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!


--- ---

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

Just Because.

Sometimes, your heart can take a leap, while your head keeps its ground. It's times like that, that communication can be utilized to bring the heart back, or convince the head to take a chance.
At the end of the day, with all my levels of hindsight, I thank communication.
It's the saving grace that adds the chutzpah to my steps and brings the morning's misty smile.
Kudos to communication.
Just make sure you log and store.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Australia is great for now. Emap has been treating me better than I could imagine. Henry is the most gentlemanly and genuine person, I learn a bit more every day. My boss has been so kind. Melbourne on Thursday and Friday. And what do I do? I thank God for this favour; for letting me just cruise by life. Stress-free, that's the best way to be.

Alan Partridge and bed time now. Swimming tomorrow. 50 laps is quite a feat.

x

Noise: The Jay Leno Show on FoxTel

A quick and timely brief.

The weekend before last: Blue Mountains. More on that later.
Last weekend -
Friday: 22km of mountain biking with the AMB team. Resulted in serious incapacitation and served as a reminder of why I do not exercise.

Lincoln Hall, the editor of Outdoor magazine (also my boss in a way) reached the reached the summit of Mount Everest on Thursday morning. On Friday, he was reported dead after suffering breathing difficulties just minutes after his summit. He was dead, and his team had to leave him there because there was no way to bring him down. I was so sad, because I've been looking forward to hear his stories. He lived in Singapore for a period of time and apparently has a lot to say about the place. It's also a sorrowful event when any man with a life of passion leaves. They're a dying species.

Saturday: Lincoln Hall is alive. As it turns out, a new group of climbers saw him alive, gave him oxygen and tea, and brough him to the base camp. Read more on: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/05/28/1148754872626.html?page=2
I spent my day lazing around, relaxing my sore muscles and butt. Mountain biking is very harsh on your bum bone, and it doesn't help that I haven't got much flesh to ease the impact from the rocks and... hills and... ... Thinking about it is making my arms hurt.

After spending a significant amount of time in front of FoxTel and getting pampered by Henry (with food, drink, clean floor, clean laundry, a blanket for the couch...), we went swimming. He was convinced that swimming would help ease the post-exercise pain. Two minuses is a plus, and I did feel better. Sort of. So much better that today we are going swimming after work. Our gym is located just below the Harbour Bridge, so if we swim in the Olympic size outdoor pool, we're technically swimming under the bridge. Unreal.

Sunday: Woke up at 5am, at the airport by 6. Plane departed at 7am, and before I knew it I was on a commercial airline, making my way to Brisbane. I'm not going to further comment, save to say that I hate commercial airlines and made Henry promise he would never take me on some budget airline. Horrible!
Reached Brisbane at 8.30, took a $35 cab to the convention centre. Set up for the Snow Expo. Started at 10, ended at 4. Met Nat at 5 for a very lovely dinner at this rather intrinsic place called Three Monkeys. It had divine cake - Nat's NY cheese cake was... delish.

Back in a cab at 6, at the airport at 6.30, plane left at 7pm. In Sydney at 8.30pm. Henry picked me up and for a little drive. We were trying to find a place for me to drive (safely), but instead found ourselves at the Taronga Zoo. We spotted a few wild rabbits and after parking outside for about 5 seconds in an attempt to 'hear' the animals, we drove off to a harbour bay near Kirribilli and listened to the fishes jumping around, admired the city line, and tasted the wind. Henry did some of his... 'stunts' with his car (he was driving this Ford ... pick-up thing with some powerful engine or whatever) which resulted in me feeling sick. We sped home (in the most comfortable fashion), watched Alan Partridge, and went to bed.

Monday: Back in work at 10am. I am actually feeling rather perk and am looking forward to swimming tonight. The weather is cold, and in 45 minutes I'm having a 'welcome lunch' with the publishing director. That should be swell.



As I'm posting this while I'm at work, I shall add some pictures later on when I get home. The Blue Mountains entry needs an entire entry to itself, so I'll get started on that when... well, when I have the time/energy/drive/want to.

