Baby Tee!

I have just received the wonderful news that Baby Tee has finally arrived in this world last Saturday!!! Woohoo! Well done, Baby!

I welcome with both hands (and legs) the first human being featured in this blog! we have been waiting for a long time, Baby Tee!!!

Proclamation Day..

It's Proclamation Day today.. Boxing Day for the rest.. they both mean the same thing to me: Public Holiday! Haha! a good 4 days of nothing to do!

Christmas Day was a day of food, more food and much more food.. haha.. the girls of Maylands Manor spent a day cooking, eating and watch the Bourne series back to back, only stopping for lunch break, toilet breaks, nibbles break and desert break! haha!

the day started off with the opening of presents 'under' the Christmas Tree.. which was fun! we proceeded to having nibbles, which i am in charge of.. Beer Battered Wedges and Chicken Nuggets.. while watching Bourne Identity..

we break for lunch and Jo made us a roast 'dinner'.. what can i say? more Yorkshire Puddings! heaven! we watched Bourne Supremacy after lunch and proceed to Bourne Ultimatum after that.. while Bourne Ultimatum was in progress, we had the luxury of eating Miyuki's Christmas Cake! yummy yum yum~!

absolute bliss.. the cream was the tough part.. we took turns to whip it!

the ham!

the whole leg of ham!

by the time evening came, we were all filled to the brim with food.. but as promised, i continued to provide more nibbles.. i made oven-baked potato patties with the ham that Miyuki had sliced off from the whole leg.. and i forced everyone to eat some.. hehez!

Dinner fit for a King.. hee!

we started the Christmas week early with a Christmas dinner on Monday night.. the table was empty at first.. but my cute little napkins were in place!

Jo's roast dinner and Miyuki's Ratatouille, we are ready!

there! a table ready for our landlady and landlord!

white wine and beer were supplied by Simon and Paul was in charge of desert.. which was great! Sonja & Naz brought over a whole leg of ham! no joke!!! a whole leg of smoked ham which we somehow managed to squeeze into a whole shelf of the fridge in the kitchen.. gosh!

Christmas Lunch!!!

Full-of-wholesome-goodness platter

Ham platter

Veggie sticks with dips platter

Cheese platter

Fruit platter

what can i say? it's Christmas! work ends at 1.30pm and it was all party after that! heaps of food, that is needless to say.. heaps of fun too.. with the revealing of Kris Kringle or 'Secret Santa' is another term for it.. i managed to guess my 'Secret Santa'! However, the person whom i was Secret Santa for also managed to guess that i was the 'Secret Santa'!

the top 3 were also revealed for the Christmas Bake-off.. and lots of crackers were going off.. a few of us stayed till after work hours.. the plan was to head out for dinner but by 8pm, we were still waiting for a couple of their partners.. i decided to call it a night after i was showered with some white wine down my jeans and shoes! haha.. no harm done, i just smelled like i have been drinking quite a bit..

all in all, it was good fun..

peace, quiet & tidiness..

Sis has gone home.. her flight was at 2pm this afternoon and i took the morning off to accompany her to the airport.. i went straight to work from the airport and i came home immediately after work to clean my room! haha..

i have come to the conclusion that i cannot share my room with another living thing.. human being, pet, insect, you name it.. i just cant! Geez.. no doubt i'm glad that Sis came to visit.. but i'm still glad to get my room back!

i shall write about Sis's adventures in Adelaide soon!

4AM?

i CANNOT remember when was the last time i had to wake up at 4am.. but today i did.. and it was not funny at all.. more crazy than anything was that we (me & Sis) only managed to turn in at around midnight.. as can imagine, putting us together in a situation like that only brewed trouble..

i took a shower first and then we were getting ready for the 5am cab that i booked the night before.. 2 of us in a tiny room with plenty of luggages lying around? TROUBLE getting around.. the unearthly hour didnt help.. and Sis was trying on different outfits at 4.30am in the morning! Gosh!

i couldnt take it out on my Sister who is here on a holiday, so i took it out on the cab driver instead! but trust me, he asked for it.. he pressed the doorbell at 5mins to 5am in the morning! hey, all my housemates were still in bed!

so i opened the door and gave him a piece of my mind before he can even say the word 'Hi'.. yup, i did and i didnt bother about my manners at all.. no 'harlow' and 'good morning', there was only:

