2009 = Traveling!

Actually it wasn’t a very good year for traveling, since there was the A(H1N1) Flu going around and the economic downturn. Not a very good time to travel. Irregardless! That doesn’t stop one from visiting either places of SO MUCH interest!!

So this post is the highlights of the year 2009 in my view. Like how they publish it in newspapers… :p I’ll try to make a “in pictures” highlight if I can or if I want. So… Without further ado, I would like to tell you about the year 2009 the “robbstar” experience. Please do scroll further.

January

Nothing is better than starting the year by working! *Obviously not, if you didn’t sense the sarcasm in that… please… don’t go on.* Of course the moolah is gonna be so darn useful later on. The highlight of this month would be…. GAME ON!

Nothing better than some good old gaming fun!

How can an exhibition where you can play games be bad? Plus they have Monkey Island, Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy, The Sims, Pong and even Prince of Persia. There was this really interesting train game which this boy was laughing at me cause I couldn’t stop at the platforms. Hahahaha… oh well.

Apparently I watched a lot of movies too…. Looks like it’s erm… 26 movies? LOL Don’t ask me how. I was having a marathon of sorts with myself. Come on it was the semester break. What was I gonna do while I waited for “work” to call us?

February

Ah ha! This is where all that money that we earned working on public holidays becomes totally useful. It is the month of our “Australian tour”. Not great or anything. But it’s 3 “cities” in a month! Woohoo! Australia here we come!

12 or 11 Apostles (Part of)

First stop. Melbourne. What better picture to represent the state of Victoria than the 12 Apostles eh? Oh oh… the Great Ocean Road tour!

The sad thing was that Black Saturday happened a few days before we arrived. The land was still burning.

A Storm is coming to the Sydney Opera House!

Yes. The Sydney Opera House is yellow. In this picture it is. I don’t know why. Yes we got caught in the shortest storm I have ever encountered. Of course Sydney is also home to a very awesome fish market! Doggone it I want more Oysters!!!!

Great Barrier Reef

No better way to capture the Great Barrier Reef than the top or when you’re at the reef itself. Since I don’t have no up close & personal reef shots so you get the aerial view. It is absolutely GREAT, in capitals! Without a doubt the reefs are the most amazing reefs I have ever seen. But of course due to human encounters the reefs are dying… There are other causes too… but sometimes we humans get to fascinated and we want to touch. Please do not TOUCH, in capitals!

Another interesting mention in February is the SEXPO, sex expo. I think you get the picture.

March

Ah… Classes started. Classes at more varied buildings. Classes with long breaks in between. But I could catch up with a good book under a tree.. Ah…. Bliss. hehehe. *I have an odd feeling that some one wants to smack me right now.* Apart from that, the highlight of March would be.

Barbeque party! *No decent pic of this one*

At the Manors! By the pool! Ok. I have no other words to describe this. Good times. Great food. Happy Smiles. Carefree life. Sounds like what life would be like in Oz.

April

Oh wow, April has quite a few interesting ones. I made my first bibimbap and created the “Happy” list but the highlight of April was between the Coffeeholic’s Birthday and WB Movie World. WB Movie World was fun, but I honestly am not a theme park fan. I’m more of a “cycle by the river to a rose garden that is wilting since it isn’t spring anyway” kinda person. So yes… the highlight is what we did on the Coffeeholic’s birthday.

That's the floating walkway there... with a CityCat

It was fun. It’s different riding a bike and walking. With a bike you can go further. You adhere by different rules. You use roads which you normally don’t use… You can bring the bike on the City Ferry. =) That was nice. Cause the City Ferry is obviously small. That day I think we cycled to 2 different parks, Brisbane Botanic Gardens & New Farm Park, 3 if you consider Southbank’s. =) Next!

May

Hmmm.. Now this is between Api’s birthday and Buddha’s Birthday. Api’s birthday is cause we ate at Freestyle Tout, their desserts are amazing! And we went to Campos soon after. First time there, the best affogato ever. The BEST! Ok since I mentioned about her birthday. The highlight of May would be the Buddha’s Birthday.

Buddha's Birthday, with lanterns

It was an experience on how Australians celebrate the Buddha’s Birthday. They celebrate it with more fireworks! It was more festive than CNY actually. Hmmm… Oh my timing to capture the fireworks got better this time round.

Fireworks @ Buddha's Birthday

Not nice? Well.. ok let’s move along now. Oh wait.

