survey in Melbourne

Came in to work this morning, and I got this email from my close friend at work back in Australia:

Dear Trouble,

I have taken a survey in Melbourne and no one wants you to come back….particularly Emmett!

Thought you should know.

*Sydney Boy*

Too funny! He has always called me Trouble, and is probably missing me a lot and counting down the days to my return! hahaha.. Sydney boy is a very dear friend of mine. We were able to meet up in London back in September, which was great. We are constantly texting each other, which drives Grumpy nuts. But thing is, he is your typical Australian gay friend!! He is based in Sydney, but was in Melbourne working with me for about a year. He loved.. absolutely loved, drawing on my arm. I used to go home with pen marks all over my arm, and Grumpy would literally go "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AT WORK?!" hahahaThis is his work (see below), although this time, not on my arm:

If there's one thing I look forward to upon my return to work in the circus in Melbourne, it would have to be the good friends I have in the Melbourne office..

It is all about me

Time flies so quickly.. I can't believe it. I've only got 3 more weeks left here in Ireland, I'm running out of time! So much to do, both at work and at home (haven't packed at all).

I've been working til late most nights, stressing out and stuff.

After work I go home, too lazy to do anything, I grab takeaway, and watch Dawson's Creek DVDs. 

But no complains to be honest, I'm enjoying my remaining time here in Dublin. 

Weekends, it is all about me. 

Saturdays - I wake up, then I go for a run around the canal (temperatures are about 2 degrees, I swear I look like a running eskimo), then I get some breakfast, then I'm off shopping in town for the entire day. Shopping in Dublin is amazing... expensive, but it is great because they have so many wonderful labels here which we don't get back in Australia. For clothes, I love to go to Topshop, H&M and Zara. A lot of my food shopping I do at Marks & Spencer foodhall. Seriously I could just live there. They make great microwavable meals - all portions for one (sad, I know). They are actually quite pricey, but what the hell.. thats why I get an allowance here in Europe anyways. I don't buy fruits & veggies in its natural form anymore, I get the ready cut and mixed ones from M&S, packed in nice containers, it makes life so much easier! I love M&S!

Sundays - I sleep in and I run in the afternoons instead. After a run, I fill up the tub with hot water, pour all the bath foams from my Europe hotels collection, I bring my macbook into the bathroom (I can only imagine Grumpy's face if I accidently drop it in the tub!), pop my Duffy CD and just soak in my bubble bath til I prune!

Reality is, as much as I'm loving everything as it is at the moment,  I don't think I can live like this forever, I will end up broke, and become a lonely spinster. 

Although, I am sure of this >>> give me a month (tops) back in Australia, and I will wish I am back here in Dublin!

Friday night at the races

Well folks, that’s one weekend down, another five to go. Actually its six, but that sixth weekend I’ll be in the plane making my way home, so really, its only five more weekends left here in Ireland. 

Friday night I went to the dog races. It was an event that was organised by work, all paid for by the company, for all departments. I wasn’t too keen at first, because I told Paddy it was mean, and I am one person that is ALL for the dogs. Everyone assured me that it is fine, that the dogs really enjoy running and it is a lot of fun. After all, its free drinks all paid for by work! I said “But if any of the dogs get injured while racing, I’m sure they get put to sleep” Paddy said “Aww Jules, it’s the same thing, I mean, you could be walking a dog down the road and the dog could still break a leg” I replied “I bet they get locked up in cages as well” They were like “Nahhh they get treated really well” Okay okay count me in.

Irish greyhound racing is really popular here, and its like a family event really. The mum’s and dad’s bring their kids here for a gamble and everyone enjoys watching the dogs chase an artificial hare. 

I forgot to bring my camera along with me (bummer), but here is a picture I got from Google. This was the greyhound stadium I went to. They have special packages and you can even enjoy a nice dinner and a glass of wine while watching the dogs.

Before we went to the races, we made a pitstop at a pub. Which is mandatory for Irish standards. And while we were all at the pub, I think the boys had at least 4 pints each. It was mad, I am convinced that they started drinking from a young age… before they even started crawling. 

At the races, I placed two bets, I didn’t win anything, but some of the others did. Greyhound racing is different to the horses, the dogs are so fast but their tracks are shorter and it all happens so quickly. There were 11 races in total. 