"OH MY GOODNESS! Why did you press the bell at 5am in the morning? We are ready and waiting for you! Why did you have to press the doorbell? GEEZ!"

well, it was somewhere along that line and i was trying to convey my message in the tiniest voice that i could squeak in.. anyway, poor cab driver was in shock and only muttered, 'oh~'

after that, the very pissed-off me turned around and went back to my room and shooed my Sis out of it and off we go, what a nice start to a lovely day~

when i booked the tickets for Sis, i didnt think that it was that early and the buses were not running yet from where i was staying.. the buses heading towards the airport from the city were available at this unearthly hour though.. so we took the cab to the city to catch the second earliest bus to the airport..

as mentioned, we had a lovely start to the day and the day got even better when it started to drizzle when we were waiting for the bus.. no dramas but it was 'pouring' when we got to the airport.. 'pouring' for SA's standards.. but still considered 'raining' for Singapore/Malaysia..

we were earlier for check-in but the staff for Tiger Airways were late.. hey, it's no big deal except that it's adding on to my lovely day~ when i went through the check-point, i had to remove my heels because they make the 'electronic gate' go 'Di! Di! Di!'.. soil on my heels, i reckon..

breakfast was Chicken Wrap from HJ's for me and a Sausage, Bacon & Egg Wrap for Sis.. and of course a Grande Flat White from CIBO for me.. i have no idea how i survived today, really.. i thought i would have to tell BM that i have to go home because if not, my face will slam into the keyboard some time after lunch.. but i guess the workload kept me going..

Sis flew off at about 7.50am and i headed back to the office.. the bus was really packed on the route back to the city.. to think that i was still thinking about renting along the J1 line.. i have to reconsider..

we were on the Murray Expedition for the weekend, starting from Friday evening till Sunday evening and it was a relaxing and enjoyable trip.. shall update about it in a separate entry as promised, with photos of the 4th longest river system in the world..

amazingly, i didnt get river-sick but i have been land-sick ever since Sunday evening till today.. but it's fading away now.. *phew* i had enough of *floating left & right* and *bobbing up & down* on land~

Tupperware Party!

those were the days, isnt it? i was young and carefree and was only there for the food.. i know Mum used to have Tupperware parties at home and we would also attend those that she was invited to.. but i myself have been invited for a Tupperware Party and attended it yesterday!

Sarah from work invited me to her Tupperware Party and i have no doubts whatsoever.. i have to go! when Miyuki and Jo heard that i was attending the invite, they shook their heads in unison! and Jo actually opened the pantry and started counting all my containers! now, i shall not divulge the secret figure! wahaha..

when said that it's a 'party', there will definitely be food, drinks and fun! and it's tick tick tick to all of the above! when i got to Sarah's place, the Paella was already cooking in the big saucepan and one of Sarah's friend, Sally, was going down to get some limes for making Cosmopolitan.. and the 3 punnets of strawberries that i bought for Sarah turned out to be very yummy after Sarah poured some melted chocolate over it!!! there were also Doritos with a tomato dip and crispy nuts.. yum yum yum~

all the above happened while waiting for the Tupperware lady to arrive.. it was all very fun and there were games to play.. one was guessing the names for 12 cocktails which i failed miserably~ so no free Tupperware for me! i ended up with a water bottle and a Christmas Bauble.. hehez.. the damage werent that bad!!!

1 more month to go!

Christmas is just round the corner! exactly a month later from today, i foresee myself enjoying a hot Christmas Eve night.. doing nothing at all because of a super long weekend ahead! 2 days of public holidays on Christmas Day and Proclamation Day plus 2 more days of the weekend!!! wahaha!!!

for Christmas in the office, MJ has come up with a Bake-off! today Sarah brought in her Chocolate & Raspberry Cake, which was yummy.. i dont think i have ever wolf down a slice of chocolate cake this fast! ha! last week MJ brought in a tray of current slices, which were very good but a little too fruity for me.. still great though.. there will be 2 volunteers each week from next week onwards.. which means loads of food! and on the 19th, the Christmas 'Party' at work begins from lunch hour and the results of the Bake-off will be announced on that day!

