It just keeps getting better...

It really just keeps getting better, huh?

Just a bit chilly...

Welcome to Beijing, where it might be -1 degrees Celcius but in reality, it'll feel like -13 degrees once we add in the wind chill factor.

Please be aware that failure to adequately clothe yourself in layers upon layers of thermals may result in pneumonia, or loss of (a) limb(s) due to frostbite and gangrene.

You have been warned!

Oh now THAT was clever

You know, I don't think I'll ever be in danger of gaining a big head. I do too many idiotic things to warrant harbouring any thoughts that I might even be remotely related to Einstein.

Take the last 24 hours for example:

Clever Stunt #1

I spill water all over my headphones only narrowly missing my laptop in the process.

Clever Stunt #2

I go to the nearby shopping centre hoping to buy a cheap pair of headphones to use for the time being and end up paying 20RMB for a pair of cutesy headphones from a capsule machine because they looked cute, cheap and came from a capsule machine.

Clever Stunt #3

I open up the headphones after I return to the dorm. Following the instructions, I pull down simultaneously on the cords connected to each one of the headphones trying to unravel the thing as the cords are all wound up inside the plastic teddy bear case.

Clever Stunt #4

I feel a bit of resistance in the cord and think 'nah, that might just be my imagination' so I tug again...maybe just a bit harder than last time because yeh, it makes so much more sense to do that.

Clever Stunt #5

I manage to completely detach the headphones from the main cord. With my bare hands. Unknowingly. Accidentally. Stupidly.

Yeh, clever...so very clever...

I think this means that I really need to invest in a pair of better headphones...

Btw: If you haven't figured it out by now from the 'RMB' reference, I'm in Beijing again studying at BLCU. I'll be back in Sydney on Jan 20. Until then, be on the look out for sporadic posts!

Why Australia wins (and America doesn't)

I was chatting with an American friend of mine on Skype yesterday and we came to the shocking realisation that Americans don't have Easter Mondays, only Good Fridays!

Yet another reason why Australia wins and America doesn't :p (other reasons include having Tim Tams, Vegemite and the fact that we let you use locks on your luggage). Ha! Try beating that, Bob!

(The picture is from a Snorg Tees t-shirt. Cute, huh?)

Skype conversation as follows...

Bob: nooo
easter is on sunday

Ky: yes...but there's good friday
and easter monday
two public holidays all wrapped up in one big long weekend

Bob: monday? lol i've never heard of it being on monday
its always been good friday and easter sunday for us

Ky: man....you should come over to australia just for the easter break!

Bob: lolll

Ky: it's good friday, easter saturday, easter sunday and easter monday
AND THEN people go back to work
pssh and you call yourselves a christian country

Bob: lolll

Ky: you put freaking "in god we trust" on your bank notes!

Bob: i kno i kno

Ky: and you don't celebrate easter monday!
this could be potentially devastating to people's psyche you know
rock their american values to the core
you could start a revolution by campaigning for an easter monday

Bob: hahaha

Ky: pffft! you laugh now
but one day
a hero will arise from the masses
and enlighten the ignorant populace about this atrocity
and lead them towards the light
aka candy land
the place of sunshine and rainbows

Bob: hahaha

Ky: sugar, spice and all things nice

Bob: the powerpuff girls?

Ky: of course!
no revolution is ever complete without the powerpuff girls
and chocolate
lots of chocolate
appropriate since it's for easter
the solid ones could cause some serious damage you know
diabetes amongst other things

Bob: hahahah
this is true

Ky: lol of course it is :P


Hope you all had a nice and relaxing Easter break!

Eep!

Snapped up while shopping with Mum and Grandma in Bankstown:

Deer meat, crocodile meat, rabbit meat...take your pick!

*chuckles*

I pulled the sleazy-old-man-with-a-camera-phone act when I took this picture whilst waiting for the train a while back. (I took a whole heap of random photos of the platform before and after taking this photo just to make it less obvious too!)

Backpacks in the shape of soft toys only look cute on you if you're under the age of 6...this girl looked about my age. Enough said.

Don't stare at me so with those sleepy half-lidded eyes of yours, Garfield.

Stupidity Strikes Again! (Red Button Syndrome)

Most people know when to leave things alone. Too bad I'm not one of them.

