Adelaide - September 2007

Day 1 - S.A.C.K, drinks

Was an easy night. Had dinner at the S.A.C.K (Clara's home), followed by drinks at a lounge in the city.





Day 2 - Hahndorf, Mt Lofty, Rundell Mall, Cibo, dinner, karoake





We had time to kill before dinner. So Clara and I went shopping at Rundell St. Rundell St is an interesting one. This street is an extremely long one filled with shops that can accommodate all sorts of shoppers. At one end of the street, it consist of lower-end shops, followed by middle-priced shops and then higher-end shops. We managed to score a couple of good buys =) I bought two dresses for 29 dollars each!

Upon Wil's recommended, I had to try coffee at Cibo. I was a little skeptical at first as it is pretty commercialise with franchises sprouting out all around Adelaide. However, my fears were calmed when I sipped on my ice coffee. Two thumbs up. Its a must try.

We proceeded to join Clara's medical friends for dinner. It was Alvin's bday.



Food came an hour later




Karoake! I didnt get any pics or videos of us singing as my camera battery ran out. Its my first time at a karoake lounge. Surprisingly, I did enjoy myself =)


Day 3 - Barossa Valley









We had a bbq in between our wine tasting. I think ive developed a new love for lambchops =)


Got back in the evening. We had a quick dinner at home. I was so exhausted that i crashed in bed at 8.30 pm.

Day 4 - church, Henley beach, bbq

After church, Clara and I headed to Henley beach to have lunch and bask in the glorious sun. I must have brought the good weather from Melbourne (sarcasm intended).



Henley beach area looks a bit like Acland St, St Kilda, dont ya think? The beachfront with its palm trees and service apartments looks like a blueprint of Surfer's Paradise, Goldcoast.







We then headed back to the SACK and I started packing my stuff to leave for Melbourne (sob sob) Before leaving though, Clara's church friend kindly invited us to the youth group bbq. Mmmm....more lambchops =)

With a heavy heart, I took the bus back to Melbourne. As i said in my earlier post, the bus ride was traumatising. It wasnt really the 10 hour journey that was painful. It was the company. Just to give you a glimpse, there was a diabetic woman sitting on the bus that smelt like she hasnt showered for yonks. I never knew women could smell like that. During one of the toilet stops, we both got down to use the toilet. She entered the cubicle next to mine. We both came out of the cubicles at the same time. I headed to the sink to wash my hands. She simply headed back to the bus.

And there was this man who smelt even worse. I was standing 2 metres away from him prior to boarding the bus and gosh, i could smell his glorious stench...argh. I quickly told Clara, "I hope he is not sitting next to me". Thank GOd, he wasnt but with the recycled air-conditioning, it doesnt really matter where you are sitting really.

And thats just two examples. ALso, i fell asleep on the seatbelt and woke up because my face felt really itchy. I can imagine colonies of bacteria on my face. I got back home, quickly jumped into the shower and noticed new rashes that developed on my body. Argh, that should tell you something.

Lesson learnt: Never take the interstate bus again.

Aside from the bus ride, I had a fantastic time in Adelaide. Clara planned the trip really well =) Thanks babe and I miss you already!

Back from Adelaide

Just want to say "Hello and I'm back" to the land of four seasons in a day. Pics up soon. I'm still recovering from my traumatizing bus ride. N-e-v-e-r take a 10 hour interstate bus again when it's an hour plane ride away.

Interview with Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar, Foreign Minister of Malaysia

O-K-A-Y. Did he actually answer the questions? For you to decide. I've restricted myself from any political comments.







Small talk

My brother and I struck a conversation yesterday while watching Numbers.

Me: What was your ambition when you were young?

Bro: I thought you knew. A housewife.

Me: Oh yeah. That was after you wanted to be a maid.

In love

Jus and I are in love....

with Marie Digby

You must listen to her songs!!! It's so awesome!