By the end of the last race, after a few drinks, (considering the lousy drunk I was) I was a happy camper. Everyone else I knew drank like a fish, and all the goss from work was coming out from every direction. Little Miss Frenchie (a French girl I sat next to for the first few months when I started work here) was rather drunk, and she is the type that gets Emo-drunk. Hahaha it was quite funny, she started talking about the shitburgers she’s had at work, and she was sobbing away. I was like “Whats a shitburger?” Paddy was like “You know Jules, when everything is going wrong at work, and you just had a bite of that shitburger? That’s a shitburger" Hahaha didn’t make any sense, but by that time, I’m sure he was sipping he’s 12^th pint. 

You would think the night would end there, but it didn’t. They wouldn’t let me go home. We all made our way to a club. I was like “A club?! You have clubbing in Ireland?!” Of course WE have clubs in Ireland. Well, sorry, I thought it was only pubs in Ireland. 

It was a lot of fun at the club, called DTwo. These Irish lads were dancing like there was no tomorrow. My entire working life, I’ve never seen my workmates dance like that before, it was absolutely hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. 

When I finally called it a night, I hopped on a cab and headed home. I don’t know what it was, I reckon all that alcohol in me, I couldn’t remember exactly my conversation with the old Irish cab driver, but when we arrived at my apartment, I was about to pay the cab fare, which was something like 13.50 euros, he said to me “Because you are such a lovely young lady, I’ll only charge you 11 euros”. I have never had a discount on my cab fare before, ever! I said to him “Because you are such a lovely man, I’ll give you 12 euros!” That was a deal, and he gave me his phone number and he said “You give me a call the next time you need a cab!” I said “Okay you can take me to the airport when I head home to Australia!” Only in Ireland, you’ll meet lovely people from all walks of life! 

A typical day at work

Part of living and working here in Ireland, is that I meet the local people and I learn a lot.. I learn about their culture, their language, their history, their country and their lives. You don't really get that when you're just traveling on a holiday, I mean, the hotel concierge doesn't really count. 

And over here in Ireland, I have met people that either love Australia, or absolutely hate Australia. The 'love' Australia part, is normal, I mean I have met so many Irish people while working in the Melbourne office. But the people that absolutely hate Australia, of course you won't meet them in Australia, are absolutely hilarious. The guy that sits right in front of me, Paddy (okay, he's real name is not Paddy) is your typical Irish guy that does not like anything about Australia.

"There are only convicts in Australia, Jules" 

I reply "You can criticise Australia as much as you want Paddy, I don't care because I am not Australian"

"Yes you are Jules, YOU live there, YOU are Australian"

Me "No Paddy, I am Malaysian, I live in Australia but I am Malaysian"

"No you're not, you live in Australia, YOU are Australian"

Then he goes "Streuth Jules, Streuuuuthh"

I say to him "Paddy, I have lived in Australia for 6 years now, I have never heard of the word Streuth before" 

"Streuuuuuuth Jules"

A word he probably picked up from Home and Away. 

"Seriously Paddy, we never use that word in Melbourne"

Paddy replies "What a shocker Jules....!!" hahaha again, a word that is very commonly used in Australia.

"Yes Streuuuuthhh Paddy, streeuuuth"

"What a shocker, Jules... You've had an absolute shocker Jules"

Oh shut up Paddy. Streuth Jules.

Everyday we have the same conversation, over and over again. All good craic. (Craic is an Irish slang, for... fun). I know my boss is sitting next to us, muttering under her breath "don't these two have any work to do?"

Feck It

I have been counting down the days as to when I return home to Melbourne…. I’ve had my fair share of fun.. 7 more weeks to go! No more visitors, so its just me myself and I now. No more travelling as well. I am so broke! I could squeeze one last trip because Ireland has a bank holiday at end of the month, but really, its no fun traveling to a different country alone. I am keen on going to Spain, but I will probably give it a miss.

It wasn’t a good day today. I mean work was grand and stuff, but I had to give confirmation to my Melbourne boss that I would return to the office soon, and resume my normal role… sad sad sad… but then again, it would be too good to be true if I had everything MY way, would it? Not only that, the two major projects I am involved in, has been delayed… which might probably mean I will leave before it finishes. That sucks. Oh well. Someone from the London office asked if I were interested in a role there after Dublin? No no no no… I mean it would be great, but no… I have a personal life and commitments! I dare not even explore that option to London because it just messes up my head.

Times like these I look at my photo album to cheer myself up, apart from throwing all my frustrations at Grumpy.

Grumpy at the Ha’penny bridge in Dublin. Its short for ‘half a penny’, the story is… back then, to cross to the other side of the bridge, you need to pay half a penny.

 

Grumpy and his love for a good pint of Guinness.

 

This was when we went to this tapas bar. Tapas in Australia would mean small portions of food, but look at the serve of this! Yummm.. we were meant to go for a tour outside of Dublin, but decided to just stay back in the city and relax and stuff ourselves with food and beer.

