April 23, 2009
7 weeks in a nutshell (the apologetic recap)
I think I write my best when I’m pissed or upset or frustrated about something.
In other words, my best works in my opinion are my rants and third-party abuses.
And right now I think I’m in one of those moods – think, being the keyword, as I’m not sure if I should be pissed or upset yet and I won’t know till Friday probably. =/
Aaaaaaaaaaa the suspense is probably the worst part of it all. *faints
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Anyway, helloooo! 
Sorry I haven’t been updating. m(_ _)m Things have been quite slow lately… more so than usual, which I didn’t used to think was possible but it is. For most days, I just switch onto hikikomori mode and am happy to just lounge around in my pyjamas, watching daytime tv with fellow hikikomori housemates.
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Hikikomori (ひきこもり or 引き籠もり Hikikomori, lit. “pulling away, being confined”, i.e., “acute social withdrawal”) is a Japanese term to refer to the phenomenon of reclusive individuals who have chosen to withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement because of various personal and social factors in their lives.
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Ok so maybe not quite hikikomori. But we’ve just been super lazy, can?
And to prove that I’m not suffering from acute social withdrawal or seeking extreme degrees of isolation, here are some photographic evidences to show that I am, still very much, in contact with the world (more or less).
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The Work Vacation
I’ve been lucky enough to be part of the team that was sent on an all-expense-paid-for travel job to the Kimberly region of WA.
Genuinely happy stocktakers + client Dom
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I was supposed to do a detailed write up about my trip as soon as I got back but I actually got caught up with more work and social obligations cheey that by the time I got to it, I became too lazy for it. -.-
So now I’m gonna try to sum up as much as I can remember. And yes, plenty occurred within that one week in a strange and foreign land, mostly brought about by bad weather, bad-ass insects and no technology. But throw in a bit of work stress, lack of sleep and long traveling hours, and hilarity ensues (at least to me, anyway).
- We flew from Perth to Broome – on Qantas, no less** – and then took an unsettlingly small plane to Kunnunura.
- ** Click here to read about Qantas’ latest drama. It’s so hilarious it should be sued. For plagarism.
- This is Kunnunura airport
I don't know about you, but I actually think this system beats the conveyor belt shit we have to put up with. Sucks to you, high-tech modern international airports!
- We also visited another state.
The "two-place-at-one-time" scene from A Walk To Remember came to mind, but the red dirt and absence of a distinct border line just destroyed it la. =.=
The closest to Autobahn in this country.
Because we can, haha eat that Perth cops!
One of the many boab trees we encountered.
Lake Argyle - Australia's 2nd largest man-made lake.
Have another lake shot, because it's so pretty and bloo.
During the wet season, these unassuming creeks flood the roads and cause major traffic chaos
- And then there was dinner.
Tender kangaroo fillet in a mandarin-orange glaze, served with caramelized onions and brocollini.
Warm chocolate pudding with fresh berry sauce and a scoop of choc icecreamy.
- It was the only good food we had to last us till Broome.
- Then the work poured in.
- Monday: Coles Express Kunnunura – 8am to 4pm.
- 3.5 hour drive to Halls Creek after work.
- Checked into crappy, bug-ridden hotel, and proceeded to pass out from tiredness. But not before exterminating all visible creatures. And sleeping in fear.
- Tuesday: Coles Express Halls Creek – 8am to 6pm.
- 3 hour drive to Fitzroy Crossing after work.
- Checked into yet another crappy, bug-ridden hotel, exterminated all visible creatures and passed out. Too tired to feel fear.
- Wednesday: Coles Express Fitzroy Crossing – 8am to 8pm. Memorized all product lines available in Coles Express stores country-wide.
- Passed out in car during drive back to our hotel.
- Happy that we didn’t have to travel anymore for the day. Not so happy that we are stuck in Fitzroy Crossing for another night.
