Echuca Trip Part 1

I went to Echuca during the long weekend last week with a total of 13 other friends. This is a documentary following the trip where 14 people learnt to eat, play and live with each others' faces.

The 14 of us gathered at (where else) our Marshall HQ by 4.30 a.m. complete with extra thick coats, three loaves of sandwiches, galores of sleeping bags and blankets and a heart of adventure - for we would be driving for the next 3 hours plus to this place stranger to all of us!

Echuca is an interesting place and is often referred to as Echuca-Moama. This is because, Echuca is the Victoria side of the Murray River while its twin town Moama is the New South Wale side of the Murray River.

Our first stop at Echuca was - - - - McDonalds! As everyone was groggy (just awoke from sleep), hungry (no breakfast or too early breakfast) and pumped (holidays!!). WenJi obviously was as excited as a hamster and Ray the driver popped outta the car for a cupcake.

There was a national crisis though - - - Daniel's car got lost . . . and found before they ended up all the way at Bendigo. Look at Daniel's traumatized face.

The first place we went to was the PaddleSteamer Cruise along Murray River. In true mafia style, the 14 of us walked into that little place.

The cruise itself was a slow stroll along the river where you get to see other paddlesteamers and more paddlesteamers along the river and also more paddlesteamers elsewhere. Very leisure, very stress-free, very erm, idle.

But everyone had a blast taking loads of pictures so be prepared to an excessive of cheesy grins! The very last picture shows the highlight of the cruise! The bridge connecting Echuca and Moama, or Victoria and New South Wales!

We then explored the small stretch of shops just next to the cruise place where some very unique and traditional stores were found - a blacksmith, a woodscraft shop, a wine store and a fudge place.

This picture above shows this cool wooden calender which can be used for a total of 40 years only. It is the most amazing and exquisite thing I have seen. I have yet to discover how it works though. . .

The very afternoon was supposed to be our canoeing session (not canoodling haha) but the weather was a bit too harsh so we had to stop halfway through the journey there. While everyone was busy talking about where to go instead and when to go canoeing instead, I commenced my paparazzi-ing leng chai Daniel session. Infernal Affairs- inspired.

After the slight disrupt of plan, we headed to a winery. A good hour long journey (including half an hour where we got lost!).

On the way there, due to the constant interchange between rain and sunshine, we saw the most complete rainbow ever. A perfect arc across the sky.

The winery we went to was a really nice and cozy place hidden deep within away from all main roads. The owners are amazing people and even their dogs are so smart that they know how to open the doors themselves! My favourite out of the wine list was the LP Zinfandel cause it was sweet. I love sweet wine and choke on dry ones.

After wine tasting, we moved out to the outdoors area where they had this big chess set. The guys, being engineering geeks wasted no time for a game. Since the weather was cold, the lovely lady from the winery actually made us warm wine.

That's a very first for me - warm wine. And it tasted oh-so-good in the cold. I asked her for the recipe - fuzzy memory speaking here - which goes like this: boil water and sugar, then add cinnamon, cloves and lemon, before finally adding in a red wine of your choice. Definitely a winter winner!

There is something interesting I realized about Echuca. There seems to be leaflets everywhere promoting an Echucan-wedding! From the Murray River to the winery, they all seem to be great potential wedding places! A winery wedding, anyone up for it? Or maybe!! A PaddleSteamer wedding!! Or a getting lost in the middle of a highway wedding!! Cool nya.

Mayday Concert

Remember I went to MayDay's DNA World Tour last month? Ahem, I just got the pictures so here goes!

I went there not knowing what to expect as *horror* I did not know much about the band or its songs *double horror* it was my first ever concert! (Same as Melissa though!)

Naturally, I was quite worked up about it. Totally in the mood as I wore a T-shirt with prints of instruments, loaded myself in the colour black and curled my hair too!