This was also the month of revelation! It was when I realised my student life was ending. 😦 My last semester as a student was reaching it’s end and there was nothing I could do about it except… study something else…Masters maybe. But it will never ever be the same. =(

June

Gosh. June was an emo month.It was the month where classes officially ended, and I have an entry to prove it. “End of it all?”. See?

Another emo occasion was… the end of the UQ Ultimate league, for that semester. But the last for us. Ever! 😦 Sigh… brings back very fond memories. Playing Ultimate is never the same again. The UQ Ultimate finals is also the highlight of June. I’ll miss Wednesdays indeed. =(

That's our team right there... Pure Awesomeness!

The only happy thing about June was. I finally came face to face with a Tesla Roadster. Yes! A bright red Tesla Roadster.

Tesla Roadster. Absolutely Sweet!

July

Wow. July was a busy month. We had to move out off our unit and the hassle that it involved, we went to Byron Bay & Wet & Wild *Wet & Wild is fun!* But the 2 main things that happened in July is of course My Graduation, yes I’ve graduated, and New Zealand! Graduation is a huge thing! New Zealand is an awesome place. I bestow a tie for July. =)

Highlight #1

New Zealand!

There is no 1 picture that can represent the time in NZ. We did so much. We hiked a glacier, did ice climbing, para gliding, skiing, went for a “star” tour and turns out we have been looking at Jupiter all along and man! We can even see the Milky Way! Went to so many different towns, I lost count, got sick, slept on pretty bad beds, saw snow all the way, totally awesome.

@ Lake Tekapo

The only place where we really had nothing to do but sight see.

Highlight #2 – My Graduation. =)

The Convocation Hall

That’s the convocation hall also know as…. I forgot what it’s known as…. Ah! The UQ centre! Try spotting me if U have really really good eyesight. I can’t even see myself and I know where I’m seating. hehehe… maybe I’ll try one day when I’m really free. Wow… I’m no longer a student. The feeling hasn’t quite set in.

August

My last day at Brisbane and it’s a sad one. I only recently got to write about it. The highlight of August would be me returning to Malaysia of course. Not much of a highlight eh? Well I’m not a person with a lot of highlights. I don’t think a picture would suit this month. I started taking less pictures. Poor camera must feel neglected.

September

Highlight of September? I started work! Hahaha… that’s a highlight in my books. Again no picture to show since I don’t have a picture of the place I work nor will I ever post it here even if I had one. So September was the month I started my work life. Boy is it going to be a long one.

October

Nothing much happened this month. Sad but true. Just the usual going to work and all… Started missing Brisbane. The life there. Had a lot of unimplemented plans, obviously. Wanted to get a car but obviously I do not have the means for it yet. It was Shu Wei’s bday. Maybe that’s a highlight. But I’m not sure. Hmmm… I didn’t do anything special enough to be a highlight. So. October has no highlights. Poor October. I feel ya… hehehe

November

Lots of things happened in November in the workplace for me. I’m not comfortable talking about it though. I just realised pretty much that it’s time to move on. I guess the highlight of November would be going to Skybar? How juvenile eh? 22 and never stepped in Skybar until now? Hahaha… oh well.. there are firsts for everything. So I present to you a slightly blurred picture of the view from the Skybar.

The Petronas Twin Towers from Skybar

December

Wow! December was filled with all kinds of things. Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Movies, week long holiday =) But the highlight would be the company Christmas party. Everything was to the theme, the stage, the food, the people. The performance too. Pretty interesting to see what company parties were like, this was more a dinner & clubbing event. hahahaha Didn’t drink much. had 2 drinks but didn’t finish both cause I don’t know why I just left it there. Hehehe No pictures for you cause… it’s pretty private.

So that pretty much wraps up 2009, the year for traveling for me. Not much highlights but sometimes the little things count a lot too.

Now for some little entertainment of my own. Notable mentions in the year of entertainment!

Movie of the year = Avatar *Man! Pandora? Wow!*

Notable mentions, 500 Days of Summer, Zombieland *Killing zombies has never been this entertaining*, Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen. *From movies that I’ve watched*

TV series of the year = Glee *without a doubt*

Is everyone a gleek already?

No comment on single & album of the year. But I must say that Entertainer of the Year should rightfully go to Lady Gaga. She is entertainment itself. Who has never heard of her? Her outrageous outfits, sometimes downright absurd, her very catchy songs, she just draws attention.

