Sydney

From Behind a Lens
(by a recently self confessed shutterholic)
All I need to do now is figure out how to copyright my pictures...

View from the Shangri-La

A peek at the Bridge from the Rocks

Sunset on the ferry

On the upper deck of the Train

Couldn't believe there was a PC Tower in the middle of nowhere

ME!

How blue is the sea?

Again at the beach...

A random leaf (what can I say, it's the end of Autumn...)

A tribute to the tree next to our the bus stop

Down Argyle Lane

Going through the Harbour Bridge

Three Wise Monkeys (can't say how sober they might be though...)

The Strand (couldn't afford anything but just had to get a picture!)

Warning - Uncharacteristic Post!

Everything
by Michael Buble

Very rarely do I ever feel the urge to share a song in my blog. But I came across this Michael Buble song when I was doing a mass song download and absolutely fell in love with it. I love the happy, upbeat feel the music has - it just makes me feel like doing very Tigger-like things - like bouncing and smiling. I hope it has the same effect on you. Enjoy.

Everything lyrics

Oh No, Not Again!!!

The Onion...

Just when I think I'm safe from another tag, I get tagged AGAIN!!! Thanks Fairy Godmother, just what I needed...*insert emoticon with tongue sticking out right here*. Just to be fair, I'm going to distribute the tag so that those I previously tagged, don't hafta worry (unless you wanna do it...be my guest!). So! I tag Pugly, Izchan & Syrope (was going to tag Binx & Maggie but they've already done it!!!). But before I forget, congratulations Danny on your new addition to the family!!! He looks like you and Lisa both!

Now, let me get over this and get it done with before blogging next about Sydney.

Layer One: On The Outside
Name : First name NinJa, Last name MoO (as if that wasn't obvious enough!)
Birth Date : Hmmm....the 30th. Technically, I should be able to get away with that since it says 'Birth Date'.
Current status : Happily Married
Eye Colour: Mochacinno without the froth
Hair Colour : Dark brown although I'm thinking if I should try that whole purple phase again...
Righty or Lefty : Righty. Although I'd love to learn how to be ampidexterous (screw the spelling, can't be bothered to have a peek at the dic).

Layer Two: On The Inside
Your Heritage : Chinese Nyonya with possibly some thing else thrown in the mix (who knows what my ancestors were up to!)
Your Fears : Not having my parents around to spoil my kids and help me bring them up right
Your Weakness : Books...and bookstores. I could spend hours and hours in a good bookstore and loads and loads of money on books...*sigh* *drools*
Your Perfect Pizza : Thin crust pepperoni...does it for me everytime.

Layer Three : Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
Your Thoughts First thing when you wake up : Where is that damn snooze button?
Your Bedtime : Hubby & I go to bed pretty early...I'd say about 10:30-ish? Unless other things crop up...
Your Most Missed Memory : I miss working at MPH 1U2...I can't believe I actually miss working. But when you're with great people, working ain't so bad.

Layer Four : Your Pick
Pepsi or Coke : I guess it'd have to be Coke if I had to choose.
McDonald’s or Burger King : Over here, I'd have to say Burger King. But back in Malaysia, it would have to be McD's hands down!
Single or Group Dates : Hahaha. It depends on the situation.
Adidas or Nike : Oh man, I've got both!!! Love them both, but use them for different situations so...can't pick!
Tea or Nestea : Same situation here! Love my hot tea and love my cold Nestea (especially the green tea one! *yum!*)
Chocolate or Vanilla : Chocolate please! (Just bought a bag of Snickers...yum yum yum!!!)
Cappucino or Coffee : Errr...neither. Not a big fan of coffee breath...but absolutely love the smell of freshly brewed coffee...mmmmmmmmmm...

Layer Five : Do You..
Smoke : Nope. Stuffed a pack of the neighbour's ciggies down the drain once. Man, was he blooming mad. Tried to tell him that it was bad for his health (gimme a break, I was what...9? 10?)
Curse : Hahaha...*fish sticks!*
Take a shower : Yup...don't have the luxury of having a bath that often.
Have a crush : Right now? Ermm...not really.
Think you’ve been in love: Most definitely...& more than once as well!
Go to school : Ermm...haven't been to school in awhile!
Want to get married : Hahaha...believe it or not, I never did the whole 'thinking about my wedding & wondering what it would be like' before hubby proposed. But it's all good now. Believe in yourself : Most definitely!
Think you’re a health freak : If I was, I'd be out exercising somewhere instead of sitting in front of the computer, blogging...

