It's NOT Joe.

Shirlz
(Plonks down beside Joe on the sofa)
Shall we go to the supermarket?

Joe
(Staring incessantly at the ceiling above)
Is that an insect?

Shirlz
Or should we go later?

Joe
(Continues to fixate on the bug)
Can you kill it?

Shirlz
(Squints hard and long at the ceiling)
Kill what?

Joe
(Pointing to a black dot on the ceiling)
Kill it. Don't like insects crossing our ceiling like that.

Shirlz
(Still squinting hard trying to find where said insect is)
Where?

Joe
(Pause)
Oh wait. I think it's just a black dot. It's not an insect.

Shirlz
(Rolls eyes in exasperation)
Cheh...

Joe
(Eyes darting back to the ceiling)
It's moving! Did you see it?

Shirlz
(Fed up)
There's nothing there! You're seeing things!

Joe
(Focusing really hard on the black dot that isn't there)
Hmm. Maybe it isn't moving.

Shirlz
(Worried look)
OMG. Are you alright? There is no black dot, and even if there is, it can't move! You're hallucinating!

Joe
(Jumps up from the couch, catches and crushes something)
You! I knew it's you!

Shirlz
Oh. It's a bug all right.
(Makes mental note to see an optometrist)

So, as much as I'd like to think the hub has gone a bit bonkers, he's actually away at the moment on the Gold Coast after yesterday's weird hangup. I would be so jealous if not for the fact that it's wet and rainy there. Plus, he's on business (boring).

Ya, I know. I haven't exactly been holding up my side of the bargain when it comes to updating this site, but hey, it's Joecities! And most of time, before I had the chance to blog about what I'm up to, there's always snippets of it on Joe's posts - an excuse I always give myself for not posting.

Anyway, I'm good (thanks to those who have been checking in on me - you know who you are!). I'm still alive and kicking. Though it hasn't been an entirely smooth-sailing year for me, I certainly learn a lot (yes, golf included :P).

Speaking of which, it is an addictive sport. The more you play, the more you want to play (even though my scores are so embarrassing I wonder why I bother keeping them). But that's not to say that I haven't improved since I first started. Most notable improvement is when I drove the ball past 20 metres! Haha. Yay for me. :P

Golf aside, there's really nothing much I have been doing these days besides work. Unlike Joe who seems to love every job he's in, I only like mine to the extent it pays the bills. Of course, the colleagues are a plus factor; most of them make my work days a lot more bearable, but work is ... just work.

Oh look! I finally wrote something for 2008. Till my next annual post in 2009! :P

Renaissance

Ok. So, I have just returned from planet Mars, and I wanted to say that I see I've been kicked out of the page but it looks like I've been disowned by Joecities altogether for not keeping up my side of the bargain. The blogging bug left me one day, and then life took over. Not that I didn't have a life then but more like I didn't have a job. Haha. Anyway, I can't promise I'll update regularly - remember I have a job now? - but I'll try and post whenever the moon is blue.

To start off my 2007 inaugural post, I shall make some restitution and help Joe welcome our latest addition to the family. Say hello to Lucy, everyone. :)

Grapes and Raisins

OMG. Apparently, apart from chocolates, onions and alcohol, grapes and raisins are dangerous to dogs too!

And I just gave Ginger like a bowl of grapes. =PPPPPP

Oops.

Murderous Heat

Woof! Dear Diary! I wanted to update you yesterday but the heat, oh the heat! True to the forecast, the temperature was at a murderous 42 degrees! Bush fires broke out in some places and there were reports that at least 10 homes were destroyed! I felt like I was surrounded by active barbeque pits! The evaporative cooler at home was crap! I had to practically glue myself to it to feel the, oh wait, I wanted to say cool air but it was just hot air being blown around! Mommy and Daddy, like the others, sought relief in the malls where they said the air-conditioning there was strong and, most of all, FREE (are they cheap skates or what?). Anyway, they were there for a long time and when they came home, Mommy complained she couldn't stand the heat again and they took off to the movies. I think they went to watch a show by some nanny whom they thought was convincingly hideous with her warts and bizzare buck tooth. Anyway, when they came home again, I gave them ugly looks because they haven't brought me out for 3 long days. They reckoned it was too hot to go out but I didn't take no for an answer this time. I mean, The Herald Pee & Poo wait for no dog and they archive every 3 days! Just like they enjoy human tabloid, I like my gossip lampposts! In the end, they relented! Dear Diary, humans are so easy to manipulate. Heh.

