beautiful nightscape.


melbourne is beautiful. especially at night!! i always love the views across the river at southbank. my favourite part of the city by far!




i should blog about lots of things from the past week or two (but im not feeling in the mood, so it will have to wait for another day, tomorrow mayhaps).

went to see Harry Potter today, it was fairly good, but i couldnt remember any of the storyline.

also ate A LOT of food today!
cathy's banana and walnut pancakes for breakfast, chicken and mushroom filo pastry, chips and salad for lunch, choc-lamington flavoured milkshake and cinnamon donut for afternoon tea, timtam and crackers with aldi avocado dip (it's good!) for second afternoon tea, rice and beef stirfry for dinner, kiwi fruit and a chocolate drumstick icecream for dessert. needless to say i am feeling very full. and quite fat. but otherwise content. and i should go to bed. i almost feel like reading before bed, but its really too late. so i should just sleep. alrighty then.

oh, this was the new necklace i bought at Diva today. it's pretty, and has a big pendant which i didnt have previously, so it should fit nicely with some outfits that more require attention at the neck, or rather attention taken away from other places (u know what i mean), and it was nice and cheap, and even came with stud earrings too.


crazily enough i just showed Kyla this photo and it turns out she bought the exact same one, from Diva, on the exact same day - today! it's scary how similar we're discovering our tastes are!!! guess we shall be twinnies when wearing our new necklaces haha. on a side note, i've just noticed it's a fairly nice photo i managed to take, considering its after midnight and im tired. haha


i really liked a diamante encrusted key pendant necklace at Diva, which i go and stare at it all the time, haha, but i dont wanna pay $18 for it myself. haha. i got the idea of a diamante key necklace from a j-pop cd actually, haha, ayumi hamasaki's.

it seemed to be the subtle them running through the lyrics booklet and i decided that the coolest thing in the world would be a diamante key necklace. i went hunting for one in every girly shop or market jewelry stall in china but found surprsingly few keys, and none were diamante covered or a decent size. hence i was really shocked when i spotted exactly what i'd been looking for in Diva last week!



perhaps in a few more weeks i shall crack and succumb to paying nigh on $20 for the necklace. haha. i am such a cheap person! i've never really thought of it as being a negative thing, but you know, perhaps it is a bit! it suddenly struck me how annoying it must seem to have someone whining about a fairly cheap priced something, just because its not cheaper. haha never mind... for now i shall not buy it. i will just continue to dream it, in all its coolness. haha!

another side note, i find this a very cool photo from the ayumi cd lyric booklet. that is a very cool looking bedroom!!

other matters.


i realised my uni results were out. scraped in a H1 for chinese, and a H2a for calligraphy, H2b for jap. guess i shall aim to improve next time round, but for now im pleased as punch with my results.

i've fixed up all my subjects selection and will now be studying japanese, china since mao, media in china, and the linguistics of english. im quite pumped. i even stayed up late last night so i could edit my alloc8 timetable as soon as it hit midnight. haha, im such a dork.

but i wanted to get in early so it wouldnt reject my edits by saying 'sorry, that class is full already.u cant change anything!' like last time. i think i have an alright timetable now too.

once again i have fridays totally free, wednesday from 11am onwards is free, and mondays i just have one lecture at midday, which i may or may not choose to attend,depending. tuesdays i have classes straight from 9am-3pm, but i like my classes to be compacted together. it annoys me to sit around for an hr or two just waiting. unless of course its at lunchtime when others are about, but thats unlikely with my classes.

but on thursdays i have a big 3 hour break which is conveniently from 11am-2pm in which i will either meet and chat with people on lunchbreak, go shopping, do some study, or visit korean friends. so it should be managable overall.

worst thing is my 3 x 9am starts! means i wake up at 6:30am. nasty!!! but seeings as its regular perhaps i will get into a routine/ sleeping pattern. maybe, but unlikely. we'll see. i dont really fancy getting up at 6:30am every morning. i thought it was bad enough in china at 7-7:30am for showers! but in anycase i daresay leo will be pleased that i wont be able to be lazy and sleep in til all hours. evil boy!

there's a reason that brunch was invented!

post bday post

*sorry i started this the other day but kept getting a bit distracted so its a few days late but i cant be bothered re-writing it. im sure it all still makes sense ^_^ *

haha, what a cooly symmetrical looking post title! i couldnt resist. yes, 2 days after my birthday and i am fully recuperated and recovered. yesterday was a little rough haha, cos as i discovered house paint fumes are less than desirable when u're feeling a little under the weather. never the less i survived and am still hear to post a blog.


