GOLD COAST EPISODES

THE BEST BBQ RIBS IN GOLD COAST

2014-11-12T10:00:00.000+10:00

My vote for the best BBQ ribs in Gold Coast goes to Hurricane's Grill and Bar at Surfer's Paradise.
Lovely dining atmosphere especially if you get a window view seat overlooking the waves at Surfer's Paradise beach opposite.

To avoid disappointment, book early because the queue can get pretty long especially on weekends.
Their ribs are yummo! Not overdone and very nice flavour. My recommendation is to go for the lamb ribs if you are the type who doesn't have any preference for particular meats. If you are primarily after the ribs, go for the trio rib platter but ask for two portions of lamb and one portion of pork/beef because the lamb is juicier, meatier and less boney compared to the other two in other words, ..so you get to try 2 types with maximum meat.. more bang for your buck!! At A$85 for the rib platter, it is worth it for a family. They have also half or full racks for individual types of pork/lamb/beef ribs.

The short cut sirloin was lovely too. Jordan woudn't let us have more than a mouthful of sample each, as it was his birthday treat really plus the ribs!! Oh yes, you get your personal paper bib before you chowdown. Don't go with a white top for this one, guys..and enjoy!!

MT TAMBORINE COFFEE PLANTATION: WE'RE BACK!

2014-10-03T21:48:00.000+10:00

Been quite a number of years I last came and the place has changed- it's now done up and refurbished nicely. Every time we passed the place on trips up Mt Tamborine, it was unfortunately a Saturday and they don't open on weekends.

Today, on the way up for a friend's wedding at Cedar Creek Lodges, we snuck in for a cuppa. Not that we thought we were gonna be sleepy at the ceremony, but it had been a long time, since 2009!!

Since it was a hot day, iced coffee was the natural choice with a sinful dollop of home-made vanilla ice-cream for topping. Ask for strong and you will appreciate their robust flavour more. Coffee beans homegrown and roasted on their own plantation, nice quiet hangout place with cosy surroundings and eclectic art pieces for decor. They also serve lunch snacks like pies, fritatas and cakes for reasonable prices.

The green surroundings on the patio dining area outside was nice and calming. Nice place to chat, unwind and have a good coffee!

EISTEDFODD GOLD COAST 2014

2014-08-28T12:04:00.000+10:00

On August 7th, Jordie went for his 1st piano competition at Eistedfodd Gold Coast. He wasn't really expecting much as I had forewarned him the people playing at this contest are very experienced and good pianists. Some even come all the way from Brisbane to perform.

However, to our pleasant surprise, he did fantastically well on his 6 Variations on a Swiss song entry by Beethoven. The candidates prior to him were very skilled and expressive, oozing with emo and all.
His piece was more a technical piece, not much emo but consistency was very important.

So, he got 2nd place even though there were many other contestants who played very complicated difficult pieces with gusto and style. I think the judge liked his simplicity and unpretenciousness.
What a nice surprise!

His 2nd entry for Keryn Bailey's "Morning Song' didn't take off as well. Apparently, he felt something gooey sticky on the keyboard while playing and was trying to get rid of it from his finger. Boogers???
Whatever, but he received very high commendable for this piece and it was a good experience to be exposed to what others his age were doing and how he fared among them.

His Varsity College school band for which he is the keyboardist, also received highly commendable for jazz ensemble pieces.

One thing I learnt, never get intimidated by complicated pieces delivered. The judge looks out for style, natural delivery and accurate presentation. Next year, he's game to compete again.. go Jordie!!

EISTEDDFOD GOLD COAST

2014-05-07T22:28:00.005+10:00

I can't even pronounce or spell the name properly....!

This Welsh-sounding event is an annual music festival and competition for a wide range of young performers in Gold Coast. Up till now, Jordan has been joining the Somerset Music Festival, but this year, he expressed a wish to enter the Eisteddfod in Gold Coast. I think what spurred him on was his exposure to it through the school jazz band that he joined this year. They will be participating in Eisteddfod and his teacher suggested, why not join piano solos if he plays as well?

It has definitely more stiff competition than Somerset, and I expressed my reservations. Jordan very surprisingly told me: " Well, if you don't ever get knocked down, you won't learn how to get up."
Words of wisdom from my 12 year old and I admire his courage.

So, off to the Eisteddfod office in Robina I go, to register my son for his very first entries for Eisteddfod this year. We will practice hard and pray for a good experience..

"SHEN YUN"

2014-04-28T10:05:00.001+10:00

Have been on a long break from this blog for a while. Guess I just ran out of writer's fuel for a bit and there didn't really seem like anything inspiring worth writing about in GC and my life so far.. Tales of the expected just seemed really boring, tales of the unexpected infringed too much on the privacy of my life,..so in between, there really wasn't any material worth publishing...

Thought I'd kick off this year with a little review of my recent visit to the Gold Coast Arts Centre which was hosting the event, "Shen Yun". Initially, no thanks to my limited Chinese knowledge, I had presumed the promotional booths for this at the malls were selling services of a fertility clinic!! Because Shen Yun also sounds like pregnancy.. Apparently, it means "Divine Sound" and it is a live dance and musical performance telling of China's 5000 cultural history. At any rate, we wouldn't have paid $100+ for tickets, but a kind client of my hubby's sponsored us for the show, so of course, we didn't pass it up!

The show was very colourful and vibrant, with costumes, dance ribbons, backdrops, props. Started out with 2 MC's who were bi-lingual, introducing the theme of the show. The acts included many types of dances, opera singers, all fully accompanied by a live band. The backdrop, although simple, was very well-designed and digitally executed so that the performers could seemingly fly off into the horizon and then back hop back again to the stage in one seamless effect ala chinese opera in the digital age...

