Pun's 21st dinner

Got there a tad late due to traffic and extremely hard-to-find parking spaces or drop-off points. Was joined eventually by Loz, then the lot of you (Kat, Lena, Viv, Trees, Karen, Leach & Wong) then Angi & Cat. Drinks varied from Hofbrau Original Muenchen, DAB, Dom Koelsch, Schoeffenhofer, diet coke, peach and apple schnapps and water.

Then I ordered dinner which consisted of:
- 3 tasting platters
- herb bread
- potato roesti and salad (for Wong)
Main courses:
- Barramundi fillets
- Vegetable parcel and salad (dude, I ordered you one entree and one main, not 2 mains as thought :P hehe, lucky you didn't have a falafel kebab beforehand)
- Berliner Eisbein - boiled pork knuckle, soooo tender
- Huehnerbrust Rhinedorf - chicken breast in an apricot & almond sauce
- Veal Oscar - veal escallops in Bernaise sauce
- Jaegerschnitzel - veal escallops in mushroom sauce
- Lammruecken "Haus art" - lamb rack with mash and tomatoey sauce
- Farmer's Platter - gaahh soo much meat...
Then for the dessert was Fraisier from La Renaissance which came out with sparklers! And a roomful of chorusing diners when you ladies started with Happy Birthday. And drinks such as another diet coke, Wiener Kaffees, Ruedesheimer Kaffees, Mexican Kaffee and Hot chocolate.

During this time was present opening! For Trees and I (keeheehee), thank you guys for all the presents, I adore all of them, of course some will be eaten earlier than others :D but thank you guys for Tetsuya's, I'm gonna have a very hard time, yes a very hard time to decide who to pull along, it's always something I've wanted to try and that as a gift was a HUGE surprise to me. It's very, very much appreciated and I can't describe how happy I am *swipes a tear* :D If there are any legitimate suggestions as to who to pull along, feel free to suggest.


Thank you guys for attending, I had a wonderful and fun time and I hope you did as well :) Thank you Wong for coming down from Armidale, it wouldn't have been the same without you ;) xxoo. Tis a shame Alex, Shilpa and Vicky couldn't come, I hope you got your fieldwork done and Vicky's feeling better, or at least got part of her voice back. Hope to see you guys soon!

Photos are up in My photos :)

Bed sweet bed...

So let's see... here's a pic of me carrying Gianna - my cousin Jenny and her husband Alex's daughter.


I'm much more comfortable carrying this
- a fresh chicken for roasting, I cooked western food for grandma before I left.

So I got back around 1120 yesterday, sooo tired... I love my bed, and my toilet, and my shower, oh I luuurve my shower. Have lotsa goodies to give people. Does anyone (size 12 and under) watch Happy Tree Friends and Friends?? I've got a t-shirt which is too small for me, anyone anyone??

Can't wait to see people on Saturday! :)

Still feeling a bit dizzy but I'm really hoping it'll pass...

So during the day I went to visit my cousin Jenny and my niece Gianna at her home. Tradtionally she's not allowed to leave the house/home for 1 full month after birth coz she's dirty or something (absolute codswallop) you're not allowed to shower, wash your hair, absolute crap, that's one tradition I'm not keeping up with (ha if I ever have kids). Please feel free to borrow my book 'Eve: sex, childbirth and motherhood' by Petrina Brown for more horrifying stories.

There was also a celebratory banquet for my niece Tianr (name's in Mandarin but in Canto it's Tien Yee) (currently in San Fran) held by my Auntie Shirley and Uncle Augustus at a hotel close by. It was her first full year (Chinese thing) so calls for food and presents.

Let's see, starting off with red dyed boiled eggs, suckling pig, king prawn and deepfried honeydew melon (surprisingly good), deep fried salad roll (I know) and broccoli, shark fin and crab roe soup, abalone, faat choi, fungi and greens, steamed garoupa, crispy roast chicken, Fukkien seafood rice or Eee noodles, and ten for dessert, red bean soup with sesame glutinous dumplings, malay cake with egg yolk and of course the fruit platter. Mmmm...

