Sydney Dust Storm

A massive dust-storm covered Sydney today.

It was absolutely amazing. It was like waking up to an alien landscape. The wind was so strong, and the dust was buffeting everything. It was such an experience. Visibility was so low you could see nothing but redness. So martian. When everything calmed down, there was fine red dust covering everything.

None of these photos were edited in anyway.
It was really that red.

Cakes cakes wonderful cakes....

One day I want to be able to make cakes like these...

...without using photoshop!

[via SweetArt]

Orchard Road

I just came back from a 5-hour marathon shopping session (well more like sight-seeing session since we didn't really buy anything except food) with my little sister at Singapore's CBD area a.k.a. ultimate shopping district: Orchard Road. Ouchie ouch my feet hurt. I don't know how you people do this on a regular basis.

Another language update...

Hello once again happy people! I have a macroeconomics quiz tomorrow that I haven't studied for but who cares! Blogging is fun! And I should do a language major instead! But enough wishful thinking. More language study! Maybe then I can fluently speak many languages like londongirl! Once again, my chosen 7 languages, arranged in order of increasing hopelessness!

Malay: I have done absolute nothing since my last post! And hence I know absolutely nothing more! I want to buy some Malay primary school textbooks, a Malay grammar book and a English-Malay dictionary. Same for Arabic, Japanese and French.

Arabic: Better, better! My Lebanese friend was speaking to his mum on the phone and I understood a few lines! WOOHOO! That was coolness. Except that slang Arabic is a bit different to the more formal Standard Modern Arabic I'm learning. Getting better. Learnt lots of pronouns and attached pronouns and stuff like that.

Japanese: Notice how Japanese has trumped French since last time?? HEHE. That's cos I learnt all my hiragana!! I had such a amazing turning point magical moment in Japanese. Remember these cool Japanese stuffed-toys I blogged about a while ago? Well, I was looking at them again recently and I realised that I COULD READ THEM:

Here's a picture of it posed conveniently in front of my blog.

ZOMG! IS THAT HIRAGANA?

TO-U-FU! Tofu! So they ARE called tofu-toys!

That made me so happy. Like REALLY happy. I went nuts for a while and no-one could understand my joy and everyone was making fun of me. But I didn't care! Epiphany! I have broken into a whole new world!

[P.S. Nothing new on French, German or Mandarin. Pew pew.]

Fixing the Distiller: Part ONE!

My family happens to be one of those weird ones that doesn't happen to believe in drinking tap-water. Or in fluoridation of our water supplies. My teeth are pretty good (even though I'm the biggest lazy-ass with *ahem* erratic brushing habits) so it can't be all that important. Anyway, so in order to get clean water, we use a water distiller! Unlike boiling all the junk gets left behind (as you shall see later FUFUFU) but I can't be bothered propagandise-ing it to you so go Google it.

ANYWAY the distiller broke down. LOL! After all that explanation. Haha! And since we are as povo as it gets (read: poor and deprived of money), and since I am the resident family slave, I had to fix it. The distiller broke down (something to do with short-curcuit something) and the pipe popped and had to be replaced or some crap.

So today I will be telling to you the joyous story of how I replaced the pipe, and got a little white one to join with a fat green one and they lived happily ever after. Onward!

First, I replaced the rusty old tap-hose jointure thingy with a new brass one. Then I cut the fat green hose to size and shoved it in nice and tight.

"Hallo skinny white dude." Ok, I was gonna start a hole dialogue (LOL PUN) between the skinny white one and the fat green one but then I realised that I really really do not have the self control to prevent it from turning into very bad naughty smut (between hoses. Gawd!) and so I will stop here and simply continue with a nice and family friendly G-rated narration.

So I wondered to meselfs, how can I join two hoses of unequal size?

So I went to the local hardware store and they helped me out a little bit and I ended up buying some hose clamps and I had this old switch thing lying around. And yes. That is my foot in the photograph. Some people like feet. A lot. *Clearly trying to get more pageviews*.

So I connected skinny white tube to the switch thing (is there another word better than switch? Valve! I think. Valve for plumbing, switch for electronics? Who knows...) and tightened it nice and purty.

Hmmm. Me fat hose ain't got no thread. How to attach? I know! Like old Greek lady at the hardware store said! HOSE CLAMP!! WOW!

Before we engage in intertubal penetration, you must of course first get things all heated up. I soaked old greeny in hot water so that it would grab tighter. Onto the thread of the metal that is.

Hose clamp on. Isn't macro so pretty?

SHOCK HORROR. I joined them together but it was LEAKING. ARGH.