on my part for Christmas, i bought a box Christmas cards.. which is a miserable attempt to get into the mood of Christmas.. ha! even though there will be no snow flakes to catch, it's still a good excuse to do shopping and to send my greetings to friends who are far away.. i like that!

i have been very slack on my reading ever since i started work.. i am guilty of that! last week, Sis called and asked me to check the price of the book 'Twilight', which i have never heard of..

i went to Borders the next day during lunch hour.. i barely finished saying the word 'Twilight' before the lady said, "it's over there" and pointed to a whole wall stacked full of 'Twilight'.. i muttered my thanks, overwhelmed by the fact that i wasnt the tiny bit aware of the existence of such a popular book! i took 2 steps before turning around and asked the same lady, "is it really popular?" Honestly, in my head "DUH~" was the answer.. but the lady was nice and said, "it's really brilliant!"

Gosh, of course it's brilliant! the producers picked Cedric as the lead! Wahaha! imagine my joy! poor Cedric didnt survived long enough in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.. i'm happy that he is now the lead in this movie.. which is pretty much the same genre as the Harry Potter series.. when Sis gets here, we'll be watching the movie together!

Barossa Valley!

Sinnie, whom i got to know back in my Uni days, arrived in Adelaide late Thursday night and i met up with her after work on Friday.. Sinnie brought along her Mum and they are staying at her cousin's cousin, K's place.. does that make sense? i think it simply means they share a common cousin.. haha..

we met up at the Central Market and they were busy shopping for the upcoming steamboat on Sunday night.. after shopping at the Central Market, Coles and also Kim Wang Supermarket, we ended up with a full car boot, filled with groceries!

dinner was at Dumpling King and it was really busy.. i have never had dinner at Dumpling King before.. service, as usual, was non-existent and ambiance was pretty much on the same level.. wahaha.. i think i'll stick to lunches at Dumpling King..

after dinner, they sent me home and we ended up in the TV room watching the last bit of 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'.. haha..

and for today, we went to 5 wineries in the Barossa Valley!!! we were a group of 5 as K's friend , P, joined us too.. so we fit nicely into K's car and this time round with bags filled with snacks for the journey there!

Wolf Blass


Peter Lehmann

Penfolds

Jacob's Creek


Grant Burge

after the first 2 wineries, we stopped for lunch at this Italian place..
dinner was at K's place as we went straight back to his place after our tour of the Barossa Valley.. we R & R for a while before dinner.. mainly playing Wii and it was my first time playing Wii!

and dinner was homemade Hor Fun!!! Geez.. i'm not complaining~ K did a pretty good job!

Angst?

did my Melbourne Cup entry agitate somebody? or was it the Spinach & Tuna Pasta Bake entry?

hmmm.. but apparently something i wrote did.. this is the first time i'm receiving a 'hate message' on my blog! now, now.. i have been writing for about 4 years and this is my 3rd blog.. i have never received any 'hate message' before! honestly, i'm actually excited about it!

but well, 'getting lost' is indeed something i do very often.. but hey! i am improving! after work, i managed to get myself onto Gouger Street where Sinnie, her Mum and K is.. and when K is sending me home last night, i could tell him my address but i still couldnt really tell him how to get to my place from where we were.. haha..

so yes, 'GET LOST' is one thing i do very often and will continue to do so, maybe for the rest of my life.. but i'm pretty darn happy about it.. it's just the way i am!

take it or leave it~

Melbourne Cup

Melbourne Cup.. the race that stops a nation? that's a tat too dramatic.. but well, it is the race that stops Australia!

or at least for me it is one where we can dress up to slack while at work.. drink white wine, champagne, soft drinks and orange juice (for me) and eat chips, biscuits with dips, 3 different kinds of cheese, sausages and nuts.. all these while waiting to watch a 3-min race on TV!

Gosh.. i can do this every other day.. so somebody tell me, why do we only have the Melbourne Cup once a year?

anyway, the Melbourne Cup race took place at 2.30pm this afternoon.. me and SR got ourselves to Level 6 of the building at about 2.15pm.. and we were the last ones to be there! everyone was already there from 2pm.. i must say Level 6 is pretty neatly done up!

i participated in the office sweep and felt lucky when i just had enough coins to chip in! the exact amount! i thought today was my lucky day.. maybe Septimus is going to win! well, that was my 'lucky' horsie that i picked from KJ's hat..

