Aussie Germs are Weak :)

A couple of times last year, when I was working for the terrible company, I tried ways and means to have sick days. When my friends were sick, I offered to share drinks with them. They thought I was nuts coz if I had wanted to just sit at home, I can just call in sick. But the conscientious part of me says that I have to be sick to stay at home.... I know... I'm nuts

Anyway, earlier on this year, when I was back in Singapore, my friend LYT wouldn't share a drink with me coz she said she was sick. So I said to her, let's see if Singapore germs are stronger than Aussie germs coz I can't seem to get sick from Aussie germs.... so we shared a drink.... a couple of days later I not only fell sick but lost my voice for ONE WEEK... what was also good was that I scored another 4 days of extra time off....

Back to the present... I'm sick again... , I think I got my germs from some Singaporeans and Malaysians... and this time round, I dont really want to be sick coz I actually like my job! I've been stuck at home since Wednesday afternoon... sleeping, coughing, wheezing, sniffing, sneezing and when I cough, the dogs actually get scared :( My tummy muscles hurt from all this coughing... coughing sucks... The best bit is that I found out from the chemist that there's such things as cough capsules... yay... considering I'm not a fan of the cough syrup :)
Anyway, back to the couch....

Sept 11

Do you know how a certain memory of what you were doing at a certain time when something happened would always be inscribed in your memory? This is one of the dates that I think will be in everyone's memory. Time passes really quick that 5 years has come and gone since Sept 11, 2001. Common questions are Where were you when the attacks happened or What were you doing when you heard abt the attacks?

For me... I was still living in Sydney and getting ready for bed approx at approx 11ish pm when I saw on cable news abt some aeroplane flying towards the WTC and that just caught my attention and my eyes and ears didnt leave the tv or radio for the next week.

Fruit Party

Apple, Grape & Kiwi

So CB had a fruit birthday party last Saturday - she's the Grape :) Initially I was planning to go as a mangosteen but it got cold that night so I didnt want to risk wearing that top. It was an interesting party seeing what some of the other people wore. The more creative ones were CB as a grape, there was a watermelon as well, a couple of strawberries and peaches and who could forget seeing bananas in pyjamas!! I wonder what CB would come up with for her 21st!!

Sting Ray vs Steve Irwin

The news since 11am yesterday, one of Australia's more prominent conservationalist and environmentalist Steve Irwin got stung by a stingray's barb and died almost instantly. With his big eyes and smile, he always reminded me of one of the sesame street character,Elmo. Not meaning to be insulting, but just the facial expression reminded me of a muppet character. I have to admit when I first knew of him, his accent used to drive me insane - and it still does but after being in the country for a couple of years, it's pretty bearable. However, in his programs and appearances in the Jay Leno show, one could always see his passion for the animals that he showed.

Being a diver, and reading of how a stingray can kill someone is pretty freaky. I've seen these creatures in the water, gliding majestically in the water, one wouldn't think that they are capable of killing anyone even though we know that their tail is poisonous.

Here's to Steve Irwin, and as how my friend DLKP so eloquently put it, we need to eat more sting rays now to avenge what they did to him....

The Captain Did It ....

Contrary to popular belief, it wasnt the butler that did it, but the captain. What am I talking about? Well last Saturday night was the much anticipated DiG's murder mystery party. I gotta admit, I didnt quite know what to expect but I did have a good time. It was a role playing party, each of us had to play a part - I was the owner of a girl power employment agency :) We were 'interrogated' by the police chief and we were provided with clues through out the session. In addition, we were given a script on what to say when we were interrogated. At the end, we were given a piece of paper to guess who the murderer was. It was something different, a unique way to have a birthday party and the mini Freddos in the Freddo ice cream cake was yuuummmm...... And I managed to have a 'teensy' bit of DiG's home made bourbon... I wanted more ... pity I had to drive :(

After the murder mystery party, I headed down to meet my bro and his friends at the Belgium Bar....