- Dinner was memorable because:
- I wasn’t allowed into the hotel’s restaurant for improper footwear. Apparently, brand new Havaianas paled in comparison to dirty, half-torn sneakers in terms of appropriate footwear in Hotel Middle-of-Nowhere. In fact, the bouncer also offered to loan me a faded pair of red Crocs they had lying around, which I almost said Yes to because I didn’t want to make the bush-hike back to our room again for all the bugs that attacked us along the way T______T . Even if it meant wearing Crocs. T____T . But thankfully there was a dead leech stuck on the sole, so I had to walk back to our room to change into dirty work shoes – thus saving me from the worst fashion decision in my life.
- Minutes later, Mo mistook the same bouncer for a waiter and asked him to bring us water HAHHAHAHAHAHAH I DUNNO WHY IT WAS DAMN HILARIOUS AT THAT TIME!
- We had to ring up to pre-order our food cos kitchen was closing before we finished work. And in spirit of things, everyone got their dinners except for Mo HAHAHHAHAHA. In the end she had to ask for an empty plate so everyone can give her a bit of their food. Damn poor thing, some more she’s our boss.
- Next morning, we are finally headed to Broome! (/^ ^)/ Which, clearly, was the highlight of my trip because it was an actual tourist destination with proper accommodation and town centres (and phone reception)… and and the camels on the beach during sunset!
Woohoo!
- But first, the other sight-seeing along the way:
Spot the dispenser on the aptly-named Condom Tree.
One of the many quirky PSA road signs that they're famous for.
Monstrous boab called for photo opportunity.
Upclose.
Boab fruit, which is often used in Aboriginal arts and craft.
Ok, so this isn't exactly sight-seeing material. But it was part of the experience, this pit stop we made. =.= Or a weak-bladder stop, as Julian and Denise liked to call it.
Jakun betul. /shy
And here's where you wash your hands.
- On a related note, during one of our touristing hikes in Kunnunura (the photos weren’t exciting so I didn’t post any up), I went into what was probably the worst public toilet I’ve ever seen. And that’s coming from someone who’s a) been to rural parts of China and; b) lived in Malaysia forever. Out of the two cubicles, one had a lizard the size of a bicycle and the other was swarmed by what I’m hoping to be fruit flies. I was bursting to pee, so between monster reptile and unidentifiable flying bugs, I picked the latter. And the whole time I was going, I had to constantly wave my hands around and shake my legs so that nothing attempts to bite/land on me. T.T For the rest of the day, I remained paranoid that a fruit fly had made its way inside me and laid its eggs and I was gonna give birth to insects. T_T
- Anyway, back to sight-seeing.
- Oh wait, we finally arrived at Broome. (/^ ^)/
Look, got lobby!
And bugs-free room! (/T_T)/ And posh too. In fact, it's bloody Hilton after what we've been through all week.
Sing to me ol coconut trees.
Our beachwear finally put to use.
Camels, here we come!
- Unfortunately, we were a bit too late to catch the camels before they set off on their ‘walks’ (one can pay for a camel ride on Cable Beach it is a tourist activity). Because we got off at the wrong end of the beach. =.=
- We tried chasing after them, but they were already a few kms ahead of us and have you tried outwalking a camel? Yeah, you do that.
- Eventually we gave up, and decided to wait for them by this truck that had pictures of camels on it which we assumed to be the company that runs the camel business.
- In the meantime, we took photos of whatever we can and tried not to look in the direction of one random old naked couple.
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Haha geddit.
Easily one of my favourite shots from the entire trip. ^^
The camels took forever to come back, so I took about 10,000 sunset piccies while waiting. -.-
Oooh here they come!
Heading home after a not-very-hard-day's work.
My very own, quintessential Broome snapshot.
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And that concludes the one-week episode in Kimberly. *pats self on back
Now it’s 3.57 am so imma need to sleep.
Will post more consistently now that the biggest chunk has been completed.
January 21, 2009
The rest of the hohoholiday
HELLO I’M BACK IN PERTH.
I have not been abandoning this blog I promise, I just haven’t been able to properly go online. Considering that we had what was borderline dial-up speed connection, shared among 4 people. So that’s something like, 15 minutes to partially load a Facebook page, without the images.
Anyway, I’m just gonna do a quick update about the rest of the trip because the accumulated stories are a bit too much to write in one sitting. And I have to do all my unpacking, cleaning, laundry, grocery-shopping, cooking oh god holidays are over. T____T
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So quickly summarizing everything and cramming every bit of photos that I can.
