Hoku hoku

Curling my hair with a straightener is fun! Aaand, it saves money cos I can curl and straighten with it, no need to buy a curling iron.

Hello! Anyone still reading? Haha.

Did anyone watch The Royal Wedding yesterday? I must say it was quite an entertainment. I didn't give a damn about it and found all the hoo haa quite ridiculous at first. I mean, it's just a wedding why all the excitement? In the TV there were like swarms of people (like ants, when viewed from the top) around the church, it looked almost like a celebration. Well, it is a celebration cos to them it is THE wedding, not a wedding. And I was joking and telling Wk wow if any terrorist wanted to attack the country, this would be the time to do it lol. Just saying.

Honestly, it was beautiful. Not just Princess William's (Kate Middleton) dress, the whole ceremony was, albeit very overwhelming. If it was me I would be so damn stressed and nervous to know that billions of people are watching me and my wedding. 

Something funny to share - someone in my twitter mentioned that while everyone's singing God Save The Queen, it was cute that the Queen just stood there while everyone's singing about her. It would have been funny if the Queen sang "God save me" LOL!

24 April 2011 - Japanese Night!

Easter was last weekend and Maggie and Kai Mun came over. We joined forces and cooked up a storm! Haha. We decided to call it "Japanese Night" and cooked Japanese dishes. Everyone had a role, or I should assigned to a dish to prepare!

Me - Hoku hoku croquette. Croquette is a type of deep friend ball rolled in breadcrumbs, and the ball is made of mashed potato and minced meat. Very interesting! My recipe is from this really funny Youtube cooking video, there he also explains the meaning of Hoku Hoku which is hillarious, I cannot stop laughing everytime I watch it! We also found the Bulldog Sauce in an asian grocery store! It's posing in the picture as well, can you spot it? :D

Maggie - Tempura and curry chicken. The tempura powder we both love is by Nissin. It's the only tempura powder I'll use! So good. The curry mix is actually a Japanese instant curry paste, so easy to make and tastes good too!

Kai Mun - Garlic fried rice. Very easy to make as well. Just fry it with lots of garlic, add some egg and spring onion and seasoning, kao tim.

Wei Kiat - Grilled beef-rolled enoki. This one tastes really good but very tricky to prepare, not forgetting it's also very costly. The marinade and sauce is premade but the rolling step is difficult cos the raw beef is really thin and fragile. Also, you need to have a really sharp knife to cut the cooked rolled beef into bite size  because it is almost impossible to bite the enoki off... if anyone gets what I mean. Go to Sushi Zanmai and order one and try it.

Wei Guan - He's the kitchen helper of the day!

It was quite a fun day. Esther I wish you were there :(

As for life, as usual, it sucks. Like I've mentioned, things aren't as simple as I thought they would be. I will strive, of course. Just like how I'm striving to play well on the violin. Wk and I created this little 'game', where I will have to achieve 24 hours of practice in a week to earn $50, if I don't I'll be fined $50. It's a little motivation to make me practice. So far, I've lost $50. And I've yet to earn back or earn additional $50 cos... I have my ways to not pay haha. But I know that's definitely not the whole point of this game. 24 hours honestly is not a lot considering I am free all the time. Gotta work harder!

Oh one more thing. Thank you to everyone who has been supporting and cheering me up whenever I feel like crap :) You guys are amazing!

