excuse me

while i go over to cambodia for a bit

& so it is

(thought i'd take some time off my mauritius series to dedicate a post to all grads)

- boo, steve, lyn, sney, fang-illa, phoon, andz, tom, bob, ez, ww, kh, chern, nic, nelson, omar, harvard

everyone's graduating
either graduated or about to graduate soon
& it feels so odd
it's a bittersweet feeling, those going away
although we don't see each other everyday, @ the back of my head, they've always been there
it's hard to explain
it's like something familiar is being uprooted & re-located
it probably is
& though exciting or scary as it may be,
i'm going to miss them so

congratulations & all the best!

some of the best peanuts

are pink.

wok-roasted, pink dyed (don't know why but everywhere we went, they're pink) peanuts
crunchy, with a slight sugar cane taste
bought from a roadside stall in Triolet, longest village in Mauritius

& i said goodbye

to so many things
some good, some bad, some in between
but most of all, i had to say goodbye to the beach that taught me to love the sea: Pereyberé

You

Happy Belated 18th Birthday, you.

i'm off to see

ile maurice!

for a month of fun & sun,
... work
& fun & sun!

"come on, Dover, move yer bloomin' arse!"

man & horse

in true Victoria Spring Racing Carnival spirit, here's a picture of a horse. & some man. taken at the royal melbourne show (see previous post). i just thought i'd name it, like all great artists do. hah.

now from what i know, the spring racing carnival, to put it simply, is basically all about horse racing, booze, dresses, hats and more booze.

& somehow, it always reminds me of the racing scene in My Fair Lady, when good old freddy eysnford-hill gave eliza doolittle a ticket for a horse at the Ascot race.

"Ladies and Gentlemen
Ev'ry duke and earl and peer is here
Ev'ryone who should be here is here.
What a smashing, positively dashing spectacle
The Ascot op'ning day.
At the gate are all the horses
Waiting for the cue to fly away.
What a gripping, absolutely ripping
Moment at the Ascot op'ning day.
Pulses rushing! Faces flushing!
Heartbeats speed up! I have never been so keyed up!
Any second now
They'll begin to run.
Hark!
A bell is ringing, they are springing forward
Look!
It has begun...!
What a frenzied moment that was!
Didn't they maintain an exhausting pace?
'Twas a thrilling, absolutely chilling
Running of the
Ascot op'ning race."

sorry, i just couldn't resist.

just quit it already

now 1 of my room's ceiling light's fused.

#^$*@!)%&

"you're fab"

i think i have 'magic electricity fingers'

the thing is, almost every other electrical appliance/ power point that i touched has either blown up or just... decided to quit on me. just like that.

the boo's been staying here for 3 years and nothing. nada.

i moved in, & things started blowing up in my face.

scenario 1:
tried turning the lights on. it came on for maybe a second, then went off with a pop. fine, so the bulb blew. that's cool. these things happen.

scenario 2:
i was rushing out to dinner with some friends one night. turned to switch the ceiling lights off. the @&$^ thing actually blew, with a loud 'pop' & something that sounded like glass breaking. right. couldn't find anything wrong with the apartment's switchboard. so, went down to ask the receptionist for help. he was nice enough to come upstairs & go through the whole apartment to check out what happened. it was the *%# switchboard outside, apparently. so that's done.

scenario 3:
switched on the table lamp one night. the bulb *#$&A% fused.

scenario 4:
the boo's & my laptops were both in the living room, plugged in - the boo was writing up her essay, mine was just switched on just 'cause. both laptops just... died. suddenly. we panicked, of course. the boo even more so because of her essay. we traced the problem back to the $^&)# power point. apparently, ALL the power points in the apartment went haywire. went downstairs again, same receptionist, did the same thing. it was bad enough that he remembered us as the girls with the power failure problem from last time. & it certainly did not help that the place looked like this (well, we were/ are busy SWOT-ing. also, we were frantically searching for the real estate agent's contact number)

now, this is a very rare opportunity to see our place like this... it's usually in pristine condition, honest! & even if it does look like this, the door is usually barricaded with wooden planks & all living things barred from the apartment.