After having dinner together, we took a tram to HiSense Arena and for a moment - during that tram ride - I thought I teleported to Taiwan/China. The whole tram stop and tram itself was jam-packed with Chinese. Like a can of Chinese sardines.

Like I said, I did not know much of their songs so I can't tell you what songs were played save for the few real popular ones such as Jue Jiang, Liun Ai-ing, etc.

Look at my scrunched face.

See Jue Jiang Tan singing over there. And look at my instrument T-shirt!

There was only one encore session though! That is the stage and the members!

You know how I always went on and on that my first concert have to be Glay's hence I kept my first concert experience for this long?

Well. I did not exactly break this rule!

During one of the songs, MayDay showed snippets from way back when they just started until their current state and then suddenly!!! They showed a picture of them with . . . . . GLAY!! That was my single most closest encounter with TERU or GLAY in a concert venue. A concert venue despite it being a mere projection on the big screen.

There, a milestone reached. Next, the real deal - seeing GLAY live in action.

Body image

Real and Curvy vs. Fake and Thin.
Curvy and Happy vs. Thin and Miserable.

I came upon these two headlines in two separate gossip mags recently.

Now, what I don't understand is why is THIN always associated with misery or fakeness?

Are we trying to promote some kind of war or conflict between those who are curvy and those who are thin?

Chances are, the intention is to shift the obsession to be thin promoted by the celebrity culture by associating thinness with negativity and to make curvy people more body-confident so that they don't succumb to the thin-obsession.

While curviness is being promoted and complimented and taken care of, is this fair to thin people?

It is not true that all thin people are so because they are fakery produced through surgery or plastic, or hours of misery in the gym, or torturous diets, or an obsession with being stick-thin.

Some people are naturally thin. They can eat a whole cow and still remain so.

Some people did not choose to be thin. They can be due to hormonal imbalance for example.

Some people chose to be slim. They eat in moderation and exercise regularly not to become thin, but to maintain their fitness.

The thing is: The people who associate thinness with misery or curviness with happiness or vice versa, are the ones who are having a body image problem.

The problem is: They are projecting this idea onto everybody.

What is the problem is being thin when being curvy is not?
What is the problem with having a condition which makes you thin when having a condition which makes you curvy is not?
What is the problem with choosing to be slim when choosing to be curvy is not?

We always see curvy people as being pressurized by the society to be thin, but try looking from another perspective: Thin people are pressurized to put on weight the same way.

I have seen naturally thin people being labelled as anorexics/bimbo-tic wanna-be models/etc.

I have friends who tried so hard to put on an extra kilogram due to stress all the while getting more stress from friends, family and doctors to "save her own life, or else no one will".

I have friends who simply want to be fit being called a gym-freak/pretentious/vain/etc.

How is this fair?
What we are seeking to achieve is for everyone to be "at peace with their own body image", isn't it?

While it is an issue when people regardless of body type go to extreme measures which could endanger their health to get the body they want, deliberately stating a line by categorizing and associating two different but equally beautiful body type with opposing elements is definitely no the way. I believe so.

It is alright to be curvy and happy as it is alright to be thin and happy.
This is because, you are happy when you are at peace with your very own body.
And that is all that matters.

Dreams are not dead.

With a lot of birthdays coming and going lately, it sure reminds me of the fact that everyone around me is growing up, moving ahead and building their own lives. You know how people always say that once you step out of school/university, you will enter reality and poof goes your dreams/ambitions? Frankly, I feel the otherwise.

While in university I was always moving along with the syllabus, or my coursemates, or the lecturers. For the past 5 years of university, honestly, how many big decisions have I made with regards to my future? Not much, less than ten? Basically, just choosing my course, selecting the units? Now that I think about it, those aren't much at all, are they! And let's not go into high school.

During those 5 years, we were severely restricted by the term 'student' and after that the 'complexity of what we learnt'. As a 'student', you are protected by an educational context/environment, everything seems like a case study. The 'complexity of what we learnt' scares us, makes us less adventurous, and succumbs us to the norm.

