I turned 24!!

On the 21st March 2009, I turned 24. Yes. 24 years old. To my lovely sister who wants a dinner treat and yet called me 'Shrek'... Just you wait my girl, your turn will come just like when you turned 19 and I called you Auntie. Muahaha...

A few friends had asked me how I celebrated my birthday given the fact that I am so far away from home. I guess its a matter of celebrating with friends and 'family' since Australia is considered my second home. I certainly had alot of fun this year. Although I had been here for 3 years, this is the first time I actually planned to celebrate my birthday. I shall begin on my celebration details just so as not to bore you readers.

19th March, Thursday

I arranged dinner with a small group of friends to go Cav's Steakhouse. The place had always been known for their steak and the restaurant had not disappoint me after all these years. Therefore I invited Estee, Tze Hao, Jason and Jeremy to dinner that night. Most of them would not be free on the day itself, I decided to have this minor private dinner 2 days before.















Dinner at Cav's..

The food was good and we had a jolly good time chatting about driving, cars and drinking. We had our fill and proceeded to 3 Beans for late night coffee after. It was a good start to a string of celebrations..

20th March, Fri

As Jess, Lewis and Kyla were not able to attend the big party due to Kate's 30th, I arranged for a seperate dinner with them. This time, we went to Sagano. When the trio demanded that they picked me up from my place, not allowing me to drive, I know its gonna be a drinking night. I was not wrong. We went to the bottle shop and I picked up 3 bottles of red wine. Its specifically chosen by Lewis as he knows his wine better than us and it did not fail us.

We arrived at the restaurant and were seated promptly. Dinner was served and we didn't stop eating for the next 2-3 hours! Haha. Well, what can you expect when the dinner was a Sukiyaki buffet with free flow of thinly sliced beef and veggies?

Check out the beef...

We had so much fun eating, drinking and encouraging each other that I totally enjoyed myself! My glass was never half filled! Whenever I had 2 sips, it was topped up to the brim again! Haha. By the time I realised it, I was flushed! My ears were red and everyone had a good time.















Jess, Lewis and Kyla..

Jess bought me my first birthday cake in Australia and I totally love it! It was yummy! We finished the dinner with a good dessert that night. 3 bottles of good red was definitely a good company with so much beef involved.















The ladies and my cake!

21 March, Sat

I arranged to webcam with Fau for a while before I leave my place on my birthday. Main reason is because I am not coming back to my current place for the night. I was spending the night at my other place up in Ormeau. Being given the house keys and codes to de-activate the alarm, the house is all for me to utilise. All these with the permission given by Eziq's parents themselves. His parents asked me to stay over more often and was always happy to have me around. Well, they went back Malaysia for a couple months and I was presented with the house keys then.

I went to pick Bernie up and we had a good lunch before starting on groceries. We reached my place at around 3pm and started preparing for dinner. The menu that night was all planned by Bernie. I was given the priviledge of choosing the individual items.

Menu.
1. Oxtail soup
2. Baked Red Snapper with Thai Sweet Chili
3. Druken Chicken 三杯鸡
4. Pumplin Curry
5. Cold Tofu
6. Caramelised Chicken Cutlet
7. Scallop Potato
8. Mango Pudding















Baked red snapper in thai sweet chili..















Caramelised chicken, Oxtail soup and Pumpkin curry..















At the dining table.. the food definitely got Tom's approval..

After the sumptious dinner, Thomas brought out a cake. Haha. It was very nice of him and Em. Cake was good and I even had it again for breakfast! I opened up my presents one by one and I certainly got what I wanted! Other than the countless bottles of red and white wine I received that night, I got a pair of sneakers from the girls!!















The party that night~!

We started the drinking games soon after and Eziq was gone by 11+! Haha. Everyone had a good time chatting and drinking that night. It was definitely a night for all to remember with the good food, wine and wonderful friends.

Spent the night there and took a wholle day to recover on Sunday from all the drinking. We finished around 5 bottles of wine and a bottle of rum. Actually, its more of I finished them as everyone just wanted me to drink. Thank god, no hangover and I still managed to clean up the place and leave everything back in order by 3pm. Arrived home and slowly start to unpack my stuff and decided to take a picture of all the gifts.




















