On turning 20 something

Do I look like a Korean? =D I thought they look quite cute so I asked for a pair of powerless geeky glasses from Korea when Maggie travelled. 

So we went to Squires Loft Steakhouse on my birthday. But we didn't have steak cos we wanted to eat their lamb scotch fillet which I ate once and really liked, and their pork spare ribs which Maggie recommended. Both were really good! If you wanna have some nicely done red meat, Squires Loft will not disappoint. However, I think Meat & Wine Co. makes better chips so I'd say if you were to pick either baked potato or chips, get baked potato. The chips are forgettable. Their meats are good enough on their own so you can do with our without their sauce, which you'll have to pay for anyway. Also tried the baked mushroom and feta,  quite similar to gratin. Quite nice but quite salty.

I wore this Topshop Fit & Flare Tunic, it's black but it has multicoloured metallic fibre all over which is not visible in this picture. And wore my new heels which almost killed my feet. We boarded on the wrong tram which went the wrong way so we had to get down to catch another tram. But we waited really long and there wasn't any tram and we were running late for our reservation so we decided to walk there. Freaking 1 kilometre. IN THOSE 4 INCHES HEELS. I was cursing and cursing and cursing, and then Wk decided to buy me bag to shut me up lmao.

Got some presents from some amazing friends! =D

When I was at Kit with my friends I was telling them how good this body scrub smelled and I was about to get it but because it was kinda pricey for a body scrub, I decided to put it in my wishlist. One of them got it for me! Aaaaaah it smells so good! Smells like caramel + maple syrup!

Yes an apron! One day my friend asked me if I wear an apron when I cook. I told her I wanted to get an apron but because aprons here are not cheap, I have to put it on hold. (I know, nothing is cheap in Melbourne) And they got one for me! And this apron is so freaking cute ok! It comes with a hand towel with velcro loop, and there's a velcro hook on the apron. So you can actually attach/detach the hand towel to/from the apron. How handy! You can't see it in the picture, but the piece of cloth I'm holding out, that's the hand towel. So when your hand's filthy, just wipe it on the hand towel. No need to dirty the entire apron. I don't know what you can put in an apron pocket... a mobile phone maybe hahahaha.

Another awesome gift from some of my friends - kitchen organisers from kikki.k! More about it later. I always keep recipes, plan my meals and have a shopping list whenever I do grocery shopping. And they got me a recipe organizer, magnetic meal planner and magnetic shopping list! My friends know me inside out ♡♡♡ I used to print a schedule to plan my meals and stick it on the fridge with scotch tape. I also have a regular shopping list pad but it's not magnetic. Now not only do I not need to print, I don't even need to stick. It's magnetic, and the shopping list is right next to it. Handy maximus!

 

I was looking for a new pencil case so about 2 weeks ago I decided to pop into kikki.k and have a look, and I fell in love with these 2 items. The charcoal felt pencil case and the 2012 Botaniska planner. Which then Wk decided to buy them for me for my birthday! =D Look at the emoticons which indicate mood and weather of the day, how cute!

kikki.k is a Swedish lable which designs stationaries and home/office objects. Think ikea design (Swedish too) but in stationary forms. Er... no flat-packing though lol. Their designs are basically simple, elegant and thoughtful. It's one of my favourite places to go to whenever I need stationaries or organisers.

On the same day after our dinner, my parents called me and wished me too. My dad said, "all the best blessing. happy birthday . sour 1st sweet later.owe u a present" lol =')

If any contributor of the presents are reading this, once again thank you! xoxo

Hello December

Feels unreal looking at how time passed so quickly. Feels like it was just yesterday when I first came to Melbourne, feels like it was just yesterday when I cried and bid everyone goodbye, leaving my family and my closest friends behind in the airport as I took the steps to be here. Hey, it has been 9 months now.

It was my mom's birthday on the 30th last month. I called home with Skype and unfortunately the webcam in the other side could not work so it was a 1 way video but we did manage to have a chat. Yesterday, the 1st of December was my sister's birthday. I wished her on Facebook and we laughed about how my dad actually sent her a Happy Birthday SMS in the midnight. It was funny because my dad is not an SMS type of person, neither is he the type who wishes people during birthdays lol. 

Been doing nothing much lately except for fully utilizing the internet and the kitchen - what I do best hahaha. 

