Perth Trip 2

The other part of my Perth trip is to give Evelyn a surprise. I had not told her anything about my upcoming trip, and hopefully that would give her a surprise. But the difficult bit about the whole planning was so that she doesn't know and that I can "ambush" her by finding out if she's at home or not. Finally after careful planning and Boon Choo's idea of finding the place in the daytime before sunsets and you can't see a thing, we planned it on a weekend to say hello. The idea was going to be perfect... when I started calling on her mobile and casually asking her what is she doing, I was about to surprise her when I said I was going to visit a friend which I haven't seen in a long while until her intercom DID NOT work. Guess how frustrated I was. It was all perfect until this moment. So I blabbed out that I was here in Perth. Her face clearly showed that she couldn't believe that I surprised her so well. It is my personal achievement of being able to surprise someone so well too, so I felt good about it, haha. I got to see her apartment that she was going to share with her other housemates and to see her mum too, who was spending her last night with Evelyn before going back to Malaysia the next day. In total, I spent about three nights with Evelyn in Perth. We decided on sightseeing for a day, only to have it pouring cats and dogs. We first went to the Margaret River Chocolate Company, which basically makes real good chocolate...

And then to grab a bottle of wine from a good winery...

Next was going to be a visit to another winery, only to find out that it was closed. Boo hoo

Finally we thought we were not going to make any further progress, so we ended up going back and watching Get Smart. It Mr Bean was hilarious, this could probably go well in hand as "lame-funny". Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway did quite a splendid job, but overall I find these films don't really sit on my DVD shelf when it comes out. I'm eyeing for other DVDs though... then at night it was a karaoke session with her and her coursemates, Nadia and Arthur, which I haven't seen in person. The last night that we met up was for a nice dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant called Ciao Italia. It had a very nice and warm feel about it. Located just by the corner of some crossroad, it was frequented by locals and people all around, because the food is really, really good! Evelyn and I happen to be there when it was hailing and raining at the same time. It was freezing which didn't make things better as we stood outside the restaurant waiting for our table to come after about 20 minutes. But it was all worth the wait as we sat for dinner and happily talked the whole time. The waiters were very friendly, and one happily showed off his Malay to us by asking "Apa khabar?".

Overall, I was very glad that Evelyn had the time to spend going out with me despite having her lectures and her GP placements and then I came along. I really miss her, and really having a best friend doesn't make you feel lonely, especially being in Frankston alone and wishing you have someone to talk to. I know I'll be seeing her very soon, I just have to be patient.

As for my cousin, I've been so glad that she had actually sponsored a large proportion of this holiday of mine. For that I would be so grateful to her. Even now when I'm back to work, I can feel that the holiday had done me good (although my pay for the second half hasn't been what I wanted, on a tight budget now!!!), I know that I'm in for a busy time for the next few weeks as the oral exam looms ahead. I'm still worried for my aunt's health, and hopefully she'll always be as glowing as she always is. It's the little things like spending time with my nephews and cousins and the different lifestyle in Perth that draws me there. That would definitely be something to think of. We'll see. I loved this holiday. =)

Perth Trip 1

It's been almost five days since I've left Perth and back to Melbourne. Oh, and back to harsh, cruel reality. I have wanted to write out something about the trip, but I shall decide to slowly write it, to slowly recapture again the things that I did when I was there. Lets started on how this trip actually was planned. Apparently my cousin, Boon Choo, had promised me a return ticket to Perth when I was as young as twelve back during my UPSR days, provided that I scored 5 A's for the exam. Looking back, firstly I would have never remembered that, probably because by that time I already knew it was going to be something that you would say to motivate a young boy and just to make kids happy. Little did I know ten years after that promise would still be valid. And that's how I got my trip all started. So the planning started as early as April and after keeping a close eye on the cheap fares with Tiger Airways, we finally decided on some good dates in July. It took some time to work it out, especially with Khai who gave me mixed responses but he finally said it was OK. So there. Since April, I've been quite excited to go for this trip. Deep down inside, I knew this holiday would give me some form of perspective in my life, some time away from work. Also, it will be my one and only trip out Melbourne in five years (it's a milestone in my life!!), and this time I can do it by giving Miss Evelyn a big, big surprise... hehe... I'll get to it later on during the next blog.