So that’s it for 2009. Last entry for 2009 folks. To cap it off,

I would like to wish all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2010 be a better year for all!

Bye bye Brisbane.

Ah! Readership has nosedived! Time to pick up the pace!

I would like to share with my readers about something which I don’t think I have ever shared before… *a quick check proves I haven’t* let’s run along now. The story begins.

The taxi is honking. My friend’s housemate checks if it’s the taxi. They help me carry my stuff down, I struggle to get my overweight luggage down a flight of stairs. The taxi driver offers his help. They load the stuff into the taxi. I drop the postcards into the mail box and a thought runs through my mind “The postcards will be in Australia longer than I will”. I bid goodbye to Aza and her housemates. My phone is ringing as I get into the taxi. That few minutes are up very quickly and the taxi pulls away from the driveway as I wave to Aza and her housemates. Lian…. calls me. She missed the farewell party. It’s 9:11pm. I receive another call, wishing me goodbye.

I leave with a heavy heart and wonder if I’ll cry in the plane. I sit in the taxi looking out. I go over the hills and curves that the 412 always goes over. The taxi stops at the lights at Toowong, Coronation Drive. I give Toowong village one last look. The lights turn green and the taxi moves along giving me a full view of the Brisbane river. I don’t remember if there was a citycat on the river when I was looking out at it. But my mind began to wonder, thinking that this is the last time I’ll be able to enjoy this scenery. Bicycle lanes and Jacaranda trees * I assume* that line the road and river. The river glimmering in the dark and the city not far away with it’s bright lights. The Regatta with a long line snaking around it. College students going out to party.

Postcards going out to the people with interesting stamps!

Approximately 12 hours before. It’s the 1st of August. I wake up and head out to the market. It’s a Saturday, have breakfast and have a last walk around the market at West End. The food stalls have changed from the first day I came. They have Japanese food now. The crepe stall is still there, so is the kebab stall and the Hungarian food stall. The buskers are still at it. A lot of dust is still kicked up when we head down towards the lower part of the market, the “free samples” apple store is still around. They have more hot dog stalls now. Hmm…

Went to the City with Aza after that. Had my last cup of Boost juice. Ordered from Top Sushi for the last time. Took pictures of the names of stores that mean something to me. Went to the Museum of Brisbane and got myself a “I ❤ BNE” shirt. Waited at the bridge *Yikes! Forgot the name of the bridge* and took pictures of the sunset. Since it was winter The Sun went down rather abruptly. Headed back and started writing the postcards.

My last Boost Juice

The last Brisbane Sunset in my eyes

Fast forward to approximately 2200 hours. I’m at the airport checking in my luggage. Being the law abiding citizens they are, I get charged for excess baggage. Obviously. Was thinking “Should have shipped my luggage back.” Went through duty free and now I’m regretting why I didn’t get some stuff then. Soon enough I’m boarding the plane, finding my seat, pushing my bag into the overhead storage, the plane lifts off and the last image of Brisbane is *probably* the dock which slowly fades into darkness.

Bye bye Brisbane.

I can’t seem to…

WAIT!

Did you get to see that huge poster of a probably another chinese movie with Jackie Chan and Wang Lee Hom in it? Gasp! I can’t wait! I think the title is called “Little Big Soldier”. How apt, Lee Hom is probably the soldier, but I’m too lazy to look it up… Ok.. they are both soldiers, technically a general is a high class soldier so…. Anyway I can’t wait! 11 feb 2010.

Proves how much patience I have, albeit the lack of it. Can’t wait for Avatar, can’t wait for Storm Warriors *Technically no more waiting for this since they are already showing it*, can’t wait for DC’s “Alter The Ending”, can’t wait for getting a car *hmmm….* can’t wait for the Christmas Holidays, can’t wait to see Lee Hom on the big screen, can’t wait to head down a different direction, can’t wait for another episode of Glee *Do I have to wait for another season? Please no!* *Well… looks like a long wait for another season. Definitely can’t wait!*

Can’t wait for the elevator to reach the floor, can’t wait for the traffic to turn green, can’t wait for the food to come, can’t wait to pay, can’t wait to use the bathroom. Looks like people like me nowadays need instant gratification. It’s a “Me” world. There is no “you” in the world. Sad but probably true. Hey! How did I get to this point?

Anyway… The YES (Year End Sale) is on! YES!!!! *And.. YES pun intended* I think I should get more work clothes. I’ve been wearing the same old thing every week…. Yikes! C’mon I’m just a poor graduate with an entry job!

