2011, HErE wE cOMe...

christmas eve at work was such a drag... everyone was already in holiday mode and no one really wanted to do anything that day... but the good thing was I was able to leave work a little earlier that day...

christmas day... went to eat zattar at banksia... it was yummy as usual, was really craving it actually, and it was good although it was so hot that day... stayed home for the rest of the afternoon, and auntie finally came...everyone's question was what were we going to do with her for the next 2 weeks??

boxing day... the good thing was I did not have to work both days... was raining in the morning and became really hot in the afternoon... spent most part of the day at my cousin's cousin's house... nothing really exciting except we were playing kinect with the kids... my auntie brought over the hongkong series can't buy me love... which I had been wanting to watch... still halfway through the show... it's funny mostly, but there's way too much talking, and that's really fast talking... and it's not your typical dramatic hongkong series... I will have to rate it after I finish watching...

Monday... off work... went to the city with auntie... wanted to check out the new opened westfield... everything in there were branded stuff... so needless to say, we did not spend much time in there... got to eat my spicy beef and went karaoke with prisy and later auntie joined us... went to the movies that evening to watch tron legacy... my opinion is... don't bother watching if you are watching it for a good plot cos there's really none... the only thing that it had going for it was the special effects which only lasted for the first hour... and it was all talking after that...

tuesday... off work too... yippee... all of us drove down to stanwell tops lookout (again!), to the temple (Again!) and to kiama blowhole point... the weather was really good actually... and there were so many people at the lookout... and this was the first time after being there so many times that I actually saw people paragliding and hang-gliding, which would probably explain the crowd... there was actually alot of people everywhere we went... this time there were many huge waves?? at the blowhole point... unlike the last time I was there which was with Huimin, there was actually none... it was really quite exciting... and they went till really high as well... finally the long weekend came and gone... it was back to work for the next two days... :(

work was really slow though... everyone were still in the holiday mood and no one really wanted to be there... when we were about to leave for work yesterday... one of my colleagues gave me a christmas santa bauble... and I was really surprised... I really wanted one... although it was really for the novelty cos it really does not do anything... I was really curious about how it all works when my colleague got one from her secret santa... and tried to google it as well, but nothing useful came up... in the end, one of my colleagues suggested that we ring national geographic cos they stock the product and enquire... so I did that during lunchtime on wednesday and we were all cracking up... the sales rep at the other end was really serious and sincere though in explaining how it worked... it was hilarious... we had a really good laugh that day... auntie gave a treat yesterday evening at this chinese restaurant at rhodes... the food was not too bad actually...

finally another 4 day weekend... although I have to work on sunday... it is going to be stinking hot again... the best plan would be to stay indoors... no confirmed plans as to what we would be doing, so probably just trying to finish watching the show now...

I won't bother with a new year resolution this time... cos I never seem to be able to fulfill them anyway... just to be healthy, happy and be smooth sailing at work... establish good relationships with colleagues...

暴风雨。。。

hmmm... today has to be one of the more memorable days since commencing work at Nepean... everything was going as per usual until after lunch, when the sky started becoming really dark and ominous and before you know it, it was pouring, rain was pelting down and there was alot of hail... my first thought was... OH NO! AURIS!!! my car is going to be damaged from all that hail coming down... went to take the elevator to go up to the wards and bad luck, the light flickered and the elevator stopped, started flashing 5 instead of 2, where we were, and I was like... you have got to be kidding me!!?? no way I am going to be stuck in the elevator when there is a storm going... thank god the doors opened after a few seconds and I decided to take the stairs instead...

after approx half an hour, got a page from a colleague informing me that the roof in front of our office has just collapsed and we had to evacuate from the office immediately... went down and started packing our stuff and going into the students' room for the time being... all of us were told to stay there until further notice, and when everyone had gathered, we were hearing things like some parts of the hospital has been flooded, roofs have collapsed, and they were moving the patients and have declared the hospital disaster level1... which apparently meant that we had to stay put and not go up into the wards... whilst waiting, we were hearing things like the underground carpark has been flooded, there were ambulances flooding the hospital as a result of the collapse of the roofs of the local pub and shopping centre... I know this probably sounds bad, with people injured, but my main concern was my car really... had to wait in the office for the next hour before finishing for the day... when I finally got to the car, I was so relieved to find Auris still intact with no dent marks visible... and after hearing the news, found out that the storm has pretty much hit the whole of NSW... not just western sydney... really did bring back memories of when we had the really bad hailstorm a few years ago and I was all alone at home... the hailstones were the size of golfballs and smashed the windows in the lounge area...

it was one hell of a day... one week more till christmas, not that we are celebrating, having a relative visit, but am looking forward to having the days off...

COuntDowN to XMas STaRts...

mum and nainai are here... which meant that I am off Woolies for 3 weeks, which is really great, really enjoying my weekends... spending time with them... brought them out shopping... was planning to go visit hunter valley but it was raining this weekend, and nainai seemed to have caught the cold... hopefully the weather will clear up by the end of this week, cos I am looking forward to our roadtrip next week...

just went to the movies to watch harry potter... it was really good, sad but good, looking forward to the final instalment... have to admit that I totally do not remember the story... hmm... maybe I should read the book over the christmas break... watched backup plan and how to train your dragon... both were really funny... would recommend them if you want a good laugh...

work has been going ok I guess, nothing really new... colleagues are nice but we just don't seem to be clicking to date... dunno if it is the personalities or maybe it takes time... we'll see...

ThE seAsOn I hATe thE mOSt...

countdown to christmas and the end of 2010... summer is here... it has been really hot for the last few days... nothing very exciting happening atm... mum and nainai arriving this week... and we have received news that one of our relatives whom I have not seen for ages is coming to visit over christmas... joy... not... no new dramas so I am rewatching my collection of dramas... work is still ok... the official word is that the mobile rehab team will not be commencing until next year... so currently I am assisting with the acute team caseload... but hopefully will also be able to work on rehab stuff... and it looks like I am going to be stuck here for awhile until I have sufficient leave to go home...

PLodDiNg aLonG...

yesterday was my one month anniversary in the hospital... still no news as to whether the team will go ahead and whether the other team members have been recruited... so I am still the team atm... hopefully we will hear good news soon... work is going well on the whole... still trying to get used to the smells, having to carry bulky equipment over long distances etc...

completed baker king drama... I would rate it 7/10... the plot is good, however lacking in chemistry between the male lead and the girl he ended up with... I would have preferred that he went with Eugene... but on the whole, touching drama... I would recommend this drama...

met up with NAt, Bernadette and Flea yesterday for dinner... the food was not impressive... spent the whole dinner listening to Flea's grievances against certain people at RSC... she basically hated everyone there and having worked there for almost 21 months, I can't believe I did not notice these things happening... things were not as rosy as it appeared to be... thank god I have left the company...

other than that, nothing really exciting happening, except mum and nainai are coming to visit in Nov... so that should be interesting...

