Finally!! Graduated!

Woo Hoo!!!

Graduated!!!

So now I get to have those 3 letters behind my name.. (if I ever get a business card!!!)

It was very sad that mum couldn't be in the photos tonight. But I'm sure she was there.. cheering me on :)

Photos below..

Cleaning Up

This Easter long weekend has been a cleaning up weekend. Dad's coming back soon and we thought we better do some cleaning otherwise when he comes back, he'll see the same mess and then he'll do the cleaning for us - which we wouldn't want him to because he just chucks everything.

So J & I had to bite the bullet. We did mum's wardrobe.. took some clothes that we could wear (actually found quite a few cool stuff!) and store the rest.. Didn't want to chuck anything away. It was really hard.. Looking at the empty wardrobe just made it more real that mum is not with us anymore.. It was really heart breaking. But we pulled through together and we finished cleaning after 3 hours. I took another few hours cleaning out my own wardrobe so I could fit in all the clothes I took from mum =P My wardrobe looks sooooo clean and tidy now! I even got more space! But no more shopping.. argh. I think I've got enough clothes for the next few seasons...but that's what I say now. I'm sure I'll see something and then want to buy.

The same with the shoes. Inherited a lot of mum's.. but man, I have a lot of shoes!!! I did indulge in a pair of gorgeous Italian-made boots yesterday from DJ's. I would've never splurged that much but I'm sure mum would've approved =) It's about time I move away from the $50 boots or shoes.. and start wearing decent ones! Tee hee Less is more.. Quality not quantity haha Is that enough justification? =)

So now.. cleaning out our CD/DVD collection. Far out.. so much cleaning up! But I think it's a great use of the long weekend because we end up living better and neater and with more space for other stuff haha =)

Productivity

It was quite a productive week for me. I book 6 sessions of training for the first 2 weeks of April which I am a bit scared yet excited about. Scared because I've never led a training session before let alone do SIX of it! Excited because there's another skill I can add!!!

On Fri night we met up with M for bon voyage as he's moving to Japan with family. Known him for 2 years and a few months now. Met him at the start of MBA in a networking session and he was in the first group I was in for MBA and we suffered the whole way through together. He's a great man - shall miss you!! Keep in touch ;-)
Then on Saturday we decided to clean out 7 plants from our backyard. 1 huge willow tree and 6 bougenvillas. They were prickly!!! I got a lot of scars on my legs =( But as you can see, was very proud hehehe Judy's friend joined in so that was good, between the 4 of us we cleared those plants out in 3.5 hours! Not bad not bad..
That's why we're in pain today.... ai yor

Where have I been??

Woah - the last time I blogged was when I got back from the eastern states!!! Man... It's like Feb was a goner haha What did I do in Feb?? Really can't remember...

1. Celebrated CNY
2. Started contract work at Health Dept
3. Tried burlesquercise!
4. Met up with classmates
5. Getting back into exercising

I think that pretty much summed up my Feb.. It was mainly working and catching public transport haha It's annoying the fact that I live so close to work but if I catch public transport, it'd take me 45 mins!!! WTF??

I've always wanted to work in the city but working in East Perth has its downsides.. It's a bit far from the city centre (well takes at least 10 mins to walk quickly!) and then there are no bank branches there... there are some nice cafeterias/restaurants but not as many as city! The novelty of working in East Perth wore off VERY quickly!

My first time working in the public sector has been a very interesting experience. I've been there 6 weeks now and it's amazing how time has flown by. I'm now overseeing a project and getting onto another one. I'm going to work on 2 projects and it's quite scary because I've never really had to do this... except when I had to juggle multiple assignments during the MBA days (which I can't believe I have finished!! Graduation coming up!! Woooo Hoooo!!)

