Glebe

Thats Clar grinning with a heaven of Accessories at the Glebe Market.

Today is an outing day. We have planned for a half day 'exploration' tour around the Broadway area. We got up at 1030 i think... and had a light breakfast at home. We went to the Uni Fisher Library to borrow some books for Clar's reaseach essay on Cannabis. That did not take long at all.

I was brought to Glebe market. You can find 2nd hand treasures, Brand new clothings, private labels and of coz Food! all within a primary school grounds. I think that place is soo much more for the ladies, well, when it comes to shopping... why am i not surprised. I was just a little fascinated because i have yet to go to a 'thieves market' in Melbourne. I thought Dixon Recycled was full of cheap records, but Glebe has loads of unwanted records going for low low prices. I had wanted to buy some rare novelties but Clar stopped me, come to think about it, it is quite a waste of money for them. We kinda got lost within the marlet place, you need to have some system of walking around so that you will cover every store and not miss out on any of them. We came across a Hong Konger who makes handbags, evenings bags in the market but she works in the city during the weekdays. her private label is really cool. Anyway, we didnt have our lunch there, Clar had a better place in store for us. We took some pictures at the small grass lawn with a jazz duo playing under the Autumn sun. We left Glebe, she bought herself a rose hair band and I got a pair of sunnies.

Lunch was at Golden Fang.. a chinese cafe across Broadway. If you think Melbourne's Rose Garden's portion was a lot, try this one. The portion of rice in golden fang is like 1 and a half times more than that of Rose's. We both had to share a plate of brasied beef on rice. After lunch, we went over to Broadway shopping mall and bought all the ingredients needed for tonight's Carbonara. As much as i would love have a longer day of outing, we both had to head home to get more work done. It is already 4pm.
I made Carbonara for dinner... and it turned out well, which i am very glad about it. We continued with work after dinner. Our plans to have deserts at Darling Harbour was postponed to tommorrow due to Clar's workload. It is alright.. I hung around to watch some tele. We got soo tired of studying and cooped up in the room, so decided to stroll along King St. You may think that only Pubs were open, but bookshops were open till late. I got 2 books @ a dollar each to keep me company during my train ride home. As usual, pizza from Istanbul while walking back to the hostel. A well balanced day of Fun and Work and Food...

Sydney University

Thats the big soccer field outside the School Of Physics in University of Sydney. People come to this wide open space for picnics during the weekends. Check out the grand buidling on the top left corner, that leads to the Qudrangle.

Its a Friday and I cant sleep in today. I woke up early to have breakfast with Clar at the Serve. She used her credits to purchase items there. We each got a muffin.. i chose the sausage one while she had the bacon in between. It wasnt good... i think the sausage was a little stale. She had to rush off to Uni for classes. As for me, back to the room to complete my Assignment. I had to get it mailed over to KerHui. I completed it in time and was already dozing off by noon. Clar got back at 2 and we went down to the serve for lunch. (im figuring out if i could post 2 pictures in one entry.. hmm)
We had yellow rice with vegetable curry... eggplant parmesan and grilled fish w/ soy sauce. Everything was edible.. except that the fish was too salty, very very salty. We did not do much in the afternoon, just looking forward to Charmaine's birthday party later in the night.

Headed down to chinatown for dinner. Wow! chinatown was bustling on a friday night!! We went to SuperBowl restaurant, apprrently it seemed to be the only resaurant with a queue. When we got there, I saw lots of people at the entrance and thought we had to wait for a table. Well, i just walked up to the waiter and mentioned that there was 2 of us, he just pointed to an empty table without giving me any queue number. I felt lucky that night. There were couples waiting in line. Dinner was of good quality, combination rice cake and pomfret/prawn dumpling noodles. After filling up our tummies, we took a stroll around Darling Habour, shot some pictures of the night lights and pretty much just enjoying the view and company.
Then I had a craving for ice cream... those at the food court didnt appeal to me, i was specifically looking for the Colombos ice cream. It's about time to walk back to Newtown for Charmaine's party. While walking through the streets, we came across Baskin Robbins. Yes!! Thats my ice cream... and we chose chocolate fudge and berry strawberry, common but not so common flavours. The walk back took half an hour.