Asian Style Lamb Cutlets

In my previous post I talked about buying these cutlets and how expensive they were. The recipe I used was actually good, really loved the marinade and sauce except that I could not figure out how to cook the lamb well enough. I did not want it overcooked but it ended up being very undercooked. I followed the instructions really carefully especially the cooking time but maybe my pan was not heating up properly. What a shame. The sauce was mainly dark soy sauce, vinegar, Szechuan peppercorn and others which I do not remember. I shall try making it again but no way am I buying 16 pieces of lamb cutlets the next time.

Steamed Toothfish

I also talked about buying these fish cutlets which resembled codfish very much. It actually tasted exactly like codfish too! So our initial guessing was correct, this could most probably be codfish with another name here. I steamed the fish then drizzled soy sauce over the top but I have discovered another way to make the sauce a lot more tasty. Will talk about that next time. The fish tasted obviously good but the only let down was I slightly overcooked it and I did not check if the scales were properly removed before steaming it. Not that I am a fan of eating fish skin anyway but it is really annoying to find fish scale in your mouth. I did not see this fish in the market last weekend so I am guessing it is a seasonal/catch of the day thing.

Bah Kut Teh

Not sure if anyone remembers me saying this but I have never been a fan of Bah Kut Teh and this is coming from someone who grew up in Klang hahaha. I've never eaten so many times of BKT in a year until I came to Melbourne, frankly. The only time I would eat BKT in Malaysia is after visiting my grandfather's grave during Cheng Meng cos my uncles and aunties would come down to Klang from Subang and having BKT is like a tradition already. It is actually not a very healthy choice of meal but I cannot deny how easy it is to prepare it. Just get the BKT packed herbs, boil water and throw everything in it. One pot wonder.

Son In Law Eggs

When I first saw this on Masterchef, I was intrigued. How does an egg have a hard-boiled white but soft-boiled, runny yolk?! Whatmore, the egg was deep-fried! I personally dislike eating hard-boiled eggs except for the tea leaf, herbal ones. Even with that, I always throw the yolk away because I absolutely detest that powdery texture and that weird taste (sulfur) in my mouth. After a few tries and finally succeeding in getting my eggs cooked just the way I like (hard whites, soft yolk), I attempted to make this Thai dish and can I proudly say it was delish?? =D I might make a whole post about this cos there's so many things I discovered while making this. 

Pineapple Fried Rice

Hooray for making my own pineapple boat =D But it's so freaking difficult to eat from it so we ended up transferring the rice into a proper plate hahahaha. Using fresh pineapples to cook tastes so much better than using the canned ones. Fresh ones have that tanginess to it, canned ones are just full of sugar syrup.

Lamb Shank

This one is not a new thing. I have cooked this so many times but this time, I am most happy with the outcome. I used my shallow, non-stick pan to slow cook the shanks. This gives a much more even heating instead of stacking the shanks on top of each other in a deep pot. They usually come out not the texture I like (so soft it falls off its bone) but this time, it was perfect. Also made some garlic mash which turned out pretty good too.

Tonight I will be making Katsudon, a Japanese rice bowl dish with deep fried pork cutlet, egg and sauce. 

It is the weekend! I will be off planning for next week's meals as well as what to get from the market. I have learned that it really helps me to save more money as well as eating healthy when I plan my meals ahead. At least I keep track of how many times in a week I eat my red meats, seafood, etc. And I also get to make sure I use up all the things I buy instead of leaving them to go bad. Planning last minute is like impulsive shopping. It always result in getting ingredients I use that one time and never end up finish using it before it turns bad. When you plan ahead of what to cook, you take into consideration of what you still have in your kitchen and that helps you to spend your money more wisely. Buying produce from the market is usually cheaper and fresher. You also get to plan and pack your lunch. Eating out in the city ALWAYS cost a bomb. Always. We usually only do it once every 1 or 2 weekends. My friend suggested me something which I found to be really insightful in terms of eating healthy: keep at least one day in the week free of meat, in other words go vegetarian because that allows the liver to not work as hard, processesing all the protein we consume.

Tomorrow night we will be heading to this place called Ibuki for Japanese dining with Wk's friends. Hopefully we will get to go swimming this weekend, did not do it last weekend because we woke up late and after running errands, it was getting late. Wk was saying that he might have to work this weekend... which means we might not be able to swim and I might have to go to the market alone =( not fun lugging groceries ok.

