The Melby Rush

Silence. The kind which surrounds you after 3 weeks of being constantly around your noisy, nosy family. Just like the wind, they came, they annoyed, they left. And now I am missing the annoyance, sigh.

During the past 3 weeks they were here, I must admit that it was a helluva roller coaster ride - up/down, right/left, puke-inducing, etc. I was scratching my head thinking of where to bring them, googled crazy looking for directions and good restaurants, almost lost my sanity being tour guide, being frustrated then jolly and then frustrated then jolly for most of the time, screamed for fun and for real making sure everyone was happy . . . . . and totally lost my exercise and healthy eating discipline.

I am just reassembling my life again right now - back to normalcy, order and reality. Sei mou?

Despite all that, it was a trip I will always look back with a smile and silly sigh.

Our very first family portrait in a long time. Taken in front of my house before our first outing into the city. This was during SUMMER. Really. Everyone was most impressed with the tree with the purple flowers instead of the cleanliness and tidiness of the interior of the house (wasted all my sweat and time cher). Maybe it is because we have the only purple tree along the street, geng mou!

The first 3 days we spent around the city, hence PUBLIC TRANSPORT time! It must have been ages since my parents and sis have been on any buses or trains back in Malaysia while I think my cousin Ivy has never been on any of them. Now let us not forget trams (!!), impressive tour I organized eh?

Just wanted to let them have a taste of how my life is over here. E.g. freezing your butt off standing on the platform after missing a train and knowing the next one will be delayed. Everyone was curious and excited the first 2 times I think, after that, it just became a napping/stoning place for all :-)

One thing I love about the city are the street performers. They add colours and creativity to the streets.

Went to Eureka Tower for a skyhigh view of the city. Notice the picture doesn't depict anything skyhigh/cityview/etc? Well, I initially organized a healthy trip - 2 main meals being lunch and dinner and a small snack time in between for each day - but it was more than scraped when everyone complained that they were too hungry. TOO HUNGRY.

Reason? 1 - Walked too much. 2 - The day was too cold. 3 - Should try new food in new countries.

De-reason-fication. 1 - Walked only less than 2 hours with most time spent shopping. 2 - Wrapped up like a dumpling ady! 3 - Magnum ice-cream sticks are considered some kinda new food in a new country?????????

Anyway, due to this, the remaining of the trip (Reminder: 3 weeks minus day 1) spelt food, more food, more and more food.

The next day, I brought them to the bus loop to take a bus! Isn't this like a field trip? Loved seeing them kinda-panicky when validating their MetCards and nervous glances from my Mum wondering which stop to get down at. Little happiness-es in life :-)

This is the Christmas decoration in Crown Casino. Love candy-sticks, love crazy-lights, love jolly songs, love gigantic-fake presents.

Everyone really enjoyed Victoria Market. The colourful plants, crops and food of all kinds. One of my favourites - the colourful cactus plants.

The fruits and vegetables looking so healthy they shine!

The following day, we went to the Melbourne Zoo (answering my sis, Ivy and Wenji's brother, Felix's wishes but not so for my parents). But it was fun! See the picture above? It is the Thinker pose! How rare?

And the best picture of the day? Have to be this close-up shot of the Tiger. ROAR.

I love animals.

'Are You Game?' Sure yeah! I love animals even more now :-)

I loveeee this picture! It is like the poster of Infernal Affairs - the jolly, round and short version! Ho ho ho.

After days in the city and my graduation (both extremely taxing!), we went back to nature ~ Orchards, farms and wineries!

Pak Ramli suka berkebun di kebun raspberry-nya.

This is the Warratina Lavender Farm and the air really smells of perfume, girlish-ness, sisterhood - or to the less sentimental, it smells like toilet. Well, obviously toilets smell of lavender only because we put lavender-infused everythings into our toilets!

See, sisterly love xoxo. We look so very much alike, right?

Pak Ramli juga suka berkebun di kebun nectarine-nya.

