The upset me of today

That's rather true.. I'll be bruised.

I want to but I don't know how to, makes sense?

  

 

Sometimes, good intentions are redundant when no one sees it

All these sayings and quotes are what I should tell myself every single day. Especially on days I feel this way, right now. Have you ever tell yourself you're going to change and you really do try to but somehow, nothing changes? 

Well, that's been me for this past week. Heck, maybe for the past 6 months!! I've been struggling and struggling and struggling and its eating into me. Someone said that she'll come and help but she's come and gone and nothing's changed.

I KNOW I have to change. I tell myself I HAVE to change. That things have to change. But everything is pretty much the same as before, only worst. Well, in my opinion that is.

Don't you hate it when this happen? You tell yourself.. ok, tomorrow is a new day, I'll do better. But when the day comes, you repeat the same mistakes or struggle to stay true to your word. It frustrates me to the core... it upsets me. It erodes what little confidence I have left in myself. Even the simplest thing, I doubt my capability to see it through.

Just a simple thing and I can't even do it. And that one thing leads to another, and before you know it, it's a mountainous of things not done that should've been done ages back. 

Everyone's moving on with their lives. People my age, my ex-colleagues are mostly now at management position. They go travelling, have cars, houses, babies and most people seem to have a support group.. people to call  their very own people. 

I was part of those people's journey so, why do I feel like I was never there in the first place? Why do I  care so bloody much, investing myself when nobody seems to care? Why do I bother the extra mile when no one gives a fig? Most times, it feels like a superheroes' powers; a gift and yet a curse, only in my case, it's not a super power.

But I just got to tell myself that...

 

 

And it's true, I should sleep less. I LOVE my sleep. Mr. C is amazed at the amount of hours I can sleep. Now that I am working part time, I miss my sleep. I miss my 'bumming' days. I miss my stay home days. But perhaps, inactivity is bad. 

There really is so much to do but this past few months, I seem to have lost my mojo to blog/write and even taking pictures. I hardly ever take pictures unless I am using my Sammie2. Even then, the poor quality frustrates me. Things I used to love, I seem to have fallen out of love for them.

Maybe it's depression.. or patheticness or whatever you want to call it. Whatever it may be, there's no one to deal with it but myself. It's true, nobody really gives a rat ass if you're  miserable. And if they do, I don't hear or see them. 

At the end of the day, it's always to say and think about all these beautiful quotes but to really live them? Now, that's a worthy challenge. But with the simplest thing I fail to even muster the strength to do, I can only pray and ask for divine intervention. 

When the day ends and the months lead to years, there is so much a person can do on their very own strength. And if we rely on our self, there will be a breaking point. It's just a matter of when. 

Despite my unfaithfulness, God is every faithful. Despite my questionings and whinging, God's still there, watching over me. I want what I want but I admit, I don't put the effort required to have it. And it's still an ongoing struggle to put my trust in Him, to continually walk and talk to Him. 

Maybe that's why, things happen. They happen for many reasons if not, just one. It's what we want to see and make of it and do about it. So, time to challenge myself and not be afraid to explore.

13.06.2012 Gill's Hen Day

My hard labour planning games for the Hen party

Two Wednesdays back, I was in Malaysia, throwing a Hen Day for my friend, Gill. Lol. Why a Hen Day and not a typical Hen Night? Well, she didn't want anything wild and crazy and besides, it was supposed to be a girly day out but thanks to the the stupid mani/pedi shop in Bangsar for not having any available slots for us, three girls. 

Not too sure the lady said there aren't any slots because we were using Groupon vouchers or she genuinely just didn't have any slots. Sigh. The cynicism we have these days. Nothing is ever simple and straight forward.

Masks from Mr. DIY in SS2Mall - pic by WYee

Red masks from Mr. DIY - pic by WYee


More masks to torture the guys with...

Classy red masks from Reject Shop in Knox Mall

 
Baby bottles to put torture juice

Hmmm.. masks or red shiny hair?

So, for the day, we decided to just keep it simple and hang out. We both went to Paradigm Mall. Even though I am the one from overseas, it was my second time there but her first. Lol. It seems to be my dad's current favourite mall. Cooling, nearby with lots of food shop!