Anyway. How is everyone spending their weekend? =)

LDR once more

I spoke to my mom on Skype earlier and I feel so relieved now. 

To cut the long story short, I have her blessing to do whatever I'm going to do and we talked like never before. I told her things I would not have told her if I was still living with her in M'sia, and vice versa. It's somewhat awkward and weird but it felt really good. I think I've mentioned before but you know how some people at some point in their lives they just stop communicating with their parents in the house, I'm one of them. I notice the situation changes once we're far away from each other; we start missing each other and we start communicating.

I've ended LDR with Wk, but I've started LDR with my family hahah! Bet you didn't get what the title of this post meant at first.

Also spoke to Esther on Skype and Wk was tossing and turning on the bed trying to sleep while we both were talking and laughing at silly things lol. 

Aaah. Feels really nice to be able to talk to some of your favourite people.

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.

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.

Shit happens

Not sure if I've mentioned this but I'll be heading to Melbourne this December together with Wk's family to attend his graduation. We bought the tickets as early as 8 freaking months ago and I didn't tell my dad back then because I didn't know me working at his place would turn into something so serious. 4 months ago, we moved from Damansara Uptown to Putra Heights. 3 months ago, the other part time employee decided to quit because she found Putra Heights too far and inconvenient for her. I panicked, who's gonna take my place when I leave in December? 2 months ago, this woman came and started working full time. I was relieved. 

Fast forward - 1 week ago, she decided to quit. Of all time, one month before I'm leaving, right when I was about to tell my dad, she quitted.

SERIOUSLY. 8 freaking months ago I didn't picture myself in a situation like this. I was planning to tell him a month before I leave but who knew that crazy woman decided to throw her tantrum at us and in the end decided to leave!

Agggh I don't know why I'm such a pussy. 4 years ago I feel this exact same nervousness when I was planning to ask for permission from my parents to fly to Melbourne for the first time. 4 years later, I am obviously much older and supposedly thinking more mature than before, I STILL FEEL NERVOUS. Wth.

I think if I am not working for him it would have been so much more easy for me. Yala yala excuses la I know I should have told him waaaaay earlier but who knew!!! Seriously who knew...

Ok done venting. Need to sleep because tomorrow is a public holiday but I still have to do some donkey job somewhere and I'm very unhappy about it. On top of that, I'm in charge of the company's website. My kiamsiap father refuses to pay other people to design a company logo, write and copyright the profile so I have to do it. And I dunno how to tell him about next month. Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

Oh btw speaking of my title, let me share a very disgusting story.

I was as usual, at work this morning and I had to pull up the urm... 'railing' to open the shop. So when I was about to unlock the padlock, this stray cat came very near to me. There're usually a number of stray cats around. I don't know the exact number cos cats all look the same and I usually see a few diff 'colours'. Esther I think you'll have nightmare everynight if you come to my shop.

So anyway I squatted down to unlock the rail when this cat came super close to me and of course, naturally I stopped what I was doing just to make sure it doesn't come too close or rub itself on me (you know how cats like to do that...). Then I meowed at it wtf... just cos. Then I heard a responding meowing but holly crap it wasn't that cat I was facing cos it didn't even open its mouth!

The meowing became consistent and it was very very close as though there's an invisible cat around me. Then I realise the meowing came from... BEHIND THE RAILING, INSIDE THE SHOP WTF.

I quickly unlock and opened everything and true enough, a cat ran out once I pulled up the railing slightly.

I quickly went inside the shop and took a few sniffs cos you know how evil little thingies like these  ruin things and pee and poop everywhere. For goodness sake the shop is full of paintings I can't imagine my dad's reaction if he finds out any of his paintings (especially the expensive, original artworks) get ruined. Thank goodness everything was fine.

Fast forward - I was in one of the two toilets in the shop putting back the ladder when I sniffed something super foul. I turned my head to the left and saw...

A. PILE. OF. SHIT. ON THE FLOOR BEHIND THE TOILET BOWL!

Do I hear ewww???? *major cringe

Knn in the end I had to clean the mess up! Don't ask me how but I sure as hell did not and will never touch shit with my bare hands. And I sure as hell will never use that toilet anymore.

