Checklist

Dopey is graduating soon. Which means, Mum and Dad come to visit from Malaysia. Grandpa is coming as well. And one of Dad's golf buddies... the entire village!!! Did we miss anyone else from KL?

Mum arrives in Melbourne first. Dad and the rest of the boys a few days later. (We can't fit everyone into the car at once, yea.. its called strategic planning & management)

We have to plan on how to work around things with Mum & Dad, to ensure everything goes smoothly while they are here on holiday:

• On Friday morning (Mum arrives on Sat morning), email Mum "What is yr flight number & arrival time?" – CHECK


• Friday arvo, sms-ed Dopey "Please make sure you come home tonight to help me clean the house" – CHECK (no free rides, mate)


• Drinks after work on Friday, unwind in front of friends before it becomes a 'FAMILY AFFAIR' which means no swearing, no leaving shiet lying around, no sleeping in, etc – CHECK


• Friday night, clean bathroom, toilet, vacuum rooms, mop the floor, get rid of ashtrays, lighters, air the house, bring out the Lampe Berger – CHECK


• Friday midnight before go to bed, set alarm clock, can't be late to pick Mum up from airport, she would SOOO have a nervous breakdown – CHECK


• Sat morning, wake up, get changed, wake Dopey & scream at him coz we're running behind schedule – CHECK


• Grab our coffees before we head to the airport only to discover the local café closed.. GOSH, this is NOT GOOD! Ended up getting Gloria Jeans. Worst coffee ever. Will not pay for Gloria Jeans in future – CHECK


• Start the journey.. do not speed, don't get a ticket – CHECK


• Arrive at airport – CHECK


• I see MUM! – YAY!


• Hug mum and burst into tears – CHECK (I'm the biggest sook EVER!!! I haven't seen her for a whole year, that's why!)


• Drive back home. Help mum unpack – CHECK


• Receive all my presents from Msia (make up, cosmetics, contact lens solution, G2000, etc) – CHECK (this is the best part)


• Open up the food box from Msia (ikan bilis, Msian Maggi noodles, roti canai, sambal, curry paste, we miss Msian food so much!) – CHECK


• And of course, special request from Grumpy (my boyf) to his Mum & Dad:
  
  
  

  

Hehehehe.. I know.. WHAT THE???? – CHECK!!

My baby takes the morning train..

We all take the train to work here in Melbourne. In fact, I don't drive on weekdays.. only on my weekends. I think it's a great way to save money (parking in the city is very expensive, petrol is ridiculous), less traffic (though others may not agree) and most importantly it helps reduce global warming. But lets not get me started on global warming. I can go on and on about how ignorant some ppl are towards helping save the environment, especially the ppl whom I live with at the moment – Dopey (my brother) and Grumpy (my boyfriend).

While public transport can be frustrating i.e. cancelled trains, delayed trains, trains chock-a-block full of school kids (hate 'em, please parents… arrange other modes of transport for your kids during peak hour), the list goes on… public transport isn't TOO bad all other times. One thing that still makes me smile today is when the train/ tram driver gets out to help a person in a wheelchair get in/out the train. I don't think I'll ever see it in KL (sad but true).

There are also amusing moments in the train or tram.. like this one:

Sweetie, word of advice, never fall asleep in the tram, with your mouth open.

Someone will spare you an unwanted cigarette.
And take a picture.
And then send it around.
And then post it on a blog.

Fur-heh-hoh Hoh-chey

Isabelle: Bonjour Jooh-leeyy
me: Bonjour Isabelle, comment vas-tu?
Isabelle: Bien, et toi?
me: Bien, merci *smiles*

That is how my day at work kicks off each morning.. not so much the.. 'Gday, How's it going?'

FYI, I'm still working in Melbourne..but this time surrounded by a bunch of wacky French speaking Europeans all the way from Luxemburg (I'm working with them in a pretty huge project)..

Only a few years ago I was dressed in my baju kurung school uniform in a Govt school in Subang Jaya.... going for Bahasa Melayu tuition after school... preparing for SPM! (Don't want to screw up BM in SPM, nanti SAP *gasp*)

Its very interesting really.. the different cultures, different languages.. I lurve it! I lurveeee the way the French speak English!! No way did I ever expect to be explaining to someone what a kang-gah-hoo is (kangaroo)... wombat.. koala bear.. platypus.. possum.... kookaburra?!

At midday, the girl in front of me goes "Jooh-leey.. what day izz today?"
Errmm... 16th.
"NO! NO! What day izz TODAY?"
Crap. What is Friday in blardy French? lundi (mon), mardi (tues), mecredi (wed).. jeudi (thurs)... "Err.....Vendredi?"

Wah lahhh

Before some of you may think I've lost the Malaysian in me... you're wrong! I've already thought my French friend how to say 'Terima Kasih'.
Yay! One point Malaysia!!

A few nights ago, we went for dinner at a Belgian restaurant at St Kilda Rd.

Here's a pic of Isabelle in between conversations:



Its quite hard sometimes... messages do get lost in translation.. (jokes especially)


And also, the introduction to more 'sophisticated' beer...

Yea.. and we thought Stella's, Hoegarrdens, Leffes were cool beers??.. (apparently Stella's are like the Aussie Fosters.. locals don't drink it in Belgium)




And today we discussed chocolates.... theres premium Belgian chocs... then there's the Cadbury's, Kit Kats, Tim tams.. and of course.. Fur-heh-hoh Hoh-chey... YUM!

On a more serious note..

Today has not been the best of days.... one of my closest friends received the news that her dad is ill with cancer. She has been struggling for the past couple of weeks... and today she received the dreaded news. My heart goes out to her and her family. She's struggling to keep a smile on her face while at work... in an open plan office.... Sometimes its a bit overwhelming and news like this takes a while to sink in. The next thing in my head was that she'll definitely be moving back to KL permanently (I would do the same if placed in that position).....



Well maybe not forever.. but at least for a few years to be with her family and to support them. As selfish as this may sound... I don't want another friend of mine from Aus to leave... not one of my closest friends (yeah even though we don't live in the same state, we have the best of both worlds... I crash at her place in Syd, she'll crash at mine in Melb, we club as much as we can... get high, get pissed, dance, bitch, shop at Supre, laugh, cry, talk about the dogs Cutest & Emm.... talk about ex-boyfriends... our youth!! u name it!) I know she wished I was more alcohol-tolerant... hehehe sorry darls, I try so hard... yet I still can't drink as well as you do...



true believers of retail therapy:





I'll be 100% supportive of her decision to go back... though

I'll miss you so much babe!!

Success stories

Every Monday.... you have to ask the person at work sitting next to you, in front of you, behind you, at the kitchen, in the lifts, in the toilets, at the foyer, queue-ing up for coffee at Flinders Lane... "So did you have a good weekend??" and be prepared to tell them in return what YOU did over your weekend..

"I didn't get up to much" (meaning I don't feel like talking so bugger off) "Err... quiet one really.." (meaning I got pissed drunk, and have no idea how I got home)... others will literally give a detailed story (similar to minutes of a meeting... more like minutes of a weekend - Too Much Information wei..)

So here's what I did over my weekend....

BEFORE

AFTER

I did it all by myself. In my own home, clippers $20 from Kmart! Yeap, another dog grooming DIY success story!!! Saved myself $65 (that makes me a tightarse...)

Although... the dog is not talking to me now.....