Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Lunar Eclipse


In case you were wondering why I started writing in Japanese all of a sudden, I met up with an old Japanese friend (and her bf) last Friday and have been annoyed at myself for not being able to communicate in Japanese as well as I could have, for not trying harder to keep up my language skills. Geez, I'm such a lazy bum.

3 weeks break from badminton has taken its toll. I lost 5 out of 6 games! Grrr...It's not like I haven't been exercising. I've been working out at the gym at least once a week, going to Pilates...but I guess different muscles are used. I've been unbelievably stiff and sore since Sunday morning...

And thanks to my Company, I made an appointment and took a 10 min massage break at work this afternoon. Lucky for me, today's massage therapist was great. It's amazing what a little pressure in the right spots can do. And she found all my problem spots first go! Too bad it's her last week...
Posted by Picasa

Monday, August 27, 2007

春の息吹き

また、のんびりした週末でした。

土曜日、昼まで寝坊しちゃって、ブランチを食べながらDVDを見ました。午後、友人と出かけて、映画を見に行きました。家に帰ったら、お客さんが夕食に来ました。6人家族プラス3人だけだったが、騒々しい集まりになりましたね。中国人はやはり声が大きいですね。だけど、こういう環境に苦手な私は頭が痛くなってしまって、ちょっとぼんやりしました。ごめんね!^^;

{ゆうひ}昨 日の天気が良かったし、暖かかったし、パパと二人でお持ち帰りのカプチーノを手に持って、近くの公園へ向かいました。夕日が青空をピンク色に染めるまで、 新聞を読んだり、公園で巨大なフリスビーで楽しそうに遊んでいた子供たちを見たりして、アフタヌーン・ティーを楽しみました。最高!v(^-^)v

Monday, August 20, 2007

偶然出会いが多く、食べ過ぎた週末

週末は忙しくて、楽しかったです。^^

土 曜日のお昼、EWの家でお好み焼き作りに行って、3人で4枚も食べてしまいました。美味しかった~!味噌汁も!^^ 食い終わったら、いっしょにアパート 探しに行きました。そこで、偶然、不動産業者のママの友人に出会って、びっくりしました。お疲れ様でした!や~便利な地域はやはり高いなぁ~

夜の約束の前に、シティーに住んでるいとこと義理のいとこに久しぶりにばったり出会って、コーヒーをごちそうになりました。ありがとう!^^

その後、香港から遊びに来た家族ぐるみの友人達のお別会に行って、みんな夜遅くまで楽しくしゃべり続けました。

次の日、家族みんなで(弟たちを除き)遠くに住んでいるCをドライブに連れて行くと約束しました。朝から大雨が降って、行けるかなぁと心配していたが、出発時間になったら雨がほとんどやめました。ラッキー!^^ 夜、また大雨でしたけど。
結 局シドニーから 103km 離れた Bowral という田舎町まで行って、
そっちの人気なコーヒーショップでランチを食べました。我が家から、二時間半喪かかりました。でも、その店の野菜ラザニアは本当に おいしくてたまらない!デザートは新しく開いたケーキ屋さんへ。私が注文したパッションフルーツ・チーズケーキはとてもくリーミーでおいしかったです。: P

この"ダイエット"を続くと、絶対太っちゃいますね。やばい!今週、必ずジムに行かなきゃ。それとマッサージも!一日中パソコンの前に座ることにまだ慣れてなくて、肩がこってしまって...

Monday, August 13, 2007

What a nice surprise!

会社帰りに電車の中で3年以上会わなかった友人にばったり出会いました。うれしいびっくりでした!彼女は名古屋で留学した頃に知り合った友人で、今シド ニーに住んでいます。お住まいはかなり近くで、最近、メールでご飯を食べに行こうという話をしてたばかりです。偶然でしたね。長い間日本語を使ってなかっ たのに、ワクワクしていても日本語が思い出せて良かったです。^^

いかん!ねむい!

それでは、おやすみ...(-o-)...zzz

Sunday, August 12, 2007

37th Annual City 2 Surf

It was a beautiful spring-like day, with temperatures in the mid-20s at least...perfect weather to spend outdoors! It was the first time I participated in the annual City 2 Surf fun run (thanks to A's influence) and it was great. Over 64,500 people registered for the event, raising more than $850,000 for charity. Participants were split into 3 groups: the serious competitors, the runners and the "Back of the Pack" (that's us!^^). For safety reasons, the start times were staggered for each group. It was bizarre to hear the winners of the race announced over the loudspeakers before we had even crossed the start line.