I wish little pets like these only come with their cuteness, and only that.

Let me end this post with a funny picture.

This is my boyfriend trying to swat a fly with urm... an unwanted magazine? I dunno. And me being the supportive girlfriend, cheering for him wtf HAHAHHAHAH. 

It's summer now in Australia, and it's the season full of flies. Yes, lalat. Gosh I hate flies.

Life as of late

... hasn't been the greatest. If there's one thing I really want to do and can afford to do now, it'll be moving out. A few days ago while crying silently in the toilet, memories stirred and quickly I realised how days in uni when I was away from home were probably one of the best times of my life. All I want to do now, is work my way towards leaving home once again.

Distance does make the heart fonder I can assure everyone. And I am not only speaking for girl-guy relationships. For my parents and myself, I think only distance can tame the stiffness of the relationship we share now.

A recent gathering. Clockwise L-R: Esther, Cat, Chooi Yin & Sam.

A recent celebration, my grandma's birthday. Pictured here are almost all of my cousins (the grandchildren) . I'm not in the picture because I looked too cool I need to be cropped but you can still see my cool hands at the far right.

The ones pointed with an arrow are future cousins (grandchildren) in law, and circled in red are one of my cousins' daughters, the great-grandchildren? Is that how you call it? And how are they called in relation to me? Second cousin? 

Uncles and aunts, all of my grandma's children including their spouses.

Grandma and 2 of her sons (my laopeh at the right). Another uncle passed away 2 years ago.

My grandma's hottest granddaughter period.

Ok that is all for today. No excitement to write about anything.

Btw, I'm almost done with Eat, Pray, Love. I know, "omg Ee Von the last time I heard you talking about that book was 10 years ago you're not done?". Sorry, haven't exactly had the mood to read. But I'm glad I'll be on time for the movie.

As I read it I feel like I've been following Elizabeth around on her adventure and now that I'm left with only 10ish pages I don't feel like I want to finish reading it :(  

Everytime I finish reading something really good I'll get this weird empty feeling. It's like losing something, or a really close friend just left for somewhere. It takes me a really long to complete a book but at least I feel like I'm still on an adventure just cos I'm not at the end yet, you know what I mean?

Do you get this kinda weird reactions when you read?

OMG

Ok I should not have complained about my parents not bringing me with them on their mini Europe trip. My mom got me a huge souvenir tee hee XD

No this is not the BIG one obviously but I just thought I'd share as it is one of the souvenirs they got me. Swarovski crystals from Austria for each of my siblings and I.

Whoa!

=)

I refuse to show a picture of the bag because 1. Technically I didn't pay for it so I shouldn't be proud., but that doesn't mean I'm not happy ok only stupid people would not be lol. 2. If you're curious, take a guess by looking at the handle - I'm sure it's pretty easy if you're familiar with the brand, or if you've always been looking at the bags online and daydream of the day you'll buy one aka like me hahaahh.

There's also a CD of a local Hungarian violinist's recording bought from Budapest woo woo woo I'm listening to it right now actually it's brilliant! He's playing his improvised version of Monti's Czardas it's craaaaazy. Oh well Czardas IS a type of Hungarian dance so it's no surprise that he plays well.

Anyway. No pictures cos I'm lazy haha. My mom's luggage was lost at first but they found it already and it came home today. The CD and the bag's dust  bag were in the lost luggage too so thank goodness it's safe now.

Ok random note,

Recently bought this nail polish and I was and am still sooooooo intrigued by the colour!

Stupid rats

Another HUUUGE picture of me tee hee XD

So apparently the stupid rats aren't stupid after all. The poison's still around and there's crap everywhere as always. 

I think I really need to get a trap now. The only reason I didn't, is because I don't know how to dispose it later.

My life has been so boring as of late. I've been working and nothing else. My dad that he'll sponsor us (siblings & I) a vacation to anywhere nearby. I think he's feeling guilty for only bringing my youngest sis to cruise around Europe with them hmpph. Hopefully we'll be able to work something out. 

So, Bandung, Phuket or Krabi?

Freebies!

My parents along with my youngest sister are off on a cruise touring parts of Europe for 2 weeks. I'm jealous! =( My sister is only 10 and she has been to Europe! The very first time I get to step out of the country was when I was 12, to Korea and my other sister then was only 9 wtf. WHY. Why do the youngest kids get all the fortune?! I had to 'earn' that trip to Korea by studying hard and scoring straight As for UPSR and my sister didn't even have to!

