Tour of the House by Ginger

Woof everyone! Joe’s busy searching for another job so he’s assigned me to show you our new place. Right now, I’m in the studying room where I like to look out of the window. There’s nothing much to see out there but in case someone comes along and gives me food, I wouldn’t want to miss it!

Joe doesn’t care I look out of the window most of the time because most of the time, he looks out of his own little window too. So, both of us just look out at our own windows when we are in the studying room.



Sometimes, I try to imitate him by focusing real hard on my window but really, there’s nothing interesting out there. I wonder how he can stare at his for hours on end. *shrugs* Anyway, let’s on move to my favourite place in the house…


Nope, not the kitchen (although I do like to hang around there when Joe’s cooking).





It is my cul-de-sac…my humble quarters….my home-sweet-home…



Of course, anyone who enters it enters at their own risk. I do not usually put up warning like this unless absolutely necessary. Grrrrrr…


Moving along, we have the lounge area where I’m allowed access anywhere but the couch. It’s not that comfy anyway (I heard from Shirz).





Hey, what’s that you’re eating? May I have some please? Pretty pluuurrrssseee? *Drools*



Ok, if you think that I can do this when THEY are around, you’re wrong but I do have to show you the WHOLE house, don’t I? So, Joe, if you are angry with me for entering the bedroom (and laying my paws on your bed), you’re being very unreasonable. Remember you are the one who asked me to show everyone the house?



It isn’t fun just showing the bedroom without the walk-in robe, is it? =P



And just to show that it’s an ensuite bedroom, I will enter their toilet just for once. Oooooo…I’m too sexy for my bum…. ;)



Next we have the guest room…where there’s nothing there except the ironing board and iron…



And the guest toilet where the water in the bowl is much tastier but for some reason, I’m not allowed to drink from it (but it’s ok to stare).



And then we have the guest bathroom which is, of course, my least favourite place because, once a week, they put me in that tub and attempt to drown me. But they’d usually let me go after I put up a good fight.



I don’t know what this room is but I called it the temperamental room. It stays quiet at times but if I’m not careful, it’ll start growling at me. Ssshhh...



Oh look! I love this thing! It brings me to places like the park and whenever it starts rumbling, I get all excited. Hmm…I wonder when it’ll start rumbling again…



The legitimate drinking water (which is less tasty). *Grimace*



This is where I devise ways to catapult the neighbour’s cats into the sun (hehe, yeah, I’m one of the dogs in ‘Pooch Café’). They can be found on their roof but until I’ve come up with the ingenious plan, I will just bark at them to death.


When I get tired of barking at the stupid cats, I sometimes lie on my back to tan my bikini line and uneven fur tone around my, erm, perineum. Shiok sia, I tell ya.


Ok, it’s dinner time. I shall finish this house intro up with the following pics…









I hope you’ve enjoyed the house tour with me. Till then, woof!



Xoxoxo,
Ginger

House-Hunting

Heh. I just sold my first item on eBay - a faux pearl necklace which I've never worn before. It's intriguing how someone's junk can become another's treasure. Even though the final bid came up to be about $5, it wasn't too bad at all considering the fact that it was an unwanted article. :)


Speaking of unwanted, our landlord is seriously trying to get rid of this house. After sacking the ex-property agent for what seems like a lack of advertising, the current one has been actively putting up ads and holding house inspections so much so that it's kinda annoying having to stick around twice a week (every Wed and Sat) for the so-called prospective buyers. And to the working individuals (like Joe), Sat can be the most precious day of the week. Even though each inspection only last half an hour, the one on Sat is at 11am, which means we can only go out after 1130am, or go out ridiculously early and come back before 11am to open the door for the buyers. *bitch-bitch*


Well, anyway, the house hunting on our part has been ongoing for about a month now. Have set our eyes on one but to pull the trigger that quickly kinda scares us. Especially when the owner hasn't been able to sell it for some time now, which we can't understand why because the house is spanking new and just a stone-throw away from the train station. The price isn't too unattractive either. So, to play safe, like the true blue Singaporeans we are, we are going to propose renting the place first. And if the house doesn't collapse by the end of our lease, we might just take over the ownership. :)

Favicon

Woof! Check out Joecities' favicon (on the address bar and bookmarks menu) that I've created! Nice? ;)


ps: If you are a Mozilla/Firefox user, the favicon should have already displayed itself on the address bar. For IE users (version 6.x), try bookmarking the page, close the browser and visit the page again.


pss: Still can't view it? Ask Ginger the Techie Dog. =P

Surprise Gift

A surprise gift. :)

"In His Love, "says the note attached.


