Mornington excursion

Went on a baby road trip (2-hour drive)with the rhythm brother Wes and Brandon the tank who drives the tank, down to the Mornington Peninsula today, one of the two pincer-like tips of Melbourne to face the great ocean. The weather went nuts - stormy to sunny at least 3 times over, and they said the temp for the day was supposed to be 21, turned out to be 11degrees. Winds were insane, and we almost got swept of a bridge we were trekking on. Managed to stop by three beaches - Frankston, Cape Schank and St Andrew's (the waves for this one were killa').

Action

Saw this on a friend's MSN handle.

"Action is eloquence"

perfectly said.

Super Tuesday

To sum Tuesday up, it was a great day at the Royal Show, a massive yearly carnival. And this, was what it was all about for me. The Extreme Speed ride (see above). 3.5g man, my friends could not feel their hands after the ride, as for me - my legs were jello.

And here's the description - "The ride is primarily a 37 metre arm, connected midway to the main support of the ride. Two sets of two seats are mounted at the end of each arm, back to back. Each four-seat assembly can swing through 360 degrees. The arm rotates at 13 revolutions per minute, producing an acceleration of 3.5 g on the riders." Wikipedia

Also had a great time getting showbags, checking out the food pavillions and making raids to fill the tummy of samples and more samples, and watching pigs racing and diving.

The show's web site recommended that people take the train to the showgrounds. And guess what, the trains derailed, yet again. Public transport here is inspiring. The result was an extraordinarily long ride back to the city on the tram. All good though the tram driver was a running commentator of his every action on the road.

The rest of the day was spent having a super hotpot dinner session to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, and here're the photos that say it all. And of course, there were mooncakes and the traditional moongazing.

Ranch days

Missing the days at the ranch already. And as promised, here're some photos. =)

Wanton

Had the pleasure of learning how to make Wanton from my Chinese friends. It's wholesome family entertainment I tell you. The grand plan now is to bring a giant pot of stuffing (pork, corn starch, black fungs, and lettuce) and an army of wanton skin, and we would have pre-dinner entertainment, interaction. Make it any shape you like. Picked up the Anhui and Guangdong styles of making wantons from the two of them. Lovin' it.

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In other news, found on the ranch...

Horse riding and Fear

The wanderer returns from camp. No pictures yet. Decided to get some hi-fi photos by relying on photos taken from the former students I went to camp with. So, photos to come.

So. I love horse riding. It just harks you back to a time before, and the sights and sounds of the world were just fantastic when I was on horseback. I will do it again and again. :) Will be on the lookout for affordable lessons.

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In other news, to add onto the revelation that fear is the mind killer. Here's another take on the subject (thanks Hens for the book).

"It's not that we fear the unknown. You cannot fear something that you do not know. Nobody is afraid of the unknown. What you really fear is loss of the known. That's what you fear."

from Awareness by Anthony de Mello.

An especially good read if you're keen on spiritual awakening but do not want to veer too far off awakening of the Christian/Catholic faith.

Off to the Billabong Ranch

Distance - 232km to the Billabong Ranch.

This would rank as equal to the other longish-distance wander to Mt Buller last month. Never heard of the area before - Ecucha, it's out of Melbourne proper.

Weekend will be spent at camp, a former student's friend's church organisng a getaway. I know absolutely no one there other than the former student, so this should make an interesting experience.

List of activities?
*Indoor Mini Golf with sensor activated noises
*Pedal Boats
*30 metre Bouldering (Rock Climbing) Wall
*Indoor Animal Nursery
*Playground
*Beach Volleyball
*Table Tennis
*Outdoor Ten Pin Bowling
Photo taken from http://www.billabongranch.com.au/
PLUS - - EXTREME OFF ROAD BUGGIES...WOOHOO.

And there's horse-riding too. Pony riding I suppose since the horse bug's (equine influenza) in season. Are ponys immune? And outdoor ten pin bowling? Hmm I doubt it'll be on shiny parquet floors. Nevertheless, onward!

Knick-knacks and the brocolli tree

Tin canned toys serene behind glass,
Brocolli tree a photo opportunity.

Pretty lovely day. Had class which was great, had a Canadian guest lecturer who was bloody action-packed and humorous. Made it a point to tell him he was the best we've ever had, better than even regular faculty. He could go on and on, he went past by 18 minutes and I wished he could have gone on.