Everything I received... from all dinners and the party..

3 bottles of good wine were left after the massive drinking session. Haha. Thank you everyone! Especially my sister who mailed me a card from Canada! I think I better let my liver rest for the next week or so as had been drinking way too much over the last few days! So much that I literally died in my physical test today. Haha. Alright. Time to rest my arms and give it a good rub. However, am not complaining as this only happens once a year and am really glad that everything went well!

End of Week 2. Birthday coming...

~Updated list as of 17 Mar~

Week 2 had been a breeze. Am doing 4 subs this semester and its supposed to be easier than Yr 2. 4 main subs are Bioinstrumentation, Biomechanics 2, Clinical Ex Testing and Exercise and Sports Behaviour. Not gonna bore you with the details of the modules but its gonna be interesting see how I am gonna survive Ex and sports behaviour. Its a Psychology subject and I had teach a class a 32 bars dance. Jess and Tom already said they want to join me just so they can save the trouble of thinking what dance to teach. We got that all sorted a week before we were supposed to form our own groups! I think its gonna be interesting teaching peers simple dance steps. Its supposed to assess our abilities to cope with all sorts of behaviour problems that might surface as we start coaching/teaching in real life situations. Haha.

Oh, guess what. I started studying already! Much to the surprise of everyone here, I actually studied and covered quite abit. Lets just hope I manage to keep up with the studying. Studies aside, a friend had signed me up for SG club this semester. Oh well, shall see how it goes then. Should be starting our morning trainings this week and badminton on Tues as well.

On the side, had been spending 2 Sundays at the beach lately. I was there for a couple hours today and its totally worth it! Last Sunday, the sunset was beautiful. Took a picture of it with my phone and here it is...















Sunset...

Was at the beach today only for a short while but had a good time sipping hot tea and enjoying banana muffins with Shelle. Nice to catch up on one another every now and then.

Got my birthday plans all sorted and should be having dinners with friends. More about that when the time comes or after the party with pics. I was asked to compile a list of items I want or needed. Well, had been thinking about it and in no order of importance, here it is...

1. Steering wheel cover. Mine is peeling slowly and needs a replacement.
2. Size 11 sneakers. Both of mine are dying...-Shelle had offered to get it for me... -
3. A small diary/planner, around 5" by 7" in size. Those pocket size ones which comes in handy when planning schedules. -Darling had already mailed it over..-
4. iPod Touch
5. Good DVDs, eg. Korean's Innocent Steps, Aliens Trilogy,... etc

Updated as of 17 mar 09.
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Moving on, I had finally used what Dar had given me before I left SG. A beautiful pillowcase that comes in a pair. I am given one while she gets to use the other. How sweet~! Hehe.















Beautifully wrapped...















On my bed...

First week.

Been back for more than a week and week 1 of Uni had just ended. Been very busy with alot of stuff lately that got no time to update much. Well, let me start from the first week I came back to Gold Coast.

Arranged to have dinner with Sisters Amelia and Cindy on Friday, 27 Feb. Gosh... Cindy's place is really beautiful. Its a waterfront property and very huge! I hope to have a house like that in the future and accompanied by a yatch, thats life man!

Dinner was very good. All prepared by Cindy and company was wonderful. Garden salad, steak, Seafood Risotto, Abalone and Moreton Bugs. Dessert was nice. Knowing Cindy, everything got to be perfect and everything was nothing but that! It was really nice to have dinner with them once again!















Amelia and I..















Chef Cindy in her proud kitchen..

I was invited to a family dinner on 1 Mar, Sunday. It was time to catch up with Shelle, Erin and Jess. Its nice meeting up with all of them after so long and dinner with them was never a bore. Told them of what I had been up to in SG and they are happy for me.
















Dinner party... all thanks to Chef Erin for the arrangements!

Week 1 of Uni was alright. No fancy stuff except all the introduction to the subjects we would be taking this semester. Managed to save quite abit of money by getting second hand books. Spent a total of $250 on all my books, saving myself around $150!! The girl whom I got them off from had taken really good care of the books and we agreed to do more business next semester! hehe. No point buying new ones as they are way too expensive and those that I bought are in fantastic conditions!

