.: The Scribbles of a Cheeky Little Elf Princess :.

Chermside - shopping haven

2008-01-24T15:46:00.000+10:00

Ooo feelers...

Trying to get a shot of me and the pweeeeety dwress, but...

Lights. Sights. Action!

2007-12-03T13:08:00.000+10:00

Friday night in the city with my church friend, Lolina. =)

Random photos of me and my friends in Brisbane

2007-12-03T12:29:00.000+10:00

EDIT: Yes, this is Sam. No, he is not my BF. For the love of God and my sanity.... dear family, are you so desperate to marry me off that any member of the opposite gender I'm photographed with automatically gets crowned my BF? Good lord!

Last Food Post Before I'm Back in Singapore

2007-12-02T22:54:00.000+10:00

French Fusion Feast, using the special ingredient of ginger (I had to do a recipe for my Professional Writing class)

Marinating the fish

Homemade Ginger Ale

Ingredients:

• 1 cup finely chopped ginger

• 2 cups water (480 ml)

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 cup water

• 1 cup club soda

• Lime juice

• Lime wedges for decoration

Preparation:

1) Boil the 2 cups of water in a saucepan.

2) Add the ginger and turn the heat down to low, allowing the ginger to simmer in the water for at least 10 minutes.

3) Lift the saucepan off the stove and it aside to steep for 20 minutes.

4) Using a fine mesh strainer or sieve, pour the saucepan’s contents through it, collecting the liquid and discarding the ginger bits.

5) To make a simple syrup for the ginger water (as the ginger water on its own would be too bitter to drink), dissolve 1 cup of granulated sugar into 1 cup of boiling water.

6) When the sugar has dissolved, add the syrup, and the club soda to the ginger water, and stir the mixture. According to your own preference, add more soda as you see fit.

TIP: Add a few drops of fresh lime juice, and a lime wedge to the edge of glass when serving to decorate it. The lime juice will complement the ginger ale beautifully.

Tomatoes & Zucchinis

Ratatouille Niçoise

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions

• 2 large ripe tomatoes

• 1 zucchini, do not peel, just dice

• 1 green capsicum, remove seeds & dice

• 1 tsp finely chopped garlic

• 5 thin slices of ginger

• ¼ cup oil

• 1 ½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp ground black pepper

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme, parsley

Preparation:

1) Heat oil in the pot, and on medium heat, fry the onions, stirring, until they are soft, but not brown just yet (otherwise it would be overcooked later).

2) Add the zucchini, tomatoes, capsicum, ginger, garlic, seasonings, and herbs.

3) Stir well, turning the heat very low, and cover it.

4) Allow the Ratatouille to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure that the vegetables do not stick to the bottom of the pot. The vegetables should be soft, but not cooked to a pulp.

TIP: Sprinkle on a dash of cracked peppercorns and Hungarian paprika for a burst of extra flavour.

Gingered Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp oil

• ¼ cup fresh ginger, minced

• 5 cups chopped carrots

• 1½ cups orange juice

• 2 stalks celery, chopped

• 1½ onions, diced

• 1 potato, chopped into large chunks

• ½ cup mushrooms, chopped in half

• 3 cloves whole garlic

• sprig of thyme

• 8 cups water

• 1 tsp dark soy sauce

• dash of salt and pepper

Preparation:
1) Except the carrots, and saving a tsp each of onion and ginger for later, throw the rest of the ingredients into a large pot, bringing it to a boil.

2) Put the heat on low and let it simmer for at least 40 minutes. After the first 10 minutes, however, remember to remove the thyme or the potent herb will overpower the flavour of the dish.

3) After 40 minutes, using the fine mesh, strain out the vegetables, and collect the liquid (vegetable broth) in a bowl. As for the boiled vegetables, set them aside for the Ratatouille Niçoise.

4) Now in a large pot, sauté onions and ginger in a bit of oil for about 5 minutes.