That was followed by a gentle getaway on the covered al fresco cafes of Flinders Lane, then lunch at a Sichuan place. Ordered mapo tofu, and boy. Authentic mapo tofu is bloody peppery. Be warned, all you can taste is pepper, if you ever go for the real deal.

Discovered a great library too, cleanly tucked away on Flinders Lane - the City Library - loan up to 30 books for 3 weeks + 10 dvds for a week. And it had a great selection of graphic novels, and music DVDs. Fantastic hideaway to whilst time away in the city, for sure. Loved the clean lined decor too.

Pleasantly surprised when Hensley drove down from Sydney and spent a good few hours roaming north of the city before having a murtabak with an old friend in the city for dinner. Murtabak at $6.50, a tidy joint called Bismi on Elizabeth Street - highly recommended for el cheapo-ish Indian fare, and it was all good.

All good.

Ze Mousepad

For more than two months I have lived and functioned without a mousepad. It's important to me as I still do some freelance graphic design, and I need that smooth gliding action.

I finally found my baby, reasonably priced, and functionally quite amazing after a two month hunt. They were either too pricey $10 (that's 12.50 SGD) was too much (with happy house girly prints), or too low quality ($2.50 for two in an ugly blue). Back home I'm used to getting them free as an event souvenir or the like.

So, mightily pleased when I found my baby at Harvey Norman in Moorabin. Was despatched to pick up a firewire cable (Boss had bought me a 2nd hand imac Desktop in all of its 20inch screen glory) to work on...apparently the sight of this oversized guy squinting at a laptop was too much for him) when I found it.

So here it is.



My Fellowes Microban mousepad with antimicrobial product protection. All for $5.95. Product description as such -
"Skid-free natural rubber offers the perfect surface for enhanced accuracy. Built-in Microban antimicrobial protection provides continuous cleaning action, inhibiting the growth of damaging microbes, such as bacteria, that can cause stains and odors. Long-lasting polyester surface stands up to everyday wear and tear. Provides superior tracking with both ball and optical mice, while protecting your desk surface." Source - http://www.fellowes.com/Fellowes/site/products/ProductDetails.aspx?Id=5933901

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In other news, more steak. Got a pack of 5 good weighty sirloin steak(s) for only $6.30 at Cole's, and they're good to eat till Friday. Needless to say, a good chance to improve my steak preparation technique.

Adelaide

Source http://gsr.com.au/
The wandering planet has decided to travel. First stop Adelaide. It certainly helps that there's a $99 return offer via a lovely TRAIN ride, they call it Australia's Great Train Journeys. Never quite taken one inter-state before, and I know how far the trains in Singapore took me. 42km tops. This should clock about 1,000ks. Looking forward to the mid-term semester break!

Onward.

Nasi Lemak in the house

Thought of the day -
Fear is the mind killer.

(Will have to credit Dune the book and movie for that)

And here's the rest of it (extracted from a chapter of the book)

The Bene Gesserit Littainy against Fear.
Pg 19 of Dune

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

Am working on a song based on this premise. Will endeavour to find the time to complete it whilst in the midst of two 2,250 word mini assignments. One's on a specification report for building a web site, and the other's a 'highly engaging' report on a local school community.

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Housemate was sweet, she made an uber tasty nasi lemak meal. Gourmet stuff, good enough for restaurants. So, here're some (lo-fi as usual) pictures.


And here's a pic of a steak lunch I prepared for myself. The steak itself cost only $2, and the vegetables were grilled with olive oil. Grilled vegetables are sweet! The bread was an improvised slice of garlic bread. Just chucked some minced garlic on top a slice of regular toast, and there - my own steak lunch set meal. Setback? About $3 tops.

Wisdom and Fish

"A dog is not reckoned good because it barks well,
and a man is not reckoned wise because he speaks skilfully."

Can't quite recall where it came from, but I felt it was something neat to share.

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In other news, I'm getting quite tired of my staple cooking outcomes -

1. Cabonara/Pasta with bacon and shrimp
2. Fried noodles with onions, corn, taupok and shrimp
3. The occasional slice of steak with side serve of corn
4. Oven-baked rice with beef and/or bacon
5. Instant Noodles with soup and everything else thrown in
6. Porridge with canned stuff, Teochew style - especially the black bean dace fish
7. Sandwiches - ham and cucumbers and cheese
8. Potato/Carrot Soup - usually with diced beef
9. Fried Rice - ham, eggs, onions, corn, well the lot.

Help. I realise I'm severely lacking fish in my life. Only fish I'm getting is from that canned black bean dace fish action. Red Alert.