Ok I sounded like a stupid small little girl whining lol.

How about a fucking huge picture of my face to amuse you?

Lol.

Last Saturday I went for this free makeover by Lancome which I won at askCLEO.com. Someone kind helped to drop my name and I was selected! :) Yay to free stuffs! Hahahaha.The picture above is the result of the makeover.

Hrm. Still look as awesome as before HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Anyway, as if a free makeover is not enough, there's even a doorgift! Aka free goodies!

And that made my weekend :)

Ok now let's move to a more disgusting note.

If you follow my twitter, you'll probably see my twits filling up your timeline at certain times. That's because usually when I don't feel like I have anything to tweet about, I can not tweet for the entire day or two. But whenever I feel like tweeting, your timeline will look like it just got spammed hahahaha.

So anyway, I was complaining about these fucking rats which visits my dad's gallery frequently, when the shop is closed obviously. There's a huge hole at the bottom of the wooden back door, probably its way of entry and exiting la. The major problem is, it poops a fucking lot. Not everywhere, but on specific spots, hidden or not. AND ITS VERY IRRITATING OK.

Not only that, it'll rummage through the rubbish bin, and if it happens to have some food remainings, that filthy rodent will take it out, bring it to a spot it likes (usually underneath the table or behind huge paintings), and nibble until it doesn't feel like it anymore. Yes, that means the food will rot and smell there if I never see it. 

Mmm I like the name.

I spreaded this in the shop last Friday. Didn't see any dead rats so far. I still see the poison, some were crushed, possibly nibbled by the rats?

Will update when there's good news.

Another disgusting thing is lizards. I really need to buy that lizard spray that Wai Tuck has been talking about. 

Oh on another note, Wk is coming back in 3 days time YAYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Sticky labels!

Did something fun at work today.

Printing sticky labels!

I don't know where my dad got that thing but it's quite fun. Ok I know that sounded kinda stupid but I seriously enjoyed typing, printing, cutting and sticking the labels!

Fun stuff aside, something happened and I got nagged by my dad. Damn tulan now. 

First of all, I have never wanted to work there. Technically, I had no choice. Second, I have absolutely no interest in business, so it's not my fault I'm not familiar with things. Third, like I said, I have no interest at all hence, I refuse to bear any form of responsibility or take any risk. I have always been ok with teaching music. At least, there's zero risk. Responsibility, yes sky high but that I can easily handle. Teaching music is not about being business minded at all. At least, I don't need to worry about crap like talking cock and convince people to buy something.

Haih.

Want some curry puffs?

FRUSTRATEDDDDDDDDD.

>:(

For some reason my stupid webcam won't show up neither in skype nor msn. WHY WHY WHY!!!!!!! FTS. So now I can see Wk but he can't see me. Celaka.

Anyway, if you're craving for curry puffs and you happen to be around Damansara, look for O'Papa cafe. They sell the best curry puffs everrrrr. And along with some other puffs which I really like too! My mom's, and also most of us in the family's favourite is the Durian Puff. I can see Esther cringing as she reads this lol. Ok for those durian lovers out there, Durian Puff is a must-try. They also have other pretty cool puffs like Black Pepper, Otah (I think it's otak otak), Sardine, Yam etc. And besides puffs, they have a lot of other types of pastries. Next time I shall try the egg tarts.

Soooo naisss! It's basically Black pepper chicken chunks and potatoes.

Speaking of O'papa, Shin Dhee told me O'papa is actually a cafe run by Pappa Rich! Ooohhh now I know! Lol. No, seriously. It's under Pappa Rich. Which explains the name.

Speaking of Pappa Rich, my brother once asked me,

"So today where you ate at?"

"Pappa Rich"

"Huh. Eat expensive stuff. You think your pappa very rich la now eat at Pappa Rich."

"HAHAHAHHA WTF!"

Ooh and speaking of Shin Dhee, I didn't know she's actually working so near the place I work at, which is at my dad's gallery at Damansara Uptown! I tweeted about O'papa and that was how we found out we both are working nearby. So during lunch hour, she dropped by my place and brought me some freebies!!! Yay free things!!! Lol. Who doesn't like free things? =D

She's currently working at ACP, a company which publishes those beauty magazines like what you see in the picture above.