5) Pour in the vegetable broth and add the carrots, reducing the heat to medium. Allow it to simmer for about 45 minutes, or until you are sure the carrots are soft.

TIP: If you prefer your soup to be smooth rather than chunky, blend the mixture in a food processor.

Poached Basa Fillets in Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients:

• 4 basa fillets (or any other type of white fish)

• 2 onions, chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

• parsley & thyme, chopped together

• 450 ml dry white wine

• 1 tbsp salt

• dashes of cracked peppercorns

• ground black pepper

• 135g mushrooms, sliced

• 50g butter

• 50g cornflour

• 3 egg yolks

• 4 tbsps light soy sauce

• 10 thin slices of ginger

• a few drops of lemon juice

Preparation:

1) Wash the fish fillets, and rub the soy sauce, salt and ground black pepper into the fish.

2) In a bowl, layer fish, ginger, and soy sauce evenly; then set it aside to marinate.

3) In a saucepan cook the mushrooms and half of the onions in butter until the mushrooms turn brown and emit a lovely fragrant aroma.

4) Add the cornflour, which will thicken the sauce, so remember to stir continuously. Simmer for 7 minutes.

5) In the meantime, quickly stir the egg yolks together with the lemon juice in a bowl (but remember not to beat the eggs until they become foamy, or it will spoil the texture of the sauce).

6) Now add a little of the mushroom sauce into the eggy mixture, and stir well. Continue adding until the egg yolk mixture is warm.

7) Add dashes of cracked peppercorns.

8) Then pour the mixture into the mushroom sauce in the saucepan, and immediately remove the pan from the heat, stirring the sauce vigorously.

9) Pour the mushroom sauce into a bowl, and set it aside.

10) In a large skillet, add an equal amount of water to the wine, stirring for a minute before adding in the remaining onions, herbs, and garlic.

11) Lay out the fish fillets in the skillet, and bring it to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, before carefully turning each one over to cook on the other side as well.

12) After another 5 minutes, when the flesh of the fish is an opaque white, lift the fillets out of the skillet onto a large flat plate.

13) Pour all the mushroom sauce from the bowl onto the cooked fish, and decorate the fish with the chopped herbs.

Orange and Ginger Garnishing

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp orange zest, finely chopped into thin strips

• ¼ cup orange juice

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp honey

• 1 tbsp minced ginger

• a dash of chilli flakes

• 1 tsp of minced garlic

Preparation:

1) Add the soy sauce to the orange zest into a serving bowl/container, mixing well to ensure that the soy sauce coats, and soaks the zest.

2) Now add in the rest of the ingredients, and stir.

3) Spoon a bit of the garnish onto the fish, stick a celery leaf on the top, sprinkle a few cracked peppercorns over the dish, and…

Voilà!

**************************************************************

Hugarian Paprika Chicken

Honey-glazed mushrooms and carrots

Braised chicken simmered in thyme, butter and parsley (with tomato puree on top)

Mushrooms and carrots

Le jus de raisin

beef stroganoff

œufs brouillés aux fines herbs

buttered potatoes and thyme

Medium-rare black pepper steak with red wine, sautéed mushrooms, and parsley
Stir-fried butter rice, diced potatoes, and thyme

Teriyaki beef
Cucumbers & carrots (with chilli flakes and pepper)

Ribaldo fish fillets with white wine sauce
Stir-fried strips of chicken, carrots, red capsicum and broccoli

Lemon chicken with grated zest and parsley sprinkled on top
TomYam Bok Choy
Creamed potatoes with mushroom sauce

Our Shopping Trip to Harbourtown, Gold Coast

2007-10-04T15:54:00.000+10:00

Ok, dad, jengan tension! *pat pat* I didn't spend a lot. =^p

Right-o. Now that we got the disclaimer over with, this post is about our (Rachel, Alicia and May San & I) journey to Harbourtown and will have photos mainly taken in my point of view. And so... *pumps a hand into the air ala Hitler* ONWARDS!

