Arriving in Perth

This is the hotel I stayed in Perth, Sullivans Hotel, and I arrived this afternoon for the Young Planners Conference (30 April - 1 May) and PIA (Planning Institute of Australia) Conference (2-4 May). When I arrived and saw the room, I was abit depressed. It felt more like a hostel room rather than a hotel room (i sound spoilt! =P). And having just bid farewell to Phill several hours ago, I was still questioning my decision to attend this conference (what with the lack of support from my superiors to attend but after winning the PIA prize, I was determined to attend). I had dinner at the hotel and then watched tv til I was really sleepy...

Marriage

Recently, a group of acquaintances got together and over drinks and dinner spoke about marriages and their state of marriage. One of them who married a really good-looking spouse did not look like he was enjoying his marriage (which is a shame). He said marriage is such a risk and his wife and kids are really demanding of him and his time. Another acquaintance also has a good-looking spouse but I remembered him saying to me when I said she was gorgeous that "more importantly, she's got a good personality too", which is so true.

This sparked a thought in my head about how many men and women who choose to marry good-looking other halves with not that great personalities or heart to match. I realise how blessed I am too to have Phill and we're still enjoying our marriage. Of course there are times when we disagree and I get frustrated (altho sometimes it's just me being quick to anger when it can be talked through calmly) but thankfully, they are few and far between.

People change in a marriage too so how do we know if he/ she is the one? I remember the answer a former work colleague of mine (Elsie, that's you!) gave me when I asked her how she knew her husband was THE ONE. She said to take note of what you say to him and see if he takes it in and that what you say matter and he's willing to improve himself for you. I find that in Phill cos when there's something that irritates me about him, I tell him that and he slowly tries and improve. Ditto with me.

Thank God for Phill!

Wonderful Play!

I watched an American written play, "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks" with Phill and my parents in law this evening. The play was beautifully performed by Australian actors Todd McKenney and Nancye Hayes.

It was a wonderful play that moved me to tears. It briefly chronicled the friendship between an older, lonely woman and a male gay instructor she engaged to teach her dancing (even though she was a fine dancer herself). Even though there were very little of the dances such as Argentinian tango (oooh lala!), cha-cha, salsa, I love the play for what it is and watching how the friendship evolved from disagreements, petty quarrels and sarcastic fights. I just love watching plays!

My mum in law thought it was good but said it was abit close to home as she is close in age to the female character who ends up being really sick.

Closing Night

With Joan one of the extras in the production.

With Ros who played one of the wealthier ladies in the production.

It was the closing night of our production, Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan, tonight. I enjoyed the company of all the actors and had a good time laughing with them when they retold limericks and jokes they had heard while waiting around for rehearsals to start (twice, rehearsals only started 2.5 hours after the stated time). The commitment for this production for the bit part actor I was (I only had 4 lines in Act 4 and had a non-speaking role on Act 2) was so much higher than I expected. As I ranted previously, I couldn't take time off for one rehearsal but realised later that one other actor did get some time off from rehearsal cos she was the director's friend. I felt like favouritism was exercised. I'm so glad this is now over....back to my studies!

The feeling of being protected - Thank God!

I heard from my manager yesterday, after I told him I won the competition, that he is supportive of my attending the conference but he said my supervisor did raise the possibility that I should take leave if I want to go. I had offered to pay my own way to attend the conference and claim it on tax afterwards but now I'm supposed to take leave too? I was quite upset and felt rather unsupported.

I informed my supervisor today that I had won the competition and she said while laughing if I won because I was the only entrant. I laughed too but thought that was really harsh and she didn't share the joy of my win. Anyway, she then congratulated me and said "well done" and mentioned I may have to take leave to go but she'll investigate. At that stage, I had already cried since yesterday about being unsupported that when she said it, it didn't have much of an impact on me and I just said "yes".

My other colleagues felt for me and was really angry that the idea of me taking leave was even raised. They said I shouldn't have to take leave and told me not to. But upset as I was, I felt I had to follow what my supervisor said. Otherwise, won't it be considered insubordination?

Anyway, I was still upset today but before I left for the day, I received a call from a gentleman from the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) to ask if my company was paying for me to attend the conference and I said it was still being worked out but I was willing to pay for it myself. He continued to say that because of my reply, he had been instructed by the institute's president to write to one of the head honcho of my company to ask that my company support me to go. I felt so good and happy that they would go so far as to care if I was being supported. And since finding out I won on Wednesday, I really felt the full extent of the joy of winning. I am impressed with the level of support and the extent of care they have given me. I left home today feeling happy and walking on air!