臭臭的。。。

work is going ok I guess, although I do go home with a headache most of the days due to the huge amts of brain drain... feels like I have to learn everything that was taught during uni again... and bcos we have quite alot of people now and I am working in a different area from everyone else, it is difficult to form bonds with any of them... hopefully things will become better once I get the hang of what I am supposed to do... got my new uniforms today... we are entitled to 5 shirts, 3 pants and a jacket... which is pretty good, no need to pay for them and no need to waste time and brain cells thinking of what to wear for the next day... and we get an 'allocated day off (ado)' every month, which is probably one of the few good things about working in public hospitals... the thing I really am not used to is the smell, I know it probably sounds really bad but the patients really do stink and I find myself coming into frequent contact with all sorts of body fluids... yuck...

the long weekend just passed... went to the city with pong for karaoke and went to ceci's for lunch... bought the baker king dvd... hopefully the show will become better judging from the reviews I read... atm it seems alittle draggy...

other than that, nothing very exciting happening... it's been raining these few days but it definitely looks like summer is nearing... hello flies :(

FREakiNg oUT...

survived the first week at nepean hospital... first 3 days was hospital orientation and only on thursday did I commenced observation in the rehab unit... both in and outpatients... and that was when I started to freak out... I have no idea what to do and what to expect... and the plan for next week is for me to spend some time in the acute wards... oh man... and I found out that my position was meant for a level 2 OT... seriously... I really hope for a miracle otherwise I really dunno what I am going to do... working in a hospital is really different... cos you are surrounded by people and the OTs all gather in the staffroom to eat during lunch... there is no table, you pretty much have to hold your lunch in your lap and eat...

and what else I found out... you have to buy your own birthday cake on your birthday... you have to pay for your courses... you have to use your own pens... you have to be responsible for cleaning up urine and poo if your patient suddenly lets go, not the nurses??!! *faints*

this decision to work in the hospital is not looking too smart at this stage... what have I gotten myself into??!!

WiSH mE GooD LuCk...

tuesday... we did manage to go to the zoo and it was only drizzling alittle when we were there so we managed to see most of the animals there, it only started to pour whilst we were waiting for the ferry... and after that, went for karaoke... now that bog echo has renovated, it has become quite cool with disco lights and touch screens... so we have decided to go to big echo instead of k mix...

went to the city to meet up with Alana and Nat for lunch at Lindt's... that was good but becos they only had their hour of lunchbreak, we could not spend more time together... but it was nice to be able to spend some time catching up with them...

highlight of the week... definitely the S.H.E concert... totally worth the money, better than Backstreet Boys and much much better than Jay Chou... they sang mostly older songs and there was interactions with the crowd as well... got some good pics and videos... still cannot believe that I got to see them in concert... it was unreal... really want to go to the Super Junior concert in Singapore in January 2011...

oh and I finally got my full driving licence on Wednesday... after 3 years of driving... so goodbye to red and green plates! one more day before a new challenge commences...

新的挑战。。。

this week can be considered a week of rest/slacking for me... last friday was a mad rush and a blur for me during the last 2 hours... was frantically doing everything at the same time... completing reports as much as I could and signing file notes... and Amber was nice enough to stay with me till 7pm that night and helping me clear stuff and tidy up my workstation... it was sad leaving and there were a few tears shed when I had to give a "speech" and when I read the card with everybody's well wishes...

did some shopping yesterday... planning to go to the zoo today, so hopefully the weather would be good enough to not rain... tomorrow, driving test in the morning and no plans yet... thursday, meeting Alana and Nat for lunch at Lindt's and dinner with the girls from work... friday... hanging out with prisy and then going to SHE concert...

still unsure if I am looking forward to starting work at Nepean... it would be like commencing a placement but this time, no supervisors and I am having to treat someone... that is one scary thought...

GooDBye...

last week at RSC... hmm... just trying to get through as much as stuff as I can... got to work around 8am and finishing around 6pm and it looks like it would be like this for the whole of this week... looking forward to the one week break next week for some R & R before starting a new chapter... went to the hospital last week to submit some paperwork and met some of the OTs working there, saw some familiar faces and was informed that there will be more familiar faces when I start... don't really know if that's a good or bad thing yet...

went to teppanyaki for a company dinner last Friday and I have to say that it was really enjoyable and I had alot of fun... although it was quite a waste of food, but it was really amusing watching others and myself catching food ie raw egg, omelette and bowl of fried rice... did something embarrassing as well, did not manage to catch the raw egg and it landed on my colleague sitting next to me, the egg went all over her bag, and to top it all off, I threw my bowl at her... everyone burst out laughing... definitely one of the better company functions I have been to...

decided to hold my farewell dinner at Max Brenner on Thursday so hopefully that will be fun as well...

nothing really much else going on atm, still have yet to study for the driving test... been hooked onto Boys over Flowers again, God knows why... still in Super Junior phase... and I heard that they are having a concert in Singapore, urrgghh and it's going to be expensive, but cannot go anyway

looking forward to S.H.E concert next week, will give you an update following the concert... I am hoping that it would be better than Jay Chou's...

HapPy 25th!!!

have not been blogging for a while now... sian man... I am still waiting for Nepean Hospital to confirm employment... had to go get chickenpox vaccine and chest X ray... so currently just biding my time at RSC and been getting all these one off assessments... hopefully they will confirm soon...

and I should be studying for the driving theory test now to go get my full license but all because of pong... she has now got me obsessed about Super Junior... seriously a week ago, when she was watching them, I was like oh my god! they are so ugly! and now a week later, I am the one obsessed about them... they are actually quite funny... totally hooked now, and all I can think of all the time are them... seriously I should NOT be obsessing over them (most of them are like younger than me) at this age... totally pong's fault!

was sick last week for a week, am blaming people at work for passing the virus to me and I passed the virus to pong and michelle by the end of the week... they were not impressed...

and the exciting thing to look forward to next month is... WE HAVE CONFIRMED GOING TO SHE CONCERT!!! I could not believe that they are actually coming to Sydney... prisy and I were actually talking about it last year after going to Jay Chou's concert and now it is really happening... will definitely update after the concert... hopefully I will be able to get good pictures...

hmm... today is Friday the 13th (random)

不想在这里了。。。

still no good news yet regarding my job hunting... still crossing my fingers and toes hoping that I can get a hospital based job soon...

well I am sure it is no longer news, but I am glad that Spain won the World Cup 2010, although I personally think that their games are boring, most of the games are 1-0 now I have to wait another 4 years to watch football...

pong is finally here, still settling into the pace of the life here... been invited to a baby shower next Sunday and Yochi is getting married at the end of the month... so this month my pockets are pretty empty...

currently considering if I should go to Cairns during birthday leave... hmm really depends on pong's timetable and the situation...

was quite annoyed on Friday... have another job interview at Nepean Hospital and hence requested for a few hours' leave and received an email from my Manager requesting that I try to schedule appointments outside of working hours and I was like WTH??!! did she even think before she emailed me cos I have no idea how to do that cos in case she did not notice, I work from 8am to 5pm so I can't think of how I should schedule the job interviews outside of working hours... I was so annoyed after reading the email and they have agreed to support me in the first place... the other mildly annoying thing was that I was not being told that my billing target would be increased until I was cc'ed into an email which she sent to the accounts dept... thanks for telling me...

CROss mY fiNgERs & tOEs...

WOW this 2010 World Cup has turned out to be quite a shocker!!! the big European countries are playing like crap and now both France (as a reminder, was 2nd at last World Cup) and Italy (the champions at last World Cup) are now out of the tournament, and England looks to be going out soon, Germany, Holland and Spain look to be doing well but then again who knows, but other than that, this World Cup looks like it's going to be a South American blockbuster, we have got Brazil, Portugal, Argentina doing really well and of course, you never know what to expect from South Korea and Japan... i was like, could the reason for the European countries performing like crap be partly bcos of the vuvuzela horns (the noise is affecting their play and concentration??!!) or the environment that they are in (it looks like it fluctuates between hot and cold) or simply bcos they are CRAP!! (let's not find excuses)... not sure who I will be supporting towards the end but I can say for sure that there are going to be more surprises coming...

onto the boring stuff, attended my first job interview after 1.5 years at Blacktown hospital, met Amelia there cos she has got a locum position there, I thought the interview went well, except I did not know what the quality improvement cycle was... apparently I should have learnt it at uni... hmm... certainly no recollection at all... applied for Westmead as well, and I am hoping to get the Westmead one just cos I am more familiar with the place... so cross my fingers and hopefully by the next entry, I will have some good news!!!