Heading to BlueHills for Cherry Picking - see the horrified look. I was foreseeing the amount my Dad would gobble up while picking.

Doesn't this look like a mistletoe? 'Mistletoe'. . .

I was trying to emulate a serene Greek Goddess. And I succeeded. Yes oh I so did.

The picture explains all :-)

The next day, we were in for the BIG one - Great Ocean Road - my mum's favourite motion sickness journey. The picture above was taken during one of our pit stops in Geelong. A pit stop which became a huge breakfast fest of pancakes, big Aussie breakfasts and chocolate mudcakes. Don't you just love the ruby blue glistening water?

Another family shot under the blue skies, in front of the blue sea.

Creative Pak Raymond decided we should take another picture similar to our first ever picture together which was taken around Great Ocean Road as well. Two and a half years on, ooops, sorry in case there are some of you who processes time in round numbers, lemme rephrase - two years on:

I look slimmer, poses less cheesily and am still similar in height.

He looks chunkier, poses more cheesily and 'looks' taller.

I love going to Great Ocean Road. The drive, the sceneries, the walking around, the sound of the waves, the surfers in action, the stories behind.

One of my favourite stops is definitely the Loch Arc Gorge - like a hidden paradise.

Following my sis's suggestion to give the smouldering look. Before and After. Not much difference also, ceh.

A bonus for that day? Seeing wild koalas and they were not sleeping!!! . . . . but eating.

If only I were a koala - to be considered uber-cute when I continue sleeping and eating while I am chubby.

Next stop - BRISBANE!

Graduation

It has been ages since my graduation. I am perfectly aware of this since - I am no longer 21 (boohoo) and the house is actually free of sis and mum's perfect noises.

What I learnt from my first ever graduation ceremony is:

1) Time is never enough.

2) The robe is too long and heavy.

3) The cap shapes your hair into a perfect bowl.

4) Marketing campaigns are everywhere (studio picture, Monash ring???)

5) Too many faces, too many flowers.

Conclusion is - it happens in a daze. Savour the moment (and the frustration) cause before you know it, it will be over.

Despite all that, of course it is a happy occassion! A celebration of all your hard work throughout your degree. With family. With friends. Who all care enough to be there :-)

My Dad, Mum, Sis and Cousin Ivy flew all the way from Malaysia for this big day of mine :-) and for their holiday as well la. Bro Eddie and his girlfriend wanted to come over from Brisbane as well, but sadly it did not happen. Some friends turned up especially as well.

This was our very first picture! See the Big Bear I was holding - sent all the way by Aunt Justina from Sandakan with love. It was wearing a purple graduation gown - super-cuteness compared to my all-black-gown. Then the flowers were from my Mum and Ivy. My sister? Wah, you expect to get something a?

Ray turned up minutes before we entered Robert Blackwood Hall. And he brought flowers from outside of Monash (!!) but later forgot which bouquet was from him (cis). See we were standing so properly cause Mr Lo was there! ROAR!

BigBear and I looking towards a bright future. I still envy BigBear's flashy graduation gown :-(

Me and my parents. I think I looked like a lawyer here :-)

Ivy, Me and Sis. Sisterly-girlish-love with all the hugging, flowers and teddies.

Taken before my hair was shaped into a perfect ricebowl.

Me and my Sis. GIANT. Click to enlarge - and see the heels she was wearing. As if not satisfied that she is already around 10 cm taller than me. Thunder stealer. Luckily my shoes were RED.

I love this picture. A perfect family picture :-) see my shoes?

We call this the 'circle'. An unofficial and cincai name. But totally understandable the Malaysian way.

Inside Robert Blackwood Hall. Loved it - I felt like I was in Hogwarts for a tiny teeny moment.

After the ceremony, guests were invited to the Campus Centre for some light refreshments. Light in size but heavy in calories, sugar, fat and temptation, I must say. But oh well, it was a day of celebration.

