Holiday - signed, sealed, now waiting...

My friend emailed me yesterday to confirm that our accommodation in Paris was confirmed, and that the deposit has been paid for!

The first 3 places, located right in the epicentre were booked out, even though on the website calendar (which indicates its availability) showed that it was free.

I had started to panic, thinking that all the people who were into Rugby had planned their trip to watch the World Cup, had already booked all the good accommodation. I mean all the airfares were sold out for that period, going via Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, or Bangkok. My travel agent had to book a flight via Hong Kong...which im okay with...

Our 4th choice of accommodation is still in the centre, 3rd Arrdt and the Landlord's comment is as follows:

The neighbourhood is safe, and absolutely stunning, located centrally only a short walk from the Centre Pompidou, Le Marais, Le Louvre...don't forget to walk to La Rue de Bretagne and take advantage of its variety of delicatessens. Inside, everything is newly furnished and modern. You'll capitalize on the small private courtyard and the mezzanine, in complete privacy from the rest of the studio.

Its a studio apartment on the Ground Floor of the building...and it has its own little courtyard. It may not have a view like the other 3 places, but the location is very good in terms of public transport and of course its near the Louvre...

I told my aunt (she is the youngest of all my Dad's cousins) that i was going to Europe in September this year. I told her all the details and how i was staying in Paris for 4 extra days after my tour...she has been travelling for a very long time now. She is a graphic designer for an advertising agency and has done all the things i've wanted to do. She has done Europe with a tour and then back packing, gone to Asia and has travelled from the North to the South and visited the glaciers in NZ.

She bursted my bubble and told me that Paris is not what its cracked up to be. And im grateful that she did. Because now, i will go with little expectation and hopefully wont be disappointed at the end of my experience. I dont have much expectation of all the other cities i will be visiting...so, its going to be interesting.

January is coming to a close...tomorrow it will be February...7 more months and i will be on a plane flying away from Sydney. Its half a year + 1 month, but it will fly by. I'll know its time to leave when i get my taxes done, hopefully its a bigger refund this year so i have more spending money!!!

I'm so excited, but at the same time im scared...well not really scared, but nervous. I have never really travelled to a foreign place on my own before. I'm a worry wart too, so i tend to stress about EVERYTHING!

All i can do now is wait...waiting...waiting...waiting...6 months later down the track and i'll panic.

The young, the scared, the infertile...

I had a good long weekend...sorta...
A lot of food...a lot of kids...a lot of food...a moderate amount of exercising (spawned from all the food i ate) to compensate...and a lot of shopping!

This post is actually about my Saturday...at my Great Aunt's place...we had a huge family lunch...there were sooo many kiddies...and my cousin (2nd oldest in the family...me being the oldest) brought her baby girl along.

While we were in the kids room, i asked her sister (3rd oldest in our family) when she and her boyfriend are getting married.

This forced our conversation on another tangent...about her older sister + hubby having a long conversation with the 3rd oldest's boyfriend the night before.

The conversation was about how he will be a bachelor for life if he found out that he was infertile. Infertility is something that really scares him. He wants a big family, but if he cant have kids, he doesnt want to stop his gf/future wife from having one, two or three...so, he wont marry her if he finds out.

I was shocked.

As i am the oldest, i havent heard my friends consider how infertile they were...i mean this guy is barely 22 y/o and he is worried about whether his chances of fathering a child is so slim that he will decide to stay a bachelor for the rest of his life?!?!?!

I posed the question about them loving each other? You marry a person because you love them, no? Why is his fertility a question as to whether he would marry you?

To me, marriage comes first. Babies come second. You wont know unless you have been trying for a child for a year that you "might" be infertile...and even then it could be either one of you. But dont you love the person enough to look at other options.

He told her sister + hubby that he would not be okay with another man's sperm fathering their baby. Fair enough, i dont think any man would be comfortable with that. In vitro or no in vitro, another man's sperm is another man's sperm. But what about adoption? Nope...he doesnt want that either.

So, what if their problem was because she was infertile? Would he break her heart and dump her, because he oh so wants his own children??? But doesnt he love her???

I asked her how she felt. She says she understands. She wouldnt break up with him if he was the one infertile. But as she wants kids, she believes its something they will have to work long and hard to overcome.

I'm suprised that they are even talking about it so seriously.