Went to M&S and bought something *cough* for a special someone ;) today
Also went to HMV and could melt on the spot at the range of dvds. Cat if you have A$220 to spare, I can buy Jonathan Creek for you. I'm planning to head there again before I leave to buy Boston Legal for my bro and I. Tell me soon, by Sunday would be best, I've gotta pack.
Then had breakfast (really afternoon tea) of yum cha with dad. Some gow gee, crispy (oh so crispy) turnip cake, duck feet wrapped in tofu skin with taro and minced chicken, fried cheung fun, seen juk goon and fish congee which was uneaten. And of course jasmine tea ;) I would've had pu erh but I think my head may not have taken it.

Gonna cook dinner tomorrow for family, roast chicken and salad it seems. Let's see what happens.

BKK photos have been updated, added my mums photos.

Recent purchases:
- Macgyver seasons 4 and 6 - coz they were cheaper than 3 and 5
- Tangled - with Jonathan Rhys Meyers - hey now I've been waiting 3 years to get this
- La Ardilla Roja - movie by Julio Medem
- 3 tops
- 1 black casual dress
- The Best of Graham Norton - I couldn't find the other Graham Norton DVDs, must search more thoroughly next time

Got back a few hours ago...

So instead of having dinner at a restaurant, mum and I decided to look around the markets and boughts bits and pieces for dinner there. So 2 small foam boxes, pad thai and fried vermicelli, fried squid, 2 large cobs of corn, 1 bag of pineapple, mum got some durian (schmelly) and a large bottle of Singha beer, a bottle of green tea and guava juice.
You know I've been feeling a bit dizzy, woozy for the past few days... like the earth is moving under me. Seriously, my head's... it's not feeling very well, I'm hoping it's just the heat and dehydration otherwise I'm gonna see a doctor soon. I can feel... my head's... my body's... I'm not feeling very well... I think I'll go get some red meat, could be anaemic... dunno.
BKK photos up in My photos.

Angi: I'm back on Tuesday 25th, plenty of time before your bday. ;)

BKK is stifling hot...

Day One:
- flight was running late (twas from Taipei via HK), a lotta turbulence though, food was surprisingly pretty good, I even took a couple of photos to put up on airlinemeals.net. Entertainment system is excellent on China Airlines.
- Saw the Saan Phra Phrom (4 faced Buddha) and watched people worship. The buddha had to be fixed up coz in March, some mentally ill guy came and damaged it, shattered it actually. The guy was bashed to death by the security guard, but it's all fixed now.
- then onto a wharf/pier and had a buffet dinner cruise down Mao Nam Chao Phraya (the river that runs through BKK). Also had a while to look through the shopping, 20Baht (A$0.70) for a young coconut (mmmm...) I wished I had a spoon with me...
- then onto Suam Lam Night Bazaar - bought some goodies but left the big babies for the next day
- checked into Indra Regent Hotel and took a nice cool shower. Mum didn't bring a toothbrush/paste, so she had to use the cottonbuds provided in the hotel room. Classy eh?

Day 2
-Woke up early to go to Chatuchak Market, don't eat "cold cuts" nor drink the milk left standing in 28 degree weather.
- Took a taxi where the driver tried to rip us off. Chatuchak Market was great, bought lots of stuff, actually overloaded. Bought some pants, tshirts, lotsa bookmarks (like Leach's ones from Malaysia) and various other goodies. Also had lunch there, chicken noodle soup, and chicken wingettes and drumettes. And 2 bottles of Pepsi. Oh yes and had another fresh coconut.
- Back to the hotel and had a walk around the big wholesale market and bought some more
- Then a 700B/person (A$25) buffet dinner at Bayoke Sky Hotel, on the 83rd floor I think. Highest tower in BKK and stood at the revolving roof feeling the wind blow our hair in every which direction. Also was treated to a beer by Charlie (older married couple on YO2 also from HK).