Layer Six : In The Past Month
Drank alcohol : Some...can't remember what I had though. Must've been some wine...some mixers...*shrug*
Gone to the mall : Of course! What sorta question is that?
Been on stage : In my youth...
Eaten sushi : Oooooo yeah...looking forward to a good sushi session with Fairy Godmother when I get back to KL.
Dyed your hair : Not since I did the purple stint ages ago!

Layer Seven : Have You Ever..
Played A Stripping Game : Hahaha...my memory seems to fail me...
Changed Who You Were To Fit In: But why should I? *shrug* Maybe when I was younger but nowadays, I'm good with myself.

Layer Eight : Age
You’re Hoping To Be Married : Dunno...never set an age which I said I'd get married by.

Layer Nine : In a Girl / Guy
Best Eye Colour : The colour of stormy seas
Best Hair Colour : It's not the colour but the lustre
Short Hair or Long Hair : Short enough to ruffle but long enough for me to run my fingers through

Layer Ten : What Were You Doing
1 Min Ago : Chatting with my cousin on MSN
1 Hour Ago : Having dinner with hubby
1 Month Ago : Starting a new job
1 Year Ago: Actually, this is quite unreal. We were going through old smses and discovered that we were in Sydney a year ago! How coincidental is that?!?

Layer Eleven : Finish The Sentence
I Love : Spending time with the people that mean the world to me...
I Feel : Life is passing me by and I feel it slipping through my fingers...
I Hate : Having no idea what I'm going to do with my life. Uncle says I should get pregnant - now how is a baby going to solve anything?
I Hide : My fears behind a smile and continue on because I have to.
I Need : To stop contemplating over my life and take some sort of action. Now, Uncle also said I should think about writing a book...should I? Could I?

Lots of food for thought...lemme think about it. Be back in a week.

Watch out Sydney...

Here I Come!

Breaking from my normal routine, I'm posting my entry early for this week. I'm due to head off to Sydney in less than 24 hours and neither hubby nor I have started packing. I know what I need to bring although I haven't ironed any of the business clothes I need to take along. Nor have I had a look at anything else that we will need to bring.

I have, however, bought myself a pair of Crocs for the trip.

Some of you will think I'm mad. Some of you will think I've caved in to peer pressure. And others might wonder why I'd wanna walk around with holes in my shoes (hubby has asked me this question numerous times. I tell him that good ventilation is the key to un-smelly feet).

The answer to the question of "Why Crocs?" is simple. I want to be able to walk around Sydney in comfort.

I went to the Crocs website to have a look at their shoes and almost every pair I looked at had comfort somewhere in the lines. The Croc I bought says this:

• comfortable, cool, and molds to your feet • orthotic foot bed • advanced toe-box ventilation system • slip-resistant and non-marking soles • anti-microbial and odor resistant • italian styling • ergonomic certified • wide, roomy foot bed • made with croslite™ PCCR material • waterproof double stitched leather uppers • weighs only ounces

I'm going to try and get away with wearing them to this business lunch...but somehow, I think that might not happen. It's hard wanting to mix comfort with business - something always has to give. But unfortunately, the bottom line is this - holes and stripes somehow just don't go together.

& so, down to some serious packing I must go.

p/s - If you leave a comment, hopefully my 'Out of Office' reply will work. If not, blame it on IT.
pp/s - If you thought that you'd really get an 'Out of Office' reply, you really need to get out more often. I'll see you in Sydney.

Movie Addict...

Or Not...

Thanks to binxie babe, I've been tagged. Been awhile since I've been tagged and this is a hard one for me considering I'm not a big movie person (everyone knows books are more my thang!). So before I continue with the tag, let me just re-tag Izso, Faith, NinjaBee & JohnyBravo for them to carry on the tag.

And now, announcing our winners in their respective categories...