So she brought me some cos she told me there's a lot of extra in the office and since I keep complaining that I'm bored working in the gallery, she gave some to me. Isn't she super nice?! =D

Incidentally all the magazines which she gave me, I haven't read/bought any of them! Coolness. I mean I do buy beauty magazines once in a while but I don't do it every month. Even if I do, I'll only get 1 or 2 so I was lucky everything was brand new as in not just the condition but also those are the ones which I have not read/bought.

Ok last update, I repainted my nails! I have this habit of not removing ugly, chipped, wearing off nail polish on my nails. It happens so frequently that Wai Loon once asked me,

" Is this a trend or what? This chipped nail polish thing. Cos everytime we meet I'll see you having this chipped nail polish, each time with a different colour. "

LOLLLL. I'm just lazy lah cannot meh... seriously I don't have so much patience to do it every week lor -_-

Anyway.

I mix these two colours together, a little trick I discovered from my laziness. I was still having some chipped, wearing off brown on my nails and I wanted to try that gold one but I was lazy to remove so I just painted the gold on top and discovered a new colour which looks quite cool. Both colours are actually very ugly on its own but when mixed, whoa. It became this golden olive colour.

Ok till then! Thanks for reading lovely readers!

x

Eev

I'm a shop assistant slash music teacher.

Taken in my work place's (dad's gallery) toilet haha.

Placed an order for McDelivery cos I'm all alone today in the gallery, the other lady took leave. It's getting pretty boring working here eventhough there's access to the internet. The other guy who used to work here full time has been sacked (thank goodness btw), I've mentioned this in my twitter. Like I said before, I tweet quite regularly so if you're really nosy, follow me on twitter =)

Let me just explain briefly what I'm supposed to do here on days I'm not teaching music.

This place is a gallery/framing shop. We sell artworks and we also do framing/mirror/glass stuffs. My job here is to sit at the counter, handle walk in customers, sometimes deal with contracts/projects if there's any, promote and sell the artworks, keeping the place clean etc. Ultimately, a shop assistant. This shop needs someone to be around, which is what my dad is lacking. If you're wondering why he can't take care of it himself, it's because he has his other shops to take care of. He usually goes there more often than here because those outlets are where his less trustworthy workers work and it needs more attention and checking up on.

Business has been pretty stagnant these days since the end of CNY.

Ooh my food has arrived.

Ok later! *nom nom nom...

Just to keep this blog more alive haha

Today I went to dad's shop. Boring. But good thing is there's a broadband so I can bring my laptop over and go online when I'm bored =) It was my dad's birthday. We had Japanese buffet to celebrate it. Gorged lots of fresh oysters, salmon and tuna belly. Mmm. I hope my tummy will be fine tomorrow. On the way back, my grandmother spotted this crazy woman in the car right in front of ours who was banging her head crazily like she's dancing to some crazy music. She had all the actions along with her hands, just like how people dance in clubs to fast music. I laughed so hard cos it looked so freaking stupid ok. My brother said she probably took ecstasy pills or something. Ok bed time.

x

Eev

Anyone still reading? Lol

I used to feel like blogging every single day, sometimes every few hours in a day. Now, I somehow cannot find the mood to blog anymore. Not that there's nothing going on with my life but strangely I don't see the point/need to blog about them anymore. Is this a sign of aging? T__T

I obviously tweet more than I blog (so follow me! =]), cos twitter is just so much easier. Whenever I come online, my browser consists of only a few tabs: Gmail, Hotmail, Twitter - these are the compulsary ones wtf. Then sometimes, if not, most of the time, I'll have Youtube opened. Oh and of course, Skype and MSN with Wk whenever he's around.

Ok just a couple of updates. I'll be flying to Melbourne next Tuesday for about 2 weeks. I brought forward the trip a lot earlier this year cos I don't want to be missing in action once again when my music students' exams are near. Since I'm not in Uni anymore, I decided that going now is the best option. At least when I'm back, I still have plenty of time to work with my students for their exams. At least I won't feel as guilty.