Day 3
- Got cheated by a taxi to Wat Benchabophit, 100B, bastard. Took the 503 to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (Emerald Buddha) (next time I'm taking public transport) less cheating. Took lotsa photos and then got cheated again. Missed out on seeing Wat Pho. Got taken to some cruddy Wat Intharawihan by a Tuk tuk driver, tried to make us go into a lapidary, we refused and left the car. Took a taxi to Siam Centre. Walked around MBK Centre and had a Thai lunch.
- then some more walking, shopping, took the BTS Skytrain to Chitlom and walked towards Big C supercenter and past all these massage parlours.
- stopped in a massage parlour for a foot massage for 139B (A$4.85) and gave a 40B tip. Oh soooo good, he uncracked my toes, yikes, the popping sound.
And now I'm at an internet cafe, typing away and posting. Will put up photos in HK. We're leaving tomorrow by 1100. Gotta find somewhere to eat for dinner. Cheerio!

Pity comes too late, turn around and face you fate, an eternity of this...

Yea you finish it ;)

So the day started with waking at 1130 and going for a facial and neck/'you-may-as-well-grab-my-boobs-while-they're-there' massage, seriously, the masseur's hands were rubbing so low I thought of saying "Love, I'm paying for a PG rated massage". My skin is so clear now, if only facials were cheaper in Sydney *sighs* sooo relaxing, she asked if I wanted to fade out my freckles, and I said "No I like them, I'll keep them thanks" ;)

Okay, then went to Starbucks for my coffee-addict Auntie Eppie (of graduation fame) (chai latte), and had Japanese food at Kamado Restaurant:
- peach liqueur & grapefruit juice
- Ox tongue shiso something or another
- mixed sashimi - delicious prawn and fatty salmon
- mixed sushi - this one was alright, not as good as the sashimi

Then onto the walk to the convention centre. Met mum there, so many people. Bought a POTO tshirt and a program, and also 2 badges. I'm keeping the program and shirt of course. Sat in row S, seat 20, right in the middle so had a great view, well save for the guy sitting in front of me with big hair.

POTO review:
Brad Little (from NY) played the Phantom, I think Marni Raab as Christine, John Bowles as Raoul (of Young Talent Time fame).
It made me so sentimental, okay not really to see that set again, 12 years! 12 years!!
Brad Little was excellent, excellent as Erik, great voice, there was a great passion to his performance, great interpretation. Raab's voice was good but not outstanding, she didn't break once and I was impressed with that. Out of the duo, Andre was good as was Carlotta and Piangi. However, Meg was grating. Her voice was quite nasal and didn't open up her mouth enough in singing, that was the critical point, mezzosoprano is quite easy to sing...
Lyrics have changed, as it would over the past decade, things to point out which amused me:
- doesn't the Phantom lift Christine into the swan bed after she faints in 'Music of the Night'? he just left her on the floor and covered her with a cloak.
- distinct lack of swan bed
- some singing was out of time but that's alright, better out of time than out of tune
So all in all, not bad at all ;) had a very enjoyable night :D Brad Little is excellent, excellent as Phantom, gawd I love him as Phantom, great great I can't stop typing 'bout him. Maybe it's my deep seated need to have a disfigured man as a lover I mean *cough cough* I didn't type that,
They had Cantonese surtitles on the sides of the stage which mum was reading and very amused with, 'pparently they were much more amourous and elegant than the English.




Moi - funnily enough only mum and Auntie Eppie mentioned anything about 'lowness'



Auntie Eppie & I



Mum & I

Recent purchases:
- Occasions by Kate Spade - a fun party etiquette book
- The Fairy Part Book by Marina T. Stern - world holidays with explanations, recipes and a touch of magic

My new hairdo + perm

Continuous onflight ramblings

Time: 0130 AEST
Place: flying over Darwin
Time to destination: 5h 45min
Current bgd noise: buzzing of airplane, plus Channel 12 Classical Choice - Symphony No. 1 in A flat major - 3rd movement by Elgar

