Doesn't it look yummy?! a scrumptious 'new-look' lasagna! haha... actually, looks nicer in real life... but nonetheless, it was made by the wonderful ME! =D I've been meaning to cook meals throughout the holidays that have just past... but for some reason never got round to doing it. So today, with nothing better to do, I decided to finally make something. And feeling in a cooking mood... my handiwork didn't stop there! hehe... I also made a..... PAVLOVA!


haha.. yes... finally made a pavlova that worked! haha. And it was all because of my brand new spanking electric beater! haha. I went out and got one the other week and hadn't used it yet. So decided to put it to the test.. the ultimate test of making a pavlova. Luckily, it didn't fail me and gave me a delicious pavlova that looked and tasted really good - hence i forgot to take the photo BEFORE we dug into it! =P

my thoughts @ 10:02 PM

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Everyone, if not working, has gone back to uni. And i'm left to fend for myself. :( Part of me wishes I was back at uni... just to see my uni friends again... I miss them so much... *sigh...
Even my mum's socializing more than me! She's been out to lunch with her friends like for the past 4 weekdays! lolz. How can my mum's social life be more active than mine?! That's just sad. lolz.

But at least I've been keeping busy. Been working 3 days a week... and I've been working on a project. A 21st group card. I wanted it to be original so thought of ideas for days and finally came up with one. But now having started the process... its a bigger project than I imagined. lolz. But its fun. I love making things for people. I think its nicer than buying presents because all your time, effort and 'love' goes into it... rather than just passing money over the counter. hehe. So anyways, i will take a picture of the finished product when its done. hopefully it'll turn out the way i want it to.

its such a beautiful day today... not too hot... wish i had someone to go out and play with.. lolz...

my thoughts @ 2:59 PM

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I've started to really appreciate jewellery... I guess that comes with working with good quality jewellery that lasts. Went out the other night and wanted to wear a nice piece of jewellery. I went through the jewellery I have and found that all of them... well majority of them are sterling silver and have all tarnished or the sparkle just isn't there anymore! They look horrible! But I have a few pieces of white gold jewellery that still look good as new. So I've decided that I'm a white gold girl. I'm not going to buy anymore more dodgy jewellery that doesn't last or tarnishes after a while. I don't wear gold because I think it makes me look old. So its white gold all the way! hehe...

my thoughts @ 1:46 PM

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my thoughts @ 11:42 AM

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It's interesting to see how people have different views on things. I guess it comes with the different experiences that you have during life.

I was at a friend's place tonight and we were talking about certain topics.... for example, for people who have gone shopping with me before will know that I'm a person that is very picky and will only choose things that are resonably cheap - even if it suits me or looks really good - and are mostly no name brands. But my friends will choose things because they look good and worry about the price later and are branded. For me, I don't understand why people need to buy such expensive things when there are exactly or very similar products on the market for much cheaper! I know you want to keep up to date with the fashion and want to look good but why complain about 'having no money' yet still spend ridiculous amount on things that aren't really necessary or you can get for less somewhere else?! But I guess, like I said, it comes down to experiences. If you're exposed to only buying expensive branded things, then that's what you'll buy. For me, I was never brought up or had things to influence me to buy expensive things... but to save and budget and only buy what I can afford. Call me stingy or a cheapskate or not living life to the fullest... but at least I know I will always have money and wont be one of those people who are constantly paying things with credit cards and having endless amounts of debt.

So anyways, I found out tonight that not buying these brands makes me feel like an outsider. They were talking about brands and I felt like I just couldn't contribute to the conversation. I have heard of different brands... but I don't know anything about them. Quality, style, costs... not a clue. These girls were talking about $200 pairs of jeans and $500 wallets and never mentioned anything less than $80. I didn't want to jump in and say how I like the clothes that Target and Just Jeans have... or how I try not to pay more than $30 on things when i go shopping. I felt... so... different from them. Like I wasn't good enough to hang out with them because I lacked knowledge in this area.