Omurice - 14/2/11

I want to be happy being here but honestly, I'm not truly happy. Not because I'm homesick but the endless uncertainties of what lies ahead, of my future. I can't say I don't appreciate the opportunity to be able to be here, to be safe from all the terrible disasters happening to the world, to have someone to hold on to when I crumble and fall, to experience a whole new different way of living and gain new knowledge. But the waiting is slowly killing me already. And my practice progress hasn't been very rewarding. I practise frequently, setting targets which I managed to achieve, some of it, but I find myself constantly getting frustrated and demotivated to a point where I would break down and cry. Life isn't as simple, things don't work out as easy. If I want to, I could just call back and ask my dad to send me some money so that I can enrol into schools and study. But the last thing I want to do is to give my parents more burden. There are so many casual jobs waiting to be grabbed, I'm even fortunate enough to have one reader of blog who stays here offer me job opportunities but the thing is I can't take any, yet. I'll have to wait. Not wait for the day to come, that would have been so damn easy. But wait for someone important to say yes. Many people think it's a good thing to be able to go to another country and work and live. They don't know what I had to give up to come here, and in the end not get what I first expected. Many people think my life is so easy because I basically don't have to do a single thing like waking up at 7am and go to work, or pay bills. They don't know how I'm feeling inside, they don't. They don't know the things I sacrificed back at home just to come here, and have absolutely nothing but hope. They don't know about the fear and the tears I cry. When I hear people tell me "I want to have your life" all I can do is smile and feel like crap inside.

Yesterday I made Omurice, which is a Japanese version of Malaysia's Nasi Goreng Pattaya. Omurice = Omelette + Rice. The difference is, Omurice has Tomato Ketchup drizzle and tomato fried chicken rice, while Nasi Pattaya has chilli sauce drizzle and regular fried rice with crappy mixed vegetables and sometimes a little bit of chicken. Everything turned out great until the egg wrapping part and transferring it onto a plate. It was so difficult because my pan was flat and not big enough to make an omelette big enough to wrap the rice completely. Nevertheless, I'm quite happy with the result.

What's for dinner?

At almost the end of yesterday I had the most excruciating backache ever. The kind where you just want to squat down, burry your face in between your knees and curl yourself like a ball. Or prawn, as how I usually like to say it.

I figured it's because the day before I was practising for about 6 hours or more and I was standing all the time. Not that I practised 6 hours continuously without breaks cos I can never do that, but for what I remember I was standing all the time. And then yesterday we went to DFO which required quite some walking. While inside DFO of course we walked again. When we were walking towards Ying Thai for dinner the pain was slowly building already and the cold weather only made the pain 10 times worse.

Lesson learnt. Don't ever practise for such long hours without sitting down eventhough I wasn't tired. It'll only strain my back and I'll have to pay for it later.

Thankfully I had someone to give me free back massage ♡ Not pro but better than nothing! :)

I feel a little 'crippled' without having a camera around :( Thought of purchasing a charger from Sony out of desperation but it's AUD 89 dammit so expensive. Now I'll have to ask someone to send it to me and I guess the worst part of it is waiting haihh. Meanwhile, I'll have to abuse Wk's iPhone since my phone's camera sucks.

Here are pictures of some of the meals I cooked. I don't claim to be or in anyway think I'm a good cook but I just find them picture worthy. So that someday in the future I can read and look back at old posts and say "Wow I actually cooked that crap!" Lol. Joking.

This was actually really simple to do. Wk found the lamb shank recipe online and all I had to do was to follow the recipe. Wk did the mash which was really creamy and buttery mmm... There's no specific recipe to it. Just cook some potatoes, mash it, add butter, salt, pepper and milk until you like the taste. I think he added some rosemary to it... which he adds to most things he cooks wtf I don't know why.

It was one of the first few meals we cooked so at that time, we didn't have a dining table so we had to sit around these boxes to eat hahahah!

My favourite thing to cook is my own version of cheese omelette! Super easy as well. And the meatballs are actually my 2nd time making them. They didn't taste as good at first but after keeping them in the fridge for a few days and reheating them, they somehow tasted a lot better! Which is weird.

Salmons sold here are really fresh.

This was our brunch one day. Ok I just noticed my 'pancakes' has a typo haha. The pancake mix we got is from The Pancake Parlour which some of you by now may already know that it's one of my favouritest place to eat at lol. The mix is really easy to use and tastes really good as well!

Instead of Marmite, we have something called Vegemite over here which I assume is the exact same thing. I heard Australians eat Vegemite with bread for breakfast. Wtf I can't imagine the taste but I'm curious, I might try it one day. 