WInteR cHiLL...

my life at the moment only has 3 elements: Masterchef, World Cup and Work... very excited now that the world cup is finally here again but bcos of the weird hours in the morning, I am always having to record the matches and watching it after, which kind of takes the excitement and anticipation away cos I know the results already... so far the matches have not been really exciting maybe bcos it's still the first round... disappointed in England's first match against USA though, although I was quite pleased with South Korea's win over Greece... on the other hand, there are some really unknown countries who qualified for the World Cup and the good ones did not even qualify like Czech Republic, Sweden and one of the strange ones would be North Korea... I was like what the??!!

and the other much talked about topic in the World Cup is the constant buzzing of the horns which apparently are the local horns... i did not even notice it in the beginning but now that everybody is talking about it, I am like noticing it even more and it is very annoying...

still looking for hospital work currently and there did not seem to be any out there... am getting tired of the occ rehab scene... and really need change of scenery... so cross my fingers and toes, hopefully I will be able to find one soon...

yesterday was the june long weekend... met up with uncle andrew, his wife and friends for dinner at this pizza place at harbourside on Friday... did not really like the pizza, maybe due to the flavours picked, but I actually preferred the pizzas we ate at the italian place at Balmain... maybe also bcos they had the nutella pizza...

worked over the weekend and our initial plan was to head to hunter valley on Monday but uncle suggested that the traffic on the way back may be bad hence mich suggested going to cockatoo island for the biennale art exhibition instead... so we drove down to circular quay, and there was already a long queue for the free ferry to the island... it was quite boring actually, the island is actually an old prison and shipyard where the prisoners worked on the ships apparently... so we were there for approx an hour and we were queuing again for the free ferry ride back to circular quay when prisy actually spotted a big celebrity... EWAN MCGREGOR!!!! We were like no way... and nobody except us seemed to have recognised him... so we were queuing on the left hand side for the free ferry while his group decided to take the paid water taxi and we got an up close and personal look when he walked past us... so the 3 of us decided to pretend to want to go ask how much the water taxis cost and we actually got really close to him... but being mature adults, we did not burst into girly screams or whip out our cameras... we were really composed and after finding out that it was $10 each, we decided it was not worth it to pay that much to be in the same boat as him... hmm... I wonder if I would pay that price for maybe Mike He??

anyway, that was probably the highlight of our day really... and he was not even wearing sunglasses, he was dressed really casually and prisy said the woman and child walking beside him is his wife and kid...

after that, we went to have a browse around the museum of contemporary arts, and then headed to this place near the rocks for a fire water show and then to the night market at the rocks... there were alot of people hence that may be why it was not as cold... was exhausted by the time we headed back home... it was a very artsy day really, which probably would not be something I would choose to do...

back to monotonous life again... the next long weekend is not till October...

FOoTbALL feVEr Is BAcK...

nothing really much exciting to blog about this month... had to go all the way to Goulburn last week for an initial and workplace assessment and hence invited the "oldies" along... so while I was working hard, they proceeded on to Canberra for some sightseeing... it was freezing that day though...

winter's coming... starting to get cold and lethargic...

I have informed work that I am looking for another job preferably hospitals and they were actually really nice about it... i was actually worried about their response and even had dreams of this matter and even spoke to Nat about it... which was really helpful... so cross my fingers, I will find one soon and hopefully this time, somewhere closer to home...

i am really looking forward to June 2010... guess why?? 2010 World Cup, after 4 years of waiting, it's finally here again... and sydney is actually one of the countries/cities having an international fest for the whole period between june/july 2010... and I have confirmed that we will have access to all matches on free tv... yes!! this is definitely one of the benefits of Australia being in the world cup, although I am definitely still supporting England... weird hours though...

轻松的长周末。。。

anzac day long weekend...

decided to go on a roadtrip to Bathurst and Orange... began our drive early on Sat morning and arrived at Bathurst mid day... our first stop was Mount Panorama where the Bathurst 1000 is held annually?? you can actually drive up along the actual tracks up the mountain which is pretty cool...
next stop is our overnight accommodation at Bathurst... i have to say that I am not very impressed with the place... there was a smell and there were holes in the wall and the cottage looks really old...
compared to the place that huimin and I stayed over (can't remember the name of the town)... that was really nice and we actually paid the same price for this one...

next up we drove onto Orange which was approx an hours' drive... our first stop was Borrodell vineyard which is located atop a mountain and overlooking the place... it was really pretty but the next thing we knew... it started to pour... the rain was really heavy and we could not do anything as everything was pretty much outdoor activities... hence we decided to wait it out and have lunch first at subway...

by the time we finished lunch... the rain became a drizzle and we decided to visit our next location, Orange Botanic gardens... it stopped raining when we were on our way there but started to rain again when we arrived... i was really disappointed as I was sure that if it did not rain, it would be really pretty...

next stop was the Lake Canobolas reserve... luckily the rain stopped when we arrive and we were able to walk for abit and take some pics...

after that, we went back to the accommodation place for the night and hanged out playing mahjong and celebrity head... it was pouring again by the time we arrived at Bathurst and continued throughout the night...

next day... we decided to go take the zigzag railway but when we were almost there, there was roadblock as there apparently was an accident and we had to take a detour... luckily for us, when we got there an hour late for the 11:00am train, the train was still there and we managed to get on the train... i have to say it was ok... like once was enough, i would not want to go on it again... it was pretty expensive...

after that, we started our journey back home and got back in the afternoon... and went out for dinner at a jap place at eastwood recommended by Prisy... it was actually pretty good, this is probably the only place that i have been to which gives alot of unagi...

on monday, the weather actually cleared up and it was a really beautiful day... decided to go have lebanese bread at rockdale... and we proceeded to maroubra beach which was really pretty... took more pics... and we went to bondi junction for abit of shopping... then went to randwick for thai... did not really like the food though... and the highlight of my weekend... went to lindt cafe!! the iced chocolate is so yummy... i wish i could have it every day...

and now it's back to reality... looking forward to the next long weekend in June...

EAstEr WEekeNd...

it's the easter weekend this week... wow haven't had a week where I have 3 days off in a while... friday... went up to bilpin again for fruit and nut picking... too bad the apple farm did not have as good a harvest as the last year we went... apparently due to flying foxes... had to walk quite deep into the far to see a hint of apples... whereas it was a different story at the nut farm... plenty of chestnuts and walnuts and people really... at least it was good weather...

sat... worked at woolies... for some reason, they were closed on both friday and sunday this year which meant that I have more days off...

sun... brought nainai to manly... sat the ferry and the weather was really weird... on our way there, it was pouring and we were like should we not go today... and we decided to try our luck, which turned out to be the right decision, cos when we got to circular quay, the weather was great and there were so many people about... it was so crowded on the way to and from manly... walked to the operahouse and to the rocks... and guess what i had for dinner... after wanting to eat it for long... i finally got to eat at mamaks... as usual, the queue was already there when we arrived... but prisy and i managed to get a seat... and cos they only open at 5:30pm for dinner... we were one of the lucky ones... i have to say, the prata was not bad... the satay not really... we also had the tisu prata... oh lord... the amount of sugar on that thing was so bad... would i go back there again?? maybe... the thing was it was too expensive... $5 for a piece of plain prata and curry... compared to 60 cents in singapore??!!

Autumn's here...

second week back... everything looks the same, it is as if I did not even go anywhere... sian man... back to routine, working 7 days a week... i really need a hobby... something which I enjoy doing, that will allow me to relax... looking forward to the easter holiday... long weekend... really would like to go on a road trip... hopefully if everything goes according to plan, we may be going fruit picking...

found out last week that our general manager is leaving in april... 4 people have left since I started... although I am sad to see them go, but also happy for them... and they have found another OT to join our team, so our IM team is all consisted of OTs now... not sure how good would that be for us... personally, i think it is better to get someone of a different allied health background, like maybe a PT, so there can be a sharing of different skills and knowledge, but it's not really up to me... and i have been told that i will be moving desks as well, to the other pod...

have been thinking of looking for a job in the hospital, but it looks like it is going to be difficult, there did not seem to be many hospital jobs available now, and the ones that are available required OTs who are already working in the hospital... so that rules me out... dun really know what to do now... just have to wait and see...

