29 Mar 2006 – Finally, I’m almost, almost all packed, ‘cept for those very very last minute things like toothbrush and speckies. Geez, the last few days have been nothing short of a battle – one that ensued between the wilful, want-to-bring-everything side of me and the I-so-want-to-be-sensible side. Doesn’t help that my prospective boss isn’t paying for any freight whatsoever, so anything over and beyond what I get with the flight has to come out of my own, or rather, William’s pocket. I think not. So yep, trying to get very creative with this whole packing process.

Nonetheless, there are some creature comforts that I’ve come to relish whilst living in Australia, and am afraid just can’t do without, including:

Yep, all my natural, chemical-free toiletries, and more importantly, hand-made scrubby yummy soaps – an absolute necessity!

Good quality chocolates. Apparently the chockies in Thailand are crap, even got money also can’t buy. So better stock up. Oh, and see that animal up the front? That’s a wombat, one of Australia’s native animals, and these special chocolates are all part of the whole Easter celebration — an Aussie-take on the traditional bunny shaped ones. So adorable right?

Ooh, then I thought what would provide some solace during those oh-so-lonely-nights. A warm soothing herbal tea should do the trick.

Considering I am actually going to Hua Hin to work, prolly makes sense to bring some tools of the trade.

And of course, a webcam so I can see my Pipi and only miss him half as much. But this chao Adeline, go and scare me by saying “What if you only got dial-up in Hua Hin?!?” NOOO!!! No broadband?!! That’s so prehistoric! And yeah a webcam would be pretty useless then… (fingers crossed)

Not on my favourite list, but essential: my medical cabinet

Also equipped myself with a Thai phrasebook. Hoping to cham-seong cham-seong with the locals there.

But the craziest thing I’m bringing? You’ll never guess…
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Yes, liquid hand soap. But not just any liquid hand soap! Palmolive’s Milk and Honey Hand Soap! It’s ze best! Can’t even find in Singapore, let alone Thailand. I’ve come to realise it’s the small details that reminds me of home, so I’m hoping that each time I wash my hands, I’ll find some comfort and not feel as homesick.

Yep, lots of preparatory work to make the transition a tad easier.

Ok, I better go get some sleep now, have to wake in 5 hours’ time to catch a plane. Already I’ve been warned by several persons not to miss my flight again. Guess I’ve built myself some sort of repute…

25 Mar 2006 — It’s not usual to receive engagement presents for us Singaporeans, so we were completely surprised when Satoko and Bill sent us a pair of Hoyts La Premiere cinema tickets.

Wah… so high-class. It’s something we’ve always been a bit curious about, but never enough to want to pay for. And ‘cos it was such a special treat, we really wanted to wait till a good film was showing to use them, not just any trashy Hollywood blockbuster. The tricky bit is that out of all the Hoyts cinemas around, only 2 had the La Premiere set-up. Kind of why it has taken us this long to get round to it. But yes, we did it today. The film — Woody Allen’s “Match Point” — a seemingly worthy film.
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19 – 20 Mar 2006 – The next morning, which was a Sunday, we tried to wake up early to make the most of the day. Initially the plan was to do the Kirribilli to McMahon’s Point walk and have breakfast at Billy’s Café. But on second thoughts, having stayed at the Swissotel for the first few days, toast, eggs and sausages were probably all Weiling had been having for breakie, so that’s pretty pointless really. Instead we did a simplified version, just taking a trip down to Kirribilli House, then to the waters to take some shots of the two Sydney icons.

Weiling was pretty blasé about the whole thing really. Yes, she’s been there, she’s got the photos to show for it. That was done and now we could move on.

Next came the highlight of the day! When asked to choose what international cuisine she’d like to try, Weiling’s response was Greek. And why not? Just found out from her site that apparently Sydney has got the largest Greek population apart from Athens (capital of Greece). So the food’s got to be pretty authentic, and again we know just the place to prove it – Perama! Our last experience there was so perfect that Billie and I couldn’t wait to return, and there’s no better time!
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18 Mar 2006 – Another exciting event that happened recently was having Weiling in town! Visitors are always always welcome, in fact, we thrive on you people. She was here on a work trip, and me being her cousin (*wink-wink*) had to bring her around of course. And we were more than happy to do so. Finally we can pay-back for all the times we’ve lounged off her, London, Beijing, and just recently Beijing again. And Weiling’s one person I always have fun with; we seem to be pretty much on the same wavelength and she’s always brimming with “wicked” little anecdotes. Swweet!