Suspect the dude above is checking in on me. I really should go to church this Sunday. =P

Mt Hotham Ski Trip

Sorry for the lack of updates. Been pretty tied up with "stuff" and recovering from the recent back-breaking ski trip to Mt Hotham. Apparently, I felt invincible and went really fast down the blue runs. How was I supposed to know that that kind of speed in parallel skis could toss you up in the air, flip you over and knock you out? I guess the couple of somersaults, the sprained neck, the scratched face and the mutiple bruises taught me well. So well that I think I must've snowploughed all the way downhill. :P


Despite the many falls and injuries, it was a sensational trip. Many thanks to the planner - Sherlin, who did a superb job in getting everything organised. :)

As always, pictures speak better than words ... :)

Can't remember which part of Mt Hotham this is but it was a rather warm day even though the mountains were covered in snow.



The view from where we stayed.



From left to right: Sokling, myself, Om, Joe.



Sokling on my right and Sherlin on my left.






All the 'Sokling and I' shots.




And all the other group shots.



Some shot Sokling took on our way back to Melbourne.



Another one.



Poser Joe.



Sokling and Om. Sokling's an extremely fast learner. She was taking level 3 lessons by the 2nd day even though this was her first time on the snow!



As for Om, she's the expert skier in the group. Parallel ski all the way. ;)



Can tell we had fun. This was taken just before we head back home.

Have no idea what the hell I was doing. Think I was wiping my hands or something. Anyway, just to show where we stayed (didn't manage to take many pics of the place). As you can see, behind is the kitchen. In front of me (which you can't see) is the lounge. And on my left is the stairs leading up to the bedrooms (imagination needed). :P


So that was our skiing trip. Enough details or not, Jean? =P

Funeral

Funerals are (arguably anyway) more for the living than the dead and that's why I'm still flying back afterall. In fact, the flight's in 3 hours' time. Will be back on Thur.

ps: I'm sorry I haven't been to thank some of you individually for your kind words but really appreciate them. :)

Ah Kong

Didn't get the chance. Even my brother who caught the next flight home missed it too. He was still in the air when the sms came through around 5pm this afternoon. I was in a bike shop with some friends and I thought I'd cry but there was more relief than sorrow.


No more pain, ah kong. No more pain.

One Last Time.

"...being dead is indistinguishable from being unborn, or from dreamless sleep; and can therefore hold no terrors. What seems frightening is the prospect of dying. But dying is an act of living; it is something only the living do, and like most other such acts - eating, walking, feeling happy or ill - it might be pleasant or otherwise. But being dead is not something we experience. We experience death only in losing others, and the experience is one of grief. Accordingly, our own deaths are no part of our personal experience: each of us experiences only life. In this sense, from the subjective perspective we are immortal."


Borrowed words from AC Grayling.


The notion that dying is more frightening than death itself which, is presumed to be something quite mechanical, has perhaps inexplicably, provided a warped sense of comfort to the knowledge that the grandfather is almost over dying.


And with news of screaming pains and acute breathlessness stricken by metastasized lung cancer, it's hard not to believe that death could be liberating.


But for some selfish reason, and despite the reserved relationship, I'm hoping he'll stick around a little longer and let me see him one last time.

Back from the Kennel

So I survived the kennel but I can't seem to dredge up any memories of what happened in there. Whether I was cold or hungry or lonely, these feelings, if any, had somewhat eluded me. According to my therapist, I am repressed. I think she meant I am impressed. Anyway, she said there is a coping mechanism in my brain that shuts out any painful memories so as to spare me further mental trauma. Well, she could be right because everytime I try to recall my days in there, my head hurts and I have to stop thinking about it. I guess some things are not meant to be remembered.


