making steady progress

Just cooked brown rice salad for dinner tonight..it's just the weather tt makes me want something light. K liked it too..I first had it during my church's Family Fun Day and thought I'll try it out. It's v simple to make, healthy and yummy (vegetarian too). That'll be one of the dishes to cook for aunt, ah ma, uncle D and mum when they come over!

Had no internet for a few hrs this morning coz K brought down the modem to let her friend re-configure the wireless stuff and do up her laptop. Told me she'll pay him more than what he quoted coz he spent full 2 hrs doing...hmm..I wonder why I'm not paid when I spent time helping her with her laptop? Hahahhaha! Anyway I seemed more focussed without internet..haha! Realised tt I should be able to complete my Critical Thinking module's assignment by next fri.

Went to uni lib to borrow a stats book recommended by my colleague in SG (who's doing the deg conversion prog in SG)...then went to CM to get fruits n vege. Coz K's inviting Lori and maybe Aida (my new hsemate) over on thurs, I offered to cook. Will prob cook chicken rice. Coz there's a shortage of xiao bai cai (aka bok choy), I ended up with kang kong. First time buying tt since I came! So menu for thurs will be chicken rice with sambal (or thai hei bee) kangkong. Oh ya, also met Rach to pass her the tea i bought for her and then heard from her she managed to get xiao bai cai from another chinese grocer (tt I didn't go n check). Anyway, I bought 3 diff types of pears today...hv green ones, brown ones and red ones..unfortunately I dunno their names..ha! And I bought green apples, seedless grapes (that were going for 50cents/kg with any other purchase at tt stall) and bananas. Wanted to buy nectarines or peaches but not tt cheap today..ha..majiam so auntie! Got ginger and capsicum as well.

I'm quite happy with my progress of assignments. Just hope I'm on the right track! Looking forward to Good Friday!!

Dun like the weather for the past few days and will stay at 34deg tmr! arghs..then thur will drop to low 20s! How drastic!

what a day!

Finally PCP is over! Eval was good as everyone was full of praises for us. Hope our report will be equally good! I'll still hv to go down office one day next week to pass the CD I burned with our project stuff (coz the office comp didn't have CD burner program) and collect our self-evaluation slips from the support workers. Since PCP ended, I've started on my Stats assignment - a bit luan! Oh, found out that my PCP tutor will be at Yorke over Easter too and she's from a town there! Wonder if will meet her..haha!


Anyway went to Brighton beach on Thur (after shopping trip with client) with Rach..it was a beautiful day - not that hot and very windy! The scenery was pretty nice as u can see..hehe..






then Rach recommended this Marilyn Monroe-themed cafe and I thot maybe can try their cakes since Rach said she has been there many times and their food quite nice...and so I ordered a slice of Chocolate Baci (flourless) cake. It costs $5.50! Look at the "thickness" of it!!! I was sooo disappointed and this pic was taken when the cake was served to me. Presentation fail!!! You probably can't see the oil floating on the surface of the chocolate sauce from this pic. Each mouthful of cake I had was filled with oil!!! My God. At that moment, I just thought to myself maybe I should set up a cafe that sells yummy reasonably-priced cakes. If this slice cost $5.50, the whole cake will cost like $110 coz I reckon there can be 20 slices. If it's nice, I don't mind paying but I was totally disappointed!




Then today was quite happening. As I was doing my stats assignment, my laptop suddenly went blank and I immediately thought there's a blackout. True enough, electricity was cut. Informed K who was hanging her laundry and M (our next door neighbour) so happen came out from her side door and K shouted over the fence if her power is off too. Then M said she wonders if it's coz of the accident and both K and I were blur. M told us that there was a terrible accident along Magill Road (just metres away the bus stop I always take my bus from) ard 12.30am this morning due to drag race between 2 cars and the road has been blocked so there's heavier traffic at our street this morning. We quickly went to the main road to have a look. My gosh! I saw the wreckage...the cars were totally smashed! It resembled flattened cans! Parts of one of the cars were all over the road! I'm amazed how 3 people survived that crash (a 23yo driver of one of the cars died instantly). Read below for more details.