 This would have to be my favourite picture of them all. Hahaha he looks hilarious! Classic.

Grumpy loved the music on the streets of Dublin. You can listen to traditional Irish folk music in pubs, and its absolutely amazing, the ambience, the crowd, the music, it was lots of fun.

 

This is a hotel and pub. Called the Schoolhouse Hotel. It used to be a school. Lovely place.

We’d kick start our session with a Baby Guinness each. Tastes really nice for a shot, because it has Baileys in it.

And then it goes straight to my head…

And we go home drunk... and took a picture of me with heaps of Chanel bags, which Grumpy bought from Dublin’s high-end department store. He bought that many Chanel bags, the sales assistant in Chanel said to me “you are one lucky lady” like… hello…. They are not all for me!!!!! The other bag on the right is a Bottega Veneta bag which was purchased from Harvey Nichols in London. Not mine again..but for his mum. It was quite crazy, Europe is so expensive yet his family thought these bags were cheap compared to KL. Grumpy was clearly the bag lady here in Europe.

All good fun. But of course, all good things must come to an end… Like how an Irish would say.. ahhh feck it, Jules, feck it!

miserable cow

I updated my Facebook status just before that I was a miserable cow.

Its true. There was a lot of tears today.

I said goodbye to Mum at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport this morning. We both went to the airport together. I took the 9.40am flight back to Dublin. Mum took the 12 noon flight back to Kuala Lumpur. It was hard.

Today I came home to an empty apartment. I cooked myself miserable noodles, smoked some miserable cigarettes and kept to my miserable self again.

Only last week I had a small fight with Grumpy. The Dublin office asked if I wanted to extend my stay here in Dublin. Because I was my happy self at that time.. enjoying Mum's company, I thought life in Dublin was really quite nice. So for a minute there, yes, I was considering staying back in Dublin. Grumpy asked me why? I said well, because I enjoyed my work here in Dublin and don't really want to go back working in the circus. He was very quick to say that it meant I picked my work over him and my family back home. I wanted to prove him wrong, so I went back to my colleagues in Dublin and said No, I will go home to Melbourne as agreed initially.

At this point, I really do miss home and I'm glad I didn't commit to a longer work assignment here in Dublin. 

Ah well.. 2 more months! 2 moreeeee months!

This is a picture of me in Amsterdam. Lovely city. Gorgeous weather over the weekend. Netherlands is a beautiful country. Again, something to remind me that if it wasn't for work, I wouldn't have the opportunity to visit these amazing places so soon! I'll write more about my trip to Amsterdam later. Going to bed now. Goodnight.

London town

My weekend in London was good. This was my 4th trip to London. It was slightly different compared to my previous trips to London, only because this time I was with Mum, 2 of my aunts and another lady who was a friend of my aunt. Yes, as you can imagine, by the end of my London trip, I was Auntie-fied. All that Auntie talk... the only thing they would talk about is pickpockets in London.. Therefore throughout the entire trip, the only thing that was going on in my head was "I am going to be robbed, I am going to be robbed, I am going to be robbed"

But despite all that, it was nice to meet up with some family I haven't seen in a long time. Was telling Litte Miss Juicy Pops (who sits next to me at work), that this 67 year old aunt of mine, lived in London nearly all her life, still works mad hours (6am til 11.45pm) as a nurse, and is the type of person who lives to work, so that she can send money back to Malaysia. Yes, she belongs to that generation that lives overseas and will ALWAYS make it a point to send money back to her family at home. On the contrary, I also work and live overseas, but yeah.. I just spend ALL my money on myself. She puts me to shame, seriously. 

Hmm... at least I bought Mum tickets to go watch Wicked on a Saturday night. It was absolutely brilliant. If you happen to be in London, you HAVE to go watch Wicked, The Musical. Yes, you can see it in Melbourne, but HEL-LO, this is London's WEST END! Was a little worried Mum would not have liked it, she is quite hard to please sometimes.. but I was pleasantly surprised when she said she loved it and was happy I bought those tickets. Very expensive, but definitely worth it. We're going to another musical on Thursday here in Dublin, the Elvis Presley story...!  

Work was good today. Its actually Little Miss Juicy Pop's last week in the company. I will miss her!! She's got another job with one of our competitors. We're good friends.. she spoke about her going away drinks just now, so I offered to send an email out to the entire department for her... to invite everyone for drinks.

Hi everyone,

 

As you all know, Friday is *Little Miss Juicy Pops* last day here, it would be great if you could join her for a drink at *Irish Pub* after work on Friday (around 5.45pm).

