that, I'm still not too keen on having my next facial with Dermalogica again.

Ella Bache, maybe?

Over-worked, Under-pampered

I see the unlikeliness of a holiday happening for a while, so I booked myself in for a facial with Dermalogica this weekend.

Apart from the fact that my skin needs some serious rejuvenating with all the stress I put myself through lately, I guess I just need to be pampered a little.

The thing is, it took me 2 weeks to try to schedule this facial in.

I hope I don't have to cancel again.

Pampering doesn't come easy when time is a luxury for you.

I Need A Holiday

At an isolated island, where there is nobody else.

Okay, maybe my Bee. If he promises to behave. :P

I want to sit under the shades of palm trees on a white sand beach, with bare feet and the most comfortable white linen dress.

I want to sip iced cold drinks and eat junk food like nobody's business.

I want a large king size bed with fluffy pillows in my chalet, so I can roll around in it all day long with my Bee.

I want to take long walks at sunset along the beach, then have the finest seafood for dinner at the town nearby.

I want a holiday.

My Latest Purchase

Is a new heater from K-Mart.

How exciting huh? :|

Well, at least it's gonna keep me warm this winter.

I'm feeling so much more of a practical shopper already. Haha.

In Need of A Breather

It's my 14th day at work, without a day off.

My only non-working day is tomorrow - 25 April 2007, Anzac Day.

My next day off after tomorrow is 11 June 2007, Queen's Birthday. No prizes for guessing how many days there are in between.

I was going to watch Miss Saigon with a few friends on Anzac Day (well, because it's the only day that I can go), but I've decided to cancel. I think I need a full day of doing absolutely nothing.

A warm bath. A long nap. A good book.

A whole day to myself.

Workaholic

I think I'm becoming a workaholic.

Knowing my obsessive compulsive personality, it's probably not surprising.

But I still don't want to wear that label, as a workaholic. So I console myself by thinking that it's only because Bee is not here with me.

Who, in the right mind, would want to work 7 days a week when you can spend time snuggling up to your cute boyfriend at home?

*Sighs*

But I can't. That's why I work.

Not Happy, Dan!

It's the last day of my Easter break.

Starting from tomorrow, I'll be scheduled to work 7 days a week.

But I chose to anyway, so I'm not complaining.

Now you might ask, why did I wake up before 9am on the only day in the foreseeable future that I don't have to go to work?

Because it's the only time in a day that my internet connection is working!

Due to a certain someone who's freeloading in this house but yet chooses to be completely inconsiderate and annoying, our broadband has been moving at a pathetic speed whenever he's awake and glued to his laptop. And trust me when I say that whenever he is awake, he IS on his laptop. :/

This is why I hate staying with other people. Or when other people's younger brother decides to stay on without intention to move or to pay, at the same time treats everyone else in the house like his maids or his mums. Oh I can go on for a whole day if you allow me, but I'm not gonna.

I'm never a calculative flatmate, most of the time I only come home to sleep anyway. But this one is really testing my tolerance.

I'm trying really hard not to lose it and tell him off.

*Takes deep breaths*

*Thinks happy thoughts*

Just don't push it anymore, pal!

Heroes

My new addiction.

I finished season 1, all 18 episodes of them, in 2 days!

And I still can't get enough of it.

I need season 2 immediately, if not sooner!