7th of July - Finally the date arrived. I still had to go to work in the day time, but came 4.10 p.m. I packed up and left for the next bus back to Frankston. I went back, did some last minute packing and left a little message with my neighbour, Dorothy to have a look at the place while I was away. She's been awfully nice to ask me not to worry about the place while I go enjoy myself. The skies were getting dark and cloudy. Not wanting to lug an umbrella with a laptop bag and my luggage bag, I decided to walk through the rain should it fall. True to form, it did! I still remember walking through the puddles of water on the road as the rain fell hard on my head and the luggage, which we turned out to be pretty soaked. By the time I got on the train from Frankston to Southern Cross, I stepped out still damp and most of all shivering and teeth chattering away. And I was supposed to be having three layers of clothing on. Anyway the travel to Tullamarine was alright, almost not being able to find the Skybus that takes me to the airport (it has been years since I took the Skybus, been spoiled with taxi rides every year when I go back to Malaysia). Now here comes the part about budget flights. Just when I was about to reach the main terminal, I recall the bus driver announcing "for those who are taking Tiger Airways, you'll have to get off the bus here and you have to walk along the carpark area until the end where you'll see a building and you check in there". You'll be able to imagine the look on my face. I was anticipating real budget flight, but this was really going to be some budget flight. I felt like an outcast sitting on some cheapskate plane, when people on Virgin or Qantas were happily queueing in the main terminal, and my supposed Tiger Airways terminal was too plain, a little under-designed in my opinion. Although the check-in process was fairly simple, it was by then I realised that my boarding pass was none other than a piece of paper with a barcode on it. I could have easily lost it... and it was during my check-in I was told that the plane was delayed by almost an hour. I was not happy. Like Li Chia was saying the day before this, she was right about budget flights - she jinxed me! There I was waiting by the boarding gates, playing a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, ears plugged with my mp3 player, and occasionally answering a phone call. Finally I got to board the plane... an hour later. Not only that, we had to slowly make our way to the aircraft in the blistering cold winds outside, and we actually had to linger around for 10 minutes before being led on to the aircraft.

I got a window seat, and once again stupid me couldn't remember if it was the "window seat" that meant I got the outer seat... or if it was the "aisle seat". Note to self, always take "aisle seat" if want to go out easily to toilet without disrupting other people in the same row. Thankfully only one guy sitting by the aisle seat, and the centre seat's empty. This is my first time on a budget flight, and it's different with the safety precautions the air hostesses have to perform before flying. But I wasn't deciding on doing much anyway, so I thought I could sleep for the whole flight time. I was actually doing really well until an announcement on the PA said that we were about to land. By golly, it turned out to be half an hour later when we landed. I don't know if it was just the pilot that did the crappiest job in flying or he decides to be mean and nasty to us passengers who were trying to get some sleep until the lights just come back on. I was getting very annoyed when I kept looking at lights down there but I didn't seem to be touching land. Finally, I reached at 1.00 a.m., thankful that I've reached Perth. Waiting for the luggage to come out was another long wait. Finally, we got back to Boon Choo's house in Duncraig which seemed like a long drive home from the airport at about 2 a.m.. Exhausted, I just wanted to sleep. And so the holiday begins...

Boon Choo had some time off for me while I was in Perth. Kah Yen (or affectionately known as Yenny) was having school holidays, and Kah Ngee a.k.a. Ah Boy was back from UK for his summer break. Her house was huge, spacious, and I was glad that I had a guest room to myself with an attached bathroom to it, making it convenient. The chairs in the living room brought back fond memories as they used to be ours back in Malaysia years ago until my Mum decided for it to go, and somehow Boon Choo had them ever since. So now it's in Perth with them, and I sure missed sitting in them.

Note the three seater and the one-seater... oh and also the coffee table, They were once ours!

(Look at the furniture behind, it's exactly the same ones)

Anyway it was good to be out of routine, not doing anything unlike just working my butt off in the pharmacy. It was a good time to just relax and just listen to what Boon Choo talks about my niece and nephews and just their life basically. It's really fun, and what's more, it was my first time that I tried on the Nintendo Wii Fit. I tried it on, and you can sweat it out man! I was excited that there were so much to do, but I was quite ashamed as I found with this game that your weight is shown and when there's people behind to look at how much you weigh... well... I'm not that proud to show it yet. There's yoga, there's aerobics, there's hula hoop, and there is a lot of other activities to unlock. If only I had a Wii...

Overall the whole trip there is really more to spend time with family more than anything. The last time I've been there was back in December 2003, and my other relatives have grown. My nieces and nephews (which are apparently called second cousins according to the Western culture, was alerted to this by Carole at work today) have really grown into their teens basically, and certainly do not look childish at all. So I felt it is important that I take this time as bonding time if they knew who I was, and not just some dude from Malaysia who's related to them and is currently working in Melbourne. Most of all, I'm there to see my favourite aunt, Tua Ee (or known as "big aunty" as she is the eldest amongst my mum and her sisters and brother). She's aged over the years since I last saw her. It pains me sometimes that she thinks of herself as ill, and she doesn't want to travel back to Malaysia simply because her doctor said that she can't go as she had had a mild stroke a few years back. I have done my best to persuade and convince her to get another doctor's opinion, yet she refuses. What irks me is I find that the doctor doesn't seem to care about her welfare as a doctor, and the doctor seems to be earning more on her acupuncture sessions. So much for patient care. I can only hope for a change. Nonetheless, I'm glad to be seeing her again.