This is what the train going to the interchange looks like. Old seats. But the train going to Gold Coast was new. Probably because it's a more tourist-sy region.

Hopped off the train (notice the pavement outside? Like our MRT!) and....

(me, Alicia)

onto the bus to Harbourtown.

The landscape on the way there. We even saw horses and cows:

Got off the bus.

(May San & Rachel's heads, or rather their hair, are in the photo)

Doesn't that triangular structure look familiar? Hmmm... I think the exact same one is in Bendemeer, no?

At the entrance to Harbourtown (which is mainly a mini shopping district) is a small fruit market. So colourful. Like one of those Cold Storage adverts or something. kekekeke

I thought a photo of this might be good, because it took us ages to find the lavatory. So now however who goes after us knows what to look out for. Aaaah... sometimes I scare myself with how thoughtful I am. :p

MY BOOTS! SOOOOOOO HAPPY I FINALLY FOUND AN APPROPRIATE ONE! In Singapore, comfy boots of this quality would cost at least 100-200 dollars; but because winter is just over and the shops have been clearing the stock, I've been boots hunting/researching ever since, searching for one with the right price, colour, quality, shape, comfort and didn't make me look like a slut. After much cross-examination, it finally boiled down to these two pairs which had the same retail price of $40 and were equally comfortable:

I finally made a decision and went with the second one because it was more versatile and... it looks quite classy, innit? =)

Whilst waiting for the bus back home:

(yes, I know. It's everywhere.)

A pretty wildflower:

Later on the bus, we put our collective haul for that day together:

On another note...

This is St Ignatius catholic church in Toowong, which Alicia and I attend:

I quite like this church as opposed to the first one I attended, as it is youth-oriented and the Celtic-sounding choir sings upbeat songs, many of which are the same hymns as those we sing in Singapore; unlike the St. Stephane's cathedral in the city. The choir there tragically sounds like they are perpetually singing dirges; and unfamiliar ones, at that. (>.<)

Food Update

2007-10-04T13:19:00.000+10:00

This post is long overdue. I haven't blogged in weeks. So here are all the food entries: Beef julienne with carrots and potatoes; cai xin, cashew nuts, & celery; butter rice flavoured with chopped basil

This was just for a quick (therapeutically and oh-so-deliciously unhealthy) lunch: burrito wrap, devilled sausages and grated mozzarella cheese. Mmmmhmmm..

Penne alla carbonara with streaky bacon and decorated with parsley; hearty home-made tomato soup with garlic, onions and cracked peppercorns

Fish fillets with tomatoes, oregano and finely chopped cashew nuts; stir-fried snap beans, celery and mushrooms

Girls's Night Out

2007-09-16T13:57:00.000+10:00

Rachel and I went to the city on Friday because... well, frankly, we were almost driven out of our minds from sheer boredom. So people, for the love of God and my sanity, please please PLEASE stop asking me what I did this week or how Brisbane has been so far or if I finally have a boyfriend yet, because:

a) I'm living a normal, utterly boring life here. Even more so than in Singapore. Seriously. I wake up, go to school, come home, study, eat and go to sleep; and on weekends I go to church for Sunday mass. THAT'S IT! I've been blogging only about food so far, BECAUSE that is the only remotely interesting thing I do here! Everything here closes at 5pm, unless one is a clubber, then there is something to do. But I only like to dance and the taste of most alcohol (and one gets the impression that in this culture, the people live to drink) repulses me. Plus, I have no safe people to go with here. So, that leaves me with, basically, no life.
b) No, I don't have a boyfriend, nor does it seem likely in the near future, because the boys here seem to have their minds fixated on beer, breasts and bimbos (aaaah alliteration. sorry. spasm.) So not exactly Catholic husband material! And a girl's gotta think long-term, you know.. Why waste the effort otherwise, no? Pfft.