Despite the memory loss, things have been great since I came home. There's been plenty of walks. Just yesterday, mommy and Jean jie jie brought me to the park and we spent almost 2hrs there frolicking under the sun. So that was good. And then there's the food. Although I have no idea what I ate in the kennel (remember I can't remember?), the meals at home have been fantabulous (except for the parsley which they have to sprinkle onto my food bowl everytime). Daddy claims that the plant helps to eliminate bad breath but what's wrong with my breath? I find it rather agreeable to my nose. Sometimes, the old man can be quite hard to understand. He doesn't even like parsley himself (I saw his face cringe when he tasted the awful stuff) and he expects me to eat it every single meal? But he's the boss and as much as I try to spit the dreadful thing out each time, I always end up swallowing most of it anyway because they are almost always finely chopped and buried amidst the meats. And I tell ya, the variety of meat I'm served these days is just incredible. There's lamb, chicken, pork, beef, turkey (yum), fish ... ooo ... I'm salivating now ... *slurps* Gee, the keyboard's all wet. I'd better go clean up the mess before mommy barks down my throat. Have I told you she has a bit of borderline OCD? Oops. Gtg. Ciao!

PR and NZ

It's official. We are "visa-ed" to stay in oz indefinitely. Heh. And guess what, I'm going back to school next week ! Kinda nervous but let's give it another go. This time, I'm taking it slow. Only one subject. Then maybe two the following semester. All at local rates. :)


Anyhoo, I'm "supposed" to give the full account of our NZ trip but having just recovered from the damning fever and still battling with the annoying sore throat, I shall let the pictures speak more. I'll try to post them in sequence but if they are not, you'll have to bear with me.

Day 1:

The first thing we did was to pick up the car. Actually, this pic was taken on the 3rd or 4th night but according to the order of events, this was what we did the minute we touched down in Auckland. Ok, next pic ...

Of course, the next logical thing would be to check in. We booked an ensuite room at this backpackers' lodge - 'Surf n Snow', and ended up regretting but I'll tell you why later.

Joe checking out the loo. The room was actually pretty decent. It's not big but it's clean and located right in the heart of the city. Unfortunately ...

...it started raining...through the lights!!!

And onto the bed!!! And the whole room was flooded after 10 mins of rain. The funny thing is, Joe went down to the reception immediately to report the "leakage" and the receptionist thought he was complaining about rain spattering through the windows but when he insisted that she come and see for herself, she went like,"Oooooooooh mmmmmmmmy gaaaaawwwwwwwwwd!!!!!" A pity I didn't dare to snap a shot of that face - it was priceless. Haha.

Needless to say, we were given another room but I wouldn't recommend anyone who's going to Auckland to stay there because, faulty roof aside, the place was noisy as hell. Mainly because the walls are so hollow you can hear this joker showering in the adjacent room for over an hour (Joe said he/she hadn't showered in a year, you know, yi4 nian2 mei2 you3 chong1 liang2). Plus they had to call in the contractors to fix the roof at 11pm and the racket they created could be heard all over the building. By the time I dozed off, it's time to wake up.

Day 2:

After 5.5 hrs on the road (and with undereye rings that were blacker than black), we finally reached Whakapapa. It was really cold. Something like -2 degrees and the wind was howling away.

Another view of the snowcapped mountains.

At last, the whakapapa ski field. This is Happy Valley - the slopes for beginners where all the kids and novices like me hang out/fall down.

The chair lifts. It was bitingly cold. The first day we were there, they shut down most of the lifts because the winds were too strong and we were confined to the T-bars only.

Lo ! Brand new ski jacket, beanie and goggles for me ! And I didn't even know how to ski ! :P Still, I had such a great time there. I didn't think I'd enjoy the ski trip THAT much but I did because: 1) the ski lesson was excellent - almost like a private one because there were only 2 learners (I was lucky because that afternoon session happened to be quite sparse). 2) I finally learnt to not fall down too many times!

That's my instructress on the right (with the red ski jacket). She's from Austria and travels to where the season takes her. Apparently, she was in Michigan the week before and had just flown in to NZ. A globetrotting full time professional skier - how cool is that?

Lesson in progress. Look closely and you'll be able to catch me goofing up there. :P

Joe with his snowboard. He's pretty good with that thing although he claims that he still has to master the "parallel-glide-down" stunt. I have no idea.

And that's me (again) trying to act cool. Surprisingly, skiing isn't that scary. Initially, it was, I must admit, and of course, there's the occasional freaking out when you start to gain speed but once you are more comfortable with the snow plowing, each meter down the slope was a tad more bearable than before. Also, the constant help and encouragement from Joe and my instructor helped a great deal. And after a while, the euphoria sets in and you can't bear to leave your skis behind when it's time to go.