Name movies that you have seen more than 10 times
Sound of Music
Mary Poppins

Name a movie that you have seen multiple times in the theater
Matrix 1-3
I'm sure there are a few others but I can't quite remember at this moment...

Name actors & actresses that would make you more inclined to see a movie
Keanu Reeves
Drew Barrymore

Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie
That guy from 'Nacho Libre'...what's his name? Jack Black?

Name a movie that you can do a quote from
Yoda: Do or do not. There is not try.

Name a movie musical that you know the lyrics to all songs featured
Definitely The Sound of Music. Now...where did I put my music score to that movie?

Name a movie that you would recommend everyone to see
Monsters Inc. The relationship portrayed is so beautiful in its simplicity.

Name a movie that you own
Hmm...I own a few but the last movie I bought was 'The Joy Luck Club' - was so surprised to find it here that I got it!

Name an actor that started in another medium but has surprised you with his/her performance
Erm...I don't know. Is TV another medium? Coz' I never expected Will Smith to be able to be so intense.

Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, which one?
First time was with 'Chronicles of Narnia'. It was such a cool experience. You sit in your car in the middle of a huge car park with everyone else and tune your car radio into the entertainment system. Need to do it again this summer...

Ever made out at a movie?
How do we define making out?

Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just have not yet gotten around to it
That's an unfair question. Hubby thinks my movie education is so bad that he has a list from here to the moon of movies I need to watch.

Ever walked out from a movie?
I always feel compelled to finish it, no matter how bad it is. I've had thoughts about walking out though...does that count?

Name a movie that made you cry in the theater
Oh man! I agree with Binx, there have been so many tear-jerker movies that I've watched! I don't even remember the last one!

What was the last movie you saw in the theater?
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. I probably sat through 75% of the movie with my hands over my eyes going "Oh my GOD! I can't believe this is happening..."

What is your favourite/preferred genre of a movie?
Animation
Comedy
Romantic
Action

What was the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?
Never Ending Story. I named one of my stuffed dogs 'Falkor' a long long time ago.

What movie do you wish you had never seen?
Oh, I don't know! Borat?

What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?
Weird in what sense? Is 'The Corpse Bride' weird? I thought it was pretty cool.

What is the scariest movie you have ever seen?
'It' by Stephen King. It's no wonder I'm not a big fan of clowns.

What is the funniest movie you have ever seen?
Shrek hands down. Can't wait for Shrek the Third to come out!!!

The W/H Series...Part 6

HOW

How now brown cow?

Finally, there's light at the end of the tunnel. I'm at the end of my W/H series. When I first contemplated using a common theme and turning it into a series, I thought that it would be great to have a topic each week that directed my thinking.

Boy, was I wrong!

I guess for some (like artists or serial killers), having a common thread running through their 'masterpieces' makes identification easy. Me, I'm not one who wants someone to be able to recognise me easily (not including friends). I like blending into a crowd, camouflaging with the wallpaper. I don't like sticking out like a sore thumb.

Which is why what happened today made me turn a brilliant shade of red...

You see...I went for an awards recognition ceremony tonight. I was among 50 other colleagues being celebrated for living our company values. I almost had decided that I wasn't going to go but then my previous boss went "Are you going for the Values Nite?"

So I ended up going...quite reluctantly. I didn't see much point in going, since I was only a cog in the whole works and didn't expect to get anything.

Surprise, surprise! I was selected as one of the 8 finalists to go to Sydney to have lunch with the CEO (all expenses paid) and received a trophy and framed certificate. When my name was called out, I just couldn't believe my ears.

I walked up to the front of the room in a complete daze. The presenter read out what my previous boss had written about me, and I think I just about turned redder than a tomato and thought that having an endoscopy done was way easier than having 100 pairs of eyes looking at me.

After the entire experience, as I was walking home, I couldn't help but smile to myself. I was happy with the recognition. I swear there were butterflies in me - that would probably explain why I felt like I was flitting.

I still can't believe it happened...but I think I would've been just as happy being sent to the lunch with the CEO without going through the awards ceremony. Anything to avoid standing in front of 100 people.


p/s - Thanks for your sms AJ! It came on the way to the ceremony & brought a big smile to my face!