We walked about and got tempted in Charles & Keith. Bought a pair of beige flats that I absolutely adore! Pretty pricey but after conversion, I reckon a good, quality pair like that probably costs more here in Melbourne.

ARTISAN at TAMAN TUN DR ISMAIL

 

After our mall walk, we made our way to Artisan in TTDI for some coffee and cakes. My sister recommended this place saying the coffee and cakes are superb. Perhaps, Gill and I ordered the not-so-famous ones. My iced mocha was average if not, hard to swallow. The mini little cakes we had was only so-so in my opinion.

Meow had the cheesecake and that, was defeinitely yummy! So, if you're ever in Artisan, don't go for the baby teensy weensy cakes, have the cheesecake! The carrot cake Gill's friend, whom we bumped into, was having was pretty decent too! 

The shop surprisingly is quite spacious but I felt that the space they have is underutilised as it cannot sit many patrons at one time. Gill and I had to sit at the side tables opposite the counter. So, it was a good thing our party consisted only of less than three girls.

The other thing about this place, it is hard to find parking. TTDI is definitele notorious for it's jam, lack of parking spaces and idiot double parking drivers. Gill and I were actually fortunate to find a parking on our second round of the place. But it was a good walk away from Artisan. 

We saw Meow rounding and rounding, each time failing to find an available parking slot, passing Artisan with a I-want-to-kill-Esther-for-suggesting-this-place facial expression. Lol. Kidding on that! Then again, who's to say that wasn't on her mind eh?

Gill does kinda look naked hiding behind the iced mocha ;p

Hours just fly past when girls sit down to chat. I think it's a crime how times passes by so quickly when one is enjoying one self where else time trickles by if not a standstill when the company isn't fun.

We made our way to SS2's newly opened Neway for dinner buffet and hours of singing karaoke. Before that, I made some excuse to get something before hand when what I really had to do was to collect the naught cupcakes for Gill's night. I made Gill follow Meow's car. 

When I first opened the lid to see the cupcakes, I let out an incredulous giggle. The erm proportions of the organs displayed on the cupcakes were a tad too big and graphic. Lol. Well, the night was going to be pretty clean and wild-free. I wanted to buy a naughty element from Melbourne to incorporate into the games for the night but didn't had a chance to reach the shop. 

Hence, this naughty cheekiness to commemorate Gill's Hen Night.

We had a good time trying out the different dishes at the buffet table. You can even get one of the staff to deliver the food to the room whilst you browse other food. Quite good service. Then again, it was the first or second week in operation. 

After dinner and chatting, we sang some songs. About 9ish close to 10pm, I stopped all singing and eating activities saying that we had to play some games. You see, I got Gill's hubby to answer some questions about himself, her and both of them. So, it was a game of  how well they each knew the other and their own history together. 

Sometimes. the questions can appear to be so simple and easy but you'd be surprise how rarely it gets answered correctly. I played this game, too on Miss Lawyer's night and it provided endless laughs for all the girls present. It was the same this Wednesday night.

After the games, we continued singing. At the same time, I asked for the cupcakes to be served. First time, the guy asked me if we needed candles. I said,"No". Second time, another guy asked if we needed them to sing a birthday song to which I replied that it wasn't a birthday and to just bring the cupcakes out in the box.

I must admit that the staff at Neway SS2 is just too efficient. To our mortification, they brought the cupcakes into the room. Guess what??? It was OUT of its box displayed brazenly proud in all its glory on a platter. Big time LOL. 

Hehe. 

We posed and took pictures together. Followed by some cupcake tasting. The rich moist chocolate filling was superb! If you ever need customised cupcakes for an occasion, Pretty Frosting is who you'll like to design and bake them for you. I dealt mainly with Jericca and via email. After all, they're in Malaysia and I am in Melbourne.

After the cupcakes, we sang all the way till past 12am. Aaaah... such generosity. And you know what? because it's newly opened, we got a further 50% discount off the RM44++. 

If  I really had to complain, it would be that the song selection menu isn't very user friendly and totally different from other Neways! There's also lack of song selections, too!

But besides those two small matters, the dinner buffet and singing with two drinks offer on a weekday was definitely worth it.

