My New Jamaican Husband

Phill had "Crazy Hair Day" today so he tried this wig he had last night and I whipped out my camera and started taking pics. Only thing was cos I was laughing so hard, it was difficult to get sharp photos and I ended up with more hazy pics. He said the day went well today and the kids and his colleagues loved his hair! What's there not to love?

Other random pics taken this month include:

A beautiful viewlooking from my parents-in-law's new house built on our property on a particularly cold morning.....gorgeous, if I say so myself.

My birthday present from Phill - a Philips hi-fi stereo that connects to my iPod.

The amazing amount of dirt Phill vaccumed the first time he did so with our new Dyson vaccum cleaner that we love!!!

Tagged Answers

I've been tagged by Christina, so here are my answers (including questions Frank posed too):

4 Jobs I've had in my life:

1. Selling local literary publications in a small office at 16 (pressurising and didn't make any sale after 3 days and got my dad to bail me out. my bro wasn't happy cos he had sold quite a few books by then and I ruined his bonus)
3. HR admin and receptionist at Apple Singapore (vacation job)
5. Admin and receptionist work at Marcam Singapore (vacation job)
7. Arts Administrator at National Arts Council & Heritage Officer at Ministry of Information, Communications, and the Arts

4 Places I've Lived:

1. Ang Mo Kio (Blk 105 and Blk 648, same as Mr Eng) in Singapore
2. Casuarina Road in Singapore
3. Churchill, VIC, Australia (at uni then)
4. Hougang

4+ Places I've been on Vacation to:

1. Taiwan
2. Hongkong
3. Macau
4. London, UK, and...
5. Brussels, Belgium
6. Berlin, Germany
7. Paris, France
8. Istanbul, Turkey
9. Vietnam
10. Cambodia
11. Thailand
12. Indonesia
13. Virginia, Missouri, Washington DC (USA)
14. Adelaide, Canberra, Perth, Melbourne, VIC (Australia)
15. Shenzhen, China

4 Places I would rather be in (living?):

1. Right here in Australia
2. Singapore
3. Canada
4. Can't think of a nice 4th place

4 of my favourite food:

1. Steak
2. Anything spicy (can't just name one dish)
3. Durian
4. Unagi-don or Bi Bim Bap Dak

4 Things I want to do before I Die:

1. Have kids
2. Have dogs
3. Finish my studies
4. Holiday around the world or a cruise to Antartica is also pretty good

4 Things I like to see in Heaven:

1. My loved ones that have gone before me
2. Jesus Christ
3. God
4. I'll like to know what my responsibility is and if it's playing the harp?

4 people I'll like to bring with me to heaven:

1. Phill
2. My parents-in-law
3. Their family friends
4. All my friends

4 Things I like about Phill:

1. Very funny
2. Very handsome
3. Understands me
4. Loves me

4 Things I like to Change by This Year:

1. My weight (need to go down)
2. To add to the family
3. More organised for exercise, sleep, studies, etc...
4. To allocate money for charity

4 Stupid Things I Did in My Life:

1. I once joined my classmates in laughing at a topless photo of a male classmate who was quite chubby and when the photo was taken down by a guy I liked, I snatched it from his hand and posted it up again - i am disappointed in myself that I laughed at another person's expense and also lost the respect of a friend.
3. I burnt my leg when I was 5 leaning against an exposed pipe in preschool (at Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church) and kept quiet while it swelled and later bled. If my friend hadn't raised the alarm, I'll still have been suffering.
5. Cut my hair really short when I was 19 and Phill hated it (2nd time in my life I cut my hair short).
7. Bought expensive stuff, whether they're toys or something that were a fad, and then lost interest in it.

Work

My supervisor came back this week after being on leave for slightly more than a week. Admittedly, the past few weeks haven't been bad at all and our working relationship has been warm and cordial. She even gave me approval to travel down to Melbourne on Monday morning so I could attend class when I thought her usual reply would be for me to take leave to do so. And she even thanked me for letting her know. That was really nice!