A rising artist, made popular by her home-made youtube videos. This gorgeous babe is of Irish-Japanese descent, plays the guitar, the piano and plays tennis well (apparently). Sounds too perfect to be true yea.

"Umbrella" - This is her debut and most popular song. Its her version of the Rihanna Umbrella song. Val, now we can all sing this song with Lee - but the Marie Digby version



"Miss invisible" - this song is about her story in high school where she was ostracised


"Stupid for you" - this is my favourite song! She took this video in her garden. Because it was taken by an ameteur, her voice is not very clear here. This video doesnt do her voice justice unfortunately.



When I allowed Jus to hear a couple of her songs over the phone, Jus couldn't stop singing praises about her voice. It was almost like "love at first sound". It made me so envious that I threatened to not reveal her name to him. heh =P Couldn't blame him though. I was starting to fall in love with her too.

When i grow up, I want to be like her. Unfortunately, I am musically challenged. I can't even clap in time.

Discovery of the week

Last week saw me at Docklands three times. Two out of the three times, I patronised this particular cafe called 'Hot Chocolate' (I think that's the name) I decided to settle for tea instead of hot chocolate because I was too full from dinner. Before you call me a boring fart, check this out

Its a tea ball - In the menu, it reads, 'a combination of jasmine, chrysanthemum, amaranth and...' Cant remember the last one. Basically its a combination of four tea leaves.



The tea ball morph into a....



Ta da!

At the expense of sounding bimbotic, I was really fascinated with it! It's almost like a magic show =)

I need a breather. I need to find what I have lost. Hope that is. I'm a zombie walking aimlessly without purpose. I need to get out of this situation because its not a healthy place to be in - its not doing me any good. I need to be heading in the right direction. I feel so stagnant. I cant stay on flat ground for too long. Sooner or later, I will have to either climb uphill or embrace myself for the downwards spiral.

22nd Birthday - Part II

After House Church, Jus picked me up and suggested that we take a drive to Docklands to open my presents as Docklands being by the water, has a pretty romantic setting especially when the sun was setting. So we drove there and got out of the car feeling really cold because the sun has already set. I didnt think that it was the smartest plan because it was really very chilly but I didnt complain at all =P I appreciated the fact that he put so much thought into my bday that he even planned WHERE i opened my presents. We sat by the pier while I open my presents in the dark. haha.

(more on presents later)

After about 20 minutes, Jus sent me home to grab some stuff before we headed out for my next adventure. He told me to grab a jacket and some proper walking shoes. I kept asking him where we were going cause it sounded like we were going for a hike except that 1) I know he dislikes hiking 2) We cant hike in the dark. Anyway, i didnt ask too many questions and played along. He dropped me off and told me that I had a maximum of 20 mins to pack my stuff.

My mind was racing as I was thinking about stuff to bring. I quickly headed to my apartment, slid the key into the door and saw this



IT WAS A SURPRISE PARTY!!!!!!

haha, so unexpected!!!! It totally caught me off guard. It then occurred to me that Justin's idea of going to Docklands was actually a decoy! Jus who could never lie to me without a straight face really pulled this off very well. I seriously thought that we were going on a hike or something to that effect. haha!

See, I look so surprised!


And even more surprising, I saw this familiar face.



It's Clara who was suppose to be in Adelaide! haha, she was the cheeky one that accidently buzzed me earlier in the afternoon! She specifically flew down for my birthday weekend just for 20 HOURS before flying back up to Adelaide!! Love you lots!!

The mastermind behind the surprise party! ANN TAI! haha, this girl who cant lie to save her life manage to pull this stunt off! haha. She called me earlier in the afternoon to ask me what my dinner plans were. She even invited me over to her house for dinner! haha...and she did all that without even giving away any subtle hints! Thanks for planning it. Love ya =)







Everyone are such good actors! haha...except for the fact that everyone mysteriously thought that my bday was on sat and clara unexpectedly buzzed me, I didnt suspect a thing.

