Day 1 to MEL - The Overland

it's been a relaxing 3 days in MEL.. technically speaking, only 2 days and 2 nights.. since Day 1 was spent on The Overland..

my train to Melbourne..

Keswick Terminal

the name of the cafe at the far end - Choo Choos Cafe.. cute!

the journey started at 7.40am and i only reached MEL at 6.50pm after spending 10 & 1/2 hours on the train.. that may seemed very long but all things considered, i wasnt bored at all and i really enjoyed the trip!

i think the main reason was that i was seated in the Red Premium Service! both Jo and i had no idea that GSR put me on the Red Premium Service as a Familiarisation trip.. i only realised it when i was looking at the menu while trying to decide what to eat for lunch (when i'm still in the process of eating my packed breakfast: Croissant with a piece of Spam).. See the little red box?

the menu that enlightened me..

i must say that being on the Premium Red Service has all the pros and absolutely no cons at all.. once seated a man came into the cabin and started telling us about the train, how long the journey will take, the major towns that we'll pass by, the highest point we'll go (Mount Lofty!), how to use the toilet (very important to press the LOCKED button!), where the cafe is (right next door!), when they will come to take our orders for breakfast and lunch, where we'll like to have our meals (at our seat or in the cafe) and answered any questions we have..

this is the man.. he's quite humourous and reminds me of 'Nigel' in The Devil Wears Prada!

landscape and scenery was nice too.. like a postcard..

if i wasnt eating on the train, i was sleeping! haha.. it was a few hours into the trip when a lady came to my seat and presented me an envelope with my name printed on it.. and in it contained my ticket for The Overland and a Familiarisation Report that i have to complete.. it was then that i realised that I AM working in the travel industry!!!!!! took me 6 months.. wahaha!

the cafe..

my lunch that cost A$12.50.. those bread were yummilicious~!

my runaway bag..

after much rest, food, scenery and toilet breaks.. we drew closer and closer to Melbourne! the landscape changes and the sun starts to set.. it's been an enjoyable ride!

10 & 1/2 hours later, as The Overland pulls into Southern Cross Station where Jo was waiting for me.. my journey on the train has come to an end.. and my journey in Melbourne has just started.. for the second time!

P.S. The Overland went on the Murray Bridge!!! Gosh!

P.S. Dinner was at Nando's in St Kilda after we dropped my bag in Jo's apartment!

Day 3 - Back from MEL! 2nd time!

got back to the apartment at about 7.40pm.. just in time for SYTYCD!!!!!! i think i'm a bit mad over this dance programme! anyway, got back, switched on the TV and watched it till the next commercial break before rushing down to the 24hr convenience shop to get washing powder in order to do laundry.. got back from the convenience shop and put a load of laundry to wash and continued watching my show.. in the midst of the show, cooked 2 packets of Maggi Asam Laksa and ate it with a can of Tuna for dinner.. i sure can eat! *smilez*

this morning i ate 3/4 of a cup noodle.. it was really yucky (really!!!) but if i dont eat it, i'll be hungry very soon! the brand is SUIMIN and it was the Hot & Spicy flavour.. i normally wouldnt believe any food that has 'Oriental' flavour (can someone tell me what 'oriental' flavour tastes like?!) printed on its packaging.. but i must have been sick from my cold and did this silly purchase! this cup noodle has 'TASTE of the ORIENT' printed on its packaging (i should have known.. it was a warning~) and that was the big warning that i didnt heed! anyway, chucked out the rest of the noodles and move on to eat what's left of my 'Chicken in a Biskit' that i've brought for the trip on the train..

Jo and i finished packing our bags (check-out was due at 10am) before leaving the apartment to go down to the St Kilda Market just along St Kilda Beach.. it was a awesome day.. awesome weather!!! the sun is shinning, the breeze is fresh and light and the sea is clear and calm.. the walk to the beach was funny.. because Jo said biscuits should not taste like 'Chicken', that's more like dog food!!! wahahaha.. Gosh.

at the start of the market..

then a walk down the beach..

sat down at the middle of the jetty for a chat..

it may not look like the black swans are big in this photo, but as a matter of fact they are huge! oh, Perth~!