Do I fret about how I'm not living life at the prime of my youth? Yes.

Do I worry that I'll live in Brisbane for 2 years and go home having not done anything other than studying, hence wasting the opportunity? Yes.

Do I feel very alone, and dream and wish that my family, all my cousins and Didi were here, so I'd be more willing to venture out of the safety of the house and truely explore Brisbane with me? Everyday.

So now you know. Everytime you ask me these questions, I feel more and more miserable. So please. Go pester some other person abroad and leave me alone.

Ok. Soliloquy over. I'm fine now. Back to Friday.

We went to Burger King (or as they call it in Australia, Hungry Jacks) for some gloriously unhealthy fries. Hellooo salty goodness!

I was wrecked with guilt over having bought something I did not (technically) need, but it was just so beautiful and shiiiiiiny that I could not help myself. I really must kill off that magpie tendency in me.

Anyways, it was a luxuriously soft, chocolate-brown, ruched velvet top embellished at the neckline with gold sequins. How anyone can resist that, is completely beyond me. Plus, it was on sale (AUD$12).

Poached lemon butter fish

2007-09-08T20:19:00.000+10:00

I poached basa fillets in lemon and butter for today's meal: prepared with a marinade of lemon juice, butter, garlic, ginger, chilli flakes, and a wee bit of tomyam; later, topped with pineapples and a sauce of lemon juice, pepper and parsley; lemon zest for aroma and a bit of colour

Sautéed and tossed: chives, carrots, ginger and sliced 'René's chilli beersticks' sausages

Celery sauce: finely chopped celery, milk, butter, cornflour, salt and pepper

Aaaah... my table is more me now....

Brisbane River Festival

2007-09-08T18:20:00.000+10:00

Last Saturday, we went for the RiverFire bit of the Brisbane River Festival QLD. Enormous crowd and this picture only shows a veeeeeery small portion of it gathered 2 hours before the fireworks started:

Finally. Seven o'clock.

After much ooohing and aahing... here are the pixxies and a video:

Rockets!

Indian food. Ahh, joy.

2007-08-30T22:38:00.000+10:00

I was craving for some Indian food so…

If you want something done, you’ve got to do it yourself, n’est-ce pas? =)

(from the top)
• Poached butter chicken makhani and sun-dried tomatoes, laced with coriander
• Pan-fried tandoori chicken
• Al dente mélange of sliced white mushrooms, potatoes, celery, carrots, ginger, garlic, and onions, binded with cornflour and devilled with cracked peppercorns
--
Went to Target and my housemate, Rachel happened to spot a blouse that I had once told her I was looking for. She hollered for me to come over and when I did… you can, of course, imagine me doing my shrieking-banshee-dance-of-glee. Billowy sleeves with tight cuffs, white silk and all… and only for AUD$15 (yes, the cheapo-bargain-crazy-Singaporean in me did a little victory jig in the dressing room)!!!
--

(photo courtesy of Adeline, who snapped this with her mobile)
The day before yesterday, the wind was so strong that we didn’t dare to hang the laundry out, just in case it ended up on the deck of a passing ferry. For that matter, I was afraid of my specs getting whipped off my face and going with the wind (ok, I exaggerate. But I’m Indian, so I’ve got an excuse. Ha!).

Hookery Cookery

2007-08-22T15:17:00.000+10:00

Hehe. This is rapidly turning into a food blog... lol. Keng Tzu, this is ALL your fault. You and your cheese pizza fondue thingy! lol.

Anyways, for today's meal I made:

1st dish: blanquette de veau (which is like a creamy veal and onion stew) flavoured with rosemary

2nd dish: peppery pork strips and quartered brussel sprouts, stir-fried with cherry tomatoes, carrots, onions, ginger and garlic in oyster sauce

Foooood, glorious foooood.... & new sheets

2007-08-18T00:49:00.000+10:00

Wednesday's creation by Yours Truly. Tender pork and basil, sautéed then braised. Boiled snow peas and carrots, lightly drizzled with creamy cheese sauce. Peppery minced pork and mashed potatoes.