走过回忆之路。。。

3 weeks of holidays just flew by like that... really dreading going back to sydney... wish I could stay here and slack forever... haha... although I must say that I have managed to meet up with all the people that I have not seen for awhile... the only thing is everyone's working now, hence not much flexibility in the times that we have... and after being here for 3 weeks, I actually thought of what would happen if I were to return here to work... but silvana told me that day that I would not be able to cope with the pace and culture of the workplace here... and I do not think I am confident enough to start work here at this stage...

also bought some stuff here... new shoes and clothes... things here are actually not that cheap, especially clothes... huimin and fran are leaving before I leave... will definitely miss them when I go back... dunno when will I be able to come back again... especially now that I am thinking of changing jobs to hospital-based...

also got to eat most of the food which I have missed... the weather here is really unbearable without air conditioning... constantly in a state of perspiration... also finished watching down with love from this chinese website... it was really by luck that i chanced upon this website... really loved the show... both jerry yen and ella were both so cute and funny... although i have only watched bits and pieces of autumn's concerto, but I think it is getting so draggy...

also watched 14 blades starring wu chun and donnie yen... thought that ip man was definitely better... the list of movies I am planning to watch before I return: percy jackson, hot summer days and alice in the wonderland...

BYe SyDnEy, HeLLo SiNgApoRe...

I am finally back in the sunny island called home after 2 long years of not being able to come home... have yet to really go out since I came back and everything that I have seen so far looked the same... but I have been told that there are many changes ie the new resorts that is opening on Chinese New year... saw it briefly when we drove past yesterday... a few new shopping centres... but the thing that never changed is the humidity... it is really hot here and I feel sweaty majority of the day... that's probably the one thing I do not enjoy... got to eat some of the foods which I really wanted to eat for a long time... will be looking forward to spending time with family and friends before i return... who knows how long before I can come back again... and we have decided not to go korea... nothing much atm happening... but will continue to update... and I have been diligently working on my "mini" project given my colleagues at work...

WHaT??!!

one year anniversary of my working life was on 5 Jan 2010... i can't believe it has already been a year... definitely learnt alot during the past year but continue to feel like there are so much stuff that i still don't know but which i feel like i should...

met up with amelia that day, went to the chinese place at parramatta for dinner, and went back to her new place to get new movies/dramas... during dinner, she dropped a bombshell on me telling me that she got a boyfriend just recently... it was a surprise to me cos if you know amelia, you won't believe it initially... but when i met her bf at her house, he seemed nice... i got a few some dramas off her, but have yet to start watching, for some reason, i am not really in the mood for them now... although i am feeling bored nowadays...

counting down the days to going back home... it is freaking hot over here, so hot that it is difficult to sleep at night, everything is hot, the bed, my clothes, the air outside... it's blowing hot air... that is how disgusting it is over here right now
we were sleeping downstairs on the floor on some nights now... that's how unbearable it is...

then today, while browsing facebook out of boredom, i found out that piyo got married!!?? i was like no way, i actually had to look twice to make sure that my eyes were reading it correctly... that was another shocker... she probably is the first of my friends getting married...

WHaT WeRe yOuR reSoLutiOnS for 2010?

the end of my week long holiday... no more sleeping in... recap what i did since the last post...

wed... went to have lindt with nat at martin place, and she showed me her new workplace... on george st... went to window shop after lunch... and went to kinokuniya again... and i went to have spicy beef seeing as i am already in the city although my shoes were killing me...

thurs... new year's eve... went to work for awhile at woolies, was quite busy that day... prisy and I stayed at home while the rest went to the city for the fireworks... we watched 'from hell' which was quite an old movie with johnny depp... about jack the ripper... quite gory actually... and we decided to rewatch boys over flowers... i know, we are so very sad... paused for awhile to watch the fireworks and continued till they came home which was ard 230am...

slept in on new year's... prisy's friend came over and i decided to go check out top ryde shopping centre... got there and found that most of the shops were closed and the place was still unfinished... so in the end, only spent some time in big w and woolies before going home... came home and we played trivia again... after that, we had to head over to uncle's friend's home as we were invited for dinner... did not really feel like going cos i don't really know them, but bcos steve (yes, uncle's friend's name is steve) helped me with the visa thing awhile ago, quite paiseh if i did not attend... spent quite awhile there and when we arrived home, i pretty much was exhausted... but ended up sleeping late again cos i was watching the new year's eve concert in taiwan... this year's concert was not too exciting... only had SHE, raine yang and ding dang...

was working on sat... came back home and prisy and i did karaoke again... she had this idea to hook up the xbox, leave it running so the mics are working and then connect the hard disk into the computer, but that did not work for some reason, and so desperate people like us, went for plan B, which was leave xbox running and sing along to the mv on the laptop... and then after that, decided to switch to play street fighters... remembered that i used to play the game a long time ago, but i can't really remember the special moves... and i dunno if this is normal, but are your thumbs meant to blister from using the controller??!! cos my left thumb is still hurting till now...

2010... quite a few things to look forward to this year... going home, world cup and new challenges... hopefully this would be a good year...

12 DAYs of cHriStMaS...

hmm... what i did for christmas...

was working on THursday, christmas eve till quite late, trying to complete all the reports so I do not start the new year with a backlog of reports from 2009...
christmas day and boxing day... stayed at home with everyone, the weather was wet hence we decided to just sloth around at home... eat sleep play and watch tv... mich bought the xbox 360 and we played trivia and karaoke... the thing with trivia was that it was only movie trivia and not very exciting, prisy informed me that the other trivia game on playstation was more fun... and i did not know 3/4 of the songs in the karaoke game, and we decided to try hooking up her zune and it worked, but either we sing along with no lyrics or watch the actual videos but without the mics...

sunday... working at woolies, it was surprisingly quiet, i thought it would be busy seeing as how we were closed for 2 days... and went to watch avatar in the evening... it was really good... better than what i expected... i am glad that we got the tickets early cos it was packed that day... and watching in 3D was definitely worth it, but becos i had to wear it over my glasses, it was giving me a headache after a while, i had to keep alternating between not wearing the 3D glasses and wearing it... definitely would recommend everyone to watch it... i would rate it 9/10... it was that good...

monday was boxing day public holiday... it was pouring in the morning and did not really feel like going out, but have already confirmed meeting up with uni people for lunch in the city... ended up eating at ajisen... ate my unagi bento again... did not like the rice as it was mushy... it's really weird but everytime we meet up we were mainly talking abt work... cos i think all of us were that close anymore as compared to at uni, not that we were that close at uni, but we saw each other mostly everyday but now, everyone's working and only catch up with each other once in a while... and all of them brought their partners along, and it was really weird seeing yochi and anna with their partners... after lunch, we separated, and i went to hang at kinokuniya to wait for prisy... after that, prisy and i decided to go karaoke at kmix... initially wanted to have dinner out but did not really see anything good, and she did not really feel like walking back to sussex centre for spicy beef hence we ended up eating junk food...

have the whole of this week off... on forced annual leave... hence i am at home today slacking... tomorrow will be meeting up with nat for lunch at lindt's... and thurs, working at woolies... no plans yet for friday... working on both sat and sun... the next holiday is australia day but it falls on a tuesday, so it's going to be not much of a holiday really... damn... why can't it fall on a monday instead... and we are back to summer again... yuck...

