Cont'd

So this server stopped me from continuing my post previously. Here's where I left off.

Whaling.
Just yesterday, we wanted to go to NorthHead again in another attempt to spot the migrating humpbacks. Unfortunately, because we didn't and weren't going to spot any of them, plus the fact that there was this eternal traffic jam, we ended up at Bradley Head. But this is not about yesterday, this is about the previous whaling incident.
We drove the Ford Hatchback out to North Head. We've had so many cars this few months but haven't managed to take pictures of all those cars sadly so... we're trying to now!

Henry with the Ford


Endangered Bandicoots! I've never heard of bandicoots...


We also managed to admire this beautiful rainbow that covered the city. It was such an experience for me, just standing there staring into the vastness of the ocean on one side, and on the other, the harbour bridge and the city that is the Sydney I now live in.



After the non-existent whale spotting, we spotted some pelicans and decided to 'feed the birds' ala Mary Poppins. I've never seen such huge birds before! It all started out when Henry spotted the pelicans on the lamps along the road and I insisted we drive back to take a closer look. That eventuated into us parking the car and feeding them our sandwiches that Henry had made for our lunch. The poor boy woke up at 6 in the morning just to make it and it was gone in 5 minutes - to the hungry ducks and pelicans, no less.


He then ran to a shop nearby and bought a loaf of bread. That too was gone in record speed.


Till finally, there was nothing left.


That weekend, it was supposed to be Henry's birthday. We went to spot the whales on Saturday, and on Sunday, Henry started developing a very acute pain. To cut the long story short, I took Monday off work to look after him, and to take him to the doctors because he couldn't stand up or walk or... do anything really. Went to the doctors, got sent to emergency at the hospital, and this is how it ended up.




Keyhole surgery and some oxygen insertion into his nose later, Henry's appendix was out. He spent two nights at the hospital and ever since, has developed a lasting relationship with the joys of a bed.

Well, that sums up that weekend. He didn't go to work that week, and we later found out that our neighbour, Phillipa, had also undergone keyhole surgery to remove her appendix.
Needless to say, it was quite a meaningful birthday. There Henry was, on the monday of his birthday, in a hospital bed (the number of his age, actually). It was funny because he was born at 4pm, and at 4pm on his birthday, he was told he would have to undergo surgery (which he has never done before). Australia has quite the sense of humour to give him surgery as a birthday gift.

Noise: BBC World.

Hail.

Two days ago, I witnessed hail for the first time.
It all began quite simply - the morning was particularly warm. I had two tops on and already felt so suffocated. Then in the afternoon, the sky darkened and a few wind howls later, it sounded like little pebbles were being thrown onto the glass windows of my office. Everyone gathered around to watch it fall - from where we were, we could see other curious onlookers from the buildings across us. It's hard to describe what it was like; the best I can do is... little ice balls? So here are some pictures for other hail virgins. I've only seen snow once, when I was in NY in Jan. Even then, I just saw the snow on the ground so this was so exciting for me - to actually be able to see it fall from the sky. It's similar to snow, but a lot bigger and more solid. Oh, and it really hurts when it falls on your head.

The initial downpour.


The surrounding area.


The Aftermath.


It's Christmas!


The bigger hail stones. Imagine that falling from the sky and landing on your head! Weight + Gravity = Bruises.


To end it off, I got to add an action sport shot. Just because I'm now some sort of activity junkie. :/


Oh so magical.
x
Noise: Settinig Sun by Howling Bells.

The Update... It's here. Sort of.

FINALLY!
I have found something in me that has decided to post an entry.
It's not going to have many words, just pictures.
So... here goes.

Major events that have taken place since the last major event goes on as such.

My story in Elle was published, everything went fine and dandy. I'll post pictures of that another time. :)

I went to Brisbane:
Met Nat and had dinner at a realllly nice and cosy place called three monkeys or something. Brisbane is like Sydney, just with a lot more space less people. It was so nice to catch up with Nat though. It's times like that that you really appreciate all the effort you put into a friendshp because no matter how little you see of each other, you'll know that when you do it'll be like there was no distance in the first place.



It was my birthday:
Henry bought me this hugeee bouquet of Australian native flowers. The flower in the picture hadn't bloomed, but when it did it was so beautiful. He wrapped all my gifts and here we have the birthday flower, kind of like the Christmas tree. So all my presents were by the flower. Gifts included cosmetics (lots of it), Annie, King and I, Sound of music DVD (I'd been searching for them for agesss), a really gorgeous canvas print of us and little treats like manicure stuff and a toffee apple. :) My birthday cake consisted of a few small cakes, which was ideal - there was even a durian one!

Delish.


Birthday Area.


Art Attempt.


I cut my hair:
The next major event that took place was when I chopped most of my hair off. Ok, I didn't chop it. Henry paid $90 to some... stranger to do that. It was actually $130, but those lovely ladies who were gushing over Henry decided to give me a discount, albeit reluctantly - it was just because it wouldn't seem right if only Henry got the discount, right? So here are some examples of how I look now. Obviously that was some time ago so now my hair is slightly longer. It is true, your hair grows faster when you trim it. I haven't had short hair since I was in sec 2 (5 years ago) so this was quite a feat for me. But I figured, I'm in Sydney, life is good, so... why not? It's just hair.


Ooh.


Catching the Sunlight.


Ice Cream on my day out.


I attended the Hillsong Conference:
It was, in a single word, AMAZING. Maybe 20,000 people? When the people jumped to the songs, the floor vibrated. Literally. It was SO good. That final night was just awe-inspiring. It was particularly special for me because I've loved Hillsong's music for so long now. I started learning the guitar to their songs, I memorized the words... and their music and lyrics really had an impact. Here's a shot from the opening. There's more but... maybe later.

Look at all the people.


We bought our lorikeets some treats:
Some pretty lorikeets have been visiting our patio/garden area for awhile now, so after feeding them some bread, Henry and I decided to head to Woolworths to get them a lolly treat. Here's some pictures of the birds as well as us as we set up for our friendly visitors!



That's our porch/patio/garden/view.


Feed the Birds.


Friendly.


Fixing Up.


Final Touches.


We met Rachel Kum:
Friend from Singapore, and student in Perth. She and her mom came over to Sydney for a week's holiday and shopping and we met up with them for a quick hot chocolate and bagel. Check out my outfit - clad in snowboarding gear. I know, this action sports thing is really starting to affect me.


Oxford Street.


We went whale spotting:
Or at least we tried. The humpback whales and... this other kind of whale, well they're migrating and were passing by Sydney so Henry and I drove up to call them to come to the surface. Unfortunately... they didn't want to come out and play. :( But! We saw a lovely rainbow that arched over the city of Sydney and admired it from a distance, enjoyed the expanse of the tasmanian sea and had lots of fun making some new pelican friends (lorikeets and pelicans... Henry and I have a lovely social life).

Me - whale-spotting. Or not.


Yeah, we know, the whales are in the ocean. But the greenery was enticing too!


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Time out:
Something is up with my internet, it keeps saying that I can't upload anymore pictures. Hmm. Picture overload. Tomorrow, then. Or... next month. :)

x