I'm thinking about RIDING to work.. yes you've read it right. RIDING. I'm going to be fiiiitt! I am a bit worried about riding amongst traffic though =( But shall see.. maybe Oppa will ride with me the first few days. I spent like $140 cleaning up my bike... so I really need to make more use of it! =P

Today we went to Mandurah for the crab festival and we managed to eat crabs! The past 2 times we've been, we've always wondered why it's called crab festival if they don't sell crabs!!?? But we got some crabs today but it was a bit messy to eat. What's more annoying, I sat in a small puddle of chili plum sauce! I was wearing white pants too!! Argh!!! Despite that, today was a good weather to be out and about. Wasn't too hot or too cold.. didn't get sunburnt (we packed on the sunscreen of course). Nice day out...

Okie.. here are some pics... I do have a photo from my night out with ex-work mates.. but I promised them that I wouldn't put it on Facebook or my blog.. oh well...

I'm bacccckk!!

Sydney and Melbourne trip was awesome!!!!! My first time traveling with Oppa and attending a wedding that was not in WA haha =P

I can't be bothered writing a lot... lazzyyy just got back last night. I'll do a few highlights..

1. Attending Mikewoahski's sister's wedding. Traditional Jewish wedding is sooooo beautiful! Dancing is a lot of fun too! So festive!!!
2. Eating Taiwan food (finally!!!)
3. Getting dumped by the ocean waves in Manly
4. Going to a Sydney Festival concert
5. Driving campervan around Great Ocean Road in Victoria - my first time "camping!!" Oppa drove most of the way as it is manual.. we did 818km in 3 days!!! The guy was impressed when we returned the car
6. Saw wild koalas on Great Ocean Road - so cute! I almost got run over by speedy cars but heck, the koalas were worth it hehe =P
7. Visiting WJ san in Ballarat - drove from Avalon Airport to Ballarat at night!! I drove too!!!
8. Bumping into Steve from QLD YAD in Melbourne with WJ san!
9. Tramming in Melbourne for free (kekeke)
10.Walking in rain from Crown Casino back to North Melbourne and trying to wave down a taxi
11. Seeing possums and got scared the bejezes out of me in Flatstaff Park
12. Eating and eating!!!
13. Drinking lots of coffee and hot chocolate - Max Brenner and Ko Ko Blacks.. mmmm!!
14. Walking through dark alleys to find a hip night club in Croft Lane...
15. Meeting Oppa's close friends in Syd. All very lovely couples... =)
16. Seeing WJ san drive a manual car!!!!!
17. Jazz in Melbourne... a different band every night!! How awesome!!!

Here are some photos =) Not in chronological order!
I totally loved Melbourne... it's small compared to Sydney but I liked the culture and how each alley way has something hidden like a yummy restaurant, hip bar or a nice boutique coffee shop!!! Mmmmm!!!

Now back to reality =(

Splurge!

I have splurged..... Totally... ever since the Xmas Sale... I've been splurging. J-san splurged first and then I splurged... especially today.. I just went crazy! But I think I've got all what I wanted tee hee hee..

Got a nice dress for Mikewoahski's sister's wedding in Sydney and that'll be for Dazza's too.. I also found nice summer day dresses.. and dinner dresses.. woot woot!!! Oppa was proud that I also bought sports wear hahaha I bought a pair of jeans today for $20!!! Awesome! I love bargains... tee hee But bad for my credit card *sob*

Happy new year everybody!!!

Happy new year everyone!!

We decided to go to Northbridge to celebrate.. but never again!! We literally walked from street party to street party and couldn't find any where with decent music! Argh! And then we missed out on the count down too because the street party we were at did not blardy count down! We only heard the other people count down and then we went.. oh oh! It was definitely an anti-climax!!!!

Despite all that... I still managed to take some photos of the night =)
I can't believe it... it's 2008!!! Another year older.. *sniffles* Horrible!!! Argh!!

A new year, with a new beginning. This year will definitely be a year with lots of new experiences. Quit my job and looking for a new one.. travelling with Oppa for the first time.. going overseas with friends to attend a wedding for the first time.. Woo hoo! Wonder what else is coming!! =)

Oppa and I listed down our new year resolution before we headed out last night. It was good... and I've got it pinned up on the board in my bedroom so I can remind myself every day what I wanted to do. Definitely going to be more health conscientious!!

