what happened???

what happened to the paragraphs? they are all gone. My text are all lumped into one horrendous long and windy chunk. and makes it so difficult for the eyes. my eyes especially since I am of the myopic race. time for LASIK? guess so.

where is the laptop? not 1 in sight. not al all. not very happy.

to those guys at Cworld, I have only these words to say to you - wacky, moronic, liars, useless, unreliable, crackers, harebrained, jerky, ridiculous, dimwits, dopey......give me more words please. And BIG ones please. since these words are the only way and means to punch you guys, literally, since I abhor physical violence (pun intended).

For heavens sake, I was being very kind, in fact super duper kind and composed when I went (read: drove) all the way at a super duper high petrol price of $1.45 per litre to Dandenong to be faced with yet another no-show of my laptop.

So, I got my money refunded and I dont care they incurred any charges since I paid with my AMEX card. They should, really, compensate me for the time lost and wasted and reimburse me with the petrol expenses incurred. Or even better, sell me the VGNFE18GP higher model at the price I paid for for the 15GP one since they had one in stock. however, i had to bring myself back to reality. And the reality really is ONLY to get my money refunded.

seems now I have to settle for a Apple Mac. Or is it "fated" for me to get one???

still i cannot decide. maybe Toshiba? maybe Dell? most probably Apple Mac. eventually it might still be the Sony.

Heaven help me please.

fight for peace

what do you do after being woken up at 4.53am in the freezin' morning cold coz the son has weeeed in his pants ? pick a fight (sans weapons and all). sounds satirical? but yes that's what I did, with that hubbadaddydoo. after some firing and bombing, he then tried to soothe me down with some gentle words (which is really NOT him at all) and played Stacey Kent's CD which was in the player to cool "fire" down. by which then the sun was up and high in the sky already casting its rays and light into the bedroom for which is tellin' me it's gonna be a sunny day. there u go, i have lost another few hours of precious sleep. and before you know it, the daughter knocks on the door and was her turn to do the wee. God, I dont even get to sleep in on a public holiday. then it's the son turn to wake up and wants his milk which means i have to get my arse off the bed. ready steady go - brush teeth and all that morning ritual of heating up the milk with Milo and made brekkie (ham and baked beans on muffins, grilled). nah, the son decides he likes bread better with either butter and honey or peanut butter or nutella. "Mummy, when are you going to buy peanut butter?". This week son, it's on special at Coles. "Ok" and he plodded OUT of the house with hubba and the daughter.

now they are out, I have some peace. I thank God for that. I teasure this quiet moment whilst listening to my Eternity CD - a great compilation of classics. I'm lovin' it.

aphorism of the day "Children should be seen NOT heard". haha....agree...disagree...food for thought.

Monday Blues

It's Monday again. The start of yet another week. Tomorrow being the Anzac public Holiday. Yes, again, the gloomy and downcast weather looms outside, bringing with it a sense of hopelessness and helplessness. Boy, I think I am prone to this syndrome termed the Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Anyway, things to accomplish today :

1. Pay for my ticket to Singapore. Yes, I am heading back to Singapore come 1st June for a week to celebrate mum's 70th birthday. Ssshhhh, it is gonna be a secret. A surprise visit to her. I have to get Jaslyn's help to book the function room and cater for food.

2. Call up the stupid CWorld to see if I can get my Sony VAIO laptop today. Doubt very much so, I think. Damn, to think there will be a PC Show during the period I will be in Singapore.

3. Pick up some more fruits from Aldi and soy milk for Tessa.

4. Pass the CD to Mrs Soutter, Theo's form teacher in prep.

5. gather some research for my impending meeting with Chris.

Okay. gotta ciao now as it's time to go pick up Tessa from kinder.

How Very Happy

one busy day you came home and found a bagful of Max Mara hangers and a box of Korean ginseng brought specially right to my doorstep, into the house. you feel down. you feel exhausted. you feel forlorn. you feel whatever-way-you-should-feel-in-a-bad-weathers-day.

then you called that person to thank her for the things she's brought in. and the very moment u hear her voice over the phone, you instantly lit up, her voice, so chirpy, so cheerful, so very happy, as it be, Happy turns out to be her name. she lives up to her name. This English name is a literal translation from her native Korean name.