We made Bah Kut Teh one Friday night and invited Maggie and Kai Mun over for dinner. It was pretty good but we forgot to add fu zhuk and tau pok. And fish maw. and abalone wtf I'm joking. I made a REALLY huge pot of the soup cos I used 2 packets of the herbs and it asked for 3 litres of water for each. Lol. In the end we kept the extra soup in the fridge but after 2 days it turned into this brownish black jelly consistency hahaah. I know technically it still can be consumed by just reheating but blehhhh. We threw it away already.

Ok that's all the pictures I have so far. Need to grab some stuff out from the freezer for dinner tonight. Byeee.

Farewells and such

As some of you may have already know, (in ascending volume as you say it) the internet conNECTION FINALLY CAME IN!

It took the company almost a freaking month to come and fix it I tell you, it's so frustrating and they only  decided to send someone after we started calling them every. single. day. litereally. Pfffft.

Today I just wanna put up a few pictures of meetups and gatherings before I left! I miss everyone badly :( 

This was at The Bee, Jaya One. Aaaah Jaya One, our third home during days in UM. Midvalley being the second haha. These are some of my most favourite people whom I have very fortunately met when I was studying at UM. We all come from different backgrounds, studied different courses but we share the same passion for art, and we talk about and laugh at the same crap!

A group shot with everyone! All pictures were taken using Adelle's iPhone and here I was trying not to laugh too hard because in our first shot we all stared into the Apple logo instead of the camera lens! LMAO. And then someone pointed out "WHO STARED AT THE APPLE!" and all of us were like "Er..... fuck hahahahahahaha!" And decided to retake.

Cat was supposed to be there but she couldn't make it in the end cos she had to work on her Masters thesis =( Cat if you're reading this I didn't forget you ok! 

During Chinese New Year my dad decided to hold his company dinner as always. I remember how last year he told me to invite any one of my friends cos one person couldn't make it at the very last minute but the dinner would still be charged since it was reserved so in the end Esther went haha. This time he told me to invite a few of my friends and I can do it together with his dinner as my farewell. 

And he told me to invite my 'good' friends and not 猪朋狗友 which directly translates to 'pig and dog friends' LOL. 

When I told Esther who else I invited -the guys particularly- she said "I don't feel that special anymore" Hahahah! Don't be silly Esther! Your status cannot be compared to them ok! ♡

Thank you so much everyone for coming! It meant a lot to me. Would you look at Wai Tuck and his wine bottle? *shakes head*

Oh. This one isn't exactly a farewell-ish type of picture but I'll include it anyway since we three look so cantik ♡♡♡

This year's Valentine's Day Maggie was back so we decided meet up and have a threesome! Ok probably not your typical threesome. We dined at Chilis in Empire Shopping Gallery right after I finished working. The night was short but fun as always ;)

Do you want some aiskrim potong jagung? This is straight up from the corn itself ahahahahhahah! 

And then here's a picture of one of my violin students. She wanted to take a picture with me in our last class (T_T) so I took one for myself too. And then she gave me this letter she wrote in fancy paper, nicely rolled up and tied with fancy strings. I read it after she left eventhough she told me to read it when I get home haha. I was bored cos the next student was absent and I was really curious. And then I couldn't stop crying for a while T_T 

She told me when she first started learning under me she was 'afraid' of me cos my hair was blonde and I look really strict hahahaha. 

And lastly, pictures taken in the airport.

I really really really miss home :'(

No really, a smile detector is my camera. There really is a function like that. And you gotta smile quite widely for it to detect before it automatically captures.

Thank you guys for coming all the way to send me off! :)))

Aaand my sister is not looking.

Ok that is all for the people. When my hair was still in its full glory. Now it has turned into this ordinary, rusty copper shade. And I still see pink foam in my shower. Red hair seriously isn't for everyone especially when it comes to maintenance. But I really like it! If I get to go back to Malaysia I might wanna do it again.. haha.