I thought guys fought with a vengence to prove how viril they were! And infertility was not something you would question at the tender age of 21!!! I was so taken aback...i didnt think a guy would question whether he was fertile, not until he was mid 30's or older and was trying his luck at having his first child and continuously failed...even then, i thought he would blame the woman until he finds out that her egg count is actually pretty high!!!

Are most guys worried...but he is the only one who will openly and honestly talk about it?

I've cracked...

I think i've broken through my stress threshold and now im sitting at my desk like a zombie...

Or it could have been the fact that i have just stuffed myself with a corn fritters salad and a soy berry smoothie.

I ran a meeting with the client, third party and our security specialist in the afternoon yesterday.

Prior to it, i had to revise network security and encryption in under 30 minutes.

According to my workmates, who overheard my conference call, i sounded very professional until i introduced our security specialist. They overheard me because all the meeting rooms were booked and i decided to open the conference call at my desk...with the headset on.

I did everything fine. It went well. But there was so much to follow up on and i was soo tired...

Billing for the month is due today and i didnt have time to do it yesterday...but as the trooper i am, i fast tracked to do it today. And even though i did it the long way (cos i had to) i managed to finish before 1pm.

I had lunch...and now i cant seem to focus on work. I cant seem to get motivated. Its like all my energy has been zapped out of me. Did i push myself too hard to get the billing done by lunch time? Am i just passed that point of being overly stressed? Uno that point where you have been hungry for the last hour or so, but you still havent had the chance to eat and so you dont feel hungry anymore???

I think what i am feeling is being stressed for a bit too long/bit too much and therefore i dont quite feel stressed anymore...i'm beyond being stressed.

I've made an executive decision to leave at 4pm on the dot. Well, i got in before 8am...and have been leaving this place very late, every day this week.

I need to sleep. I need to switch off.

Waking up to an orchestral thunderstorm...

I woke up, as per usual, with my alarm going off at 5:30am.

It seemed pretty dark...i could hear rain coming down heavily...and then the natural orchestra started playing - loudly.

I dont like driving in thunderstorms or heavy rain.

I stayed in bed and seriously considered calling in to work and telling them that i would be working from home.

Then i rationalised...

I have end of month billing to complete before this week ends and im short 1 day because of Australia Day...I have an important conference call to make and have to push a project forward so that we can complete it by Monday...ridiculous, i know!

Sooo...I told myself that i will give it 30 minutes...if the rain eases, i'll go to work...get my lil bro to drop me off at the trainstation and hope that i dont get caught in a heavy down pour while walking from the trainstation to the office.

And so, im in the office.

Symphony at the Domain...

What a wonderful night...

The food was exceptional, even if i do say so myself...

We had walnut cheese, camembert, duck with sherry and peppercorn pate, quince paste, thin wafer crackers, water crackers, salami, proscuitto, rockmelon and grapes, an array of char grilled veges, olives stuffed with anchovies, chilli cashew dip, chocolate ganache and apples, chocolate ganache and raspberry sandwiches, champagne and my favourite Ernest Hill Silver Moon dessert wine on ice! (I brought an esky filled with a jumbo bag of ice this week!)

+ HUGE drumsticks L baked with crusty bread and salad which we didnt touch!

*LoL* No room for salad with all that gourmet food!

This was all for 3 people. Look, L and i are Asian - so we always over cater!!!

But to be honest, by the end of the night, most of the cheese and pate was consumed. For pictures and an even more comprehensive description with photos click here.

Now, funny thing...it was very hot during the day, by the time the music started...i was freezing my bottom off! What a turn in the weather. Since we were close to L's office, we went to get a jacket and i got to wrap her shawl over my 3/4 sleeve cardi.

When we got back to the Symphony, it was dark and actually breathtaking.

L cracked open the glow sticks...*LoL*...yes you read correctly, glowsticks at the symphony!

What i enjoyed the most was lying down on the 2 rugs we combined (yes we are space hogs, 2 rugs for 3 people) and staring up at the stars. It was exquisite. It was peaceful and serene...the music was pleasant and i swear for a moment i thought i could rough it some time in the future and go camping!!!

*RofL*

I told L this, and she reminded me that i think this now, but then some insect will crawl onto me and i will change my mind again. And she was right. But it was fun and i really liked lying down on the rug in the dark...i was actually comfortable and i didnt have a pillow either.