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against chinese culture, but the show was just so blatantly Falungong propaganda! Albeit, performance was good, dancers very skilled, music impeccable, but the propaganda too strong...Falungong is a religious movement in China which has been banned due to its increasing popularity and possible threat to the authority of the Chinese government. Many members were severely persecuted and sent to detention camps for brainwashing. There were outright abuse of human rights in that part of Chinese history, and whoever backed this performance (which is New York-based by the way) must have been a combination of angry locals and provoked foreigners. It's a no-brainer of course, you won't be able to watch this show at all in China! But in many countries elsewhere, it has gone far and wide.

So, on the one hand, you have these beautiful and uplifting displays of Chinese cultural arts and history, their myths and beliefs interwoven with strong and loud stands of the Dafa set of beliefs and displays of cruelty of their persecutors highlighted in red.

To non-Chinese audiences, Shen Yun and its classical dance and songs must have been so refreshingly different and unique, something they've never been exposed to before. Because I have been exposed to these performances, it didn't overwhelm me as much, but nevertheless, I still enjoyed getting connected with chinese culture again and embracing the "pride" of a heritage that is springing forth from many years of rich history.

TOGETHER AT LAST @ MELBOURNE

2013-07-06T09:34:00.001+10:00

@ our Penang home back in 1969

It 's been a long time since we last met together as a family. ..10 years ago.

After they finished school, my brother and sisters were usually either trying overseas or working away. Then along came marriage, children, jobs...

This trip to Melbourne was a great chance to catch up with my mum and siblings.

2014 Mum's kuih lapis birthday

We had a great time of sharing ideas, catching up, coffee, sisterly baking sprees, and walks in the park.

..and eating "chang" which are nice rice dumplings made by my mum. Mum was very happy to see us all at once as it was so rare. At any one point of time in past gatherings, someone was always missing, you see, since we were scattered all over different places.

Jordan had heaps of fun at their place.

So, yes it was nice to tuck into mum's tasty nyonya and bak chang's and enjoy the company of those dear to me. I realised it wasn't just the taste I miss, it was the company.

My eldest sis very kindly hosted us at her place. She took us around and we had a wonderful time exploring Melbourne city, pigging out at buffets, going to the Victoria Markets, museum, and also boarded a city free bus tour for an overview of Melbourne landmarks.

CHORIZOS, SALAMIS, SAUSAGES

FEDERATION SQUARE

The 3 sisters @ Chinatown

We visited Chinatown as well, but I feel, just like in Brisbane, the food places just aren't as good and authentic as the ones being offered at suburbs that we had visited such as Papparich @ Glen Waverley or even at Boxhill area.

We also took a drive up to Lake Mountain- the closest place to see some "snow" as Jordan wanted to touch and play with some. He and cousin Yang had a blast tobboganing in the cold! At least 25 rounds up and down they went on the slope.

COUSINS HAVING A CHILLING BLAST!

It wasn't freezing cold, but it was enough to make us shiver.... and Jordan's bum to go numb... You can bet they were hungry after that!!

Unfortunately, it wasn't snowy, so the ice was pretty thin and they had to manufacture some with an ice blower machine uphill.

On the way home, we stopped by a quaint little town called Marysville which is at the foot of Lake Mountain and I popped into the local candy store for some lollies while waiting for the boys doing their playground break ...

SUH-WEEEEET!!

On one of the days, for a most arresting experience - we visited the Melbourne jail. They had an inhouse tour called the Watchhouse Experience.

The Watchhouse Experience was an insight into experiences of someone being locked up in the Melbourne gaol. The "sergeant' started shelling us the minute we walked in, addressing us as arrested offenders of the law. We were asked to line up agaisnt the wall, take a card which tells us the identity we were to assume, the offence we committed and our age. There were mouth and leg physical inspections to make sure we brought no hazardous weapons in and then,... we were locked up in cell in darkness. The bolts, the shouting, doors slamming, latches clicking shut were all psychological elements of the jailhouse experience.

It was also interesting looking at death masks of executed prisoners from death row.

In the 19th century, it was common for plaster 'death masks' to be made of the face and skull of executed criminals. At the time, these masks served several purposes. Firstly, death masks were used for phrenological analysis, whereby the shape of a person's head is studied to determine their character traits. Secondly, they were often put on display in public places to serve as a reminder of the power of the police force. Some of those death masks even had their original eyelashes stuck to the plaster when it was lifted off their faces in the past!! Creepy....

JORDAN THE JUDGE

JORDAN POSING IN NED KELLY'S FAMOUS BULLET-PROOF ARMOUR

Next was the Ned Kelly trial re-enacted in a courtroom hearing. My brother took on the role of the judge. Bet he enjoyed himself, hammering away... but forgot to hammer to dismiss the hearing after the verdict. Of course, Jordan simply had to try on the judge costume too after the whole event!

Ned Kelly was one of the most notorious criminals of history and was executed for killing a policeman, The re-enactment, however seemed to propose a notion that Ned was given an unfair trial, that he shot at the policeman out of self-defence rather than offensive attack, because the police had actually brought wood coffins along with them when they set out to nab him, probably with the intention of killing him. Oh well, arbitrary history, there you go!! No one will ever know unless you do a time travel back to the past.

We also stopped by Dendy Beach at Brighton to view the traditional colourful bathing boxes for changing, in the style of retro England. It's an iconic landmark in Melbourne, so gotta take some pictures rite??

Of course, food is one of the elements of a nice holiday. So off we trudge to do an advance birthday celebration lunch buffet for mum at the China Bar. The place had a really good Asian spread.

MOUTHWATERING DESSERTS

They had a facebook promotion deal and because it was a BOGOF deal (Buy One get One Free), it was a real bargain. They had a sumptuous spread of a mix of Asian fare, Chinese primarily with dimsum, roast pork, fried noodles, roti, laksa, char koay teow, curries, sushi and other treats. We found some nice durian tarts and durian popsicles there too, for home-sick Malaysians, I suppose...

