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◇◆'hello stranger.

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✖. annie
✖. Student:UG.UNSW
✖. Made in China
✖. Calls Sydney home
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I'm just here to 'blab' about my days and share with you, the little wonders of life.(￣▽￣)ノ＿彡☆
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17/12-18/12 01/12-05/12 APHS graduation yr12'2013

DAY 1:
JK picked me up from home everyone met at Greg's house at 6:30am.
Sally slept in and because she lives in Hornsby, we were behind schedule but it all worked out in the end.
Had breaky at this coffee place at Strathfield - sourdough with poached egg, chorizo and mushrooms. mmmm
Drove to Benson's and picked him up - headed towards M5 for the 12hr drive!
Made some pit stops along the way - for lunch at Maccas (because it was in remote areas, a little kid actually screamed out "WOAHHH ASIANS!!!" haha) and just to stretch out our legs and switch cars.
Sally and I got bored half way and started watching "The Switch" on my tablet. Since it was a comedy we were laughing really loud at the back seat. Suddenly we became silent and the nausea hit. I was lucky enough to suppress the food from coming up but Sally wasn't so lucky... Yeah.. movie + car ride = bad idea.
We finally made it to Melbourne CBD at around 6:30pm.
Drove to TGIF and had out dinner there. The boys were super excited about the game that was on so we stayed at TGIF for longer than expected.. 3hrs.. yep..
After dinner, we drove to Point Cook, where our holiday house was located.
It was a nice cozy home with 4 rooms, because there weren't enough beds for 10 people, Sally, Benson and I slept on one bed. lol... the house didn't really come as advertised though.
For the rest of the night we just tried to get cozy in our home for the next 4 days, waited for the 2 other girls to arrive from the airport and then went to the local Coles to buy food for next morning's breakfast.

DAY 2:
Was woken up by the 2 girls at 6am for our day at Peninsula hot springs but considering we all slept at 3am, nobody woke up until 8am. I got up at approximately 7am to make breakfast: Eggs Benedict and after a very satisfying meal, we hopped into the car and off we went for a day of pampering!
Highlight: The fantastic rustic views and GIRLS IN BIKINIS of course. HAHA
Would definitely come back to this place next winter.
It started pouring at around 4:30pm as we were having lunch so we decided to leave. However it would have been nice to have the cool rain drop on my face while sitting in the springs and seeing all the steam rise to the sky..
Anyways the drive back was a NIGHTMARE! Car accidents everywhere, peak our, massive storm. Yep. I almost thought we were not gonna make it back to Sydney alive. And JK's Toyota Corolla was like an ant being hosed away...
Once we got home, everyone was too tired to go shopping so we all just went out to buy food for dinner and made a massive meal which took approximately 3hrs.
After dinner, everyone had some rekorderlig and vodka while playing beer pong while I took out my trusted Lush Bath Bomb and relaxed in the tranquility of Letters to Juliet on the tablet.

DAY 3:
This day started off with us rushing to the City before Hardware Societe's breakfast hours closed. We had the worst time finding affordable parking and basically some of us had to get off and save ourselves a spot. Luckily the drivers managed to park their car in QV for $18 (unlimited all day parking) and we were the last group to be seated for breakfast; those who were behind us were unlucky enough to arrive just a tad late for the breakfast menu and was told sorry or either come back at lunch.
Baked Eggs all around! And I had a clover coffee which was really not that mind blowing. I guess I was expecting too much from this place since I read all the yummy reviews beforehand; and I had been wanting to visit this place since Feb when I was last here.
After breaky was SHOPPING TIME!
I basically bought a lot of things at Zara because they were having a sale and then we headed off to DFO for some bargain hunting. And needless to say, Melbourne DFO is so much better than Sydney's (even though Syd is trying to improve itself with all the new additions and renovation). The majority of my spending went into Addidas for gym clothes and some souvenirs for the bros and Tommy Hilfiger for those v-neck form fitting jumpers that make you look a million bucks.
It started pouring again after we came out of the shops and we were clueless as to where we were going to have dinner! The original plan was bar hopping/shopping night but because it was raining, that would've been an extremely bad idea. Nobody wants to get their new clothes and shoes wet!
So we found this KBBQ place near the Markets in the City and basically had a decent meal there - expensive though they had a nice toilet, it still doesn't make up for it. At the end of dinner, Greg became very grumpy because he was basically between the two tables and didn't manage to get much food; and because he had wanted to see the nightlife and the bars on the night. So we tried to cheer him up with some alcohol from Celebration and Shirley made him a little snack at home so he wouldn't starve through the night.
We played drinking games until 4am and by the end of it everyone was either stoned out or behaving like 5yr olds. There were only 4 of us who were sober and it was surely a night to remember.

