Currently spending my days lounging around.

After reading Bryan's blog, went out to search for creative bento pictures.

Valentine Day Bento - http://motheringcorner.com/

Everyday, I keep my mind active by playing puzzle-based games. It requires skill and plenty of thinking. Walkthroughs help when stuck :)

My friend and I were talking about Chinese restaurants in Melbourne. He recommended Shark Fin House. Sounds a lot like Dragon Boat Palace which I usually go to. But Shark Fin House has better dim sum (but terrible service) than Dragon Boat Palace at around the same price. After reading all the reviews (and the pictures) of the place, I have a hunger for dim sum now. Cheap, tasty dim sum, where I can eat as much as I want without caring about the price :)

Currently packing for my trip back to Melbourne. About 50% done.

My plans for winter break have been dashed. So much for my food tour :( 私の日本語はきえちゃった。　

"Supper was the meal Valancy liked best. The faint laughter of winds was always about them and the colours of Mistawis, imperial and spiritual, under the changing clouds, were something that cannot be expressed in mere words. Shadows, too. Clustering in the pines until a wind shook them out and pursued them over Mistawis. They lay all day along the shores, threaded by ferns and wild blossoms. They stole around the headlands in the glow of the sunset, until twilight wove them all into one great web of dusk.

The cats, with their wise, innocent little faces, would sit on the verandah railing and eat the tidbits Barney flung them. And how good everything tasted! Valancy, amid all the romance of Mistawis, never forgot that men had stomachs. Barney paid her no end of compliments on her cooking." - Blue Castle

One of my favourite books is still Blue Castle (LM Montgomery). I borrowed and read it three times before going out to buy it. A must keep book. The rebellion of a girl suppressed by society and the romance that unfolds amidst the backdrop of backwoods Canada. The description of the fictional Mistawis captures the imagination, leaving behind a sense of wonder. I never fail to shed a tear at the ending. LM Montgomery's other works are also recommended, especially Anne of Green Gables - the much beloved girl from PE Island.

Whew. Work ended on last Friday, leaving me jobless and free. My work has been somewhat boring ever since the new trainee came. She gets all the nice jobs while I get stuck with keying in data. Very boring job, especially after you've done it for approx. 7 hours a day 3 days in a row. The only time I was happy was when I was asked to send out 50 letters. To me, that was more exciting than keying in data.

I went back to school to see the choir club a week ago. Since I left the club, they have steadily improved and started winning competitions. I was very happy that the club that was once avoided as being 'unpopular' has finally became a popular club, well on its way up. However, I'm still a little sad that I couldn't be with them as they joined competitions and tests. I would've loved to round up my choral exam certificates from Trinity with the gold cert :( Currently they're practising for the interschool choir competition, as well as their latest musical, Footloose. With the way they sound now, it's easy to see how they managed to climb the ranks to hit 2nd place in the interschool. Some of the choir members still remember me; they're not the young juniors I once remembered anymore, they're now seniors, well on their way to college/uni. I met Kian Jin and Eu Jin at the musical practice. They were helping to direct the musical, although KJ leaves for Melbourne today and EJ will leave for Melbourne too in another few days. It was good to see them again and to remember the fun times when they were still in the choir many years ago.

Today, I went around book hunting. Getting my textbooks here is cheaper than getting them in Melbourne. Unfortunately, the uni bookshop near Taylor's doesnt have any of the textbooks I need. Shing Yun was going to the bookshops in KL, so I asked her to help search for mine too. Unfortunately, no luck there. Looks like I will have to get my textbooks second hand again.

I spent part of my paycheck today. Many of you might think 'oh wow, belanja me' since this is my first paycheck and all. Haha. Well, this is actually my 4th job now. The first was a two week stint at Taylor's; the second was a few months translating science books from......English into Malay (I know, sounds weird) and the third was a 3 hour job manning the residential college information booth in Unimelb. Like the kiamsiap person I am, I never used the money, especially since all my paychecks came in when I wasn't around. My next purchase will be contacts - handy when doing vigorous activities, like the wushu fan dance last year. It's hard to concentrate when my glasses keep sliding down while twirling the fan. So not cool.

I almost forgot WeiVern's farewell. We had her farewell 2 weeks ago, in pyramid. Currently she's in Adelaide, settling in to her new lifestyle there. And here are the photos of the reunion:

Wei Vern, Shu Ning, and me

Chun Hon also had his farewell last Monday, as he was going to fly to Melbourne on Thursday. All the best, Chun Hon and Wei Vern!