after the walk down the jetty, we walked back to the apartment to pick up our bags from the apartment.. below are a few photos of the apartment.. the lighting in the apartment and my photography skills didnt do justice to the apartment! i forgot to take some photos of the toilet and shower but rest assure that they are up to standard!

the first thing i saw when i walked through the door on Friday night..

what's on the right hand side after i walked through the door..

the dining table and kitchen..

the living room.. my 'room' for 2 nights in St Kilda!

no, Jo did not torture me by asking me to sleep on the couch.. she personally felt that the couch is very comfy and offered me her bed! gosh, i would be struck by lightning if i accepted the offer.. i didnt and there was an extra single mattress in the 'open' wardrobe.. i covered it with a bath towel.. and i also had a big blanket.. i fold it in half.. one half was my blanket and the other was another layer over the bath towel.. Jo gave me 2 pillows, so i had one for my head and the other to act as a bolster! gosh, slept well i did! (for the first night, that is!)

after picking up our luggages from the apartment, we headed down to Fitroy Street and did internet check-in at a convenience shop and then took the tram into the city to drop our bags at the train station (the same one where i got off The Overland) as we still had time before our Virgin Blue flight in the evening.. my first Virgin Blue flight! we paid A$8 for a locker and dumped our luggages there.. and then proceeded to look for some food..

i brought Jo to the Queen Victoria Market where i managed to get some Dutch pancakes! so cute and yummilicious! i was so hungry by then and ordered pancakes with butter, icing sugar and maple syrup! i reckoned the best part of it? the Salted Butter!!!

I forgot to take photos of them because i was too busy gobbling them up! i managed to find a blogger who had the exact same Dutch pancakes from Queen Victoria Market!

Photo: Courtesy of Broken Lense

we took a quick walk round the market and i can tell that it's not really Jo's thing.. so i went into Sohum and bought more of their products and we got out of there after that! half of my shopping expenditure in MEL was spent on Sohum products! it was at Queen Victoria Market that i knew that Sohum existed and fell in love with their Limequat Body Moisturiser~

we walked to Melbourne Central from the market.. the Central was opened.. but none of the shops in it were.. hmmm.. does that make sense? poor Jo was about to collapse of hunger but luckily we managed to get to a McDonald's on Swanton Street! while Jo went to order, i bought myself a sushi roll (California roll) a few shops down and met up with her again in McDonald's..

after her lunch, we walked back to Southern Cross Station to pick up our luggages and boarded the Skybus to MEL airport, T3.. we were obviously too early for our flight and that's when i went into Hungry Jack's and got myself a Junior Whopper Meal (more food!) while Jo went walking around.. Jo came to HJ to meet up with me and we proceeded to our gate after i've had my fill! i was so tired and full of food.. i fell asleep on the flight back..

the Light shining in the Darkness!

It's only 7.10pm and it's pitch dark.. and cold! Geez.. been having the runny nose the whole day.. yucks!

the good news out of autumn is that.. i get to wear my boots and use all my scarves and shawls!!!

the other mega good news for this autumn.. i'm looking forward to welcoming Zen to Adelaide!

Returned!

finally got back the hour i lost 6 months ago! which means i'm now back to an hour and a half in advance of Malaysia/Singapore, 7 & 1/2 hours in advance of Bari, Italy (DST) and 14 & 1/2 hours in advance of Vancouver, Canada (DST)!!! Geez~

No more daylight savings and officially into Autumn.. which was quite obvious with the rain early this morning.. alright, give SA more water!

No bonus!

*sobz*

i'm not eligible for the OZ bonus payment because i wasnt a taxpayer for 2007-2008!

*SOBZ*

6 months!

Gosh.. I've been working at Proud for 6 months!

I'm back!

It's been quite some time since i last wrote.. let's do a quick update..

It's the Clipsal 500 weekend, starting from Thursday for 4 days till tomorrow, which i'm assuming is the grand finale.. this morning the race started at 8.30am sharp, going Va Va Vroom every half an hour! Gosh! There is a concert every night, featuring different bands.. on Thursday night, the main highlight was The Living End.. so at one point in time, i can hear "White noise~ white noise~" coming through my room window.. talk about a live concert, huh? wahaha..

But having said that, since moving into the Botanic Apartments, the noise has been constant! Which means by now i'm immune to it and will be able to fall asleep regardless of all the happenings on Rundle Street! and Rundle Street, i must emphasise, is not Rundle Mall.. and Rundle Mall is really not a MALL!!!