So that is why, once we step out of university, we are less ambitious beings who are looking to entering the society as another member, not too outstanding not too overshadowed, with a normal job building a normal life.

. . . . No? Yeah, no. I don't think so.

In fact, I see the otherwise.

The 'university' phase constraints you in terms of freedom to roam (studies first, remember?), confidence to explore (the status of student) and time to pursue your dream (universities offer just that many courses..). Once you step out, you are exposed to a world without a map. Free to roam, free to conquer.

I personally don't believe that people die bit by bit inside once they come out to work. Look around you, every shop, every event, every electronic product, every restaurant menu, every leaflet you receive - really represents a dream. Don't they?

If you say dreams have died off long ago, then chances are, you will have a global population of doing-nothings.

But our world is thriving. And what drives this? People who dared to dream and live it.

Don't look too far. Just people beside you.

Mac3 just started her own blogshop with big plans ahead while confiding this to be her what she had always wanted to do, while working hard for her day job.

Nov25 traveled miles away to the U.S. to search for her dream, to gain not only life experience but a story to tell everyone.

Nov10 wants his manga to be published in JUMP magazine and is a semi-pro runner right now, these all started after graduation.

May16 has a dream of being an archeologist - it is still vivid.

Aug17 made friends, built networks, joint bootcamps, started living on her own this very year.

Nov24 talked to me about new business opportunities in his head about to come true and his excitement over his own future.

May31 never bowed out despite all the unfortunate events and disappointment he met with this year, the most amazing this is - he is still standing strong and trying, always with a smile on his face.

Jul14 'loves his job' this year and is envisioning a future which is bigger and more ambitious than it had ever been. The best thing is - he is more confident and determined despite the bigger dreams.

Dec31 is glad to have found a job she really likes and am fighting all odds to enter this field, all the while thinking about all sorts of side projects she can do and learn from (mini dreams since young).

Do you still think dreams have died out?

This list just includes the few people I could think of from my close network within 10 minutes. Now imagine, you and your dream :-)

The Surprise Guest

Here's the surprise I promised yesterday!

Double stacked pancakes with bacon and caramelised banana sprinkled with fine sugar mm-mm.

Just kidding. This is the SURPRISE!

Eric came to visit today. Just like what we always do whenever we meet up, we went for a meal near Lygon Street. But unlike what we always talked about, we explored topics such as career, starting up a business, the future. All the way from primary school till now as young adults, I am sure our conversational topics had evolved a lot and our personalities had grown a lot.

Too bad he is leaving tomorrow for New Zealand. Meet again during Chinese New Year? Sigh, I hope.

Today was a good day :-)

Tomorrow I will finally get the day off for some gym-ing, ironing, leisure reading about patents, cooking - before going off for my marking job!

A Sandwich

Earlier this year, with me looking for a job on a full-time basis, I dedicated a lot of my time into creative cooking. It was especially exciting to hear the others, especially Mr Tan, comment on the unique taste, sometimes in a positive way sometimes in a negative way haha.

Now that I am working day and night with no time to cook or even eat a proper home-cooked meal, I am getting hand-made sandwiches from Mr Tan.

Wholemeal bread with cheese, roasted chicken and salad (minus the rockets I hate). A perfectly balanced meal.

It is simple gestures and surprises like this which make me happy and thankful for Mr Tan. It is great how I need no reminder to be grateful for what I have, for I am always grateful for the fact that almost 3 years on, I can still smile when I think of him :-)

. . . . and I have a surprise guest dropping by here tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Pink on monotone

I love splashes of colour against monotonous backgrounds.

Like neon pink for formal purposes like work.

I think this coming week is going to be fun.

As I will be working 4 days in the city for my internship and 5 nights at Pearsons as a casual marker, I will need to strike a balance in terms of outfit - nothing too formal for Pearsons and nothing too informal for internship.