And she'd just returned from her holiday to Korea and Singapore where she lived for a few years after she got married to Ivan, who's half Singaporean half Scottish. ahhh, regarding Ivan, I have a story to tell....anyway, will leave it to the next post.

and they are my neighbour here. how very lovely to know them.

anyway, i have digressed a bit, back to the topic on the phone call, Happy said the hangers are good for hanging skirts and trousers and the expensive Korean ginseng capsules is a gift for me. How very touched I was. Thank you so much Happy. and of course to you too Ivan, my ex-neighbour in Singapore. That's where the next story starts and it will be for the next post on how we met them. and i want to put their picture into the next post as well.

her voice - lit my day. her personality - touched my day. her gestures - made my day.

God bless you all, the Reids.

limbo

i'm in total limbo coz i cant get anything done without the laptop. thanks to cworld and their empty promises.

c'est la vie.

Lost Love, Love Lost

"It is better to have loved and lost. Than never to have loved at all. - Alfred Lord Tennyson "

agree ? i have a story to share.

it started with a primary schoolfriends gathering when I was 15 way back in 1986. venue East Coast Parkway. a bunch of us together with another bunch of secondary school friends of our primary classmate. we were then sub-divided into different smaller groups for games. Amongst us was one only other guy from outside my primary schoolfriends circle.

He caught my eye. He caught my attention. There he was, in his VS PE shorts embracing his muscular athletic thighs and dancing to the geeks. I could only admire from afar. I was that, put it this way, "lowly". low self esteem.

His name? Let's call him LT.

never forgotten him at all. even a year later when I was having a headache at East Coast Lagoon Hawker Centre and when I bumped into him, it was like magic, my headache quit me.

then i heard he went to VJC for his 3 months before the O level results were out bcoz my primary school friend went there as well.

the next thing was, i saw him again in the tertiary institute we both went to. What was he doing there, I asked myself.

never in my dreams I would thought to have caught his attention when his friends shouted across in the canteen "heyyy, this guy wants to know you!", a year later. wow....a guy wants to know me?!! and this guy is the one whom I already was infatuated with in the first place? I was flattered. I was in seven heaven.

and it happened, we met, we talked, we took the same bus, we exchanged numbers. and I told him we met before. fate ?

we were madly in love shortly.

it didnt lasted for too long. during the exams period, we had a misunderstanding. "this is absurd" what was he said to me. I couldnt bear it. It was exam time after all. He didnt believe that I was studying at the local community centre. Let's talk after exams, I told myself.

After exams, mum told me he did called twice. I was headstrong. I was waiting for him to call again.

Nope, he didnt call. And I refused to call him. I wanted him to apologise. I wanted him to feel sorry. For causing anger for nothing.

Next thing I heard was, from a mutual friend, that he has gotten himself another girlfriend. What ? a new gf almost immediately after we "broke off"? but deep down with my instinct I knew he was back with his ex-gf. the one who sent him a bday card that year and I saw it. surely it was a rebound I said.

Fate or was it sheer bad luck has got it that I have to bump into them in Esprit flagship store in Orchard Rd. and I even have the courage to ask how he performed in his exams. When they walked away, I burst. I couldnt handle it.

I was too hurt, too too hurt to fall in love again for a good few years.

this love story - was it fate ? was it love? if we were fated to meet, why did we have to part? if it was true love, why would he do this to me ? I remembered he told he had made 3 follies in his life. Was this one of them?

anyway this WAS my love story. too hurt to let it go. too loved to forget it all.

i will end this post with this quote

"If you love someone, set it free. If it comes back, it was, and always will be yours. If it never returns, it never was yours.- author unknown"

this is NOT my day

This is NOT my day for many reasons:

1. the weather was colllllllllllllllldddddddddddddddd...max of 14 degrees today. it's like winter just that it is not officially winter as yet. tomorrow willnot be any better either.

2. received a nasty letter from my next door neighbour regarding our sub-division on the land alleging us as doing it out of greed and causing unnecessary feuds especially to them. we did not bear any grudges on them when they raised their objections. Really I dont see why they should harbour any ill-feelings towards us.