Puppies galore... Jedi El is coming to stay with us again! Yaaayyyyyy!!! Can't wait!!!! hehe Here is a snap I took of him the last time he came.. sooo cute!!!
Es & Nam got a puppy!! Soooo tiny!! hehe When he's hyper, he just runs around crazily.. it's like a ball of fur bouncing around the house haha
Ok... gotta start the new year fresh.. so now going to clean the house!

Very proud of myself

...I cooked

Even though the soup base came from a packet...
I am still very proud that I made something =P I added my own ingredients and the flavouring. So I still cooked! haha =P
Turned out very nice... was soo happy. J-san was proud of me too =)

J-san's friends came over on Mon night and they brought their puppies. SOOO cute.. this one is still young (6 months) and it was running around the house like it was on red bull. Compared to Jedi El, this one is hyperactive!!!! And we think it thinks it's human. Look at the way it sits on the chair!!!
It looks like it was very comfortable hehe When I was taking photos, it just sat there and waited for me haha Not like Jedi-El.. he hates photos and so I can never get a decent photo. This puppy here, just sooooo cute an it felt like it knew that I was taking photos and it was more than happy for me to take snaps of it. Show off! =)

Feeling Cultured

Ahhh 9th Dec was WASO in the City. That was really nice.. Felt cultured =) Haven't been to a concert for awhile.. a concert with classical music. I told Oppa that we must set up a "Cultural" fund where we go to concerts or events like musicals/plays/opera every year at least once!!!

Needless to say, it was jam-packed and it was hell to find parking. It was $8 and there was only ONE person receiving the money, and there were 3 queues going towards the same entrance!! How inefficient!!!?? BLardy hell. J-san + I were getting very short tempered!

Despite all that, I still took some photos of the view and enjoyed the music. The music was beautiful and I just love orchestral music! Get goosebumps every time and it's very nostalgic because I can't help to think what would've happened if I continued with my clarinet or piano and go audition for orchestras around the world!!!

There were the usual favourites, Nessa Dorma, Madame Butterfly, Beethoven's Symphony etc.

Here are some shots...

Of the stage... City view in Sepia tone
City view in normal tone
It was such a nice end of the weekend.

We've planned a trip to Syd/Melb in Jan. SOOOOOOOOO excited! Going to visit WJ-san!!! Also meeting up with J-san's friend in Melb, so I've requested her to take us to the best Ramen restaurant ahha =P

Looking forward to 2008, many new things happening!!!

Ugh...

Finally finished MBA.... it was such an anti-climax because I only had assignments this trimester. So there was nothing like... finishing a 3-hour exam and feel the huge sense of relief afterwards.. It was more like.. send email and then get an email from group member saying they've handed it in..

*shrugs*

Soooooo.. normal!!!! Oh well... The important thing is that I finished!! yaaay!!! Now just wait for the graduation to come =)

Last night was the long awaited for Meltdown Party at Perth Yacht Club. All my MBA buddies went so that was really good.. I had a bit too much white wine to drink though and totally embarassed myself. Aii Yorrrrr. My friends (if they still want to be my friends after last night's ordeal) were soooo tolerant with me. Gawrsh.. I will never touch any sort of wine ever again. They're nasty stuff! I better stick with my hard liqueur =P

On the way home, I was working SOO hard not to barf coz it was my friend's noiiice car and it was his first time being my DD... gawrsh.. I think that'll be his last time too hahaha Oppa wasn't pleased when I told him my "wild" night =p I got home, J-san was waiting up for me (thanks honey!) and I just clonked out on the bed, with make-up and contacts... after I had a conversation with God using the big white telephone (aka toilet). Aiii yorrr

I didn't even take any photos!! Argh!!! I brought my digi but didn't take any snaps *sigh* But one good thing got out of the night.. I met a Danish gal.. she's here visiting her friend who studied at UWA for her MBA on exchange. It was really good to hear the tales of Denmark =) There was ONE embarassing moment:I was talking to her for like half an hour and then Dazza came and I tried to introduce them and I totally forgot her name.. Ai yarrr!!! Terrible terrible..