We've gotten almost everything we need in the apartment besides small storage systems. I tell you we went to Ikea like 5 times in 5 weeks, I'm beginning to get sick of it. I'm glad all the bigger things are here for example our bed (amitabha!), dining table (no more dining at the coffee table) and a bookshelf to temporarily store all our junks.

Ok time to shower, make some coffee and do some research on stuffs.

It's 14 degrees tonight

It's been three weeks since I had internet to use. Never thought I'd be able to survive this long haha. Sorry I'll reply all comments once I have Internet. The only time i get to come in touch with the internet is when Wk is back from work, i get to use his phone to get online but trust me it's not fun at all doing so much of typing using an iPhone... Or any phone actually.

We've gotten about 70% of our furnitures in. We got a really cozy couch with bright red covers, a dark brown timber finish coffee as well as dining table, a queen size mattress (which was really expensive btw, I never knew mattresses were that expensive but if it's something we're gonna sleep on everynight for the years to come it's obviously netter to invest on a good one) and a small desk cos our room can't fit a bigger one.

Just yesterday we got some new (really nice!) dinnerwares and towels. The apartment is starting to look and feel homely.

I made meatballs today. My second time. The first time I made them I had to tweak a little from the recipe cos I didn't have most of the ingredients. Turned out pretty good. I got curious and decided to make them again this time using what's asked for since the kitchen now is more well stocked than before. They're all nicely arranged in a tray kept in the fridge, waiting to be cooked! I just need one fine day to cook them...

Tomorrow we're going to the market to pick up some fresh vege and meats and whatnot. The fridge is still lacking on those.

Today's my dad's birthday and I really miss being home. Usually there'll be a cake and during the night everyone will gather and sing a birthday song and eat cake together. If it's our parents' birthday it'll be either one of my siblings or my job to get a cake. This time, my brother's in the UK, my sis's in Sabah, and I'm obviously here in Melbourne. My other sister obviously can't buy a cake by herself. I called back earlier and was told that they just had dinner and my parents and my sis were going out to get a cake.

Hearing that I don't know if I should be happy that at least they still have my sis around, or sad that nobody bought the cake for my dad.

Sorry this is getting emotional again. I'm of course glad that everyone's doing fine. I promise I will be fine too.

It's been while hasn't it?

We've just moved away from the city to somewhere slightly off the city. It's a quiet place called Kensington. Not the most beautiful views around but it's peaceful and most importantly its affordable.

I haven't had access to the Internet ever since we came here except for Wk's phone which has a limit so I can only do quick browsing through my emails. Even right now I'm using his phone. It's a Sunday and we're pretty much lazing around so I felt like updating.

We were fridge-less and washing machine-less for a week but thank goodness it all came in yesterday so I now at least have a little more things to do for example cook. We got a pretty nice stainless steel fridge and a washing machine/dryer which dry cleans! Expensive but we figured in the long run it'll be useful anyway.

What's missing now are lots of furniture. The apartment still looks quite like a wreck with gigantic ripped boxes everywhere (fridge's and washer's) and unopened boxes cos there aren't proper spaces to store them yet.

I haven't been able to speak to anyone on Skype for a week now. I wonder how's everyone.

It's a public holiday tomorrow, Labour Day. We can only call the Internet company on Tuesday. I hope something will work out by then.

That's about it for now. Oh, which idiot moves to another country without bringing her camera's charger and transfer cables? That's right, me. I thought Wk has it so I was trying to cut down some weight (yeah like it's gonna be a lot of difference... I know) but he actually gave his camera and everything else to his parents cos he thought I was going to have it.

My camera's out of battery now and his laptop doesn't have a card reader. Nice.

Plans

So a number of you have been asking me, or must be wondering what the heck am I going to do, leaving everything behind coming here to restart my life. 

The main reason I decided to come here is of course to end my long distance relationship with Wk. It's been 4 years and enough is enough. There's only that much a girl can handle. It was difficult but of course I'm glad we made it. I'm glad we both had faith, had plans and were looking forward to that day to come. Let's put it this way; he got a job and it's either he stays here and work and I come, or he rejects the offer and goes back to Malaysia and I can stay within my comfort zone. 