It all started when Mum gave me a tube of hand cream that she had bought in Hong Kong. Most people would have simply put the stuff aside and eagerly turned back around to see if they might score any more souvenirs.

Me, though?

I had to be dumb enough to put both gravity and my hand-eye coordination to the test (which, if this incident was to serve as any indication, are both kickass) by constantly tossing and catching the tube.


This went on for a good couple of minutes, much to my parents' annoyance, right up until the point when I caught the tube SHARP, POINTY SIDE DOWN and managed to cut myself!!!

A plastic tube of hand cream managed to make me bleed! Like...wth?!?!

I don't know whether I'm more shocked by the fact that my own sheer stupidity led to me being owned by a tube of hand cream, or that those corners can pierce skin and draw blood!!

I'm a little put out as well.

I mean, why couldn't I be owned by something more manly like toothpaste or tomato sauce?

Then I'd actually be able to show my cut off as a "battle scar" instead of *cough* um...more evidence that I should never be trusted with anything remotely resembling a red button (Red Button Syndrome: a term used to describe the condition whereby an idiot can't leave well enough alone. You know how in the movies they warn people to stay away from the button but one idiot can't help themselves and just has to push it? THAT, is Red Button Syndrome).

You know, there should be a disclaimer on the packaging.
Something like "Beware: there be sharp corners"

Happy New Year!

So we're now done with the "noughties" and are embarking on the uh..."10's"?!?!

The year of 2010 (that's "twenty-ten", mind you and not "two thousand and ten") began rather quietly for me. In an effort to actually pull off a new year's resolution for a change, I've signed myself up for Lite 'n Easy meals and have sworn off alcohol for the purposes of weight loss, brain cell, liver and kidney retention and all round awesome skin.

So whilst my sister and Aunt J celebrated on NYE with a glass of lemon, lime and bitters, I celebrated with some soda water (no soft drinks or juice...too much sugar!) and still got to enjoy that festive fizz (...haha pun! Geddit? Geddit?...ok, I'll shut up now).

Yesterday was also relatively quiet. Bon and I had dinner with our grandparents and Aunt T's family to welcome in the new year before heading off to C's place for an Eminence get-together.

The picture below is courtesy of L's ability to create a new year's greeting out of just a pizza base and bottle of tomato sauce. Very resourceful of her!

...my sentiments, exactly....HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

A VERY VERY
MERRY CHRISTMAS
TO YOU ALL!

Beauty and the Beast 2: The Enchanted Christmas - "Oh don't whine, glasses!"

For those who didn't already know, I'm a huge fan of the Disney movies. As a kid, I used to religiously watch all the old cell animation ones back in the 90's during Disney's golden age.

Even now, I randomly start belting out a few bars of Aladdin's "A Whole New World" and The Little Mermaid's "Under the Sea" just because they're so easy and fun to sing.

I even went as far as buying Singstar's Disney Song Collection which I broke out of its packaging last night to test out (although I'm a bit disappointed that Lion King's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is not included but Peter Pan's "You Can Fly" is?!? Like...wth?! What is this world coming to?!).

Anyway, Disney released the 'midquel', "Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas" in 1997. If you haven't had a chance to watch it yet, it's a cute movie to watch for some family holiday fun, especially if you're celebrating with children.

Here's two clips of the movie that I found online:

Rofl! This scene is hilarious!



This scene just made me go "awwwwwww~"
I mean, who doesn't love a happy ending?

♪♫ All I Want for Christmas is Youuuuuuuuuu! ♪ ♫

Continuing on with the Christmas theme, today's post is on an all-time favourite Christmas song of mine: "All I Want for Christmas is You" which was originally sung by Mariah Carey waaaay back in 1994.

Even now this song never fails to put me in a festive mood what with its upbeat tune, gorgeous singing and tell-tale Christmas sleigh bells creating that steady yet catchy rhythm.

Much to my delight, the musical duo Kurt Schneider and Sam Tsui have posted up a cover of the Christmas classic. Although I reckon the acoustic version lacks the same 'get-up-and-go' that the original had, it's still a really nice rendition of the song. (Sam and Kurt have some more amazing videos up on Youtube. Be sure to check them out!)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Earth Hour's Arch Nemesis: Christmas Lights Displays!