3. was supposed to await picking up my Sony laptop today from ComputerWorld's Box Hill store today. When I called up their Dandenong office from where I placed my order from, the guy whom I bought the laptop from Gary said he would call me back. When he didnt return my call later, I called him and he told me that the stocks just arrived and would be checking for me. After hanging on for 20 minutes or so, someone else picked up the line and I told him I was holding on for Gary. Know what he told me? - "Gary's left for the day.". Whhhhaaaattttt ??? I was furious - " What do mean by Gary's left for the day?", "he told me he is checking stock for me and told me to hold on". Mr Krishna told me he is the manager there and so I told him what kind of staff do u have? Total absolute lack of professionalism. This guy used the same tactic when we were placing our order. He told us the stocks would arrive shortly but after I placed my order, he told me it's been sold or shipped to other branches. This is what I would term "purveying unnecesary falsehood". Total bitter sweet ramblings really. Now I have nothing to work on for my marketing proposal for my client and it's been 2 weeks!!!

I can only let out a huge sigh.......aighhhhhh

easter here easter gone

whoa ! cant believe a week passed in a flicker just like that.

too busy to update anything really.

just to briefly recount - last Thursday was busy shopping for Florence's birthday pressie and cooking up a storm with the rest of the gang who came by my place for a celebration. I fried mee goreng as well as Singapore Chilli Crab. the crabs being a birthday treat from the birthday girl. there were also sprng onion and ginger snow crabs, pipis, fried fish fillets, fried gluten with bak choy as well as kailan with oyster sauce. fruits and ice cream for desserts. pot bless we had.

Friday we were off to Ballarat for the annual Easter Conference. we were bowled over with the lunch served at the motel we stayed in. it was good. really, first time in that many years. know why ? ha, the cook is Chinese. from Malaysia and we had a fair bit of Asian food. Apparently the owner is Malaysian Chinese while his wife is Australian and she runs the motel full time.

had a great 3 days there visited the Ballarat Botanical Garden in the midst. a must go if you drop by Ballarat.

on Monday we went shopping for computers. that's right - computer shopping on Easter Monday. ended up no good as the guy refused to grant further discounts.

but good news is, I managed to place an order for the Sony VAIO laptop yesterday from the same shop's head office in Dandenong. Was told I should be able to receive them tomorrow. Yayyyy.


p.s I am NOT looking forward to the weather for tomorrow, nor the day after, not the day after tomorrow, nor the day after the day of tomorrow. the weather sucks !

mac vs pc vs sony vs nec

went shopping for a laptop this morning. am still eagerly waiting for ibook intel to be released, however, my neck has stretched way too long and therefore decided to check out PC notebooks.

was contemplating between the Sony one and the NEC one. The latter was on special and comes with a free Lexmark printer. I am still more geared to the Sony model coz it is sleek in design and comes with the latest centrino core duo technology and is white like ibbok.

however, i came home and saw the similar NEC model was on special at the IT show in Singapore for only S$1999 and normal price was still only S$2199. hence, i told myself, no way am I buying this one here for A$2195 despite the freebies like the bag, usb flash drive, usb mouse and the Lexmark all-in-one printer which retails for $75.

then I checked out the Sony one. Retailing in Singapore for about S$2899 I think. But here selling at A$2195.

then again, just received an email from our tech geek friend JNgu, who still think I should buy the Apple Mac Book Pro which will set me back at least $3000 plus for the lower end model and up to A$4 grand for the higher end one. whoa! not sure I should be forking this kind of money out.

but i really need one to get started on the marketing proposal to my client. God, help me decide by tomorrow.

Sandwiches anyone?

if only my kids would eat more. but still I dont think I will have that kind of energy and time to do such kind of fancy food even though they dont like to eat. hehe.

old pic - with my little prince

  

accidentally found this picture taken a year ago in IKEA while we were hunting for a new sofa. nope, did not buy the sofa from them. instead we bought ours from King Furniture in Richmond. It was the Strata sofa. fast forward a year later, the "snow" colour we chose was a huge mistake on such a nice piece of furniture. the colour is JUST not suitable with kids around. regrets!

good weather = good health?

it seems that my ailment has got to do with the weather. it was a glorious 27 degrees outside today, sunny and warm although windy and guess what, my headache was gone. yeap, just like that although I wouldn't say the same for my cough. :(((

it will be 22 and then back to 25 max again for the next 2 days. But Melbourne as it is, is 4 seasons in a day. So the max could only really gone in a jiffy when the cold pressure kicks in. so warm clothing at all times.

the easter weekend forecast seems to be horrendously cold. Oh no, I could feel my headache recurring.