圣诞快乐。。。

it is getting very hot now, 2 more weeks to christmas... no plans yet for the 2 days off... will be meeting up with uni people for lunch during the week off, and may be meeting nat for lunch at Lindt's...

work area... i have got 2 cases currently which are giving me headaches...please... someone take these files off me... people are so annoying sometimes...
had our christmas lunch yesterday at this italian restaurant... at double bay... and i was late because i had an assessment that morning... the food was not that great really... went for drinks after... i had 2 cocktails... one was called "woo woo" and the other was "raspberry caprioscia"... not bad actually... did not stay for too long though... cos i had to taxi-pool with another colleague... guess what i receive from my kris kringle... a book titled "100 food experiences you have to have before you die"... i was browsing through it and the food listed on the book were too exotic... they had things like "fruit bat stew" ... oh man not that i would be reading it anytime soon... will have to regift it sometime...

finished watching the dvds that were sent back... have to start looking for new entertainment to occupy myself...

KEEp SeLf OccUpiEd...

it has been really hot for the past 2 weeks... and the last weekend when we went up to the hunter valley, the temp rose to 40 degrees... we were all dying from the heat... it was so hot that i did not have the mood to do anything that weekend...

there were many people when we visited the hunter valley... went to quite a few wineries and bought 2 bottles of wine... and i think i drank lots as well... went to this really posh cafe for lunch, the view was beautiful but the food was only ok... and then we went to ribs and rumps for dinner... my fav is still the chicken parmigiana...

went to watch 2012 with prisy, and the 2 uncles... it was ok, the special effects were quite good but still feel that the day after tomorrow was better... i would probably rate it 6/10...

am now watching a repeat of the series "chinese ghost story"... work has been quite shitty these 2 weeks... keep getting into trouble with insurers for some reason... and some clients just give me the shits...

the company will be having the christmas lunch in 2 weeks' time and apparently they have a tradition of picking a "Kris Kringle" and you have to buy a present for them... and you are not allowed to say who till after... and lucky me, i got our general manager... now i am getting a headache from thinking of what to buy...

COuNtiNg doWn...

very disappointed that my grandma could not come visit in the end bcos of her condition... hopefully after she sees the specialist, it will be a false alarm and she will be able to come visit... hence it was my uncle who came to visit for the next 3 weeks... not that i had to do much entertaining... cos i am working every day, so i only really see him during mealtimes... but i am looking forward to next saturday when we have a trip planned to visit the hunter valley... please let the weather become cool again... it is now starting to get really hot...

now that it's november already... i think things would start to slow down at work... but as always i am still trying to catch up on all the reports...

i have been watching 'burning flame' these past week... totally unable to recall the first series and now that i am watching it again... it was more on the drama side rather than showing them putting out fires... some parts were really sad though...

HEllO DrEAdED sUmmER...

and now for the weather update... it had been quite chilly for the past few weeks but it is definitely becoming warmer now as we enter november...

month of oct... went for a company dinner in a lebanese restaurant... first time there and trying lebanese food... the food on whole was not too bad... i actually ate quite alot considering how fussy i am... the only thing was the place was very small and narrow... and all of us were squashed along a long bench just like back in primary and secondary school where there are long benches instead of usual tables and chairs... and then the next week, it was the team dinner... at a spanish place where they sell tapas... which now i know are small servings of food... it was alright... and the good thing was i did not have to fork out a cent as the company paid for both times... which was good...

yesterday was nat's last day at work... all of us are sad to see her leave... although i am sad too, i am happy for her cos she found a job already and really, you can't really stay for too long in this job... i will miss her... i will be by myself for the next 2 weeks in the pod, until another new team mate joins us... she did her 4th year placement with us so at least we all know her already... so now our team has 4 OTs and 1 EP...

nainai is coming in 2 weeks' time... it will be good to see her again... and also i was told that we are confirmed going to korea in feb... wooo... i hear it is going to be cold... definitely will be asking anna what to bring and things to look out for...

烦恼。。。

can't believe it's october already... the long weekend just passed... this year we did not do very much for the october long weekend... was working on sat and sun... watched race to witch mountain, ps i love you and the proposal... the proposal was hilarious... ryan reynolds was really funny in the movie... i really enjoyed the show... did not do very much on monday, was able to sleep in that day, played mahjong and we were planning to go out for dinner at ceci's when the power went out, and started pouring... which it has been for the whole of last week... and it was freezing... not that i am complaining, definitely prefer to be freezing than having flies buzzing everywhere... so in the end, we stayed home for dinner and thank god the power came back... continued to look for properties... i have just started to realise how difficult it is to buy a property, there is just too many things that need to be considered... i like the idea of living on our own, having to do everything for ourselves... but on the other hand, it is also nice to not be worrying abt washing, cleaning and cooking... 很烦。。。

found out that day that one of my team mates is leaving the company at the end of the month, who is also my mentor... i was shocked... and for some reason, i started crying in front of my manager, it was so embarrassing... it's not like we were close or anything, i think it's bcos i did not expect her to leave and she was the one who taught me everything i know in this job... it will be sad to see her go...

tiME is PAsSiNg So fAsT...

met up that day with the guys from uni, there was anna, yochi, jo, tina and karen... it has been awhile since we met up like this... it was good to be able to catch up with them and learn what they have been doing since graduation... most of us have already started working whereas some are still looking for jobs... the good thing was becos everyone were in quite different areas of practice, it was good to hear what they do and especially as I would like to go into hospitals, I had to find out more from anna and karen... the food was not that great though, we should have gone to Ceci's... well next time perhaps...

prisy and i were watching the series moonlight for the past few days and stayed up till really late last night to finish the series... the main character is really good looking... although the series received bad ratings and they cancelled the series after the first season, i think we quite enjoyed the show in general, although the female lead is really annoying...

and today is really cold for some reason, the wind is howling outside... really strange... but i am definitely not complaining, i'd rather be freezing than sweating... please delay summer as long as possible... looking forward to the long weekend next week... hopefully i can get a break...

无聊。。。

month of september... nothing very much happened... the weather is gradually getting hotter... prisy introduced another anime to me... scrapped princess... the first few parts were only ok... but it got quite good towards the end... prisy and mich went to chile for the past 2 weeks... and yesterday was also auntie's birthday, so we had cake and watched some of the pics that they took... this is going to be a very short post... my life currently is not very exciting...

In tHe BLinK of An EyE...

hmmm... i am getting lazier and lazier to blog nowadays...
aug... the highlight of this month was huimin's visit... was really looking forward to them visiting but becos of the swine flu, fran and jo decided not to come after all...
huimin came late on sunday night... stayed over at my place, and we went on a roadtrip on monday... went to stanwell lookout, seacliff bridge, kiama and bowral where we stayed for the night... although i have been there quite a few times, i still really enjoy going to these places... the only thing that i was really disappointed was we went all the way to the kiama blowholes and there were none... not even one... it was very disappointing... this was the first time this happened to me, there was always at least one blowhole...
stayed over at this really nice place called briars at bowral as i had to travel to this town called berrima which was close to bowral so i thought rather than coming all the way back, we might as well stay over and we can sleep alittle later... the accomodation is usually really expensive, but i think we got it at a sale price...

huimin came with me to berrima, where i had to go for work the next day... the client was running really late, and the town is really small, we finished sightseeing in about half an hour and had to sit around and wait... finally the client came and i had to go off for work, and i don't really want to talk about work here, so all i would say is it was an experience that i would rather not have... huimin and i were exhausted by the time we arrived home...

