Oh Flat 6!

What though the radiance that was once so bright,
be now forever taken from my sight,
though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind.

-William Wordsworth-

Sigh, I am feeling very down and out tonite. Its been, give or take, 310 days since I first moved into my own pad, with 4 other strangers and 1 close yet faraway friend. I was brimming with joy (freedom. freedom. freedom. freedom) and wholly anticipating the year that was to come. Now, that really wonderful.eventful.crazy.joyful.HAPPY year is about to end in another 46 days & I'm moving out in 2 days. The walls are blank once again, the shelves empty, the drawers stark white and begging for color that I can't put back. Even my smiley face breadou is lost somewhere in a dark box till I settle down for 2010.



While I can't say that I have ever experienced living with other people before, my family has enough character to make up for that. Brother 1 and 2 combined can put the dirtiest place to shame, especially their post-play/work/exercise SOCKS. I think I must have thanked the makers of Febreeze over a thousand times as I sprayed their odor-infested thing called a shoe. So, yes, I was happy to be able to move out and AWAY. Mother reports that they now spray their own shoes. (dazed) how did she ever manage to pinch out their discipline??? Let's meet my other extended family- which I am packing away at the moment and moaning about how short a time its been. Is it the end of 2009?

What remains behind...

♪ Phantom room 4.Little post-it notes with reminders.Over-flowing garbage.Quiet mornings and mid-afternoons.Creative baking sessions.Game nights.Pictionary.Other can't remember their names games.Edible baking sessions.Not-so-successful baking sessions.Hate cleaning toilets.Hate throwing out over-flowing grabage.Smoker boy who lounges on the stairs like its a lazyman.Flat 2 adoption.Gambling sessions that lasted 8 hours.Awkward beginnings and little space tantrums.Hiding in rooms hoping it will be better.Hairs on the floor.Tired steps into the bathroom.Fantastic 3rd floor scenery.Stolen underwear.6 birthdays and counting.Sparklers on cakes.Winter chills and comapring heaters.Flowers on window sills.Learning to learn.Sharing is caring.Crazy mid-morning talks.I want to eat stuff.Cheap chicken rice.Bubble Tea with sago.Not so drunken stupors.Missing.Sleep.Eat.Study.Play.Laugh.Gossip.Cry.Frustrated.Awkward once again.Bowing your head once in a while.Caring to share.Caring to care.Wondering if its every enough.Kinship when we cook.Sitting down in a blue moon together.Harry Potter brought 7 random people into a cinema.Good Food from Flat 2.Late-night snacks.Unwashed pots and pans.Guess the thing in the pot today.Surprise leftovers in the frigde.Orphaned fruits and veggies from the fridge.Yummy snacks from kind souls.Movie nights in the lounge.Flat screen courtesy of Bay.Mee Sua.Coles 5 minutes away.Listening out for footsteps on the stairs.Smiling when someone comes in.Companionship.Luckily no serious bouts of sickness-homesickness-seasickness-any type.Touch Wood.Spur of moment shopping trips.Whinging about Transperth.Showing off to friends.People say its clean.I still see marks on the mirror.Can't people clean the table once in a while.I don't mind.I like cleaning.Therapeutic silence.Loud laughter.Funny moments.Laugh till your tummy aches.Walking in the rain.Running in the rain.Never trying all the eateries/cafes/ restaurants in Karawara.Preferring to cook.Swapping recipes.Sharing meals.Trying to snitch off a cookie or two.Bursting clothesline.Squashed and broken pegs.Spring tea on the balcony.Cute drawings on the whiteboard.Guests sleepovers.Guest stayovers.Cooking rice in 10 minutes.Microwave dinners.Chips and snacks.Guilty pleasures.Random dinner.lunch.brunch dates.Shopping sprees that left us wondering.Ooo-ing and aaaahhhh-ing over purchases.Abundance of estrogen over testosterone. Fast food.Junk Food.Canned Food.Fresh fruits?Most read item in the flat-Coles weekly shopping guide.Self-made 'In' 'Out' signs.No door slammings.No shoutings.Inner ramblings and rantings.Always good food.Planned outings.Too many shoes inbetween us.5 margarine/butter packets.4 rice sacks.2 boxes of instant noodle belonging to one person.Umbrellas only, no raincoats.Hate laundry day.Hate and Love flat inspection.Clean floors after.Weird spills in the kitchen.Ikea teatowels.Work monologues.Death to assignments.New music.Glee.Grey's caused a lot of tears.New understandings.New outlooks on life.Concentration on living and learning to live.Health and Beauty.Cause for a difference. ♪

♥

So, its close to the end, where we say goodbye.

Its such an overwhelming feeling, of being part of a different,
totally different interpretation of family. I really enjoyed the crazy.
boring.random.eventful.fun.HAPPY times we all shared.Dirty floors and

clogged sinks aside, I am really going to miss my Flat 6. Tell me, will
next year be different or just strangely similar? As we part and
go different ways, I'll always look back with a smile and
maybe, sometimes a frown, as I recall how really
ridiculous certain moments were. How strangely
we seemed to fit together, pieces of a whole.
How I really
don't ever want this year to end.
Heh heh. Sigh. Let's hope
I'll get the offer.
Please.