One thing I regretted about the day was that I failed to get a group picture with my coursemates who were there. My parents succumbed badly into all the marketing tricks around the campus centre!! - Flowers, graduation plates, graduation frames, studio pictures! So sigh-nya! I still managed to snap some pics tho!

Cassie, Ashley and Me. Before the start of all the confusion and still looking for Yani haha.

Oli and I with the MonashBear - now, Oli, WenJi, Shirley and I have one :-) Amy's turn soon!

ShinYi and I. She was rocking Vegas a few days back. Time sure flies and now she is cool in Vegas while I am rotting in Clayton.

WanRu and I. Her flowers and bear, I think? Taken moments before I returned my gown as everyone did and I was afraid I would be penalized if I returned late! Kiasi.

Chitz, Me and Jean. Taken after I returned my gown only to realize that there is not penalty. Ish, I should have worn till the max time permitted.

The bears I received on that day. Oh! The white one? It is a surprise from Ray *he learnt a trick or two in this department from me*. It comes with a birth certificate which states:

This Furry Friend is special, because no two are the same. It was chosen with love and given a heart and then it was given a name. Now treasure this friend and make it your own. Promise to love it and give it a home.

Date of birth: 18-12-2008 (My graduation day!)
Full Name: Master Loretta
Height: 45 cm
Weight: 250 grams
Fur colour: White and Pink
Eye Colour: Black and Brown
Belongs To: Loretta Lo

Stuffed with Love by Raymond.

So that's it folks, I own Ray I think since he declared me Master Loretta.

And when I went to Brisbane, Bro Eddie surprised me with this cake (after I took off my contact lenses and everything looked like a blob of colour to me).

Here is a big thank you to everyone of you who deserves only the best and nothing else. and a big wet virtual kiss.

Ghosts, here?

Maybe I have always been watching Asian horror films, say Samara who is Japanese, the Phone/Call/Wig/*any object* from Korea, so it never occured to me that there could be ghosts in Australia.

Pretty stupid I KNOW.

But I realized this stupidity in me only a few days back while having pancake at Pancake Manor in Brisbane city. Which brings me to another realization - there seems to be a pancake 'spot' in every state! Pancake Parlour here, Pancake on the Rocks in Sydney. I shall explore Cairns etc soon in search of this interesting trait of Aussie.

Anyway, back to the main topic. My brother then told us that the toilet in that pancake place was supposed to be haunted. Haunted. HAUNTED.

My first reaction? Surprised.
The first image in my mind? A long-haired-and-nailed lady in a long-red-dress in a green-ish lighted toilet background, not forgetting freaky-creaking-screeching-noises here and there.

Obviously, this did not fit in the picture.

So the second image came - A doe-eyed Chinese doll in a red cheongsam-like outfit, staring forlornly at me, no YOU, with blood gushing out its eyes in a blood-red toilet background.

Obviously, this did not fit in as well.

After numerous attempts, effortless attempts I must say, the best I could come up with was -

A white haired-old man spirit standing under the bask of white light, with his back facing me.

. . . which is so not hardcore as compared to the previous ones! But of course, will still scare me silly and make my legs go jell-o, should I survive it.

That's it. That is why it never occured to me that Australia or any other western countries in general, can actually have ghosts!

While all countries have dark alleys that scare me, but the source of the fear is different. Say Malaysia will be of ghosts, pontianaks and rats, Australia will be of robbers, drunkards and rats. Why do all countries have rats anyway, curses.

And another conclusion from this will be - Western horror movie sucks!

Although all horror movies scare me but Western ones are less scary (I cover only 50% of my vision) or maybe, less believable. Why so? Cause of the lack of inspiration from real-life experiences! Hence, Western countries are ghostless. Imagine this, would you rather have the crawling-boneless creature from Ju-On or the bloody-scarred-all-over ghosts from 13 Ghosts chase you?