Later on in the evening towards the end, a lot of the audience had sparklers and were waving them around...it was like someone had released 100's of votive candles loose on to a dark sea and it lit up...and then there was a firework display.

What a spectacular night!!!

Until i realised that i had a variety of weird sms' from former bf's...this was while i was driving home...


Sunday...well everyone should remember how hot it was, but i managed to drag my sorry butt to the gym and slogged it out for 3 hours. How did i manage? A mixture of guilt and vanity kept me motivated...I had too much cheese and chocolate and ice cream (i bought from the Streets Ice Cream guy)...not to mention all that wine...

The thought that i will be eating heaps this weekend also helps.

I'll be having a buffet lunch on this Friday and an extended family banquet on Sunday. And in a couple of weeks we'll be celebrating Chinese New Year...more sweets, cakes, and heaps of rich fatty food, except for that one day where Mum cooks vegetarian dishes.

Speaking of Chinese New Year, I found out last night that my Dad's cousin is getting married on Chinese New Year Eve. The whole family is chucking a fit because "we all have to pray" and go to the temple on the Eve of the New Year and cook family dinners, etc. What irks the family even more is that the reception will be held in the city somewhere and it will be a Western style reception. So, everyone is saying that they wont be going...talking about picking dates for your wedding!


Congrats to my cousin, Jess!!! I also found out last night that she will be studying Medicine at Uni this year...What a smart cookie!
*^_^*

Flirting is fun...

Its actually a really great way to start the day when you flirt.

And i dont mean the kind of flirting where you are throwing your self at someone. I wouldnt know how to do that, come to think of it.

I have never been a flirty type of person. What i do is talk to someone and when i get to know them i tease them, in a kind, cheeky sort of way. I'm really more cheeky in what i say (with good humour) than i am flirty - but i guess people will interpret what i say and do as flirting with the opposite sex.

I am prone to flirting with Loose Lips at the cafe, as well as Mr Hot Stuff sometimes - who is now off limits because it is confirmed that he has a gf.

But either or, its great to be able to go and get my super juice (carrot, celery, green apple, lemon) from them, bright and early and just start the day with a BIG chuckle by saying silly flirtatious things.

Like, Loose Lips said that not everyone can be born good looking like Mr Hot Stuff and i mouthed behind Mr Hot Stuff's back (he was making my juice at the time) to Loose Lips that he was in fact better looking, with a wink of course.

;)

After a string of compliments i asked Loose Lips if that filled up his quota of compliments for the day? He said he would be beaming for a while...

And thats another thing, flirting makes the recipient feel gooooood about themselves. And im all for that. Its nice to make other people happy with such a simple gesture.

^_^

Sacrifice...

He prepped me:

"Its all about sacrifice. You need to give something to get what you want. Its the way of life. It applies to this as well. For instance, when i wanted to become a pro body builder, I had to spend more time at the gym to workout...what i had to give in order to reach my achievement was to give up my time with family and friends so i could be at the gym. You have to decide to do the same..."

I moaned:

"I know...i know! I've been doing this for years and i havent achieved my goals."

He continues:

"Its not the exercise thats working against you. You're doing that fine. Its all about calories in and calories out now! And this is what i want you to do..."

And so i am on a mission. This isnt about my concern for something to feel passionate about, but being the best i can be. Its about reaching something i have always felt unobtainable but have been working fruitlessly towards. It will no longer be fruitless. Just like work, this year is about giving more to get more.

Strategy! That has been my favourite word in the past few months.

But this is a long term strategy.

Actually, its a life long strategy.

Changing one's habit is a life long change...but it will be for the better and there is no turning back.

I've committed and so i must deliver the results i set out to achieve.

Passion or lack there of...

I watched "So you think you can dance" and "Centerstage" last night and i realised that what i lack in my life is passion.

I dont have a hobby or anything that i love with said "passion"!

I like a lot of things but i dont love anything.

And i think its pretty sad that i dont feel passionate about anything in particular.

The dancers on the show and in the movie, they all want to dance. Dancing is their life, the air that they breathe, the blood through their veins. Its the same with athletes, they must love the sport they play to excel in it.

I dont excel.

How scary is it to be confronted by this fact?

I paint, but lets face the fact...i'm no Da Vinci, Van Gogh, or Renoir. I will not be remembered for the paintings i have done.