Saturday and Snow White & The Huntsman

A drabby looking day

It started out as a gloomy Saturday. I thought it would rain. After all, it has been gloomy and raining for the past week. Aaah.. the gloom weather of winter. Nevertheless, it didn't stop me from an outing to the city. It was a windy day but fortunately for me, it never rained nor drizzled. If it did, it would definitely have been a miserable day out.

Headed to Mart 130 with three other friends only to find it closed. There was a sign outside their door written that the closing time is 3pm. It's annoying 'cos I googled the closing time before we arrived and read that the closing time was 5pm. I really wanted to try the food here after reading raving reviews about it in Urbanspoon since last year. Oh well, Mart 130 and me on Saturday, just wasn't meant to be.

With a heavy heart and hungry stomachs (at 4pm ish, we haven't had our lunch), we made our way to St. Ali. This is my third time here (tried searching for past posts on this place and couldn't seem to find any) and every time I am here, I am presented with the same menu and yet different.

The food and drink offered are the same, hence, the same menu. But the design of the cover and the insides are different. I think among the three, I like this one best! The fonts are legible, quirky and cute, in line with the ambiance of the place.

On the outside, it looked unassuming and unimpressively plain and small. But once you step in, you're greeted with quirks and character stored in a warehouse. Even the staff dressed to the theme of the place ooze with character. Well, the waitress that served our table, that is. :)

LUNCH AT ST. ALI

St Ali front cover

Cutesie font

Mocha

Chickadee

As usual, I ordered my cup of Mocha much to YC's disgruntlement and a mean size Chickadee. My first time in St Ali was memorable. My cousin, Jo brought me here with his girlfriend. The Mocha was the best I've ever had and the Chickadee was fantastic! My second visit, the Mocha was just average if not, lacking in richer chocolate taste and so was this third experience. 

And here I thought, third time's the charm.

The Chickadee was tasty and worth every morsel. It was that filling making up one's breakfast, lunch and dinner combined into that bun/sourdough bread sandwiched with bacon slices, tomatoes, salads, beef patty with avocado sauce and some other spicy sauce. 

After an hour of chatting session amidst filling our grumbling stomachs, we headed to La Belle Miette on Hardware Lane. This place is famous for macarons with 94% of 944 people with positive votes on Urbanspoon. 

If you remember my past post on Overhyped Macarons, I did not join the bandwagon of macaron fans after having a bite or two of the one's NiNi thoughtfully bought for me from Chez Dre, another much-talk-of-the-town-place on Urbanspoon. However, I did say I am more willing to give it another go before I decide against having any more macaroons in my life.

However, as fate would have it. We reached the shop only to be told that it just closed. Either it just wasn't our day or... someone just wanted to help us keep to our 'less sugar' diet. 

MACARONS AT LA BELLE MIETTE

The place looked sweet and quaint!

I would love to buy a box of goodiness...

The display shows what a lovely gift this would make

MOVIE AT CROWN VILLAGE CINEMAS

After walking around, YC and I ended up watching Snow White and the Huntsman. I am usually an easy-to-please person when it comes to movies. However, off late, either my expectations have gone up or movies churned out just aren't as good as they should be. 

Despite the hype and anticipation, I found The Vow (with my favourite actor, Chaning Tatum and actress, Rachel McAdams) just average and not as good as I thought it would be. The same goes for this beloved fairytale. Before the movie, I didn't know what to expect. All I wanted was an enjoyable movie.

But throughout the movie, I felt time passing slowly, never a good sign or testimony to the movie being watched. It is thought that attention to the smallest and littlest details adds to the whole effect of a movie. That however, can't be said for this Grimm's fairy tale. I felt that attention to certain details were a bit too much resulting in the movie being draggy and lack of focus and plot development in certain areas were glaring.

Charlize Theron as Queen Ravenna is still beautiful at her age. And it was interesting to see her act as the bad person for a change. However, I felt her potential was never tapped to its heights in this movie and her given lines were lameish, at times, and other times, I do wonder why she was made to scream like someone belonging in an asylum. 

I wasn't the only one that felt it silly, the girl beside me found her screaming fits funny, too!

Chris Hemworth oozes manliness as The Huntsman. It's no wonder he was Snow White's true love. The character of William, the childhood friend, just wasn't developed enough showing clearly who the Director intended all along to be the main actor, hence the movie title. 

So, no screaming at me for revealing any spoilers 'cos there aren't any surprises and anyone who is a movie watcher with half a brain on their head would be able to see the plot and ending before each scene unveils itself.