Credit for Love Shaped bundle of words:
Fish

You Say, I Listen, We Repeat together

Since everyone is starved for updates... and all the cool kids on the blogsphere is doing this... I'm hopping on the bandwagon! Bring on the dots! ♪

• Haven't had a clue why my days are zooming past me...I yell stop, slow down! but they just ignore me. With only 3 weeks left till finals, I am feeling rather blue when I contemplate my future! What am I suppose to do?

• Found time to eat and bask in the sun last Friday! Perth weather is beginning to show hints of spring time sun! Before, it was just spring showers... and windy days. When you've felt nothing but chilly winds for the last two months...you WON'T say no to a sunny day! So after a quick meeting in Uni and throwing all our leftover food into a bag, me and my flat-mates headed down to King's Park!

• My phone charm, ShuDuan's Transperth card and her set of keys. This is what we do in our past time, plunk coins into Icey Ice vending machines and hope for cute dogs.
  

• MoonCake Festival was spent with His Excellency (hahahah, big titles!) K Rudd, pretty people turned drunk and a fizzle of excitement in the air! Workplace was hosting 7's telethon and K Rudd was a special guest at the ball. Whole team was buzzing with happiness and excitement that night...was K Rudd really that special? I walked past him, accidentally! while he was on his way to his VVIP table... he was really nice and said 'Good Job' to all of us before he left.
  

• Discovered a new fetish- chewing Han's Striker Salami Sticks when I have nothing better to do. Argh, Fi, I think I am onto my 4th stick...

• Another rare moment in the past week where I actually had time for a little video chat! Ever since my Skype decided it really doesn't like me, I haven't been able to 'talk' to anyone. MSN chats are rare and very short, so it doesn't really count. This was a pleasant surprise. Here's the best things after a really long day- laughing away at random silly things and showcasing the hidden inner drag queen.
  

• I really, really want to watch, in no order whatsoever: Ponyo, The September Issue, Fame, Coco Avant Chanel and (weirdly) The Cove.

• Fish has (errrmmm) 5 bruises... I think I have 3 small ones, 1 really big one and another of medium size. Paintball was hot, sweaty and VERY FUN! Co-workers thought I had a very strategically placed hickey/ wet strawberry/ what ever random weird name it is called nowadays. Agnes and Me had a very naughty night at work, coming up with even naughtier stories about my bruise until Kevin said "FYI, TMI!!!" I think he blushed at one point... muahahahha!
  

• Been having a weird craving for Korean food lately... have no idea why! But when I satisfied my craving the other day...an added bonus appeared in the Korean Hypermarket next to the restaurant: BABY BISCUITS! I absolutely love chewing on baby biscuits, especially those round ones we get back home called Rusks. Been searching for them since I came to Perth to no avail. Laughed so loudly when I found them- I think I jumped up and down in the store... would kinda explain why the cashier girl was looking at me weirdly. THANK YOU SMALL KOREAN HYPERMARKET.
  

• Cindy is finally back from the land of no internet. Hahhaha, JJ. Girlfriend went off for her annual geology field trip during the week-long hols...super happy to have her back...because it means I get food. Chocolate cake delivered itself on the next day of her return. I feel very loved... tho' I suppose, not as loved as Nelson... wink wink!
  

• Package from Gmarket finally arrived! All 14 items! The 5 dollar dress was a disappointment though- could not stand it so took my scissors to work! But I now have a weird looking striped tee. Everything else was really good- which says a lot because I am the 'touch-then-buy' kinda person. I used to marginalize online shopping, who knew that the Koreans would change that perception?

• Sigh. It's 11.21 p.m. This means my laundry is done and it needs to go into the dryer. I need to hire someone to do my laundry- I keep putting it off till the last minute! Can you sense my immense dislike for laundry? If I could, I would live right next to the laundromat and still get someone else to do it for me. Right... Let's not drag it till midnight.

Jen, here is your update.


Two assignments and a presentation next week.


Superheadz Digital Harinezumi is a dream come true.


Toodles all- AND WATCH GREY's SEASON 6. IT IS SO GOOD!

From Me, to all of You.