And so power went out (read: no internet, microwave oven, oven, computer access, washing machine, portable phone, melting ice cream in freezer) for almost 5 hours...wonder what I did? For the 1st 3 hrs, I managed to do my assignment, thanks to laptop battery. It was ard 12pm when the power went off, just when I thought I could make some toasts. I tried waiting then decided to use a pan and stove to toast my bread..haha! After tt did some reading for my modules. I was quite thankful that I didn't have to travel anywhere today else will have bus disruptions. Now that power is back on, editing the PCP report and continuing my assignment.

Oh yes, J came back on thur and gg back Perth tmr morning. A potential tenant will be coming by tmr afternoon to view the rm n chat with K. These few days haven't had time to do my assignment or enjoy my show coz K kept telling me abt tenancy and relocation stuff...then of cuz hv to help her coz she tends to stress herself..haha! Anyway I hv a new landlord but hv told her tt I feel more comfy contacting her other Aussie friend than this chinese friend coz I seem to know the Aussie friend better in a way.

'Killers on our roads'
CHRIS PEPPER
March 28, 2009 12:30pm
Article from: AdelaideNow... 'Killers on our roads'

POLICE have described last night's fatal high speed crash in Magill as the worst they have ever
seen.

A 23-year-old-man died in the horror smash involving a Suburu WRX and a Nissan Skyline, which police say were exceeding speeds of 150 km/h in a drag race along Magill Rd in Magill just after 12.30am this morning.

Both vehicles struck a stobie pole and disintegrated, with the engine and exhaust of one car thrown metres down the road.

The driver of the Suburu, a 23-year-old man from Woodville Park, died instantly.

The male driver of the Skyline lost a leg at the scene. It is understood he managed to drag himself free from the wreckage.

Two other passengers – a male in the front and a woman in the back – suffered serious injuries.

All three are being treated at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The road will remain closed until later this afternoon as the clear up takes place.

"You can see the results of some absolute stupidity," said Superintendent Mark Fairney from the Traffic Support Branch.

"These are killers on our roads.

"This is absolutely ridiculous. Police are astonished.

"I've had 30 years in the job and my investigators have been attending crashes all of their careers. This is the worst we have ever seen."

Arlyn Tombleson owns a business on Magill Road and heard the crash.

"No-one's ever seen anything like this before," he said.

"There's no need for this to happen."

The road toll stands at 31, compared to 21 this time last year.

pics

Yup, as usual, I took a pic of my dinner yday..hehe..this is pan-fried (Basa) fish with Rosti (finally remembered the name), baked potato wedges and carrots. Coz now green vege seem to hv inflation, didn't get any last week! Oops..anyway the fish was yummy..*phew* and K likes it too =)

Have more changes to my housing issue but I've been assured that I can stay on for my remaining 3 months (after K leaves). Quite sad if things are left the way they are now between K and S. Hope can resolve lah..for now, I MAY be sharing the hse with other people and may be educators! If it really happens, think I'm destined to stay with educators all my life..hahaha!

Anyway, coz I saw the blooms in K's front garden, couldn't resist to take pictures of them coz I know mum n yi like flowers/flower pictures..hehe..so here they are...hope these beautiful blooms don't die on me when K leaves coz I never had green fingers! Will attempt to care for them though.

Sunday

Weekend was pretty normal with me staying home most of the time but managed to get a lift with K to Officeworks to get materials for project. Oh ya..in the week went to Officeworks to get a Dell Inspiron 1525 lappie with K..played with it in the evening. It's was quite fun...coz it had built-in webcam and could take video recordings with effects (using Windows Vista). Somehow Vista reminds me of Mac though I've never quite used Mac before..

Today had a surprise after church. Was walking back from church and on my way to Foodland to get my fish fillets. Then suddenly heard someone calling my name and realise it was one of my church members who drove past. She shouted coz I was across the road and asked if I wanted a lift back (she had given me a lift back from church before once). So surprised tt she remembered my name and somemore stopped to ask if I needed a lift! I was a bit paiseh coz I wasn't exactly gg home..haha..but of cuz, I thanked her! I mean people can just choose to ignore and not stop to ask coz I wouldn't see them or recognise their cars anyway!

And yes, got some Basa fish fillets (which resembles Dory actually) coz they were on offer. Haven't had fish for a longggg time. Planning to cook pan-fried/grilled fish tonight with potato wedges and keeping some for fish curry next time!