DAY 4:
Because we all went to bed at around 5am the previous night, everyone practically woke up at 2pm the next morning. The day started slow with breakfast, and then everyone just sat around the dining table chatting about life and whatnot. This went on for around 3hrs and during that time, Benson and I geared up and went out for a run around the neighbourhood. It was very refreshing breathing in the crisp air in winter, and it was then I found out just how unfit I was. haha A headache hit me especially concentrated around the areas above my ear, near my temple. So we head back to the house and everyone decided that we would go bar hopping tonight. So all the girls got into their best clothes and we basically did each other's hair and makeup.
With everyone so fabulous, we had to take some pictures before our maxi cab arrived - he was around and hr late because he couldn't find our house since it's in a newly developed area.
We first had dinner at this amazing woodfire pizza place on Lygon St. The last time we were here at Lygon, the pizza was very mediocre but this restaurant was different. Even though we were and hr and a half late for our reservation, the owner was very generous to provide us with the center table. Though what came next was the best part, he started playing tricks on us. In the end I had to verse against him at a game of naughts and crosses and as the game came to the part where no one wins, he allowed me to win by drawing my circle and connecting the three together. With our victory, we were awarded their infamous chocolate pizza, on the house. Food was fantastic! Ambiance was great and the owner was just the best bloke!
After dinner we ran around Lygon St trying to find a maxi cab. And because we were unsuccessful we just took 3 separate cabs to Madame Brussels.
There were no spots inside so we basically had to keep shifting tables on the outside to get ourselves near the heater. The waiters dressed in shorts and a tshirt (in 5'C weather) were very attentive and offered us cushions and blankets so we would be more comfortable. With our jugs of girly cocktails, we basically played "never have I ever", and revealed many secrets.
Afterwards, we went to this alleyway in Chinatown for another two bars before heading to Karaoke. Karaoke was basically a rip off and the lady just gave us random prices like we didn't know how much karaoke costed in Australia. Because half of us were able to speak Chinese, we basically haggled her until the price dropped from $500 to $150 + free food and drinks!
After some good old singing, we had to head home as the guys would have to wake up early and drive for another 12hrs the next day.

DAY 5:
We were home at around 3am and the two girls had to go to the airport at 5am so Sally and I basically stayed up with them until their taxi came and made sure they were safe and sound.
Without sleep, we became extremely grumpy when no one woke up to clean the house before departure. The two of us took the whole morning to clean up everyone's mess and by 8am, we were so angry that we turned on the vacuum and went around the house so everyone could get up and clean up after themselves (so that we don't get fined). Well that was a failed plan and everyone else basically woke up at 9am and only dropped their sheets off in the washing. Checkout was at 10am and we made it. Atleast we weren't late right?
The rest of the way back, Sally and I were exhausted so she basically went to sleep. But because the boys didn't get much sleep either, I had to stay awake and make sure that they were not dozing off while driving.
I was able to do it for the first 5hrs but after that I gave the job to the others and slept for approx 1hr.
In the last hurdle, it was Cho, Greg, Sally and I in one car and we talked about the most personal but interesting topics which kept everyone up no matter how tired we were.
As we exited the M5, we knew that was it. We made it. Back to Sydney.
After I got home, I just dropped everything and slept.
As much as I wanted to hibernate for the next 3days, this bliss was only felt until the next morning because I had to tutor. *sigh.