Yesterday, we went to Kmart and I bought new sheets. Pretty, innit? =^)

Photos Galore

2007-08-09T13:50:00.000+10:00

Whoops. Forgot to post these photos. Kept meaning to do them and since I've finally got some time.... Send forth the avalanche! (sorry, but I'm just too lazy to add captions to them all =^p)

Pictures from Down Under--> Brisbane

2007-08-07T21:29:00.000+10:00

The first is..... Drumroll please.
A sunset. Taken from our room's window.

Well........ This photo is of dinner which I cooked all by myself and it turned out SUPER NICE lor!! I cooked peppercorn beef stewed in ginger and garlic and a second dish of white mushrooms simmered in a gravy of butter, pepper, onions, soy sauce and corn flour. *tries to do a modest look but gives up at the futility* It was FABULOUS!! If I don't say so myself. *takes a bow*

University jumpers which cost us a daylight-robbery-price of AUD$90 each. But it is the only thing that's thick enough to keep us snug and warm, plus! We can keep them for memories mah...

Desk.

My bed. Forgot to include my Pirates of the Carribean poster calender in the shot. It's above my bed.

My comfy slippers.

Erroneously took the bus from the opposite bus stop and ended up in some super jalan ulu pandan place. Sugars Rd or something. I actually saw cows and horses.

A sign that actually said: "Wrong way. Go back." Quite fitting; and today I saw a sign that said "LEFT LANE. MUST TURN LEFT." Almost fell off the pavement.

Finally. A chinese food place that is one of the cheaper places and doesn't kill our tastebuds; so we're regular customers.

The day view from our room.

Sunset from the street as we were walking home from school.

One of the lunatic people around walking barefoot. I kid you not. It's quite common here, even as breaking empty beer bottles on the streets appears to be a common pasttime for the resident drunkards.

First meal that Adeline and I cooked on our own. Black pepper beef, chinese wombok and carrots. We were quite darned pleased with ourselves, so don't laugh.

The gas heaters at many outdoor eateries which are turned on at night.

Unbelieveable. so super old....... should be at least from the 1960s or something. The WALK signal doesn't even work anymore. But their newer ones are almost exactly the same as the ones we have in Singapore. Except they don't have the red light above the button that turns on when we press it.

The dining area at Emmanuel college (which was our first accomodation) that looks so much like the Hogwarts dining hall.
The two previous tenants of the house, Joey and Jackie surprised me with the cake. So sweet right! 20 years old now. I'm an ancient.

Adeline's present to me.

Cold...... very very veeeeery cold.......
The new Eleanor Schonell Bridge

Before I left for Brisbane. My best friend, Keng Tzu and me.

Bush turkey. Apparently they're rare. Or so the locals said. But we see them everywhere on campus.

Did not sleep at all on the plane, hence the zombie face.
Most uncomfortable seats known to mankind.

University of Queensland

Today's feast by Yours Truly- thick buttery beef gravy, vegetable melange, broth and all, which my housemates loved! YAY! Getting up early and cooking for 3 hours was worth it.

Oooo.... Lookie..... My celebrity look-a-like.

2007-08-03T00:43:00.001+10:00

See me morph into Kajol!

Men, read and learn. Nine words women use...

2007-08-02T01:22:00.000+10:00

1.) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are Right and you need to shut up.

2.) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more Minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3.) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

4.) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

5.) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6.) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7.) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome.

8.) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying BUGGER OFF!

9.) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but she is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to #3.

Breezy (bloody understatement, I tell you!) Brisbane

2007-07-17T20:16:00.000+10:00

Yep. We made it safely, rice cookers and all.