Yday K's elder son, S, came over to discuss abt the hse..now hv more changes and I realised how children tend not to see their parent's intention and how diff children can be though they're born of the same parents. K's been gg through a lot and offered me several "proposals". Wanna talk to my mum n dad abt it! Oh..which reminds me..time to call my ah ma (before my calling card expires..hehe). Prob not gg to buy more calling cards since I'll be seeing them in June and I prob won't use tt often. Shall see how.

Woo hoo! Last week of PCP...looks like all's going well except we have to finalise our report and wait for specifications for poster. Will be doing the 6-7 copies of support strategy tmr and the rest of the week will be on home visits and shopping trips with clients.

short update

Firstly, Happy 1st Anniversary to me for my driving! hahaha...No more triangle plate..hehe..not like I've to display it here when I drive here (but also I haven't driven since I came).

Went to Wasai this evening with the NHG recruitment team..had a great meal! The sashimi was super fresh and food was quite to my taste coz it wasn't too salty/tasty/laden with MSG! Yums! Saw that most tables had the Sushi + Sashimi boat so we too ordered...actually we ordered the Banquet set which was meant for 4 people...and also ordered more sides..anyway the grp was so funny..had quite a good time catching up and stuff. Found out tt I may be posted to rehab side...

Sushi + Sashimi boat

Desserts (top L-bottom): Mango sorbet, honey ice cream with passionfruit sauce and Yuzu cheesecake

Earlier on helped at the career expo and then the info session..was with them almost the whole of today...this morning woke up early (couldn't really sleep) and decided to make some apple strudel/pinwheel kind of snacks coz thot can share some nibbles during the expo...and also heated up some pies (i bought yday from foodland) for them. Then end up the expo served some light lunch..wraps n sandwiches..interesting that their lunch always seems to be served cold.

Proj gg quite ok..now awaiting approval for purchasing of the stuff to make the support strategy. Decided to use notebook holder instead of printing like a desk calendar. Have to hurry finish the report and for me to catch up on stats n critical thinking n reasoning modules..hv assignments due before Gd Friday...

baking

Just finished baking...very tired but it's really a good stress management method! Not that I'm very stressed but reading off pdf files really making me go nuts! Anyway, decided to bake so H can have some or bring back sg...

And so, I baked biscottis (almond sultana and a pure almond one), kueh bangkit and tried out breadcrumbs biscuit I got online. Very sad that my kueh bangkit doesn't taste that nice as when I made back home. I guess coz there's no pandan leaves and the coconut milk I used is not that fragrant! ARGHS. But anyway, K preferred mine to the one Rach gave me. And coz I've no cookie cutter, just rolled them so they don't resemble kueh bangkit either! Haha!

Kueh Bangkit

Almond biscotti and Almond sultana biscotti

Almond sultana biscotti

And with my leftover egg white (coz the recipe of kueh bangkit called for egg yolks only), I decided to try my hand at meringues!

meringues with diced dried apricots

Had wanted to make almond cookies or some other type but realised not enough flour or butter. So just made these. Packed them into boxes and thanks to Rach's split box, I packed one for photograph..

presenting my baked goodies today: biscotti, breadcrumbs biscuits and kueh bangkit

Also made poached diced pears and apples for tmr's church lunch...will add yoghurt, some sliced grapes and chopped peanuts tmr morning before church to make it like a fruit salad.

It just rained here..but lasted less than a minute. Max temp today is 23 deg. Tmr also 20s...goody!

1st concert!

Finally! I went for my first concert in ADL! Hehe...and I only managed to take a few coz by right cannot take pics in the auditorium..hehe..anyway I think our Esplanade looks much grander. But then again, this is not their equivalent of our Esplanade. Have yet to go to their Festival Theatre (which I think is like our Esplanade). Btw, the backdrop of the picture is the huge pipe organ! The concert was great! Then on our way home, K tuned to classical radio station and I thought the piece sounded familiar and then the deejay said it's from the concert we just attended! Wow..haha..anyway, I really missed performing in sec sch days!

the auditorium of Adelaide Town Hall

a pic of me, kindly taken by K. Sorry if I look a bit paiseh coz those who were sitting at their seats during the interval were looking at me posing!