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I need a new phone!! I was thinking why not sign a plan with Vodafone and perhaps make use of their offer to get myself a new phone? Not that I needed a new phone for no good reason but the volume of my current one is way too soft. People got to strain their ears to hear what I was saying most of the time and its kind of embarrassing to shout into the phone in a public place. Besides, my current one had been with me for more than 2 years and it had served me very well. So I spent the whole of last night checking out offers and narrowed down to 2 phones which comes free if I sign the $79 monthly plan.

First on the list is the Blackberry Storm 9500.
















2nd contestant is the Samsung Omnia.
















Both phones are good in their own ways as I need a phone which gives me more than just allowing me to text and call. It actst as my planner as well as some friends had realised by now. Happy with the research I done, I went to the Vodafone shop just now and after doing some checks, they don't allow me to sign a plan. Main reason is because they are afraid I leave teh country without fulfilling my contract. What the f**k! I had intentions of settling here and now they give me this kinda crap. Argh.

So before then, do bear with me if I do sound abit soft on the phone as there's simply nothing I can do. Seems like I have to wait til July for a spare phone to arrive then.It would be the upgraded version of my current Samsung D900.

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On the personal side, everything had been good so far. I had been in constant contact with her almost everyday. Am glad that she is handling everything well and really appreciate the effort she puts into maintaining this LDR. So far, she had been going home early, just so she can have a chat with me on the webcam. All these does seem pretty new to me and without a doubt, made me appreciate her alot more. As much as I told myself that I had been through all these and that before, all that she had done really surprises me. For all that, I really want to thank her and give her a hug.

Although she had left SG for KL for some work this weekend, thus ending the nightly webcam routines for 3 nights, we are still contacting each other regularly. She had wanted to bring her laptop along just so she can see me online for those 3 days but I had told her not to. Firstly, its additional load and do not want her to get her laptop stolen. Secondly, its a frigging 60 ringgit just to use the Internet for a day! That would make it 120 ringgit just to use the internet! Too expensive I reckon and so told her not to bring it.

This weekend seems kinda slow for some reason and hope to get some study done tomorrow. Would be cooking at Shelle's after an afternoon at the beach and hopefully can get a tan. My turn to cook family dinner. =)

Partner's Past. Should we mind?

Should a person’s past be a judgement of who and what they are? I was asked this question all the time, especially when it comes to their partners. Honestly, I don’t mind my partner’s past. I believe that when you are in a relationship with a person, its the present that should be focused on and not the what happened last time. Only that way, will a future exist for the both of you. As troubling as some past might be, it plays safe to be honest.

Everyone has got a past. Nobody liked their past to be brought up. It will only invite more questions from partner. First come minor misunderstandings, then mistrust then followed by the end of the relationship. If we were to keep bickering about what happened last time, the relationship will just come to nought. Personally, my past ain’t that glorious as well, so why should I mind my partner’s?

As much as I agree that the past should remain buried, the partner has every right to know of their partner’s past as well. Imagine the following scenario:

Guy A and Girl A had been going out for a long time. Guy A had some past that he never told Girl A. One fine day, Guy A’s ex, B, came up to Girl A to complain or boast about some issues she used to have with Guy A. Girl A gets suspicious and starts to doubt Guy A. One thing lead to another and soon, it marks the end of a wonderful relationship.

Imagine the consequences. All that could be avoided only if Guy A had been honest and opened up to Girl A in the first place. That’s why I believe that a couple should be honest to one another and not have any hidden skeletons in the closet. Sometimes, its best to tell your partner when you can and not let it drag. How do you expect your partner to feel when he/she hears it from another party? Disappointment? Hurt? Anger?

Although sometimes its difficult to open up to tell your partner of your own past, put them in your shoes. How would you feel if you were treated that same way? Not a good feeling right? Then don’t do it to others if you do not want that to happen to you.

There are 3 keys to a successful relationship. Honesty, Trust and Love. How is Trust supposed to exist when the main foundations of the relationship is already shaken? Or when either party is not willing to be honest with one another?