MY BROTHER'S LOOK OF LOVE.. FOR DURIAN

Melbourne is so different from GC. For one, the place is swarming for Asians, never seen so many in one place in Australia. Multidiversity is definitely thriving here. Love the food, and choices available.

is also much colder here. The lack of sun is such a stark difference from sunny GC.

Also, everything seems to be happening at a faster pace and at one sweep of a glance, I could see cyclists, pedestrians, cars, trams and buses and horse-drawn carts going at the same time... Amidst our walk downtown, we also saw a street protest of Egyptians urging US intervention to stop dictator rulership in Egypt. Down the corner at Flinder street in an alley, there were walls allocated for creative expression of graffiti all over. It wasn't just vandalism-style graffiti, it was rather good street art on an open gallery tastefully done...

Really enjoyable trip. Best bonus was of course the family get-together! Don't know when it might be possible again, but definitely, precious for now....

EPISODE 49: END OF ANOTHER CHAPTER AND ONTO THE NEXT....

2013-06-12T09:22:00.000+10:00

Some things you can say goodbye to and wrap it up to store with fond, loving memories. Can't say the same for this chapter I am closing for the call centre job.

Today marks the day I leave the call centre and am super relieved to finally close this chapter. Although I am grateful and thankful for the income and interaction skills I managed to get during my stint there, it was never my calling to remain in something like this. I was like a square peg in a round hole, albeit, I still managed to curve my edges a bit to fit in for a while..

Anyway, I choose to dwell on the positive note of things, in the fact that I found out that my life wasn't in that bad a shape after all. Mingling with all these gals from the call centre, my story was like fairy floss next to their burnt toast- bitter and hard. Many had painful stories to tell from their past experiences. Some had come out of one or a few broken relationships, others had children who died or even killed themselves, or husbands gone insane and trying to kill them, some were just fighting bad health, depression, bankruptcy, poverty and the works... So yes, I am thankful for what I have, fairly good health, a loving husband and a son who loves me for who I am...and also for the opportunity to have picked up skills at the call centre, dealing with objections, digging up persuasion skills I never thought I had, and getting exposed to the Australian society at large from all walks of life, the problems they were facing and dealing with daily, and some Aussie lingo while I was at it..

This job was a stop gap measure during very trying financial times for the family and it had served us well.

But, now to take a deep breath and move onwards to things which are more on target.... gonna take some time to sharpen those arrows, and find the right bow... then point it in the right direction. Can't wait to see how the next chapter unfolds.....

JACARANDAS IN SPRING

2012-10-23T22:03:00.000+10:00

I love looking at Jacaranda trees in full bloom. Spring is its season of bloom and I see it everywhere where I live, along roadsides, people's gardens, parks, at the Bond Uni, lovely purple flowers and looks divine when they are strewn on the ground. They also remind me of Beryl, who died a couple of years ago. She was the one who told me what they were when I first saw them at her place. Purple is also one of my favourite colours... maybe someday when I have my own home, I will have a Jacaranda right outside....

UP IN STANTHORPE

2012-06-15T23:29:00.001+10:00

Jordie wanted to see some snow this winter,. errr..unfortunately this is a rare thing in Queensland. However, Stanthorpe, the coldest town in Queensland has occasionally recorded snow in winter even though on a flakey (pardon the pun) level. This year, it had already snowed in Tenterfield, just right across the border in NSW, about 2 hours drive further from Stanthorpe.

So over the long weekend holiday for the Queen's birthday, we trudged to this charming little town 800 metres above sea level. It is about 3 hours' drive from Gold Coast. We took the Hinterland roads just to enjoy the country sights as well. Lots of horses, lambs, cows grazing peacefully along the way. Because it was colder here, deciduous trees and autumn scenery was more common here. Beautiful sights, with also fallen leaves by the roadside... Been a long time since I last saw the fall effect...

Stanthorpe used to be a mining town for tin and is part of the stretch in South East Queensland known as the Granite Belt, blessed with very fertile soil suitable for growing grapes, stonefruits and apples. Alas, early winter just wasn't the right time to be picking apples, but we had a go at it anyway at the apple farm at Sutton's Juice Factory at Applethorpe just before reaching Stanthorpe.

...and had fun picking our own fresh apples from the tree.

"MINE.. ALL MINE!!"

The fruit trees were trimmed to a very short height so it was very easy to pick them. Hmm, I was visualizing myself climbing up ladders to pick'em but this doesn't quite cut it.. Not much apples left at this time of the year, and the woman did warn us they won't look aesthetic or eye-pleasing especially since they weren't polished waxed and fully organic.. (which basically means, worms love it..)

THE UNFORBIDDEN FRUIT

So.. here comes Jordie with his bright red bag, ready to zoom in for his ripe red pickings...him & Daddy wandered from row to row looking for the best fruits.
Daddy took the 1st bite off his apple and offered me some. I commented that it felt like Adam was the 1st one this time taking the apple and offering it to Eve, a reversal of the Eden scenario.

Jordie quickly saw it was ok to eat them and off he chomps on his own apple too.

It actually is crunchy, sweet and fragrant, but a wee bit sour...I think one is supposed to leave the apple for a few days to let it sweeten up a little...

IT'S CRRRUNCHY!!

Apple fruit juice @ Sutton's

Sutton's farm canned their own fruit juice, no sugar added, no flavouring, 100% organic.

However, we decided not to get any because it was rather expensive.

Next time, maybe... but nice to be in cold weather and running around picking your apples.

We also visited the Crystal Lavender Farm although again, wrong time of the year! So, no huge hosts of lavenders...shucks!

But our sole purpose was to show Jordie the alpacas on this farm. Cute creatures, but not very friendly.. we weren't very sure if they would spit at people like their cousins, the Llamas... so we did keep our safe distance....

