Paolo is Brilliant!

Paolo Nutini, an artist I heard a couple of weeks ago cos he visited Melbourne to promote his debut album, was a singer-songwriter that I thought was all bubblegum pop....until I heard his songs. And to me, he is one brilliant singer-songwriter!!! It is so difficult to find an artist whose ENTIRE album you enjoy (not just one song or two), much less someone's debut album!!!!

I know KT Tunstall's song "Suddenly I See" is still going strong in the charts here but I feel that Paolo is a much better singer-songwriter. He has this kind of voice that is so much more mature than the teenager he is. Paolo is DEFINITELY worth a listen and more!

Gala Dinner & Martin's Centre

Above: Nadia and her friend at the gala dinner.

Above: The graceful yet very strong acrobat (a la Cirque de Soleil) unwrapping herself from a length of cloth hanging from the ceiling. It was impressive!

Above: Nadia and I at the dinner (I am so fat!!!) and I'm wearing one of the necklaces I bought at Subiaco this morning.

Above: Some of the great food at the dinner, appetisers, followed by the chicken (other choice was beef) and then the sweet (dessert). By the time of the dessert, I was so full but ate the dessert anyway (hence the feeling fat and am fat look - I can't say no to food).

Above: The band who provided the musical enterainment of the night were made up of planners. They were called the Sub-dividers (hahahahah! - Planners who approve subdivision applications).

I had a great time at the gala dinner (which concluded the PIA conference) and invited Nadia to the dinner cos there was a spare ticket. I met up with one of her friends and we had a good conversation. They were both really nice! The whole atmosphere was so nice, the table decor was beautiful, and the food was delicious, the entertainment (an acrobat a la Cirque de Soleil) and a band consisting of planners, and the table Nadia and I were on consisted of all girls who were fun. Even though they were very dressed up, they were a hoot and wasn't all formal and everything.

Then at 10pm, Nadia asked if I wanted to go and have a drink at a Revolving Restaurant which was not a far walk from the conference centre where the gala dinner was. So, that's what we did. And I felt abit concerned cos the streets in Perth were deserted. And even though Nadia was wearing high heels, she gamely walked the 20 mins to the Revolving Restaurant at Martins Centre. We spent an hour there and it was fun, looking at all the sights as the restaurant slowly spun around. As I was looking down on the city, all I can think of was "I hope the restaurant don't spontaneously spin off and drop down onto the city"....me and my strange mind....

Above: Nadia shaking hands with her favourite "businessman" sculpture outside Martins Centre (the revolving restaurant was on the 42nd floor).

Above: As Nadia explained to me, the sculpture marked the change in attire and technology used by businessmen over time. A really unique and cool sculpture!

Sights around Perth

After lunch at the final day of the conference, Mabel (Adelaide planner) and I decided to go around Perth and do some shopping cos I won't have any other time to do so before my morning flight back to Melbourne tomorrow morning at 7am.


Some mall and streets sights of Perth CBD:

Above: one of the free buses provided in Perth and it was so convenient and the frequency was about 7-10 mins, which was quite regular. Apparently, the funding for the free buses were generated from the income obtained from parking meters around the city. What a fantastic idea! I know Melbourne has the city tram but I don't think it's as regular.

Above: A view of the Perth CBD while I was on the free blue bus.

Sights of Subiaco and Perth

Above: The entrance of the Subiaco Station, which was part of a major transformation, turning industrial land to commercial/ residential uses. Most of the nice houses in Subiaco, I'm told are very expensive, at least $1 million too. It's a nice area.

The Subiaco Hotel where I went after the "Amazing Race" event at East Peth. A nice hotel.

Chutney Marys (http://www.chutneymarys.com.au/home.html) where I had dinner with Nadia. Yum! Yum!