reality came back for me as it was time to go back to work... so huimin had to sightsee on her own on the last few days... sorry huimin... but we decided to share accomodation in the city for two nights... on wed night, we went for dinner and karaoke after work... on thurs night, went for dinner, then walked to lindt cafe... on the way there, we saw fireworks and decided to take the ferris wheel... both huimin and I have never been on one before... i am really a loser... the ferris wheel was swaying a little when it stopped in midair and i was getting really nauseous and having
headaches and huimin had to give me an airsick pill... went to lindt cafe after... had ice cream, and huimin suddenly came up with this "brilliant" idea of going to the opera house at circular quay... and it was already 8:30pm... i was really unwilling... my shoes were killing me...
but i finally was persuaded cos we agreed to catch the train instead of walk... and i wanted to go back to the room to change my shoes first... which meant that by the time we actually left for the opera house, it was like 9:30pm... by the time we got there, i was actually surprised that there were still quite alot of people there... took quite a few pics of the opera house and harbour bridge... by the time we got back, i was so tired and sleepy... and i really wanted to stay up to spend more time with huimin cos it was her last night here already... but in the end, i ended up sleeping first while she was in the shower... and the same thing happened the previous night too, fell asleep before she was out of the shower... huimin, i really enjoyed myself during your visit... we had lots of laughs, didn't we... at our silliness... i miss you already...

turned 24 just this week... went out for dinner with prisy and family and steve... to din tai feng and after dessert at passionflower... mich bought some cakes back from adriano zumbo too... but they were not really nice... and that day at work, usually work will have a cake for everyone on their bdae, but becos the lady who usually organises this was away, so we did not have cake that day and i did not want to be "aa" and announce that it was my birthday that day, and i was really swamped with work this week... and on the way home that day, got a call from Nat and Alana asking why i did not say it was my birthday and insisted that i choose a cake and celebrate the next day... so in the end, we ended up celebrating with a choc mud cake on friday...
prisy and i went to watch district 9 on wed too... it was really good actually... i was quite surprised at how the story turned out... i would definitely recommend it to everyone... it's not like your typical alien movies...

after this brief period of fun... it's now back to reality... sian man... anyway, thank you to all of you who gave their well wishes... i really miss all of you back home...

MasTErChEf...

guess what show i have been addicted to these days... you wouldn't believe it... i myself can't believe but it is true... Masterchef Australia... did not follow the series initially till about a month ago, so all along it was only auntie who was watching it... and i don't even know what happened and i just got addicted to the show... and now it's like the show that i am waiting for every day, and trying to get home by 7pm to watch the show... and the exciting and sad thing is the final is this sunday... i am quite happy with the final two... one of the finalists is a malaysian- chinese, and she has been cooking quite a few chinese dishes during the shows, and bcos the show is so popular now in Australia, i think it will definitely be an eye opener to the aussies here what chinese food look like and how to cook some of these chinese dishes... i am actually quite proud that an asian made it to the final two...

and bcos of one of the episodes yesterday, i actually did something spontaneous which is very rare for me... so on the episode yesterday, the challenge was to bake this really complicated looking but really delicious looking chocolate mousse cake... i really felt like eating it after watching the episode... and so i did some research and found out that the chef actually has a patisseur near work named after him Adriano Zumbo... so i thought hmmm... just note the address and maybe i can drop in one day to try some of the cakes...

so today, i had to be at bankstown and then on the way back to the office, i thought hmmm i really want to eat the cakes... so i decided to take a mini detour to the place... when i got there, everywhere was paid parking, and i did not have any coins with me, so i decided to just park and quickly ran to the shop, did not have even have a chance to slowly peruse the choices, just had a brief glance and picked two chocolatey looking cakes... and ran back to the car, and it was all done in 10 mins... on the way back, i got lost cos the GPS again was not giving the right directions, so all in all it was a mini adventure... and now that i finally got to eat the cakes... although they are not the ones on the show, it was not too bad, prob something that i would only eat once or twice, not something that i would want to eat every day... and apparently it was already quite famoous before the show, but now it's even more famous becos of MasterChef... when i got there today, it was crowded as well... i will definitely want to visit the cafe if i get a chance...

魔杰座。。。

received a really disappointing news that fran and jo are not coming to visit me anymore bcos of the swine flu... hopefully huimin will still be able to come...

1 july 2009... this day is definitely one of my good days... better than good... went to work and the first email i received was from immigration informing me that I am successful in my PR application... so i have now officially become an australian PR... months of stress finally over... i have to say that it's been really stressful leading up to this... bcos of the all paperwork and the waiting... and this day was also the end of my 6 month probation period... yay... so all in all it was a really bright and happy day...

went to watch transformers on the same day as well... i have to say the movie is really good... and it was even much longer than the first one... definitely will recommend it to everybody...

and then yesterday was the jay chou concert at acer arena... both prisy and i were really disappointed with the stage and the props used... we were speculating whether it was bcos of the organiser or becos hjay chou really did not put much effort into the concert... in terms of the design of the stage and the props... and even though we got the cheapest tickets... i still felt cheated... and when we were about to enter, we had to throw away all our bottles and snacks... and prisy's friend had to throw all the snacks that her sister bought... what a pity... and... there were SO MANY ASIAN people there, it was not funny, i was telling prisy that i have never seen so many asian people in one spot before... it was like 90% filled and the stadium could hold up to 21000 people... can you imagine how many asians were there just to see jay chou... we even saw families with small kids and grannies... at lidcombe station, the trains were packed going and coming... thank god we got a lift there and did not have to squeeze with the rest... and bcos we were sitting right at the back and facing the back of the stage, we could only see his back most of the time... if i had to rate the concert, i would say 5/10. the backstreet boys concert was much better...

winter's here...

i think i will be posting a blog once a month from now on, cos there is really nothing much to report on now that i am working... every day is the same routine pretty much, even on the weekends, cos i am still working at same old woolies...

what i have been up to this past month...
watching boys over flower, after much persuading from pong... actually i thought the show was not as bad as i expected... if i were to pick, i would say kim bum was the cutest amongst them... initially i was like the guy who was playing the character "lei" is so girly... and then after finishing watching the show... i started looking up ss501 cos i am so bored... and then moved on to watching we got married... and i am so hooked on the parts where kim hyun joong and hwang bo were in... he cracks me up...

so... that's pretty much what i have been up to this past month... and we had that long weekend in the first week of june... went on a roadtrip with auntie and uncle's friends... to grand pacific drive, berry, kangaroo valley and fitzroy falls... it was freezing at fitzroy falls, but really pretty...

oh and siti came to visit... too bad i had to work and she was only here during the week... so we met up for dinner, and it just had to be the coldest night ever... it was freezing... we initially planned to visit lindt cafe, but ended up having dinner at pancakes... the food was ok... seriously only the pancakes were good, but siti did not want the chocolatey pancakes, so we had the normal ones with bananas and pecans... not very nice... and then after dinner, we hanged around darling harbour to take pics, but her camera was damaged and we had to use my phone camera which did not have flash, so pics were not very nice... it was long and freezing walk back to the car, and siti bought kebab cos she was still hungry... it was too bad that she could not stay longer cos we have not seen each other since the last time i went back... looking back now... i felt like i am growing apart from everyone back home... cos we did not have anything in common to talk about recently, and dun really know what to talk abt sometimes... cos everyone is doing something different and leading their own lives... and i have not seen people in ages as well... even now... with uni friends... everyone is busy with their own lives, and there were attempts to try and meet up but always fell through and we have not seen each other since graduation... and sometimes it's really hard of some people are willing to make the effort to catch up but others are not... anyway...

went to watch terminator yesterday... as anticipated, the movie was not bad, according to others who have seen it... kind of sad as well for the character playing the half human and half robot... but in the end, he remained human... will not spoil the ending for people who have not seen it... if i haven't already... next movie we are going to is transformers... and looking forward to the jay chou concert in july... and of course, huimin, jo and fran's visit... really looking forward to seeing them again...