Well arrived at the airport round 1935, checked in and didn't need to go in til 2100, so dinnertime!
There's nothing really appealing at Kingsford Smith to eat anymore (save Pulp Juice and that's a beverage) and the idea of Costi's deep fried seafood preflight made me queasy. So returning to my south west Sydney roots, I opted for hommous, tabouli, Turkish bread and a dolmade (whichwas so nasty I consequently chucked out) oh yes and orange + carrot juice.
Darn expensive for the parking now, $7/30min so my bro eventually paid $21 (he really could've left earlier, but the company was apppreciated). So went through customs and stopped at security check, the officer made me remove my laptop from my bag and consequnetly had to repack almost forgetting my passport and boarding pass in the process. Had another 25min to spare, wanted to get a G&T as Josh suggested, alas, the bar was closed and really, I could just fill up on the plane.
So left around 2155 and estimated arrival time is 0515 HK time. Joy. I completely forgot to bring any $HK, meanwhile I didn't have any anyway cause of that mobile phone debacle earlier this year. At least I have A$100 from my 21st bday, but I'm gonna spend that getting you and church guys stuff from Bangkok.
Seat 60H, 2 seats to myself (yea baby), seems like I'm the only one awake right now, people must hate me if they're trying to sleep, tapping away at the keyboard... So I'm currently (was) relaxed on 2 seats although the smell of either armpit or man is a tad palpable, but luckily dulled by my ready consumption of merlot, which was supported by the flight attendant's ready pouring of merlot into my glass ;)
So onflight menu:
- antipasto - a slice of ham and polish sausage??, half an artichoke, teeny sundried tomato, 1 mushroom, 1 olive and some iceberg lettuce leaves
- lamb casserole with taters, peas and corn - honestly not bad for airline food, darn I forgot to bring in my camera otherwise I woulda sent photos into http://www.airlinemeals.net
- wholemeal bread roll - still warm and crusty, however disappointed
- lamington
- Kingston Estate merlot 2005 - I was asking for the Yering Frog cab shiraz 2003 but they didn't have any, so I settled for merlot which wasn't too bad (might be the altitude), but now I have red wine stained teeth... (shows the quality of wine eh?) still it didn't stop me from going for a nightcap, okay, okay 3 glasses of H2O to keep rehydrated
- cuppa English tea
My skin is so dry, it's cracking *applies lanolin*
Cruddy movies this time, none appealing save 'Keeping mum' which I may watch over breakfast, the music channels seem best. Tooodle ooooo, will type more if my baby still has the batts. Also feeling tad sleepy.


Time: HK 0459
Time to destination: 20min
Nearly to HK, wheels gone down

Damn tired, slept in foetal position, not comfy... breakfast was kinda sus
- scrambled eggs, bacon, 2 mushrooms, a slice of tomato, mushy hash brown
- cuppa tea
- didn't eat the fruit (not as fresh), Dlite wild strawberry yoghurt nor the croissant.
- tomato juice - mmmm...
Okay gotta turn off laptops now, descending, ciao!


In Flat B now, on computer obviously, it's 0840 HK time and getting a tad sleepy. Security at quarantine laughed at me coz I was carrying a massive backpack, my massive daypack on my front and a pillow. I love my pillow... Been home since 0700, so wrong, oh so wrong, gonna get hair cut today, will post photos up if and when and possible to.

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

tomorrow evening at 2155. Will miss you guys for 2 weeks, and also Trees' bday party and seeing Leach after so many months. (BTW if anyone wants to use my photos to embarrass Trees, please feel free to use them off My photos, otherwise email me I have a folder made up).

So I've been busy doing extra shopping, calling people up. I made up a first aid kit coz Mum and I are gonna have 4 days in Bangkok from the 15th to 18th. I've never been and Thailand isn't really on my list on a place I wanna go, but it's good to travel, don'tcha think? And my mum seems fascinated by trannies... not entirely sure why... I can just head down to Oxford st...

But yea, photos and hopefully no traveller's diarrhoea, lol, I only have enough tablets for 1 person but then again we're staying in hotels but I wanna try street food. Best to be prepared ;)

You know how in summer you generally don't wear much to bed... ... ... well what in the world am I gonna pack as pjs... I don't wear much... at all... and if I bring my chemises my gran will call me a skanky ho. Gahhh...

Things to do before 1900 tomorrow:
- Sign out of hotmail and everything else on laptop
- re-pack luggage
- return Carmen and Druid's Sword to library- oh darn it I forgot to write a review - EVERYBODY READ SARA DOUGLASS' TROY GAME SERIES, IT'S GREAT
- go to Borders Parra and buy LP Bangkok using voucher (yays for vouchers!)
- BUY something for niece- no need to, yays!
- BUY Max Brenner stuff for mum and gran - completely outta stock
- transfer Hons files to new laptop and flashdrive
- note alias and passwords for health websites

Reminders to do when I'm back:
- call Wendy Smith at LPL concerning New Grad program
- call up Rhinedorf to confirm spots for dinner
- meet up with Trish about Ethics appln
- get wisdom tooth pulled out

BTW Full House, the LJ ff has just been updated
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2464923/13/

So I spent pretty much all Monday cooking...