The things that i am good at, i dont feel passionate about. And i dont think they really count as something you would boast when asked what you are passionate about. Like..."i'm organised"...hello, who would say that they are passionate about that? And PS, i'm not passionate about it.

I'm dont play any sport. I'm good at the gym. But thats not something to boast about either. I'm just a gym junkie without the precise results she wants...which doesnt really indicate success...

I like travelling, but even that is not with a passion...and who doesnt like to travel???

I'm not even passionate about work! I just do it because i have to have something to do. Dont i? Its driven by the fact that i need money, but if you ask me what i would do otherwise??? I have no clue. If you ask other people, they would tell you that they would do something else that they love, if it would pay well...and its something that they plan on doing after they make enough...or in their early retirement, etc. My answer is a blatant "i dont know".

When i was a kid, i didnt want to be a rock star, or a musician, or anything spectacular to strive for. The things i wanted to do were achievable and practical. Interior designer or architect...scientist, doctor, psychologist...the only thing i can think of that is slightly out there was a fashion designer...and i still love clothes. Am i passionate about it? I dont know. Could i make a career out of my love for clothes? I dont know...

One more i dont know and i think i will burst out of frustration with myself.

When asked what my resolutions were for this year, i told everyone that there wasnt one. But one has developed in the last week.

I will try to find out what i am passionate about this year and do something in order to achieve it!!!

Jazz in the Domain 07...

It was a plan to action based on the Bureau's weather report.

Forcast said it was going to rain, throughout the weekend. The morning was cloudy, but then it became sunny on my end and it was slowly moving towards the city.

We made a call about 4pm in the afternoon. We'd bite the bullet and pack for a picnic. If it rained on us then we'd sit at Broadway and eat the food we had. Because of the possible rain, we didnt bring the wine and cheese.

We got a roast chicken, bread roll, creamy pasta salad, spring lettuce salad, and for dessert our master chef L had made friands and a special fruit salad - this was based on the fact that she "didnt have time"! *LoL* if she did have time i could only imaging that she would have whipped, baked, grilled a whole heap more!

When we got to the Domain and saw the cheese and wine that was flowing, we decided it was our mission to out do everyone next week, for Symphony in the Domain.

We are going to bring more mats. We will have wine. We will have yummy cheeses. We shall have gourmet sandwiches made. A scrummy antipasto platter. And above all, we will have delicious desserts. There are other things were considering...we saw a guy with a mini bbq last night with smoke billowing towards the St Johns Ambulance guys...we were considering bringing a fondue set after seeing that...*LoL*...

Although we didnt have the wine or cheese, the food was great. I couldnt get enough of L's friands (which werent really friands and has less sugar and butter than most, cos L is always making healthier alternatives - but the flavour and texture to me, was perfect)!

The music on the other hand...i preferred 04, 05, 06 way more than this year...

I think there were only 2 or 3 songs in which i enjoyed...the rest was so passable. It was much better to just lie back and watch the bats, but hope and pray that the bats didnt poop or pee on my face. L and i went to the ladies and when we got back there was poop all over the place. G and A didnt do much, they didnt even notice it...not that they could do much to prevent it! *LoL*

While all 4 of us were lying back...i got peed on and it landed on my top...same with G. I think A was the only one who got away without any misfortunate mishaps.

When the concert was finishing up...we packed and left while the rest of the 80,000 people were seated or dancing around. We walked through Sydney Hospital...A was in awe of the people in the main section who were all up and dancing and partying as though they were on something *winkwink*...we then walked along Martin Place and noticed the line at Hotel Chambers...obviously some dance party...L and i shuddered at the thought of when we use to do that...back in our uni days...the pathetic decorum of lining up for an hour before being let it - just do they could generate a crowd!!! But not only that...we felt OLD.

A night out for us began at 6pm with 2 picnic rugs, soft drink and water, and dinner all packed in enviro/thermo bags. Our night ended at 10:30pm. Enough said...

I'm looking forward to next week. Cheese and wine...walnut cheese...sweet shiraz...proscuitto...duck pate...gosh im salivating!

Hope the weather will be as lovely as last night.

The Academy of Brain Gymnastics...

I went to a meeting in the morning and was introduced to the client as "The Project Manager" for the projects coming up.

I was then away from my desk for 4 hours.

I then realised and panicked that i dont have time to be the manager of these projects and be the coordinator for the other two, especially when i'll be the Quality Assurance Manager for one of them.