Septimus' number was 1 and his odds were pretty low, a 4.5.. meaning that this horse's a really popular bet and the chances of winning are high.. so you dont get paid much if you do win.. but there are other horses having the odds of 151 or other 'random' figures!! so the chances of winning wasnt high but if it turns out to be the 'black horse', you'll be paid $151 for every dollar you bet on.. what kind of luck do i need to win, really?

anyway, my Septimus seemed really optimistic at the start, it was in the first 4 for a big part of the race but really, who knows what happened in between? poor horsie ended up in 18th place! Geez.. it really is anybody's race~

Spinach & Tuna Pasta Bake

i havent been posting much of my own cooking lately and that's not because i havent been cooking.. i was and still is cooking every weekend but not for leisure.. i was cooking and packing for my lunches and dinners for weekdays!

and lately it's been getting kind of boring.. i had been cooking a pasta and a fried rice for the past 2 weekends! it's so easy to cook one-dish meals and even easier to eat it at my desk!!! wahaha.. that, is my version of alternatives.. should i have pasta or fried rice for lunch today? if i am having pasta for lunch, i'll 'choose' fried rice' for dinner! Geez.. it's a tough choice, huh~!

i realised that the mind is a very strange entity of its own.. last weekend when Simon was in Melbourne, i cooked his version of Chicken & Basil Pesto Pasta that he cooked for us about 2 months ago.. and this week, because Miyuki is back to Japan, i felt like cooking something related to her..

so i went to Foodland yesterday and bought a box of frozen spinach! i didnt know spinach comes boxed up and froze up until i met Miyuki! yup, hence this week's pasta:

Spinach & Tuna Pasta Bake!

Ingredients:
.: 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
.: 1 Tbsp Seeded Mustard
.: 2 Cans Tuna, 185g each (1 Chunks in Brine & 1 Chunks in Olive Oil)
.: 1 Box Frozen Spinach, 250g
.: 1 Bottle of Thickened Cream, 300ml
.: Shredded Cheese, some for melting and some for baking
.: Big Spirals Pasta

heat Olive Oil in pot and stir-fry Seeded Mustard.. add Tuna and continue to stir-fry.. add Spinach and more stir-frying.. in goes some shredded Cheese, whatever amount you are comfortable with.. add Thickened Cream when cheese has melted.. Salt and Pepper to taste.. add Pasta (already cooked).. simmered for a couple of minutes and pour into a baking dish.. top with HEAPS of Shredded Cheese and bake till cheese becomes golden brown!

for dinner, i am again going to bake a dish that is linked to Miyuki.. with bits of modification though.. Miyuki did a Baked Zucchini and Tomatoes with Cheese during her Vegetarian Week.. i'm going to bake Zucchini, Eggplant and Tomatoes with HEAPS of shredded cheese! Hee~

Weekdays can be great too!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! it's FRIDAY again! if time's going to zoom past like that every week.. i'll be 30 before i know it!!! Geez.. 30 actually isnt that far away~ wahaha! anyway, it's been a good week.. actually it's been the best week i have had since i started work!

i'm not sure if i have mentioned it before.. but work officially ends at 5pm every Friday evening for our 'Highs & Lows' session! it's a gathering where everyone announce what they are particularly happy (High) or unhappy (Low) about that week.. we could get away with not mentioning a 'Low' but there must be a 'High'.. and for every 'Low' that was mentioned, there must be a 'High' to balance it out..

it is also a session where we get to know one another better.. we would gather at the lower ground floor and have a few drinks.. normally white wines and soft drinks.. both of which i dont really enjoy! every week i would get asked if i want a drink, and every Friday i would politely decline.. they probably thought i was being shy but this is the week they know i seriously cant drink.. i told them the story of last Saturday's Midori with lemonade! wahaha!

it's been a really good week because for the first time since i started work, i dont have a 'Low'!!! i'm happy about that, really.. and my 'High' was that i dont have a 'Low'!!! wahaha~! i finally felt like i'm on schedule this week, though not without the help of SR! i'm also better prepared this week and have started to fall into a routine.. and i now handle the newspaper delivery guy really well! HAHA! i have also cleaned up the mess at my desk and it's now neat and tidy the way i like it!

also, there's no 'Low' this because i received confirmation that Sinnie is coming from Perth next week and Y is coming the week after!!! BUT, the ultimate 'HIGH' is that Sis is coming in December and from tomorrow onwards.. i can say that my Sister is coming NEXT MONTH! Yippie! what's more, i have gotten her cheap tickets to and fro Melbourne!!! A$67.90!!! wahaha.. i can only cross my fingers that Tiger Airways doesnt cancel their flights as and when they like it (they are apparently quite notorious for doing that here)!!!