Thank God for watching over me!

Shovelling Sand for Water Tanks

I took time in lieu (time off) and woke up really early today to help my in laws shovel sand before their 2 water tanks were delivered today. The sand forms the base for the tanks. There is alot of preparation in order such as getting their electricity supply connected and excavating the ground for the granny flat my in laws have bought to be sited on. The granny flat is a portable house so it's currently being built off-site and scheduled to be completed in 2 months' time. Phill didn't have to take time-off cos he was on his school holidays.

The arrival of the 2 water tanks....in a huge trailer.

Shovelling Sand - boy, that was tough! I shovelled for about 45 mins.

My father-in-law and Phill (pictured) did so well shovelling sand. They were so fast. My mum-in-law and I were not as fast. But we were so early shovelling sand at 8am (my in laws were shovelling for 30 mins when Phill and I arrived) but the tanks didn't arrive until 4pm! Well, at least we were quite prepared when they arrived.

I Won!

I had entered a competition to win a $1000 travellers cheque that will pay part of the cost of a planning conference in Perth to be held on 30 April-4 May. I sent off my entry and didn't think too much of it when I received a call to say I won!!! Yipppeeeee!

The competition required entrants to say in 50 words or less why we wanted to attend the conference.

My entry referred to how I wanted to gain insights into other regional (Perth) and state (Western Australian) issues and into international perspectives which will help my research role in my job and that "being new to planning, I need all the help I can get".

I didn't think my entry was flash or anything but it was genuine and true. I even thought that perhaps I should have made my entry into a poem so that it's more catchy. But I didn't have to worry cos I won!!!!

Now, to get the okay from my supervisor and manager to attend the conference. I actually spoke to them last week to get their okay but haven't received a decision from them yet.

My updates...and rants

It's been more than a month since I've updated...sorry, been busy trying to fit in work, studies (not much of it), rehearsing for a production, attending 1 book club meeting, and fitting in my tv programmes and rest too. Phew!

What have I been up to the past month or so?

• I watched films "Pursuit of Happiness" and "Casino Royale" and they were very good - I enjoyed them very much. "Pursuit" made me realise how down and out some people were and how far being determined and hard working can take you to. Casino Royale made me forget about Pierce Brosnan's James Bond and it was "bring it on, Daniel Craig". Throughout the film, one word stood out for me about Daniel Craig's Bond - SUAVE!

• I did not attend February's book club meeting and our book for that month was Chocolat. I've watched the movie but didn't get pass a few pages for the book - oops! So even if I hadn't read past the prologue for March's book, The Jane Austen Book Club, I went to the meeting on Wednesday and enjoyed myself. There's something about being in the company of older and mature women from where you learn about things (like dress styles, paintings, food, gardening, plants) that I might not otherwise know about. And the tea and cakes we had were yum too! By the way, both books weren't well received by the club. April's book is "Spies" and I want to get down to reading it from start to end. I have been reminded to do so by my book club friends.

• I have a small role as a maid in my town's theatrical society (Mansfield Musical and Dramatic Society) in Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan. I have a non-speaking role in Act 2 and 4 lines in Act 4. We've been rehearsing quite a bit and Opening Night is Thursday, 5 April. We have rehearsals today, tomorrow (1 April), Monday (2 April) and Tuesday (3 April). Initially, it was planned that there were only going to be 2 rehearsals, Today and Tuesday, then last week, we were told Monday was a rehearsal night too. And a few days ago, the director sent an email to say all 4 days (31 March-3 April) would be spent rehearsing. It's fair enough for those main actors but I'm a bit part actor and I still have to show up for all 4 rehearsals! I tried to ask for a day off today and would turn up for the other 3 rehearsals so I can study but the director questioned my commitment to the production. She said, "if you want to be in a production, you have to commit". It's fair enough for a main actor but not a bit part actor!!!!!!! Arrgghhh! I HATE when people question my commitment cos I'm a responsible person. And we were only going to have 2 rehearsals in the first place, prior to Opening Night, not 4!!!!! I really regret being part of this production and am really not enjoying it anymore cos it has taken more time away from my rest and study than I was initially told. I enjoyed my production last year cos my director was decisive and had more trust in her actors. I'm not going to be a part of any production until I finish my studies and I know the director is a good one.

