the lowdown (long)

So, its been about 20 days since I stepped into Sydney. And yes, I have been procrastinating a full-fledged blog post for um, a good 2 weeks now! Things happened, met people, went to markets and learnt to slow down a bit. I have an interesting life. I studied in Sydney for about 4 years earlier so this place is not new to me, even though the inflation rate never fail to shock me yearly. I visit because my other half is here. Nope, he's not white nor aboriginal, he's from SG as I but is currently finishing his phd and pursuing an academic career here. We're both thinkers, thinking too much and talking to death about life during our uni days with our mutual friend over coffee, wine, food was our past time. It was the time of our lives and we still talk about it, miss it. Even though as time runs past, we tend to focus less on those dreamy days and start thinking about mechanical day jobs, insurance and swine flu. I feel as though our existence becomes less visible as our hopes and dreams are shattered by reality. Nonetheless, in some ways, we, or at least I, re-ignite the good old days when I make my yearly trip here. Things start to slow down after I appease my separation anxiety with working like nuts on bags and purses amongst studying and rushing for projects and whatnots. I still miss making stuff. Several things since I got here....

1) DH surprised me the second day I was here, as we walked along Pitt Street. He urged me to go into the Vuitton boutique on Castlereagh Street. I admit I do love Louie bags for their quality and he knew that. I was always a Louie gal, never Gucci, Coach nor Chanel. Funny. He ended up buying a Damier Ebony Neverfull in the GM size for me a couple of days later. It was an anniversary present; we've been together for 12 years now. He said that he should be able to buy me something coz he was drawing a salary. I did used to make him promise he'll finally buy me a Louie when he starts working. Not officially working, but the thought was so sweet and I was obviously over the moon, coz I know it'll last me for 10 years, just like the treasured Pochette mom & Dad bought me when I was 18 holidaying in Europe. Well, the joy didn't last since I found faults in the quality of the bag a couple of days later when I finally deigned to open the big brown box. The piping on the top was uneven, it was puffy on the top not flat when laid down, the interior placement though beautiful in blazing red was crooked in the lining of the fabric across, not to mention the sides weren't aligned. The portion of the handle attaching to the bag wasn't aligned with the squares in the front as well. I was in despair since I did read about some accounts of disappointing quality of the damier neverfulls on the Purse Forum. I didn't expect to be face to face with one. We went back to the store, same SA person, inspected 4 other damier neverfulls and it was the same. The SA said she couldn't find anything wrong with the bags. I had to tell her it was disappointing since Louie bags are supposed to be of unsurpassed quality. Since my other half was paying that much, I didn't want to settle for an ok-quality. In fact, I was more worried of the fact that people might just think its a fake. Eugh. In the end, DH thought I should settle for a classic damier speedy 35. We asked for it, I scrutinized it and asked nicely to see another if possible. She immediately said it was the last one. I thought it looked fine and he requested to have it initialled in gold. The funny thing was that the SA was supposed to call him 3 days later when it was ready for collection but we didn't receive any call. Finally we had to call them back and collected it last Sunday. I'm starting to agree with some folks on TPF that we should deserve better service for the price we pay, not to mention we were quite well-dressed and polite to the people. Anyways, I do love the bag but we probably won't be going back for a while. I think I should make this one last coz its my first official bag from louie. And, oh, I can prolly make myself one if I need a bag. ;+) Who can have enough bags and shoes!? I'm a bag-lady. Yes.

2) I forgot to pack in WL's orders for when I was supposed to pass it to her here! I was in such a mad rush to get out of the house before I left. Horrible that I had to make her wait! I got mom to rush it to me and I finally met her last Sunday morning and she was so nice! She even bought me yummy Macadamia dark choco Haigh's which DH loves too! And a cute milk choco bunny which I pretty much devoured. Yikes. And also a cute green tea candle! She'd also wrote back to say she loved her bags. Phew! Alls well, ends well!

3) Parkour mishaps. DH does Parkour and I was introduced to it a while ago and love the freedom of able limbs. I had a couple of injuries, nothing serious except... I fell on my face last sunday evening into the bushes when I was jumping on the brick ledge downstairs. Blame myself for being half asleep and the weather for being so cold. I got scratched on the left and it was pretty obvious. Not to mention that injuries to the face can be pretty painful! It wasn't deep but hey, its on the face. No going out til my concealer will at least cover it. I'm not going to be called Two-Face in public. Tomorrow's thursday and shops stay open later and DH has been pestering me to go out. I might just because of the reasons below...

4) 2 things always come to mind when I'm here in Sydney. Camper and Crumpler. I got to know them from DH's long-time friend who also became our mutual friend when we first came over to Sydney. I bought my first Crumpler, a red messenger with a laptop case inside from the Campus utility stores. I carried it for a long time, coz it was utilitarian and comfy. Since then, I've added a red camera sling and the 10th anniversary messenger to my collection. Being here again calls up those needs. Pseudo or not, bags are like Krispy Kreme donuts to you guys, non-negotiable! Obviously, my attention was centered on the headaitch in red, in medium, which is promptly sold out when I checked the site. I was gonna settle for the large one but I'm terrified its gonna dwarf me and look like I'm carrying mommy's tote when I'm 5, plus the prospects of the weight of the kitchen sink isn't gonna be good. DH said no, coz I'll make him carry it. Damn straight. LOL I will have to check it out tomorrow. Yaaaaaay! More bag scouting is fun!

5) Then there's Camper shoes. I LOVE them to bits. Bought my first pairs when there were sale here. Loafer low boots in chocolate, Cream pelotas, black mary janes, beige/gray sandals. I miss them all. Most of them were worn to bits, or sold when I was leaving Sydney. I mostly live in Havaianas in Singapore so shoes were out. So now I obviously miss them. I still love the knee length leather boots DH bought for me last year but the comfort of Campers seem to stay stuck in my memory for good. No sale yet in the stores and no interesting designs, so I looked online. I'm a true Camper 39 and when I found this pair, I am seriously thinking of binding my foot. Its SO adorable in the cute lime and straw and I love the mismatch designs of the Twins range! Still percolating coz its expensive with the shipping and all.