My whole Sat was a write off. Just could not "da han". Did still go out with dad & J-san but boy did I struggle.. aiii yarrrrrr

How many "ai yor" did I write in this blog???

Shame shame shame..

Dedication to Mum

Since my last post.. so much has happened...

This post is in memory of my mum... it is something personal but I some how also feel the urge to share with the universe and just send the message out there... Hopefully mum'll feel it.. where ever she is...

On the morning of 6 Nov, my beloved mummy passed away after 2 years of battling with colon cancer. She passed away peacefully and we were all by her bedside. It was expected but also unexpected at the same time... The Saturday before, the nurse told us it could be days or a couple of weeks tops.. then on 6th, the nurse said it could be that night or even the next few days. It was so quick.. didn't even get to think.. then *bang*

But like what mum said no regrets. We spent heaps of time with her, doing things we haven't done, taken her to places... At least we have lots of fond memories to treasure forever.. good thing I love taking photos too!!!!

It's so sad... It was nice to feel all the love and support from our friends and family. Our house was like a florist within 2 days. We never knew we knew so many people!!! Our rellies (mum's siblings.. bar from a couple) from Taiwan flew in and it was soo nice to have them around. It was almost like a form of distraction.. and also basking in the sea of love really helped with the healing process. We know that we are not alone, our uncles and aunties are still there... Uncles + Aunties who share similar laughs and spirit as mum. It was really comforting...

The funeral was beautiful. Peaceful. Serene. Just the way how mum wanted it. I think it's also going to be the way how I want my funeral to be.... hmm! Remember that guys! =P I think planning the funeral the way it was made it a lot easier on us as well. We had ample time to do other things too.. just taking it easy. Not rush rush... that also gave us time to reflect and deal with our emotions. The normal Taiwan way would probably be a lot of chanting and folding paper lotus and cooking lots. Wouldn't even have the time to feel the loss and the sadness...

Oppa was assigned the task of taking photos on the day. You did a great job! There were many great photos.. but too many of us crying.. *sigh* But you did a great job nonetheless... especially under that circumstance!

During this VERY sad time, it was great to have Jedi El around. He provided a form of consol... it's nice to just sit there and vege out while patting Jedi El. He just sits there and lets you pat him.. and occasionally lick my nose =) He is sooo adorable. Stirring up my desire to get a puppy again! But ai yor.. don't think I can afford to =(


It's interesting how different people deal with their emotions. Some get themselves busy by doing lots of things and take their minds off it.. while theirs just stays in that state and "feel" the emotions... I guess I am the first one which irates my sis a bit because she's the latter one =P Oh well!!

Being the do lotsa things type... After the funeral it was back to business (aka uni and work) for me. Back to full time now.. and I am at the last week of uni!!!! It's kinda sad at the same time that I'll be finishing MBA soon but mum won't be able to be here to attend my graduation. But at least she knew that I was within weeks of completing my MBA....

It's Miss Indepdent time now (Sorry Kelly Clarkson, borrowed your line!) for both me and J-san. It's scary because the bond mum + us shared is just indescribable and the fact that she is not here anymore to be our safety net, fashion consultant, teacher and sounding board.. etc But like what Ajahn Bram said at the funeral, even though the physical body is not here with us, their spirit lives on... so we do what we believe our mum would want to see us achieve in life... live well and do good things.. no regrets!

For our friends and family: Thank you all for your love and support..

For mum... missing you already...

So who's the unco?

.... I am...

Tried to take a photo of the result of my unco-ness but couldn't find our new Sony. Grrrr, dunno where J put it!