好久不见。。。

well hello, haven't been blogging for awhile... almost a month since the last blog... have been quite tired with work and nothing really much to blog about too...work is still going ok, still alot of areas to improve on, just had my mid probation review last week, and the final probation review is in july... one of our team members had decided to resign, so now our team is down to 5...

nonwork stuff... attended one of my colleague's engagement party last saturday, in surry hills... prisy accomapnied me but we did not stay for long, cos really did not know any of the people there except people from work... and it was a really small place and noisy... and was involved in a minor car accident last saturday too on my way to work... luckily it was nothing too serious, except that i am car-less for a while week, which is quite inconvenient now that i realised how dependent i am on the car... so i am really looking forward to getting auris back on wednesday...

was really excited that i got to skype that day with huimin, have not seen her for so long... she has grown her hair since the last time i saw her... it was good to see and talk to her... so i am encouraging everybody to get a webcam so that we can skype...

I just received an email saying that i have a case manager now for my PR thing... i have got to get another two more documents before my PR can be approved, but as usual everything moves so slowly over here, so hopefully cross my fingers, it will be approved asap... cos until then, i will not be able to leave the country...

went to watch star trek yesterday with the family... it was not bad actually although i am not a star trek fan but the effects were cool and the plot was pretty good as well... the only thing was bcos we went on a friday, it was so crowded and we had to sit close to the screen...

oh and i finally finished watching the little nonya... the show is really sad... especially the character yuzhu... and i agree with everybody that the ending was not that good... but it was a relief to get it out of my system... hmmm... what show next...

Easter BReaK...

two weeks of my mini break just went so quickly... it was really nice to be able to spend time with my family and my grandma... went on a few roadtrips... everything was going so smoothly up till the last day of our road trip... due to my lack of further planning, I arranged for our last night to be in a winery but what I did not know was that the winery was located quite deep in the forest, hence there was no proper road going in and out of the winery, just a very long dirt road... so what happened the last morning of our roadtrip was we checked out, and it was pouring by the time we were driving out, and my dad mentioned that the car was making alot of noise, and so he got down to check, and we realised that the tyre at the passenger side was punctured... and there was smoke coming out of the tyre and the whole rubber area in contact with the road was gone... i have to admit that i was really scared shitless, cos we were literally in the middle of nowhere and thank god my dad was there, if i had been alone by myself, i simply don't know what would happen... so after changing the tyre, we decided not to proceed with the roadtrip and drive straight back home... it was one scary day... lesson learnt: always check the routes before going on a roadtrip...

and the stupid GPS aka "Richard" did not help either the day before taking us on this road where there was about 15km of dirt road and we had to drive at 5km/h, and the whole time i was praying that nothing will happen to the tyres... it was definitely not a good day...

anyway, the mini holiday i had went so quickly, and my family has gone back... and now it's back to work... oh yes, graduation... nothing really significant, except we took lots of pictures, and everyone in the family was there, so i did not get much opportunity to take pics with anna and the rest... it was probably difficult for all of us to meet as well as our families were all there and the initial plan of going out for dinner did not happen, which i knew it would not when we were talking about it before... anyway, it was still good to see Mel and to know that she really enjoys working in singapore...

as for pics... i dunno if i will upload them, will try and upload some when i have time... as for the next few months, i have been invited to an engagement party for a colleague at work in may, and then i think siti is coming to visit for a few days in june... so hopefully i will be able to meet up with her, and hopefully fran, huimin and jo can come visit as well...

ONe of ThOsE dAYs...

today was one of the shitty days at work... nearly 3 months since i started work at this company, and today they decided to give me very constructive feedback since i started... i could accept all the feedback except one... and i was very surprised and i would say shocked that they told me that, cos i completely had no idea that i was doing that and it was very unconscious on my part, and i did not even realise i was doing that until they told me... and now, it's like time to awaken and step out of my comfort zone and start acting like a professional... it's just too bad that this had to happen before the weekend that i was looking forward to... oh well... i shall try not to think too much and just focus on doing my job well and incorporating their feedback...

anyway, exciting thing that my family is coming to visit for two weeks... and we are going on a few roadtrips... so that should be exciting... i love roadtrips... just not reading the map and navigating though... haha... we are going down to wollongong and kiama for a day trip on sunday, so that should be fun, and apparently it's going to be good weather, so hopefully i can post some pics soon...

非常失望。。。

I got my first "normal" referral this week, and the worker works in the hangar which makes boeing planes... being my first normal referral and bcos it is a very foreign and complex workplace, my manager and mentor were very concerned and made sure that I did all the right things and followed the procedures... made sure that I did all the preparations necessary before i went out to conduct the workplace assessment...

the assessment was conducted on friday... the rtw coordinator who was supposed to bring us into the premise was 40 mins late, so in the end, the whole assessment was delayed and we had to go back in the afternoon to complete the assessment... i was completely exhausted by the time we finished... the whole workplace was really intense and foreign to me... i was really out of my depth and now that i know i am going to be on this account... i don't know what I am going to do... cos I am not allowed to take pictures so it was really difficult to visualise the equipment and the postures... I don't even know what the stuff there are called... even though everyone back in the office was telling me to not worry cos i am not expected to know and that it is a very complex workplace, but i can't help getting stressed... by the time i got home, i was so very tired, but we had planned to have a movie night that night...

went to castle towers to watch the watchmen... i was very very disappointed, i had such high hopes for the show and i was so excited to watch it all week, and in the end, i was so disappointed... the movie was really long, it ended around 12 midnight... i was falling asleep about halfway through the movie already... i thought it was an action movie from the trailers... but it ended up to be very gory and bloody... and what really concerned me was there were small kids watching the movie and i was like oh man, i don't even dare to watch the gory scenes, i can't believe the parents actually brought them to this movie... very disappointed with this movie... by the time we got home, it was around 1am and i was so zombified... had a quick shower and went straight to bed...

one more week before my family is here... can't wait to go on the roadtrips... hopefully everything will go according to plan...

2 more WeeKS...

it has been going on 3 weeks now without any new referrals for me... I am sooo bored and sick of staying in the office all day... so now all i am doing is help out the other consultants with writing some reports and reading reports... i am seriously bored... who knows when I will be getting a new referral... currently i have one miserable file... people are complaining that they have too much work and no time, and here I am... thinking oh man, i have no work and too much time... it's ridiculous... and traffic to and from work is killing me... days when it's really good traffic, i will take about an hour, and days when traffic is sooo bad, like today, it took me 2.5 hours to get home, it was not funny...

i have been busy lately doing research for the road trips and the accomodation... accomodation is really taking me a long time, cos the last weekend is the easter weekend hence alot of the places have min night stays and are more expensive cos it's the long weekend... so basically that's what i have been busy with for the past 2 weeks... other than that, nothing really much to report on...
and the thought for the day, in fact for the whole of this month and the next... SAVE MONEY!!!

ENd of StRess...

finally... i have finally managed to submit the application for the visa... it's been quite a stressful few months... kept worrying that i will not be able to get the paperwork in time... i can now heave a huge sigh of relief... now all i have to do is attach all the supporting documents, and wait for the good news that i am granted the visa... which hopefully will not take long... i definitely have been losing sleep over this whole visa thing that it's not funny...

on the work side, it's been really quiet and boring these 2 weeks, cos there were no new referrals coming in, and i am just helping out with the other consultants and doing my own thing... which is really making me sleepy, especially in the afternoon... hopefully referrals will start coming in soon cos i definitely prefer to be busy than having nothing to do... and my manager's going on leave for a whole month to get married... so i dunno what is going to happen in the meantime...

today marks the end of my freedom... and being at home alone... cos uncle and auntie are back... i quite miss and enjoy the peace and quiet, although i got quite paranoid a few times over the last week when i heard some noises... to the point of taking a knife upstairs to check it out...