You know how people leave little memo's around sometimes? Be it a sweet note to a loved one or a post-it reminder or even just a doodle of a funny face...I have this bad habit of keeping a whole page full of post its in my diary that organizes my life. I blame this bad habit on Jocelyn really, she showed me her stick it page last semester when we were so bored in class one day... and the obsession began. Currently going onto half of my trusty lil' post-it pad & bringing my love of organization into the blog- here's some tidbits of my life, post-it fashion:




'Parents were in town the whole free week. Smiled one whole week too, so much so someone at work asked: Godammit, we've been working so hard the whole day, you can still smile? But after sharing the news, she started smilling as well. Had the best pancakes ever. Can't remember how much they cost- but all that fat in the sinful pot of cream was totally worth it'



'Easiest biscuit recipe: 2 cups flour, 1 cup castor sugar, 1/2 block butter, 1 tbspoon vanilla essence and ANY other flavouring of your choice. Popular among the Flat 6 peeps: nutella, philly cream cheese, choc chip and good ol' peanut butter'



'Hectic month really. We, meaning me and Fish, are delighted at the many shifts we have been getting. Downside: I think the ligaments in my knee will never heel. It was so bad that I was literally standing on one foot the whole night during work. Then Fish started feeling an ache in her shoulder which got worse and worse until she had to see a physio.'



'Me and Fish have a weird fascination with work. She loves weddings. I heard she had a swell one the other night. I heart glitzy balls. You never know what happens next. To date, we've shared numerous charity galas, 4 weddings, lots of dances and balls, some corporate breakfasts , the whole footy season, one nerve-wrecking judging dinner and a really sweet table of guests who asked for my picture.'



'WHAT A FACIAL COSTS: specialist from Dermalogica, flown in all the way from Miri'



'For a limited time only: Buffet at Burswood for 10.95 per person. We are cheap like that.'



'Thanks Shu Duan for the てるてる坊主! And loved the way Fish's pic turned out: CLICK!'



'Cindy just left me a message: GO DOWN TO BOOST TODAY. ITS UR NAME DAY. Turns out Boost is having a sweet marketing promo. If your name is chosen for the day, you get a free Boost Juice of your choice. Damn uni classes for being 4 hours long'



'From Cindy too: CONFIRMED FRIDAY. SEE YOU.' We are selling Daffodils for Cancer Council on behalf of Daffodil Day. Care to buy a bunch?'



'Note to self: Must bring Shirlene clubbing. To ask WC & Cindy about timing'



'Shoutout to all my friends across the globe: Qing misses you and you and you! Take care!'



'Jason Ling, there is nothing wrong with my hair.'



'Just received recipe from Jen for his 'yellow' cake. Will try it out this Sunday! along with ShuDuan's wish of making Otak Otak.'



'Shu Duan: I had a craving for scones just now, but was pressed for time. So I tapau-ed and spooned butter into my mouth before biting a piece of the scone as I walked to the bus station... ... ... what some people do for food'.



'Getting Hayao Miyazaki's films on Sunday. We Flat 6 doing a Miyazaki film marathon.'



'Esther wants me to say this: Everyone looking for FooChow fishballs in Perth, head down to Emma's Seafood. NOW THANK ME AND SAY THAT I AM AWESOME. Hahahha, apparently, Foo Chow fishballs are special, its seasoned pork wrapped in fish paste. Very yummy indeed, yes, Esther YOU ARE AWESOME!'



'Friday: 6 p.m. HOT YOGA with the gals. Erm, actually, its just called hot yoga because its conducted in a warm room. Supposed to sweat tons. Will report back on its effectiveness'



'To collect: pictures from city. Shu Duan lent me her fish eye cam to take pics during free week. I am praying the pics turn out all right!!!'



'Olympus Pen please drop in price and please come to meeeeeeeee...'




Ahhh, the summarization of one month of my life. This is so much more effective than hiring a film crew to follow me around ala The Hills. Actually, I hate The Hills. They are never contented with what they have and LC is whiny. Anyhoooo...since I'm in summary mode: up and coming on my calender: Perth Fashion Week, hunting for Free Boost again (hmph) and the Perth Royal Show!!!



Now, I did mention that people doodle on their post its right? Well, since I'm lazy, I'll show you a doodle of ShuDuan's...which brightens up my day every morning!







Heheheh, doesn't it make you smile too?

Credit:
Firework Picture from Max Wanger


Hoping:
that this month will be freer
to catch up with friends
to finally pin down my 'choice'


Listening:
everything Raymond Lam


Wanting:
the new sportsgirl COCO denim bag
to see Coco Avant Chanel

Why exercise won't make you thin!

-READ THE ABOVE-
Yes, please do read those little words under the picture.
You will thank me!

Winter this year in Perth has been like a lover's caress, harsh at times when spurned, warm and loving when the mood is right. Unlike colder parts of Australia, Perth gets sunshine during winter- for which I am very very grateful for- or my mood would have steadily gone downwards; which is what grey skies do to you. Still, when the temperature drops and the skies darken, you feel drowsy and hungry. Dee once said 'the secret to staying slim in winter is a good heater.' She is now backed by scientific truth!


I knew there was a catch to Little Caeser's yummylicious pizza. I always did wonder why they put people out in the cold to enjoy the pizza because when the inside is full, you have to sit outside! And even when you're inside, you get chilled by the cold air coming through the doors! Fact is, there was actually a valid reason for that. Note to self: wrap up to eat less. How random and weird does that sound?

Credits:
TIME magazine