Noise: The Mr. Brown show podcast.
P.S.: In other news, my NY story is out on sale in Elle Singapore! And in case you're wondering, the pictures are tiny because they were taken with my camera and it's not some... professional camera. Just a humble, scratched and dented $700 Canon. Hmm, maybe I just didn't adjust it to take bigger sizes. Nevertheless, get your copy.

x

It's been a long, long time.

Okay. I'm going to make this as comprehensive and as succinct as I can for the sake of my very interested friends (ha ha) and mummy!

The reason why I haven't exactly been 'around' is because a) I do not have MSN at the office. I should try and work around the system, I know. Hmm. b) I have been so content with coming home and watching the crime and comedy channel that there just seems to be no need to open this laptop other than to play my bubble game before I sleep. c) I've logged on to blogger.com before, but never got beyond the first sentence.

That all ends NOW, because I am adament about finishing this post, and finish it I WILL.

Right so let's see... where did I leave off. Hmm. So I was watching the marathon of Australia's next top model. The next day, we went for Michelle (Leslie)'s first fashion show (since released from the Bali jail) and met Michael Azzollini (the designer of the swimwear), and also the runner up for Australia's next top model, Jessie! It was so funny because I was rooting for her while watching the program, and the next day we actually MET her. Such things just.. don't happen. Azzollini also happens to be the 'Jay Manuel' of the Australia's NTM reality program, and as he met Henry on this boat party that was going on before I arrived, we managed to say hi to him too! He did say 'Oh so YOU'RE the girlfriend' to me, which did make me pleased inwardly. Nice to know my Rimmer is doing his rounds and spreading the word. Ha.

PICTURES!

Miche in all her swimwear glory. Oh she got a lot of press for this one, but rightfully so anyway. She does look stunning.


The next big occurrence was the 'dereliction'. Henry and I went through a "rough patch", and were basically forced to eat Hungry Jack's (aka Burger King) at a petrol station. I mean, it doesn't get worse than greasy burgers and Fanta Orange. But we embraced our forlorn plight with such dire (albeit feigned) optimism. After all, we WERE experiencing something new together. Kudos to couple exploration; don't we look pleased:


Something else relatively major happened. We've (mummy, Aus, and I) bought an apartment!! YAY!!! I will definitely put pictures up later on, but for now, we're moving to The Bayshore Park at East Coast, and everyone (well, almost) is very happy. It's on the 24th storey (I've always wanted high storey), we live in the East (my brother has this affinity for the beach and the East in general), we have 2 pools (I've always yearned for a pool!), and the only thing that we lack is a nice kitchen and washing area, which was mum's desire. However, what we have for a kitchen is pretty cosy, I think. Anyway. Mum and Aus are packing and getting ready to move in about.. June. All my clothing laid out on the floor:


And, all my clothing nicely packed (or shoved, rather) into the cupboard:


Much better, I know. But it really puts things into perspective. Must NEVER say that I have no clothes ever again. Because I have enough to start a business. Goodness.

Last Friday, it was FHM handlebar mustache day. The boys got their beards out - some did 2 weeks of prep, others, 1. Some just.. had no facial hair whatsoever. Scary. But this is how it turned out eventually. The fire-y thing was edited by the FHM guys - it's going in the magazine. Well, needless to say, Emap happy hour on Friday was most entertaining, with these mafia drug lord types patrolling the bar, and chugging down the occasional bear. Occasional. (Look at my Henry. Isn't he just so... yeah, english drug lord mob type-y. Ha.)