And so, K has been updating me a lot about her job hunt...sometimes can be quite "disrupting" esp when I'm doing my project...and if u don't already know, locals here tend to tell long story..haha! Oh well...glad to be a listening ear.

Oh..I finally "open ceremony" of my tankini! Hehe..went swimming today..today temp reached 32.7deg and tmr is max of 23! Then next week below 30 except wed onwards...so I decided to go swimming before it becomes cool..and anyway next wk will be quite busy also..

Gonna bake tmr! Prob almond cookies, biscotti and kuih bangkit! Not sure what "salad" to make for church coz they're having Family Fun Day again..also dunno if I shld stay back for it..a bit sian coz I seem to keep talking to same people or repeating my story..haha!

Looking forward to next week! Not coz of project though..haha..anyway how I wish beh gu was here..haha..coz we are finding printing companies who can produce desk calendar-type of material. Here they dun seem to use desk calendars..only wall and desk planners! Arghs! Then IKEA's photo album (flipchart style) too small coz our recipe book is A4-size. Sigh...

Hallett Cove

Went to Hallett Cove Beach today with Rach after K's court admission event. It took me 40mins on the train (considering it's limited stops) from the city to get there. Spent abt 1+hrs there and saw the famous Sugarloaf! I would love the beach/outing even more if it's not so sunny..haha..ironic, I know. It was not exactly scorching hot coz it was very windy too (see our hair in the pic). Oh yes...dear Rach gave me a box of assorted CNY goodies too! Have my fave hei bee hiam spring rolls too! Yumss! Got to try the supposedly-very-popular green pea cookies too! Went to Colonnades shopping centre after tt but didn't get anything..besides green tea bags, marked down milk and yoghurt. Enjoy the scenery in the photos!

look at the pebbles on the beach! So nice!!

a close-up shot on one of them...love their designs and mind you, they're all natural at the beach!

saw this plant which resembles grapes coz the dried up ones looked like sultanas!!

Scenery afar...how nice if can stay in one of the beach houses!

the story behind the Sugarloaf

the all-famous Sugarloaf

blurry pic of me with Sugarloaf

A last shot of Sugarloaf

Earlier on in the morning, woke up pretty early to attend K's court admissions ceremony.

This is when she was presented to be admitted into court

this is when she's taking her oath

Oh ya, before gg to meet Rach, went to StudyAdelaide's office to get the free passes to the Australian String Quartet. Was surprised to only see 2 names before mine! There were many more tickets to be given out! (just asked LT if she wanna go but she declined coz she's got lots to do! Poor thing!)

Went to Central Market at the end of the "outing" and was very happy coz I managed to get lots of fruits! Bought grapes, nectarines, huge granny smith apples, nashi pears and jonathon apples (yes, thot of trying coz of the name!) Can imagine how heavy they were! Vegetables seem to have increased price lately..sad!

Anyway I'm getting excited coz I may be gg crabbing! One of our coursemates have the nets to catch and she offered to drive n we can ask our friends along too!! Cool! I wanna eat my yummy crabssss! It'll be fun too. Prob April break..V was thinking of Easter..it's either I ask SY n friends along too or delay till the weekend or something...see how..

can't make it...

Went for a super longgg walk to Morialta Conservation Park late this morning. Took a total of 3hrs walking there, in there and back. Wanted to attempt to 2nd Falls hike but couldn't make it lah...not enough stamina! So only went to First Falls. The other time i was there with min, there was still water trickling but today, there was NONE! But saw many more koalas today compared to the other day..

1st Koala spotted

2nd koala spotted

this is the 4th koala spotted (the pic of the 3rd was blur)

and this is the dry waterfall...hope by the time mum they all come, there'll be water!

and the 5th koala spotted

just some dead logs..

Along the way I also took in the fragrance of eucalyptus! Where in SG can u get this? Hahaha..anyway, came home, made potato wedges as my tea time snack and also baked some ikan bilis (had wanted to try making crispy ikan bilis). Was intending to cook nasi lemak but maybe not since LT nt coming over n I doubt I wanna put on whatever calories I lost today.

Yesterday was figuring out statistics stuff. Now only 2nd week and I dun understand! HELP! Terrible..just hoping to get a credit will be good enough i think!