We took it easy, enjoyed the live music and stopped to take photos of the spectacular ocean views. As we walked through the residential areas, there were kids who had set up their own little drink stands in their front yards and handed out homemade lemonade and pieces of orange & mandarin to passing participants. The generous kids, the talented musicians, the guy who leaned over the fence/wall to spray water on people wanting to cool down...I love this great Aussie spirit! (^o^)/

Despite only getting 4 hours sleep last night (I went to watch Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical...wonderful constumes, great music and dancing...loads of fun! Sorry, got sidetracked...) I managed to finish the race in under 3 hours. Our finish time was around 2 hours 50 minutes (to be officially published in the newspaper on Tuesday), and we each received a bronze "I finished" medallion. Go team!

My goal for next year is 2 hours. I guess I'd better start training!

Sunday, August 5, 2007

My weekend

I went to see Spelling Bee the Musical on Saturday. It may be unusual to describe a musical as fun, but it was. It was so hilariously funny that I laughed till my stomach hurt! 4 members of the audience were invited to go up on stage and be a Spelling Bee contestant. They were such good sports! The young boy introduced as having been breast-fed until yesterday and answered with a "thank you", the elderly lady who shyly copied the sexy young emcee's sexy dance...

Tough words were given to the guests one at a time, to kick them out of the contest and off the stage. The elderly lady, the last remaining contestant from the audience, got "guardyloo" (Scot. used as a warning cry when throwing slops from the window into the street - courtesy of Answers.com) and spelt it correctly, much to the surprise of the cast who laughed and frantically looked at each other and offstage not knowing what to do. The entire audience was laughing hysterically. After a minute or two, the emcee called on the elderly lady again, and gave her "xenophthalmia" ( inflammation resulting from the presence of a foreign body in the eye - again, courtesy of Answers.com). Before she even opened her mouth to speak, the "comforter" crept up beside her holding out the consolation prize of a small juice box, waiting to escort her off the stage. She was still given a chance to spell it though and she almost got it right!

The cast was amazing, as was the audience. I had such a good time that I'd go see it again if yesterday weren't the final day. I think my brothers would really enjoy it too.

After a coffee at QVB, A and I caught the train back to her place. We got takeaway pizza and watched a DVD. Thanks for a wonderful day, A!

Today was a lazy, relaxing day. I felt too tired and lazy to go to badminton, so I stayed in my warm bed and read till lunch time. I continued to read after lunch and before I knew it, it was time to get ready to go out for dinner. Met up with a uni friend who I haven't seen in 3 years, and her fiance. The mains were overpriced, but the warm apple tart served with Blue Ribbon ice-cream was delectable.^^

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Not my day...

What an exciting day it was today! One, I discovered the MILO Bar...very sweet, but oh so tasty. Two, I had training and left work earlier than usual. Technically I was entitled to leave early coz I arrived at the office early, but apparently the Company didn't think so and I was trapped in one of the office lifts (for my American-English proficient friends: lift = elevator) for close to an hour. Apparently, I was the 4th or 5th person to be trapped in one of the North Tower lifts today. I guess the big meeting room where the training was held is pretty soundproof, coz I didn't hear the emergency bell ring at all throughout the day. Well, good thing it was the end of the work day and I was heading home. That meant that I had my phone and my trusty Mary Poppins bag with me. Thanks go to my good friend on level 2 who kept me company on the phone while I completed my Sudoku waiting for the technician to come and fix the lift.^^ I really think an "OUT OF ORDER" sign should be posted on the North Tower lifts. This would make it 3 out of 4 days that the lifts have failed this week. What good is it if the technician "fixes" it and then it breaks down in another hour or so? I must remember to use the South Tower lifts tomorrow.

After being freed, I power-walked to the station and arrived in time to catch the 6:14 all-stations-to-Hornsby train. Except that it turned out not to be the 6:14 train, but the delayed 6:07 express train which does not stop at my destination. Either that, or it was the 6:14 running late so they decided to skip a few stations. Since no one on the train was freaking out, my guess is it's the former.

The station I get on at has a manually adjusted board that indicates the time of the next train and the stations it will stop at. However, the station master starts closing up at like 5:30 and instead of changing the boards, he puts up an A4 notice that says "Trains to Hornsby depart every 10 mintues". Well what use is that for the people who don't go all the way to Hornsby, or the poeple who don't get off at the major stations? On the train, anouncements are also few and far between. Depending on the train conductor and what mood s/he is in, they will (or not) announce what the next stop will be. Well, not today. I only realised when the train went right past my station. Thankfully on my train line, even the express trains aren't all that much faster (they only skip 3-4 stations) so the next stop wasn't too far away.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given how many times this has happened. And I forked out $460+ for a 5-and-a-half month train pass. Now the rail company wants to raise fares once again. If they continue to provide this standard of service, I think not!