We had wanted to be together and of course had wanted a better future and here is where we imagined it to be. Shallow or childish, I don't care whatever anyone wants to say because your opinion doesn't matter. This is us and for us. Things happened, a golden opportunity was given to us, it's either we grab it now or never be offered again.

Also another reason is well... I needed a solution to being stuck at my dad's place. I've been wanting to stop working there but just couldn't figure out how. After graduating I was only working part time and it's because I wanted to have more time to practise and prepare for my Master studies application. I have to submit an audition CD which isn't something that can be done in a day or even a month. It's a long story but all in all, I just wanted more time to polish my skills and be better before I apply to study for Masters. 

Of course wanted to come to Melbourne to study because why not? Wk is here. It's the only way (at that time) that I could think of to come here and let us be together, and at the same time do what I really want to do which is to learn to play the violin professionaly. 

But my dad couldn't understand and insisted that I needed to have a full time job. And that was how I ended working for him. He didn't force me but he is my father and he needed help anyway with his business, since I was free I decided it's ok to spare a few days to help him eventhough I was reluctant to. 

I know some of you would say "just say no if you didn't want to". I can only tell you, it's easier said than done.

And a few working days became all the days I'm not teaching. My plan to practise when I'm free was crashed. I was staying with him, there's no way I could sternly tell him I don't want to work for him. I wanted to move out, but its not practical and I couldn't afford to anyway. And I couldn't bring myself to do it cos even if I move out I'll be taking the car and he bought me that car so I feel like I owe it him. In fact I owe everything to him so I feel the responsibility to help him whenever I can.

That's when I slowly see the future I planned distancing away. If I continue to work at my dad's place, I can never ever be able to be better at playing the violin, I can never ever get to go back to studying. I will probably be in LDR for the next few years. It's depressing everytime I think about this. 

Which is the ultimate reason I decided that I had to leave, if I had the opportunity to. I could stay, but I don't see myself doing what I want to do. I see myself chasing away my dreams, and I see myself crying everynight when I think of what the fuck I was doing to my life.

I'm not saying I wanted to leave because I couldn't stand my dad. It isn't. I feel that as long as I'm at home facing him, it's my responsibility to help him whenever I can eventhough I know I have my rights to say no. I know it's selfish to just leave, but I have my dreams too. And I'm immensely grateful that he didn't say no, he gave me his blessing to move to another country and offered to help me if I ever needed it. It breaks my heart but it's now or never, I had to make my decision. My dreams, or the responsibility which only exists in my conscience.

For the past few years my parents was seeing me staring at my laptop screen talking to Wk on Skype. Now it's as though I got sucked into the laptop, into the other side of the world and my parents now have to talk to me on Skype. But I guess it's just part and parcel of life. I'm glad I don't have to burden them with anything right now and I'm more glad that our relationship has gotten better if compared to the past. It's true, you never know what you have until it's gone. I never know how much I meant to them, as well as how much they meant to me until I left.

So as much as I want to come here, it also hurts me that much to leave my family but in life you just can't have it all. I really hope this is for the best.

So the question again, what am I going to do here.

For the first 3 months, because of the visa I'm holding now, I'm not allowed to work. I can't do much right now cos we're moving really soon (in a few days) and everything's all packed so I can't cook. I wanted to practise but there's too many people in the house and it'll be incosiderate to do so.

I still have plans to study which was why I was having violin lessons like crazy before I left. I want to come prepared before approaching violin tutors here. 

I will of course get a part time job. What jobs would I do? I think it's not up to me anymore as this is not Malaysia, I don't have choices. I'll take whatever comes as long as it's not ridiculous in terms of working hours and pay. 

I'm hoping to be able to afford violin lessons and maybe, apply to study Masters part time since it is what I really wanted to do - to study while I still can and want to. International students can only study full time, with a PR we're allowed to do part time. I'm hoping I can earn enough to support myself.

Right now in these 3 months, all I can do is practise whenever I can. And do chores of course lol.