(aside from feeling slightly depressed at leo just telling me that he thinks i look fat in my recent photos (let it be known that the chinese as a race generally lack tact), i am going to flood this blog with an abundance of photos from the birthday day and night.)



my day started just before noon when i got up, showered, dressed, the usual, and dad cooked me some nice fatty bacon and eggs on toast for breakky. yes perhaps this was the culprit source of my supposed 'fatness'. it was rather yumm. as i awoke late, it was more or less lunch.

it was closely followed by the arrival of my aunt and cousins who took up the entire afternoon in entertaining. my grandparents arrived about 4pm and my aunt and cousins left. meanwhile i was busy making a pavlova! thats right baking a cake on my own birthday. but actually the cake wasnt for me, and indeed my family didnt give me a cake either. mum was at work the whole day, poor thing and i didnt see her at all, but she had left me a note for when i woke up and called me around lunchtime too, so that was nice, and odd all at the same time.

on a side note to kick of the photos, these were the pressies i got from family.

the main gift however is my parents are gifting me with a return ticket to china in november, as soon as i finish my exams. they are the best!! and im gonna work my little bum off in those 3 months in china! anyway...

time moved too quickly and alas i had to start dressing up formal for the first of the evenings entertainments, which meant i didnt really end up seeing my grandparents at all. they were staying for dinner with my parents though so their trip wasn't wasted.

1st outing of the night: a joined party with korean friend linda, her flatmates and friends.

it was pretty cool.


they'd cooked a delectable feast, of duk bokki

(now my 2nd favourite korean dish!),


korean bulgogi meat, various green salads, triangle tuna sandwhiches and lots of other yummy bits and pieces. and cake of course, pavlova, mudcake and cheesecake. yumm!


much of the night was taken up with dancing to a mix of korean and western music in their apartment (with a beautiful city night-scape view!) with disco lights, taking spontaneous and posed photos


and watching kyla perform various magic and card tricks.

she's quite good actually!



i got changed out of my formal gear, into my new $6 pink top.

(how cool are halters? i havent worn one for literally years, and annoying as i remembered them to be underwear-wise they just look cool!). hot pink!

with my recently dyed hair, courtesy of linda,
(trained in hairdressing no less!). what could go better?

as i was then late i said a quick goodbye and thank you to the girls, jumped in the elevator and then sprinted in my silly heels down latrobe and swanston streets. why i didnt take a tram i dont know.

met with the school gang (minus brendan who thankfully was a minute later than me, making me feel less guilty) and then we decided not to battle crowds in Cookie, but to stroll around the streets til we found somewhere else. preferably with no covercharge, as i realised embarrassingly as i was changing my clothes i'd forgotten to get money off dad!! i had a total of $6.

but vicki led the way to DeBiers on Flinders lane (quite near degraves street) which both renee and i recognised as being previously managed by megan taylor's parents. they seemed to not own it anymore however. inside to my delight was not overly crowded, had places to sit together, no cover charge, half price drinks for about 20mins of the time we were there

(meaning i had 3 glasses of chardonnay for my $6, thanks to a glass donation from renee), and better yet not only recognisable but also dancable music! as u can guess it suited my evening's tastes very well.

poor daniel may have been feeling a little 'uncomfortable' listening to all the R&B music but for my sake he hid it quite well,

and did a great job taking many amusing photos of guys

who belonged in the 80s fashionwise, my silly and carefree dancing and a movie or two, one with brendan dancing.

many a gorgeous gift were recieved.



ooh, and these shoes were from kyla. so pretty.

silver and pink! how did she pick such perfect colours??

alas, they're half a size too big (i.e.too wide) and so we have to change them. i hope we can get the same style, but she assures me there're lots of other nice ones if not.


and then, the surprise of my night was vicki coming bounding excitedly from out of the girls bathroom exclaiming "i found something in the toilet! you're gonna love it! wait here, i'll bring it to you!"

we were of course, quite disturbed by thoughts of what on earth she'd found and was bringing to us. however it proved to be quite entertaining a surprise, as it was non other than lindsey!!

haha. what an odd coincidence.


i trust everyone had an alright night, whether they got up and boogied for a bit,

just enjoyed the collection of drinks our table accumulated (including a free shot or two i do believe),

or the chatting/ shouting over music as conversations in loud venues are.



and if all that failed to amuse them i believe i did my best in bizarre dancing,

... hour after hour...

i dont think i was always dancing strangely, but i did go through my oddness at some points of the night. (hopefully it was amusing, do let me know please ^_^) i believe it comes of not really caring if people stare or not these days. after a long trip through china i challenge anyone not to give up caring about being stared at for being outrageously alien! and then maybe a little of it is the drink. but i think i'd do the same in any frame of mind.



in an attempt at explanation there was some method behind my madness. you see while vicky and i were on the dancefloor i couldnt help but feel contempt for the 2 or 3 guys that were doing a crap job of a peacock strutting mating dance ritual. hence, naturally i decided that whatever crappy bird mating ritual they could do, i could do it 10 times better, longer and more elaborately. and so i danced.


im not too sure what the crowd of onlookers thought (other than 'omg check it out, this girl is gone!', lindsey at least told me i made her night!), but i felt immensely satisfied post peacock strut. i did feel free to mix in a bit of a chicken feel into it too. perhaps that overpowered my peacock majesty but alas, there's only room for improvement.