6) Spending most of my days cooking and loitering in supermarkets. Hm, I do miss cooking since mom doesn't like me messing up her kitchen! We just had Apricot chicken tonight. Not amazing, but I blame the sauce. LOL Wish DH's place had an oven for cakes and muffins! But thank goodness amazing scones are just downstairs at bakers delight. Yum!

7) Other random things. Discovering amazing coffee at Pattison's at Chase Chatswood. Visiting the MCA. My favourite exhibit, Mirrored Years: Yayoi Kusama is so amazing. If you're in town, go see it. So intense, provocative, yet innocently dreamy and even juvenile. Besides Narcissus's Garden, I loved the mirror rooms and the super large clouds! I swear if there weren't anyone around, I'll jump on one. It felt like night time heaven! We share the same obsession with polkadots and spherical things. 

Boy is this long! Til next time and hope you guys are having a great summer/winter!

a journey to sydney...

Couldn't wait to update the blog!

I finally took the A380 to Sydney. I didn't get a proper shot except the one I sneakily took up there, coz well, we're not supposed to snap pictures in the plane. I didn't sleep much, watched 3 movies + a drama (Bride Wars, The Tale of Despereaux, Yes Man, Californication) and had a great time on the plane, for once! No more stinky service and life-threatening landing from Qantas. No offense to Qantas lovers, but I had enough of them. Cheap fares or not, I don't think customers should be yelled at and forgetting my requests for a cup of plain water. The experience with SQ has always been great but the prices always made me think twice. Its just about 7 hours I'd always think so I'll be able to wait it out regardless of how suicidal it made me feel. Cutting to the chase, having been on an SQ A380, I can now tell you the experience is a gazillion times better than bring on stinky Qantas. The service was impeccable, food was yummy, seats were bigger, more egronomic & comfy, more leg room, screens were all working and bigger, movie selections were bigger, headsets were great. I was on the upper deck of the plane, right at the last seat. Taking off and landing was smooth. It was overall a tremendous experience!

I landed here in the morning at 6am, came back to me second home, opened the door and my other half was still sleeping! He got a shock when I stuck a finger up his nostril to wake him coz he didn't budge when I tickled him! hehe But since I hardly got any sleep the night before I kept falling asleep during the day! We went to North Sydney and Crows Nest, came back and made dinner and watched The Simpsons on TV. Didn't make it for Medium and CSI. Went to bed early coz I was dead tired. Today, bright and early, we went to the Rozelle and Balmain markets today and it was a lot of fun! Markets are amazing places with smiley people and very interesting things all lumped into one place! Had gozleme for breakkie and it was so good I can't believe I had hated it before! LOL The weather is amazingly cool and even when it started to rain in the evening when we headed home, it was a refreshing experience to walk in such a light rain. Its always pouring cats and dogs in Singapore. We're gonna go to bondi tomorrow, for the market, beach and mall. Pray I don't meet the ghost again! And hope it doesn't rain and ruin the market thing!

later!

Back

I'm back! Not sure if the exclamation is appropriate but I'm politically incorrectly kinda happy to be back. Maybe the DSL line has something to do with it. My neighbors are still obnoxious though. I do miss DH and Sydney loads but somehow each time we leave each other, we leave no room for grieving. Jumping right back to work kinda makes the time go faster and perhaps with such thoughts in mind, we'd see each other soon. The adorable little bear up there? It was a Christmas pressie a couple of years ago when I realised we'd have to live apart. She plays a little message each time her tum is pressed. She's my placebo. Sitting next to her are a pile of Merino yarns. It has almost all been knitted into a huge queen size blanket by now. I'll need more from the store to actually make it queen sized. DH is helping with that.

I'm still pretty much in a lull right now. Qantas had a terrible delay and their service was less than satisfactory. I guess I'll leave out gruesome details. Let's just say that the nice lady who sat beside me would be writing to them. *yikes*

Anyhoo, I've just listed all the varieties of the cube wallets in the store! Shipping is obviously much lower and with registration as well. We can all breathe a little easier. LOL What are you waiting for! Go shop! ;+)

Bondi is haunted?

I didn't mean to scare anyone with the title but I had a weird experience in the loo near to Borders at Bondi Junction's Westfield.It wans't particularly late, maybe about 7pm. Westfield is obviously already closed, except Borders that stays open til 10. God bless 'em. We hung around borders reading and downing cocoa. Then it was leaving time coz I was dozing off and DH looked like a vamp. I thought I'd use the loo before we go. DH sat right outside at the couches. I went in, it was quiet. No one seems to be around. I went into the 1st cubicle nearest to the door coz I just wanted to get in and out. So I went in, bent and took some paper to clean the seat as I always do and suddenly incessant banging came from the next cubicle right beside me. it was obviously like someone using both fists and banging on the door and it didn't stop. I freaked out, opened the cubicle door and bolted. But the funny thing was the banging stopped the moment I opened the cubicle door. It felt really funny coz I was certain the next cubicle has no one in it. When I went in, the door was slightly open and the green thing on the door said vacant. Who would keep banging on the loo door? I went out, told DH about it and waited for a while outside but no one came out. Yikes.

I thought about it for a while when I got home but unless I paid another visit, it remains a mystery. Pretty freaky one too. :P

Bateaux Jouets

There must be some reason why DH is dragging me all the way from school to Darling Harbour last Thursday. I get lazy to walk, courtesy of the Singapore heat. Temperature is lower here, chips DH, no reason not to walk is there? Walking has become part of life here. Bus fare threatens to burrow a hole in my pocket anways. I reluctantly agree. 'Cept for the $4.50 monorail ride, there wasn't any transport going into the harbour. "Why are we going there anways?" I complained. "You'll see. Just come along!" Yeah, the walk amost killed me. Chillier temperatures is fun for a while but when your legs start to freeze up and soon you'll feel like you're supporting your body on mere bones. I think my knees threatened to give way. Or maybe I'm getting old. Oh sigh. By the time I reached the bridge of the Harbour, I was too annoyed to appreciate whatever reason he had dragging me there. We're going to the Maritime Museum he says. What? Museum? Now? It was 3pm and I hate having to rush thru museum visit. I need half a day when I visit the MCA and almost 2 days when I go to the NSW one. Great, just great. That leaves us at most 2 hours for an exhibit. "If its expensive, I'm not going." I hope that deterred him. But nooooo. "Just a couple more steps" he quips, as I pulled my coat closer. The wind was cutting into my ankles, I won't be able to walk at this rate, soon. As we made our way down the wretched bridge, he pointed to the Bateaux Jouets sign hanging above.