ALSO, i have booked Sis and myself for the Murray Expedition*!!! we will be going on it the first weekend she's going to be here! now now, with all these upcoming visits, how can i have a 'Low'?

i also received a letter (snail mail!) from Hello Kitty (you know who you are!) and Hello Kitty's life is going great! Zen is working on his personal project and is almost done with it now.. i'm waiting to view it! Kor is finally having his exams next week after so many years of hard work and studying!!! i cant wait for him to 'graduate'! Mum & Dad are going to Taiwan (again~!) and Miyuki went home to JAPAN today!!! i can feel her parent's joy! i hereby announce that my crazy Japanese house mate will be back in 2 weeks and i sincerely hope that she remembers to get to the airport on time this time round! ha!

and so, i feel great because my aim to enjoy weekdays has been achieved this week! i'm pretty sure it's not 'happily ever after' from here.. there will bound to be days that i would feel down because of work, friends, family, life in general, etc.. but at least for this week, i can be certain that there is one office worker who has enjoyed her weekdays!

*Murray Expedition will be explained later in a separate entry because it is of utmost importance that i explain it correctly!

another weekend gone!

well, it's Sunday again~ the life of a office worker.. looking forward to Friday evenings and trying to shunt the ever dreaded Sunday night? hmmm.. maybe that is the case.. but if office workers all around the world can enjoy their weekdays too.. wouldnt that be fantastic?

in order to enjoy my upcoming week, i stayed back in the office till 7pm on Friday, so as to get more work done.. it was something that i was supposed to do but i didnt know about it because really, no one told me about it.. so i cant really do something i dont even know existed, can i? anyway, it was completed and i also get all my filing done! i dont need to go back on Saturday!

i did however, brought back the Job Notes file and read through it.. there was also a case left behind by J which wasnt solved when she left.. i brought it home too.. but i'm only going to try to see if i can work it out later.. because i had been occupied with Game Boy Micro since yesterday!!!

wahaha.. there's only the Mario Brothers and Super Mario 2 on it.. but the Mario Brothers kept me occupied for a long time.. and still is actually.. hehez! this cute little gadget belongs to Miyuki.. but it's now sitting on my desk calling me.. Miyuki passed me the charger for it too! just in case, you know~!

as for Saturday, i went down to The Parade to get brunch at Cibo Espresso before grocery shopping at both Foodlands and Coles.. i came home with a whole trolley full! i vacuumed and mopped my room after keeping my groceries away.. and also wiped all surfaces! it's really due to the weather and the fact that we are situated right next to the road that there's so much dust..

the weather's really strange yesterday, it was hot and humid but it wasnt a sunny kind of hot.. it was cloudy the whole day.. and windy too.. i was in the TV room the whole afternoon with the air-con switched on! hehez!

in between Game Boy Micro sessions, i was doing laundry and cooking a pasta and a fried rice.. enough for all my lunches next week and maybe dinners too.. hehez..

last night we girls went to Maylands Hotel, just round the corner, for a drink.. i really cant take much alcohol! one Midori with lemonade and i am down! wahaha..

that's pretty much to it for my weekend.. i'm hoping that the coming week will be fulfilling!

Danny's Thai Bistro

Miyuki came to meet me on Grenfell St after work today.. her work ended at 5.30pm, which is a rare coincidence.. our plan was to head to Danny's Thai Bistro.. for Thai food, of course! we actually planned this dinner on the day that we were having Indian food at Taj Tandoor!!! eating one cuisine and thinking about another?! wahaha..

we took Bus 123 from Grenfell St straight to Norwood and we were the first few customers there.. we ordered one entree and one main each.. which means lots of food!!!

Fresh Cold Rolls
with fresh vegetables, vermicelli, prawns and pork with special sauce dipping sauce..