Did NOT sleep on the plane at all..... the seats could barely lean back and *ahem* baggage was too big and so could not fit into the overhead lockers. Had to put it under my feet and hence... what little space I had became non-existant. God. Never taking quantas again. The service was quite okay though. Amazingly no jet lag also. Well yeah... 2 hours time difference. hehe.

In any case, the weather here is like that of in Genting Highlands. Freezing in the morning and after 5 ( 7 degrees) but really hot in the afternoon. Brrrrrrr............ Hope it doesn't get any colder. As it is, my joints are creaking like I'm 87 years old or something, and people who reach out to shake my hand leap away at the frigid touch of my corpse-cold digits.

But.. my health is as good as always. *touch wood touch wood* No sickness or anything, although people around me seem to be dropping like flies.... With all my climbing up the hilly terrains, I think my tushie looks more solid now (YAY! Buns of STEEL!)! Hahahaha! Who needs a gym. Poor aunty Sherley!

Oh and there are foreigners roaming everywhere.... practically everyone has a different accent and there are so many Singaporeans. All the food that I've eaten today is all Singaporean! Fish and rice for lunch and rendang and soto ayam for dinner. And I keep trying to convert everything to Sing dollars and protesting 'wah say... daylight robbery sia!'

Yep. Lots and lots of Asians here, who tend to gravitate towards each other. Chinese is spoken here so much. Little did I know that when I came to Brisbane, Chinese would be a language that would be essential. lol. Out of 10 people who go past, about 7 are Asian! I'm picking up so much Chinese here in brisbane, even more so than in singapore. It's like all the Chinese purposely speak it so the angmohs don't understand. I feel quite left out whenever people around me speak in Chinese so often, cos I only understand and speak it a bit here and there. But I think they keep forgetting that it is not a language that I took.

In any case, it took Adeline and I so long to find an appropriate house to rent because... when we get a house fully furnished, the rent is ALOT more expensive and long term it is actually cheaper to just buy and have a start-up cost. Having said that, we didn't want to have to move/sell a fridge etc at the end of two years so we were looking for one fully furnished. But the thing is that the landowners/property agents KNOW that we students are desperate for a place close to the uni of queensland that is fully furnished so the prices for rent are very very high. That's why it took us this long.

But... Adeline and I managed to find a vacant property that we really quite like: rent is affordable, good area (near the Toowong Village, which is like a city square thing), near to transportation (but we can still walk to school, though it's a 30 min walk), plus the area is well-lit at night, so it is not as terribly dark as the other places and we feel safer (cos the rest of brisbane at night is very dark. The streetlights here are pathetic). It is also near the LIBRARY! yay!!! (I'm such a nerd.)

The only issue we have with it is that the carpet is pretty old and thin; so during winter it's not much of a help (but we bought fluffy bedroom slippers, so that's okay). And we bought a quilt and pillows (got NO DUNLOPILLOW HERE!! ARRRRGGGHHH) and NO BOLSTERS!!!!!! *wails*
"No such thing as bolsters here in Australia.."
HA!! Give them all a good solid kick in the bum! Bloody mental. No bolsters. HOW DO THEY SURVIVE?!! Humph.

Oh and I'm going to sleep so early it's amazing! ahahah. Back in Singapore, I'm nocturnal (sleeping at 4am thereabouts). But here... since the sun totally sets at 5pm (and I mean pitch black, so much so that it feels like 11.59pm) and all the shops close (unnaturnal, I tell you!! What the blazes do we do then for the rest of a perfectly good day??), everyone goes to sleep so early. Read: 9pm.

Oh and I want my mum's prawn and egg sambal!! The food here is soooo bland!!! But 2 nights ago I ate TANDOORI CHICKEN!!!! And a huge section of drumstick plus breast meat at that. The whole meal was only AUD$6.50! At some takeaway place called Miss India. But the yellow briyani was so hard. eee. Like they barely boiled it before taking out or something. The chicken was ok I guess. I've tasted much better, but it was edible.