The answer is quite obvious for me - none of them. In fact, I think I would have died either of fear, failure to run or just having given up even before the chase.

But oh well, there isn't any ghosts here in Aussie (let me believe so) or at least there isn't any situations so far which suggests so. No midnight ghost stories sharing among friends, no weird Western horror movies. So I am happy.

********

I can't believe that is the first thing I blogged about after graduating as a Master student.
Very deep, no?

Nyahaha, anyway, I just blinked Graduation Day and Christmas and Boxing Day away:-( Whee,but I shall blog about them soon. The ghost topic was just too intense to be pushed further *phew*

Approaching is - my 22nd birthday.

Home from Xmas

Calling all Reindeers - Santarina is finally home from all the globe-trotting (All around Melbourne and Brisbane only muaha).

Home Sweat Home.

Home Sigh Home.

Home Shucks Home.

More relevations soon, Reindeers.

Reminder reminder!

18th December 2008, 4 pm.

Loretta's Graduation

at

Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash Clayton

Flowers, presents, PSP, PS3, cards, the dress at Forever New

*******

Those are the things I wanted to remind everyone of you of, in a short note kinda style. You can try making it into an acronym if it helps you to remember it better :-)

Anyway, been real busy since the FAMILY arrived (a day earlier than I thought!) and real tired after all thee walking around the city, checking if Mum is at the end of the line, teaching them about using Metcards and fulfilling their humongous appetite. Not forgetting crying a river when I was given my first "you-are-over-your-credit-limit". My money. . . (not technically my money la, but the money in my account. . . ).

But things are happy and I'll spread the happiness soon, IF it sustains (that means, no fight, no quarrels, no squabbles, no injuries [Lowena PK-ed within the first 5 minutes in the city wahahaha]).

Of girlfriends and MY birthday

Through - thick and thin, fall-outs and making-up, bitchiness and harmony, sulking and celebrating, primary school to workmate, stuck-to-the-hips and miles apart - I must say that girlfriends are always there when you need them.

Although, the thought of a group of girls together always conjure an image of - excessiveness in: shopping (wasting money), gossiping (wasting time), sulking/pondering of each others' problems (wasting energy), pampering ownselves (wasting resources), etc (wasting something for sure) - to the general population (mere males), well - I am not gonna disagree with this stereotypical view but point is - so what? >:-)

It is just the way we bond in Venus, mere Martians.

I am not saying that guys do not know how to bond among themselves with all their football, beer, muscle building, dirty jokes, computer or video games, anime, . . . oops, why is it suddenly somewhat related to me?! My point is: We just have different ways of connecting and celebrating our lives and as long as one doesn't interfere with the other - peace!

Guys should always allow some space for their girlfriends to be with their 'girlfriends'.
Girls should always remember to appreciate their 'girlfriends' even when passion is riding high in their relationships.

As you grow older (when you ponder over whether it is age-appropriate for you to wear minis with cherry-patterns T.T), as you come across more heartbreaks/failures/confusions in life, you do come to realize how important girlfriends are as a support system. And you will learn to appreciate them as those who are here to stay in your life.

But like everything in this world, your girlfriends change as time goes by. Some you lose contact for months. Some suddenly announcing their marriage plans. Some in a profession you never even knew existed.

The common thing: The ability to click right on - despite the time apart.

I must say that girlfriends are strange things. Some you get close to only after not seeing each other for ages, while the days spent together were spent not talking to each other. Some you get attach yourself to right from the start. Some disappear and resurface from time to time with their "hello....?".

I met up with Glyniss yesterday for shopping at Chaddy and seriously, I have not had that much fun shopping in a looooonngg time :-) Actually me and her go way back. . . . to Primary 4. When she was known as 'Mm-Sek-Yu' (a.k.a Doesn't Eat Fist) and I was still the brassy pre-hermit-high-school period Me :-) But we kinda drifted apart during high school cause (damn it!) she was with the popular gang and I was in the hermit ga. . . wait, being a lone hermit isn't really considered being in a gang rite!? *ish*

But after coming over to Aussie and 'aging' (hoho), we both agreed that we do realize the importance of keeping friends and staying in touch.