GIVING OUT THE LOVE..EEYORE!

..Neat huh, never knew the donkeys were named as such- the Jerusalem Donkeys. There is a quaint story often told that a donkey acquired its cross because it carried Jesus into Jerusalem. It’s also told that the leg stripes were received from walking through the palm branches that were laid in its path in honor of the burden it was carrying.

THE DONKEY'S CROSS

Well, I did wind up getting meself a nice bottle of Lavender oil. It is a 100% pure extract of the lavender flower and smells divine... therapy for stress...

We also did a dairy farm that sold cheese and a winery called the Castle GlenWinery. They stocked lots of different muscats and wines and even creme liquers, such as lemon cream, white choc, mocha and the yummy lot. Many wineries here because of the suitability of soil for growing grapes...but I think Perth probably has better choices...

Overall, this was a nice, relaxing trip up to Stanthorpe in winter..Maybe by summer, we'll do the apricots and peaches next..

Jordie's wish to see snow didn't materialise though, but then, we did forewarn him not to get his hopes too high this time.. better luck next time.

CHANGING OF GUARDS @ GOLD COAST CITY

2012-04-25T23:33:00.001+10:00

The change of guards to many means keeping vigil 24/7 and a handing over of the baton of responsibility and guardianship of safety for a place or person to ensure a smooth transition and continued security of the place or territory guarded over.

Well, Gold Coast is facing a literal change of guards in political leadership and it will see new faces taking up council leadership in its council as well. There are 7 candidates running for mayor this year for Gold Coast's top seat, one of which is Peter Young. I feel people need to take a good hard look at what he's done in the past and plans to do for the future before they cast their vote this Saturday.

Why I feel he fits the bill for mayor is based on two counts: he not only has the heart and passion for the city of Gold Coast but he also has the experience in political governance & town planning knowhow to make things happen for Gold Coast. Although most had criticised him for being a greenie advocate and for seemingly being anti-development because of his environmental-friendly stance, he has been advocating major change and lots of shifts in mindsets for Gold Coast development over the years - one of which is the recent successful bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games to be hosted by Gold Coast.

Peter Young at the Commonwealth Games winning of bid for GC

The other thing he has been involved in is pushing for new airline routing from China to Gold Coast and more trade relationships coming in from China investors as well - with the intention to create more jobs and stimulate the economy in the city.

Although some people are mad about many stupid issues in Gold Coast such as exorbitant price of water, high assessment fees for properties, and mismanagement of funds, or some just plain frustrated at national & state level government (esp. Miss Red Hair) they need to take a hard look at the voting authority in their hands and their individual potential to change things here locally. If they cast an informal or donkey vote, they only have themselves to blame. In the words of former Combined Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce chief Bob Janssen, "If you're going to whinge about the performance of the previous council, then cast a vote, have your say. Otherwise, don't whinge," he said. True, so true...

For all you Gold Coasters out there with a vote in your hands out there know this...that even though I am not yet a citizen in Australia, I have committed to volunteering my time and effort to be part of this year's election mayoral campaign for Peter Young because I believe this city needs a chance for major transformation with the right guy at the helm,... and you can only get that with someone who knows and believes in what he's talking about.

So, if you're reading this or you somehow stumbled upon my website because you had questions about Mr Young, and feel you can't make up your minds about it, go to this website, http://www.peteryounggoldcoast.com.au/. And then please cast your vote.... because if the wrong guy gets elected, heavens, DON'T WHINGE ABOUT IT.. because you never did your part.. and didn't make up the critical mass... just remember:-

APATHY= NO CHANGE = SAME SHIT.

Show up and be counted. Make the difference.

GOOD MORNING AUSTRALIA- PT.2

2012-02-11T10:57:00.000+10:00

Most Aussies probably find telemarketers very annoying. Especially since there are hundreds even thousands of companies out there mining the same area at one point or another, it probably won't be unusual for a person to get up to 5 or 6 calls of this sort in a day especially if they had not delisted their numbers from the directory.

If any of you have ever been guilty of hanging up on a telemarketer abruptly or shouting or swearing at one, you need to think twice before you do that the next time okay? Why? Because nobody enjoys calling or intruding upon your time. We have a job to do and yes, it may appear to be annoying to you, but someone has to call people to get the message out there and to announce services or products. To minimise your pain and ours, here are a few "Thou shalt not's..."

THOU SHALT NOT pick up then hang up without saying anything, because we will have to call you over and over again because you see,you are not considered completely marketed to as a lead if we hadn't gotten the chance to come into contact with you!

THOU SHALT NOT LIE OR HIDE. If you pretend that you are not that person, well, sorry! We will have to contact you again, until we get to speak to you. Anyway, what if you said the person doesnt live here anymore and I actually rang to tell you you had won $1 million dollars?? Big loss!! You'll never know what you just threw out the window...Be brave, acknowledge yourself...and if you pretended you are your parents, we can tell....I've lost count of the times when someone claimed the person I asked for was not them and no such person and when I said I had rang to offer something to them, they came out of hiding and really looked silly saying, "I am not interested." after that.

THOU SHALT NOT be rude. Be polite and hear the person out. If you really don't have the time, spell it out firmly but courteously. If the telemarketer is pushy or inconsiderate, then he or she probably deserves to have the call cut short anyway. Swearing and giving verbal abuses only demeans yourself, not us. It shows that you have no other more intelligent way of expressing yourself than four letter words. Demeaning a telemarketer and his/her job isn't going to stop many others from still calling you. There are thousands of companies calling everyday, if you don't want the calls, delist your number. But look, shouting at us isn't going to solve this problem. It only makes your throat hurt, blood pressure go up and another individual demoralised. If you can't cope, just say no thanks and hang up...

THOU SHALT NOT say not interested on behalf of your parents. Sorry, we'll still have to talk to the parents even if you were given instructions to say not interested. And anyway, your parents may be interested, so give us a chance to talk to them.