I'll also be going there again this December with Wk's family. Main reason is to attend his graduation - he'll be graduating with a Masters of Architecture! Yes I'm damn proud of him =) And then we'll be going to Gold Coast for a few days before returning to Malaysia. I've even informed all the music centres of my one month's leave this December. It's gonna be fun =)

Ok what else...

Oh and final-freaking-ly, my dad asked me to go help him out in one of his shops. Paid one of course, dad knows me too well lol. I know he cannot stand me doing nothing for so long already. It's not that I can say no anyway, he's my dad and I know he needs someone to help him out since one of his assistants just left. I'll be going there tomorrow. Oh godddd no more waking up at 11am T___T 

And if you're wondering what's gonna happen to my practice plans, I think it's gonna be screwed.

Oh and I was soooo hoping I can attend Lady Gaga's concert in Melbourne cos she'll be there when I'm there!!! But too bad T___T no chance. But I'll most probably catch either Cats or Mamma Mia the musical when I'm there next week =)

Ok time to sleep. Thanks for reading people.

x

Eev

This is why I graduated with a degree but I'm still not working.

I'm writing this because it's getting very frustrating everytime people come up to me and talk about job related stuffs just because I've graduated with a degree and also partly because my application for master studies got rejected. And most people think upon graduating one should be working full time already, earning a steady income, have a certain amount in your savings, and maybe paying installments for car, house, insurance and whatnot. What's frustrating is how they can never EVER ever understand my dilemma and how I'm stuck in a situation where things are not going the typical way.

If you've never learned any kind of musical instrument, or if you've learned but have never been passionate about learning a musical instrument, you'll never know that learning to play an instrument is a never ending process. A lot of people (especially parents and people who don't learn to play anything) think that music stops at the very commonly mentioned GRADE 8.

So that makes them think that obtaining a Grade 8 certificate from whatever exam board means one has completed learning music and there's nothing there to be learned anymore - as though you've a language course or something. That I can totally understand cos if you're not that passionate about music or you've never properly learned music, you won't even know that there are still 3 more Diploma Certificates to go. But there are also people who think that music stops after that 3rd Diploma. And there are even people who think that you stop learning after you've gotten a music degree.

Oh my god. You know, once and for all, I think everyone should know by now that music is a never ending process! In fact, EDUCATION and LEARNING is a never ending process! Having a music degree doesn't mean there's nothing else to be learned anymore! I'm not talking about going up to masters, or doctorate and stuffs. I'm talking about technical and practical stuffs, not theories and researches. About learning to play the instrument from a teacher.

Since graduation, I now only teach for 2 days in a week, not even 2 full days. And a lot of people are kind of making a big fuss about it - those who would NEVER understand that is. And now, I want to FREAKING MAKE YOU UNDERSTAND.

I started to play the violin only when I was 16, and prior to that, I've been learning piano since I was 7. I dunno about others but to me, it was a very late start. Some people came to me and told me "oh you started so late and you're so good already you must be really talented". The truth is, no. I progressed quickly because I have a strong piano and musical theory background. It's easy for me only because I already have the basics in my finger muscles and my brains. If there are people out there who are good even when they started late and they didn't have any sort of basics prior to that, those you can call them talented, but not me.

I realised how much I like playing the violin more than piano after about 2-3 years learning it, which was the reason why I chose it over piano as my first study instrument when I did my degree. 

I learned under a very good Norwegian teacher, but he left after teaching me for about a year. After that, I was under some amature teacher. I said amature because he wasn't bad, but just not a good one. Don't get me wrong, I've never considered myself as a good teacher either. I'm still learning but I do not teach half-heartedly unless the students themselve are learning half-heartedly. I wouldn't even bother screaming at students if I didn't really care about their learning progress. 

Anyway, I learned under that amature teacher for about a year or so before I went to Form 6 and stopped. I wanted to continue learning. I did, off and on cos I was already working part time and I was paying the fees myself so at times when I didn't have enough money,  I had to stop.

My learning progress can be considered a mess cos I didn't learn, play or practice constantly all because of studies and work and obviously, money. I didn't want to ask money from my parents for reasons I do not have to mention here.

When I did my degree in UM, I admit I slacked a lot and I never learn to prioritize. I was working a lot more, more than I should be cos I needed the money especially that 2 years I stayed out. I had to support my room's rent, phone bills, food and miscellaneous things myself. My dad only gave me enough to cover petrol. Even the furnitures in my room was paid with my own money.  With classes and work filling up my time, I didn't have enough time to practice.