In fact during primary school, I had a legion (haha, legion) of 5 bestest girlfriends (Glyniss not included! >:-D). Surely there were ups and downs and ultimately, I am just barely in touch with 4 of them and kinda lost touch with one of them.

There is Iris who I am still in touch with:-). There is Sharon whom I met again after high school at the driving school and we talked about being grilled both by the weather and the driving instructors and hence her addition to my MSN list! She is in Tassie rite now and believe me, a meeting is in plans (at least on my side kekeke!). Not forgetting us relenting on the horror of being 'stalked' :-D

There is Ling whom I always thought was damn cool for having a celeb name and Jing Lu the Sailorvenus. Both faraway - one in UK and one in KK. I am like in the middle? Forgive my Form 3 level geography. Both barely in touch :-( There is the one I used to call PJY, whom I would really very much like to meet again. Despite several chance meetings, I must say I did not utilize those 'chances' right. Being stuck here now makes me kinda regretful.

Then come high school - Chia, Tau, Ting, ShukYe, Miau. (Still no Glyniss >:-D) All in Facebook, barely in touch with 2, keeping in touch with 3. Not bad eh?

HighSchool-GFs: Kinda like the reunion that brought us back together with a blast!
High-School GFs: Steve and Po as well haha. See the vintage peace-signs? We were young!!!

Then come university - Amanda, PKN, Cheryl, Melcwf, ChewBee, Elaine, WanRu, Jean, Amy, WenJi, Oli, Shirley, SiewChin, Glyniss (surprise!), Jing (surprise!). Most of which I am still actively in touch with except the few (you know who you are!!) who have just entered a new relationship and have been missing since *ROAR*. The surpirse (!) entries? They are my high school friends but somehow, lately we have been talking a lot and about deep stuffs. So girlfriend-ish :-D

Uni-GFs: Not the most flattering picture but haha, so funnily greasy...those post-BBQ faces.

I must gear up to stay in touch with everyone.

Uni-GFs: Amy, Oli, WenJi, Me - aaaaaaaa, youth, don't go :-(

Actually, this mundane period of my life actually made me realize how important these people are in my life. I have been experiencing ups and downs, worrying about my TR application, employment and career path. And funnily most of the time, I end up complaining/fuming/venting out in front of them while they comfort/slap-me-back-to-my-senses/tease me in return.

It made me realize that every single one of us are facing different things in life right now - both happy and unhappy - and how much we need a ready support system.

Sure, relationships come and go, career paths can be confusing, family problems happen all the time, even economic crisis troubles us wth (!!) - but isn't it nice to know that there is a group of people whom you can return to no matter what?

Uni-GFs: Elaine, Jen, Me, WanRu. Dessert buffet, bonding time.

You might have made a mistake of neglecting them for you now good-for-nothing boyfriend, been too busy catching cash and not catching-up, isolating yourself due to stress or what-not or even lashed out at them during an argument regarding whether or not there will be a recession!!

But, don't you always return to them - with a sheepish smile, slightly awkward expression and small 'yo/hey/whassup/weiii' - just to be blasted by a few sarcastic jokes and to find that everything is back to normal again after a while?

Girlfriends :-)

We shall stay close to each other. I'll be your bridesmaid and you can be mine. I'll be you child's godmother and you can be mine.

. . . I'll always remember your birthday and you CAN remember mine (I bet my birthday is sooner at this rate wahahaha!)

I wonder how many cards/ greetings/ presents I will receive this year? Just got my first gift from Glyniss yesterday :-) have to bring hordes of gift back to the others whose birthdays I failed to be there :-) Awww, now don't you Martians wish you had girlfriends . .as in 'girlfriends'??