I should be so lucky to have nice abs in spite of the fact I'm currently munching on Jatz while in bed and plan to do it for the rest of my time off

I pierced my navel at the age of 15, something considered outrageous for an Asian of my generation. Or at least amongst my sheltered group of friends anyway. Why did I do it? An honest answer would fall between out of boredom/ wanting to impress peers/ shit that looks cool/ I have nice abs.

The infections that ensued had me doubled over, literally (much appreciation to Mo and her mummy's antibacterial creams). I consider it a lucky thing I didn't have sufficient funds to get a tattoo. I'd wanted one of yellow (Yellow! What was I thinking? As if it would even show up against my colouring) flower trellises over my entire back. Not that I'm dissing any body art lovers, but I'm happy to have unmarked skin now, having been long past the Imustpissmyparentsoffbymodifyingmybodyasmuchaspossibleandwearingtheskankiestclothes phase.

On with the belly button - it's still there. I've had a surgical steel rose ornament dangling there for yonks. 9 years in total. Never removed it, largely out of complacency (the shock value has since diminished) and also the fact it was screwed on so tight, I couldn't. Thankfully, the latter problem was resolved by the resident jam jar opener.



I twisted his armX got me a really cool navel ring from Etsy.



I spent my last day at work flashing everyone.

L'amour

From one of my current favourite blogs, Le Love:

The staples that bind us

The past week was extremely stressful, work wise. We had an auditor coming over (education administration in Australia is fraught with tedious legislations, especially concerning overseas students) and everyone at the office was panicking over bits and pieces left undone. We had inherited quite a few knots from the past and had our fingers bleeding raw from untangling them. Okay, I'm not very good at analogies, but you get the idea.

The person held to be responsible for this knot-untangling business was me. And it was pretty unfortunate but the auditor still concluded we had a bit of work to do. I was furious because along the way, I had been misinformed of the scope of my responsibilities and had a lot of information vital to decision making withheld from me. Couple that with a sniffly nose, sore throat and mild fever. And PMS.

I was definitely not having a good day.

Bitter, I expressed to my direct superior that he might want to start writing a reference for me.

Yet amazingly enough, no one blamed me. It was obviously not my fault yet corporate life is full of finger pointing, a round robin of scapegoats, so this was somewhat a miracle. It was pretty awesome to have a stream of colleagues calling and coming in to my room to express that I was doing fine and that whatever work I had contributed, while may not have been sufficient for the auditor, was still much appreciated.

As we all hail from different parts of the world, the office is a minefield for cultural and personality clashes. While I myself am generally non confrontational, I have on occasion, lost my temper and instead relied on other colleagues to pass on messages. Our feisty Colombian accountant was one of such people, as she had been, on a number of times, rude and scornful.

Anazingly enough, this week we began to talk and she now comes in the confer with me on things beyond my field. There was no apology for her past behavious but she did express that Latinas were extroverted and tended to get hot headed quickly. I suppose that was as close to a sorry I would get from her.

I'll really miss these people.

Happy Birthday, Matt-Matt

Picture stolen from SO

The handsome young man pictured above is my nephew, who turns 1 today. I generally find most babies rather hideous, but this fellow is clearly an exception.

To register your interest in having him as a future son-in-law, please leave a comment with your dowry offer and take a number.

For a dose of almost unbearable cuteness...

I heart LOLCats.

They start with Es and they end with Ys... and they have a draining effect on pockets.

I once lamented the lack of retail outlets here. This statement remains true but I've discovered the joys of eBay and Etsy.

These days I vegetate on the couch surfing for designer bags. My obsession began after I lost out on a bid for a very, very cheap, authentic Dior bag over a AUD2.50 difference at the very last second.

Since then, I've been cruising the website, in search of another underpriced bargain. This exasperates X to no end, as he associates shopping with the featherbrained, shallow female.

After losing out on another couple of other bids, I finally made my first eBay purchase, a lace Qi Pao, also known to most Malaysians as the cheongsam. I have a beautiful, hot pink kebaya sitting in my wardrobe. I spent my teenage years in a standard issue white and turquoise baju kurung combo, yet I've never owned one of these things before.

For those who have not (yet) gotten addicted to eBay, one usually makes payment via PayPal. Mine is linked to my bank account, therefore the money goes out in the form of an eCheque, which like a normal one, takes a couple of days to clear. You do have the option of linking a credit card to the account, wherefore the funds will clear immediately. Seeing as to how I can only pay my credit card bill in Malaysia (damn you, HSBC!), I opted not to.

Once the funds clear, the merchant will ship the package. I'm quite happy with my cheongsam, though the shipping cost more than half the price of the item.



While lurking about Etsy in search of a pin or two, I came across several noteworthy ones and ended up giving into temptation.

Alfresco (though we did sit inside)

We had a craving for Italian so X and I stopped by Surfer's Paradise where he's heard of a great ristorante from a friend of ours.

X: Peter says this place is really awesome.
Me: Peter also happens to be Swedish. They eat meatballs and raw herring. Do you really trust his judgment?
X: ...

Alfresco was packed. There was a table for two outside but I was freezing so we huddled near a heater and (im)patiently waited for an inside table to be cleared.



I had the Risotto Pescatore (AUD26.50) and X had the Fettucine Cabonara (AUD17.50). Both were pretty good. The seafood in my risotto was incredibly fresh, though the baby octopuses were a little rubbery. X's fettucine was incredibly eggy and satisfyingly al dente.



We both had hot chocolates which were yummy, but tummyache inducing. The service was swift, competely negating the need for garlic bread (most risottos I've had require 20 minutes or more of cooking time).