I am very happy with my own relationship right now. She accepts my past and I don’t fault her for hers. Am glad we were both very honest to one another to begin with.

This entry serves as a purpose to remind others that certain things had to be said and not hidden just because you think it might hurt your partner back then. It hurts more hearing from another party or much later on. Now if you excuse me, time to give my darling a good night call.

Last week in SG.

Ever since that short update, I was shocked at this blog's traffic. Haha. Its been a long time since I had more than 5 comments on my blog. Still, a shocker! After V-day and all the good times, I entered the last week of my stay in SG.

First in line was tea with Godma Kat at Bugis before dinner with Danielle, Chantel and Lindy. Tea was good. Spent the 3 hours talking abt how time flies and updating each other about personal life. It was nice meeting her again before I fly off.

Dinner was great and it was nice catching up with the girls. Said my final goodbyes to them as would not be seeing them anymore til I get back next time.















The ladies...

After dinner we headed off to Union. I dropped the ladies at Amara before picking up My Darling to go USQ. Didn't know she was feeling unwell until she mentioned it to me when we were almost in USQ. Would had made her stay home if I had known. Still, a good night dancing away.

Thurs was a slow day initially. Supposed to run some errands but my poor girl had fallen ill and had taken MC. Spent the day with her, letting her rest and really spent some time at home chilling before sending her home.

Friday, I surprised her at her workplace by appearing at her knock-off hour to pick her up. Dinner was simple and good. Then followed by a midnight movie. Good movie. Really a nice one. As she had cravings for sambal sotong from Newton, we went ahead for supper soon after.

Sat was memorable as it started with a gathering cum baby shower in the early evening followed by farewell at USQ that same night. Baby Ee Thern is so cute~! Jinai and Jon must be proud parents. How time flies. Just one year ago, I was one of the brothers for their wedding. And now... Wow! It was a good catch up with Francis, Serene as well. Its been so long since we all got together like that.

USQ was good. Very memorable indeed. With the countless number of dances that night and slow enchanting bachata, it's definitely a night to remember. Really want to thank everyone who came down that night! It was certainly very nice catching up with some old friends nd dancing with them! Of course, cannot help but feel sad that am leaving the place and its my last night there already. I did sang a couple love songs in the wine bar. And also, a duet with her as well. Really love that night alot.















Francis n Serene.. at last!















The sisters I have in USQ for almost 5 years already!















The band at USQ with Fau and I...

Sunday was slow and easy. Had some quiet time together. As we couldn't swim due to the bad weather, we used the Steam Room instead. All good with some camwhoring. Due to some last minute issues, we had a late dinner and the night ended with drinks at Royal Plaza with Chef Uncle Robert.

Arranged to pick her up from work after a good breakfast on Monday before joining the guys for lunch cum KTV. They treated me to both lunch and KTV because my birthday is coming and they wanna celebrate it early for me. Am really blessed with friends who planned the whole day of events.

Lunch was at Ding Tai Fung. We did not order too much food and I hope I did not blow too much of their budget. All was good. The whole day was very enjoyable and it really brings back memories for all of us.















Lunch.. yummy..















KTV... there's always fun with them around..

The night ended with a family dinner and spent some time drinking with Danny, catching up with the lazy cousin.

The day came for me to leave Singapore with a heavy heart. Fau took half day leave to send me off at the airport. She came to my place, spending some time with my family before we all left for the airport. Surprising enough, Amanda came to the airport as well. Thank you so much! At 8.15pm, I walked through the Customs and walked on. Looking back for once last time, I waved at them, telling myself I will see them soon.

Well, thats my last week in Singapore. In all, its a fruitful trip back to Singapore. Very fruitful. Unexpected things kept happening. I will say I spent alot of time with my family this time round. Am now back in Aust, am so looking forward to end of this semester.

One step closer to graduation, one step closer to freedom...

Short update.

Time seems to fly by so fast. Its been almost 3 months already and am heading back to the land Down Under soon. Sad as it may seems but I guess all good things must come to an end someday. Time to go back to finish up what I started out in the beginning, getting my degree.