 

Hope to see you there.

 

Thanks.

After I hit the send button, she said to me "Jules, you sound like I'm dying and you're inviting people to my funeral or something.. " hahaha we couldn't stop laughing... Does it?  

cbf mode

This has been quite a busy week. 

I was in London last weekend. Met up with some colleagues from our other offices. It was good fun, but I was exhausted. The weather wasn't all that fantastic too, it rained all weekend in London. 

But I swear, I've been at my laziest... cbf mode. 

I took an early flight home from London on Sunday arvo. Hoping to clean the house. That didn't happen. 

Work has been crap this week as well. Been caught up in other things that have sort of taken my time away from my main project. My boss told me my project, like every other major project, will probably be delayed.... bad news, because if that gets delayed... I don't know... I still hope to go home to Melbourne by December. Good thing is I've been learning about hedge funds... there has been so many problems, my colleagues absolutely hate it, haha but I love a challenge! Hedge funds? Bring it on!!!

Anyways, enough about work. Mum arrives Dublin tomorrow morning. I am so excited! Mum's excited herself. We go to London together next weekend, and the following weekend, we'll be in Amsterdam. We'll both get high together in Amsterdam. 

I have the best mother in the world, seriously. When Grumpy left, she was sad as well, sad because I was sad. Sometimes looking back at everything, I am standing here in Dublin today... it is all because of her and Dad. My parents were the two people that has made everything possible. The opportunities I've had, the challenges I face, the many people I've met, my time in Australia, Dublin, Europe, my studies, work, house, everything... ultimately everything was made possible by my mum and dad. I'm so blessed to have such loving and supportive parents. Grumpy's family has been equally supportive as well. Which we are both extremely grateful and thankful of. 

Mum's time in Europe will be interesting. She will be multiplying everything by 5. 

True Love

True love is when Grumpy flew around the world – rushing like crazy in the many different airports in between transit to make it for the each flight… to come see me here in Dublin!

True love is Grumpy buying me a kimono, 10 different types of Japanese cup noodles, 6 different flavoured Japanese lip balms, Japanese cakes, rice crackers, biscuits, chocolates and lollies while he was in transit in Tokyo. Bearing in mind, all I got him while I was in Germany earlier in July was a packet of Knoppers. Hehehe it is a delicious chocolate wafer, and only cost me 40 cents.

True love is us not having a worry in the world, even though his luggage didn’t arrive Dublin that night when he got here, because we were happy as long as we had each other.

True love is us unable to sleep that night he got here because we were so excited after being apart for 7 weeks, despite the fact that we knew we had to be up early as I’d booked for a taxi to pick us up at 4.30am the next morning to bring us to the airport to catch our flight to Rome.

True love is us, still unable to sleep during our 4 hour flight to Rome, because we had so much catching up to do. We couldn’t stop talking!

True love is when Grumpy went down on one knee, pulled out a beautiful diamond ring in a lovely romantic restaurant in Venice and asked me to marry him.

True love is us having the ability to share unforgettable experiences in Rome, Venice, Prague, Berlin, Paris, London and Dublin. We will never forget our time together here in Europe.

True love is me returning to Dublin at midnight each Sunday, going to work the next Monday.  Then come Friday afternoon, we are off again to another country. This was really hard work!

True love is when Grumpy bought me a cake, lit candles, sang Happy Birthday at 12 midnight on the eve of my birthday.

True love is when Grumpy bought me a Louis Vuitton bangle as a gift for my birthday, and when I said I loved it (which was a bit of a white lie)… I didn’t sound convincing enough, so he took it back and exchanged it for a Chanel bag instead, which ended up costing a lot more… hehe I am so spoilt.

True love is me, begging Grumpy to stay… every 5 seconds.. during the final week of his time here in Dublin.

True love is Grumpy cooking me scrumptious meals, and freezing them up, making sure I had yummy food to eat when he is no longer in Dublin with me.

True love is me crying my heart out in the airport, because Grumpy was leaving Dublin to make his way home.

True love is me taking up smoking again, to curb with us being apart again.. it will be another 4 more months before we get to see each other again! Too long!

True love is cruel love.

True love is beautiful love.

Three more days... OMG

You cannot imagine the excitement in me right now..

In three days, Grumpy will be arriving here in Dublin!! 

It feels like forever. I bet the next three days will be the longest three days ever!!

Although, today at work, I was checking out his flight itinerary, and looking at the day he leaves Dublin to go home. He's not even here yet, and I'm already sad that he will be leaving me end of August to make his way back to Melbourne. With a stopover in KL, which is totally unfair, but thats a different story. I dread the time he goes and leaves me here all by myself again. I could not cope. No way. I will be devastated.