Oh! Bateaux Jouets! I'd totally forgot telling him I wanted to see that a couple of days ago when we walked by but the museum was closed. The chill I had cursed non-stop a couple of minutes before was kinda forgotten when we walked into the museum. The bored lady knew what we were coming for so she handed us our admission stickers before pointing in the opposite direction behind us. Woo-hoo! Anything about transports, add in toys and French, I'm sold. I'm a firm believer in the theory that what we are right now, our every decision and behavior can be traced back to our childhoods. Let's leave that debate to another day. My earliest memory of transports was a blue cardboard box with a strap on top that goes from back to front, with a snap button for closure. It was blue with the Sanrio Runabouts characters on them. I loved that box a hell lot and I still miss it. I think I had crayons in it the last time I remembered. Its possibly long gone by now but it should explain a lot about me; the obsessions for suitcases, transports and perhaps has made me some sort of an escapist. I had dreams about packing clothing in the night and flying off to some faraway lands without telling anyone. I still want to do that! Shhh!



Needless to say, I enjoyed the little exhibition lots! Check out the collection if you can't make it here. It was a little dark cosy spot with enough wood and tin toys to fuel my obsession and set it alight. Each of them was such amazing detail and condition. Some of them had intact boxes with old child-like graphics on them. We stayed for the short french flim where they explained the history of the toys and how it relates to history in reality. There were also mini flim strips that showed how toys were made long ago - painstakingly made by hand by a smiling lady! That really hit home. It was hard to leave all the beautiful ships and boats behind when the announcement came for closing. I guess the other Australian exhibits would had to wait. We swung by the gift shop and I picked up a Levithan ship postcard for framing and a cute wood Bateaux as le souvenir.

"Was it worth it?" DH looked smug. "Yes dear." I didn't want to disappoint. :+)

Sydney updates + news

Its not hot anymore. I'm not sweating while I type this and I've gotten lazier. Yeah, I'm downunder right now. Plane ride on a QA was nicer than usual. Much better than the last time I took it and the attendant literally yelled at me to keep my bag under the seat when I was pepetually throwing up at the same time. It was hell. This time was fine. I would have much preferred being on an SQ but beggars can't be choosers. I watched 27 Dresses on the plane, hopefully to change my image about marriage. It was a nice movie but I still somehow find it difficult to say yes to commitment. I think I'm more of an escapist of everything I put my name on the dotted line for. Terrible behavior. Anyhoo, I dragged DH to the Rozelle market yesterday and already was high on the good old stuff and cool weather. It felt so good to walk around autumn leaves with a cup of hot tea in hand browsing through vintage books and checking out wooden rolling pins, lace and typewriters. I was in heaven! I got a paid of cute old tin door knockers and couldn't resist the Big Day Out 07 bag with a mushrooms on it. OK....I saw the mushroom first. At $5, its an insane steal! And I'm loving the shape a lot. My old timey suitcase/luggage infatuation is seriously getting out of hand. Yikes!

NEWS - Although I've got the stuff in my shop with me, I'm afraid shipping charges here is pretty out of hand. Unless anyone's willing to pay $20 for normal airmail shipping to get a wallet shipped over to america, I think I'd launch the cube wallets I intended to in July instead. What does everyone think? I know DH would be jumping for joy coz I can spend tons more time with him instead. So much for bringing everything with me! *tear* Hmm....I guess I'll spend time with my reads and knit. Woo-hoo for sabbatical!

Singapore is hot and lumpy

I'm back. Or not. I'm a bit confused actually. The turbulences of the BA pilots continues to rock my boat. Actually I've just got off the plane a couple of hours ago. Dad managed to pick up his new car so he picked me up.

To the fabulous bunch of people who were concerned about me and my bad experiences, Thank you so much you all. If the internet allowed hugs, I'll hug each one of you. Those sentiments mean so much to me, even just on screen. After that bad experience, everything went up from there. I met really nice people and visited suburbs, went to the great Jenolan Caves up in the Blue Mountains (DH insisted) and shopped a lot more. I'm actually having cargo sent back to me. How bad is that?! If anyone wants to know, my luggage on the plane was 27.4Kg. :P

The day before I was back, I came down with diarrhea and a bit of fever. It was kinda bad coz I wanted to spend time with DH and stuff. Anyways, I managed to get better and everything pretty much went well after. Its funny to say but I do miss Sydney a lot and to go on without DH for 5 months from now feels nothing but dread. However, he's got a post lecturing at the uni, our uni anyways, and for the 1st time in history, a BAhons is lecturing MA students. How cool is that?! Yeah, he's always the smart one. He's got 1st class hons and the school medal. p/s: I got nothing. LOL

I'm kinda tired from typing and crying all day so I'm gonna crash now and we'll see what happens from now. I hope I'll get better.....

Where's kawaii?

I heart my chicken schnitzel
Originally uploaded by florspace.

I admit, I'm still mildly bored being here. I want to do loads of things with my fabrics but can't at the moment. Feel like I'm stuck in a nicer version of hell. Where's the kawaii heaven I used to know for a while?

