Short Updates

Stomach bug

I've been in bed all day. I think I have contracted some sort of stomach virus, as diagnosed by yours truly. I've been running a fever and my stomach has been churning and cramping up. It's a horrible feeling. The last time I've had the unfortunate luck to be acquainted with similar viruses was during my trip to India.

The unhygienic level in India is absolutely off the scale. Pavements trampled by millions served as plates to kids eating samosas. I saw waiters in supposedly high-class restaurants using their hands to reposition food on huge white plates as they carried out food from the kitchen to the tables (I'm sure that happens here as well. I maintain that ignorance is bliss). No one was spared from all filth. The stomach bug I contracted in India five years ago led to the irritable bowel syndrome I now have. My stomach has never been the same since the trip. Nonetheless, I still love India and would definitely return to that place. They say that India is a place you'll either hate or love. Nothing in between because nothing there is mediocre. I chose to love it.

Thousand steps
Last Saturday saw me climbing up a thousand steps. It was my second time doing it. It's a popular route at Mt Dandenong which is near Melbourne. I'll be heading there again this weekend!






Seafood feast at Queenscliff
A couple of us spent the Easter weekend being charitable. So we would like to think =) More like, being gluttons. We were are a festival at Queenscliff where volunteers cooked up a huge seafood feast for tens of thousands of people. The proceeds went to the Royal Melbourne Children's Hospital.

The food was mediocre at best. I guess, we couldn't expect much from mass cooking. We had to wait in line for about half hour to one hour to buy our food. Trust me, that was not fun at all. That being said, the company and good weather made it a pretty relaxing and enjoyable day.


A volunteer serving food


The masses

Queenscliff is such a pretty quaint town. Many of its houses were refurbished and converted into commercial buildings/retail outlets/hotels. However, most of the facades were beautifully maintained.


A quaint secondhand bookstore! I think it used to be a church


I bought the Three Musketeers with a classic hard leather cover for $7.


A pretty garden we walked past

Jason Mraz concert
Last night, I was at Jason Mraz's concert. For the past two months, I've been so hyped up about the concert. He is definitely one of my favourite songs - not just because I like his songs but how he as a person, has impacted the world. I love how he is such a huge advocate for the environment, world peace and even, personal health. You should hop over to his blog to check out his writings. He keeps it so real in his blog.

His performance last night was exactly what I expected. He is such a natural performer. He didnt look like he had to try very hard. His songs are beautiful and he sounds exactly like how he does in his albums.

I liked how he interacted heaps with the crowd. He told us last night, "Don't tell anyone but Melbourne is my favourite city". Does he say that in every city he performs? I know he constantly says that Korea is his favourite country. Did he contradict himself there? Can he have Melbourne as his favourite city and Korea as his favourite country? Are both not the same thing? Mraz, are you betraying our feelings???

He performed the song 'Lucky' last night. The part by Colbie Caillat was performed by this local artist, Lisa Mitchell. Who is she??? I goggled her after I got back. She was a contender on Australian Idol. Her singing was absolutely atrocious - it was completely the wrong key and tune at various parts of the song. Her rhythm was wrong. She had zero stage presence. She looked like a mesmerized fan gawking at Mraz when they were dueting. I heard one lady behind me say, "She's a piece of sh*t" when the song ended. That basically summarized everybody's reaction.


The photo is a little blurry because the lens was really dirty. I didn't realise till I uploaded the photo =(


Before the concert


If you're interested, here's the duet 'Lucky' by Jason Mraz and Lisa Mitchell