Sunday, December 30, 2007
「1リットルの涙」
今日、一日中、日本ドラマの「1リットルの涙」を見た。感動しすぎて、１エピソードの間にティッシュペーパーを平均3枚も使った。私、涙をどのぐらい流したかな？このドラマは泣きたいけど泣き出せないときに見るといいかもね。＾＾
Friday, December 28, 2007
Christmas road trips
These past few days have been fun but exhausting, and I'm glad to be spending this weekend at home.^^
On Christmas Eve I spent the day working hard in the office (^^), then pigged out on all the yummy food and played Wii at a high school friend's party. Although I made a fool of myself on the Wii, it was a good time and the party brought back some good old memories. Both she and I had been overseas, so it's been many years since we last met up here in Oz.
Christmas Day was overcast and unusually cool this year. I picked Mum up from the airport early in the morning. The rest of the family was supposed to join us for brekkie, but just as we were arriving at the place they called to say that they were still at home. Grrr.... So it was just Mum and me. We ended up getting take-away and head for home. We had a bbq party with the extended family at my relos place down the road later that afternoon. Guitar Hero kept the guys entertained for hours before and after the feast. I'm hopeless when it comes to video games so I just watched.^^
The warm, sunny weather was back on Boxing Day when I went on a road trip down the South coast with a bunch of friends. Our first stop was supposed to be Minnamurra Rainforest, but we got a bit lost so decided to head for Kiama, a popular tourist destination about 120km south of Sydney, first. We parked the car and walked along the beach towards the "blowhole" before grabbing some gourmet sandwiches for lunch.
We also picked up some tourist maps at Kiama and made our way to Minnamurra Rainforest where we did the Minnamurra Falls walk. The estimated time was 2-2.5 hours but we made it in 1.5 hours! Though there was a rather steep uphill section, it was a pleasant walk. The clean, crisp air was refreshing. There were some beautiful, humongous trees which would likely be marked as sacred if it were in Japan. The waterfall seen from the top of the hill was also a spectacular sight. I wonder how this compares to the more well-known Daintree Rainforest up in Queensland? I will make my way up there one day.
After the bushwalk, we hit the road again and set off for Shellharbour beach. I didn't think this was a particularly special beach, but it was a nice place to sit, relax and enjoy the ocean view after a long day.
On the way home, we stopped by Brighton le Sands (another beach) for a quick dinner. There were lots of Greek and Italian restaurants but we couldn't decide on where to eat so we just settled on the foodcourt where everyone could order the cuisine they liked. I had a laksa which was surprisingly good.
Click here for Kiama photos.
The following day (27th) was a work day, but I took the day off and went sightseeing with my Taiwanese friend and her colleague instead.^^ We drove out to the Blue Mountains and started off the day with the Katoomba Falls - Prince Henry Cliff Walk to Echo Point to see the Three Sisters. Though the recent wet weather made the ground very muddy, it was a nice easy walk with spectacular views of the Blue Mountains and valley. We were lucky the rain held off until we had finished the walk, otherwise we would have been totally drenched as we had left all our wet weather gear in the car.
After a pleasant lunch at the nearby Solitary Kiosk on Mt. Solitary, we set off for Jenolan Caves. The last time I went was on a Year 11 or 12 overnight science excursion, which was a lot of fun. We toured the same cave as we did on the excursion - Lucas, the largest in the Jenolan cave system.
On the way back to Sydney, we drove through a wild thunderstorm. The raindrops suddenly got bigger and heavier. Cars on the road slowed from 80km/h to 10km/h. I could barely see anything besides the lights of the car in front of me. I had not driven in such conditions before and it was quite frightening. Luckily the storm only lasted a few minutes and we all got home safely.^^
Blue Mountains photos here.
On Christmas Eve I spent the day working hard in the office (^^), then pigged out on all the yummy food and played Wii at a high school friend's party. Although I made a fool of myself on the Wii, it was a good time and the party brought back some good old memories. Both she and I had been overseas, so it's been many years since we last met up here in Oz.
Christmas Day was overcast and unusually cool this year. I picked Mum up from the airport early in the morning. The rest of the family was supposed to join us for brekkie, but just as we were arriving at the place they called to say that they were still at home. Grrr.... So it was just Mum and me. We ended up getting take-away and head for home. We had a bbq party with the extended family at my relos place down the road later that afternoon. Guitar Hero kept the guys entertained for hours before and after the feast. I'm hopeless when it comes to video games so I just watched.^^
The warm, sunny weather was back on Boxing Day when I went on a road trip down the South coast with a bunch of friends. Our first stop was supposed to be Minnamurra Rainforest, but we got a bit lost so decided to head for Kiama, a popular tourist destination about 120km south of Sydney, first. We parked the car and walked along the beach towards the "blowhole" before grabbing some gourmet sandwiches for lunch.