(Hmm or is that supposed to be "Christmas Light Displays"? Gargh! So confused!)

An old family Christmas tradition that we used to have as kids was to bundle up into Dad's car at night after Mum and Dad closed up at the restaurant and take about a half hour to an hour's drive to some of the ritzier suburbs in town to marvel at their Christmas lights.

As a kid, I harboured a secret longing for Dad to put up Christmas lights on our own house but since our house is situated down a very long driveway (and thus is pretty secluded and hidden from the public), it would be pretty pointless to bother with Christmas decorations.

*sigh*...As a kid, I always wanted one of these plonked on top of my roof or set up in my front yard.
Now though? Are you kidding me?! What with rising electricity fees and all?
No way!

Nowadays, Christmas lights seem to be EVERYWHERE and since we're all grown up now with licenses and cars of our own, this family tradition has gradually faded away.

It's a bit of a shame but I guess now that we're older and are eventually going to start our own families, it stands to reason that these old traditions would start to disappear.

Oh well, at least I can appreciate THESE displays without leaving the comfort of my own home :D

They're even synchronised with music and everything! How cool is that?!
Imagine the effort that would've gone into these displays!

Oh yeh, before I forget: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Tis the season...

OooOoooOOooo look!

Even the three wise monkeys are getting into the festive spirit!

Snapped up on George Street, Sydney

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

I look exactly the same as I did 18 years ago.

People I haven't met since primary school are still able to recognise me, which I suppose is either a hats off to their extraordinary memory and observation skills, or an indication of just how little my face has changed throughout the decades.

With that recognition, always comes a sense of horror that I'll never escape from a past plagued by awkward memories of a bratty, immature personality; a distinct lack of social skills; and a hopeless sense of fashion.

Usually, such encounters with my somewhat shady past tend to go something like this:

Old classmate: "Hey, aren't you..."

Me: **Panics** "No...no no. You must be mistaken."

Old classmate: "It's...Kylie, isn't it? It's Angelica, remember? You left a green hand print on my uniform in Year 5 art class. My mum could never get the paint stain out, you know."

Me: **Laughs nervously** "Really? It was that bad? Wait, uh...I mean, I think you've got the WRONG PERSON."

Old classmate: "But, I recognise your face!"

Me: **Prepares to bolt** "OH LOOK! IS THAT THE TIME ALREADY? SORRYGOTTAGONICEMEETINGYOUBYE!" **runs away**

Some people are lucky enough to gain a sense of anonymity as they grow older and look nothing like how they did as a child.

For me though, denial and evasion are still my two best options.


I'm curious: do you look exactly like how you did as a child? Or do you look completely different? Have you also had an embarrassing encounter with your past?

Leave a comment and fill me in!

Sugar Hit @ Swissotel

Every October is Good Food Month in Sydney and part of the annual festivities is an event called Sugar Hit. A number of hotels/restaurants serve a dessert and cocktail treat for just $20 throughout this month between 9-11pm.

I've always managed to miss out on the event but managed to at least hit (haha! Pun! Geddit? No? ...no?) the Swissotel towards the end of October to experience it for myself.

The berry cake was a little too sugary sweet for me but I loved the dark chocolate and pistachio pyramid. Its soft texture and rich, nutty aroma was just scrumptious! Pretty too, isn't it?

The cognac cocktail the dessert came with however, was a tad on the overrated side.

Kudos go to Candice for taking and uploading this photo onto Facebook

Japanese pranks...BWAHAHAHA! Awww....!

I think that part of the charm behind Japanese variety shows is the fact that they really feel no compunction to pull their punches when coming up with pranks to spring on the next unfortunate bystander/celebrity that they can get their hands on.

I'm sure that if I were on the receiving end of these pranks I probably wouldn't feel the same way. However, there's just something very funny about watching someone else unwittingly suffer at the hands of some elaborate ruse set up all for the sake of television.

Of course there's always a fine line between comedy and outright cruelty and these pranks constantly toe the proverbial line.

Sometimes, it just comes down to a matter of personal opinion.

For example, check out Exhibit A, wherein a Japanese idol group, Morning Musume, are being forced to watch the 1998 classic Japanese horror film, "Ring" in a dimly lit television studio.