1) Uncle Kerry x Cyril wedding ceremony on Boxing Day @ Skye’s place.
Locations, locations, locations: Skye's place at Lake Macquarie
When I grow up, I want a dock on my front yard too.
So that I can, you know, fish.
So does she.
Sparks, the pitifully (mis)shaven dog.
Joshie & Me. And beer.
Scamming everyone to believe he's an adorable little thing when he hardly ever is.
The couple arrives!
Nikki helping Cyril put on her... er, veil? Hair piece.
Happily ever after.
My favourite Watson uncle. 
I just thought this looked hilarious.
For my favourite zi mui. ^^
She throws, and she scores!
Beached and contented.
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2) Counting down to NYE with the Watsons at Crescent Head.
- I spent a terrifying few nights sleeping in the lower bunk of an old and creaky bed underneath Big Mike, who was on a coughing spell. So every time he goes on a coughing fit, the whole bed squeaked and shook violently I swore all 200 pounds was gonna come crashing on me in my sleep. T.T
- Yang fell off his bed.
- And then his bed fell on him HAHHAHAHAHAH.
- I spent so much time in the sun I’m now at least three shades darker.
- So.Much.Food.
- We went dancing with the Watson ladies (including my future mother-in-law ._.), of whom some of them got picked up by younger men.
- Counting down to the new year first, at a country club slash retirement holiday home; then at a pub with a makeshift dancefloor and plenty of sleaze.
- I won my very first game of Bingo! And for that, I received a 10 dollar voucher to spend to my heart’s content.
- We went on a Paddlepop fix, and were one stick away from winning a trip to Florida.
Us working it with the aunties. ^^ And yes I was wearing pants.
A stick away from an all-expense paid trip to US of A.
Bunk Bed of Horror.
Eat this, grumpy senior citizens.
Nobby's Point, I think? One of the beaches at Cres Head.
She's learnt the art of curling up into a ball pretty well.
NYE without the glitz, glam and noise I've known and loved for the past five years. But was it worth it? Definitely. xx
And Erin loves Aaron.
Uncle Sean was gone pretty early.
Kellianne & Nikki.
We the kindred spirit wtf.
I survived the Watsons! *pats self on back*
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3) The remaining of our time at NSW was spent at Grandma Mac’s @ Sydney.
- My first ever time visiting Sydney!
- Did the Harbour, Opera House and Botanical Gardens
Ahh it's been so long since we last had the chance to go pak thor.
Doing the Harbour (and a seemingly generic couple-on-holiday shot =.= )
All the posers with their SLRs snapping away like crazy tsk.
The majestic Opera House, one of the most recognizable icons of Australia I reckon. And I've finally breathed the same air as all the 10 bazillion tourists who's been there!
You pose.
I pose.
The most romantic park bench in the world.
Not the most romantic couple in the world (but we try).
Market place that sold most things at cutthroat tourist prices. +_+
But they also have cool stalls like this one.
Where I bought myself a glass slipper. <3
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4) Meeting the Melbourne peeps.
- What intended to be an overnight stay at Brent’s with Yang and Nikki so that we can meet up with our respective friends and somehow get everyone to go out dinnering/pubbing/clubbing …. well, evolved into just me taking the train into the city by myself for a quick day trip.
- One friend got married.
- One friend became quite an angry chap (wtf. those were his words not mine)
- Choon Wae has emo hair.
- Again, Choon Wae has emo hair Jill Shaun are you reading this?
- I had my guilty pleasures fix of chilli, rum crunch ice-cream and Max Brenner. Irina is a goddess of a supervisor.
- No piccies from Melb though. Don’t know why just didn’t feel like taking any photos that day.
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And my verdict after having visited both cities?
Melbourne still rox my sox any day la.
January 7, 2009
NSW Pt.1: Merikuri Baby
I’m still here!
I know I haven’t been updating for a while, nor have I been online very much at all (evidently by the lack of activities on fb and my non-presence on MSN which a few of you have noticedIloveyou) – but that’s only because I’ve been away from technology over the holidays.