Mamma Mia!

Yesterday after I blogged, was quite "eventful" despite me staying at home. Anyway, I was invited to witness K's admission into the courts on Tue morning! It should be quite an eye opener...then after tt I should be going Hallett Cove with Rach. Then last evening, I cooked spaghetti and poured the beef vindaloo leftover on it. YUMS! Turned out it looked a little like mee goreng..haha!



Then later on, I was given this bag!!
I was soo excited n happy (coz Mamma Mia! is one of my fave movies but more so coz of the songs..ha) It's courtesy of K who went to watch a movie and got it as a goodie bag. They even gave kiddy watches! Haha..how interesting. I shld be keeping this bag as a souvenir or to carry dry stuff and not my groceries!

Then later on in the night had quite a long (and uninterrupted) chat with Elain over MSN..haha..we used our webcam for the first few mins coz she was supposed to show me her new haircut...then she commented I look refreshed! Different from when I was working..hahahaha!

Oh ya..finally after searching for so long, I found a tentative accomm for Yorke trip over Easter. Hope the rest gets back to me soon n we can settle the accomm else the trip may be cancelled or something.

Pastor is finally back for R&R leave...n our church having Family Fun Day again next Sun. Not too sure if I'll stay back for tt. Did some catching up with Suzanne (a girl abt my age) too. Tried to watch 一切完美2 online but stopped halfway! Pek chek!!

Just marinated chicken wings for tmr (thinking of making nasi lemak but see how first). And I'll prob be heading to Morialta tmr as well..I shall attempt to walk all the way there n back (from my place) and if I'm not too tired, may try the 2nd and 3rd Falls. That's if LT is not joining me..haha..

update of this week

Saturday again! This week seemed to have passed pretty fast. Conducted home visits-cum-cooking sessions at clients' homes and followed them on grocery shopping trips. Now is to do editing for final draft of our support strategy and of course, when Janet n Victoria are back from their leave, we'll have to show them and get their feedback! We'll be having our halfway eval this coming wed but I'm not nervous about it..for once..haha! Maybe coz we know we've done well and anyway it's not graded.

Thurs was particularly tiring coz accompanied a client for shopping ard 10am near the agency (abt 1h 10mins from my place) then cook after the shopping then to another client's shopping trip in the afternoon. Was v tired at the end of the day and tried calling LT to ask if she wanna meet up for dinner (since I did not have any leftovers). When I reached the city and was abt to take my bus home, she finally returned my call..haha..and so we met up for dinner. Was quite funny coz we were deciding what to hv for dinner (whether takeaway from Indian Restaurant, cook by ourselves or just eat out). So we went coles near her place n decided to just drive out to get takeaway and cook up her xiao bai cai..haha...at the restaurant (Taj on Raj which is supposedly very famous indian restaurant), we asked the waiter to recommend the spiciest dishes and we ordered Beef Vindaloo and Chicken Madras. The food was not too bad but rather oily! Quite pricey as well...is the typical tau suan container and it costs $9.90 each! (Still cheaper than eating there though!). Then I made hot chocolate but didn't turn out as good as the first time I made coz I think this time I used skim milk.

Beef Vindaloo and Chicken Madras

Then on fri, met up with the other 4 girls for dinner. Went to Seoul Restaurant again but this time LT and I ordered Spicy Octopus and Beef hotpot. The others ordered Kimchi Pork hotpot, vegetarian bibimbab and beef bulgogi. Both the octopus and beef were raw and fresh so this time, our choice was one of the best! Hehe..and also I didn't crave much water after tt..so I guess if wanna eat there, try to avoid ordering seafood stuff!

Us with the over-emphasised-in-the-photo Spicy Octopus and Beef Hotpot

Later on one of the girls still wanted to eat..so we went for desserts at Cocolat (a chocolate cafe). Decided not to have hot chocolate (or any of that variety) coz I just had some on thur and I still like Sugar Dough's or my own, I went for Chocolate Expresso. IT WAS A HIT! Was quite happy with it. Can't really see in this photo but it tastes like melted chocolate presented in an expresso cup. YUMS! The hot chocolate was so-so only..too diluted for my liking.