Did I mention that last weekend was suppose to be alcohol free? :P

Happy Birthday Singapore

Yeah OK ... I know this is like one week late... Singapore's National Day falls on 9 August. This year, my bro and I decided to be a little patriotic. So we thought we'll invite some Singapore friends over to watch the National Day Parade (NDP). Little did we realise we actually have pretty limited number of Singapore friends. That was kind of sad. So in the end we opened it to the 'public'. We had a good mix both from church and EC and my friends - German (SF), Brazillian (LF), Indonesian (SW), Malaysian (YW) and Singaporeans. The Aussies bailed out :P It was also a case of East meets West. We fed them a good ole BBQ - but we at least had the usual chicken wings!! Impressively, the plates were in the theme of red & white. SF & LF made some Brazilian home made chocolates which literally melted in your mouth. The main purpose of this function was to watch the NDP. However, after several attempts to connect to the webcast, we managed to log into the Tamil webcast .... unfortunately, none of us could speak that language. Anyway, thanks to yours truly, who happens to get brain waves every now and then, suggested to EC to try and get the English commentary from the Singapore radio stations and it actually worked!!! Have to admit I lost interest in the NDP after a while.... the booze was more interesting.

It is funny how at these social gatherings that people would open up a little and you learn something about people that you wont learn if they weren't in these social gatherings. All in all I had fun - I wont comment as to how I felt the next morning.... after consuming wine (I lost count how many glasses), one can of Smirnoff Ice Blacks, bourbon and cokes, and vodka and lemonade..... for once I couldn't face food in the morning!! At the end of the evening, SF, EC and I finished a bottle of Jack Daniels.... here's a pic of us having dinner :)

Singlish....

SINGLISH PET PEEVES Does bad English irritate you?

What is it about bad English in Singapore that irks you most? Local words like 'lah' and 'lor'? 20 (10%) Bad grammar 102 (52%) Accent 26 (13%) Singlish is OK 49 (25%)

Total votes: 197

Perhaps this poll is too soon to criticise but to have a quarter of the people polled to say that Singlish is OK is disturbing. I had a hard time trying to decide which bad English of Singapore irked me the most. It's everything.... but what irks me most is the bad grammar and the accent. Personally, I have not been an advocate of Singlish ever since I was a kid.... perhaps it was the family upbringing where my dad always said we need to speak the 'Queen's English' and 'open your mouth when you speak'. Having been away for a number of years now, when I'm back in Singapore or when I hear another Singaporean speak in a foreign country I literally cringe. It makes it funnier when you try to hear a Singaporean speak Singlish to a non Singaporean and they have no idea what is going on. The foreigners think that we're not speaking English as we speak too fast. Singaporeans need to remember that when they are in a foreign country, they need to speak slowly as non Singaporeans are not used to our accent, slangs and lingo.

Having said all that, I admit I do speak with a bit of lah sometimes but that's only to fellow Singaporeans... I'm the first to admit that I speak differently towards Singaporeans and non Singaporeans..... but that's just because I dont see the point of being 'aksi' and I dont want to be labelled by fellow Singaporeans (especially relatives) that just coz I live overseas I now behave like an orang puteh.

An Alcohol Free Weekend....??

Yeah that's what I told TM and CB when we went out for lunch on Thursday... but do you think I managed to do that?? Heh....

Last Thursday, TM, CB and I went to The Vic for lunch ... once again, the lunch and company was awesome... after lunch it felt so good to just laze about as the sun was shining after like 1.5 weeks of rain and cloudiness .... we continued to sit and consume more alcohol. Somewhat through that, we decided to go to the Subi Hotel for more drinks... so off we went - on the way we got CB her Japanese Mayo and TM got a lamp.... and it's a really really cool lamp!! By the time we were at the Subi Hotel it was past 3pm (now where did the afternoon go.... and I'm loving my new job - I didnt feel the guilt to rush back to work!) Whilst consuming some Coronas, I made a comment on having an alcohol free weekend... TM and CB had the 'yeah right' look on their faces.... but for all intentions and purposes I was set to prove them wrong... until CB suggested meeting at the Queens on Sunday (today) for a Sunday Sess.... All in all it was a great afternoon spent well with two great friends...