Granted, I have the cool weather all day and night like I've been yearning for, for a year but everything else seems to have wrenched away from me. No more kawaii things to find in the stores or stashed in my drawers somewhere, I feel kinda lost. Not to mention DH is rather busy and I've been looped into attending seminars and lectures at my uni because I "got caught" one day by my linguistics lecturer when I went by the uni. I was used to be known for a knowledge enthusiast, very keen to attend my linguistics and psychology classes, clocking in extra time and all, getting credits for being interested and making efforts. But now I simply feel exhausted having to go to any classes at all. Good in theory/paper. I can feel myself getting lazy in that sense but I spent 4 years in uni being inquisitive about the mysteries of life that I feel I wanna stop and be for a while. I answered many things about myself and my own perspective on life so it gets kinda boring when I have to go through that again. I think I'm kinda jaded in that sense and it takes quite a bit to shock me.

Anyways, I'm kinda stuck to shopping and consuming for now. The worst thing is, I used to be that way and the more I consume, the more I need to consume and it ultimately makes me feel empty, in every sense of that word. Well, except when I find my clothes getting snug and rings around my tum. Thats bad news, but what?

Bad stuff aside, I had a wonderful day at the Kirribilli Markets on Saturday. I bagged 4 vintage dresses, 1 glomesh wallet and one vintage suitcase in fab condition for next to nothing! And those were things I always look out for and never get! Pictures to come!

um, who said buying stuff didn't lead to happiness?

Oh, I did. Because we had to lug the stuff around town after that. :/

Noh performance and 28 weeks later

I went for a Noh performace/lecture by quite a famous performer, Sakae Terai, who was actually named an intangible national treasure by the Japanese government. Excuse my tiny explanation if you'd already know what it is. Noh, in my own humble little opinion is respectable for what its worth but it almost is a sure way to fall asleep since its extremely slow, with minimal tiny and deliberated movements by the actors. The songs could very well have been buddhists chants because we have no lyrics. The "music" consists of a bamboo flautist, and peppered with 2 drums, one big and small hit in various rhythm thats difficult to follow coz I realise that when I somehow managed to figure it out, I was in a micro sleep motion, embarassing to myself and others. For what its worth, it was a fabulous insight to what Noh actually was, with detailed explanations to the origins, songs, instruments, costumes, stages and masks. DH says that Noh was enjoyed by Japanese aristocrats a long time ago. I told him I preferred Kabuki and um, according to him, the latter was enjoyed by the 3rd estate. Nonetheless, we were exposed to a cultural experience we wouldn't have otherwise had the chance to, considerably rarer than Sado or Ikebana.

I watched 28 weeks later on Tuesday (cheap movie day!). It was nightfall when the movie ended and the weather was cold and unforgiving and it left me far more depressed when I already was about everything. I'd always loved zombie movies. DH and I were obsessed with watching them and collecting the DVDs, everything from Night of The Living Dead, which we believed was the first zombie-esque movies. I'm not sure if the 28 series belongs to the zombie category but I guess we can lump them in. 28 days later, the first installment begun with the guy who awoke to an empty city and albeit hopeless and bleak, there were uplifting moments of the supermarket shopping scene and finding the military, supposedly the savior. In the sequel however, it was just plain depressing throughout with mass destruction and torn families. Every shred of hope was gone the moment it is realised. The thing that was really eating into me was that the whole thing was so real and possible. I sympathize with Londen-ers since the whole scene was set there. I'd imagine its reminiscence of the Black Plague?

So, I'm about into the 4th week in Sydney. Truth be told, I still find the whole place kinda depressing (or maybe it was the movie?). I have no idea if I should be broadcasting this at all but it seems that this place is hit with all kinds of negativity which I suppose all other big cities gets, crime, kidnapping, lousy train system, bad-mouthing politicians and major corp people, crummy and ridiculously expensive food and essential supplies, general rudeness & obliviousness, smoking.... I could go on and on. Would it be the same to be living in New York or Paris?

Happiness is suddenly a quaint notion all over again....

Locked out

I'm not in the best of moods now. DH has just gone back home to meet the locksmith who supposedly's going to unlock the menace. The only time, only time I hadn't reminded him of "did you bring the keys" before the heavy fire-maindoor slammed and the silly DH forgot the keys. They were hanging at the noticeboard just beside his wallet and the door.

We were in a bit of a hurry this morning. Lindfield Craft Market. 3 words I won't be forgetting for a while. I grit my teeth as I write this. We woke early to catch the best, which was what we usually do for markets. Insert famous catchphrase here ("early bird catches the worm" ring a bell?) We went there bright and early, all dressed up, me in my layers - black skinny denim pants, red summer dot dress over and a blue denim jacket plus my swanky new Paul Frank wellies. I thought I'd commit the cardinal sin of wearing denim with denim; something I'd never do, but I figure the dress bought me a whole panel of seperation between the jacket and pants. Oh well. Arriving at Lindfield, DH assured me he'd checked the map and had it in his head, he even did a demeandering action of poking his temples. Men....*eye roll*

He lead the way, all over Lindfield but no market in sight. It was a quiet saturday morning with just a handful of people walking their dogs or off somewhere. It was horrible to be walking up and down hill all over the suburb, with no breakfast. My ankles and back were aching before we decided to give the whole thing up. No market, no breakfast and no hope. The only postitive thing worth mentioning was we got a walking tour of Lindfield and DH bothered to ask the people around if there was going to be a market today. The North Side Courier lied. They usually don't. In fact, the listing for this particular market didn't come with a calling number. The rest did. I guess I should've been more suspicious.

Dragging our tired cabosses, we arrived at Chatswood, inbetween our place and St Leonards and Lindfield, its a shopping town of food and salvation. Barely 2 bites into my breakfast of a 6-inch sub, DH asked if I had the key. Then all hells broke loose. The rest writes itself.

So here I am now, with my credit card abducted by DH ("I'll pay you later" he said), the only solace is to sit at this Everywhere Internet terminal furiously typing away. And yes, I've discovered that the the Everywhere Internet in the city demands a different account then the one here. Why the hell would they call this Everywhere Internet when its obviously isn't everywhere?!