• I'm so far behind in my studies. I am having trouble fitting in work, housework (even tho my husband shares the load), rest, sleep, exercise, watching tv, and studies... I know studying and working is hard work and since we don't yet have kids, I thought I should do it soon. I need to make a good go of it. Looking forward to our one week academic break on 9 April so I can catch-up.

• Phill and I are officially home owners of a 22 acre beautiful spot in Lima South, which we bought from Phill's parents. His parents are currently building a portable house - granny flat - on the property. When his parents' house is built, we'll be moving in, which may happen in 3 months, but depending on the weather.

Marie Antoinette

Phill and I went to our local cinema to watch Marie Antoinette and I enjoyed it. He didn't although he enjoyed the choc top ice-cream we had (which we think is the best we've had so far).

I enjoyed the movie for the fashion! The accessories, dresses, shoes (!!!) were gorgeous! But other than that, it wasn't a character-driven movie but was successful in flashing flash out the excesses of those times.

And I thought Rose Byrne who was Duchesse de Polignac in the movie was gorgeous, more so than Kirsten Dunst was.

What a Week!

I started on my new job on Monday and was slowly introduced to the workings of my section. I was really shy (being my first week and all) and preferred to sit by myself eating lunch and reading planning materials (some of which were interesting while others were abit dry). =P

A colleague and I went with our manager on a site visit on Wednesday to a local area and were educated on a planner's perspective when viewing an area. We were also told what was good or poor planning and had to make observations during the trip which we were quizzed later on. Fortunately, not a serious quiz but a casual conversation about what we've noticed and our manager peeling away more layers so we understand where we should look and how neighbourhoods could be set up so the best amenities could be achieved for the community.

Then yesterday, I was tasked to research on some data for a presentation my manager was making next week. I felt abit thrown out of my depth cos I didn't know certain trends but I did my best with an outline given to me on some current issues. My task was to find evidence on the issues, such as population growth and trends, the aging population, the exit rate of farmers from their farms.

I wanted to work fast and hard so I can hand in the work early but it got abit frustrating sometimes because I couldn't find the data I needed, such as where people in a certain region were moving to cos it's data that is not easily tracked. Data on no. of people moving out or moving into a particular district was easier but to track where they were going to wasn't easy unless it was in general categories of Melbourne, interstate or other parts of Victoria.

I made several revisions after recommendations by my supervisor and another planning colleague and got to work again. I'm not done yet and felt really tired from staring at data. Sometimes graphs and trends weren't available so I had to obtain the raw data and convert them into bar graphs (which I find the easiest to read data) and also theoretical explanations to support the graphs.

I'll be glad when this is done... =O)

Eildon Dam

Phill and I visited his parents at Alexandra cos they were helping their friends house sit while they are away holidaying.

While we were there, Phill suggested driving to the Eildon dam (20 mins drive away), and we were sad seeing how low the water levels were. It was so different to our last trip there in 2001 when there were so many people visiting (car parks were full) and the water levels were so high. This time, there was only 2-3 other cars besides ours.

After visiting the dam, we went to a local cafe a short drive away and I had an iced coffee which was a great relief from the heat, while my parents in law had banana milkshakes and Phill had a banana thick shake (which wasn't very thick).

And not long after we arrived home, we (or rather my father in law and Phill) got the bbq going and we had a yummy dinner of sausages, chicken, kebabs and salads made by my mum in law - YUM!

Danny Bhoy cracks me up!

Image by Photobat (www.photobat.net) and taken from www.dannybhoy.com

Phill and I went to Shepparton (about 1.5 hours drive away) yesterday to watch a dishy Scottish comedian, Danny Bhoy, at the Shepparton Arts Centre.

It was a fantastic and hilariously, laugh-a-minute, comedy act by the talented Danny Bhoy (stage name, no idea what his actual name is) which lasted about 2 hours and worth every cent we spent on the tickets (an affordable $24 each).

My voice was quite hoarse from laughing so much while Phill's jaws ached.

On our drive back home, we broke out into laughter remembering certain segments of the comedy act and we'll repeat it and then laugh together.

We laughed so much, we added years to our life! ;O)

And we enjoyed it so much, we've bought tickets (at S$32 each) to his 1-hour show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in April! We can't wait to laugh again, with Danny!

My first sponge cake

I decided to bake a passionfruit sponge cake today and took the recipe from the Australian Women's Weekly magazine.

Everything went fairly well although I over whipped the whipped cream and it turned to liquid and buttery....arrrgghhh! I had to send Phill out to buy me another bottle of whipped cream. Other than that and the fact the preparation took me over 2 hours instead of the prescribed 20 mins in the recipe, everything went well. The cake was really light and fluffy - YUMMY! I can make this again although I hope the preparation will be shorter than 2 hours the next time.