Clearly the two tubes were engaged in unsafe intertubal relationships. Time to introduce some rubber. To prevent leakage. And slipping. I think it's rubber anyway. Silicone tape? Daddy taught me all these joyful things before he disowned me!

See! All wrapped up and ready for action!

See! Tap is on and no leakage! Voila! SUCCESS!!

Strange improvisation. Nice set-up if I do say so myself.

And now for a preview of what's to come next time, on How We Fix Crap That Should Be Thrown Away! We can a sneak peak into what everyone else is drinking!! Yes! We get the see the crap that's left behind in the water distiller from a few months of distillation!!

Yes good citizen! This is inside of you! And not me!! Haha. Nah. Your kidney's probably got rid of all the junk. Aren't you lucky you have kidneys? Say Alhamdulillah!

Cousin's GONE!!

[WARNING! LOOONG POST!!]

Awww. My cousin, uncle and auntie flew back to Singapore on Thursday. *Sob*. Now life's gonna go back to boringness again. It was much fun having them here. All we did all day was run out catch the train and have fun. It was so awesome.

The first day they came was the day of my finance finals (L-O-L) so I was all too happy to run away from uni and go hang out. I think they really wanted to see all the weird Aussie animals so they went to the zoo. Taronga Zoo. Haven't been there since like Year 4! Haha!

My cousin had this AMAZING camera (digital SLR or something funky that cost $1500+) that takes the most amazing photos. It was so much fun!

Uncle and auntie. Nice shot!

Family on the ferry to the zoo!

Gratuitous tourist-y shot!

Amazingly contrived shot of ME!

Scary komodo dragon. Eats people. Srz! Google it!

Depressed bear. Looked like it needed some loving. Or food.

Compulsory shot with giant koala.

See! I did it too ^_^

And random mountain goats. Who started humping. Seriously.

Then later that day we went to have Chinese food at Neptune's Palace (which, btw, had the best service I've ever had at a restaurant. To the point that I felt awkward. Like there was an actual maître de and everything who pulled out the chair for you and put the napkin on your lap. I'm so ghetto. *Fail*) but the food wasn't that great.

City posing!

Over the course of their stay we ate Chinese, Indian, Thai, Turkish and Lebanese food OMG it was so amazing. You can have quite a gastronomical adventure in Sydney. Win for multiculturalism. Fail for bogans. KEKE.

Anyway!

The next day me, my little sister and my older sister (we're really close. Youngest 3 out of family of 6 kids. A little happy gang!) went to the city and stole our cousin from the hotel and dragged her to Max Brenner chocolate Cafe (which you might remember from this post) and PUMPED her with goodness!

Sigh! Filled my heart with happiness! And robbed my wallet too mind you. We spent like AU$70 on this stuff. HAHA.

Little sister posing with chocs. She sure looks happy. Maybe it's something to do with the fact that she's not paying. KEKE.

Another shot of the chocs I never buy.

Am I not teh SEX?

Then we started ordering:

Banana-praline crepes! GOSH. AMAZING.

The staple waffles! As amazing as ever!

Fondue-for-two. Drool....

Choc PIZZA. Not so great. Novelty wears off quick.

To nom or not to nom; that is the question.

"SCREW YOU ALL! NOM NOM NOM!!" said the greedy girl.

Sipping hot chocolate...

We went to a Turkish restaurant "New Star" @ Auburn (Sydney's Turkish central) and indulged in adanna kebab and all other sorts of joyful expensive meats. Gosh it was so tasty. Food is magical. We talked about random things like how Malays really aren't that bad and how our other cousins are doing. Fun.

Look!

"Meh! I'm not related to you freak!" - says nice brother.

Check out the meat! It's delicious. Poor vegetarians.

They can feast on salads! Really good as well!

Muslim version of "saying grace". Dua!

Haha nutcases.

Anyway, then we left the restaurant and went to the local Krispy Kreme! They don't have one in Singapore so we thought we'd let them have a try of this American devil trap of ultimate sugar seduction. NU!

Cam-whoring on the way there. Duh.

Funny bopples posing outside. Retards LOL!

NU. DOUGHNUT CONTAMINATION!!

Mum and her brother. Cute!

The next day we went bowling and had Thai food but I didn't manage to get hold of the photos of that so I can't post any up. Bowling was heaps fun though! I got crap score and came last out of the boys but ah well. I suck at sport anyway!

Then we had to send them off to the airport the next morning. D: I was so sad. We don't have any family here so seeing them is really rare. We try to make the most of these happy times, and take lots and lots of photos. Hopefully we'll keep all these happy relationships, and all our joyful friendships with everyone, family and friends, even all the "busy-ness" takes over and life threatens to just pass us by....

Hopefully we'll stay friends.