Melbourne'11 part I,

Good Sunday to all, I'm finally getting down to archiving my six day Melbourne family trip in Winter June 2011 and posting them in (hopefully) bite-sized parts teehee. Touched down on the first day all groggy, but had to wait for the room which could only be ready at 2pm so we decided to take a stroll down to the famous Queen Victoria market for lunch (which we returned back on our last day to get more goodies). We stayed at Ibis hotel on Little Burke street, which was pretty cosy and public transport was readily available in the vicinity ♥ I took some film pictures (the first time playing around with my SLR) here in a previous post.

What I absolutely adore when I head overseas is that you can actually see the sky horizons, painting such a picturesque landscape 360 degrees round which is such a delight to both the eyes and the soul. It's such a refreshing change from the cluttered high-rise buildings and skyscrapers in Singapore (even though I can't deny that the night skyline in the Central Business District is tremendously gorgeous)

Leaving our luggage behind with the Concierge, we cut through the Central park area which turned out pretty cold despite the merciless sun. Ironically, I think I got a sunburn on the way there, and a cold on the way back. The temperatures aren't so bad in the day, unless of course a cold draft comes along because the wind is very icy.

Greeted by glorious fruit, handicraft and busking street opera singers (What a dream) belting out classics like Phantom of the Opera pieces was reinvigorating, especially since we were tired out from the flight there. With the large variety of delicacies and handicraft, Queen Victoria market reminded me of London's Borough market, except that the latter has more upmarket gourmet cuisine. If you want to know, the Market stalls are open everyday, other than Mondays and Wednesdays :) (During the summer months, a night market filled with live entertainment, bars and dining and such can be found on Wednesday evenings) We made a lunch pit stop for cheesy tortellini and smoked chicken sandwiches. Of all choices, my sister had to settle for prata...Asian cuisine is slightly more expensive there so I suggest you settle for local food if you ever visit.

Made a mistake to wear my sandals out because my toes were freezing by the time we got back to the hotel! Not many pictures taken on the first day since we were all exhausted from traveling, we slept very soundly until 10pm in which we aptly woke up for an instant noodles supper and went back to slumber. What's noteworthy was that we were abruptly woken up by the sharp shrill of the hotel fire alarm (Holy macaroni, it was a real emergency) Imagine being in a state of panic whilst being half conscious, and whisked away into the bitter cold in your pyjamas - our Aussie hotel neighbours were very considerate and kindly offered to check things out at the reception. Even calling the emergency hotline warranted no response, gosh! So we scuttled out across the hallway to my parents, escaped through the stairs emergency route half-dressed and were greeted by firefighters outside the hotel. They never really told us what happened, but assured us that the situation is under control (I think it was a leak somewhere) and we headed back up to our cosy slumber.

Till the next post with more pictures of us haha, ciao!

Melbourne Part II

Melbourne Part III

Melbourne Part IV

Melbourne Part V

The Gentlemen's Press,

21st April, Sand and I attended OBI QUEK: An Exhibition on Scholastic fallacies - The Gentlemen's Press opening social ceremony in support of Shiany's artistic venture ♥ Loved the laidback old school yet quirky charm of her cosy store tucked at the inner corners of Neil Road, which we spent some time navigating from the train station. It was a humble occasion, with a piñata, nostalgic sweet treats (think jewel biscuits and sugar biscuits) and in the shianyartsykindaway.

Settled on a couch and started playing around with these blow balloons....in which we failed quite miserably in.

4 pictures below taken by Sand's iPhone, we were playing around with the dusty Granny spectacles! But they had real lenses on so we couldn't open our eyes hahaha we look really silly.

The Bacardi breezer Sand managed to spill over the exhibition table:

We left halfway on a mission to get beer for her guests coming in, and ended up getting cup noodles (just like good ole Crescent times) and Bacardi freezers to share - in which we stole Shiany (and her Baileys) for some time and ate at the back alley steps of the store in full view and scrutiny of a bar restaurant opposite. catched up for a while, bummed around and left around 9 plus. Congrats to Shiany, we're extremely, extremely proud of you, we love you!!! Like what Karen said you're our superwoman entrepreneur ♥ We'll crash your store again soon hehe.

To everyone else, like them on Facebook here - They have a small store @ Neil road selling vintage/old school items and they deal with letterpress designs, so check them out!