I've spent most of my time with my cousin, as they were the ones that were taking me out most of the time. We celebrated Kah Ngee's 18th birthday at a restaurant in Hillary, and I got to see my other cousin's family at a yum cha session during the weekend. It's good to see my other nieces and nephew which I haven't seen in a while too, 'cos they have grown so much from the last time. Shopping was minimal, as I had spent quite a bit before flying to Perth. Besides, I didn't have much to carry back with me (Note: I actually exceeded my baggage allowance when I flew to Perth by 300 grams... although I have no clue what I actually brought that was heavy). Not only that, I got to do a little bit of sightseeing, especially after having a luncheon with one of Yenny's violin friend at a house in City Beach. It was supposedly a rich men's area as well, with houses going as high as three storeys. The friend's house happen to be so, with a pool at the back, a grand piano *swoons* and just space. The best bit about it is it's facing the beach/ocean, so it's a view. I do enjoy beaches, and nothing can clear headspace like the breeze and the view of the sea.

I'll be having the second part about my trip soon... to be continued...

Kungfu Panda

When it first came out, I didn't have much second thoughts or doubts about this movie. Initially I thought it would be one of those "it's gonna be one of those animation movies - boring!", but I told myself that I should go to the movies to watch this one... maybe it will be worth going to the movies to watch it. And so I decided that I shall do it. I went down to the city the week before in hopes of being able to convince Henry to come along with me, sadly he refuses to sit through a show looking at a fat panda, in comparison to his lovable PP. Finally, I took the time to watch it in Frankston on a nice Sunday afternoon (only to get drenched by rain as I walked out of my house to head to the cinema). It was also my very first time watching a movie in Frankston, so imagine my excitement as I was walking to it. Turns out that you pay eight dollars for a movie on Sundays, and it's free seating! That's not only a good price, but apparently you can get a good seat if you're early enough to plant yourself right smack centre and you get the best view. I chose to be there at about 1.55pm for a show at 2.00pm, so you could imagine who I was up against: a bunch of kids with their mums and dads and siblings. I found a nice spot by the side too, so I wasn't deprived of the wide-screen experience. After almost a hundred minutes of the show, I have to admit that this is probably by far the best animation I've watched (Ratatouille was first, but this had to be my biggest favourite). The movie not only stayed true to its Chinese authenticity (with its Master Oogway/乌龟 and all of its splendor with it's Jade Palace etc) but something about the story line that felt fresh and different and it stood out. Jack Black who portrayed as Po, the fat panda did his thing as usual, although I would have liked the other cast to have a little more lines as they were a little too quiet in the movie (like Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu and Seth Rogen who probably does the least as the quiet Mantis) but the punch lines, the jokes were there for a reason. The moral of the story is a meaningful one too: in my interpretation, it's about believing in yourself to be something you want to be. Therefore, I rate this movie 9 out of 10. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and for me now, it's either I spend another time watching it in cinemas or to just sit and wait for its DVD to appear on the shelves of stores. It's a must-buy for me now! My next movie to look out for will be Wall.E. The trailer looks interesting, and I'm a big fan of Pixar productions since Cars and The Incredibles... fingers crossed it'll be amazing.

Glad that the week's over. This past week has been a hectic time at work, with beginning of the month and having massive (and I really mean M-A-S-S-I-V-E) orders and getting stuff-ups and arguments between my boss and my preceptor and getting told off... I couldn't be bothered, I'm just looking forward to my holiday. They can work it out themselves for the next two weeks. And I'm gonna start packing my luggage right now!

Hello

OK. This shall be officially my very first post in "Little Notes". *Ahem*... Hi. I'm glad to be starting off a new blog, as I have mentioned in the previous post that it was a spur of the moment and I thought I should try out something new. Blogspot/Blogger shall be my fourth home, after having Xanga, then later on Blogdrive (a little inadequate in terms of features in my opinion), then for almost two years I stayed on with Multiply which is by far the longest and the best blogging website I've had. Yet I thought maybe I should try something different, and so here I am. We'll start off talking about how I got here...

7.00am - Woke up in the morning, and within the next thirty minutes or so I got this all set up. I always had reservations in terms of having a Gmail account, especially when I have two and I don't receive that many emails anyway. But then Yahoo was on a roll with me, spamming me every single day and I got a little annoyed and tired of running through them. So I've decided I shall divert everything to my new gmail account! As the flow came alone, I thought I should have myself a blog with Blogspot... and there you go! As to the name of the blog's IP address... it took me a while, and I thought it was quite difficult to come up with one, granted that I'm not the most English-savvy fellow around. Finally, with great thanks to Eve (who works in the cafe, is Italian, and decides to give me an Italian identity), I thought of this quite well and I felt comfortable with it. It's probably not spelled correctly, but it's all for convenience and privacy sake. Imagine my blog popping up on a Google search with the name "Vincenzo". And hence the IP address. As for the rest... well... it's all just very metaphoric... "little notes"... "little ramblings"... and I didn't want to elaborate further. I aim for simplicity.

As for setting up the colours and all, this all happened in a flash. I didn't really know where I was going with the colours and the background, but I thought having a dark background would work this time. And the colours... they're not very flashy colours, but more earthy colours which suits me more. Little gloomy, but more my style =)

Anyway glad to make a mark here on my website, so do watch out when I decide to write a little something here. I'm excited!

*Pop*

Something just spurred in me to decide to have this new blog set up for the old one to be gotten rid of. Maybe I just felt it's time for something new and as a sign to move on? Perhaps. Anyway will write more when I've figured out how to really work this.