Not only that, he has the wackiest flight routes too. He flies Melbourne > Tokyo > Copenhagen > Birmingham > Dublin. And guess what? He arrives Friday at 11pm. We fly off to Rome Saturday 7am! I emailed Mum and Dad today.. with my Europe itinerary. And I said to them, if Grumpy's flights to Dublin are somewhat delayed or cancelled.. does that mean I am going to Rome alone? 

I sound like a Negative Nancy.

But on the flip side, there is a lot happening at work this week, so that should keep me occupied. On Monday, an email was sent out to kick start a pretty significant project here. I'm the lead business analyst on this. Exciting, yet the other side of me is terrified. The 'tidak apa' attitude of some people in the teams here worries me that when they go live on the new implementation, it will fail. And no way I want to fly back to Melbourne with a 'FAILED' stamp on my forehead.

I sound like a Negative Nancy again.

The next two days I'm busy with workshops. We have 2 colleagues from our Lux office here for these workshops. I've been asked to be their host tomorrow night and take them out for drinks and dinner, and charge it to the company. That's fine. Only problem is, I'm as much a tourist as they are here in Dublin. Little Miss Whats-For-Lunch said "don't forget your map, Jules!" 

Some pictures that I was looking through before..

Our recent holiday at Queensland. (More pictures to come 'when'.. I mean, 'if'... we make it to Rome. After Rome, we'll make our way to Venice, Prague and then Berlin)

My close friends. I miss them. It would be absolutely amazing if they were all here in Europe and we can do weekends in Paris or London together. 

And of course, my little puppy. He looks funny here. I don't like it when I can't see his eyes. I love looking at his eyes. But Grumpy prefers it when his hair covers his eyes. 

THREE MORE DAYS!!! AHHHHHH

Weekend in Deutschland

Geez I swear, living by myself, I do anything I want, whenever, whatever… 

In an odd way, I must admit it is quite liberating. Minus all the frozen meals. Hahaha 

Things have been going well here in Dublin.

I sleep better.

I go running around the canal.

I drink Guinness with blackcurrant.

And, I went to Germany last weekend.

Germany was amazing. I had such a fantastic time.  I loved it so much, I hope to go back again.

It wasn’t a direct flight to Dusseldorf. I had a stopover in London. Cheaper that way.

Little Miss Gypsy picked me up from the airport. Walking towards her car, I was waiting for her to open the door, she says to me “You wanna drive or what?”

“No, are you crazy!” And then I realised it was left-hand drive! Derrr.. hehehe It felt very weird. Even when on the road, the lanes are the other way round. It took a while to get used to. I felt I was travelling against the ‘normal’ direction of travel and that we were about to hit on-coming cars.

We travelled on the autobahn. It is brilliant! The cars go so fast! Grumpy and I will be making our way to Berlin next month. Another German friend has been kind enough to map me the routes so that Grumpy can go ‘his’ way on the ‘highway’.

Dusseldorf was a nice city. It had a two parts to it, a modern part, and the Old city. Very upmarket. Shopping in Dusseldorf is so much better than in Dublin. Best part of it was the fact it was SOO dog friendly. Seriously, you can take your dog with you inside the shopping centres, in the boutiques, in the airport.

I stayed in Little Miss Gypsy’s home, which was located in Wuppertal. About a 20 minute train ride from Dusseldorf. She lives in a very cosy apartment. Felt very much at home.

We travelled on the Schwebebahn. Something very special to Wuppertal. 

We drank beer, exchanged stories, we even went for a walk with Little Miss Gypsy’s best friend and her dog to the forest in the pouring rain. It was lots of fun!

I guess this trip was really good, because I was with a friend, who was a local, and we went places where the locals would go.  It was also my first taste of non-English speaking Europe. I learnt a lot about Germany during my short trip, picked up a few words… and I am even more curious about Germany now. When I was living in Melb, Germany didn’t appeal much to me. But now that I’ve experienced Germany, I really like it there.  

(More pics in Facebook)

Chips or Rice

Things are going rather well, I must say. I mean, things could be a lot worse.. but they are not. Which I should be grateful for.

I'm here for work... work sent me here.. work paid a lot of money for me to come here.. so of course, in return, I get a lot of 'work'.. and occasionally feel like I'm struggling. I must say, everyone in the office is nice and friendly. I have made some friends, but no one particularly close enough whereby I can hang out with outside of work on the weekends.

Work has mentioned they would love if I could stay here longer. 

On the weekdays, I'll tell Grumpy.. "yea, I could go back for Christmas, and come back to Dublin for another 6 months.." 

