AUSTRALIA 2010 - Perth.Melbourne.Tasmania

Meant to be another trip of discovery.
Of my Inner self.
Of what I want.
Of what the next stage of my life will be.
May be.

Again, nothing was planned. I only know my flights. The When In, When Out.
Woke up everyday not know what it might hold.
Going with the flow. Day in day out.

Many pleasant surprises. Immense satisfaction.

Chub is indeed blessed.
People who love her. People who did the brainwork for her.
Just so she could have the best holiday ever. Yet.

PERTH

Cousin stays in Canning Vale, near to the airport.
3rd house she's moved into. Best so far. Large double stories. Bright kitchen. Lovely porch and great garden. Lettuces. Spinach. Strawberries. And many others Cousin n Landlord planted (or attempted to plant)

We cooked for each other.

Cousin brought me everywhere.

To Swan Valley for the round-the-loop free wine tasting. That got both of us so intoxicated just at the very first stop! Shhhh.

To King's Park for the flowers. And our heart to heart Cousins' talk. I'm glad for this connection that we share. Everyone has relatives. not everyone connects to their relatives.

To Ciao Italia for her favourite Italian spicy mussels. The delicious pizza, huge-enough-to-feed-3-of-us pasta and of cos the wonderful time.

To her weekly Sunday Buddhist Congregation. Where I was introduced to everyone as the Biaojie. Where I was slightly enlightened.

To John Forrest National Park. Thanks to World Parks day that offered free entry to every park in Australia. The trekking was tiring but therapeutic. Though Chub did flinch a little at those weird coloured and unfamiliar little insects, letting her wild imagination of getting bitten and developing outoftheworld rashes run amok. Typical city-girl suspicious.

To Fremantle. to satisfy the tourist craving. Overrated, though South Beach was great fun shots of jumping on precariously perched rocks!

To and fro the airport. These were the most touching times for me. When Cousin dragged herself up in the wee hours of the morning to send me to airport, and then to pick me from airport.

Thank you Rachel.

MELBOURNE

Ever the city-girl, Chub finds Melbourne city extremely easy to adjust to and live in.

So much food. So many varieties.
Though so expensive too.

Throw a stone and you'll hit an Asian. Or maybe throw a small marble, though that may hurt more. Personal preference.

Hustle n Bustle of the city may have created some annoyance. But the company may have allayed that.

TASMANIA

This must be the turning point.

City-girl fell in love with Nature. With Wilderness. With Mountains. With Wallabies.

It was also the place she had the best oysters, wines, honey, cheese and salmon.
Or she may have been biased.

Hot chocolate reigned again. There were aplenty provided by the beautiful though man-made Freycinet Lodge and Cradle Mountain Chateau.

**********************************

Chub thinks she knows what possibly lies ahead.
At least for the short-term.

Chub Loves.
Again.

OZ OZ ooh lala...

PERTH.Swan Valley.King's Park.Ciao Italia.
TASMANIA.Hobart.Freycinet.Cradle Mountain.
MELBOURNE.Flinder.Great Ocean Road.12 (or 11) Apostles.

Wine.Cheese.Honey.

So much in awe.
So much I wanna write about.

When i'm back!

It's the Final Countdown.
It's weird.
Sorta indescribable.

Are the bonds getting stronger simply because I feel it stronger?
Or just because of the recent frequent outings?

Either way, how to countdown liddat???

As the time draws nearer, the sense of 'release' comes closer.
Chub's gonna be free! Actually, already very free now.

Chub's facing a dilemma.

She has this strong desire to leave the industry that has nurtured her since her career infancy.

However, there's excitement in this opportunity. She can picture what she will do, what she wanna do.
Unfinished work and unfulfilled dreams brought forward?

Shrug.

It's been barely 2 mths since THE Ppt. How much things changed!
Life's unpredictable.

U know u r going on a suay streak:

1. When U twisted ur foot without knowing and woke up w the pain.
2. when your twisted foot was mistaken as a fracture and u were obligated into buying an expensive show with a fancy name of an Aircast.
3. When that expensive shoe is only one legged.
4. when you have one of the smallest shoe size in the world.

You know your suay streak probably continued on for the fun of it:
5. When you sneeze and sprain your back.
6. When you eat a piece of unagi and the damn soft bone cuts into your gum.
7. When you overshot to Kallang when u intended to be Lavendar!

BUT, u perhaps know the suay streak's gonna end because..
What else more can happen??!!

Funny I have nothing much to blog about recently..

As the time approaches, it becomes more surreal.

T said he tot I'll outlast him.
He was 8. I'm in my 7th, yet to clear.

It seems I've prepared myself for this eons ago.
But can u ever be over prepared?

Happy Birthday Singapore!

Watching the NDP on TV this year gave the usual pride. Never before have I experienced any parade that doesn't induce tears. No matter how many complaints we have day to day for this little red dot, we know we still love her. Somehow, this is always home.

Just the other day, 933FM blasted a national song..PBS, Pumpkin and Chub sung out loud together in the car! How proud Chub remembered the lyrics!

Today gave more special meaning, because it's also Chub's Lunar Birthday! ;)

Happy Birthday Singapore.
And Chub! Muacks!

Chub is apprehensive and doubtful.

Of herself.

Shrug.

Chub is recovering fast.
Loving it!

Thank u to the one up there!
N ma n pa n everybody else!

At the Crest.

Pa n ma have been so sweet.

Not the candy sweet sweet.

Just the pa n ma sweet.

Chub Hearts.

Chub has to remind herself there's no such thing as being noble.
Nonononono. That's many nos. Numerous nos.

chub has been warned.
she needs to slap herself. Very hard.
Warned by chub, warned by cal.
Why doesn't she just get it?

Make the same mistake bear her own consequences.

Do not make the same mistake.
Do not.
Get out chub.

What is it that they say?

Irreconciliable differences.

Yes.
That's it.

Takes 2 hands to clap.

Solution?
Remove one hand.

On the way to work on a Saturday.
It has always been a love hate relationship.

Chub loves the tranquility at work on Saturdays.
Provided she gets past the grouchiness for waking up early on a weekend.

Then again, Chub doesn't really sleep in on weekends.
She'll wake up at 7ish..tells herself she mustnt miss Doraemon.
But ends up snoozing and missing Doraemon.

Chub hasn't had a restful week.
Lots of scenarios. Lots of words.
That few people.

Is this a compulsory phase? Can skip?
If not must apply leave is it?

Can she?

Chub prods Cal to think.

Pride doesn't get u anywhere.
Sharp words don't bring u far as well.

Cal must reflect more and think more.

What will I see 10 yrs down the road?

There when I'm up.
There when I'm down.

There to share my trivia
There to share my breaking news.

There again when I'm happy.
There again when I'm sad.

Walks me to office every morning,
And from office to home every evening.

I love u. U know who U r.

So it's certain.

Announcement's made.
Explanation's given.
Sharing's done.

Looking ahead.

It's been a year. Time flies.

Chub's wondering what she had expected a year ago?
Did she anticipate this?

Chub's been asked if she's sure.
Yes, so sure she feels liberated.

Chub loves.
Love Chub.

Chub wonders: Am I doing this correctly?

Cal says: Nvm. Just swallow it.