On a different note. Christmas is coming I’m not sure if I mentioned this in the previous post but anyway… Shopping Mall decorations are definitely UP! I haven’t seen 1U’s, caught a glimpse of Pavilion’s and Mid Valley’s, so far I still like The Curve’s. It’s so christmasy walking in shopping malls these days.. all that Christmas music makes me want to burst out and sing “This the season to be jolly! falalalala… lalalala!*

Exchange presents shall we?

A: Here I bought this for you.

B: Oh wow… thank you. What is it? *Starts shaking it really hard and hears glass breaking*

A: Whoops! Looks like I should have put more bubble wrap in there.

B: Oh dear…. U bought me a glass sculptor?

A: hehehe.. Yes. I bought you a glass scupltor that also doubles up as a jigsaw puzzle now! Hohoho.. Merry Christmas!

P.S…. I secretly wanna watch the Princess & the frog. Ooops.. looks like it’s not a secret anymore. =)

It’s December!

Wow…. time does zoom by really fast. You know it’s that time of the year when you can see the snow falling on your screen right now… I didn’t know it actually follows your cursor movement. Try moving your cursor to the right and leave it there… hehehe so cool!

Anyway… Movie month is here!!! I wanna watch Storm Warriors, Zombieland *What’s a zombie movie doing in the Merry season?* & AVATAR! Just you wait movie seats, I’m coming to find you. In the dark, when the beer ads are being showed and the other moviegoers have to make way for late comers like me… muahahahhahahha

Let’s see what has happened in the past few weeks. A lot has happened at work but I’ll rather not blog about it, it’s actually good stuff, just not really interested in writing about cause it can be traced. *I just googled my name and I’m glad I have some nice but limited things to be google-ed. LOL* Anyway, life’s good. Hopefully. I hope I’m taking a step into the right direction. I might have make a huge roundabout if it’s not but oh well.. gotta try.

Let’s talk about something else. I think I didn’t mention that The Killers are going to perform in Singapore in February 2009. The KILLERS!!! The KILLERS man! and… I can’t go. Why? Why????? There are more important things than to see one of my favourite bands. What could be MORE important than watching The Killers?! It’s an opportunity of a lifetime! What are the odds of them performing here again. I mean.. come to Malaysia!!! The odds are slim. But sometimes the timing ain’t right… sigh……………………… if only Dashboard Confessional or Britney. hehehe…

Hmmm… what else is going on… hmmm… hmmm… hmmm……. Oh! I went to a book fair last week. The Big Bad Wolf book fair. Lots of people. Got a few books. RM8 each. Got 2 mags too…. old editions of cause. Very happy with my purchases. I think I’ve been spending too much lately. Feels like money keeps flowing out.

Ok next topic. I think I get intimidated by serious interviewers. They intimidate me. They make me feel like I’m a lowly person not worth their time. Hahaha not. Actually I don’t know why. Maybe cause I can’t seem to convince? I don’t seem sure of myself? I doubt myself? I lack confidence? Ah yes! This must be it. I wonder if prospective employers in Malaysia actually google you before they call you up for an interview…

Ah! I went for my first annual dinner. Not bad… Nothing special actually. Hahaha. Lucky draws, buffet, performances *drummers & belly dancers*, dance floor, dj… MC who was a little rude sometimes… then again we are a pretty happy lot so… no offense was taken. People dressing up…. Which is quite cool…. staff performances which were pretty much the highlight… The awards helper *the person carrying the awards* winning the best dress award and couldn’t get up to get it cause if she went up, no one would be carrying the awards…. hahahahhaha…. Hmm… maybe that wasn’t a very funny description of it…

Let’s say I’m the lady who’s carrying the awards for the best dressed winners. The presenter goes up and announces the best dressed female. “Angela! *perhaps*” “Angela would you please come up to collect your award?” Angela is at the bottom of the stage probably wondering “Oh my goodness! I won the best dressed! But the award is alreayd here… can I take it since it’s already mine… but then he has to present it to me for it to be officially mine.. but I can’t possibly be carrying the awards up in the train and then he passes the award back to me on the tray… that will be so weird!*

Thankfully some kind soul took up the position of the awards carrier and ‘Angela” got her award and boy was she thrilled!

Hmmm.. looks like I won’t have an early night like I planned… It’s to to spam people’s inbox. Hehehe