And then comes the lonely weekends, I'm all teary-eyed telling Grumpy "I want to go back home now!!!! I don't want to be here!!!! I want to be back in Melbourne!!!!" 

I walk to work each day. Each morning I walk past a church. And this guy brings his Westie out on the church lawns every morning. Its an absolutely perfect way to start my day. Always puts a smile on my face.. 

Today on my way home, I decide to try this Chinese/Thai takeaway place. I look at the menu. The usual.. green curry, red curry, sweet and sour pork, lemon chicken, fried rice. I decide on Chicken with Thai Sauce. The Chinese guy says to me "You want with chips?Or rice?"

Oh gawd. Take me home.  

just run jules!

They've given me my clothes for tag rugby tonight!

I have a white polo tee - with the company logo on the front, and number 7 at the back.

and short shorts - with velcro at the side for the tags.

 

Apparently i'm competing tonight! with other companies!! representing the company! oh gawd I will SOO disappoint the team!

 

Everyone said I should try it.. I've never heard of tag rugby so I thought it might be interesting.

 

I wonder if its too late to back out now?

 

Everyone goes to me "its like rugby.. you know rugby rite?"

me "err nope.."

 

Then they go "hmmm..."

*pause*

"just run, jules"

two weeks

It has been nearly two weeks already! I can’t believe I’m really here in Dublin.

After Abu Dhabi, I flew to Dublin. It was an 8 hour flight. Again, I slept thru about more than 5-6 hours straight. So far, my experience with Etihad has been a positive one.

This is how the premium lounge looks. Very comfortable, Etihad staff were very friendly.

 

This is all I need to stay alive – fruit, Arab Perrier, Filofax, mobile phone, Mac book pro and MSN! 

Abu Dhabi airport. Very small airport, shaped like a dome.

Arrived Dublin, checked in to hotel. Ended up staying 4 nights in the hotel. Every morning I go down to the restaurant for breakfast, and by day 2, I was sick of bacon, eggs and baked beans.

Took 3 lousy pictures of the city! Dublin is actually a very small and expensive city.

There are hardly any tall skyscrapers here. The government puts restrictions on tall buildings, rather, preserving the historic buildings. Hypermarkets are a big NO NO. Everyone tells me “you should check out that shop, its hugeeee!” and then I get there, and I go “WHAT?! This is tiny!!!” A guy at work talks about this massive building, saying I couldn’t miss it. He said it has 15 floors!! FIFTEEN floors!!! I’m like “oh okay… wait til you see our government housing commission flats in Melbourne!”

I guess one way of putting it is that good things come in small packages. 

I must admit, I am still a little bit jetlagged, but I wouldn’t say it was too bad. I am fine during the day, but for about more than a week, I wake up at 3am each morning, and have trouble getting back to sleep.  Its getting slightly better now, this morning, I woke up at about 5am, but I was able to go back to bed for another hour.  Summer here – the sun rises at approx 4.30am, and sets only at 10pm.

Work has organised a nice and modern furnished one bedroom apartment for me.  It is about 15 minutes walk to work, but after experiencing extremely bad weather on the weekend, I now take the train to work. There is a train station in front of my apartment (hence, the noise), and in just 2 stops, I’m at work. Train station is next to the office.  Apparently, I live in a posh area in Dublin. I’ve seen more ‘posh’ in Melbourne, but lets not get me started. My apartment is also next to the Google offices. The next time I want to google something, I’ll just step out on the balcony and yell out my question. 

Here are pics of the apartment.

 

Views from my balcony.

 

This is the Google office.

Last weekend was awful. I was all alone. Homesick, and missing Grumpy more than anything!! Think Alicia Keyes.. “Some ppl want diamonds rings, some just want everything.. but everything means nothing, if I ain’t got you…” Doesn’t help with the time difference! We struggle just trying to have a chat with each other. I count down the days each day, before we meet again!

Hopefully this weekend will be better. I’ve bought a day tour ticket to Galway for this Saturday.  Haha, decided I had to visit Galway after watching PS I Love You.  I’ve also signed up for tag rugby, playing for the company. What is tag rugby? No idea, I’ll find out tomorrow!

transit in Abu Dhabi

I must admit, I was not the happiest camper when I got my flight itinerary on Wednesday. Thats right, I fly off on Friday, but got it only on Wednesday. I was to fly from Melbourne to Sydney - Abu Dhabi - Dublin. On Etihad airlines. First thing I did was message my mother, "MUM! Where the hell is Abu Dhabi? And what the hell is Etihad airlines?!"