Air-Con-Less

It's frigging 41 degrees today! It's like the sun is having a fever or something. You ok there, sun? Apparently, there's going to be a statewide total fire ban day tomorrow due to the soaring heat (God help us!). And because of the tormenting temperature, we decided to revoke our joint agreement not to buy an air-conditioner until end of the year. Simply put, we want an air-con NOW! There was this model, a portable one, that was on sale (usual price was $800+) at Harris Scarfe for $500 but as always, the early birds (not us) caught them all. Of course, we could always buy the same model for a higher price somewhere else (like Bunnings) but the thought of paying $800 when we could've paid $500 for the same thing just didn't make sense. Then Joe figured maybe he should call Bunnings who have a policy of matching the competitor's price. And so he did. Unfortunately, Bunnings couldn't say yes because ALL their portable air-con units were sold out! Woah .. Victorians are HOT.


And so, we were left air-con-less because we couldn't afford any other models. We could, however, afford a Homedics BKK-100 2 Speed Therapist Select Shiatsu Spot Massaging Cushion with Kneading Massage because, uh, yes, it's terribly important that we get that shiatsu massage on a day like this where we are at the verge of getting a heat stroke. :P

Night Market

Not bad..seems like Joe is keeping up with the blogging too. :)


As expected, the night market wasn't extraordinary but the food was stupendous. Especially the Dutch pancakes which were wickedly good.


(I've upgraded to a better camera phone but it's still a camera phone so, pardon the quality of the pics.)

Coated in butter, icing sugar and maple syrup, we didn't have to think twice about joining the 100-metre queue (ok, maybe not that long but you get the picture).









Fortunately, the turnover was amazingly fast and we got our pancakes in less than 10 mins. Yummy yum yum. Dig the pancakes.



And then we saw this gigantic chocolate fountain which reminded me of THE Chocolate Factory and I felt like asking "Mr.Wonka" there if I could just rest my tougue against the thing for 5 secs but of course, Mr. Wonka would probably call the security who, in turn, would call the mental hospital.



T-shirts with airbrushed drawings. The drawings are cool but can't say the same about the tees. I mean, look at the cutting - I don't know, just not my style, I guess.



She's very nimble with the airbrush. Her strokes were quick and precise. I stood there for a good 10 mins, fascinated by the way her fingers moved across the fabric with such certainty as if she already knew she could make no mistakes. Kewl.








I don't know about you but I always have such great admiration for people who can draw. Maybe because I have zero creative juice in me so when I see someone with the artistic talent, I become so enchanted like I wish I could have 10% of what they have, you know what I mean? Envy probably but more of admiration, I think.


So, that's part of the night market for you. There were a lot more stuff but not all was interesting. Besides, a long entry would probably bore you to death. Also, need to give the dog a breather now before Joe comes home and asks,"Have you walked the dog?" I'm not good with lying with a straight face so, aiya, just do the deed and come clean with it! Ciao!

Insomnia

Ok, since I promise to update more frequently, here's another one...


So, this is the 2nd week we're back in Melbourne and having gotten so used to the sleeping patterns in Singapore (which was normally 3-4am), I find myself having some sort of jet lag. Joe's been rather annoyed with me but what can I do? It's not like I didn't try to sleep. In fact, the more I tried, the less sleepy I become. In the end, I always give up and let nature takes its course (I'm talking 5am here). :P


Apart from not being able to sleep at night, the days have been pretty routine. Wake up, feed the dog her lunch, clean up the house, walk the dog, check emails, have my own lunch, surf net, study a bit, and wait for Joe to come home. Argh. I really can't wait for school to start.


Anyway, right now, I'm at the 'wait for Joe to come home' part of the day. We'll be making our annual pilgrimage to the Victoria Night Market. I don't expect anything spectacular (since it's pretty much the same every year) but it only happens during summer and on Weds only so the novelty is still there, I guess? Maybe will take some pics if there's anything interesting.


Have a great week, y'all! :)