Brought a 6-pack to Charmine's place and filled up the 'pool'. The house was dimly lighted, the lamp was covered with pink art paper, looking like a whorehouse. The Singapore flag was proudly hung up on the wall, thumping house music was in the background... it was a really social night. Got to know many of her mates and didnt take long for me to warm up to them. Socialising had to come to an end eventually, took a 5mins walk back to the hostel. Our night isnt over yet, it is laundry night. It costs a dollar less ($3) to do your laundry after midnight. I think it is cheap.. $3 for a load of 7kg, but who has 7kg of clothes to wash at one time? Well, not me. While waiting for the clothes to be done, I got hungry.... guess where i went? Thats right, Istanbul, for a pizza.... Feeling satisfied, Clothes Washed, Am Clean, Time to Sleep.

Arrival Sydney

I planned for this trip 2 months ago. I just jumped into the opportunity of being able to fly to Sydney at a pretty low price on Jetstar. The day came today.. and I was filled with much excitement.
Well, fellow readers could take some notes on travelling tips here. You can find the information easily from the internet anyway. My lectures ended at 3pm today and I headed home to get myself ready for the night journey. I walked to Hotel BakPak on 167 Franklin Street at about 545pm, to wait for the shuttle to Avalon Airport. The bus departed from Franklin at 610pm. I was the only one who boarded from there. The main wave boarded the bus from Spencer St Station. That is an alternative from Franklin pick-up. I reckon the shuttle is cheap for a really convenient and fast ride to Avalon Airport, costing only $14. The bus shuttle from the city to Tullamarin Airport costs $13. So the bus departs from Spencer at 630pm.

The bus ride to Avalon took only 45mins. It was a pretty warm day, but it was drizzling a little when I got to Avalon. I checked in early, at about 720pm. My flight was scheduled at 850pm. I have already prepared myself for waiting time, that is why i have borrowed the XMen Movie comics and 2 Asterix from Rowden White library earlier in the day. I got hungry, i was thinking of grabbing a good bite when i reached Sydney, but my stomach was growling. Got myself a Ham n Cheese croissont.. nothing special, just something to fill my tummy. The plane took off on time and arrived at Sydney domestic airport T2 as scheduled at 10pm.

After collecting my backpack from the conveyeur, i gave Clar a call and arranged a meeting place, which is at he Central bus stop. A very distinct bus stop near Mercure hotel. Travelling in Sydney was expensive, it costs me $11 to take a train from the domestic terminal to Central station, and the ride was only 15mins.
It was wonderful to see Clar again after 1 month. She hasnt change, just perhaps her hair had grown longer. We boarded the bus and headed for Sydney Univeristy Village, Newtown. We got off on King St and took a short walk to her hostel. Her room was close to double of mine!! How envious man!! I put down my bags and she treated me to my first snack in Sydney... Lamb Kebab Roll from Istanbul (This will not be the last time you hear of this place).
Beautiful company, Full snack and a Warm bath to end the day. She had to wake up early for school tommorrow, as for me, I am not sleeping in, I have my Audit Assignment to complete!!

Sperm Bank

This is Australia's first listed Sperm Bank.
It has account options for all ages.
A zero-fee scheme for Students. We also have experienced consultants to aid you
if you are intending to open a Retiree account with us.
Auto deposit machines and offices are available in all major cities and suburbs.
"Which Bank?"