As fun as the car ride was;
I am never taking another road trip interstate again.
Nor am I going to eat Maccas for the next yr because 3 times a day for two days is just ridiculous.


Mish turned 19
went to Ippudo for dinner
- ramen and pork bun total: $21
- not worth the money. didn't come with anything other than 1 piece of chashu and 1 spoon of shallot
-extra topping for $2 each (even for seaweed and shallots)
went to Big Echo so that we could cut the watermelon cake from Newtown

Cat's going to Tasmania for radiography placement so we also said our goodbyes and gave her some gifts so she won't miss us too much. haha
she was so cute she cried (:




I turned 19.
On the 19th. Apparently, it was also the 19th in the Chinese calendar this year. Weirdddd.

Anyways, to celebrate Benson drove to my house and picked me up for dinner at around 5pm.
I didn't know where we were going so here comes another one of his surprises!

We turned into this amazing looking wharf slightly off the cbd and it turned out to be Woolloomoloo.
And so we parked the car and he led me towards the finger wharf where there were many yachts parked along the side. It was super sunny and because we beat the traffic and it was still early, we decided to take a few pictures before the restaurant opened.


We then headed back to the entrance of the restaurant at 6pm. Turned out we were having our meal at the highly rated China Doll. We were seated on the inside and the decor was simple with a lot of Asian inspired China pieces. Get the pun? Yeah no, me neither.... (lame)
We ordered around 7 dishes with rice and came to a total of around $120 including a cocktail; which was amazing for the standard of food! Plus we got an amazing view of the CBD towers! Though the servings are small so be careful if you're tight on the wallet and is planning to go in a large group.
Also did I mention that the waiters were extremely nice? haha I was expecting oriental waiters (because of the name of the restaurant) but turned out they were all Aussies who were really easy to talk to and make sure we were served exactly the way we wanted. They were really attentive, informed us about the serving sizes and halving them so we didn't end up wasting food. Oh and the food came super fast! After we finished one dish, the next one just comes within minutes!
Anyways, enough talking. Here's some food porn for you. (:



After that, we drove home and shared the birthday cake my brother bought me. :D

- images I had bought Ed Sheeran tickets back in August for Benson's Birthday present. Unfortunately, the concert was not until March so here are the photos!
It was AWESOMEEEE! haha basically it was a one man show and he did a great job at keeping us entertained throughout the night. It was also my first concert! So it was really memorable.
Got me singing his songs all week long. (:

Day 1 Started the day with coffee and brunch with Zahav @ Gloria Jeans & Impress Cafe in Auburn
- ice long black
-free ranged eggs + Turkish pepperoni

- image -

Then I drove to Bondi Junction and everyone had already arrived. Since Karen already bought her books, we had more food at Bondi Pizza with an amazing view!

- image -

Entree: chilli prawn, salt and pepper calamari, stuffed mushrooms
Main: 2 pizzas (Chicken&Parmesan and Meat Supreme) and a spinach ravioli

Had to repark my car for free parking after 7pm, so we had to wait in the foodcourt for 7pm and enjoyed a gig by a pretty boy and his guitar.
Went to Coles for some lollies and water.

Took the bus to Bondi beach and turned in our tickets for "Gangster Squad" - apparently all the sessions for this was sold out - at the Ben and Jerry's open air cinema. Then we took our spot on the lawn and set up camp with our mats. Since the movie doesn't start until the sun goes down, we somehow ended up talking about our dream guy. haha
Movie was mediocre. Everyone started looking into the sky for stars halfway because it got cliche/boring.
Very uncomfortable if you didn't order the beanbags - back and butt was aching by the end of it.