I'm inclined to blame everyone, myself included for this lousy episode. What have we learnt today, boys and girls? Northside Courier and DH are not to be trusted. In fact, I'll like to add that most services & hell, everything in Sydney is not to be trusted. I must regard everything in suspicion from now on. What a tough life!

Augusto is coming...

For lack of a better title for this week's update. Couple of days ago, I told DH "Augusto is coming..." after Supahfunk sent me a flickrmail telling me Augusto is asking to be adopted by me. He was bewildered. Eyes wide open, he asked me curiously, "Uh, who is Augusto?". I was hoping he would think that its my new Spanish boy toy. LOL Eventually after bouts of supressed laughter, I showed him who Augusto was. I could tell he heaved a sigh of relief and smiled. I however, still look forward to Augusto coming. I'll let you know.



I was at North Sydney Markets on Saturday. Thats me with too-shiny-hair, wearing the brown beret from nimblefingers. She makes one of the best berets around, to your specific color & size, even for my um, super large head. You don't want to miss her.
Anyways, I had to drag DH out coz he was wacked out by a series of academic stuff that render his brain mushy for the weekends. I was glad to be there. This quiant little market happens only once a month, and its a great place for unearthing the great stuff. I found this Paul Frank tartan gum boot for A$15, condition new with tags. SOLD.


Apart from a myraid of interesting stuff, they also have great food. DH bought this plate of mini Dutch pancakes called Proffiterjes, correct me if I'm wrong. Warm mini panckes bathed in maple syrup and dusted with icing sugar plus strawberries on top. What could be better for a Saturday morning breakkie? YUM city, population ME! ;+)




I'd also caught sight of this gorgeous dandelion at the market after breakfast. I love them because they are so pretty, eternally round yet fragile and short-lived. I don't see them much in Singapore yet I've always known them them thru fairy tales, when you blew the petals off and you get 13, it'll be the witching hour. Hmm....I didn't blow this one though.


We stopped for starbucks in the afternoon. Yum rocky road crunch slice with Venti skim latte. Its already showing as another layer of fat on my tum. Its gonna be bad! Winter's the perfect season for hiding fatness but come swimsuit season, it'll be so much to cry for. No more skimpy yellow polka dot bikinis! :+(


Last but not least, I came home to find my ipod radio wrapped in the muffler I made. Looks like its getting cold...

Everywhere Internet isn't everywhere....

Hey girls and boys...

here I am again! LOL I'd just came back from another mini battle with the Everywhere Internet guys. I had a username and password at the Chatswood outlet but apparently the city outlet doesn't recognise it. :+( I jumped from computer to computer thinking its the comp not working and in the end, had to waste another $5 to get a new account. Funny how things work here. I should've known though. Singapore's waaaaaaaay too efficient and we get so spoilt that everything should be working all the time. People here shrug when things don't work or when they simply have to go without. I remember the time when DH and I was at the Blue Mountains. It was winter, sun sets at 4 but we decided to be explorers and walked all over the mountain town. By the time we got to the train station, Katoomba, the trains had stopped. Excuses, tons of them were made by the train drivers that this train was going back and that train was ..... suffice to say that none of them wanted to take a train back to the city with a handful of passengers stranded at the quiet station. We were upset, tried to call and cab but none would come so basically we either had to wait and beg a driver to take a train to the city or find a motel for the night. Eventually we were taken back to the city, on the train. This would obviously not happen in Singapore but it is a very cosmopolitain city with cabs anywhere and everywhere anytime. I told DH, if we have to migrate, get a car already. Funny how we take for granted things for ourselves all the time.... especially being in Singapore when our asses get covered for us and um, even wiped. LOL

In the other news, I'm experiencing serious withdrawl symptons of not sewing, creating, packing, posting and all the other shop knick knacks. Jez louise, I am going nuts pretty soon! I keep hallucinating and um, thinking about sewing in my sleep. Before this, I spent everyday running around doing stuff so not being able to move as often feels "itchy". I am slightly agoraphobic as well so going out alone without some purpose feels pointless and um, naked. And, DH is kinda busy with his presentations and classes, I chose to mostly sit at home watching daytime TV like Dr. Phil and Oprah, Judge Judy even. Don't know if I should post about this. I'm kinda worried about my taste recently. LOL Yesterday I spent 4 hours uploading couple of sydney pics and food pics on my flickr. I might have more so keep checking! :+)

And the very very nice Ella sent me my Bag of Treats April swap which I received 2 days ago which really really cheered me up! Thanks Ella! She's a fabulous swapper! ^___^

Anyways, to keep sane and my more money from flying out my wallet, I bought some yarn to keep busy. I'm not entirely sure what will come out of them yet but I'll let you guys know! If anyone's doing fund raising, I'll be happy to donate my works. I'm pretty good at crochet. ;+) Though I prolly won't be selling any. I know you people prefer the cute fabrics. hehe

Ok, I'm gonna go before I start sprouting nonsense. (I had a creme brulee espresso)

I love you all! FREE HUGS! *hugs*

p/s: I just got a message from mum - her colon cancer check thing is CLEAR. *phew!* woohoo!

So lucky....

Well, I'm in Sydney! Sorry for not uploading any pics yet coz I'm actually using the internet at a public mall and there are no usb jacks on the station. :+( DH's internet is uh, dial-up, hopelessly slow and he's busy doing his presentations this week. No computer use for me at home. Boo. And I was too lazy to bring my own. The flight - I was actually proud to do a Jackie-O spin for my flight. Black trench, oversized glasses, skinny pants, brown balenciaga handcarry. Until I realised I forgot a good amount of things like my LOMO fisheye camera. Double boo.

Anyways, the flight was delayed, again and again. I met someone at Changi airport on another Qantas flight that was delayed too. See? Its not me anymore, its Qantas. I wanted SQ but it wasn't for me to choose. My budget did the math. It got delayed again in Adelaide during the connecting flight to sydney. It wasn't funny coz I was very tired and cranky. They changed my seat too, to make way for the 1st class passengers. They couldn't be in 1st class coz the door in first class won't open. Anyhoo, its a real stupid long story. I was rotting in Adelaide for 2 good hours when I could've reached sydney, or well, my place already. Quarantine was smooth for once and the nice china cab guy was nice too though the cab fare came up to be more than usual. Sigh.