Finally, Kristen Stewart can act. However, if I had a choice, she wouldn't have been my pick for Snow White. It felt like she brought moody broody Bella from Twilight to Snow White and The Huntsman. All in all, the movie was a let down. I, who usually am generous with my ratings, sadly, rate this movie 2/5.

Swimming and India Delights

I am happy because #1 my weekend has started as I don't have to work tomorrow! #2 the hubby brought me swimming and #3 I get to eat Indian food!! 

Aaah... my simple pleasures in life.

Hmmm.. we seem to  have India food after we swim.. just like in April... Swimming and Rich Maha.

Attempted to photograph the outside but...

 

I've heard of India Delights for awhile now but haven't had the luxury of dining here till today. Urbanspoon recommended it to me, my uncle also mentioned the good food here to Mr. C. Since, we were swimming nearby at Nunawading Aquatic Centre, we decided to come here, to Forrest Hill after our swim.

What can I say? Well, the place isn't bad but neither was it that fantastic.. Perhaps it was the built up expectations from all the recommendations. There was no awesome curry smell to assault my sense when I first step in. The shop is clean but it felt too bare, too empty. I think they really need to spice up the ambiance in the shop, to add a little more soul (or themselves) into the shop. They don't necessarily have to repaint or spend much but perhaps, make it a bit more homey... a bit more like a Malaysian eatery that serves awesome food!

 

The group of Malaysian guys behind me were LOUD!

When I saw that they served 'Horlicks Ice' I was ecstatic!

 

and so... I ordered my *slurp* horlicks ice though it was AUD3.50!!

See the look of happiness on my face! 

Apparently, the chef/owner at India Delights is originally from Rich Maha at Vermont South. And if you've read my post on Rich Maha, you'd know I simply LOVE the food there. The curry is awesome and spicy... and I feel at home ('cos the awesome curry smell reminds me of Malaysia) when I step in the shop. 

The shop looks smaller than India Delights and is painted in orange (not an attractive orange, mind you), nevertheless, from the moment I set my foot in the shop, I feel excited to try the food. Probably due to the delicious smell wafting about the place. Rich Maha might be smaller but it is packed with tables and chairs, utilising any avaliable space. Even then,  it has this welcoming feel.

And because the food at Rich Maha NEVER disappoints me coupled with the fact that people said India Delights food is better, I was expecting at least, a Rich Maha standard, if not better. Sadly, it doesn't pay to have expectations that can't be met.

The food was only alright. I had briyani rice with lamb curry and two vege dish. There was limited choice in regards to the vege dish; dhail, mushy dhail looking mix vege and spicy egg plant. The lamb curry was nice but it lacked the kick you get from eating a flavoursome spicy Indian dish.

Mr. C had briyani rice (next time, we should try the hyderabad one - briyani rice cooked with lamb) with two meat (curry fish and chicken) and two vege. For Mr. C, an easily pleased eater, he felt the chicken, fish and my lamb was a bit dry and cooked for too long. 

The food wasn't that awesome, perhaps, it was late and the end of the day, hence, the meat being overboiled? 

Despite this poor first experience, we are willing to go back again to give this place another try in the future. And hopefully, it will live up to the ravings of past patron.

*fingers crossed for the next visit*

 Total damage for the night's dinner is AUD25.50.

Whatever it was, we still finished our food.

Earth tremours in Melbourne!!

About an hour ago, Mr. C turned to me and asked me if I felt anything.

I was sitting at the computer table in the above picture when I felt the walls on my right shake. I could feel the ground tremour and see the walls move. 

Behind the curtains on the right leads to the courtyard. And for a moment, Mr. C and I thought that perhaps, a wild animal was being cheeky on the roof making mischief. I think, he was getting a bit worried and gestured for me to go out the house with him.

We looked about but all was quite and dark. Came back into the house and everything was normal. Decided to post on Facebook and within minutes, I saw many updates trending my Facebook wall of people feeling the earthquake tremours all over Melbourne. 

Apparently, it was a 5.2 magnitude earthquake. 

Just like that, for those few seconds, our hearts were gripped with uncertainty. One can only wonder those closer or directly hit by the earthquake must have felt those few seconds. I hope these people are alright.