I googled Abu Dhabi, googled Etihad airlines... and the worst part, transit in Abu Dhabi for 14 hours. No hotel to put up in, only lounge facilities. 

Anyways, as the world has much more important things to worry about such as poverty, war, world economy and politics, I decided that I was just going to stop being a drama queen and be thankful of this opportunity.

Packed all my stuff... the dog has not been too happy looking at the suitcases, etc. 

Thursday was my last day at the circus. I was hoping to leave early, to resume to packing, but did you think they'd let me leave early? NO! Got an outlook appointment for my farewell presentation, 4.30pm! What the?! Whatever. Despite all that, I was very overwhelmed and touched by the well wishes I got from lots of friends.. friends from the company I used to work in, and friends from the circus, etc. I will miss them all. Someone wrote on my farewell card 'have fun in iraq'! (because I could not shut up about my transit in the Middle East)

Friday, on the way to the airport, mobile wouldn't stop ringing... hehe more of my lovely friends called to say goodbye. They are so sweet. 

I check in with Virginblue. I'm flew domestic to Sydney first. Good thing is that I can spend more time with Grumpy, as he can sit next to me til the minute I actually board the plane. Told my friends it felt very weird sitting in the Virginblue waiting area. Only because the whole 'going overseas' thing didn't quite sink in yet, and I felt more like I was going to Sydney for the weekend. I was quite emotional, but it wasn't as bad as what I was expecting. Grumpy was perfectly fine. He was looking forward to Europe!

Got to Sydney OK. Waited in the Qantas lounge, free food, free Internet. It was OK.

Took the next flight to Abu Dhabi. It was a 15 hour flight. I slept more than 12 hours straight through.... I guess I must've been very tired. Etihad's business class seats are quite impressive. There are little walls next to our seats, so it gives us all our privacy we need. And the seats recline to a bed. There I was sleeping like a princess, with my legs stretched out. Didn't even eat much, no appetite. Did not even finish the movie I started watching, Fools Gold, or something that like. Matthew McConaughey, hot hot hot. 

And now I'm at Abu Dhabi airport. Read a bit about Abu Dhabi on the plane. Its not THAT bad, close to Dubai, and of course, a lot of rich arabs, expensive cars, fancy buildings, etc. I've got another 8-9 hours before my next flight to Dublin. The Etihad premium lounge is good. There is free wireless internet, so I can go online on my new Mac book pro. Didn't get that at the Qantas lounge in Sydney. Food is OK, had 2 bowls of spaghetti, and saffron rice. There are also spa facilities here. I was very quick to book in for a neck and shoulder massage. Very very nice. Relaxing. 

Then after that, I took a nice and warm shower.

I also went out for a walk around Abu Dhabi airport. Its not a big airport. Some people are sleeping on the floor. I wanted to take more pictures, pictures of the people, etc. But I am very conscious of the arab culture, and worried some people make find it offensive. Esp the men in white gowns with white fabrics around their heads. I went looking for a fridge magnet. An Abu Dhabi fridge magnet. Couldn't find a nice one. I collect fridge magnets. I hope to collect lots more once I get to Europe. 

Work has not found the right accommodation for me yet. Therefore I'll be staying for 2 nights at a hotel in Dublin. Damn, was hoping to settle in to my place.. but again, I remind myself that the world has much more important things to deal with.

Will write more once I get to Dublin. 

big sook

As time draws closer to my departure date, I have mixed emotions about leaving.
I am so excited yet the whole thing terrifies me at the same time.

One minute, I just can't wait to touch down in Dublin. Exploring Europe... going to London... going to Paris!! PARIS OH MI GAWD.... going to Rome, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Venice, Prague, Nice, whatever... endless. If I do get bored in Dublin town, I plan to go for French classes. Its about time I stopped saying 'Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir'!

The other minute, I just want to stay here, at my very safe home, with my very lovely Grumpy and my very loyal precious dog. Watching reruns of SATC and Girls of the Playboy mansion all day on Foxtel. Seriously, this is really what I have been doing all day. And it feels good.. to just laze around in my trackie-daks in front the TV.

I have been counting down the days. Today marks the end of my last weekend here. I am lucky it happened to be the long weekend. Last week I booked in for chiro, optometrist, manicure, pedicure, hair perm (which didn't turn out all that good, see pics below. Bugger!). I have also been catching up with friends, and Grumpy has been repeatedly asking me "What do YOU want to eat?"

On Saturday night, we all got quite happy and high. Haha it worries me sometimes when Grumpy keeps encouraging me.

Last night, we had Korean bbq with our close friends, Mr Happy and Little Miss Happy. They are such a lovely couple.