THE SURPRISE. I told DH to stay home coz I needed him to "wait for something to be delivered". Well, I was late, so I guess he couldn't wait and he went out to get stuff before the shops close. I knocked on the door and nothing. Suffice to say I had to call him and told him to get his ass back. He thought it was some flower guy coz it was our anniversary and I used to send roses. His eyes, almost popped when he saw me! LOL It was priceless...best anniversary gift ever.

I went down to the city yesterday for a while, picked up some tops and walked all the way to the Circular Quay with a starbucks grande latte in hand, I felt warm and happy. I sat on the bench facing the opera house, watching life go by. A guy was singing and playing on his guitar some outback Australian tunes and with the sunset in the background, it couldn't have felt more real. It was so beautiful, so surreal. I was finally able to "be" for a while. I took time to watch the clouds go by, to watch a baby's reaction to its surrounds, the tunes to sink in and the birds to walk by....

Today's even better, shopping wise that is. DH is real busy these 2 days so I decide to make good of it going shopping. Guys are well, never really good at that and they get tired to easily and um, tend to drag us down, non? I found 2 black tailored pants, one black scooter mini dress and get this, a Stella McCartney Cashmere Bell coat! It was just hanging in the back and no one thought it exists anymore after that mad rush months ago. *phew!* Fits like a glove, feels like heaven and on discount too...what better way to end the day!

Stay tune for more! ;+)

Some stuff about me...

I got bored with posting and thought I'd do one that's totally illogical and pointless.
Wait, this list is prolly for me to reminise when my hair's all white and my teeth has fallen out.

Some stuff about me...

My shampoo is squid ink black. My hair was in weird colors through my teens coz school didn't allow us to do any weird stuff at all. Yeah, we were all against the law at some point or other. Now my hair's black, jet black and I intend to keep it that way. Isn't asian beauty coming back?

I work better at night (10-4am). I'm very very cranky in the morning and I refuse to take coffee. Coffee gives me an existence of about 4 hours and after that I am out. I used to take it only in the late afternoon or evening to get through the last hours of the day. Now I work at the comp at night so no need for coffee, the internet's as exciting as a rollercoaster.

I type better and faster than writing. I used to have penpals til I was grossed out by my own handwriting. I have a friend who had the same problem as me when we were in junior high. We were famous. So I now type. No penpals. Good writing, good fonts and easy erase. Best thing since sliced bread.

Grammar mistakes drives me nuts. I spend my waking hours scrounging for them. I swear any such mistakes made on my blog is totally unintentional and its due to lethargy. This place (Singapore) is a gold mine for them. I often tell sales people I refuse to buy their products because they can't articulate. Sue me.

I'm Sensory-Defensive. I get very upset when people unintentionally has sudden contact against my bare skin. All my neuro senses rushes to that area and I can't think of anything else for 5 minutes and I have to slap or scratch the area. And yes, it gets worse when I'm in Singapore. Its like being in India. I can't turn around without knocking into people. I need space.

I like lavender, lilacs, eucalyptus, sandalwood for smells. I don't do vanilla & sweet scents. I'm partial to fruity & woody notions. DH wears Chanel Allure, courtesy of me.

I'm not into kids and the usual family type stuff. I think I had my fill of it since young. And I can't deal with myself & my life, I refuse to bring someone else into this world to share my problem. My friend Aaron says, "Can't solve the problem, share it out". And I've seen waaaay too many parents who can't handle their kids. If, I ever have a kid, the kid will the center of my universe. No offence, but I think I can't handle a career, a family, a husband, parents and myself all in one lifetime. I'm a perfectionist and doing a half ass job on everything isn't me. Somehow I'm also not the marrying kind. I'm still single but DH is almost already DH so its like that for now.

I'm a visual and sensual person. I like lomo photography, art installations, craft, poetry. I visit museums & old places. I feel things, take it in and breathe it out in my own way. I like jazz for relaxation, classical sometimes & chillout for music coz they give me space to think a lot. Sometimes I think too much. Permanent radio station for here is Lush 99.5fm.

My imagination runs very wild. I don't watch anything remotely scary, unless I'm sure DH will be around 24/7, or at least at night. I can't handle things like showering alone after a scary movie. I can't be told things halfway coz I'd imagine the possibilities of the rest and settle on the worse case senario. I was notorious for mystery/supernatural essays in junior high. My teachers still talk about it. They tell me I have to stop when I get to high school so I did. But I still blame Agatha Christie.

I hate white flourescent lamps, bulbs, tubes. Neon ones too.

I like most colors as long as they fit the theme. My room is in black and white only. Somehow I dislike purple a lot and have no idea why.

I read magazines over lattes at cafes. American & Australian Vogue, Harp B (A&A), STYD (Aus), Cotton Friend, Cotton Time, Style (SG), Sometimes architecture magazines, Her World & Elle (SG) too.

I can't stay away from Blue Potato chips & ganache truffles. I like Prestat's handrolled ones. I also like really good mud cakes, krispy kreme, cupcakes & fresh brownies. I'm partial to milk chocos with nuts or fruits in it. I don't do much of dark and I hate white. No liquer chocs. I also like ice-cream from Haagen Daz's, Ben & Jerry's & Andersen's of Denmark. I have to finish the whole bag or tub when I open one. Its bad.

I love fresh raw salmon. I eat a ton of them when we visit the Fish Market in Sydney. Although I won't mind a fresh grilled on in olive oil or Japanese style, with skin and all. I adore a good Sashimi salad, a smoke salmon salad, greek salad with fresh goat's cheese, grilled chiken salad or a caesar's salad if I'm in a rush. I also like squid ink spaghetti with carbonara sauce.