On the whole though, most Aussies are pretty polite, especially the older generation. Nice and friendly bunch, and sometimes wish you luck for the day. As for the rest of the bunch, TTYL! (Talk to you later)

GOOD MORNING, AUSTRALIA! - Pt.1

2012-01-28T23:59:00.000+10:00

Have been working at a call centre for 5 months now and it has been a crazy mishmash of experiences for me - of fear, pride, tears, joy, anger, sadness and amusement. When I first took on this job, it was (and still is) with fear and intimidation that I would not quite cut it as as a telemarketer. Everyday, I call different cities across Australia making appointments for conferences.

For obvious sensible reasons, I shall not disclose where I work, but it is very near where I stay. So, I have been very blessed in the sense that I don't even have to drive if I choose not to, it is just 7 minutes brisk walk from door to door.

I could write a book of the many different characters in my workplace. The team I work with consists mostly of ladies in their fifties. But there are also younger girls and mums like myself who struggle to cope with managing a family as well as make it on time to the sometimes unearthly hours of work (i.e. 8am). And because Australia has 3 different timezones, we could be starting really early one week and then starting at normal 9am the next, depending on which cities we call for the week.

During my calls, I come across interesting names, funny, serious people, the very old and the very young, very rich and very poor, very rude and very polite. I get a taste of Australia's different households, how they live, work, eat, think and function as a family. One thing I had found is that Australian life spans are generally much higher than in Asian countries. I have talked to many retirees in their nineties, late eighties and guess what? Some are still working, so it tells me, they are a pretty fit lot... I have talked to quite a number of people who tell me they are dying of cancer, people who tell me they just had a baby, just got engaged, just had a divorce, just got a new house, new immigrants from India, Africa, China, perhaps some illegal ones, doctors, nurses, miners, engineers, accountants, teachers, mango farmers, cattle farmers,.. all walks of life, but with one aim in mind, to invite the right people and hope they show up for my conferences.

On a good day, I get 4-5 people, on a bad day, I get none or just one. It's insane, and a little trivial to feel good about having managed to invite 3 or more people a day after having called like close to 220 people. So, yes it is not the most fantastic job on earth but hey, it helps to pay the bills for now.......If you think it's an easy job to sit there everyday and talk to people, you are so wrong. I admit it can be pleasant to meet nice people on the phone who will tell you their life stories and joke with you but there are also many crappy instances of putting up with horribly rude, drunk and OD'd people who shout at you and insult you.

There were many times in my earlier days of this job that I wanted to just give up and walk away because I felt so lousy about having to annoy people and intrude upon their lives and being screamed at for daring to call them. But I know this is also a season of dealing with my inner self - to learn to take rejection upfront and not take it personally. To learn that a job is still a job at the end of the day and that when you tuck away your headphones and go back home, you DON'T need to carry back that 'f' word spoken to you, or that lousy feeling of walking away with zero bookings for the day... I have found that it helps to segment and clearly and precisely shut the door when you step out of work, otherwise, you could feel crappy the whole time.

But then, there are also the happy triumphant times when I look back at how the grace of God prevailed at a crucial time when I was told I had that week to show results or face losing the job. This is the episode I will always remember and a lesson in faith that God teaches me. Being a newbie at this kind of work, I had very low bookings. However, I marvelled at how I still managed to have people show up for my conferences. That had saved me for the first part of my career as a telemarketer eventhough I had very few bookings.

One day, my manager pulled me aside and told me they wanted to let me go that very week but she stood up for me and insisted I could do it, with proper training. So, I asked if my show rates were good for that particular week, would it be the determining factor to keep me on for coming weeks? She said yes. That very morning of the show rate results, as I walked to work,I prayed really hard for a '5' for showup rates. It seemed impossible, considering my miserable booking figures... and why '5'? Because it is the biblical number for grace and I needed a real clear sign for me that I had His grace for me to stay on..then suddenly, a van shot past me and drove ahead of me..and strangely, it had the word GRACE?? written clearly on the back. Hmm, pretty apt, I thought. Things got more interesting towards the afternoon when my boss came up and shook my hand, telling me I had done very well for that week. I was pleasantly surprised. When the scores were announced, I was one of the highest performers. And guess how many showed up that week for me? 5 people! Awesome, the grace that covers me. That kept me on the job for the next following weeks....stay tuned on this channel for other interesting stories......

THE ONLY SNOW YOU WILL FIND IN GOLD COAST THIS CHRISTMAS...

2011-12-23T23:36:00.000+10:00

The only "snow" to be found falling in Gold Coast in the middle of summer, is the 'mock' one of icing sugar --flicked all over the attempted christmas yule log cake I made today. It is a traditional French Xmas musthave but most western cultures, including Asians, have adapted it to be part of the Christmassy thing to have.

Baking has always been my way to destress, to prove to myself that things that look hard or impossible can still be achieved. Never done a log cake before, and decided to get adventurous today, using the famous Aussie chef Nigella's recipe. Yes, ambitious me had to aim for the best, and ignoramus me actually thought that the grand dame of Aussie cuisine had been careless and left out flour in her recipe!!

Actually, this was a flourless log cake and I actually couldn't believe I had launched onto this project not noticing that flour wasn't in the recipe, otherwise I wouldn't have tried it, because I always prefer my cakes, fluffy, doughy, and cake-y- nothing of that flourless version..(sorry Nigella. Who cares about carb anyway, I mean it's Christmas...