& to end it with a bang, the boo made a fabulously intelligent comment as the receptionist was leaving the apartment.

the boo: sorry, but we didn't get your name.

receptionist: oh, it's Fab (short for Fabian, we think)

the boo: oh, you're fab!

me: ...

ok, so he managed to solve half the problem. he's fabulous, yes yes.
so now, only half the apartment's power points worked. literally. the place is now split in 2. brilliant. & it looks like this.

we had to pull the fridge out of its spot to plug it into a power point on the other side of the apartment. with "industrial strength" extension cord.

on another note, i've been attending classes & getting my Foxtel fix while running on the treadmill at Fitness First for 2 days.
total workout tally = 4 hours.
my legs feel like lead, my arms hurt & are tight as bunched up cords. (not in a good way)
i've @(%# sworn more in the past few days than i have in my entire life.

but hey, the things we do to be fabulous.

Mr. Bob-san

"Lip my stockingu, prease"
(Rip my stocking, please)

Lost In Translation

indeed

grown ups

the swing ride - "the ride with a lot of swings" (boo 2006)

at the royal melbourne show

the boo was rather keen to go on it, until i pointed out to her that everyone on it or queueing for it looked like they were below the age of 12

we're growing up too soon

"the lives of me"

i saw these 4 pigs napping at The Royal Melbourne Show

& suddenly, reality hit me

- this post is specially dedicated to boo & belle

fellow pigs who i can always rely on to get me hooked on all things FOOD

we just need 1 more to complete the picture!

it's the last saturday of september

& footy frenzy came to an end with the West Coast Eagles defeating the Sydney Swans by ONE POINT (!) in a nail-biting final (the Toyota Football Grand Final) this afternoon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) after what... 5 months of footy?

we were on our way to the Royal Melbourne Show (next post) yesterday when we 'accidentally stumbled' upon the footy grand final parade...

players (& other important people) will sit on chairs stuck onto the back of pickup trucks
they wave, people cheer
bands play & march

you get the gist.

congratulations to boo for sitting through her 1st game of AFL footy.
well, most of the 4th quarter, that is.
yes, we actually watched a footy game on tv
& were pretty caught up with the game i might add.
we "ooh-ed" & "aah-ed" & punched the couch & screamed at the tv while the Eagles & Swans passed the ball back & forth, scoring goals alternately in the last few minutes.

it was all very real.

"for glory in september"

let's talk art

"Art is not the application of a canon of beauty but what the instinct and the brain can conceive beyond any canon. When we love a woman we don’t start measuring her limbs."
- Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1881 - 1973)


whatever that means.

alright, so i do feel just that little bit more cultured than a tub of yogurt (bad joke, pun intended) now but by no means am i qualified to be referred to as a 'genteel young lady' or to be launched into 'polite society'.

on the other hand, i'm quite proud to announce that my 'phrasebook of art critique' has now expanded to more than just "oh my, that painting is pretty."
*although that's still my main comment.

lo and behold, the PICASSO Love & War 1935 - 1945 (Melbourne Winter Masterpieces 2006) collection currently on display at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).

enough nonsense.
now let's really talk art. sort of.

so this is Picasso.
if memory serves me well, this photo of him posing as a Minotaur (complete with skull) / a blind mythical figure (with stick) was taken by his lover & muse at that time, Dora Maar.
red 'stains' and all. i suppose they're there for artistic purposes. you know, to bring attention to the mythical character in the centre. they were, after all, supposedly experimenting with glass negatives or some gelatin thing. i can't remember.
or i could be totally wrong & it's possible that Dora Maar simply spilled ink over the photo.

p.s: we thought Picasso was a little too self absorbed. the number of self portraits & posed photographs! but then again, we might've been wrong too.

all in the name of art.

this is Dora Maar.
friend, muse, lover. at least for from 1935 to 1945, i think.
quite pretty, i must say.
accomplished photographer in her own right, even before she met Picasso.
i think this photo by Man Ray captured her sultry, mysterious aura.

what fascinated me when i was viewing the paintings at the NGV was how frequently Picasso painted Dora Maar in this 1 particular posture.

these are just 2 examples
& if you observe the picture below, it appears that it's just who she is.