Afterwards, we just took the bus back to Bondi Junction and I drove home in the pretty City lights.

- picked her up at her house at 3pm cause she had work until 2pm
- drove to Leichardt to experience Berkelouw bookshop cafe but failed miserably because they closed it down for renovation until May. We also tried to go to the Newtown one but there was no parking anywhere on those small streets.
- Last resort was the City, so we went there and sat at the Chocolate Room from 5pm-6pm. I ordered a massive vanilla sundae (accidentally because I didn't read what it was) and a cap. And Janet ordered a waffle and flat white
-Went to Lantern for dinner
-then drove her home and went home myself. Bought the SONY ALPHA NEX-F3 with the 18-55mm lens while at work today.
Dw I didn't buy it on a whim, there was thorough research involved ever since my trusty Canon died on me after 8yrs of bonding. Though needless to say, I did want something more than a point and shoot so I delved into the new and exciting world of Mirrorless Compact System Cameras.
It was a tough battle between the Samsung NX1000 and the one I actually got. Even today and yesterday, I was so set on grabbing the Samsung at JB Hi-Fi for an awesome deal of AUD$446, but as I played around with it around the shop for the 2nd time, something just didn't seem right. Yeah the iF was really clever and allowed easy access to all the manual settings quickly with a quick swivel of the focus lens, but the picture quality (even with Smart Auto) was missing something.
Then I went around several shops asking to try out the Sony NEX-F3 (since JB was out of stock) and surprise, surprise, most had sold out! And then I remembered that there was a not well known camera store (DigiDirect) tucked in the corner somewhere and the Salesperson was really persistent. But he was a good bloke, and I tested out the camera there. And  first thing I noticed was the more sturdy feel of the casing, then the mission to find the menu began. Yeah it was kind of tricky and you really have to dig through everything with buttons but I'm pretty sure once you start using it, you'll understand why Sony put every single setting under 1 single button. Sure it's not as fun as adjusting through the lens in order to try to look like a pro but lets face it, nobody's going to care if you're holding the entry level model. But yeah, then it hit me! The Focus Point comparison was what made the difference (25v15), even though the Samsung had a higher resolution (20v16MP) and shutter speed (8v2.5FPS), there was a major difference when you wanted to be a bokeh whore. And it took a longer time for the Samsung to focus on certain things because it gets confused as you flick it at something suddenly then it goes "oh okay lets see, oh you want me to shoot that!"
Then I heard the price tag, at most places the single lens kit was around AUD$600, only Teds were selling it for AUD$499.95 so I was about to go to the City to see if they had any in stock. But at this shop, for their Boxing Day special, they were offering it for AUD$497! haha $3 difference. Not a lot, but still saves me the time spent on the trip and back.