Anywayyyyy, how did my unco-ness happen and caused a big carpet burn on my left knee (and I feel a huge bruise coming up)

I was wearing these pair of black baggy work pants and had high heels on. So I rushed around the office the whole morning because I was trying to get everything things done before my boss gives me anymore requests. Rush rush rush. Anyway, the boss is sick so I thought I'd be good to him and get him a cuppa hot water... So I got the mug.. walked quickly into his room and I felt my right heel getting caught onto the bottom of my left pants and BAM...

Next thing I knew, left knee hard impact on the floor and I was holding tightly onto the mug (see how committed I am??) with the water half spilt. I was kneeling in front of my boss' desk. He was on the phone when he heard the "thud". He looked around and saw me on the floor and said, "what are you doing to yourself down there?" and I said sheepishly "I tripped over myself"

HOW EMBARASSING?????

Told it to the designer A and she laughed her head off. Glad to know I provided some sort of entertainment =P

It aches.. oh.. and I don't know how I got the bruise near the knee either!! It was definitely there before I made a fool of myself..

A lil dosage of culture!

During the weekend just passed.. Oppa & I decided to get a bit of culture: be "edumacated" about the Egyptian mummies @ the Art Gallery and watch an Italian comedy film at Cinema Paradiso

The quick visit to the art gallery was not bad... good to see that there were a lot of other people there too! We moved through the exhibition pretty fast because we were running on a very tight schedule. However, I think we did pretty well for the 40 minutes of looking at mummies, all the jars where they store the intestines, lungs etc. But I think that was enough.. I have to say, I got a bit bored after that =P It wasn't like "wooo" and "ahhh" like when we were in the museum in Berlin.. seeing the bust of the supposedly most beautiful woman in the world (and no it's not Cleopatra!)... Nefertiti. I remember how I wanted to be a historian or even an archaeologist when I was in year 8.. I studied one term of The Ancient World and I got hooked. But then my bubble burst when I attended one lecture with J when she did Archeology 101.. yawn fest =P Maybe it got better after 101.. but hey, it didn't get my attention the first time, it never will!!

I'm still interested in the history stuff though. I wouldn't call myself a buff of any significant event.. but I know a bit about things.. I guess... I wish I had subscription to History channel on Foxtel... Blasted Foxtel.. increasing our fees again but no extra benefits.. grrr!!!!

Anyway, I digress...

So after the exhibition, we rushed to see Manuale d'Amore. An Italian film starring the sexy Monica Belluci . She heated up the screen without too much effort!! Sizzle sizzle. There was this scene in the movie.. it wasn't explicit or raunchy. It was sooo erotic and sexy in a sophisticated way..

we were starved after the movie.. quickly flicked through the entertainment book (ahh what would we do without it?!?!).. and decided to try Adelphi @ Parmelia Hilton. It wasn't bad actually.. the Seafood Delight was yummo! Large servings there.. we couldn't finish our chips so we took away.
Food wasn't bad... just we were too greedy and ordered too much =P

I just finished my last ever individual assignment for MBA!!!!! Woo hoo!! What a weird feeling... 2 more group assignments and 1 quiz.. and that's it!! My gawd.. it's soo surreal!!!!! What made it even more surreal was receiving the confirmation letter stating that I am eligible to graduate! Oh my goodness... Mar/Apr 2008 graduation ceremony.. sheesh does time fly by or what????

Oh.. I get to wear a mortar board.. woo hoo! haha

New Gadget!

Woo hoo!!

Our long awaited for new Sony digi camera has arrived!!!!

As well as our new clothes =) Here's a photo of me with the "rewards"... Taken with our new digi!!!
Our new digi also has cool feature where it has touch screen, with ability to have stamps and frame! Awwwesome!!! Annnnd! It's got a smile detection!!! So if you set the target to someone's face and when they start to smile (it has to be a BIG smile) the camera takes the photo!!! How cool is that??

Anyway, below is a photo I've touched up.. It's like a mini-photoshop!
Awweeesommmme! New Toy!!!