I can cook. I love to use good chunk of beef skirt for a teriyaki & garlic pepper steak. I know its unconventional but its soft, totally juiced up & oh so yummy. I'm a medium rare fan. I paint the surface with thick teriyaki sauce then fry the outside on slightly lower-than-usual fry heat, then simmer it slightly with virgin olive, loads of fresh garlic mashed, fresh grined Tri-color peppercorns & chopped pasley. Try it. The flavor is a total explosion!
Of course I do other usual stir-fries, baked chicken in a myraid of flavors, Japanese dishes like onigiri, noodles & fried spam rice, recipe courtesy of my friend, TC. I bake as well, cakes, cookies, tarts, etc. The only thing I can't make is creme brulee & chocolate.

I'm allergic to tobacco & I can't drink much. Though, I'd love sips of Wolf Blass's Grey label red, or other slightly aged sauvignon. I seldom do whites, though I like dom perignon & vodka lime when I'm dragged out to clubs. Reason for why I don't club - tobacco. DH likes brandy & the grandad port. I much prefer green tea, wheatgrass & lemon or strawberry Pellegrino please.

My life is re-runs of Sex & The City, The Simpsons, House & a ton of other movies. I can't watch the programs here; they are Singlish loaded and wrecks my head. It was better in Sydney though I mostly grew up in American pronunciation. I read chick-lit now, had too much mystery & thrill in my earlier days. I do pick up things like Freakonomics & Affluenza by Oliver James.

I'm spoilt & hate generic wearables. I either try to get interesting designer pieces because they fit better & last or I make my own. I don't like T-shirts that say the designer name in big words on them. Though, I am forced to get basics from Bonds & Muji. I like quirky things & black shirts.

I'm allergic to mohair. I tried to put one on but after putting one arm into the sweater, I had to stop. My arm was red and horrid for a week after. I have to wear natural cottons, baby merino wool or cashmere. I don't do fur much. Its murder and its trouble coz they fall out. I want to shave my head because of the same reason.

I have to sleep on pure egyption cotton.

I choose bookshops & libraries over clothing stores for shopping. They are quieter, or at least people are forced to be quiet. New books and magazines get me excited. New clothes often smell funny. I do shop for my swaps at the usual cute places though. And I like Jason's Marketplace for groceries, Meidiya for Japanese ones & Liberty Market near my place for a quick in and out. Though, I can't visit the grocer's when I'm hungry. It gets disastrous.

I like vintage. I collect dresses from the past. I have 2 leather suitcases from Sydney's vintage shops filled with very old books and a very old leather hatbox from Glebe Markets which I had to fight someone for. I also have an American Tourister round hat case from a lady in the states which I absolutely adore. I like altered vintage jewellery and get them from talented etsyers. Naturally, I own bags and shoes from the past as well. I have a funny tendency to believe things were better in the past. I got over the funny smell from vintage things when I got a really pretty pink nightie from a store in Sydney some years back. It was my first vintage buy. I make it a point to visit markets & vintage stores in sydney when I get back there every year.

I miss my 29th floor apartment at Forum Tower in Sydney. DH still lives there, albeit at 11th. That apartment was the holy grail. We faced the north & the view was virtually unblocked for miles. We could see mountains and rainbows stopped in front of us. It was THE view, not a view. Reminiscing about having a drink on the balcony and soaking up the night skies really hurt.

I get upset when people tell me I'm cute. This translates as childish to me. Isn't it why I couldn't get the important jobs? They just won't believe I can do it if I look cute. But somehow it looks like there's no way in hell I can ever look sophisticated. Just doesn't happen.

I'm partial to french and japanese things coz IMO, they make the most effort at what they're doing, therefore yielding the best results. I learn from them as well.

I'm addicted to fabulous cottons and canvas fabrics from Japan and mangle linens from the west. I empty my pockets for them. Its insane.

Running around for my shop drives me nuts but I still love it. Somehow spending time on my shop really makes time run like hell. Its already April 07 but I don't feel it at all. I might need a marketing manager and secretary soon. Maybe a new studio and 2 seamstresses?

I dream of being an artist with solo shows in museums. I still want to own a massive white washed gallery in a prewar shophouse with a studio at the back. I'm partial to static and performance installations. Though, I won't mind Aleksandr Petrovsky's whole-floor thing in satc. Yum.

I'm also dying to do an installation with sound and touch as the theme.

Webpages I have to visit everynight. My shop, Flickr, Wikipedia, The Superficial, Google. Webpages I frequent. YouTube, Etsy, ebay, LOF, website, movie mistakes & a whole load of other crap.

**Edited 209589473298583 times because I have ADD and perfectionism.

Stuck on me

Stuck on you.


I've been feeling rather empty lately and to even start writing on this blog feels like a huge effort. I've been slacking on my shop lately, partially coz DH was leaving and we were trying to spend some last days together before I'll see him months later. I spent the morning trying to sort out photos, loads of administration and stuff. Didn't sleep much since I'm quite used to DH being beside me. Maybe I should make a huggable model, not the erotic types (!!) but the voodoo doll type, 'cep bigger. Anyways, I spent the afternoon playing Burnout Revenge on the PS2. I'm not usually a PS type person but we've been playing it a couple of times and I didn't want to waste DH's effort on the progress. So I sat there, playing game after game of mind-numbing speed, crash and burn. Its what my mind needed, cloudiness and dizziness. Its tough to want to face the world right now, esp since I'm stuck and stumped. Which is about the exact time I watched Adaptation on TV. I didn't know what it was initially coz by the time I sat down with my snacks (justifiable, dudes.), Nicholas Cage was already thinking aloud. I thought, hell, can't go wrong with this guy. I loved him over time and he reminded me that he is pretty good in Ghost Rider. The movie utterly bored me to death coz I literally felt like Charlie, cooped up in my own silly thoughts and having too much of a brain blockage. Until they came to the part when Laroche was talking about the adaptation of orchids to insects. The passion between insect and flower, the dependance on each other suddenly made some sense in me. I swear my eyes widened a little. Its prolly strange to think that mating right now requires a tall-dark-handsome-fat bank account type guy and a beautiful-slim-sporty-"adventurous" woman for the guys. Whatever happened to the time when you meet a person you could be with your whole life without question? Before you think, "oh, it got old", I gotta say its globalization. Its a great idea to blame something coz its always gotta be something. The dazzling amount of choices of anything we have in life makes it a natural tendency for us to wanna sieve out the best. I don't blame anything. It might be the evolution of man which would be to boring to get into the bottom of (something begets something, something begets something, and so on...) though its interesting to think that we're prolly left with little choices than to be hypnotized by everything we see. So it goes, judging is bad, objectivity is good? Firstly, there's no such thing as objectivity. I can't stress that enough! We're all biased and judgmental. I know you'd hate me for saying this but oh yes, we are.