This may all seem like some bunch of nicely made up excuses, but they happened. The only mistake I admit making is I didn't know how to prioritize earlier when I should be - I should have not worked so much and practice more when I still had the time to, and because of that now I'm compensating for it.

The reason I don't want to occupy all my time to work, is because I need them to practice.

FYI, profesional musicians practice at least 8 HOURS EVERY SINGLE DAY. And I said at least. If I were to work, I'll get home feeling tired and lazy already. Where do I even get that kind of time and energy to practice? 

If I had a choice I would have stopped working altogether, that gives me more time. The only reason I'm still working is because I need the money to pay for my lesson fees. My lesson costs RM 120 PER LESSON of only an hour, if you should know. It probably wouldn't be a problem to some people but to people like me who has to to work to pay it off, it is. 

What if I stopped learning and just teach full time now? I'll definitely be earning a lot more, probably enough to open a centre of my own but that's probably the only thing I can do for the rest of my life. AND THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANT TO DO FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. 

I'm not someone who's into business. I can't manage anything to save a life. And I don't want to teach and take only 60% commision all my life. 

I want to be on the stage playing - whether it's with people in an orchestra, or solo. I want to be really good in what I do. I don't want to be one of those people who goes by the saying "Those who can't do, teach." . I REALLY DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE THAT. I want to be able to teach, AND perform. I want to be the one who takes RM 120 per lesson of an hour.

There you have it, my goal. And to achieve that, first I need to buck up on my technicalities and skills. And to achieve that, I need A WHOE LOT OF TIME to practice. And to achieve that, I obviously cannot work that much. The amount of money I earn from work is enough to cover my lesson fees. And because of that, how can anyone expect me to have a certain amount of savings, pay for a car, house or insurance, or even give to my parents?

I seriously hope my parents and the rest of the people who think I'm a bummer reads this and understand my situation. Then again, they probably wouldn't cos sometimes people are just too stubborn and money-minded. I mean, I am money-minded myself, this is a material world who are we kidding? But I do have my own passion and I don't want to live a boring and uninteresting, mediocre life later. I want to live my life doing something I'm passionate about even if it means I cannot earn much.

An update

Update on some latest Project 365 pictures.

#347

We had our reunion meal of course, in the afternoon.

#348

I am my own manicurist and pedicurist! Ok excuse all the extra colour on my fingers and my toes. It's extremely difficult to paint my right hand cos I'm a righty. It's also extremely difficult to paint my toes cos I'm not a freakin' contortionist. I love my glittery red toe nails! Painted red polish, sprinkled cosmetic glitter and topcoated it.

Anyone noticed my Project 365 is almost coming to an end? =]

 

With sis on the way to 天后宫.

Day1

I noticed the studs on my skirt are not very properly stuck on =(

How's your CNY?

CNY Vs Valentine's

Yay!:

Wk'll be back in another 10 days! And of course, CNY in 2 more days. Esther came over to make pineapple cookies with me today. I didn't use the recipe I've been using the previous years cos I didn't bother to ask my aunt again. I've been asking her every year ever since I lost my baking bible and I don't know why, I never keep the recipe safely each time I got it from her. So I decided to go online and try to get something that's quite convincing. I was quite disappointed cos the pastry didn't turn out to be the way I like it. But whatever lah. 

Boo!:
I heard my mom's not working tomorrow. Oh no... cos that means it's spring cleaning time. Totally hate it. I have a mountain of rubbish hidden in the mezzanine in my room. A few weeks ago my mom very sternly warned me to clean up my room and I was running out of time so I threw all the junk up there and haven't found the time to clear them up. I hope she doesn't go up there tomorrow...

Random:

Who cares about Valentine's? At least, I don't. Ang pow's more important! Yes I'm VERY money minded. Seriously, Valentine's is just an overrated day. If you're happy with someone, everyday's Valentine's. I don't see the point in wearing couple tees, getting married, getting gifts for each other etc during Valentine's Day. Anniversaries and birthdays in my opinion are the best times to get gifts. As for marriage, I don't see the point of getting married with 1987523181243 other couples, and sharing the SAME (marriage) anniversary with 1987523181243 other couples. And couple tees are just LAME.