Then, we headed to Lygon's for coffee. Look at my hair, disaster.


Last day at the circus is Thursday. I fly off on Friday.

I will miss my two darlings...

Grumpy, I will reunite with him in about 7 weeks time. He will stopover in KL first, to get pissed and drunk, then continue his journey to meet his lovely better half, ME!

I will miss him the MOST!

Mummy, are you leaving me?

My little puppy..

You can bet that I'll be the biggest sook on Friday.

you gotta have talent

Its one thing to have friends...
You could have friends with money.
Friends with good looks.
Friends with brains.
Friends who have it all...
But nothing beats MY friends.
My friends with talent!
Thats right, I am so blessed to have friends just bursting with talent!

Look what arrived in the post today.

My scarf... knitted by my friend Mich. Isn't it lovely? Isn't she lovely?
She is sooooo talented, its not funny. She can knit anything, for her hubby, for her mum, sister, two puppies... and of course, me! You name it, she knits it!

I love it!

By the way, the curtains at the back, Grumpy's mum made it for our home.

Yes, I get everyone to make me things. I call it pro bono work. LOL.

Another talented friend which I have to mention is Little Miss Somersault.

She made this piece of art for Miss Drink-A-Lot's birthday, which definitely put a smile (and more smiles) on all of our faces.

I am bad with pictures. I wish I could make it a little bigger. But there I am as Laa-Laa, the yellow teletubby. Something that goes way back more than 10 years ago. Still not forgettable for some :)

Facebook Status Updates

Jules Ng :Oooooh, I love a bit of cake. Oooooh, cake. Oooooh, cake. Cake. Cake. Cake. Cake. I'm just one of these people. I come home and I need a piece of cake!

Updated on Monday 9.11pm

email received from Sydney boy. Monday 9.36pm

You are an idiot!

freaking contract

I have been rather occupied lately.

Grumpy's mum & dad are here for holidays. Yes, the out-laws.

So far so good. I have been on my best behaviour, lol.

This is us at the Belgian beer cafe.

On Friday, I worked in the morning, but had the rest of the afternoon off. We headed out to the crazy beautiful Yarra Valley. It was Grumpy's birthday too. I have not had the time to get him a present. I am such a bad girlfriend.

Grumpy's mum & I.

Us again. Note: shadows - Grumpy snapping our picture against the setting sun.

Now on to something else. My work visa to Dublin has been approved. Which is fantastic, yet scary at the same time. On Friday, they advertised my current job in the Melbourne office. The thing that shits me the most is the freaking contract. Where is this contract? I have not seen my contract yet or signed anything. But I should prepare myself. I would probably be leaving in about 4-5 weeks. OMG. Can't believe its all happening.

I have been going to the Buddhist centre recently - Ajahn Brahm is here in Melbourne. I love listening to him speak. His Dhamma talks does not put you to sleep. And - he loves a stir. Don't we all? His topics are quite controversial at times.

Had a meditation session this morning. First timer. Ouch my legs.

happy when I don't go to work

I pulled a sickie today. It wasn't planned. I woke up, fed the dog, ate my breakfast, I even packed some cake I baked for Miss Whats-for-Lunch. The next thing I know, I'm in the toilet suffering from a crazy tummy ache.

Rang my team leader - I'm not coming in today. "Hope you get better, Jules" Yea sure whatever you wanker.

I lie in bed, crouched with my little puppy beside me. Then the sms-es start coming in.

"Are you OK Jules?" Miss Whats-for-Lunch asks.
Then she goes on about how she feels she is such a loner, buying toast downstairs at the cafe by herself just because I'm not in today. I assure her I'll be back to do my normal duties again tomorrow.

And then I get kicked out of my room, because Grumpy is trying to sleep, and all he can hear is my mobile phone going off and a lot of texting. But I thought I was the one that was sick?

I email Mum, to tell her I'm not at work today. This is what she emailed me back "Yes, go see a doctor and get an MC. I feel happy when u don't go to work and face the shit in the office."
Mum, I am so glad we are all on the same page.

I made an appointment with the doctor. And Grumpy... my Grumpy, has volunteered to take me to the doctors.... only because he is feeling lazy and is taking this as a 'sleeping in' opportunity. He calls his work to inform them that his girlfriend is 'really sick' today and needs to care for me. Lies lies lies.

After I collected my medical certificate, we head off for a nice lunch. Its one of our few days left of 'being alone' before the out-laws arrive this weekend. We wanted to try this Shanghai food place, however, it is very close to his head office. Grumpy tells me to look 'really sick' just in case his boss is also out grabbing lunch. I try my best.