Come Friday, YW asked if she could come over for some wine so there goes my weekend resolution... well one can always argue that the weekend starts on a Saturday :) However, I can safely say I didn't consume any alcohol on Saturday - instead went out dinner with the YA3... I have to say I'm still reserved with this group - as I dont really know how much I can 'push' them and also the extent of their sense of humour and I suspect their sense of humour is 180 degrees away from mine.....

This afternoon was indeed spent at the Queens... giving CB some morale support on her first official 'date' .... but I think she did pretty well :)

I've got DiG's murder mystery night next week which I'm pretty excited about... except I havent read the synopsis and figured out what I have to wear!!!

What Being an Aussie Means.....

I got this from JH today.... and no.. I'm not an Aussie :P

Being Australian is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch

American shows on a Japanese TV.

Oh and...... Only in Australia ... can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.

Only in Australia ... do supermarkets make sick people walk all the way to the back of the shop to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in Australia ... do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries and a DIET coke.

Only in Australia ... do banks leave both doors open and chain the pens to the counters.

Only in Australia ... do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars on the drive and lock our junk and cheap lawn mower in the garage.

Only in Australia ... do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place.

Only in Australia ... are there disabled parking places in front of a skating rink.

NOT TO MENTION...

3 Aussies die each year testing of a 9v battery works on their tongue.

142 Aussies were injured in 1999 by not removing all pins from new shirts.

58 Aussies are injured each year by using sharp knives instead of screwdrivers.

31 Aussies have died since 1996 by watering their Christmas tree; while the fairy lights were plugged in.

8 Aussies had serious burns in 2000 trying on a new jumper with a lit cigarette in their mouth.

A massive 543 Aussies were admitted to Emergency in the last two years after opening bottles of beer with their teeth.

and finally.........

In 2000 eight Aussies cracked their skull whilst throwing up into the toilet.

Good things comes in Threes

After being a grump last week, the rest of the week was exciting and busy (?) ... I should have posted this last week as it's been on my mind to do so... but time didn't permit.... Anyway, here's the 3 good stuff that happened and it all happened on the same day :o)

The first is that I am now officially a free woman and I have the papers to prove it :-P Even though I shouldn't be proud of this piece of paper, but it makes me a free woman. It's been a long and tedious journey to get to with a lot of support from family and friends and not forgetting the Big Boss above.... Secondly, had a great time at dinner with TM..... yeah... we had dinner and bourbon and cokes again!! Finally, RT called me up and I was so excited. I seriously thought I had lost contact with RT coz he some what disappeared from the face of the earth (well OK I knew he was being posted overseas for a couple of months but we lost touch - it was his fault!!). Anyways, he dropped in for a couple of drinks and we caught up with what has happened with life over the last half year. This also means I have my aqua buddy back so no more excuses for not going to aqua classes anymore... :o)

Grumpy

I'm grumpy.... just in case the people I'm grumpy with reads this blog, I cant say who or why I'm grumpy. But you would think people would have abit more consideration.....

Rainy, Gusty Winds, Cloudy Skies....

So today's weather had a severe weather warning, with strong winds, rain and of course cloudiness. When I described the weather to my pal LKP, he said it reminded him of Edinburgh... and how living in Edinburgh was like one of the best times of his life... and I would concur with him and I think most of the HWSRC gang would agree as well. Time really flies, 10 years ago this month we all graduated from HWU. 10 years on, most have kids, careers and living in different countries. Top of the list are the Bean Family, they have 4 kids and one more on the way - they can pretty much have a basketball team. The rest are a little more normal, with 1 or 2 kids... and LKP has a baby girl on the way...

