weekend in a flash

random as can be

Saturday

Woke up thinking what should I do today?
What's after yumcha with Ching?
Decided to check out 'What's happening in Sydney?'
So there was an Etsy market in Chippendale.
Christmas' coming, all the headache shoppings...maybe I should go for a browse at the market.

Grabbed coffee on the way to the market

SYDNEY made Etsy

card makers 

baby diaper pants, head accessories

customised pillows

some kind of pillow case or bag or whatever

porcelain maybe? sorry, not good with artsy materials

jewellery and blablabla...

Pretty much an upscale of Glebe Market.
It was a quick browse.
There were TOO MANY people.
Overcrowded.
The items were pricey if not overpriced.
Not complaining, cos that's how they sustain themselves.
Didn't have time to stop and fall in love with anything because of the ever-moving crowd.

Headed back north to Macquarie Centre for some Christmas shopping.
Spotted a girl in furry home slippers on the train station escalator.
Did she forget to change shoes on her way out?
Is this some kind of latest fashion which I'm not aware of?
The socks were weird enough, and then plus the shoes.....far out...haha.
Let's assume she's here for shoe-shopping.

Spotted a lovely white cake. Must take a photo of it cos it's too beautiful. 

Danger of not having a specific Christmas shopping list beforehand - bought a couple of books for 'anyone'.
No idea who to give to.
Decided to go home and read them, if they're no good I'll return them tomorrow.

Few important points to note:

#1 

#2

So far so good.

As usual, fell asleep with the book in my hands. Lol.

Sunday

Brunch date with Mega, Charlie, and Vv.

Brought the books with me so I can read them on the train (and return them today if they suck).

Finished reading the first book from yesterday. 

Not my kind of book.

Couldn't think of anyone to give it too. 

Started on the second book.

A very good one I'd say.

I have the urge to give this to everyone on my Christmas list. Haha.

Random pages:

#1

#2

 Sorry for the bad quality phone camera and those freaking permanent grey spots which just won't go away.

Xmas tree in Central Station
and a boy whose mum's took soooooooo long to take a shot,
he could pose there for an hour.

UTS building

Spotted a quirky car while waiting for a table at the cafe.

moooochaaaaaaa

coffee-fix for the addicts

uekkk. too much food 

After brunch...
Randomly ended up in Kinokuniya.

Found a bright corner and started reading my own book.

#3

Decided that this is THE BOOK for this season.
Went to the shop to return the first book, and bought two more of the second book.
Walked too much.
Decided to rest on the benches for a bit while I figure out where's next.

Chilling at the bench with the senior citizens, aunties, uncles, and bloody smokers,
while enjoying the music from buskers.

Smokers should all smoke in a room, smell their own smoke, and kill each others lungs.

Winterbourne busking at Pitt Street Mall

Made up my mind for a cup of Boost.
Wanted to try their new Black Label series but damn....$9 for an original Boost?
You're so kidding me!
Wonder if they did a market survey on these prices. Ridiculous.
Plus all of the choices have pineapple in them. zzZZzz. Forget about it.

Headed to the station for home.
Got out of the station, bus was coming in 11mins.
Decided to run to Coles on the next street to grab some Connoisseur ice-creams.
Got a couple of tubs.
Ran back to the bus-stop - 2mins till the bus comes.
It only came 12mins later - M54 you're never ever ever punctual!
Poor Connoisseurs melted under the 26deg sun...
Finally home - 5pm.

Recorded 75,000 steps for the week on my pedometer.
Should aim for 100,000 next. 

if someone died today...

not always a happy ending

Something to think about...

If I died today, would you be satisfied with the last conversation we had?

If you died today, would I be satisfied with the last conversation we had?

If any of us died today, would I regret that a conversation didn't take place?

Familiar faces flashed through my mind.

- My sis - our last conversation was about me brushing her off when all she wanted was to vent her frustration. She hasn't been heard for more than 24 hours.

- My grandma - I can't recall the last conversation we had just cos I haven't called home for awhile.

- A friend - we haven't talked for a long long time cos all of a sudden I'm not sure if what I see is what I know and what I hear is what I'm not supposed to know. If one party isn't sharing openly and has so much to hide, would it be sustainable? It takes two to tango isn't it? I can't be dancing on my own all the time. Till I figure this out...

If they died today, no, I won't be fine.

If I died today?
Family will be hit hard.
But friend would just move on, I believe.
We're unique to our family, but to friends, we can always be replaced with another.
Oh well, C'est la vie.

Reminder:
- Be kind and empathetic with our speeches.
- Keep in touch with people we care. 'Busy' is never an excuse. 'Tomorrow' may never come.
- Keep conversations in a healthy state such that there's no regret whatsoever.