And one of my colleagues made a comment that he noticed I'm happier when certain people aren't around. I didn't want to say too much so I simply said I'm happier when I have work to do and not twiddling my thumbs. And I've learnt quite abit the past few weeks, alot from the consultant who sits next to me. He really took me under his wing and made sure I was engaged in some form of work and learning, which I appreciate.

But today is his final day for a while cos he's going on a driving holiday with his wife and some of their friends for the next 2 months. They're travelling from the eastern end of Australia to the western end, all in 2 months (!!!), so that'll be one big driving trip. I'll really miss him and look forward to his return soon.

Dinner @ Willowlake

My parents in law took me to dinner at Willowlake, a beautiful restaurant, at Macs Cove, some 15 minutes drive from Mansfield. It was a rather cold night and we chose the table that was one of the closest to the wood fire. Yet everytime the main door was open, a gust of cold air would blow in and it was enough for me to have the shivers. And I had thick padding, both artificial (clothes) and natural (my fats).

For dinner, my parents in law and Phill had pork belly (which was YUM! YUM! YUM!) and I had duck which was DELICIOUS too! It was really difficult to pick which was the better dish. Phill and I were last at the restaurant last year when we had dinner with colleagues from my previous company. I realised how long we've left it to have dinner at the restaurant. I hope our next visit won't be in 6-7 months time.

Anyway, my parents in law gave me a birthday card and money for my pressie. But my mum-in-law said something interesting when I opened the card and saw the money. She said it was for me to buy a dressing gown when I go to the hospital to have a baby. Talk about implicit pressure...okay, now I'm abit hot under the collar being watched for a bulgeoning belly that isn't because of a baby but because of my lack of exercise and love of food!

Art and Birthday

I don't feel any different today being my birthday although admittedly, not as down and sad as I was the previous year about leaving my 20s behind.

And i remembered not that long ago (at the PIA conference in Perth) I was asked by 2 Asian delegates if I was 25, so that put me in a good mood! Cos if anyone can tell an Asian person's age, it should be another Asian - I'm making a general assumption here. Most non-Asians generally speaking think I'm a good few years younger than I am so that always makes me happy too.

Anyway, I met Phill for lunch at Benalla Art Gallery and I had a warm chicken salad (which was yum) and he had lamb shank although he didn't really like it when it arrived because it had alot of tomatoes in it. I enjoyed our lunch and our conversation and we took time out to walk around the gallery to view the exhibitions, which fulfilled one gaping hole I've had since leaving Singapore (where I saw more art events and performances working for NAC).

It was a beautiful day and work wasn't too stressful either.

Transformers...More than Meets the EYE!

We were in abit of a dilemma today as we debated between watching the movie Transformers or visiting the Great Wall of China exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. In the end, because we had a 11.30am lunch reservation at the dim sum restaurant Shark's Fin Restaurant, we decided we'll see if we can make it to a 12.30pm screening. But as we tucked into our yummy lunch, we were trying to enjoy the lunch but eat it fairly quick and to our fill so we could make it to our movie. We ate all our favourite dishes, paid up, left the restaurant and got to the cinema at 12.30pm. Phill wasn't confident of our chances of getting tickets (there was a long queue on a Monday afternoon!!!) and getting in before the movie starts. But we did!

And it was a great, non-stop action movie! I loved it and it did bring back some childhood memories of Transformers and my brother's toys. I loved the fact the toys were like 2-in-1. They were trucks and cars but also robots. You were paying for one toy but in fact, getting 2! I think my brother was very precious about his Transformers toys and he used to forewarn me about not touching his Transformers toys - that's even though he was 2 years younger than I am. I'm not sure if I did test his patience on that one though I won't be surprised if I did cos I did love playing with them, perhaps one of the few macho toys I enjoyed. I definitely preferred my Barbie toys and accessories over most other toys.

But back to the movie, it was fantastic! My favourite part in the movie was when the Autobots transformed from trucks and cars into robots! It was so realistic that I could see where the part of the truck were on the robot (when they transformed into their true selves) and how funny was it when they were trying to be quiet in the garden of Sam Witwicky. It was funny and action-packed. Love, love it! I can't wait to watch it again!