If the weather continues like this, it'll make me nostalgic and who knows, I might start posting what we used to do at uni.... but the top 10 memories are (in no particular order)

1. Graduation Ceremony, Sunken Garden Party, Throwing caps in the air in Princes Street Gardens
2. Playing with fireworks during Chinese New Year in the middle of the night in winter... oh and throwing
oranges in the loch as well
3. Snow fights, making snow families, sliding down sunken garden in trash bags.
4. Getting in trouble with the warden for making too much noise in my room with like 10 people squashed in
5. Drinking at the pub, Doctors and everywhere else on Grassmarket and in HWU
6. Cooking, eating, more cooking, more eating
7. Hogmany
8. Driving to Manchester to watch Jacky Cheung concert and driving back in the middle of the night. Not that
I understood much of what was going on in the concert
9. Going out for suppers just on the eve of my exams in the middle of the night (dont tell dad!)
10. Making friends and forming HWSRC

The week started .....

My week started pretty good (I got a new sofa) and it got a little bad (when the sofa delivery stuffed up), then it went satisfying (coz it was hospital ministry week & Ikea apologised for sofa stuff up) and then it stuffed up again (when the carpet people and I had a miscommunication in the time they were coming in to clean my carpets). But.... the week ended great!!!

I met a new friend, TM and he's such a great guy.... we went out for lunch at the Vic. It was suppose to be a lunch and a drink... yeah right :P A lunch and a couple of bourbon and cokes later (well, CC & Coke for TM), we continued drinking at the office, and then dinner and drinking at KM's and then to Carnegies where we had TC's farewell and met the rest of the ex bird crew. Incidentally, it was dinner at KM's new house which is absolutely gorgeous :-)

Anyway, 11 (eleven) hours after TM & I started drinking, we stopped drinking at midnight.... that's like approximately 15 bourbon and cokes of varying sizes and amounts... I have to admit I lost count after a while....

Score 1 for Me

Well, to continue on with my sofa saga, the delivery guys called at 3pm to say that they would be at the house in 45 mins to an hour. We got back at 4pm and it didnt arrive till 4.30pm! At least it finally got delivered.... BUT to add insult to injury, the bottom of the sofa had a tear!!! AAARRRGGGGHHH!!! EC and I had to decide if we wanted to call Ikea or not to ask for a new sofa but we decided against it.

Had my whinge to mum and dad as well and dad suggested I write in to complain. So I wrote in last night continuing from my earlier emails and telling them abt the tear. Earlier on today, the supervisor at Ikea called to pacify me (well I've actually cooled down anyway and the sofa was really comfy last nite) and offered to pay me back for the delivery charges and a new sofa. I declined the new sofa so we came to an agreement that he'll give me vouchers for the delivery charges and for the tear in the sofa.... :) :) :)

Now I have another excuse to drop into Ikea to buy some more stuff :)

Ikea Delivery Sucks

On Monday, I got a sofa from Ikea and arranged to have it delivered. It was a rip off when at the delivery desk I got told to pay $60 for the delivery when only a couple of days ago, when I got the washing machine, I only paid $30. Anyway, totally BP, so had to pay $60.

Anyway, at the delivery desk @ Ikea, the knick knock of the guy there said to call a certain number after 9am on Wednesday as delivery would be on Wednesday. At 9am this morning, I called the number and then the same knick knock, gave me another number to call. When I called the other number given, IT WAS SWITCHED OFF! How spastic is that - to be a delivery company and still have the phone switched off? So I called the knick knock guy again to say the phone number he gave is switched off and the knick knock guy said that he cannot do anything about it. What a load of croc! So I got pissed off and called Ikea Customer Service, and I dont know why it's called Customer Service when they werent very helpful at all. The girl told me that they were loading the truck, so not answering the phone. So I said to her if they're loading the truck, why can't she go and ask them what time they can deliver my furniture, and then she said that they dont work for Ikea and they are at another warehouse. So, I wonder if she's psychic?? She then basically told me that I have to wait until the phone is switched on. I know this place is WA aka for Wait Awhile, but seriously, this was getting abit ridiculous. Here's a quote from the Ikea website that says:

"Our Customer Services departments will endeavour to resolve any issue to your satisfaction. "

What bull! I was also that I could write in to lodge a complain - which I did obviously. I also asked if I would get a reply - and I was told Yes. But heh.... surprise surprise, I havent got a reply yet!