& now, the famed Weeping Women series, with Dora Maar as his muse and subject.
observe the very distinct cubism style synonymous to Picasso & Braque.
what i liked about this piece was its complexity and bold yet intricate lines (especially of the face and hankerchief).
but hey, i can't even handle drawing stick figures. so anything'll look complex to me, i guess.
saz (you'll read about her later) thought it looked rather depressing.
fair enough.

next up, works by Dora Maar.
Picasso's progress on his masterpiece Guernica, a mural portraying his horror at the bombing of Guernica (1937), was immortalised by Dora Maar in the first ever photographic record of a work in progress.
the actual Guernica wasn't on display at the NGV, only video clips of it were shown via the overhead projector.
Dora Maar's photos of Guernica's progress were exhibited though.

Picasso at work.


Guernica.
"modern art's most powerful antiwar statement"
-Treasures of the World.

i thought i'd finish this blog with what i think is "a pretty painting" by Picasso.
the Dora Maar au Chat.
(Dora Maar with Cat)

contrary to my ignorance to the fine details of the bigger picture (of art in general), i must admit that my visit to the Picasso exhibition - to be in the presence of such great 'metaphorical' works by a man so full of feeling, left me in... awe, (even though i couldn't fully appreciate most of them) the same feeling i get when i hold a piece of history in my hand.

* special thanks to saz,
for the photo of PICASSO (taken from inside the NGV, through glass with running water)
and for going to the NGV with me & bulls***ing our way through the paintings, pretending to have a cultured opinion of each painting.

just to fill the space... again

thought i'd stick to the food theme, so here goes

You Are French Food

Snobby yet ubiquitous. People act like they understand you more than they actually do.

What Kind of Food Are You?

hmmm... doesn't sound very nice, does it?

one lazy sunday brekkie

a nice hot bowl of cream of chicken
a dab of butter on a slice of bread (cobb loaf), toasted to perfection of course
perfect for a cold sunday morning

my perfect cuppa

a cup of sweet smelling earl grey tea - just add hot water, no sugar or milk
2 pieces of Arnott's Chocolate Scotch Fingers

step 1: park yourself in front of the tv with a good movie on
step 2: break scotch finger in half
step 3: dip scotch finger in tea until chocolate melts
step 4: munch & sip!

prawns alive!

except these don't look very alive, do they?

very fascinating tails, i must say
which is why i bought them in the first place

here's 1 picture that'll bring the colours out more distinctly

i can't remember what these prawns are called
green bananas prawn or something odd like that
my suggestion: click on the photos, they look much better

pretty pocky

alright
so the title sounds corny
well, i couldn't help myself. so there.

this is Pocky. Pocky, this is (print your name here).
Pocky (click if you can read japanese, here if you can't) is some japanese chocolate dipped pretzel thing

close up
aren't they the prettiest things?

closer up
observe the intricate 'strawberry ribbons'

& good grief,you even get to know what pocky flavour you are!

You Are A Banana Pocky

Your attitude: fun and lighthearted Unique and unforgettable You are a cutie everyone falls for

What Flavor Pocky Are You?

right...

just to fill the space...

You Are an Iced Coffee

At your best, you are: hyper, modern, and athletic At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you're out with friends Your caffeine addiction level: medium

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

& i'm back again, this time armed with a slow cooker

or whatever you call them ceramic pot things



i think i surprise myself sometimes

this dish was thrown together at the spur of the moment.

rummaged through the cupboard & fridge, & found a bacon rack, a couple of old english style sausages (not literally old, i hope not), a can of herbed diced italian tomatoes, a couple of cubes of frozen chicken stock, a quarter of a cabbage & some frozen french beans.

chop stuff up, toss them into the slow cooker & set it to cook/ steam/ boil (i honestly have no idea what goes on in there) for 3 hours & went back to work. i like the cabbage soft & mushy sometimes, you see.

add lots of tabasco sauce & some middle eastern herb seasoning (i found it tucked away in a corner of a cupboard) for taste.

oh, & feel free to chop up & throw in some fresh tomatoes, just for kicks.