I saw a really nice jewellery shop when I was at Subiaco with Nadia last night and decided to skip the morning session of the conference to go to Subiaco and have a closer look at that shop. I went and had a nice breakfast of bagel and ham and coffee and then walked around a second-hand bookstore, and then to the jewellery shop where I spent a good part of the time and bought about 5 necklaces. The shop owner was having a 50% discount on most of her stuff cos she had sold her business and was clearing her stock. I was really happy with all my purchases and didn't regret it abit although it did cause a dent in my pocket, but it was the only indulgence I had in my whole trip so I thought it could be justified.... =P

Nadia and Chutney Marys

I met a Perth planner, Nadia, who was in my team during Monday's "Amazing Race" event for dinner tonight and it was great just hanging out with her. She was really nice and even though she didn't attend the PIA conference (only the Young Planners Conference) cos her company couldn't let her go, she said to ring her when I had time for dinner and she'll show me around. So, even though she was in Subiaco, where we were meeting, she drove to my hotel to pick me up and took me to Subiaco where we had dinner at Chutney Marys.


One pic of the dinner, which was another YUM dinner!



After dinner, we walked around Subiaco and then stopped at a cafe for some coffee and talked so late into the night that we were told nicely by the staff that they were closing up. We were going to watch a movie but the nice, comfy chairs in the cafe and our engaging conversation caused us to forget the time...by the time I arrived back at my hotel and slept, it was 11.30pm.

Presentation and Korean Dinner

Not captured really well in the above pic but this was one of the best presentations at the PIA Conference. The above presentation was by a planning consultant from a reputable agency and the presenter hardly spoke but allowed his high quality presentation to speak for itself. It was visually exciting and the various music accompaniment pieces were upbeat and very suitable to the different images being flased on the screen. The presentation included the need to preserve the environment, utilise prime land, and examples of some wonderful planning decisions and ideas.

After the first day of the PIA conference today, I met up with my second cousin (my cousin's cousin) and a long-time friend, Joaquim. We went to Chinatown in Perth and a Korean dinner which was YUM YUM YUM! I usually eat Seoul Garden (a Korean franchise) in Singapore but this was so much superior to Seoul Garden. It was one of the most satisfying dinners I've had and Joaquim was so nice to help cook the beef and vegies, and show me how it's all done. It was good to catch up with her too especially since we didn't have an opportunity to do so when she and I were last in Singapore in December last year.

Some pics of the yummy dinner!

Young Planners Conference at Kings Park

Mabel, the Adelaide planner I mentioned earlier in my post, is on my right.

During the lunch break of the Young Planners Conference held at the beautiful Kings Park (a huge area of land reserved for the public which has great views over Perth), I joined some of the planners for a walk around the Park and to a lookout which had great views of the Swan River and Perth CBD. I was very impressed the Western Australian government had the foresight to reserve that land for the community. It's gorgeous!

More info about Kings Park ---> http://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/kingspark/index.html?Menu=kingspark&Sub=home

Planners are Artists Too

After the Amazing Race event earlier today and then to Subiaco, I attended an opening function at one of the tallest buildings in Perth and met up with a planner (from Adelaide), Mabel, I was introduced to earlier in the day. After the drinks (we were there for about 1 hour), Mabel and I went to the Perth Town Hall to view an art exhibition by Perth planners and there were some beautiful works. Some of my favourite works are shown above.

"Amazing Race"

I ventured around Perth on my own this morning, going to Myer, and some smaller malls. I found one small cafe and had my cappuccino and it was yum! My mood lifted and I was happy to be in Perth!

Then it was a quick trip to my hotel to freshen up before the "Amazing Race" event held at 12.30pm at Victoria Gardens in East Perth organised by the Young Planners.

These are some pics of the adventure my team got up to during the event and we ran pretty much the whole way which was tiring.....pant, pant! My stamina is so bad!

Above: my team members were Mike, Nadia and Nivia, all of them from Perth and they were a fun bunch!

We may have been first but we noticed one team cheated when they didn't cover one station when we were pretty much on their tail most of the way then they suddenly disappeared 3 stations before the end.

I thought East Perth was beautiful!!! The houses there were apparently really expensive though, at least $1 million and they were so compactly packed together - not fun!

After East Perth, we had to travel to Subiaco to hand in our task sheets (some of the photos taken were some of the tasks we had to do) and we went to the Subiaco Hotel there for some drinks. I love one of the lights at the pub there (it looked like an art piece in itself) and I thought how nice it'll look hanging in my house but I'll have to have a 3 metre high ceiling to make that light look good. I didn't take any pic because I didn't want the hotel staff to think I was a terrorist but I regret not doing it...

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!