For those who haven't watched the film yet either because they've been too busy or are too much of a wuss to, there's a scene at the climax of the movie where a girl in a cursed video clip clambers out of the television screen and proceeds to kill the viewer (so now you get why a girl, coming out of a TV set with hair like Cousin Itt from the Addams Family, would incite so much fear).

So...comedy or cruelty? (I vote comedy)

Now take a look at Exhibit B: Three Japanese kids being led to believe that they are being attacked by a "zombie". Of course, the kids are adorable running around the house executing "zombie counter measures" but these kids could seriously be scarred for life!

Comedy or cruelty? I think this one took the gag a little too far. Sure, it was quite funny, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for these kids. One of the boys looks like he's only about 4 years old. Awww! Poor kid!

***

Edit: I can't seem to hunt down the behind-the-scenes footage but from memory, you basically find out that the mother was the one who dobbed them into a local talk show since she thought it was really cute the way her kids kept obsessing over anti-zombie traps for their house.

The talk show host arrived at their house earlier on under the pretext that he wanted to learn more about what counter-measures they had thought up and asked them to set the house up as if a zombie would come and attack them at any moment.

Good luck with your exams!

It's that ridiculously stressful time of the year again: the dreaded period when everyone goes to bed half-muttering quadratic equations to themselves or staying up four nights in a row in order to finish the multitude of essays that all just happen to be due on the same day.

Now's not the time to be regretting what could have been if you had only bothered to read your readings or to actually show up to that Friday afternoon lecture that you decided to forgo so that you could enjoy an unofficial "day off".

Instead, remember this pearl of wisdom:

When life gives you lemons, feel sorry for the guy next to you who got Brussels sprouts instead.



Good luck, everyone!

Gloves for Your Feet

When we were in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, we almost froze our little butts off waiting for the army officials to come and perform the ceremony to lower the flag.

This happens once everyday around sunset and since it was the dead of winter, it wasn't particularly pleasant waiting around in a large open space with the chill emanating from the cold stone below and seeping up and into your very bones.

One of our videos up on youtube of us clowning around whilst waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Excuse the randomness, we were bored and very very cold!

It's the type of cold that makes you feel sick. Not the "oh-deary-me-I-suppose-I-might-have-a-bit-of-a-stuffy-nose-tomorrow" pushover kind of cold, but the type that makes you physically sick in the stomach because your body is protesting against being in such frigid weather.

We spent the entire night out and temperatures dropped to -5 degrees celcius that day I think. It was probably still in the positives when we were at Tiananmen though.

It was a little ridiculous that we risked life and limb to watch a flag being taken down off a flag pole but I suppose, when in Rome...

...this one too...ack...that cold made us a bit loopy

Dan videotaped the entire experience and when I noticed his icy cold hands, I quickly offered him my spare pair of gloves lest he come down with frostbite and lose a finger or ten.

Dan! Dan! The Camera Man!

The delight that spread across Dan's face was adorable and the exchange that followed?

Comedy gold...

Dan: I like these gloves, I wonder if they make them for your feet?
Ky: Yeh, they call them socks back at home.

Speaking of which, did I ever get those gloves back off you, Dan?

A Different Perspective

In the daily humdrum of our lives,
Trivial details become the be-all and end-all.

We tend to lose sight of what we should truly cherish:
Our friends, family, hopes and dreams.

Sometimes, a change in perspective is all we need -
To view ourselves from a different light.

So next time you're outside,
Stop and look up!
Those worries of yours will seem so insignificant
Compared to that sprawling blue and white expanse.

Because seriously,
In the grand scheme of things,
Do they really matter?

Adelaide, July 2009

A Matter of Size...

Earlier this year when we were in Sanlitun, Beijing's bar district, Orin snapped up the following picture.

Hmm..."Standard (Asian)" and "Standard (Non-Asian)"
...what on earth are they referring to?

...and then the penny drops...

Who would have thought that there's a correlation between size and ethnicity when men buy their condoms in China?

The Chinese actually just reads "standard (size)" and "large (size)". I suppose that eliminates the dilemma for Chinese males who may find themselves questioning their ethnicity all the whilst staring dumbstruck at the displays in 7/11's condom section.

Considering that there are 55 nationally recognised ethnic minority groups living in China, this really could have nervous buyers frazzled!