-images and full review after I charge it up-

And after that, I just had lunch with Benson at the "fancy" food court, not really, but that's what we all call it at work because it has nice views of the City. Went to dinner at CafeCya at around 6:30pm: dumpling and rice cake soup hehe
Watched 9pm fireworks with Ellen and Benson, wasn't able to get to Cat at blues pt park because of barricades. Got so many mossie bites during that time.
Then met up with Mish and Michael at north Sydney station and tried again to get to blues pt but wasn't successful. So we went around trying to find a good spot near the shore and found Bradfield Park.
We played Mafia for around 2hrs before the 12am fireworks. It wasn't that good this year but it was still okay.
Got home at like 2am, tired and sweaty. :( @gunamatta bay park
Drove there early at around 230 to help set up
Waited around with Cat Ellen and Jason til everyone else arrvied at 4pm.
Mish then brought Vicki along with Michael and we surprised her with the cake as the party was meant to be a surprise party for Vicki.
Took photos, had some sushi and chow mien. Then went out to the beach to play around before looking for Benson since he went to Cronulla beach instead.
After that we swam in the beach for a bit before going back to the hall for some BBq. After dinner some people went home by train and the people who stayed played some drinking games before we decided to head off into our cars and go meetfresh for dessert.
When we got to hurstville, meetfresh was closing so we decided to call it a night a parted ways. Wax figures of famous people in Sydney
Drove to Benson's place and got Macias along the way. Then we too k the train to downhill and bought an umbrella from daiso since it was raining.
As it was a surprise I didn't know where we were going until we got there so to keep me from knowing, Benson told me to play ispy with him.
i actually always wanted to go there but never knew where it was located at. Cause the last time we walked that direction, there was only the wildlife park.
After the museum, we just went to the galleries to have Chat Thai. Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Tab at Harvey Norman for $568 with free keyboard dock worth $109 and $100 cash back in an eftpos gift card!
Super great deal and I guess it was an early X'mas present for myself. - Even though they ran out of white ones... I was still happy with whatever colour....
Also went to Parra to grab Catherine and Vicki's Bday present and then I bumped into a world vision guy who convinced me to sponsor a child...
ANd then went to lunch with the bros and finally went to see bubbi to show him everything I got! (: Went to buy Bath bombs and soaps from Lush (50% off), a necklace + earrings set from Swarovski (50% off) and a 30mL bottle of the original DKNY Be Delicious ($30).
Okay so I disappeared for 3 months.. though only because all I've been doing is working so there's nothing really to write about. :S

But anyways, so today I drove out at 1pm and got Maccas (drive through) before I met up with Benson.
We then took Benson's car and went to Hurstville Aquatic Centre with water guns!
Stayed there till 4pm, raced each other and splashed water etc - Benson bumped his head on the wall cause he couldn't see where he was going while doing the breaststroke. Funny right? Now he has a massive bump on his forehead!
It was quite nice to have very few people in the pool since it was school time. Also, it was an indoor pool so it was nicely covered. I do appreciate not getting burnt when going swimming. (:

After that, we cleaned up and set off to Brighton Le Sands for lunch.
We walked up to Bondi Pizza, but turned out they open at 5pm so since we had some time to spare, we took a stroll along the beach.
Brighton Le Sands is considered one of my favourite beaches in Sydney since it has a nice view of planes setting off from the airport, there's never many people here so I can have the massive beach all to myself and it's super clean with white sand. Though there are no lifeguards here so if you're planning to swim/surf here, I wouldn't recommend it.

- images -

After our stroll, we went back to Bondi Pizza and took our seats in the very comfy booth then took our order with the very accommodating staff.
We ordered a Chilli Prawn with Spicy Mayo and Thin Toast for entree and a Meat Supreme Pizza for Mains. Yummmm. And don't forget about the Lemon Lime Bitters!

- image -

The food was fantastic and came at a price tag of around $40 altogether. Though in terms of serving size, you're looking at $25 for a fairly small woodfire pizza with 6 slices.

After that, we were too tired so we just went home.
(:

Bubbi's b'day is this Sunday and since I have work on Saturday and Sunday I figured it'd be good to go out today before we actually celebrate on a later date.

Bubbi had to sign up to his new job this morning so we met up in the afternoon around 1pm at Townhall

We headed towards Mamak and had a hugeeeeee meal; he really likes the roti and curry there. 
We ordered a Roti Canai each, Chicken Satay Skewers (1/2 dozen - super small compared to last time we ordered it), Sambal Udang (he lovedd the tiger prawns with the sauce) and Nasi Goreng (another one of bubbi's fav). Basically he enjoyed his meal very much and ate every last bit of it. hahah
Service was fast and choppy but don't expect 5star dining! The meal came to a total of around $55AUD so quite cheap for everything but the skewers. 