Think I've been spending quite a lot..haha..shall cut back on my spending soon. Anyway, I managed to get 50% of the refund for the deposit at the Glenelg accomm, thanks to the Consumer Affairs dept. As for April's trip, nothing much is settled. Finally found a place with vacancy as of thurs but min 3 nights stay. And I'm very looking forward to the NHG recruitment coz I finally meeting my colleague (and getting my SPSS cd)!! Their programme looks packed though..there wasn't even time allocated for lunch and dinner! Haha..hope it won't be that bad. I offered to help but my colleague said she'll let me know n said I don't have to feel obligated to do so coz my main role now is to study hard! Hahaha!

Oh ya..as for my course fees, no choice..I've to pay more than the expected amt. Oh well..I've been doing some catching up whenever I'm not doing PCP. Hope it'll be better when PCP ends..but then also scared I'll be too bored during then..haha!

Mon's ADL Cup so it's a PH for us. Nothing on for me on Tue as well so planning to go Hallett Cove on Tue instead of Mon then can go Colonnades Shopping Centre to look see look see. Will probably go Morialta on mon (hopefully can see waterfall this time)...seriously need some form of exercise.

eventful day!

It's SUNDAY! Accompanied LT to the Catholic church just diagonally opp my place (like less than 5 mins walking distance) this morning...and it was quite strange coz u know what? We were asked to help to bring the bread (wafer) and wine (and water) to the altar! It was quite amusing coz how on earth they'll ask us esp when we're new! Wonder what attracted tt usher to us..haha! I actually wanted to politely declined saying I'm not a Catholic or I'm first time here but LT didn't seem to know how to refuse...anyway the service was very short..all done within an hr! And the order of service n responses very very similar to my church's...didn't feel that way when I went to K's church or the ones in SG.

After tt went to IKEA coz LT suggested gg there for their cheap brekkie. It's only $3.50...we were the last 2 to be served brekkie coz we got there ard 11.05am. Anyway they served the scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon...tomatoes, baked beans, 2 hashbrowns and toasts (which ran out) were self-serve! Quite worth the money huh? Haha..and saw that their meatballs came in irregular shapes unlike the ones we get in SG..and I was so used to exiting just where the bar tables are (like tamp's IKEA) that I walked the wrong way..haha..the exit was just another few metres away. Bought some orange thins biscuits to try...so tempted to buy my fave Daim choc but decided not to!

After tt went to Harbourtown and ended up buying a pair of new sunnies!! Whee!! It's quite difficult to find nice and cheap sunnies so was v happy to get these! Was tempted to buy a pair of canvas pumps though but could just "hear" my mum/dad or aunt saying "buy shoes again!!!"....haha..then LT bought a fleece jacket that came with fleece long pants as well...only $6!! Again, was tempted to buy but I prob won't need them..they had them in big sizes too. Saw a pair of comfort sandals for mum but not sure if she'll like. Hope when they come over, there's still good sales going on. Bought shapes and gourmet mocha in a tin from woolies too..


After Harbourtown was to the PT girls' hse for their small housewarming party. We had salad, pizza and nutella cupcakes (which were yummy). They enjoyed my rock melon which I brought over =)

Of these 4 girls, 3 of them are working in ttsh (main) too (other one is working in the rehab side) but I only know them by name. Know LT better coz I ever worked with her for some clients. And so While chatting with them, realised it's really different coming over with friends but I guess I'm better off coming alone coz I'm not tt sociable...in a group you tend to have to follow the group..it can be quite hard to be the odd one...if u get what I mean. Anyway think they're here more for a hol than study coz they only having 2-day week at Uni!

Oh ya..seems that LT met some rude guys who purposely bump into her at the Fringe..just coz she stood a few steps away from her friends...so she hurried nearer to her friends after those guys made the comment. What an eventful weekend!

Wanted to book Midsummer Night's dream (part of the Fringe Festival) for next fri but it's sold out!! Only left with this wed and thur evening. Oh well..anyway see how it goes..as I'm blogging, LT has to contact her hse agent coz she accidentally locked her hse key (tog with her car key) in her car! Poor thing...

It's Cel's wedding today...should be going on now as I blog. Anyway, there wasn't any sight of the sun today! N it's getting cooler this week (max 29 on tue only so far)! Praying hard that the weather stays this way...Welcome to the AUTUMN season!!!