& voila! the 1st real edible meal i've had in 2 weeks (ever since i started my clinical block)

apologies

There probably won't be many pictures coming along anytime soon. Well, there's that wireless internet dying on me every 30 seconds. I think it's an evil, controlling, blinking little bugger just on the bottom right of the screen, blinking & connecting when it wants to. Honestly. Being a student who crawls out the door at 6.50 a.m to catch the train to clinicals (I get to walk around for up to 5 hours without sitting down) then crawls back in through the door at the end of the day, eyes half closed, doesn't help much either. & of course, I have to practically be a 'mother' for a heartless someone who, surprise surprise, is older than I am & is totally incapable of lifting a finger to lend a helping 'finger'. A maid has a better life than I do, don't you think? But ah well, shit happens & what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger, eh?
So. After that mini paragraph explaining a very simple thing, you get the idea.

think Lilo & Stitch

special thanks to Alex!

juicy slabs of meat

this photo makes me burst into my rendition of "Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire" every time, except this would be "slabs of mysterious meat roasting by an open fire"

chandelier

the chandelier

not exactly 'the phantom of the opera' but

hey, wine bottles!

the Pork Lake joke

brought to you by the st. kilda road ballet company

enough said

every child's dream

... i think
honestly, which child doesn't know or want to go on the 'choo-choo train'?
=)

this is the Puffing Billy steam train
breathtaking views,
wind blowing in your face
(probably not that great if you're sitting in the 1st few carriages)

red grapes, red wine

self explanatory, really
i believe this is the cabernet sauvignon variety
correct me if i'm wrong
but oh well, a (red)grape by any other name, still looks the same

-yarra valley, victoria

you do the math

(me + food)kitchen - supervision =



the 1st meal i had to cook, & i 'smoked' it
unintentionally, of course
& no, the brown/ black bits are not spices or whatever

moonface's meme

was tagged by moonface,
my 1st ever meme.

1. A song by a Beatle: Paul McCartney - Maybe I'm Amazed

2. A song featuring piano as the main instrument: Missy Higgins - The Special Two

3. A song with a woman's name in the title: 王力宏 - Julia

4. A song with a man's name in the title: James Blunt - Billy

5. A song about money: Antonio Banderas (for Evita) - And The Money Kept Rolling In (And Out)

6. A song with weather in the title: Rod Stewart & Dolly Parton - Baby It's Cold Outside

7. A song with parentheses in the title (these are parentheses): Yerba Buena - Guajira (I Luv U 2 Music)

8. A song made by a punk band: Green Day - Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

9. A song with the word "song" in the title: Las Ketchup - The Ketchup Song

10. A song you love so much you stop and listen whenever you hear it/put it on repeat mode and never get sick of it: Michael Bublé - Grown Up Christmas List

p.s: dear reader, if you're interested, consider yourself tagged.

honestly, if you're really bored...

i'd suggest you print out the following pictures, then flip them, like you would do a cartoon strip
see how the sun 'sets' in Williamstown

that little bit of sun,


then this,


later,


& finally this

not the best photos i must admit, but they'll do for now =)

the good old days

of authentic black & white photos
not those digitally enhanced one
& of course, of kids running free in the backyard

You didn't pick yourself up

The questions continue to haunt me.
She asks us every time she sees us. I don't know what to say.

"wei wei, bu yao pa
ni she hao wa wa
zhe ji die dao
zhe ji pa"

you silly boy, you didn't pick yourself up this time


That morning, that call, time stopped & a part of me died.

You'll always be in my heart.
All my love.

the cutest things

you don't want to miss this, so click here!
honest!

i don't have a name for him yet

it's funny how almost all my soft toys are 'he'-s
do you think it's an innate thing?
anyway... any ideas for a name? he was a present from my 1st ever room mate & has been nameless for 3 years...

non-food post

i think the air-cond remote has never looked more artistically pretty

going bananas!

not a very original title but hey!
the good good pisang of home!

Williamstown food

ahh... the goodness of wood fired pizza

beats regular fast food pizza anytime, i reckon!

the seafood spaghetti

actually, can't remember what it's called now

mussels, prawns & bits of perfect, juicy salmon in a light tomato based sauce

click on the picture, i think it looks way better up close & enlarged