Friday was also the 'prize giving' day - the finals of the Super 5 touch rugby competition happened on Wednesday. Australian Mountain Bike (MY team) VS Tracks. AMB had never lost a game this season, till the finals. Boo hoo. Tracks, aka The Raging Homosexuals (goodness knows why) delivered their victory in a most stressful game. I found myself screaming in disappointment and vocally encouraging my team. Oh heavens. Me and touch rugby. HMM.
Cristian Campano from FHM was also referee of the finals, and had a fair share of verbal abuse thrown his way. In retaliation, he did the prize presentation on the TABLE at the bar: $300 of beer money and a trophy. The trophy was actually a... lamp. They stuck a picture of the Super 5 logo, and the team's name at the bottom. How creative. This is one of the Tracks members holding up the 'trophy'. See the cash?


Lastly, Henry and I had a quiet weekend this time. We had pizza night, and watched Love Actually because recently we've both been feeling rather festive; particularly Christmas-y. Just because it's 10.30 at night now and I'm tired, here's a quick picture of us and our pizza! Mine's the one that's covered with olives, Henry's got the tomato one. It was absoultely exquisite. Best pizza I've had for awhile, just because we could be so generous with what we wanted. Here's we go: Myself on one side of the counter, Henry on the other.


To end off this entry, I've decided to leave you all with a shot that makes me happy. Our slices of pizza, our new dining table, my laptop (to watch Love Actually on), and wine. It was such a gratifying and simply... lovely weekend, one that I will always remember as something indispensably momentousl. Lovady, I love you lovady. :)



x

Noise: Some hawaii type music from Roberto's laptop.

Happy holi-weekend Easter.

Well well, it's about 5.30 on Monday, and I'm perched on the sofa in my favourite contortonist position with Henry at my side reading New Weekly, a gossip magazine. On the TV, is Australian's Next Top Model marathon, which is basically the reality series episode after episode, back to back, from 10.30am to 8.30pm. My dearest has been cleaning the house, washing the laundry, fixing fresh fruit juice, making me food, I mean... I truly am being pampered!

Yesterday, as it was Easter, we went to church at Darling Harbour - the Convention Centre - and after that, enjoyed a most gratifying Easter lunch by the harbour.



Henry enjoyed an entre of garlic prawn. He had this unbounded craving for it and even ordered some extra for his main dish.



While he satiated his craving, I had the most delectable oysters known to man. Well, they're all damn good anyway.



Moving on to the main dish - Henry and his medium rare steak which turned out not so bloody after all.



Myself and my rack of lamb. Mmm.. hungry now!



After that we ventured out and had a nice walk to the Australian Maritime Museum, where we bought tickets to go on this war ship, and into a submarine! A real submarine! I've been on these war ship type of things before, but never a submarine, so I was thrilled. Henry's also a submarine virgin so it was special to experience something new together in a new country.



Henry was very fascinated with the voice at the other end; near the bow of the ship.



Before we headed off to the submarine, we had to capture the attack and observation periscope (with me).



The inside of a submarine is... very constricting and the shifting of your weight due to the tide outside doesn't help either. Just to give you an idea of how diminutive the walking space is, this is Henry along the 'walkway'.



The 'control room' thing is amazing. Pieces of equipment decorated the walls, and there were buttons (and sleeping bunks) everywhere! The ceiling was low, the floors narrow, the torpedos were place next to some of the sleeping areas, it was just one big mesh of... clutter. I wonder how anyone can live in there for such a lengthy period of time (that particular submarine could stay under water for up to 6 weeks) and love it even. I'd go mad, but then that's just me. :)



After our long long day of walking, we cabbed home and enjoyed some hours of our new FoxTel, then managed to dragged our feet out the door to the club - Havana - to attend Jamie Wright's birthday bash. It was a... historical night, so let's just leave it at that.
Vintage chic, what is it? Henry says it's his lovely black and white stripe shirt and white tie ensemble.



They were giving out bow shaped chocolate pieces on a wire. This was mine, bitten into.



Well that pretty much summed up my weekend. Today we're just watching tv, conserving energy (ok, just me, seeing as how my house-boyfriend has been doing the work of a wife! heh heh, love you!), ordering Thai food for dinner and sleeping early. Work tomorrow! Yay!

Noise: Australian's next top model!