Finally got thru to the delivery guy @ 10am who told me that they were going to deliver my furniture between 12.30 and 1pm - but they'll call an hour before arriving. So it's all good - or so I thought!! It went past 12.30 and still no call, so I called again and another guy said that the first guy who told me 12.30 - 1pm shouldnt have said that and instead it will be at 3pm!!!! Like What the F**K!

Update - 2.45pm
Well it's now almost 3pm, and I just called and asked if it's coming and I've just been told it will be in abt 1.5 hours - which makes it 4.30pm!!! And I should just wait and they will call me an hour before they get to my place.... Do they actually think people have got time to just wait all day?

Pirates of the Caribbean

Went to watch the latest Pirates of Carribbean movie last night with SLB, PB, my brother and me. I enjoyed the movie - pirates lingo is a little hard to comprehend at times, but the SFX was all good. I can't comment on the ending - there wasn't one!!!!



Which Pirates of the Caribbean character are you?

Haven't done this in a while

Lately I haven't come across any weirdos (to put it mildly) on the net, but came across one this afternoon and I thought I should post it for the hell of it :-) and Hopefully he had deleted himself of ICQ - we don't need another one like him around!!

JBoy (ICQ NUMBER: 292-120-989) :

When are we catching up?

JF:

do i even know u?

JBoy (02:48 PM) :

Not yet, I'm a friend you haven't met yet.

JF:

so why would i want to catch up with u then if i dont know who u are?

JBoy (02:53 PM) :

Because I'm a nice person and maybe we were meant for each other. But we won't find out until we get to know each other.

JF:

so maybe u should get to know me first even b4 asking me out that was pretty rude

JBoy (02:55 PM) :

Or are you pretty rude for taking such a negative attitude to a lovely gesture to get to know somebody?

JF:

says the person who doesnt even say hi but very straight forwardly asks when we can meet up

JBoy (02:58 PM) :

We've actually been chatting for 3 days now, obviously you don't remember. I'm thinking of deleting icq anyway. After a week of using it, I don't think I like the sort of people I've been meeting on here.

JF:

3 days?

JBoy (02:58 PM) :

Surprised?

JF:

doubt it

JBoy (02:59 PM) :

Like I said, I don't think I like the sort of people I've been meeting on here.

JBoy (03:00 PM) :

If you're an example of the kind of "friendliness" I'm going to be experiencing on icq, I think I'll delete it right now...

JF:

byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

JBoy (03:02 PM) :

Just some advice for your profile: Where it says "Generally an easy going person to talk to " you might want to change to "a real bitch" Bye.

June Birthday Babies

By some strange co-ordination of things, my family including both mum's side and dad's side have managed to have quite a few June babies all within days of each other. My mum (being the very organised person that she is) timed it well to have my brother born a day after my birthday .... so we have ...

June 18 - Millie
June 19 - Shen Mei
June 23 - Wendi
June 24 - Erwin
June 25 - Su Ann

There's also Inez and Joshua, but I get confused with their dates. I think Inez is on the 21st and Joshua is the 27th. In addition, a good buddy of mine, Wendy is also on the same day as me and we share the same name, though different spelling!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVERYONE!!

One Eating Kaki Balik Kampung

So CY has gone back to KL for one month.... one Perth eating buddy down... on the upside, he has promised to update the Eat Inc blog with his food adventures as he's also going to China for a couple of days... wonder if he'll have some snake :)

Meanwhile, I'm trying to pig out as much as I possibly can, coz come July 1, I am hoping to be a bit more disciplined with my eating and exercising plan ... one can only hope....

Goodbye Chicken Farm ....

We had a bbq at KM & DM Chicken Farm today as we bade farewell to their house. They move to a new house over the next couple of weeks.... wonder if they'll still call it the chicken farm or something else??

On another note, TC has been transferred to Melbourne, so we're also going to have to say good bye to her as she leaves Perth on 15 July. She's going to be greatly missed :(