Random conversations from today:

- My roommate - I showed her proof of how farting could burn calories and she went zzzz. Lol.

- A friend - where I told him about my diarrhoea, he said I needed practice and reminded me to drink plenty of water. And then went on to talk about Clash of Clans - zzz What's new?

blessed

blessed is a feeling. 

blessed is
having people to count on when in times of need.

blessed is
having people to count you in when in times of joy.

blessed is
seeing a familiar face when you haven't met one in days.

blessed is
having someone to entertain your randomness.

to all of you

thanks for helping me with the air tickets.
thanks for opening your Melbourne door by default for me.
thanks for having me in mind as a company.
thanks for the random free lunch and chatter.
thanks for the impromptu 360 km.

you may not realise the little things you do or say would have meant a lot on the other side.

thanks for just being here or there.

rest assured, I'll be here for you to count on. whenever, wherever, whatever.

no rush

stand still, once awhile

Everything was fine with the transport this morning.
No missed buses.
No missed train.
No long waiting time.
Except, I missed the stop.
Lol.
Didn't even realise it until 5 mins later.
Hopped off at the next stop, Chatswood.

While everyone's hurrying through the hustle and bustle at the platform to get to the escalator, one very 'calm' soul got onto it first.
Completely blocked out the human traffic on the escalator.
Ahhhhhh to cry or to laugh?? Omg...

Hello, Buddy. Are you a human-traffic controller on escalators?

Oh well... I guess I could wait.

What's 20 secs compared to the 10 mins for missing the stop?

This is the most unexpected 'delay' ever.

Thanks Buddy, for slowing my momentum down.

It's the first time I actually stood still on an escalator during the morning peak. Lol.

A simple act of showing all of us how to take it easy, don't rush, stay calm, and be patient. Haha.

when you have colleague like this...

laugh and get over it

For the night work on Sunday, we were supposed to inspect a bridge which spans over Road A.

While waiting for the traffic management to be set up, he decided to drive to Road A to check out the conditions under the bridge.
He set his GPS to Road A and found that the GPS shows a longer route.
So he asked if I trust a GPS.
I said yes.
He said he doesn't trust the GPS because it's taking a longer route when Road A is just round the corner.
I told him if he knows the way, just ignore the GPS.
He confidently said he is sure where Road A is.
In 2 mins, we arrived at 'Road A'.

It was in the middle of the night and pitch black.
We were relying on the street lights from above the bridge to guide our eyes.
He started looking at the bridge from below it.

The more I looked, the more I find the bridge different.
Out of nowhere there was reinforced soil wall around the abutments but the old 1950's drawings I've seen do not show any wall. So I thought the walls were newly-added features.

Me: Hmm...why did they build the soil wall now? Is there any use at all? 
Him: (wasn't paying attention to me)
Me: If the wall's there, how are we gonna inspect?
Him: Hmm, I don't know...

The bridge looked really different from the construction drawings.
Even without much lighting, I could tell it looks different.
The piers were circular while the drawings I saw have squarish piers.

Me: Hey, I don't think this is the right bridge. I don't remember seeing walls in the drawings. And it has circular piers? 
Him: Sorry?
Me: See. Circular piers. And soil walls? Since when?
Him: You're right...
Me: ??? Omg?! What are we doing? Where are we actually? Lol.
Him: Jialat man. Luckily you're observant. If not, we'll be doing the wrong bridge tonight.
Me: ..... 
Him: Why are you laughing man? Jialat. Now you gonna tell the whole world about this.
Me: The bridge looks completely different, you know?

Sweat. It's so not funny but I found myself laughing.
I was speechless and confused as to how he could get the bridge wrong.
And no wonder the GPS was taking a 'longer route'.
Talking about not trusting a GPS? LOL.

Usually I'd get very pissed when he does mistakes like this - not getting things right the first time.
I guess I was emotionally drained, sleepy, and tired to feel anything that night.
And also, earlier when I arrived at where he was supposed to pick me, I found him napping in the car. He must have waited for a bit, though I was right on time. I felt sorry for him and decided to be kind for a night. Poor old man meets a lady with a soft heart. Haha.

After the whole GPS joke, we went to Maccas while waiting for traffic management to close the highway.
We chatted in a more casual way. I was less aggressive and more patient.
I felt he has been trying very very hard to know me better.
I wished it's all written on my face so it makes life easier for him.
I know I'm difficult to grasp and can be difficult at times.
Maybe one day, he'll give up trying. Haha.

What I learned from this night shift is...I can be kind to him. 
I shall keep this in mind.