Rundle Mall is the name of the shopping street (a very short one) in the heart of Adelaide, which is also the street that i'll walk through going to work and coming back to the apartment after work.. likewise for Rundle Street.. and from the apartment to work and vice versa, it's about a 15mins walk, along which i'll be distracted by the all the nice and fancy clothes in the display windows!

Rundle Street is the street with all the nice restaurants, cafes, pubs, clubs and shops.. though i must add it's also quite a short street, with all the entertainment squeezed onto it!

it's been 2 months and a bit more since i moved in here.. i'm still not quite settled.. it all started on the fateful day in January.. and i was here in the apartment for a week before i flew back to Singapore/Malaysia for Chinese New Year (very enjoyable!).. during this period Zen flew me to Phuket, Thailand, for about 4 days for a very relaxing trip! we also celebrated my Sister's 21st birthday in Singapore a day before i flew back to Adelaide.. and i was reluctant to go after 2 weeks..

it was even more difficult to adjust to the new apartment after being at home for 2 weeks, where everything is familiar and everyone was nice and warm.. compare that to coming back to a new apartment where my stuff were still in boxes and where i was barely living for a week.. that totally crushed me.. the first few days were hell.. after a week.. things seemed to become normal again..

and right now, i'm doing fine.. my stuff were out of their boxes slowly each week.. making my room feels more like mine.. i 'decorated' (not much really) my room the way i like it.. there are 7 photo frames on my little bedside desk.. 3 family portraits, one of me and Zen, one of me & Sis with Ah Mah, one of me, Xiao Wen & Charlene and one of me and Selina from ages ago.. and there's a 2009 Winnie the Pooh calender Wendy sent me before i moved.. i bought sheet designs that i like (of course they must be reasonable priced!) and cleaned and tidy up every week..

since moving in in January, Adelaide has been celebrating its title as the rightful Festival State.. there was the 2009 Tour Down Under when i was back home.. and then there was the Garden of Unearthly Delights, leading to the opening of The Fringe, which is still on going.. another huge weekend was dedicated to the Womadelaide and then there was the Future Music Festival, and now the Clipsal 500!!! did i mention that every one of the above is just situated either on the street that i'm staying on or just round the corner? my tolerance level for noise seemed to have increased.. seemed, i think..

as for work, it's getting better.. there are challenges cropping up every now and then.. but i guess perseverance will see me through.. sometimes it's difficult to embark on a task, but i always feel better after all the hard work and determination to get through it.. right now, i'm more familiar with my job and how it's related to the rest of the other positions in the work chain.. i'm working towards doing an awesome job!

work aside, i went bowling for the second time in my 25 years.. it was with work mates.. i was reluctant to go on the day itself due to fatigue.. but i went anyway since the GF said my place has been paid for.. i was teamed with LR & Glenn and LJ & Dave.. it turned out that i thoroughly enjoyed myself! and i will go bowling again!

i also watched golf on 2 consecutive Sundays (without being forced to!) because we didnt get internet for 5 weeks! 5 bloody weeks! i dont even want to elaborate why but it happened! Anyway, have to thank Mum & Dad for all those Sundays where they hog the TV with golf channels.. at least i understand the terminology while i was watching golf those 2 Sundays.. and my new favourite is Danny Lee!!!

i'm now learning to perfect the art of cooking Green Bean soup.. a couple of weeks ago i boiled Green Beans with Sweet Potatoes.. turned out a little too thick and definitely not sweet enough.. today, i boiled Green Beans alone and make sure that i put enough Sugar Cane sugar.. i give myself credit for getting Pandan leaves from the Central Market!!! i'm quite happy the way it turned out.. but i may try it with Sago next time..

i'm also trying to get back into learning the Italian language and at work i'm trying to get LM to approve my suggestion of attending the MYOB course.. a little itchy about getting my hands on learning again!

also making more efforts to keep in touch with the few people i know in ADL.. one has gone back to Malaysia for good and another has gone to India for social work and will only be back in the second part of the year.. another one is going to the UK in a couple of months! not many left here, isnt it..

alright, just bits and pieces of updates.. the highlight from now till the end of next month is looking forward to welcoming Zen to ADL for the first time!