I started stressing and my neck was cramping up.

I havent used my brain for anything important in a while...a very long while. I follow processes and procedures and get the work that i need to do done. I didnt have to think for myself really or decide on things for other people...

And now i have to put into practice what i have learnt in my 4 day PM course last year. But i'm dealing with the worse clients you can ever think of...but i have to learn to do this some day. I guess.

And some day turned out to be today.

Writing up plans and drawing up schedules, writing diplomatic emails that slant to a positive feel, preparing design docs...its a blur.

On top of that i need to write out the workflow for the other PM's in which i have been doing end-to-end finances for, so that they can take it off my hands, so that i can manage these projects.

I have a headache. My brain is overworked.

And P.S. Mr Hot Stuff does in fact have a girlfriend. His friend, Loose Lips, was taking a jab at him while he was on the phone...telling us that he must be talking to his girlfriend because he was acting all coy while talking on the phone.

Still a slither of hope...

I told E again, that Mr Hot Stuff is taken. Why the reiteration? Because E was in Tassie and didnt hear me the first time i called to sook about it. He will probably ask me a third time, but i will deal with it then.

He advised me that when Mr Hot Stuff returned to work this week, i should ask from the horse's mouth who he went with?

I was flabbergasted. I thought it was too forward to ask that, "who did you go with?" I had to find a way of making it sound casual. The whole point is to find out if he mentions the gf. E is thinking Mamma might be a bit slow on the grapevine and that he may have broken up with the gf and she doesnt know it yet.

I told my workmate, M, who thinks Mr Hot Stuff is hot stuff too, that Mamma told me that he was taken. She was bummed for me. And then i told her about E's advice. She agreed and guess what i did after i ordered my drink? I asked him how was his break...and asked him who he went with...and what did they collectively get up to???

The break was good...he went with "just mates"...they just drank alot and relaxed.

Who is "just mates"?

Workmate M and i left the cafe and as we walked to the lifts i asked her "what does just mates mean"? Does that include the girlfriend? She was like "i dont know"! If i was him and my gf was there and i would say "my mates and gf", or "my gf and some mates".

But my workmate, M, also thinks that he might not have a gf and if he does, he doesnt want to reveal her...

So what does that mean for me???

=T

That was the morning break...did i mention Mamma gave us hugs and Mr Hot Stuff made a comment...Mamma says that he is just jealous! *LoL*

In the afternoon break, i ordered my drink, had a quick chat with Mr Hot Stuff and then went to sit down with Mamma and my workmate, M. Its funny, i dont think Mamma knows our names but the things we talk about is definitely not PG rated. And its a lot about her family.

She was telling us about her husband and her...what they did over the holidays...what X-rated stuff that didnt happen...where they live, when they had bought the land and when they had built their house on that land. How old she is...the age of her children...we were talking about menopause...people dying of cancer...smoking and quitting...Mr Hot Stuff and how close he was to his grandfather and that when his grandfather passed away, he was a different man and has never been the same again...i know more details, but it isnt right for me to write it up. That last bit explains why he is so silent but deadly - but its so ultra sexy!!!

See, some of these things she tells us are pretty intimate. I'm glad she feels comfortable sitting down and chatting to us about these things. She is a lovely woman. Its easy to open up to her because she is so open about herself.

30 minutes passed so effortlessly and M and i learnt so much more about Mr Hot Stuff and family.

There may not be an excellent chance for me...but there is a thread-like slither of hope.

Well, a girl can keep on dreaming...
;)

A ring is round and has no end...

...and thats how long i'll be your friend.

We became friends in kindergarten. The best of friends really. There were two of them and one of me. Two of them because they were twins. Twins who were born on Christmas Day, which made them extra special friends to me.

After primary school, we all parted ways. They went to the local high school closer to their home and i did the same. I felt gutted to be separated from my best friends. It was a horrible experience. As Asian kids, the only place you got to see your friends was at school. Asian parents didnt believe in sleep overs and rarely allowed their children to participate in birthday parties of children their parents they didnt know well. Our parents heard, saw, or read one too many news stories on kids being kidnapped to scar them for life.

We promised to write like pen friends and it lasted for a few years and it sporadically phased out. No blame to either party, we were taking school seriously by Year 9 and obviously made new friends who were just as close if not closer. But in those written letters we spilled secrets about our latest crush, secrets about people all parties knew from primary school, and secrets about secrets...