Getting anxious

I had rung the company I'm joining to enquire about my offer letter when I returned from Singapore on the 18 of Jan and was told they were still working on it. When I still hadn't heard from them a week later, I was getting increasingly worried. I thought perhaps they are not going to give me the job...

Then I received a call this morning from a company representative and she said they're waiting on one last signature on the document so they can proceed to send me all the application forms. Several minutes ago, about 4.30pm, she rang me again to say they've got the signature and we fixed my start date for work on 19 Feb. I was also told to wait for documentation from the recruitment officer which I have to complete and return to them.

Yipppeee..............! My break is coming to an end..... =P

A meal made with love

I was feeling really tired and didn't want to think about dinner. My dear husband then said, "leave it to me", and whipped up this yummy meal made with love.

Goodbye Singapore

Phill and I tried to extend our stay in Singapore for another couple of days but wasn't successful. Even though Singapore Airlines flies to Melbourne three times each day, we couldn't get a later date...sniff! sniff!

This trip has been great - we ate at MOS Burger, Thai Express, char kway teow, carrot cake, tao suan (green bean dessert), cheng teng (another local dessert), mee rebus (at Kovan Centre), durian puff (me, not Phill), seafood at Melben, teochew food and "or nee" (Teochew yam dessert) at Teochew Restaurant at Concourse (yummy) and more than I can remember.

And I had an opportunity to visit friends and family too although I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to see and only got to see most of my family and friends once...sniff!

And when it came time for me to say goodbye, as usual, my tears flowed freely. It sucks to say goodbye...

Catching up with Family and Friends

It's always good to catch up with family and friends so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw my aunt jenny and uncle Kenneth at the airport when we arrived in Singapore on 27 Dec! We then went and indulged in dim sum at toa payoh and had yummy goreng pisang (banana fritters) too! Considering the high prices of bananas (averaging $20/kg) last year, the one thing we were craving was bananas.


I had the opportunity to visit my uncle wee kiat and aunty pearly and see my cousin's kids too - pictured with me in the photo below are daniel (left) and brandon (right). They are so good-looking and so energetic that I really had to have a breather after playing with them for a while. Thankfully, my aunt jenny and mum were there so when I was resting, they were playing with the boys.

*Thanks to Aunty Jenny for this photo of me and the boys - they're making me very clucky altho tired*

Crashhhh

A car accident I saw when I was out with my aunt poo ling and uncle henry. I hope the car driver was okay. And as usual, there were many onlookers at the scene although I was too far away to see if they were busy taking down lucky numbers to buy lottery like some people usually do in Singapore.

Go Singapore Slingers!

Phill and I bought tickets to the Singapore Slingers (above) match against the South Dragons (top) at indoor stadium before we went on our trip to Hongkong. We were quite psyched about the match and enjoyed it even though the Singapore Slingers eventually lost (85 versus 110). But the pace of the match was pretty fast and action-packed.

Some 4-5 kids who were sitting behind us, about 3-8 years old, were slamming the South Dragons players throughout the match and made me laugh. One of the South Dragon players' name is Ingles and one of the kids shouted throughout the match, "Ingles, you've got the shingles"....hahahaha!

Shane Heal coaches and plays for the South Dragons and he played very well but I don't like him cos he comes across very aggressive and overly physical and not sportmanship-like.

After the match, Phill and I bought ourselves Singapore Slingers T-shirts but the 'S' size was still so big. I think they need a ladies range too. In all, it was an enjoyable nite!

Goodbye HongKong

We left Hongkong in the late afternoon to make our way back to Singapore. And suddenly, it all seem too soon. It'll be nice to be able to spend more time in Hongkong although we haven't even had much time in Singapore (only had 2 days in Singapore since we arrived from Australia). So many places, so little time...

We did manage to sneak in foot and neck massages last nite and again today at a thai massage place located at the 2nd storey of a hotel located around Granville Road (a great shopping strip we discovered this trip and kept going back for the great clothes and fantastic discounts!!!). Ahhhhh....massages helped ease our tired feet from all the walking around shopping.

And this cafe (Relax a While) pictured above was one we frequented quite a bit for breakfast, lunch as well as dinner cos they served yummy food. I enjoyed the desserts at the popular Hongkong dessert place - Xu Liu Shan - yummy!!!