We then went to Lantern for an hour of Karaoke. Bubbi ended up singing his fav song atm (Primadonna Girl) hahah. This place used to be the good old GreenBox but because of its decreasing popularity, Wagaya took over management and made it another restaurant/karaoke place. Their lunch menu here is really cheap if you can eat before 3pm; it's like around $10 for a whole Japanese lunch set!
- After that, we headed towards the cinema to see if there's any good movies out and we were disappointed to the selection of showings so we opt for 2 games of Basketball at Timezone where I won the first round and he beat me the second (Just like when we first hung out! LOL). We also went to Starbucks next door where I ordered a grande passion shaken tea with lemonade and bumped into some of Benson's friends as well as Connie&co.

We relaxed and had a chat at Starbucks for a bit and then I decided that I need a new GPS just so I don't have to rely on my phone's battery and making sure that I won't get lost on the road to UNSW. So we headed towards DickSmith but saw the crazy prices for a TomTom (around >$200) so we went to JB.Hi.Fi cause I remembered they had some price reductions right now. So stood there for an hour deciding if I should get the TomTom XL Classic, Via 160 or the Navman Ezy100T. In the ended I liked the display of the TomTom more and bubbi trusted this brand more so I bought the Via160 for $136 reduced from around $200. 

And that was pretty much our day.
OKIE gotta get stuck in making tutoring notes. 
BYE! (: You guys must be so annoyed with me by now hahah. Does anyone still even read this anymore!? Wait.. actually.. did anyone read this to start with? :$
Funny how it has been around a year since I've written a PROPER post though.
It was like yesterday since my yr12 graduation and now I'm looking around and kids are going to formals already!

Haha. Blogger has been updated so I just lost the incentive to play around with all the new settings and such. Also because Uni is taking a toll and I'm currently tackling 2 jobs. :S

Hmm.. so what's been happening for the past; I don't know.. 6months?
Well I Went to Gold Coats with the girls and Benson;
Became employed with Wittner since August;
Got my P's; so I can officially drive myself around without relying on shittyrail;
Started tutoring Maths;
Started painting landscapes on canvases again;
Dates with Benson at Gardens and whatnot;
Dinner with the girls because it was Ellen's 19 at Holy Basil; tbh their fried ice cream is kind of over hyped... I was so underwhelmed that I literally just took a bite and wanted my money back.
mm I also Got myself a new car: Peugeot 207 Sportium for around 21k; yeah I kinda nagged the sales to give it to me for 6k cheaper than the rrp... :S What? I am a poor uni student! ):
And now about to start tutoring Economics for Greg.

Yeah.. das wassup...
And I've been spending money like CRAZYYYY recently... just slip out of my hand like water..
Seriously need to stop buying things on ASOS and whatnot. Half the stuff I haven't even taken the tags off....

But other than that, I haven't done much and don't think I'm about to do anything else other than uni, work, sleep.
So how have you guys been? (If there is anyone still reading this lols..)
Oh also! Formspring hasn't been working for ages so that's why I haven't been answering anything; if any of you's did ask anything at all. So next time, just leave a comment here or something with "anonymous" as your identity if you like, and I'll get back to you someday when I get to it. I get alerts if someone does comment here so I can get back to you faster this way as well.

mm that's about it for now! I'm gonna disappear for another 6 months!
Jokinggggggggggg! ... maybe...
;)


06/09/12
Had driving lesson at 11am
Met with bubbi at 2pm at Wynard
He planned it but restaurant opens at 6pm and I hadn't eaten yet, so his backup plan was an all you can eat sushi but it turned out to be some shifty takeaway store (I actually cracked a joke about how he hadn't seen reviews and might be a shitty place)
Took the bus to neutral bay in hopes of having lunch at Ginger and Spice
Got there and it was closed so we took the bus back to Wynard
Trained it to Townhall
Walked all the way to Darling Harbour in hopes of finding a decent restaurant
Ended up staying at Starbucks for an hour
And just went to The Star Garden Buffet with early bird for $24.90p.p
yeah............................................................ le sigh.

Though he gave me my anniversary gift a week after at Musashi and it made it all better.



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