Anyway, too late, had to proceed, as the stage had been set. So, with bated breath, I rolled up the cakes and was relieved they did not totally fall apart. Cakes did not rise very nicely, maybe, I opened the oven too often to check, I don't know. Am clueless about how flourless cakes should look like or taste, so I expect whatever I rolled out at the end would have to do. It didn't taste too bad, and the icing was lovely. Jordie wanted to do the sprinkling of snow, and that helped quite a bit to cover the 'flaws' and I had these recycled christmas tress and miniature santas from days gone by lifted off a previous xmas cake. We had fun putting little weetbix squares as part of the scenery to pass off as rocks.Jordie said the xmas trees did not look real but the log did, but who cares? It's all in the name of breaking barriers of reality. Anyway, santas don't exist, so what are they doing on a log cake, huh? Merry Xmas, and try not to be make sense about everything. You will find life more interesting and happier that way...and now, we shall look forward to eating up this log on Christmas day..

GETTING BACK INTO THE SWING

2011-12-11T20:46:00.001+10:00

Recently..ok not so recently, coz I had been soo.. busy.. no time to even update this blog for gosh like..umpteen moons!! Back to "recently" my mum was in town and when we took her and her sister (my 2nd aunt ) to the beach at Burleigh Heads for a BBQ nite out, her sister told her she had a go at the swing. To my surprise, my mum decided she wanted to have a go at it too. So, here goes my 73-year-old mum, whom I have never recalled ever seeing her sitting on a swing before, decided to plonk on one next to Jordie. Cute shot of granny and Jordie. You're never too old to relive your childhood, I like that...

OF BEDS & TOYS

2011-02-18T10:11:00.006+10:00

So, what's so special about this bed shot you say? Well... I have started to look at normal things and learnt to appreciate them more. Actually, it is rather abnormal if you think about it... b'cos this bed looks like this every morning after Jordan wakes up. He MAKES HIS OWN BED!! I mean, it is stuff you don't expect boys to do rite? Well, ok there are days when he's in a rush and it gets overlooked, but that's fine. Meanwhile, I appreciate his efforts to be neat and well-organised this way. It makes a nice sight to come home and plonk into rite?

And considering him being already close to 10 and playing with boy macho games like guns and xbox, he still loves his cuddlies. Last night, he took out all of his soft toys and they each have a story behind them.

The largest pooh bear was from his Godma, who bought it from HK Disneyland for him. The donkey bolster, Eeyore was given him by this girl called Isabel during a Port Dickson church convention when he was just 2 years old. The yellow elephant tucked behind Pooh is from his paternal grandma.

1st two from the right: Meet Boris the bulldog and Squigee the dark brown dog side by side which were companions since his toddler days and bought from China during his 1st Beijing trip. They were his 1st soft toys from mummy & daddy.

On the far left is Puddles, the only bear in the family given to him by Uncle Kai Seong. He was named Puddles because his eyes always looked shiny and wet. The smallest dog in the family right in the center, is named Squirrel Chaser, given to him for Christmas from Auntie Ebbie.

Last but not least is Chubbs, the light brown and white doggy- one of his faves. Compliments again from Godma who has been a real blessing to him and sent this via the post because she knew he was missing daddy much at one point.

So, there you go, toys with a bit of history behind them, everyone of them a testament of the heart and love for him from different people in his life.

SWEET THOUGHTS

2011-02-14T10:44:00.005+10:00

Was surprised to find this piece of romantic relic sitting on my Mac laptop this morning. Had totally slipped my mind today is Valentine's Day...Awww that was so sweet of him! Ferrero Rocher chocs, what a treat!

LO YEE SANG - the friendly food fight

2011-02-05T10:59:00.005+10:00

Had some friends over for dinner on the 2nd day of Chinese New Year and treated them to a Lo Yee Sang which is the typical CHINESE NEW YEAR appetiser musthave in Malaysia and Singapore. However, since we weren't sure if they would be used to raw fish, we used smoked salmon instead and they loved it. Some of them termed it a 'food fight' and to all appearances it may have looked like it. Everyone thought the chopsticks were a real novelty and ate pretty well with it, except for me and Jordie who are staunch spoon-diners.

They loved the novelty, the colour and the action. We so often take it for granted when we have it in the past so, we didn't realise it would be such a nice refreshing thing to introduce to them. Perhaps it was also the licence to play with food for once which made it more fun...

Samuel explained the significance of this dish but we did it also like a prophetic act. We wanted to speak prosperity, grace, favour and better things ahead into this act. So that made it all the more meaningful, hihi!

THE FLOOD EFFECTS PT. 2: PLAGUE OF SNAKES, CROCS, MICE AND EVERYTHING NOT NICE.

2011-01-16T23:00:00.004+10:00

As if having your homes submerged isn't enough problem already, the poor residents of affected areas of the flood have been battling more than just water & damages, but also undesirable creatures. Floods in Queensland have also unleashed a 'plague' of pests & dangerous animals like mice, frogs and snakes and worse-crocodiles which have wandered into places & waterways near residential homes and even town areas.

When these animals get out of their normal habitat and get washed into unfamiliar zones, they tend to seek hiding places, which may be in a closet, under a bed, or other spots that could lead to disaster when the unknowing homeowner returns and encounters the frightened animal victim that may then lash out. Spiders do something similar, and Australia certainly has no shortage of poisonous arachnids.

Rockhampton Mayor Brad Carter has warned that the flood waters also contained crocodiles.

"There is the risk that we have a number of crocodiles that live in the Fitzroy River," he said. "We do not think they are a risk to public safety if people keep out of the waters but if people do enter the waters, their safety cannot be guaranteed."

The New York Times reports that dozens of snakes have taken over the backyard beer garden of the Fitzroy Hotel Pub in Rockhampton. Owner Tony Higgins said, “I reckon the snakes are using it as a lap pool to get ready for the next stage of their journey."

Yup, you wouldn’t know what’s in the water, you really wouldn’t know. It’s a bad place to be.