One thing here that tastes good is the bacon though.

But other than that... the food's really got no taste lor! Nothing is hot (spicy). But I finally managed to find maggi mee curry flavour (which they also somehow managed to 'bland-ify') yesterday. The only flavours they had were: 'oriental' (like THAT'S supposed to mean something), 'beef' (er.... say what?) and 'chicken' (which frankly tastes bloody awful and stinks). NO TOM YAM either!! *weeps*

Another irksome thing.....

some aussie females are so bloody irritatingly bimbotic, I tell you! Also... apparently there are about 250 or so American students in UQ this semester and for the boys.... Most of them talk so loudly like they own the whole bloody town; go clubbing the first night they arrive (makes one wonder if they came here for studying or to get away from parents); saw one get drunk in the CBD area in the afternoon and stumble around annoying innocent passers-by; and those in the dorms enter the American girls' rooms at ungodly hours [unfortunately I'm a terribly light sleeper and so when I way staying there, at 2-7am in the morning I could still hear them partying and shagging (ok, I don't know that for CERTAIN, but it sure as hell sounded like it) in the rooms].

As for the American and Aussie girls, who (in my ever-so-humble-and-honest opinion) are infinitely worse... most are like paris hilton/barbie clones who blindly copy the californian beach bimbo style and strutting arm in arm with their noses stuck firmly in the air. I know I'm going to hell for this, but oh how I prayed for them to trip and land in an ungraceful heap at my feet. MWAHAHAHAHA. Sorry. Okay. Calm now. Spasm over. *adjusts halo*

Read:

long blonde hair,

airhead,

pink clothes,

airhead,

big bug-eye sunglasses (that cover 3/4 of the face),

oh and airhead.

Maybe I'm being a bit prudish, but... the way they blatantly flirt is so revolting. No shame whatsoever!!!

Mahdder never teach dem etiquette man... *shudders*

Ok, I'm generalizing...I'm good friends with more than a few Americans and Australians (yes, a number of them are intelligent blondes too) and I'm sure the rest (who have not had the good fortune to meet me yet. mwahehehe) are not all are like that, but..... Adeline, her mom and I have seen so many of that type already and even a few middle-aged Aussie women who behave like that as well. Eeeek.

Oh the woe. However will I survive two years of this utterly insufferable nonsense....

But... if there's one thing I know how to do... it's how to handle bitchy/blonde/slutty girls.

*drumroll*

Just give them the cold shoulder, flip your hair and be bitchier. BWA HA HA HAH!

In other news...

I pre-ordered the harry potter book here and it costs only AUD29.90!! In singapore it's like S$48.90 or something! But so sad la... the school library doesn't seem to have novels or any storybook type things. =( Only all those damn boring texts and non-fiction stuff. Eeeeeeeeee. I'm not absolutely certain (haven't asked a librarian yet) but I did do a catelogue search for a few of my fave authors and zilch. Only one: Trudi Canavan appeared but that was under the special collection and so I cannot borrow out. I think they only have a copy of the book cos the author is Australian. So the book must be for english literature research students or something....

Oh and one more thing... Anyone know why all the girls here wear leggings? It's so odd. Almost like a uniform of something. And some of them are in truly hideous shades... It's too cold for just leggings. Can't figure out how they can stand the chill.... oh and another thing (ok ok, I promise it's the last one!) Why on earth are there so many posers in the CBD area simply lounging about in dreadfully done (I mean if you want to look that much like a fashion victim, at least go all the way, right?) goth/1980s rejects' makeup and attire; badly burnt perms and tacky PVC leather jackets? I'm all for cosplay. Hell, I've done a number of costumes myself, but.. come on! For the love of God, at least have the decency to do it at a festival or something when there would be more to do rather than sitting there, not even talking and so obviously revelling in their poser-dom; and the right people who'd appreciate the effort (albeit debatable)!

Honestly.