The Gentlemen's Press
64 Neil Road, Singapore, Singapore 088834

Sawadeeka,

Hello folks! I'm back from Phuket, which has been a sweet escape from the first week of work (I had to lug my laptop along unfortunately to meet a deadline and a presentation on Monday). It started out rough at first (leaving my sunnies on the cab and the liquids on board rule) but it all turned out well :) 'Twas a really good break, with amazing company whom I'm so, so grateful for to share my university life with! It stings to be thrown back into reality, but at least I've these holiday memories to look back on and smile ✌ Will update this cosy place soon, with pictures from my friends' camera - my only regret of the trip is not bringing along my film camera to capture the gorgeous landscape. Ciao!

Jolly wicked,

Went out the week before finals to catch Wicked @ Marina bay sands, and headed down to the platform by the river to celebrate Xiner's 21st birthday with the rest of the gang, I had fun unwinding before exams prep started ♥  

The musical was really jolly wicked! I've watched three life musicals (Lion King, a classic Disney story @ MBS and Drowsy Chaperone, a parody of the American musical comedy of the 1920s @ Broadway avenue, New York) thus far, and I daresay that Wicked won hands down in terms of stage set up and plot. You don't have to know the detailed story plot before watching, because it's another story that unfolds....with the classic characters of Wizard of Oz, The Good witch of the North and the Wicked witch of the West; and struggles of personalities and differences. (Certain spoilers ahead)

The numbers (mostly Sopranos), especially by the misunderstood Elphaba and ditzy Glinda were such a pleasure to watch, even though we couldn't really see their facial expressions upfront from our seats, the set-up and unfolding of the plot gave dimensions to each character - which eventually made Elphaba's fall from grace evoke sombre yet memorable moments. I absolutely adore how they used Defying Gravity as one of the numbers when Elphaba took flight and escaped, I love that song! If you listen careful, a lot of made-up words were peppered into the script, seemingly to make it sound very magic worldly (words like confusify)

One of the funniest parts of the musical was definitely when Elphaba and Glinda were paired up as roommates and wrote back to their homes to ask well and complain about each other. Glinda sang: "unusuallyandexeceedinglypeculiarandaltogetherquiteimpossibletodescribe" while the other students chimed in synchrony on her plight. Elphaba only had one word: "Blonde". Hahaha I love how Glinda sang her part so professionally ^^

We were slightly taken aback during the abrupt intermission though, still wondering if we were left hanging halfway...turns out that it was a 15 minute break.

After which, we led ignorant Xiner to a non-existant Wicked musical exhibition, but guided her to where Hasan and Yiangmeng were with her surprise cakes! Except that I was quite muddle-headed when frantically trying to find them that I walked into their birthday trap for her and ended up genuinely shocked when they pranced out.....but Happy birthday Xiner ♥ 

Ended up taking night shots and playing around with pretty fire sparklers by the river, here's one of us attempting to form her name!

Kinda missing their nonsense amidst typing this post, I really can't wait for our Phuket getaway this coming weekend - promises to be fun :) It's my second day of work, and it hasn't really taken a toll on me yet except that the airconditioning really gets on my nerves when the temperature drops to uncomfortable states. Glad to have friendly fellow colleagues to share my experiences with :)

Tickle me indie,

Hello folks, I've been keeping myself busy this summer - soaking in the new freedom and gorgeous summer mood which has been building up during the exams season. Finding out that my wisdom tooth isn't really going to erupt into bane existence (hooray!) and dyeing my hair with red highlights - something I would probably be really adverse to a year back but up to now, it has been a really refreshing change ♥ Even though I can't seem to get a picture of it (I have hay for hair me thinks) More about them in another post, perhaps. In more recent news, I've achieved a new geek breakthrough for my online enterprise and learning the ropes of simple coding; and how seeing things piece together is so shoporgasmic. Except that I've just messed up and I now have to request a support ticket from my server....But I sure hope it works out and can be launched soon :) Also, I'm heading for my first day of work tomorrow and I hope the office will feel as homely as it once was for me two years back ♥

P.S. The title's adapted from a remix playlist found here

Ambivalence,

I like this still, and I remember how we stood by the bend of the road near Arts House and you timed the click mentally - and almost to perfection when the junction lights turned green. It captures the emotions of tonight very well, because it's been a tough stimulating night, my brain is exhausted yet it's perpetually working up a post-exam storm. The world outside is so quiet. In other moments, I'm floating in and out of consciousness, the kind of stupor of which you'd rather not be awaken from (Like a drifting plank in the river). You know, like a limbo between drifting in and out, where you don't have enough caffeine to stay awake, but too high a dose of caffeine in your veins to get a good rest.

I need to shut down - now.

Film photograph taken by Holga 120N