i was absolutely kicking myself upon arriving home at the end of the night when lou asked me if i'd mixed in what we titled the 'thunderbird dance' but unfortunately it didnt come to me that night! a shame!!

anyways, aside form odd bird dancing i think the night was pretty normal. i think everyone got up and danced for a bit (in daniel's case taking photos will be classed as dancing) and had some fun, so by my opinion it was a good night. ^_^


vicki was great, as our designated driver, and we all got home without any dilemmas other than a toilet stop in a dark alley on brendan's behalf. i keep wondering if maybe that was when my mysetry bruise appeared, cos otherwise i really have got no idea!

how funny are mystery bruises?! i became keenly aware of one on my right funny bone upon waking the day/noon after my birthday. it was severely bruised for about 3 days, almost a little scratched or bruised and hurt even when leaning on a pillow for god's sake!

and in the fashion of all mystery bruises i have no idea at all of how or when it happened. all i can think is maybe when i got out of the car for brendan, i went and banged it into the shed-like fence which i leaned back against to support myself. haha.

another thought which came to me though is how is it that girls especially when intoxicated manage to not twist their ankles in highheels??


it's so ridiculous. think of how unsteady a drunk preson is balance wise and when walking, and how precarious certain types of high heels can be. but yet when teamed together i've never seen a girl twist her ankle. some high heels are dangerous to just walk in, and yet you can run, jump, dance and do all sorts of things. i tripped/ dropped feet together off the edge of the pavement gutter a few times and even then didnt hurt myself. it really is a another mystery!



i mentioned earlier the not so pleasant day after my bday, made further unpleasant by he smell of paint fumes coming from mum's new interior decorating phase.
but dont worry, now everything all seems good and fine!

thanks for all getting together to help me celebrate despite the short notice. it was great catching up, and oh yay, we get to do it all again this saturday too! at brendan and renee's!!!
^_^

oh and here's a P.S.

this is what i'd look like with a big pink butterfly tattooed on my back!

not that im planning or considering it. it just looks cool with the hot pink top and expanse of skin.

birthday parties without me ?


lou is the best! last year it was daniel and kate making me a birthday cake and celebrating my birthday even without me, and this year it was lou, doing almost the same thing. haha. so funny, yet so sweet.

she sent me this myspace comment and i LOVED it!! and look her new puppy is SO SO cute!
(click to see bigger)


isnt it great. haha. oh, and the last picture is one of my flashcards from teaching the kinder kids. it was the 'happy' card, hehe. ^_^



so, inspired here was my reply to her.



happy birthday to me. lol. hope to see some of u at Cookie tonight! ^_^ *mua*

the beautiful natural

a week or two ago someone asked me what my favourite flower was. it's one of those questions that comes up form time to time, usually in the form of surveys on the computer. but i actually had to stop and think before i answered. what was my one favourite flower??

like with anything, it's quite hard to narrow things down to just one favourite. i cant do it with food, fruit, or colours. numbers is probably the only thing i can narrow down to just one favourite. hence i have given some thought and i have now decided on a short list of favourites among flowers/ plants. in the past on different occasions i would give different answers. compared together i cant choose, hence they're all favourites. (not in pref order)



bamboo:

bamboo's an intriguing plant isnt it? so different to other trees? and full of uses esp among asian cultures. i love the bright and beautiful green.

i imagine forests and forests of it. aside from the insects which are sure to lurk there (and all should know i do hate insects, even ladybirds. butterflies and dragonflies are the too tolerable species, though even they push their luck if they're too close) i'd love to walk through a giant bamboo forest like these.

japanese maple:

the autumn colours of these trees are stunning aren't they? i think the japanese maple trees are very slender and delicate. i dont normally like the colour orange for anything, but its beautiful on this plant.

cherry blossom/ sakura:

another japanese favourite. from a distance they can look like a giant fairy floss tree, but up close the flowers are so pretty!! they photograph well. unusual for me i think i prefer the white variety best.

oriental/ stargazer lily:
there are lots of types of lillies, of them i love oriental or stargazer lillies as they're called. they're so bright and pretty. clearly you can tell the pink and white lilies are my favourites.

water lillies too are quite gorgeous. as an after thought they shall become part of the lily entry. dad took these photos at one of the Imperial Gardens in china. aren't they beautiful!! i think we're getting one blown up and framed.






iris:

i love this flower only in the variety of that blue/purple colour that's hard to know at times if it is blue or indeed purple. i think when the flower is closed it looks best, and bluest, but when it opens its much more purple. always nice in a big bunch.

rose:

yes, boring choice i know. but actually roses are unquestionably beautiful. i like the fuller roses which have more tightly knit petals, layers and layers of petals overlapping together. coming in so many colours and shade variations, they all look quite pretty but pink, deep red and white are most beautiful in my opinion esp amongst deep green colours. im not really partial to blue, yellow, lavendar or fuscia ones, but occasionally there's an outstanding one of these colours.

so now we all know my favourite plants/ flowers. wasnt that interesting.