Black Sesame

Article from www.zaobao.com.sg. About the goodness of "Black" foods, this one being Black Sesame 黑芝麻
黑食材系列②

　　我们常用芝麻形容小事，用芝麻官形容小官职，也用“捡了芝麻丢了西瓜”，比喻只顾小事，忽略了大事，可见自古以来人们就不怎么瞧得起芝麻。也许是因为它的体积实在太小了。

　　本人很爱芝麻，撒一点在猪肠粉上或米饭上，很香，而且好看，所以每当看到撒了芝麻的面包或烧饼，就能引起我的食欲，非要买来吃不可。

　　芝麻虽小，但它跟我们的日常生活关系相当密切，它不但可作为食物的调味品，它也可作成食品，如芝麻粥、芝麻糊、芝麻糖，而且可榨油，还可药用。

　　芝麻，又名胡麻，市面上最常见的有黑芝麻和白芝麻。不论黑白，芝麻的营养成分主要为脂肪（约占一半）、蛋白质、糖类、膳食纤维，并含丰富的维生素B群、E和鎂、钾、锌及多种微量矿物质。

　　芝麻的脂肪虽多，但脂肪酸比例优良，最主要的脂肪酸为亚麻油酸，那是一种人体不可或缺的脂肪酸，人体某些荷尔蒙的正常分泌就靠它维持着。

　　黑芝麻和白芝麻除了色泽上的差别，营养成分大体相同，只是分量上的差别。

　　根据资料，黑芝麻的钙和铁含量远远超过白芝麻，而且黑芝麻也含有较多的粗纤维和丰富的卵磷脂，所以中医典籍指出，黑芝麻有滋补、乌发、通便、解毒等功效，道理就在这里。

sick

oh no, i really have the virus now. body's been aching, head's been aching, developing phlegm and coughing. this despite taking panadols 3 nights in a row.

lunch

suggested to have lunch nearby. so we popped by Malaya Inn. since we have a group of 6 adults plus my 2 kids, we decided to order more - yeap, great, ordered that Curry Fish Head, Malaya Sotong, Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee, Paper Wrapped Chicken and added Yam Ring with Seafood when some could not take the spicy food. haha. couldnt have it any better. yummlicious. heaven. slurp, eat, chew, swallow, digest. couldnt want anything better than this. kudos to the owners, who by the way grew up in Singapore but had retained their Malaysian passports.

the poem the song: my style my life my love

As I look out of the window
I see the same views
As usual, as it is
But some seen, some unseen

As I listen to the music
I hear the same songs
As usual, as it is
But some heard, some unheard

As I eat my dinner
I taste the same food
As usual, as it is
But some eaten, some uneaten

As I smell the flowers in the garden
I smell the same scents
As usual, as it is
But some smelt, some unsmelt

As I feel the dailies of my life
I feel the same rhythm
As usual, as it is
But some known, some unknown

What has life got to do with this ?
What has it go to do with this ?
What has my life got to do with this ?
What has my love got to do with this ?

Life has it hands in it
It has you on your foot
My life is an unopened box of chocolates
My love is a opened tin of pineapples
Sometimes sweet, sometimes sour
Sometimes crunchy, sometimes mushy

This is my style
This is my life
This is my love
This is my style my life my love
This is the song of Elaine

author: elaine (all rights reserved 2006)

wintry cold autumns night

boy....I think I am coming down with a flu. It was so bloody cold today and the strong wintry wind didnt help for sure.

I sure am not looking forward to the coming of winter. It's been an early fall this season coz I remember it was still pretty warm on certain days in late April last year. Now with the daylight saving ended, nightime sets in early. By the time we have our dinner starting at 6pm, it feels as though it is time for bed.

Bought a BBQ Charcoal Chicken which incidentally was a silly mistake made by hubba after receiving an SMS from him. anyway, all the better, I had potatoes, carrots and celery in my fridge. I had green peas in the freezer. So for dinner, we had the roast chicken, plus roast potatoes with parsley and green peas slimed with butter. Then I used the bones and some meat to make it into a Roast Chicken and Vegetables soup - adding potatoes, carrots, celery, kidney beans, barley and onion into the soup. Yum. Warm wintry dinner for a cold autumn night.