MaJor addiCTiOn...

have not felt like blogging for awhile... mostly bcos there is really not much to blog about... work is still as usual... have been struggling abit to finish all the reports and having to get used to the idea of not being able to finish something and having to do another thing which I am really struggling with as I am someone who likes to finish something first before going onto another thing... but i was told that in this role, I have to be able to prioritise my work which can sometimes require me to do something halfway and having to finish something else... also beginning from next week, we will be having a year 3 student on placement at work, although i am not the supervisor obviously, but it will be interesting as i am still adjusting from being an OT student to an OT... it should be interesting to see how and what it looks like from the other side... i would like to try being a supervisor in future if an opportunity comes up...

i have been alone for a week now... and the house is very quiet, especially at night, but I am quite enjoying this brief period of silence, being able to do what i want and when I want... tried to cook the linguine today for lunch... i was so looking forward to eating the linguine but it did not turn out well... being lazy, i decided to cook the whole packet and all the carrots on the fridge and forgot to add salt, so the end product was a carrot-smelling linguine with no taste at all... it was so unappetizing... in fact, thinking about having to finish the whole packet makes me lose my appetite... similar thing happened the last time i tried to cook fried rice... at least that time i had people to help finish the food, now i dunno what i am going to do...

i have been so addicted to this korean drama that pong recommended... called the last scandal... so sad that the female lead in the show apparently committed suicide last year... the show is really hilarious... i am so addicted that you would not believe the lengths i went to to watch the show and buy the dvd... let's just leave it at that for now... but I would really recommend this show if you are into romantic comedy...

下了好几天。。。

seriously, although i must have said it a million times, but the weather here is really unpredictable, i was complaining about the terrible heat last last week, and it has been raining practically non-stop since last week, and today was the first time after so many days that i actually saw the sun... the good thing was that the weather has really cooled down alot, but apparently after the rainy period, it's going to be hot again... why can't it just stay cool but not rainy...

work is quite tiring mentally... got this really complex client at the moment... my mandarin-speaking one actually... thought the file would be a good one bcos i am able to communicate in the same language and she would feel more comfortable speaking to me but at the moment, she is being very non-compliant... i have three files at the moment, one is going to close soon... still waiting for a new referral to come in... i am quite enjoying occ rehab to my surprise.... although some aspects of the job are quite challenging and sometimes, stressful, but i like the challenge and being able to go out and see different workplaces and talk to different people... very unexpected... but now is still in the early stages, so i guess we will have to see what happens down the track...

visa is a pain in the ass... it is taking forever, i have already sent the applications to the assessing body and afp, but apparently there is still no evidence of them receiving the application, so i am quite worried, don't really want to go through the same thing before... while working that day at woolies i had this sudden thought abt the bridging visa, becos the student visa is expiring at the end of march, so if i apply now, i will be granted a bridging visa in the meantime, however, the bridging visa will not come into effect until the student visa has expired and i have to abide by the conditions placed on the student visa, which was only allowed to work for 20h when semester starts... and so i started to panic that day, cos that meant that i will not be able to work fulltime... but thank god it has been settled and all i have to do now is to fax them a letter saying that i have completed uni... crossing my fingers hoping that they received my application and not get lost somewhere again... i even paid extra for registered post this time to make sure that it goes exactly where it was supposed to go...

other than these, nothing very much has happened... i have been working 7 days a week since jan... and have been feeling abit tired now... everyone who found out that i was working 7 days a week all expressed amazement and asked why i have not quit woolies yet... i was like the money's good... which is true, and at the moment, it is still manageable... so we will see what happens...

热到要死。。。

update on the workplace assessment i did with kate... it was more an ergonomic assessment and an initial... the feedback was i should have asked for more details regarding the duties and also explain the reasoning behind the advice i gave to modify her workstation... which i have been trying to search for it on the internet with no luck yet... but i was speaking with one of my colleagues and she mentioned about me being able to attend one of the ergonomic training if there is one in future... that will definitely be good if i could attend so that i will be able to explain the worker why i do this and that... and also, since that incident at uni... nat and amber have been telling everyone about it and i am sooo embarrased now... cos i know that things are not as they seem... and they kept calling me a "little celebrity" and i would be like nope, it's not like that, but going into details would be too much hassle... so hopefully they will get tired of saying it after awhile... and we were supposed to have students from uni, s'poreans i might add, that day but for some reason, they did not appear, i got excited for nothing... my manager is going away for the next two days, which meant that she would not be able to check the reports for me to send them off... which also means that i am going to be so bored like i was on friday...
being a person who likes to get things done within the timeframe, i am not liking this system of having to get everything checked by my manager before i can send them off... cos she has her own stuff to do and she takes forever to get ard to checking the reports, and so i am late sending the reports in to the respective parties... which i don't like...

visa-related... abit of a progress these few days... cos i emailed the dept of immigration to ask about the conditions of the bridging visa and so now i have pretty much confirmed going on the skilled migration visa... and i sent off the assessing body stuff yesterday so hopefully i will hear back from them next week and also send off the afp stuff next week... and it's kind of like back to square one cos this visa was the one i was going under until uncle suggested i mention to the company that they can sponser etc... and then this whole delay bcos they have to find out more details about the visa... and also the good thing abt the skilled migration visa is that i can do it online so that will much faster, all i have to do is scan all the docs into the computer...

non-work related... last week was mich's birthday, so she requested cook this pasta thing called cannelloni... i was like what?? never even heard of this before... so auntie cooked ricotta and spinach cannelloni... it turned out to be ok, but because you can really taste the ricotta and the spinach whereas when she makes lasagne, the spinach is pretty much masked by the tomato base, you can't really taste it... it's quite mushy... and then we had chocolate cake after... oh very rich choc cake... have been eating alot of bad stuff lately... and the next day at work... one of the colleagues brought in these box of muffins... oh man, could not resist and ate a huge choc chip muffin... after eating the muffin, i was like i am going to puke... so full after that i did not eat lunch either...

and it is so hot here, people are dying in melbourne... cos of the heat, alot of the forests are on fire and people who are living in those areas surrounded by forests have their houses being burnt and people are dying... it went up to 46 degrees in melbourne and here it's like 40 degrees... i really hate summer...

LiFeleSS...

nothing really much happened since last week.. except today, went out with nat on another workplace assessment and it was so coincidental that it was at cumberland and the client was someone i was actually familiar with... so when we got there, i was actually hoping that i don't bump into familiar faces but of course, when we got there, i saw jane first, then maree and some of the staff there were surprised to see me too, and they recognised me... i was actually quite embarrassed... but the assessment was pretty intense and quite lengthy... too bad i did not get a chance to say goodbye to some of the staff when we left... dunno if i should be glad or embarrased that they recognised me... when we got back to the office, nat started telling amber i was like a celebrity at uni... it was sooo embarrasing... but considering how i hounded the fieldwork staff before, they probable remembered me bcos of that... and i did not know if i should ask jane about the thesis and publication... although currently i really am not in the mood to do anything related to the research...

and also, i received another referral yesterday, and i will be going out to do a workplace assessment with kate tomorrow... and i guess this one will be more formal compared to the one we did last week cos kate will be there and whereas i was speaking in mandarin that day and they can't understand what i was saying so i probably got away with some stuff...

the visa thing is still in progress, everything is still happening very slow, cos i am still waiting for confirmation regarding which visa to use and also waiting for the company to produce a position description...

so that's what been happening last week and till now, nothing really exciting, oh one of our relative came for a visit that day, have not seen that uncle for awhile, so it was good to catch up with them... actually kind of dreading work at woolies this week, cos both days are long shifts... prefer them to be short shifts now... especially on sundays...