End of 1st ski day where we retire to a nice cosy motel - Discover Lodge - some 9km from the ski field. Joe's pretty pleased with the dry roof and quiet environment. So was I. :)


Day 3:

Off to the snow again. It's foggier than the previous day but all the lifts were opened.

Unlike the 1st day where we could drive in freely, there's a long queue for snowchains on the 2nd day because the roads were a little icy. We must've wasted like an hour waiting for the fitting to be done.

Finally, up on the lifts and freezing our arses off.

And Joe again. Attached to the T-bar this time. I was inelegantly jealous because I fell down the moment I grabbed that thing between my groins and only after 3 successive (and klutzy) tries did I manage to keep my balance all the way uphill. Nevertheless, it was fun.


There are more photos of our skiing here if you're interested but for now, these'll do. And if those are not enough, I have uploaded a few short video clips of Joe snowboarding, me skiing (or trying to), him with a T-bar and me on one (eventually) if you have unlimited bandwidth and nothing better to do.

We didn't spend the whole of Day 3 skiing because we wanted to break the long journey back to Auckland so, we drove to Waitomo (which is like 2 hours from Auckland) to stay for the night. Waitomo is famous for their glowworms-inhabited caves so, we made an obligatory visit to said caves but before we did, we checked into Waitomo Cave Hotel - yes, hotel (because we are spoilt rotten and cannot tahan the hardship of backpackers' lodge and motels lor). Ironically, Joe's making us cup mee in the hotel room. Very high "crass" hor.

Front view of the Waitomo Cave Hotel. Quite nice, right? And it's supposed to be a "budget" trip. Heh.

The only shot they allow at the Waitomo Caves is at their entrance. They are very particular about copyrights and stuff so, strictly no photography of any form inside the caves but I bought postcards! :) Maybe if I'm really, really free (which I am right now), I might scan them in and post it here.

Day 4:

Back to Auckland ! This was a very exciting day for us because we were getting the permanant visa labels so, we set off rather early to beat the queue (which we did) but it turned out that the stupid lady at the counter wasn't sure how to go about with our case and had us go back there 6 hours later to collect our passports. From Joe's friend's experience, it should only take 15 mins but what the heck. We'd already waited 4 long months, what's 6 hours to us?

And so we roamed the city while we waited. That's Joe and Auckland's icon - the sky tower.

Joe and the sky tower again.

Er ... the sky tower and Joe?

Did I mention Joe luuurrrvvveeess the sky tower?

In fact, anything that had a remote resemblance to the tower (see also the waitomo cave pic) was a photo opportunity even though we didn't actually enter the maritime museum. That's how much he loves the architect.

I know. It's kinda like a fetish but hey, he just likes posing with them so, why do I care? He pose, I take lor!

Can u spot the adored structure here? Heh. :P

I'm not sure if I'm permitted to put this up since the sky tower is not in the backdrop but let's see if this photo disappears mysteriously along the way like some of the pics did in previous entries. ;)

Finally, after we got our PR, we checked into this place called the Oak Tree Lodge and I highly recommend this motel because: 1) the price is reasonable ($10 more than the backpackers' lodge and no faulty anything). 2) The service's very homey. 3) The location's great (though not in the city, it's close enough and very near to shops and eateries). 4) Facilities very new, has 3 heaters, comfy beds, sky TV, free parking, a kitchenette with fridge, microwave, kettle, etc.,. Best amongst the 4 rooms we stayed in NZ. :)

Judge for yourself. Not too shabby, eh?

Day 5:

And finally, our last day in Auckland was spent wandering through the Moari museum where the indigenous people performed some songs and dances like the Hakka (if you've seen All Blacks, you've seen the warrior dance they put up before each match). It was all very interesting.

Sometimes you get picked to go on stage to make a fool of yourself.

The handsome warrior with a slimy tougue.

We took a lot more pics in there but I'm running out of typing energy. So go to the pic link above if you want to see all the Maori artefacts and statues.

And finally, just before we hit the airport, a mandatory tour of One Tree Hill. I told Joe that it looked different because I seem to recall seeing a tree on top of the hill when I was there in 1999 but I could be wrong. Anyway, It's like fort canning, only more picturesque.


So there, all written out. Am going to check on Joe now. He caught my bug and was very ill last night but still insisted on going to work this morning. Stubborn mule. If you know him, please send a get well message to him, k? :)