P/s: He went for other site inspections this week. Took hundreds of photos at a few sites. Returned to the office only to find that the photos weren't saved on the memory card. King of jokers.

If I went with him, I wonder if I would be mad at his carelessness?
Maybe if I were there, I could have saved his day - again. Hehehe.

my dear sister

blessed to have sisters

These days, it's hard to find travel mate.
Perhaps the places I want to go are not appealing to many - India, Myanmar, Nepal.

Shopping
Food-hunting
Spa and massage
Luxurious hotel or homey Airbnb
High tech world-class transportation

In exchange for...

Dusts
Dirty food
Polluted city
Dodgy motel
Traffic jam
Charcoal pills
And immeasurable life experience, which can never be 'shared' on Facebook or 'posted' on Instagram.
Sadly, if it can't be 'seen', it won't be popular.

The few who might be interested are in Msia and Singapore, with different holiday periods it's hard to get a mutual period and length of travel.

After repeating (as usual) a few times to my sis about not being able to find travel mates to Myanmar, I think she had enough of listening to the same whinge over and over again.

Despite always nagging me for travelling to ulu places - end up with food-poisoning and had to visit the local hospital, out of contact for a few days due to bad reception, altitude sickness, delayed flights, etc. - she signed up as my Myanmar travel mate.

Haha. You're the best!

I know I'm sometimes (maybe always) unpredictable, random, out of the norm, lazy in planning, lazy to check for cheapest prices, make quick decision and deal with the issues later, bad in time scheduling, etc.

Maybe in other words, I'm not an organised traveller and not the best travel partner.

Thanks for still willing to jump on this 'sinking' ship.

I don't wanna do anything less than 7 days and I also know it's hard to leave the baby behind for more than 7 days, hence I really don't wanna drag her along with me - especially knowing that it won't be some kind of luxurious, pampering, eat-till-you-drop trip.

Can change place, don't change me

I said I can find other people to come with me so she won't have to.
She insisted to come.
Not for the sake of seeing places.
More of being my company and being in my company.
I appreciate that.
It's something you can never get from a normal friend.
And something people without sister will ever understand.

The whole bunch of things friends will consider before accompanying you to anywhere or sparing just few hours of their time are:
- why, where, how, what, when, who
- destination
- purpose
- budget
- annual leaves
- work commitment
- weather
- their partner
- their interests
- their pet
- their diet
- their me-time
- their savings plan
- their sleep
- anything you would never think of...

Sometimes, I use these 'excuses' myself.
The 'excuses' may be true to some extent, but the better truth is, the company isn't right.

And 'friends' will probably take...
A year to decide if they wanna go on a holiday with you.
6 months to decide if they wanna invite you to a holiday with them.
3 months to decide if they wanna visit you.
1 month to decide if they wanna spend the next long weekend with you.
1 week to decide if they wanna spend the next weekend with you.
3 days to decide if they wanna have dinner with you.
Just because there are so many other people and things who/which come before you. That's what waiting-list is for.

Truly, there is only ONE main reason - you are not the person they wanna spend time with.

Other than giving me life, the next important thing that Mum gave me are my lovely sisters. Couldn't have asked for anything else.

I'm also appreciative of my other non-biological sisters who entered my life by fate.

One offered to accompany me to Myanmar, though she can only do 4 days due to family commitment, I'll have to do the remaining 3-6 days on my own. Well, at least she tried. And no, the last thing I want is for people to sacrifice for me, so she's not allowed to come along. Haha. 

In the end of the day, what's important is the quality of the company. Destination doesn't matter.
In order to be able to travel together, we decided to choose a nearer place, for under 5 days.

'Change place and not change her'.

Oh Myanmar...I shall visit you when a travel mate comes along.

All of you, thanks for loving me. I love you too.

tranquil moment

 external factors are just perceptions

Tried so hard to fall asleep at an awkward hour of 5.30pm, for the sake of tonight's site work.
I'm so not an afternoon nap person. Bahhhhh~

When I'm almost entering my dreamland, the flatmate came home with her bf and there went all the yelling, knocking, banging, tv... She obviously didn't think that I'd be home.

Omgoshhhhhh!!!

Gave up! Let's just be a zombie tonight.

On the side note...

I stumbled upon the St John's Anglican Church while wandering alone in Glebe today. Not sure what brought me into the church, maybe my heart wanted my mind to shut down for a bit. Haha.

No doubt, it is one of the places to be if you're after some tranquil moments. 

Even if the old benches stink,

Even if there was rock band playing right outside,

The mind was able to ignore the stinky air and loud band, completely shut itself down  - just what I needed.

You showed me that external factors are just perceptions.

Thank you, Church.