And that includes no mobile phone reception. =.=
So here’s to wishing everyone whom I should have wished a lot earlier: Merry Christmas and Happee 2009 !
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It has been a pretty crazy few weeks for me the past month. The long travelling hours (10-12 hour-drive from Longwarry to Newcastle), meeting 4 generations worth of relative members from both sides of the family – which totalled up to, oh I dunno, about 70-odd people?
Then there were the Christmas shoppings, the post-Christmas shoppings, more travelling, dealing with bratty lil kids whom you secretly wanna bash up but you can’t cos you’re the grown up and should be above that and also it’s not morally-acceptable to be beating up other people’s children just because they go out of their ways to drive you insane and then don’t get into trouble for it haaaawwwwwwwwwwwww
…. and with that out of the way, let’s move on to a quick overview of my spending Christmas and New Years with the McDonalds and the Watsons.
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Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with the McDonalds
Deck the halls
We drove up to Aunty Kate’s in Newcastle, from Grandma Watson’s place in Blacksmiths on the 23rd.
There we met Kate, her partner Scott and her kids: Acacia, Jasmine and Ben.
We met Grandma Mac and David.
We met Aunty Relle, Uncle Dean and their kids Tara and Nathan.
And we all spent Christmas eve in a happy haze of wine and/or beer.
Yeah baby, just keep it flowing.
Grandma Mac.
Mrs Macca is happy.
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Then came Christmas morning!
And we all know what Christmas morning means.
A tree, a sister, and a flat screen teevee!
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But before that, a quick recap of a mini gift session the night before.
In Yang's family, they have a Secret Santa system among the kids. Here's Mikey with his Hawthorn (ptooi) bag from Yang.
Nikki with her HSM bag and a Carlton beach towel (not photographed here) from Kellianne.
KJ and her True Love EDT kit from Mike
And Yang with his Richmond top and Billabong cap from Nikki
Me, I had to wait like everyone else till the next morning.
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Now, the McDonalds have two traditions they practise on Christmas mornings:
- Secret Santa
- Gift-looting
The first one is pretty self-explanatory – we each get assigned a name, and we’ll have to shop for that person within the budget fixed.
I got Danielle, daughter of a family-friend, who supposedly liked cute pretty things so I bought her jewellery case and accessories to go with it.
Then came Christmas morning and I discovered, along with everyone else, that she’s kinda gone emo-goth over the years; which of cos became a bit of a holy shit moment for me.
Fortunately though, I caught a smile on her face when she opened up her pressie and saw what it was. ^^ Guess somewhere beneath those dyed jet-black hair and sullen look, there’s still her old girly self.
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As for myself, I got Nathan (Aunty Relle’s 10 year old son) as my not-so-secret Santa.
This little bubble.
Which meant that Aunty Relle did all the shopping for him, and she’s one heck of a gift-shopper. I received an Esprit EDT set plus a silver necklace with a heart pendant. >3<
And I had her again during The Loot, whereby I picked up a gift from the pool of anonymous gifts, and had to defend my mocha/chocolate-making kit from the prying hands of other people who tried stealing it off me. Because we all have the option to either pick it off the pile, or off someone’s grasp.
It was vicious, and very very chaotic.
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And then there was our champagne breakie.
Aunty Relle cooking up a blueberry-and-vanilla-pancake storm to feed 30-odd starving mouths.
While David worked his way (through our arteries) straight to our hearts.
To sum it up, breakfast comprised of bacons, eggs, sausages (which never reached our end of the table ), crossaints and rolls, pancakes with whipped cream and maple syrup, fruit salad as consolation to our health, and lotsa lotsa bubblies!
Burning up those calories through singing.
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And a couple more snapshots from Aunty Kate’s:
Lovelies Tara, Nikki and Jasmine
Josh teaching Nikki teaching Josh how to operate the Omnitrix (aha look that up).
The Macca boys on Christmas morning.
Beanstalk Ben (he's like 6'3" at least)
All dressed up in our Christmas dresses (thankiew Mrs Macca!)
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Thank you for a memorable Christmas.