By Year 10 the letters stopped but i still thought of them and would especially remember them on Christmas Day.

It seems funny when fate intervenes. After those years past of not writting to one another, we happened on a fairly miserable day, bump into one another between Redfern station and USYD. And throughout uni we would bump into one another and perhaps caught up over lunch a couple of times over the next 3-4 years.

Then once again, things sort of phased out. Its not that we ever stopped being friends, we just werent active as most friends.

My first full time job as a Network Admin with a Telco company, one of my team members knew their brothers. And so i got their email off him and we caught up again. Via email they filled me in on their lives, their plans to go to Europe, current bfs, etc. We made a plan to meet up on a Saturday night for drinks and some dancing.

Once again when we met, it was like we hadnt been apart. What makes our friendship work and transcend from kindergarten to adulthood is the fact that when we catch up and talk to one another we are open and honest. We pretty much reveal everything to one another and thats how we can make each other feel like our friendship meant something and that the trust is still there.

Since that one catch up on that Saturday night we hadnt seen each other for a while. Still emailing, sometimes regularly, sometimes not for a few months. Mostly the emails are forwards of funny jokes. But on those rare occasions after a while, we would touch base by replying to one of those forwards.

Like after the World Cup in 06, they had gone to Germany to catch a game. (They are football fanatics.) We met up for lunch as it was long overdue...and we chatted like there was no tomorrow. I think it was a touch weird, as it would have been one of the most "adult" things we have done together. *LoL* We had a proper sit down lunch at a cafe. Its not like i have never caught up with friends at a cafe for lunch, but as they were my kindy friends, it was territory we had not endeavoured previously.

But it was a great feeling to know we had finally brought our friendship to a different level.

We bumped into each other at bars as well, which was a quick hello and how are you? As i would normally be at the bar for another friend's thing, as would they be. But these impromptu hello's would spark another round of "touch base" style of emails.

Recently before Christmas, i had dinner with my family at the local Thai/Lao restaurant and they were there with their family for dinner too. We sat at the table next to them. They were surprised to see that i had 2 cutie nieces and they thought my little brother was my very young bf...like i was a complete craddle snatcher...*LoL*...cos they think he is uber HOT! But after a double take they realised that it was my little brother by 6 years.

Before i left the restaurant i did the "Happy Birthday & Merry Christmas & Happy New Year" wish to them both and told them we should catch up. As they were back to work this week, they sent emails to friends for their birthday drinks, which was on last night at the Opera Bar.

It was lucky that i had gone to work on Thursday and checked my email. I emailed and advised them that i was technically still on leave and wasnt sure if i was going to head out to the city on Friday night. So it was a 50-50 decision right now. They understood as they still live locally too, and knew the pains of driving to the city when you're already at home.

I contemplated about whether i should go...

And then i thought why not? I have been hibernating for almost a year, repairing myself after the break up. I'm not going to meet anyone by hiding at home. And i think i am ready to meet new people. And since i havent actually celebrated a birthday with them EVER...it was long overdue. There were no more excuses or exceptions like the previous years.

The previous years i was overseas during Christmas, actually spending it with family (very bizarre)...or i was too young to be out driving on my own, think in my late teens early 20's (my parents still have issues with me driving on my own late at night).

So, i caught up with them at Opera Bar last night and i did have a back up plan, i brought my alterna-date...but i told him that it was a good opportunity to meet new people, as i didnt know half of the friends that were on the mailing list. A lot of peole were from work and he actually met a cute girl...who after a couple of sms' to the twins after drinks, i found out that she is single and she likes Asian guys...so the chance is there!!! (We can be match makers soon!!!) *hehehe*

In terms of me, did i meet anyone? No, but i got to catch up with them again. I met one of their boyfriends and as the other is currently single, i chatted to her for most of the night. At one point, we went to get some water and this American man came from the side and stood between us as his friend took a photo of the 3 of us. She asked him what the photo was for? He said it was because he was leaving Sydney today. But that didnt seem like a response to me, so i said "I hope that photo was taken because you think we are hot!"

The things that come out of my mouth after some champagne...and once again, i only had half a glass! >_<

I've started to wear our friendship like a badge of honor now. To all the people i had met last night i was introduced to them as "...this is one of my best friends. I've known her since kindergarten." And everyone she says that too, they are surprised but in a good way. And i like that reaction.