We also picked up some tourist maps at Kiama and made our way to Minnamurra Rainforest where we did the Minnamurra Falls walk. The estimated time was 2-2.5 hours but we made it in 1.5 hours! Though there was a rather steep uphill section, it was a pleasant walk. The clean, crisp air was refreshing. There were some beautiful, humongous trees which would likely be marked as sacred if it were in Japan. The waterfall seen from the top of the hill was also a spectacular sight. I wonder how this compares to the more well-known Daintree Rainforest up in Queensland? I will make my way up there one day.
After the bushwalk, we hit the road again and set off for Shellharbour beach. I didn't think this was a particularly special beach, but it was a nice place to sit, relax and enjoy the ocean view after a long day.
On the way home, we stopped by Brighton le Sands (another beach) for a quick dinner. There were lots of Greek and Italian restaurants but we couldn't decide on where to eat so we just settled on the foodcourt where everyone could order the cuisine they liked. I had a laksa which was surprisingly good.
Click here for Kiama photos.
The following day (27th) was a work day, but I took the day off and went sightseeing with my Taiwanese friend and her colleague instead.^^ We drove out to the Blue Mountains and started off the day with the Katoomba Falls - Prince Henry Cliff Walk to Echo Point to see the Three Sisters. Though the recent wet weather made the ground very muddy, it was a nice easy walk with spectacular views of the Blue Mountains and valley. We were lucky the rain held off until we had finished the walk, otherwise we would have been totally drenched as we had left all our wet weather gear in the car.
After a pleasant lunch at the nearby Solitary Kiosk on Mt. Solitary, we set off for Jenolan Caves. The last time I went was on a Year 11 or 12 overnight science excursion, which was a lot of fun. We toured the same cave as we did on the excursion - Lucas, the largest in the Jenolan cave system.
On the way back to Sydney, we drove through a wild thunderstorm. The raindrops suddenly got bigger and heavier. Cars on the road slowed from 80km/h to 10km/h. I could barely see anything besides the lights of the car in front of me. I had not driven in such conditions before and it was quite frightening. Luckily the storm only lasted a few minutes and we all got home safely.^^
Blue Mountains photos here.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Party season (^O^)/
Ever since I went to the Chinese doctor/herbalist/acupunture therapist about my ankle, who gave it a painful massage, jabbed my un-injured ankle with acupuncture needles in 2 spots and gave it a smelly herbal treatment, it has been feeling a lot stronger. Or would it be the same with no treatment? I think going back to my weekly Pilates lunchtime class 2 weeks ago, has also helped the healing process. I think I will try to work it a bit more this week...might try the exercise bike and treadmill. I've been feeling so lazy and unfit these couple of weeks! *sigh*
I have been doing plenty of partying though.^^
It's been 4 years since I spent Christmas here in Sydney and it's busier than I remember it ever being.
The JETAA Christmas Party was 2 weekends ago. (Sorry, no photos...) They booked out one section of a hotel bar in Glebe which was quite nice. I spent most of the evening chatting with people I already knew, but I also met 2 nice Japanese girls on working holiday visas whose English was amazing. Too bad I didn't meet them earlier...they're leaving in February. (T~T)
Last weekend, I went to my cousin & cousin-in-law's joint b'day/xmas/graduation/new house party. It was also at a hotel bar, but in Newtown. The private space they booked was an open deck area with a small room attached, and access to a separate bar area. It was just the right size for the number of people who went. The finger food they served was great; there was a cheese platter, a fruit platter, sushi, sausage rolls, spinach and fetta pastries...almost buffet style! A big thumbs up, and congrats!^^
My work end-of-year party was last Monday night. Yes, Monday night. Probably coz it's cheaper and they organised it so late. It was my first work-related end-of-year party with an western company. Very different to the Japanese enkai.^^ I liked the venue, which had a great view of Sydney Harbour. We were lucky it didn't rain; it's been so wet and gloomy these 2 weeks. I wish my mood wasn't so dependent on the weather...(^^;) Anyway, there was quite a big turnout and most people seemed to be having a good time, myself included, despite the disappointing food menu (they served the same 5 or so dishes - which weren't particularly tasty or satisfying - throughout the night!) and LC dragging me out onto the dance floor (jk^^). I like to watch people dancing but I don't like to dance. I guess all those ballet and tap dance classes I took during my primary school years has done nothing for my dancing instincts - I'm too uncoordinated! I wonder if dancing lessons could help me now? Or perhaps it's a confidence thing...