"Knocked Up" A KnockOut!

We arrived in Melbourne yesterday for a 3 day trip - Yeah! Most of yesterday was taken up watching footy at MCG - Collingwood (our team) vs St Kilda. The umpiring was AWFUL but we finally won, which was a relief, cos I had enough of the row of St Kilda fans sitting behind us going on and on and gloating about winning when the final whistle hadn't even been blown yet!!! SHUT UP! So our win definitely shut them up! And Phill and I stood up and kept singing the team song despite the supporters of both teams having upped and left already. We sang the theme song about 6 times and yet it wasn't enough! I think anyone can tell we don't come to Melbourne much to watch the footy....heehee!

Amidst going to the bookstores, shopping, and eating (ate at Chom Chom, a Singapore Cafe, and had Japanese food at another cafe), we watched the movie "Knocked Up" which had really good reviews and publicity. Most papers gave between three to four stars for it and I read reviews that said the director did try and make the story believable. Who would believe a gorgeous girl would sleep with a less attractive guy? But cleverly done, many stages in the development of the story and the various relationships/ friendships in the movie was not only believable but it struck a chord (except the non-commital issues).

When Alison's (played by Katherine Heigl of "Grey's Anatomy") bro-in-law sought some private time, I could see that struggle in relationships around me, where the guy want some space for himself and the wife pulling him back which leads to resentment between couples building. After the movie, I had this discussion with Phill in that most times, when guys want time to themselves, who end up holding the kids? It's the woman, the mum. The character Pete (played by Paul Rudd) should have offered to take the kids sometimes so his wife could also have her own private time instead of insisting he needed private time for himself.

On a separate issue, I enjoyed watching the movie because I find Katherine Heigl really pretty. I first saw her in Grey's Anatomy and cos I don't really follow the show, I was surprised when it was not her but Ellen Pompeo (who plays Dr Meredith Grey) who was the star of the show. Katherine is so much prettier and I read somewhere she had to fight real hard to get a pay raise in the show while other actors like Ellen got it easily. I think the show's producers should increase Katherine's role as Dr Izzie. She did very well in the previous season when the patient who loved her and whom she adored died. It was so sad that the first time I saw the video montage and heard Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars", I teared up.

Death Next Door

My neighbour, Eva, who lived next door to us passed away on Sunday. We didn't even know about it until Phill read it in the papers today and called me at the office to tell me. No wonder we haven't seen her walking around the past few weeks. She usually walks past the front of our house to speak to the neighbour who lives next to us, on the other side. She can sometimes be seen doing this walk back and forth almost 5-6 times each day. Maybe it was a hint for us to walk out to say hi but I don't cos I'm sometimes too tired to make conversation.

But...I always make conversation whenever I bump into her or when I drive out of my driveway and see her standing outside her house, I'll stop, wind down my car windows and have a good chat with her.

But I can't help feeling like I could have done more. It was really a toss-up between being a good neighbour and wanting my privacy and space. She had a tendency sometimes to sound fairly bossy in terms of saying what we should do to our place. But it could be her way of making conversation. But honestly, it was her smoking that was a big turn-off.

I know she is almost blind and can't use the stove or oven cos she can't see and has her meals delivered via a local Meals on Wheels service organised by the local council. I did offer her to come over for a meal but she didn't take it up. She offered me her lemons from her beautiful lemon tree but I didn't take any either.

She has friends who visit her daily but she still seems lonely. Perhaps her blindness limited her activities and exacerbated the loneliness and quietness in the house. She has children who lives in Mansfield but she has lamented her daughter chose to live overseas than with her but she spoke fondly of her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

The street we live in, Parwanoff, was named after her husband because he built the 6 units that are on this small and private street. I remember her stories about her husband and I can tell they were very much in love. However, I got the sense that she really lived when he was alive but life seemed to have stopped for her when he died. She always talked about wanting to die because she was blind and not knowing why she was still alive. She did finally get her wish when she passed away at 78. I felt sad she died fairly lonely but it may also be a matter of perspective since she had friends who cared enough to visit regularly but maybe she wanted familly...