*^_^*

We counted the difference between now and the year we became friends and realised that it is now 20+ years.

So, we are planning an outing to celebrate.

And then we thought about celebrating 21 years too...as you do with birthdays! *LoL*

I'm thinking we should hang out more...but we'll see how things go. Irrespective of what will happen next, they will always be my friends.

Destination...disappointment!

E and i had a plan.

I had to interrogate "Mamma" and find out if Mr Hot Stuff was available.

I told E that i would go into work and pop by the coffee shop and do the interrogation now in early January, because i knew Mr Hot Stuff was still on holidays. His bestfriend Mr S (who also works at the coffee shop) had blabbed to E and i (on their last day opened before Christmas) that Mr Hot Stuff was going to Byron Bay for 2 weeks.

On Tuesday when i went into work to do a couple of things and a report, i went to the coffee shop and said hello to Mamma, but she quickly went into the kitchen after that, so i only had Mr S to interrogate...and although he is a blabber, there wasnt anything i could get out of him without being suspicious.

I had to pop into work again today. And i had the best opportunity to speak with Mamma. So, i did the obligatory and asked her about her Christmas...and then she mentioned about Mr Hot Stuff being away in Byron and so he wasnt here to celebrate Christmas with her.

Being the clever one i can be sometimes, i asked if he was the only child??? She said no, but he is the baby. He has an older sister and she has moved out. I asked if Mr Hot Stuff was still living at home and she said yes, but dont tell him she told me that! *LoL* She also told me his age and that he should move out. She had told him recently that since his sister has moved out, he should too...whether he is single or not, its time he moved out of the house.

Here was my queue - i asked whether he was single or not?

She said no, he had a girlfriend...and being quick to think...and not to reveal my true intentions, i told her that he should move out then with his girlfriend...

She agreed with me but said he liked the good life of being at home. I told her it was her cooking!!!

She then took my order and i proceeded to call E and tell him that our plans have been foiled!

=(

No Mr Hot Stuff for me. No free coffee for E.

News, news, news...

Those two 15 y/o convicted of murder for the 17 y/o boy in Griffith is shocking and atrocious. I can not believe that it happened to the boy on New Years day waiting for a taxi to take him and his friend home.


The girl who was stripped search doing a late shift at Mc Donalds in the US...

How stupid was the manager? Taking a call from a man who said that he was a police man and making her employee strip to nothing...then calling her fiance to come in and continue the search because the Mc Donald's was getting busy and she needed to get back to work...the fiance physically abused the girl and then when he was told to get her to perform oral sex by the supposed "Cop" on the phone, he just sat there and thought nothing of it. The girl actually performed it.

I cant believe this horror didnt end at the point in which the manager (female) was asked to strip search the girl, after the girl had emptied her pockets...because she had "stolen" something. It really should not have started to begin with.

How dumb are some people??? The manager was (is) pathetically stupid.

The girl was young and naive, but if i was in her position, i would have said no.

Some specialists interviewed by reporters have said that the employees of Mc Donalds are trained to follow procedures, and when put in a position outside of their comfort zone, like this, they dont know what to do and how to react...so the girl followed what her manager had told her to do...

But, what about the manager? She just follow a voice on the phone that may not be who they say they are???

Funny thing is, if she was to follow her procedures, then why didnt she follow the section in their manuals that says something along the lines of '...you are not to strip search your employee under any circumstance. No law enforcement will ask you to do such a thing...'


What is your opinion of the Matthew Newton fiasco on the "Big Night In" on Channel 10? Shown on New Years Eve as part of the celebrations after the 9pm fireworks, before the midnite display...apparently a lot of conservative parents and grandparents have rung up radio stations and written to the other tv channels to vent their views about how crass and disgusting and just how wrong it was for kiddies and the adults alike.

Others argue that if you didnt like it, then you should have turned it off or changed the channel at the least.

I was watching a movie i think on another channel (Chicago actually)...so i pretty much missed it. But watching the news the next day and then ACA on 9, and TT on 7 on subsequent following days still ranting and raving about it, i caught a glimpse of what he did to John Foreman while he was suppose to be singing a song.

My opinion? It was pretty gross. It was plain dirty. I'm hoping that he was on something...like he drank too much before he went on stage, because nothing else could really explain that sort of behaviour if he was sober.