On Saturday (after accompanying my friend to check out a local gym class and half a day of shopping^^) I attended my friend's work party at a German restaurant/bar at the Rocks which she kindly invited me to. Unfortunately I don't think I'm quite cut out for German food. It's a bit too rich and heavy for the likes of me. Though I must admit, the mashed potato was great! The live music was cheerful but it was rather loud, which made it very difficult to keep a conversation going for long. Shouting across the table didn't help my already sore throat. I hope I haven't caught the bad cough my youngest brother has...must get more sleep this week!
Photos here
Today, I tried out the Body Step class at another gym with APFC whoc is shopping around for a gym. It was my first time going to Body Step - it's quite hard core and requires good coordination. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep up with the moves (T~T). And it didn't help that my quads were sore at half time! I almost slipped off the Step a couple of times which was kinda dangerous. Well hopefully this will motivate me to do some more exercise this week!
I have been doing plenty of partying though.^^
It's been 4 years since I spent Christmas here in Sydney and it's busier than I remember it ever being.
The JETAA Christmas Party was 2 weekends ago. (Sorry, no photos...) They booked out one section of a hotel bar in Glebe which was quite nice. I spent most of the evening chatting with people I already knew, but I also met 2 nice Japanese girls on working holiday visas whose English was amazing. Too bad I didn't meet them earlier...they're leaving in February. (T~T)
Last weekend, I went to my cousin & cousin-in-law's joint b'day/xmas/graduation/new house party. It was also at a hotel bar, but in Newtown. The private space they booked was an open deck area with a small room attached, and access to a separate bar area. It was just the right size for the number of people who went. The finger food they served was great; there was a cheese platter, a fruit platter, sushi, sausage rolls, spinach and fetta pastries...almost buffet style! A big thumbs up, and congrats!^^
My work end-of-year party was last Monday night. Yes, Monday night. Probably coz it's cheaper and they organised it so late. It was my first work-related end-of-year party with an western company. Very different to the Japanese enkai.^^ I liked the venue, which had a great view of Sydney Harbour. We were lucky it didn't rain; it's been so wet and gloomy these 2 weeks. I wish my mood wasn't so dependent on the weather...(^^;) Anyway, there was quite a big turnout and most people seemed to be having a good time, myself included, despite the disappointing food menu (they served the same 5 or so dishes - which weren't particularly tasty or satisfying - throughout the night!) and LC dragging me out onto the dance floor (jk^^). I like to watch people dancing but I don't like to dance. I guess all those ballet and tap dance classes I took during my primary school years has done nothing for my dancing instincts - I'm too uncoordinated! I wonder if dancing lessons could help me now? Or perhaps it's a confidence thing...
On Saturday (after accompanying my friend to check out a local gym class and half a day of shopping^^) I attended my friend's work party at a German restaurant/bar at the Rocks which she kindly invited me to. Unfortunately I don't think I'm quite cut out for German food. It's a bit too rich and heavy for the likes of me. Though I must admit, the mashed potato was great! The live music was cheerful but it was rather loud, which made it very difficult to keep a conversation going for long. Shouting across the table didn't help my already sore throat. I hope I haven't caught the bad cough my youngest brother has...must get more sleep this week!
Photos here
Today, I tried out the Body Step class at another gym with APFC whoc is shopping around for a gym. It was my first time going to Body Step - it's quite hard core and requires good coordination. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep up with the moves (T~T). And it didn't help that my quads were sore at half time! I almost slipped off the Step a couple of times which was kinda dangerous. Well hopefully this will motivate me to do some more exercise this week!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Hail storm
It was a hot, humid Sunday. I was sitting at home watching a DVD with a friend and all of a sudden it sounded like rocks were being thrown on our roof. We were in the path of a wild summer hail storm, which I haven't experienced in quite a while. It felt like it went on for quite some time, but I think it hailed for just a few minutes (followed by some heavy rain). Some areas seemed to have gotten it bad...the poor families who's housese were damaged.
In a wild storm last year, one of the big pine trees in our backyard fell onto our roof. I wasn't here, but it must've been quite frightening. We were fortunate this time 'round, thank goodness.
Look at our front yard...
...looks like it had snowed. Except that it's summer. And it all melted away within the space of a couple of minutes.
The biggest hail stones that fell in our yard were about 3cm in diameter. Interesting shape, huh.
(Photographer: Dad)
In a wild storm last year, one of the big pine trees in our backyard fell onto our roof. I wasn't here, but it must've been quite frightening. We were fortunate this time 'round, thank goodness.
Look at our front yard...
...looks like it had snowed. Except that it's summer. And it all melted away within the space of a couple of minutes.
The biggest hail stones that fell in our yard were about 3cm in diameter. Interesting shape, huh.
(Photographer: Dad)
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