Decided to have dinner at church for my bday. That was Monday, B set up the tables and such, and Mish cooked with me, as well as showing a horrifying tape which when I realised, leapt outta my chair but was pulled back and held down by B and Amy, to stop from mauling Mish.

So I was up at 0900 and went to buy the rest of the missing ingredients for dinner. I made 2 sticky date puddings coz I didn't like how the first one turned out, but my feet are sooo tired.
Currently have 1 and a half puddings at home.
Yays for presents as well, a $40 gift card for Borders and a plush toy of Daffyd from Little Britain, *keeheehee* I love Daffyd and Little Britain. *keeheehee*


Sooo... here was the menu that Mish, Steve and I cooked.
- potato and leek bake - v v nice, but where did all the oil come from??
- Caesar salad - delicious, I love Mish's dressing
- button mushrooms
- bread rolls
- patatas bravas


- garden salad with avocado, cherry tomatoes and Moosewood dressing
- grilled lamb cutlets double coated in parmesan and breadcrumbs - very nice
- tandoori chicken empanadas
- zucchini and squash


- bruschetta with boccocini - I asked for prosciutto and pointed at the prosciutto and the guy gave me 2 dozen slices of mortadella!! What am I gonna do with 2 doz slices of mortadella?? At least with prosciutto I can put it in a bolognese or pasta or breakfast tarts
- corn cobs
- 'Oriental' noodle salad
- satay chicken skewers with peanut sauce

And for dessert,
- Mish's ice cream cake, very, very lush, with imaginary candles...
- sticky date pudding ver. 2.0 with butterscotch sauce
- minted meringue sticks
- chocolate rum balls
- Amy's trademark cupcakes
- marscapone and strawberry/raspberry tartlets - very nice with strawberries
Also had the rest of the Plantagenet Hazard Hill SSB, non-alcoholic sangria and soft drinks.
And here's some pics... yabs people also went a tad nuts with my camera so I stuck some up in My photos.

NEXT DAY - Actual bday
Woke up early yet still missed the bus to Parra. Bro very kindly took me to CUM even though he was gonna be late to work anyway.
Had a Professional Development Day from 0930 to 1200 and had some good, interesting and helpful talks on Vulnerable groups in participant recruitment and Health Informatics: the role of Patient Centred Models. Also got to meet Jill Squires, the CNC at Westmead and I'll have to harrass/beg her on ICD recipient information (for thesis).
Also, surprised me with chocolate cake and a card, honestly wasn't expecting it. I knew Trish wanted me to stay back for 30min but I thought (and wanted) it to be about Hons, not about eating chocolate cake. But then I had to run off to head into the city. Walked from CUM to the busstop in front of the Children's Hospital, called up to see if my passport was ready to be picked up. (I look stoned!! But I'm not even!!!)

Took the bus to Parra, took the fast train to Sydney Terminal, walked my sore, sore feet (stupid but oh-so-pretty boots) to the Passport Office, and then headed out to La Renaissance.
Met by Alex, Viv and Karen, and Trees while in there. Bought a scrumptious Strawberry Mousse cake, split between 5, yes 72 degrees *shakes head at Trees* ;) Where I was serenaded by these lovely ladies and chatted long and laughed much.


Ate all the cake...



Then walked to GB, looked v v briefly at lingerie ;) and talked about stalkers, underwear, bridesmaid dresses. Then we all headed home.
Well actually I went to Croydon, sat around reading the SMH for 40min til bro came and had dinner at Hotel Saravana Bhavan, yum!!
Had:
- masala dosa with coconut chutney and sambar
- Madras chicken curry - spicy enough without burning
- Vegetable kurma - soooo good there, yummmm...
- steamed basmati rice
and Masala chais... mmm... chai...

And now I'm home with calloused feet and I need to take a shower and brush the curry taste/breath outta my mouth.

TO TREES:
"I will get you my pretty!" *evil cackle*