I dont have too many nice pictures of the food thats why i didnt put any up. But, I was really touched that everyone put so much effort into preparing the food. There was no KFC or pizza!!!

Ann's mum made my favourite Assam Laksa plus mooncake =)
Wing Yan made her yummy pasta
Nina + Joanne + Sarah brought salad. In addition Joanne made cupcakes
Ivy and Steve made sticky date pudding and noodles
Ern Ern and Sharon roasted a chicken!!! Ern doesnt cook that often. So, I'm really proud of her that she can roast a chicken. And it was scrumptious to boot!
Sharon made mauritus dessert!
Val cooked chicken stirfry
Someone brought roast duck (please owned up. haha, i need to thank you. I think its Lee)
Clara bought pasta salad

*okay, gtg now! Brekkie with Annie* (hey, it rhymes)
Someone brought tiramisu cake

22nd Birthday

My 22nd bday that just passed felt like a 21st. I didnt expect such a big bash. I didnt want to make a big deal out of it cause you know, after turning 21, its downhill from there! In short, it was one of the best birthdays I've had! I feel extremely blessed to be surrounded with such great friends (plus Jus =P). Anyway, less talk and more pictures.

On Saturday, Jus brought me out for brekkie opposite my apartment. We love the waffles plus fruit juices there.





This was followed by lunch a short 2 hours later. In between the two hours, I stayed home just to kill time. Whilst surfing on the net at home, somebody buzzed my apartment. It was pretty puzzling because I wasnt expecting any visitors. I proceeded to pick up the intercom and heard a voice which i thought sounded pretty familiar.

"Hello"

"Hi"

"Em...who is this?"

"Joanne here...Who are you looking for?"

No reply.

Very puzzling indeed. I quickly turned on my tv and switched to channel 1 where I can view who is at the front door. The mysterious person has disappeared!! Hm...

(mystery to be solved later on)

Anyway, Jus and I proceeded to have lunch at 'Sails on the Bay' (I think thats the name!) Two thumbs up for it if you are one that is crazy for seafood. The service was a little slow but the ambience and food made up for it.



I couldnt quite differentiate margarine and butter when I was younger. Now, Ive turned into this picky eater. I heart good quality butter~!




*Drool* Oyster shots!



Raw tuna in the middle


This picture was taken just outside the restaurant. Hence the name, Sails on the Bay. The restaurant is on the beachfront.




After a hearty 3 hour lunch, Jus dropped me off at House Church. At the end of the session, Sue Lee suggested that in conjunction of my bday, everyone should give me a 'May Statement'. An example of a 'may statement' would be 'May you excel in whatever you....". I expected everyone to give a standard short 'may statement' - stuff that are printed on bday cards. But most of the 'May statements' became short 21st speeches: "My first impression of Joanne is....I remember the time...." haha...really interesting and touching. I heart my house church (almost as much as much as seafood =D )

My "cake"




*Phew, thats all for now. Much more to come!*

Merdeka

Malaysia celebrated its 50th birthday yesterday. When I was back in Malaysia, independence day was no big deal for me. Its only significance was that we get an extra day of holiday. In addition, our school will try to instill that Malaysian spirit in us by getting us to decorate our classrooms, repaint the walls and what not. Hm...come to think of it, maybe thats an excuse to use us as free labour? heh.

Anyway, its only this year that I've come to understand the significance of independence. I think I'm starting to miss Malaysia a little.

Here are some videos. The first one is a video of our 1st independence day 50 years ago (1957)



Saya Anak Malaysia - Petronas Merdeka Ad 4 2007

Petronas always produce the best ads



Another independence day ad produced by Petronas




Okay, these ads have nothing to do with independence. This is just to give you a taste of Malaysian humour. haha, pretty lame stuff. But its funny at the same time.

Malaysian idol ad - security guards. Everybody wants to be the Malaysian idol



Malaysian idol ad - milk man vs roti man. For those who are not familiar with the Malay language, "susu" means milk and "roti" means bread.



okay, last one....I promise!