Speaking of same wavelength, guess what? We ended up getting each other mini books as token gifts.

I got her Max Erhmann’s Desiderata, and for some reason, she ended up getting me, or rather us, Frankfurt’s “On Bullshit”. Hmm… is there supposed to say something about us…

The task at hand though was what to cover in 2 short days?!? And not say we want to be boring, but yes, we ended up with all the usual suspects. In our defence, they ARE Sydney’s landmarks/icons. What would people back home say if they found out she didn’t even pay homage to these places!
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23 Mar 2006 — See, as promised, I’m working to catch up on all my backlogs. Not bad uh? For those of you who were sharp enough to pick up on the words “needed to sort out some stuff before I make anything official” in my blog a couple of days back and have since been speculating, well, guess no more. THIS is the big reveal!

Yup, in a mere few weeks, this girl has been up to much, including my short and almost-sweet stint at AllergyFree. What’s that you ask? Well, it’s a retail store located in the spanking new Bondi Junction Westfield that caters to customers with allergies – all sorts: nuts, dairy, wheat, soy, egg, dustmites, grasses, pollen, gluten, you name it! In addition to selling all sorts of natural, chemical-free products like baby stuff, cosmetics, toiletries, bedding and household cleaners but to name a few, the store also provides massage services as well as a naturopathic consultations. So for all your anti-allergic needs and more, head on down to Shop 1008, Level 1 Westfield Shoppingtown, Bondi Junction, NSW. And yup, I was working there as a naturopath. Or at least that was my position. In reality, I was more a glorified retail assistant in heels – spending most of my 3 weeks there unpacking boxes and restocking shelves. Oh, and let’s not forget the grueling massages that I had to do along the way.

Not to say there wasn’t potential to practice a lot more as a naturopath had I stayed on. And in fact, I did take one case – a hayfever client. My first real patient really. And I did get excited coming up with her herbal formula and putting it together in a bottle, felt very much like an alchemist mixing up a potent brew. That was good fun.

But it wasn’t for the lack of patients nor patience that I decided to quit. I had to leave ‘cos in less than a week, I would be relocating to the Land of Smiles. Yep! Thailand! Some of you may have heard me mentioning about Chiva Som. Well, guess what? I got the job! So yes folks, I’m really and finally leaving Sydney, and just in time to avoid the cold, harsh winter. Destination: Hua Hin. 3 hours by car from Bangkok traveling south.
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22 Mar 2006 — Ever thought to yourself as you stand in front of a washing machine with garment in hand “to wash or not to wash”? Me, plenty of times. Jolly good that they provide washing symbols on the tags, but without a key, all those circles and squares may as well be hieroglyphs!

Well, if you’ve been caught in a similar position, worry no more! ‘Cos guess what I found when I stepped into a MNG store the other day? A complimentary simple little card designed to rescue all of us laundry-challenged souls.

I present to you the MNG Washing Symbol Grid!

Yes, not only ensuring we have a fabulous range of fashion for all those social affairs, now MNG also provides solutions to everyday chores. What would we do without you?…

11 Mar 2006 – In keeping with our tradition of doing an entry for “Makan Round the World” every weekend, Billie and I tried to make a reservation for Raquel’s once again – hopefully, it’s third time lucky. This place is hot – you practically have to make a booking one week in advance in order not to be disappointed. Not surprising since it’s located in the heart of Darlinghurst, right smack on the main Oxford Street. Luckily for us, this time we were in, we had a booking. Yipee!

And so that fateful Saturday, after a long day at work, hearty food in a cosy atmosphere was a welcome change indeed.

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21 Mar 2006 – So it’s been a while since I last blogged, partly been busy, partly inertia, partly just needed to sort out some stuff before I make anything official. So if anyone has been religiously visiting the site and found nothing new time and time again, sorry. But well, with the few relatively free days ahead, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

So as mentioned previously, for the first few weeks when we were back, in between sending out resumes and waiting for replies, I was very busy satisfying Billie’s appetite, and even doing a bit of entertaining. And lest you accuse me of lying, here are a few pictures as proof.

First there were those wholemeal passionfruit and strawberry muffins – made entirely from scratch ok? No instant muffin mix. I must admit they look a lot prettier than they tasted. A tad too healthy and plain really. But Billie very sah-kar one lah, he said they were very good, like real.
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