So we eventually got onto another topic. Work. Most of my friends have office jobs... in areas such as accounting, marketing, IT etc. My job is a totally different experience from them. Teaching is nothing like what they go through. But it doesn't mean that its not a 'real' job. In fact, teaching probably is more of a responsibility than an office job. We have 28+ 'clients' to take care of... to educate... to encourage... to keep in line... to communicate with... and that's not even including the client's family. Teaching is just as important as being a doctor. We have lives that are our responsiblity 5 days a week (sometimes 7), 24/7. Yes... I can tell you that there is not a moment when you aren't thinking about your students or their families. Whether it'd be planning for lessons, finding learning aids, thinking of solutions to issues arising with families, buying stationery for the classroom, going to PD seminars, talking about your day at home or even meeting students and families at the local shops. Your students are your life. As much as you want to keep professional and personal matters seperate, you're bound to find a link somewhere. Even now, not having a class of my own, I always think about the children I've taught during my teaching placements at uni. I wonder how they're doing, what highschool they're at, if they're still labelled 'trouble makers', or if that child got the learning aid she needed. Teaching is so rewarding... and when I listened to the conversations we have about our jobs, I can proudly say that I am definitely one of the lucky ones. I get to do a job that I love. A job that I will look foward to everyday. I know I will have my bad days... but even still, I know it will definitely be outweighed by the good.

It's annoying how it friends still talk about teaching as if its not as good as a 'real' job. And its even more annoying to know I still get affected by what they say or how they talk about it. They talked about Performance Reviews... asking each other when they have it... or whether its fair... and how they're graded... they asked each other... but never once included me in the conversation. Because of course... teaching isn't a real job so we don't get performace reviews. Well, if only you had asked me, i would have told you that we DO get performance reviews otherwise how would they know if students are learning or being taken care of properly? How would they know if we're actually planning lessons that are meaningful for the children and not just getting them to do rote learning worksheets all day? How would they know if we are learning new teaching methods to improve our practice and keep up to date with modern teaching approaches? It really really frustrates me that they think teaching is so different from any other job. *sigh...

Ok, I could go on about this forever... but I won't. Kinda went off track. Didn't mean to start raving on about teaching. But I'm tired and its time for bed.

my thoughts @ 2:07 AM

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my thoughts @ 10:36 PM

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my thoughts @ 11:36 AM

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An interesting night. Last night was suppose to be the celebration of Chih-en's 22nd birthday at Lavish, the club at Docklands. I was quite excited bout going clubbing when I was getting ready for it. I havent been clubbing much... well 3 times to be exact... and the thought of going clubbing was just something different... something I was actually looking forward to. So, I met up with Mel and Kelv at melly's place (yes! my dear melly is back from japan! yay! hehe) , checked out melly's goodies that she bought overseas before heading off to the club. Kelv drove - thanks kel!- which meant I could drink... NOT! haha... silly me, I forgot that I had to drive back that night from melly's house... it wasn't until mel and kel reminded me that I had to drive home hence i wasn't allowed to drink! lolz... oh wellz, wasn't a big deal, I'm not a big drinker anyway.
So we got to the place around 10ish... and while sitting in the car, anna and carlo joined us shortly after. They told us that chi was still at home and wouldn't be there until later. Great. so we waited in the car until she got there. We waited... and waited... and waited... until we couldn't wait no more and finally decided that the mood of going clubbing had died. We were all so tired and mel had a really bad headache. Plus we were hungry. So we called chi and let her know that if she wasn't here in 5 mins, we were leaving. She got there in about 10mins coz apparently we told her the wrong directions... lolz... but we had already made up our mind that we were leaving. While we were driving away from Lavish, a few of her friends called who were already in Lavish waiting for her. lolz. We asked if she wanted us to drop her back there but I think she needed us to get a ride home. lolz.
So we were on our way to Glenny hoping that airstream would still be open. But by the time we were half way there, it was already midnight. We weren't too sure whether it was still open and decided not to take our chances. So instead we detoured to pancake palour at doncaster, the 24hr one. By the time we got there, I was really tired and probably could have fallen asleep if I put my head down. We ordered food and drinks... (gosh its expensive there)... chatted here and there and then decided to call it a night.

So poor chi didn't get her celebration at Lavish, instead it was spent at pancake palour. lolz.