THE FLOOD EFFECTS PT. 1: EMPTY SHELVES

2011-01-15T22:27:00.008+10:00

Yesterday, when I went out to get some vege's, this was what I saw, amazing and appalling: Empty shelves and empty tables at major supermarkets (that kinda reminds me of what the French students sang for Les Miserables- Empty chairs and empty tables)..this is probably the first time in a long, long time, that the shops have this problem due to the floods. Farmer crops have been affected drastically, even meats were not as plentiful. Quite pathetic to see people fingering through a few stalks of veg left on the shelves. Milk was all sold out, including UHT shelves which were typically well-stocked... So, eventhough GC was unaffected by the flood waters, the inland tsunami that hit Queensland still had its ripple effects much felt here...hopefully, the supplies get back to normal soon.

THE FLOOD OF 'BIBLICAL' PROPORTIONS

2011-01-13T22:22:00.004+10:00

Some call this the worst flood in Queensland since 1974- a disaster of biblical proportions. Lots of homes, shops, offices, schools awash and inundated in flood water in many districts of Queensland. Just 2 days ago, Brisbane got hit as well. Here's the clip of just how bad things can get. Man against nature, this is truly one of the best reminders of the fragility of humanity in modern Australia. My heart goes out to those who lost their homes, loved ones, pets, and belongings. In Toowoomba, a district not too far away from here, many people never took flood insurance because they thought they were living in high areas, non-susceptible to flood disasters. So, they were literally caught by surprise and left with virtually nothing. The clip of the cars floating down the river is in Toowomba.

Sad sight .. but then hey, somebody took the opportunity to have some wet 'n' wild fun at the end of the clip!!?? There's the oz spirit for you... ride the waves and the water, dude... coz tomorrow is another day...

EPISODE 48: APPRECIATING THE HERE & NOW

2011-01-08T23:26:00.008+10:00

Jordie finally had his friends from school over today to visit and play during the holidays. He was so looking forward to them coming. Their mum brought them to our place today. We'd never met before so we chatted for a bit and got to know each other a little. During the conversation, she revealed to us that her husband was dying of cancer and probably only had a few months to live.

I really felt for this woman -yet she looked so strong. She just had to take what she had and go with it, get the income, manage the household, bring up her kids and make sure her husband gets taken care of. She told us she was glad the boys had their own network of friends to play with to take their mind off the family crisis. You may look at your life, think it stinks, think your problems bigger than others till somebody comes along and flashes a bigger bin of problems and then suddenly, yours seem to shrink to mini proportions.

It dawned on me how short life is. I mean, we go thru life with its motions of things, waking up, grooming, cleaning, cooking, eating, minding our business, getting the kids to school, nod off to bed, and then what?? Certainly, there is more to life than this everyday replay. There comes days when people or situations jar you and wake you out of your normal deadpan mode of comfy predictability and scream out to you, make your life count!! It could be an accident, death of someone you knew, a very unusual incident, or even a stranger just coming into your lives with extraordinary situations like in this case. And then you realise you had been selfishly moaning about your poor tired life and all that moaning energy needs to be channelled outwards because elsewhere, someone is always in worse shape than you.

During the day, one of the boys kept telling me in his straight, serious demeanour, "My dad's gonna die, He's gonna die, you know, by this year, it makes him sad and then it makes me double sad because I know he is gonna die and I'm sad because he's sad about it." SIGH! Wish I had a healing wand to go around zapping everyone back to health, but only God can do that.

But the boys had such a lot of fun together today and you know what, there was no sadness in that. I heard their laughter playing in the tiny drizzle outside with some water guns and light sabres. So, I realised, life may be short, but we make the most of it whatever we have and enjoy the here and now, the fun, the sun, (yes we had heaps of rain and even flooding in some areas of Queensland, really bad but today was nice weather to play outdoors) the food, the friendships, family, and then take everyday as it comes.

We told her that if at any time she needed for the boys to be away should she have a difficult time coping, that they were welcome here. Sure, it is inconvenient, privacy intruded, house messed up, but as Jordie puts it, " Its okay, at least we have fun together." So, yes, I thank God for family, for health, for joy, laughter and the blessings we have each day.

IN THE YEAR OF COOKING DANGEROUSLY

2010-12-01T21:50:00.026+10:00

Have been taking my long absence from blogging for a while... just been too busy, tired, lazy lately to have any inspiration for writing anything. But December is the final month of this year and wow, it's been like so incredibly fast the way this year has shot by.

Everywhere, signs of Christmas mood popping up in houses, neighbourhoods, malls.. this year a little bit more upkey than last, at least in shopping malls. Santas with their elves in every mall and crying babies plonked on their laps for cute pixes by eager parents for that memorable shot to go down their albums for years to come...Maybe they just need to drum up the sales, so need to pound into the heads of customers, it's Christmas coming your way soon.. BUY, BUY, SPEND now, or else it will be too late??!!

This year has also been a year of creative adventures in the kitchen for me, I think at no other time have I been trying out so many different things like this year. Maybe the initial plans to perhaps someday run a restaurant got me into this mood to experiment with different stuff... but let's see... I have tried (this is by no means a brag list, just a reflection and wonder at how brave I have become...), but much of it was to salvage food that might otherwise go bad, so you might say, I cooked to avoid wastage..

PESTO- one day, I found myself with so much basil leaves, so I blended them up with some peanuts, olive oil, salt, onions, garlic and pepper and then used it later for cooking with pasta, ham and mushrooms, pesto pasta is a yummy and nutritious must try...

APPLE MUFFINS- Found myself with lots of apples, and threw them into the muffins with some cinnamon powder and raisins and sometimes chopped walnuts. Sometimes, I even popped in leftover Weetbix cereal crumbs which I saved from Jordie's box for extra crunch.

APPLE JAM- Also, because again, I had too many apples rotting away in the fridge, I took them out, cut out the bad parts

and stewed them up into a jam. The 1st time I did it, didn't add brown sugar and 2nd round which is this pix, I did so the it turned out a little brownish, but better tasting and smoother. You also have to add some lemon juice which sorta preserves it longer and sugar. Cinnamon sticks give it a nice flavour and I think I prefer it than cinnamon powder.