Apologetic I am. I think and preach too much. And I surf Wikipedia too much too. If you have to know, I majored in Linguistics, minored in Psychology & Sociology. I should prolly say I major in Thoughts. Sigh.



On a lighter note, I've rediscovered a hidden under god-knows-where Godiva box of stones & seashells 'stolen' from the gorgeous beaches of Wollongong, Australia. We were there last winter(western summer) for DH's Ling conference so I had a good walk on the deserted beach. They had old lighthouses there which literally made me scream with delight. Oh yes and the thrift stores were literally goldmines! I discovered loads of things and had loads of fun walking around the tiny City. Wollongon university was this really beautiful place, lovely and quiet, hidden among massive trees and green patches. I'd love to study there if not for the time I saw Sydney Uni featured in a movie that made me dream of studying there. Yes, it was the Quad, its always the lure of the Quad. Anyways, those were great times. I miss the US in Sydney, DH, TC & me.

Ohhh.....there I go again. Its getting gloomy and all. I better leave on a high note!
(Any more exclaimations, you'd think its bonkers.)

Till it gets better.

February Already!?

How time flies... DH will have to leave soon and I'll be reverting to singledom for the rest of the year. Hopefully I might actually manage to scrape enough to see him during winter break in June/July. Well, there are good and bad sides of it. I'll have more time for fabric-ing, designing, blog-bitching, photo-taking (DH got me Lomo Fisheye2 4 Christmas!), shopping, reading & general lounging. On the bad side, there's always the loneliness. I'm got used to having someone around while I sleep so somehow sleeping alone is something I can't quite get use to. Spending 4 years in Sydney together was one of the best moments in our lives. The freedom to do mundane yet fun things like grocery shopping & home chores somehow made us feel like adults. Coming back here where everything belongs to our parents somehow made us feel like kids again. I don't dread the occasional nagging but I fear living with the parents makes me lazy. I miss Sydney a lot. Things are prettier there. The chilly weather also makes everything look better. With the seeding heat & humidity, we don't enjoy anything anymore, however beautiful it is. Besides, there isn't a day gone by where I don't cringe at the awful Singlish used here. If there's one thing I dread, its my roots & the awful weather. I wanna run away from it all but I can't. Accepting it? Yes. Though, it doesn't mean accepting the awful language & behavior. Just yesterday when I was going to the tailor's with DH, there were several instances where I got plain leering stares from men. Not the decent shirt & tie types, the ones you'd see in the back alleys, wearing god-awful polo tees that makes me cringe everytime I think about, those that you'll not want to meet when you wear short skirts or a plunging neckline. Its not what you'd think. I wasn't even wearing anything short or revealing. I was wearing all black, tailored slacks with a loose cami top & cropped jacket. I have no idea why do people do plain stares here. I have never encountered this in Sydney. I think its plain rude to do that.

There, my 2 cents worth.

My stuff have been flying off the shelves and I thank everyone who has pitched in or thought of doing so to ensure I don't continue eating with lewds at the back alleys or having instant noodles with water at home. My Visa bill has currently shown its very ugly face so I'm going to have to lay low for a while. No extensive shopping. I wanna hide under the covers when I remember how much I've spent at 2 online fabric shops just last week. Those were simply too good to miss. Oh and the trips to Daiso.....*cringe* I swear not to go out after DH leaves on the 25th.

Anyways... I made something very special a couple of weeks ago and thought I'll list it sometime. Its from the Au Jardin fabric! I'm totally in love with the fabric coz its the softest & smoothest denim I've come across in my life! I made a ginormous market tote out of it!



I'm personally pretty proud of it! You can hurl loads of stuff in this when you visit the markets! To photograph this, I actually have a big lounge pillow stuffed in it with space on top top spare! Lovely garden silhouettes with lovely French sentiments at the bottom. How much better can it be? This time its a total inspiration from the fabric itself! I saw it and thought I have to make this. The handles are from the same lovely soft denim with speckles of dandelions intermittently printed on it. Soft yet strong red cotton twill inside with a lined zip pocket. I figured with a purse this bag, you're gonna need a place for your wallet & keys. The zip pocket itself is 8 inches across, almost like a pouch itself! I'll be putting it on etsy very soon. If you'll like to request for it earlier, just drop me a line.



Lady Daisy, one of the most popular girls in my shop is making 2 final appearances before permanently retired due to lack of fabric. I can't put a word to it but this fabric feels like your favourite bedshirt without the daggyness. Its pretty, vibrant yet soft without the awful gawdyness. I'm not a big flower fan, but I had a dress made out of this fabric 2 years ago and still love it. As usual, a pearl button adorns it.



Mushroom Mania! Its a small wristlet this time. I had just that tiny piece left & didn't know what to do with it to ensure it doesn't get wasted. It is afterall my favourite & its rare and coveted by anyone who laid eyes on it! I coupled it with the very lovely weaved oat milk thick denim, similar to the Mushroom Mania tote at my shop. Its the only one!



Its Hello Kitty again! Just a couple more before she'll be retired too! That very same lovely Sanrio fabric! Up on etsy soon.....



Last but not least, I made Onigiri for DH! Didn't realise it'll turn out to be so perfect! I'm not a good cook but DH said it was good so I guess its all's well end's well.....

Tune in soon for more utter crap about my life!