Picking up where I left off in my last entry, Chinese New Year was great. All the good food, all the visiting.. Towards the end of the CNY period, I actually went on a short get-away to Desaru. It was ful-filling, spending some quiet quality time.

Friday the 13th is normally a day many people avoid. However, I chose to have my farewell dinner that night with Shirine. All the catching up with her was definitely good. Accompanied with good food, the dinner was enjoyable. And yes, I got her flowers to show my appreciation as well.

Right after dinner, we headed off for KTV. She made the arrangements and I was surprised at the turnout. Honestly, I wasn't expecting so many people to begin with. It was a good night of singing and it just might be my last KTV night before I head back.

Shirine.. thanks for the dinner~!

V-day was good as it falls on a Sat. That means my date does not have to work and she came over to my place for lunch. I prepared a Western-cum-Italian meal. I received a card from her which was really nice and could tell alot of effort was put into it. All the past pics of us and its definitely an item I would bring back to Aust. I gave her a card,snow globe filled with 2 pics. ( 1 one each side) and a bouquet of 9 roses. Pink was her favourite colour and so I got my dearest friend, Matthew to design a bouquet for me. Got to say, its beautifully done and really exceeded my expectation. Perhaps a change of profession? Hehe.

Preparing lunch.. Dom called it Lunch of Love.. haha..

















The finished product..

Flowers for my partner.

After the lunch and presentation of gifts, we proceeded to Esplanade for Breakout with a group of friends. We decided to skip dinner til after the performance as lunch was too full for the both of us. Musical was good and it was followed by a good dinner at Balcony. She bought dinner and it seems like we were approaching the end of the night until I drove to Macritchie Reservoir for a night stroll. The night was memorable and sent her home only at around 3am.

The following day was spent at Sentosa. We took a cable car ride in and sun-tanning was the call of the day. In short, am all red now and in pain. Jialat.

Gatherings, CNY!

Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone!!!!!
I know its abit late.. but still within the 15 days of CNY!!

Finally caught up with Zhi Zhong after his tour around Europe. Really envy him and hope to go on similar tour soon. Although we were all apart, its good to know that we are still who we are and still the best of friends. He understood what it takes to have a long distance relationship and he had to go through similar situations as I had last time. I guess its all good for him now and am very happy for him.















Finally all back~! awaiting Dave...

Chinese New Year had been good this year. As usual, the normal routine, the normal questions BUT different answers this time round! Hehe. More to be disclosed in due time...















Family portrait... May Ee... where are u....*sob*

On third day of CNY, as per last year, we met up again for a good meal. This year, it was at NBX's place. Steamboat was all prepared by his parents and we had a good time chilling out before going over to my place for mahjong! Hehe.















The spread..















Both of them waiting for the food to cook.. lol..















Mel and I..

Finally met up with Learning Lab friends after 7 long years! Its amazing how we still managed to keep in touch after so long. Dinner was at another steamboat place followed by coffee after that. Ladies had become more beautiful and one is even getting married next year!! Jialat. Please don't tell me age is catching up!~ Lol...





















Audrey, my sis...















Terence, Me, Xian, Eve...

Sat was spent at Arthur and Cheryl's place and had mum's family dinner that same night! It was good and kinda nice to catch up with a couple distant cousins. Common questions were asked again and its kinda repetitive of what I had gone through earlier.

Sunday was nice. Had a long day of visiting 3 various places, all with good food awaiting for me to try! Alot of first times that day and the mood of the day was really like a stock market. Reached an early high, plunged 'way below zero point' then started to climb slowly again. Ended the night at Bellini's. Thanks Rine for the card! I doubt I will wanna go Bellini again on a Latin night given the current conditions of the place. Nothing agains the band. Its just the music, crowd and flooring.

This week so far had been rather busy with family stuff and Tues was memorable. Am glad everything ended well that night. Dom had his 'virgin' night in Union. Haha. Someone coined the term and its just so appropriate! Too bad the video is way too large to be uploaded if not would have done so. Not forgetting, I received a gift from Viv!! Thanks girl!! Will try the rose tea some time soon! Hehe.. All the way from Vietnam! Hehe..

Am so looking forward to the wonderfully planned weekend~