Need about 1 hour of constant stirring and simmering.. and it just disintegrates into pulpy jam slowly but surely. ..

.. Jordie loves it with bread and butter.

NASI LEMAK - Have never attempted this Malaysian favourite until we invited some Aussie friends over and decided to treat them to some traditional Malaysian fare. We did the mild version which they liked.Later this year, I decided to slip the spice level a notch up, so sambal was used instead of just sweet chilli. Jordie loved it, esp the fried chicken drumsticks... of course anything fried and crispy for him is a sure winner.. No banana leaves to be found here, so a 'banana leaf' melamine platter was the ambience setter. What to do?

SWEET CHILLI FISH - Deep fried dory or basa fillets, chopped up topped with sweet chilli sauce. Great with capsicum stirred in.. I used some 5 spice powder for fish batter just to zing it up a little. And added in a dollop of (you won't believe this, thousand island dressing) to the sweet chilli sauce topping to give it a more emulsifying texture...

FISH CAKE- 1st attempt was successful, but a teed bit too salty. I mashed up some basa fillet, chopped green beans, onions, garlic, fish sauce and flour, then fried it up with sweet chilli for dip.

BEEF WANTONS- never really attempted this, coz pork was the normal type. Beef is normally cheaper here, so I thought we'd try it out on wantons and what do you know, it tasted pretty good! With garlic, chopped carrots, onions, some spring onions and even celery, most of the beefy smell is dealt with..

ROASTED ALMONDS -decided to try the type coated with egg white and sugar and cinnamon and it really tasted great and not as sticky as the honey roasted type. The ones in the supermarkets cost quite a bomb at bout $10.00 per for packet of less than 500g, I think. Makes nice christmas gifts and holiday snacks.

AVOCADO MILKSHAKE

- inspired by my hubby who used to taste them at Jakarta with some chocolate topping. Really nice with some milk, ice cream and mix of yogurt and ice and texture comes out like some green thick custard but deliciously cold and creamy.

Well, that's just some of the stuff that came out of the year of cooking dangerously, and I thank my hubby, son and willing guests for daring to eat dangerously alongside with me....they're still walking and kicking, I did at least pass the toxic test...

DAM GOOD NEWS

2010-10-14T10:58:00.004+10:00

THOUSANDS of litres are gushing from the Hinze Dam, Gold Coast's largest and main dam, after the spill gates were opened yesterday morning. Blessed with lots of rain this October, the new spill gates were finally put to good use. The gates were opened at 7.30am on October 13 yesterday after the dam reached 100 percent capacity. Now, that's dam good news -no water shortage for quite a long while.

EPISODE 47: TURNING 9

2010-10-05T11:58:00.007+10:00

Jordie turned 9 yesterday. He was so excited about it as it was his 'treat' day. We took him to AMF for a morning bowling session and he had a blast. Totally. The bigger blast was of course, that his dad scored lower than him. For some reason, daddy could not aim straight and the ball kept rolling into the side gulley. But Jordie had help too. The junior alley had support fences to 'nudge' the ball back onto course. Most of Jordie's throws ended up skidding on the floor before the ball started rolling but hey, still got the strikes nonetheless. .

AMF had a very good discount for school holidays and for a game of about $6.90 each, one could play roughly about 45 minutes, depending on how good you are. I don't know much about bowling and was just a spectator. Looks like fun but was contented to just watch for now. Then, we stopped by the Cheesecake shop and he got to choose his fave cheesecake flavour, strawberry glazed from the stack.

Jordie said this was one of his best birthdays ever and we were glad we decided to do something different for a change. For previous years, we held parties for him and invited neighbourhood kids over. But he has now discovered... the art of personal enjoyment..ahh.. the pleasure of not needing to entertain, and just get to do the stuff you like with people you love. Again, this might be just a phase..oh well, we'll enjoy it while it lasts, maybe in a few years' time, he won't even want us around for his birthdays.. He loves his new tommy toy gun too.

We enjoy pampering him, because he's been such a good boy. Makes his bed every morning, keeps his room tidy, did well for his piano and studies, helps around when asked. He's never complained about us not bringing him anywhere for this term break, or any of the previous breaks, so, he really deserves his treat on his special day....we love you Jordie... muacks!

MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB

2010-09-26T17:25:00.010+10:00

Recently, a friend invited our family to a Marriage Supper of the Lamb event organised by Heart of David Ministries. It was held in Nerang Bicentennial Culture Centre and was a Jewish celebration which was held to depict a future point in holy history when the saints will pass through the gates of splendor to enter the mansions of glory. There they will be ushered into a love feast and a glorious consummation of marriage of Christ and His bride.

When we arrived, we heard some familiar either Singaporean or Malaysian accent English being spoken by one of the chinese couples who were in charge of reception.

They had lovely tabletop centrepieces and we saw some booths also selling stuff like books and Jewish souvenirs. Food was great. We had lamb (of course), roast beef, chicken stew, salad, baked potatoes, rice and some salad. We also had a cake-cutting session, with words written "Shalom Jerusalem".

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is based on scriptures which indicate that this climactic banquet of the ages will come at the end of this present evil age at the second coming of Christ. At that time we shall see Jesus/Yeshua face to face on the occasion of His return to this earth. This time He will come not as the Suffering Servant but as the returning conquering King of Kings. Revelation chapter 19 (below) gives the context of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

They made a wedding tent under which traditional jewish weddings were held and danced under it.

It was lovely to watch people just being free to dance unto the Lord in this fashion, and meaningful as it was symbolic of the relationship we had with Christ, when He comes back for His bride, the church. More importantly, it reminded us how much God loves us and the type of intimate relationship He was looking for in His people.