Today I had to wake up early to go pick up my dearest dearest ling!!! Yay! She's also back from overseas. Was soooooo looking foward to seeing her... I missed her and jess so much these past months. Anyways, it was perfect timing when we got to the arrival gates... we only had to wait about 5-10mins before ling and her brother came out. She hasn't changed... hehe... still the same ol' ling. hehe.
So we managed to squeeze all her luggage into the car... just. lolz. And off we headed towards the city. Our first stop was her old place to pick up some things. Because her brother is here, she is moving to a new place... but has yet to find accomodation still. We couldn't squeeze much more into the car so we only took what was necessary.
Then the destinations were as follows:
- destination no. 2: a friend of a friend's brother's place where we had to pick up the keys to ling's temporary home.
- destination no. 3: drop the things off at the temporary home... which is a very nice place... feels 'homely' hehe...
- destination no. 4: lunch in richmond - viet noodles
- destination no. 5: chinese grocery shopping
- destination no. 6: safeway
- destination no. 7: back to ling's temporary home

It was so much fun!!! I'm so glad I got to spend time with her. Hope her and her brother weren't too tired... kinda felt bad taking them here and there... they probably wanted to sleep! lolz... I knew I would have after a plane flight. Well, now I'll have a reason to go to the city now and spend time with people who dont have to work! lolz... like me! =P

my thoughts @ 7:36 PM

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Yes... this is the outcome of my unsuccessful pavlova attempt no. 2... I have officially decided that the key to making good pavlova is having a good electric beater. Without one, your pavlova will turn out something like the above. lolz. I had tried the exact same recipe at Rani's place a few weeks ago and it turned out perfect! Why? because he had a decent electric beater that we used. I should have taken a photo of it and compared it to this one. haha... it looks nothing like the ones i did today. Other keys to making good pavlova is having an oven door that closes properly and reading the recipe correctly. Our oven door has lost its grip so when you close it, it doesn't shut tight. There's a small gap where the heat can escape. So we use a broom to hold it shut. haha. And then, after I had put the pavlovas in the oven at 175 degrees C, like it said to at the start when preheating the over, I didn't realise that that was only the initial temperature... coz after you put the pavlovas in, you need to reduce the temperature to 100 degrees C. haha... oopz! >.< So you can't see in the picture, but the bottom parts are burnt... no... wait... let's call them 'caramelized'... haha.

so guess what i'm off to buy this evening?! hehe (and no, its not a new oven door or reading glasses!)

my thoughts @ 12:53 PM

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Why do drivers always seem to be in a rush? Or that they seem to be in a race with other cars? What's the hurry? Does everyone have to be somewhere urgent all the time? I drove myself to my teaching seminar this evening and being unfamiliar with the roads, I drove 5km below the speed limit. 5km... that's all.. it's not as if I was super slow or anything... but cars kept overtaking me. Then I thought, ok, maybe it is slow, so I sped up to the actual speed limit... but cars were STILL overtaking me. And it wasn't just one car... it was like the majority of them! They were all in such a rush! Maybe they just wanted to get home... but still... i doubt their home will disappear if they drove a little slower!

This is why I don't like driving... for all those drivers who speed or feel the need to take over every car (which is pointless coz there will always be cars in front of them), weaving in and out of lanes, running red lights just so they don't have to wait, horning others... why can't people be patient? Why do people have road rage? if people were just a little more understanding... everyone has their reasons. Maybe some people don't know the roads very well... or its a new car and they're just getting used to it... or maybe they genuinely just didn't see that the lights had turned green... or maybe some people are just scared of driving coz of all the crazy drivers out there.


So to all you crazy drivers... show a little understanding... take your time... there's no rush... better safe than sorry right?

my thoughts @ 9:56 PM

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my thoughts @ 3:41 PM

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my thoughts @ 10:58 AM

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Went to Jells Park on saturday evening for a BBQ with a few of the flare people and their dogs. I wish mags was as well behaved as the other dogs. It would be so much easier if she wasn't so territorial and wouldn't run off whenever she liked. She's getting better, I must admit, but not good enough to let her off her leash.
Anyways, it was a nice day for a BBQ... a nice 30 degrees but cooler later in the day. And like always, we had way too much food. lolz. Ended carrying a lot home. Mum and my brother came as well... but they had to be isolated away from us because I knew mags wouldn't behave herself... especially with so many other dogs around.

my thoughts @ 4:42 PM

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my thoughts @ 10:49 AM

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