Then popped a Pandadol and off I receded and snugged to my bed.

Here is "Dimitri" the fighterfish

 

This was the fish ah-gu bought for the kids on the day we were due to leave Singapore. And it was proudly christened "Dimitri" - small fish with a great Greek name.Poor little fella only had a little vase to live in and then the kids had to leave it behind after a few hours whilst ah-gu had it for another few weeks before it was again being "abandoned" and to be cared for by ah-ma and ah-gong. 

Gym for me ? yay

Finally trotted down to the gym on the recommendation by Dr GC today. Well, it was truly impressive - it was filled with high tech equipments out of which I have no idea how they work or function or for what purpose. I have only tried THE THREADMILL which of course was at the condo gym at my parents place when I was in Singapore. How unfit I am, ain't I ?

after a quick showaround by Krishia, she sat me down to tell me about the membership packages. "Bodyshaping package" is the one for me as they offer free personal training once per week for 1/2 hour and lasts 3 months each time unless I pulled-out. sounds ok.

but seriously, i was more interested to do Pilates. hmmmm....maybe I shd head to that Physio centre. But wait a minute, this location is better. I can drop Tessa off and then voila, off to the gym for workouts. whoa....I am ambitious man. OR am I ?

new year resolutions. wait a minute - it's already a quarter of the year passed. alright maybe my 3/4 year resolutions would be GET FIT!!!...haha...we'll see.

ah-gu and cooper

Our beloved ah-gu decided to have some companionship by adopting a puppy. whoa....Theo has been telling me to buy him a puppy. I jolly told him just to pay ah-gu a visit in Japan will do. "But it's expensive", he says. Yah, why didnt he say buying a puppy is expensive too. Rearing it is even more expensive. Hmmmm...food for thought.

anyway Cooper as it was lovingly called had an outing with his master and another of his doggy friend. here is the pic.

Ikea, Kingpin, McDonalds, Feast & Party and Baby Andrew

Whoooo...the weekend was sure hectic!

it started with the dreaded weather...we are now truly headed for the winter season. boy, it was cold but the heary brekkie at Ikea all made up for it. For only A$2.50, you get a deal of baked beans, sausages, bacon, bread and hash browns (I think at a dollar extra) plus coffee or tea.

Then the kids had their party at Kingpin Bowling. It was Daniel's 6th birthday. What a way to celebrate! It was fun for the kids!

Even before the party had to end, we had to rush to Theo's prep classmate Jonathan's 6th birthday at McDonalds. Theo was happy with the blue ninja turtle and Tessa with her Ginger Snap.

We then landed at the Ngu's residence nearby for some lemons and which entralled into a party with the Yuans, Julia, Ivy and Pastor Betty (a young pretty Korean pastor visiting Melbourne and could speak some Mandarin!). What a feast we had - I cooked cereal prawns, BBQ chicken stir-fried with snow peas plus mandarin spare-ribs, spicy salt egg tofu, xo sauce mixed vegetables from Pacific House BBQ and Seafood Restaurant in Richmond, the Ngu's signature salad, and chicken nuggets for the kids. Then we had a fruit flan cheesecake for dessert.It was sort of a celebration for LuMee as her 4th child was due anytime. She endured well to make sure the baby didnt arrive on April Fools Day though!

True enough, at 10.01am on Sunday, Baby Andrew (their 4th child and 3rd boy) arrived. CONGRATS to Mr & Mrs Clownfish and to the little clownfishes who now has a new baby brother.

Met up with the Yuans again for dinner at Jade Kingdom at Heidelberg Heights. Yummy, I liked their Thai Chilli Chicken though, in my opinion, was pretty easy to make. Other dishes included Egg Tofu on sizzling hotplate with an egg, Mixed vegetables with char-siu and Combination egg hor-fun.

Then we went up to Mercy Hospital to visit LuMee and little Andrew. Mother and baby are well. Little Andrew weighed 3.590kg and measures 53cm long!

weekend was gone at a flick and yes, a quarter of 2006 has passed. It seems that we just celebrated the new year yesterday didn't we ?

*reminder* PHOTOS

my little princess