Salt & Pepper Fresh Local Squid

Special Fried Rice

prawns & chicken with egg, Chinese broccoli and fresh tomatoes..

Pad Thai

Thai rice noodles with chicken and prawns, ground peanuts and egg..

i must say the Pad Thai was way too disappointing!!! it can in no way be called Pad Thai, really! i can only say it is some kind of stir-fry rice noodles with loads of tomato ketchup~

the Special Fried Rice is not really that special either.. i must admit i dont know what Thai fried rice constitutes or taste like.. but that Special Fried Rice we had tasted just like any Chinese fried rice..

on the menu, it says that the Salt and Pepper Fresh Local Squid is 'Danny's all-time favourite!' and so we paid A$10.90 for it.. Geez, it doesnt seemed all that worth it now.. it's neither wonderfully delicious nor horribly disgusting.. it's.. just alright, you know..

the only saving grace of tonight's dinner was the Fresh Cold Rolls.. but the dipping sauces were again kind of Chinese!!! Sweetened black sauce? Spicy Chilli sauce? isnt that more Chinese than Thai? Gosh, i'm confused now..

i sat facing the interior of the restaurant while Miyuki sat facing the al fresco area.. when we were almost done with dinner, i turned around and saw that other than us and another table of Koreans.. the whole restaurant was catering for Australians!!! i am now appealing to Simon to switch to another Thai restaurant!

Jowin's theory: if you ever see a foreign cuisine restaurant in Australia catering only for Australians, dont bother walking in if you are looking for an authentic foreign cuisine .. that said, you should look out for restaurants like Dumpling King (Karine and I will be lunching there again tomorrow! Yippie!) , they cater for their own nationality too.. which means the food they serve is pretty authentic.. or at least decent, if not cheap!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny's Thai Bistro
123a The Parade
Norwood SA 5067

Work & life..

i am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! 3 hours on a Saturday has paid off! *smilez*

My dear friend C turns 26 today! she is also going to be a new Mum coming January!!! Gosh.. it's still a little unbelievable.. i actually called C to wish her but got to C's Mum instead.. what's amazing is that we chatted for more than 10mins!

i guess with C's pregnancy, it made me realised that we have indeed grown up.. even though we may not feel like we are and even though we may not want to.. but we are indeed adults now! *gasp* wahaha.. anyway, we are all excited and happy for her!

Oyster Bar, Scampi's & The Pier

it's been a good weekend.. i went back to the office yesterday to get my desk and in-tray sorted! was there for a good 3 hours and i decided to pamper myself by doing some shopping at Marion Shopping Centre after that! it was a hot day and i'm glad to be spending a couple of hours shopping in an air-conditioned shopping centre.. wahaha..

work on Friday was still quite a mess but at least it's not nerve-wrecking like Monday and Tuesday.. the whole week simply flew by and i constantly felt that time was not enough!!! i felt the same on Friday and soon it was time for dinner at Scampi's! YIPPIE! was looking forward to dinner at Glenelg!

there were 12 of us.. 8 of us colleagues, and 4 of them brought their respective partners.. we first went to The Oyster Bar for drinks till about 8.30pm.. dinner was at this seafood restaurant called Scampi's, which sat on the beach facing the sea..

at that moment in time, i really felt that everyone should have dinners like that too.. the weather's perfect with the sun setting into the horizon.. the sound and smell of the sea.. and a soon-to-be-filled stomach!

our order was taken at about 9pm (more like supper, huh?) and we actually spent a good hour chatting!!! because our food didnt arrive till about 10pm (becoming more and more Italian!)! in my opinion, an hour was really a little too long as most of us ordered deep fried food.. anyway, dinner was made enjoyable with the company, not the food!

after dinner, Jo and Miyuki joined us.. and so did Karine and Tony! we headed to Pier One Bar for more drinks.. time was forgotten until AC mentioned that we really need to go if we want to catch the last tram! we half walked and ran but we missed the last tram still! haha! we took at cab home in the end.. it was great fun!

Work

i finally feel like i'm breathing again!

Work

if Monday was tough and Tuesday was a disaster.. then today must be a real challenge!

life

received a phone call from a friend whom i have not spoken to for a couple of months.. life instantly seems brighter..