--( this shot is courtesy of Noel. He came across this sticker at a local Commenwealth Bank ATM. This is not some photoshop artwork )

Krabs

When was the last time I had Finger Licking Chilli Crabs?? It must have been close to a year back... wait, in fact a little more than a year. It was my last summer vacation back home. Today wasn't the usual luncheon with my friends in the city after Church. I was being invited to Noel's humble domain... that chef cooked Chilli Crabs for us!! (Yes Noel.. the moderator and contributor to my 'Recipe' link) Christine was invited to the luncheon too! Alison was there and I got to meet his other two houssies.

Back to the crab.. so what is the other dish which we can't do without when eating chilli crabs? Not rice... and i believe you chilli crab fans guessed it right. 'ManTou'!! To reduce the hassle of deep frying, Noel had them steamed.. but still wonderfully good (thats such an understatement). He is not going to reveal the recipe up on the blog, I would understand that... but I discovered a secret ingredient, and let me share it with you... Its Black Beans. And that is all i know.
That sneaky fella woke up really early in the morning to prepare this dish for us, he woke his houssies up while trying to 'decapitate' the crabs. But is all worth it. The dish turned out deliciously well and the conversations over lunch were very entertaining too! I am looking forward to another 'crab' date..
Thank you once again... its a Beautiful Sunday!!
--Krusty Krab

Just Have to Let U Know...

It's a happy day, let's thank God for the weather!
Today the 19th of April and i am super happy . When? Only after my bio quiz at about 2.20pm. Why? when i found out i scored 6 out of 8 for it!!! Hmm.... u people out there must be thinking "HUH?" 6 out of 8 and u are contented??? Well let me explain. Coming from a "no bio" background, 6 out of 8 is really good. For the past 2 weeks, i have been scoring only 4 out of 8, after studying so much. Every sunday and monday, i will spend my time stressing out and studying bio just for this stupid weekly quiz.

So as for today at 2pm, when i was standing outside lab 302, i was telling myself ,"kae, i can do it, just 5 and i will happy!" but to my delight i got 6. YIPEE . I was feeling so good man.....even though my other group members got 7s and 8s. After bio lab, i was feeling so good that i had to tell someone.....and i called my baby and my sister too. . hehe.

Well it's over for this week, but this comin sunday and monday the whole cycle will repeat itself again. Hopefully next week i will get 7!

-- courtesy of Clarrie

Wait.. Waiter.. Waitering

A Start to an exceptionally busy week. I am not going to drag on telling how much work and tests at the end of the week, because I am not just the special one handling all that. There are thousands of students in the University, millions of students around the world, many of close friends juggling their assignments as well. A personal mental note - I Dont Believe In The Word 'Stress', I will get through it regardless. Moreover I have a very special trip to look forward to next weekend.

Just to share with you, I went for an interview for the position of waitering at a really cosy restaurant on Thusday last week. It sells malaysian cuisine and western deserts. It has warm lights casting down over the small floor space which seats only about 20 patrons. My first impression of it was very positive. So, I was hoping for a try-out this coming week. I did not receive a call from them over the weekend.
Yes, I was getting a little anxious because I would like to start on a casual job soon to secure a position somewhere to earn some dough if (most probably) while waiting for my permanenet resident application. On the other hand, I am pretty selective about the place i want to work in. I have to get that 'Beggars cant be Choosers' mentaility in me.
In order to get some information about how the selection is going on with them, I called the back-office manager (who wasn't my interviewer) this morning. So i just called to inform him that, IF i were to be shorlisted, I will be unable to work on Wed because i end classes at 6pm. So, we chatted a little, and kindof found out that they have chosen 3 applicants for try-out this week. A little disspointed i must say. But on the positive note, they interviewed applicants last Wed & Thurs, perhaps they might try-out the later applicants in the later weeks, I must keep my hopes up.
In the meantime, I would wait for waitering, and definitely have to keep focused on the core subjects this week.
Job Hunting again will go next week -- Yoda

Body Wash

This is a very decent entry. It is not one which describes how you should be washing your body. Or how i can provide a comfortable therapeutic washing on your body.