Everyone pray that I don't burn out from the work . . . or outfit ideas marathon. After all I am no fashionista sigh-sangat.

Release!

I haven't eaten any meat or vegetables for the past 3 days.

All because of my new work-timetable of working day and night at different places. SIGH.

The only token of protein I have been taking for the past 2 days was an egg.

My diet right now consists of 95% carbo (cereal, bread, biscuits) and 5% sugar (fruits). It is not a matter of choice - alrite - more like convenience as these were the only items I can pack on the go.

But I am so gonna have a carnivorous feast tonight.

Guess what? I am going to MayDay's concert! (Psst, it is my first ever concert, malu, even Uncle Tan has been to a concert already). And the important point is! Before that, we will all be going for a nice dinner.

As in with meat and vegetables cooked in real sauce and served piping hot.

Where did you come from?

With the internet age dominating our generation, it seems like almost everyone has an alter ego or virtual identity or at the very least, an MSN nickname.

The earliest nickname I assumed was Apple-something on mIRC. The reason: "She's the apple of *insert name*'s eye". And apples are sweet. And I love eating apples.

The second nickname I gave myself was Shaneta. Wahaha, this persisted for quite some time - to be precise over my WestLife era. Even my signature was 'Shaneta', tahu! Luckily I did not use it for any important documents and for some cruel reasons, be forced to use it till today at the ripe age of 22 *phew*

The final one is hikari*. Well, it actually evolved from hIkArI* to *hikari* to hikari*.
hIkArI* - Cause I liked the capital 'A' erm, haha, erm, for more A's in studies. Malunya.
*hikari* - Cause I thought it made it look cuter.
hikari* - Cause old already, still cute for what la.

The origin of hikari* is actually from the song Still Time from Gensoumaden Saiyuki. . .

". . . hikari no naka kimi ga matte'rusou shinjite'ru kara ima sugu ni. . . "
- I believe you are waiting for me inside the light

I thought that was a nice phrase and hikari* sounded really nice/sweet.

After a while, the light=hikari* evolved to mean light in the "light oppose heavy" sense : to encourage myself to shed those winter pounds.

This leads me to wonder about your alter egos/virtual identities!

Aestron??
Cepheus?? Eh this one I know.
Back to Basics??
Tarnos??
DMM?? Naraku?? Eh both of these I know also, cause it was self-publicized! kyaa.
Sleepy Dragon??
PangKangNing?? Eh that is just her name haha.
Sugarcane??
Paperclip??
Watermelon King? Eh he did not choose this himself haha.
Calmeria??
Atlantis Princess??

How how how? Why so creative one!?!

I wanna know . . . . Especially when someone used the keyword 'aestron choo' twice to come to my blog haha.

Let's crazy bet on the weather

The weather in Melbourne has been crazy, like this is news to anyone, really.

I woke up to two mornings of fog. Crazy fog.

As in I couldn't even see the 2-minutes away McDonald's kind of crazy fog.

Can you spot the McD sign in this picture?

These pictures were taken while going to work at 7.20 a.m. By the time, I emerged from the office which was at 2.30 p.m., it was a different story.

The crazy sun was shining and underneath my coat it was crazy hot.

Until yesterday, the weather was still crazy nice. Perfect blue skies and cool breeze kind-of crazy goodness.

It was crazy how for once again I have to seek for shade instead of hogging a spot of sunlight for warmth.

The nice weather really went to my head as I started taking pictures of my self and had crazy thoughts - "I think my face is rounder, winter neh?" and "Woohoo, that means my body looks relatively thinner, until winter neh?"

With Eric coming over and us meeting up on the 1st of June, I wonder how the weather will be like?

Anyone wanna make a bet, the winner gets a free meal for Eric nyahahaha!

(I must be going crazy from all the work this week *faint*)

. . . but I bet on foggy/cloudy on 1st of June still. Challengers?