Work

tough day.

Glenelg~!

Jo brought me to Glenelg today! we took the tram from the city.. when we finally stepped off the tram at its last stop about 20mins later, i took one look around the end of Jetty Road and like it immediately!

we took a walk along the beach and make a turn back to Jetty Road to have lunch at Nando's! Yum yum~ the schedule after lunch was to relax and shop the whole afternoon! hehez!

the plan was to finish walking one side of Jetty Road before crossing over to the other side.. while we were crossing the road, i saw a familiar face from work in a white car.. but because it was a sunny day and everyone was wearing their sunnies, including this familiar face, i couldnt be sure if it was R from IYP..

i was mumbling to myself when Jo saw R too.. it was when R starting smiling that i realised we have indeed met someone in a car whom we know while trying to cross the road! it was pretty ridiculous because we started talking to R in the middle of the 2 lanes while the red light was on.. before long, R had to move on because the lights had turned green! Adelaide is indeed a very big city~ wahaha!

we also went to K's shop in Glenelg where Jo bought heaps of stuff from there! Shop shop! oh, we also saw a guy in this year's Australian Idol! i'm not sure how far ahead he went in the competition but when i saw him performed on TV, i thought he was quite good! he's pretty popular, i must say.. there was a group of people in a car that shouted out to him and a group of girls going, "OH MY GOD~!!!" haha..

i didnt know why i spotted him in the first place.. i thought he looked rather familiar and it took me a while to realise that he was on TV.. but Jo gave a rather interesting answer to why i spotted him first..

she said it was because he was wearing a YELLOW t-shirt!!! wahaha! i thought that was a reasonable reason, yup? i myself had wanted to wear a yellow tank top to go with my black bermuda shorts.. but i reckoned i'll look like a BUMBLE BEE.. so i decided against that! and it just so happened that this guy was wearing a Yellow t-shirt and a pair of BLACK jeans! ha! difficult not to notice a Bumble Bee!

P.S. This is post no. 100!!!

finally paid!

haha.. i have finally received my pay! but it only came through in the late afternoon.. C and SR brought J and me out for lunch today.. we went to The Office Bar, which offers pretty decent food, i must say!

after lunch i went to check my bank account but pay wasnt in yet, so i was feeling a bit sorry for myself that i cant do shopping tonight! oops~!

anyway, there wasnt much time to think about late night shopping because there were still work to do and stuff to learn before J officially leaves the company this evening..

we had our usual Highs & Lows Meeting at 5pm and that was also to bid farewell to J and M, whose last day is also today.. after the meeting, J passed her key and her work that was incomplete to me before i left for the weekend.. i gave her a big hug and told her that she knows where to send her e-mails to! we were using the same e-mail account at work!

i walked quickly to RAH to meet Miyuki for dinner.. Indian food for dinner!!! this restaurant was recommended by one of Miyuki's colleague.. he's Indian, by the way.. which means we cant go wrong!!!

the restaurant was situated on Rundle Street.. it's called Taj Tandoor Indian Cuisine.. it was quite spacious on the ground floor and there's more tables upstairs too.. i quite like the ambiance of the restaurant..

it's the first late night shopping after DST sets in.. it's also quite a warm Friday evening.. hence all the shops had their windows and doors open for a more al fresco feel.. and the whole street was packed with people celebrating the end of the work week!

we were pretty early and only a few tables were occupied when we got to the restaurant.. we ordered a couple of main courses and Basmatic rice and Naan to share..

Pulao Rice
Authentic aromatic Indian Basmati Rice..

Beef Vindaloo (Hot)

A very hot and sour Goan preparation of beef with hot chillies and vinegar. Delightful favourite for those who like it hot. Also available in lamb or chicken.

Fish Baingan

Fillet of fish simmered in tomato and coconut curry with mustard seeds and eggplant..

Garlic Naan

Naan with fresh Garlic

dinner was very yum~.. especially the Mango Lassi! both me and Miyuki ordered one each.. but it was not enough! we will be back for more! when i finally checked my bank account after dinner, my pay has finally been banked in! yeah! so i managed to do some late night shopping after all!

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The Office Bar
110 Pirie Street
Adelaide

Taj Tandoor Indian Cuisine
290 Rundle Street
Adelaide