It started way back during my Easter week break. I was out shopping with Clar, oh well, the retail therapy was mostly done by her, I was shopping for my toiletries more likely. Specifically for my body wash ( a particular brand and fragrance). "Health Basics Aloe Vera Body Wash Sorbolene" and it has to be the pink one.
First stop, Safeway Queen Victoria in the city: We found "Health Basics Aloe Vera Body Wash Sorbolene" but it was the green one. It did not appeal to me and so i did not buy it. When i first got here in Melb, i bought 3 bottles from PriceLine and it lasted me for about 1-n-half years (the last drop was squeezed out 4 days ago). And so PriceLine came to mind.
Second stop, PriceLine Bourke St. Again, the green one was on the shelves (there must be a reason that the green ones are left on the shelves and the pink ones are sold out---- I have a good taste in body wash). "Self praise is an international disgrace". Then we came across this promotion corner (more like a stock clearance spot), there were 1ltr Health Basics products on discounts. Since the pink ones are out, i would have to settle for the next best alternative. So i did, i chose the "Vit C n Ginger with Apricot Oil". It was really sweet smelling, fruity as well... quite feminine i must say. It had "New Value Pack" across the plunger bottle. It must be a new concept that they have the plunger bottle now (because the previous one acts like a hanging soap dispenser) I purchased it.

As i was saying, i refilled the dispenser with the new soap 4 days ago when my previous batch of body wash finished. I was really excited with this new smell.... So i did my usual, squeeze for my soap when i bathed. It turned out runny.. and it wasnt like the previous one which was creamy. So i thought, must be a new product or formula Health Basics has been improving on.
On the 2nd night, the excitement of the new soap still is within me, this time i tried it with a scrub. Surprisingly, no lather came out of it... this is getting strange, im beginning to feel that I am not bathing right and I will be feeling dirty if this goes on, considering that i bought 1ltr of this soap. I got out of my showers, opened the cabinet and read the label.. "Aloe Vera Dry Skin Relief Intensive Moisturiser" ... my thoughts went "WHAT??" Was I reading correctly? Still doubting what i just read, i turned to the back and read the finer prints.. "To be used in conjunction with Health Basics Body Wash" and that confirmed by stupidity. Why didnt i notice it when i bought it?? Why didnt Clar point out to me? We must be so blur.......

I had to find my body wash!! Out of convenience, I walked past Safeway Carlton 2 nights ago, with no expectation to find the pink one (since stock has already gone out at the previous 2 stops), I was looking for a different brand altogether.
TADAH!!! I found 5 refill bottles of the pink one!!! I was really extremely, beyond words of description, Overjoyed!!!!! I cant believe it!!!! I found 5 bottles there!!! I bought 4 bottles, leaving the last one for another soul who has 'good taste' like me. This batch of body wash (I am 100% sure this time) will last me for another 2 years i guess. So i learnt my lesson: Read the Labels properly, dont get blinded by the Sale!!
I did not realise that i had written so much, just to tell you about my body wash.
The next time you see me... Smell Me!!!

Baby's Second Step

I havent been blogging for the past..... 3 weeks?? Or has it been a month since the Almond Jelly post. Anyway, the time stamp at the bottom will tell.
I had quite a few sad moments, but more happy humourous thoughts for the past couple of weeks. I thought i should share with you fellas. So, this day on, this blog has now turned into a page of 'anything goes'. I will still continue to post events which i have been to, but the recipes will be posted on a different blog site shared by Noel, Pat and Me. That blog is linked from here, named 'Recipes' duh?!?!

I know my very 'first steps' was not to start an online diary but I felt like there are times and hilarious situations which i need to share with you fellas. So I have kinda change the theme of this blog. You will still be able to read interesting postings of events, poems, criticisms, jokes on me... and my stupidity maybe?!
Sit back, get Turned on... I mean turn on your music and enjoy the melodies, the words i blog is for you to see!