fie-guratively speaking

yellow may not be so mellow, after all. not an evo coloured one, at least. shiver the cold and withstand beautiful stings. half pipes and rambles that surge an adrenaline, and we fly across white. lying to boost a confidence. (it worked). pee-in-the-snow trademarks (”hey, hey! i can sign my name!”), how-romantic! crashes and traipsing uncoloured terrain. bumps, bruises and panda-marked eyes prove the passion.

special thanks to jason feng for suiting us up with top notch accomodation at the falls creek country club!

three cheers to the weekend inhabitants of room five oh one! - jason (pen)tan, johann, eugene, lok, sam and missa -here’s to superb food, good times, mincing garlic, footy-kicking chip packets and awesome ski instructions/races/tumbles!

i’ve come back with significantly lesser and milder bruises than those from my last ski trip. hurrah! still haven’t perfected my parallels, but i (unknowingly) went down a black run and received congratulatory handshakes so i reckon that makes up for it.

:)

pictures will be, as always up in due time.

my rising pilot friend just promised me a scenic trip over great ocean road once he gets his official license.

how rip roaring awesome is that?

the perks of having high-flying (pun intended) friends, eh?

and to think this was the same dude who used to sit oh-so-unassumingly opposite me in bm tuition eight years ago.

in other news:

1) i practiced the art of self-control today. and at bridge road too!! temptations abounded, but stephanie resolutely stuck to her ONE simple purchase of a much needed wallet *pat on the back* (i deserve those boots now. i do, i do).

2) taco bill doesn’t quite know what authentic mexican food is about. neither do i, but missa does and if she says them burritos were too tiny, then they sure as heck weren’t mexican enough.

3) peak period ski trips WILL cost an arm and a leg, metaphorically speaking. literally speaking, let’s hope all limbs will return intact, and still in all the right places by the end of my three day ski trip.

4) i don’t think i want my kid to ever be a doctor. yes, i’m non-chinese in that way.

5) my best gal pal is going to sydney to speak to a congregation of manymany learned doctors. only twenty two and already she’s a co-author! beat that! my best friend - the uber smart, soon-to-be pedeatrician :)

6) i still don’t want my kid to be a doctor.

** long overdue crab fest cook-out pictures here

it’s the trudge of tried and tested |

                   to know and to believe |

mustard-hope | better is one day in your courts |

                                      dreams that evoke trust |

you’d never explain, because there is no need |

                         be still |

and know |

  breathe |

                           and fall f r e e  |

so i am now known as steph alco aurous.

*groan*

i just really (really, really, really) like moscato, ok?

i need to stop hanging out so often with jt and the mafia loo man.

they tarnish my reputation lar.

i can’t wait for theheroacrossthestreet to come back so they can torture tease him and leave me alone.

*buahaha*

speaking of thehero.

i found the way he smsed from the immigration office in kl asking me to translate malay words for him hilariously endearing. maybe i can prove this conversation to DIMIA and get them to give me a pr based on my ’translation skills’, hrrhrr…

oh yipeehoorayness, the missa is arriving in precisely…. FIVE hours!

jumpjumpjump!

it’s been ages since i hung out with my cousin. back when we were kids, we were like two peas in a pod. we’d do everything together - dress identically, do silly 7-up dances (”7-up, feeeel so good, coolin’ down…”), have numerous pretendpretend re-enactions, set up our play house tent together and have the most AWESOME girly girl sleepovers, eat paddlepop and that funky-coloured thunderjet ice cream on the back kitchen steps, fly across the room on tables-with-wheels, have polly pocket nights (oh wow, polly pocket so rocked our socks! we’d spend the entire night playing with our sets), go on travel trips together, shopshopshop, gripe/gossip about guys/school/zits, motivate each other to exercise, get lost driving around kl (”it’s ok, i see the kl tower, i see the kl tower! just drive towards it!”)…

with me in melbourne and she, seattle, it’s a cinch we can’t spend as much time hanging out anymore *cue mournful look*

HENCE, the great excitement that she’s finally coming to visit. we can play polly pocket go shopping at bridge road and do what we girls do best haha!

i love it when family come over.

oh, did i mention?

someone called me “aunty” the other day.

…

and not in your joking, woi-aunty! sort of way.

but really, aunty AUNTY.

as in you-look-old-enough-to-be-a-thirty-year-old aunty aunty.

killmenow.

wei budak, i’m like only five years older than you la.

that day the other day

trade secrets were skillfully extricated;

cookie trails and horse-drawn carriages were negotiated;

life-sized hints were dropped but didn’t quite get picked up on;

re-enactions were gleefully requested;

silly smiles and shuffling feet were in abundance;

that day today

i don’t know about the shuffling feet, but the silly smiles are still in abundance.

most definitely.

most. most. definitely.

***

oh, oh!! ask me what the true story behind the coca cola signature is! ask me, ask me!

***

so, they say (altogether now) maybe baby

it’s sweet luck, eh matey?

criss crosses

and apple licked nouns.

meddled melancholia that align askew.

perfect.

when you look, do you think

you might not know what to do?

rimmed edges and powdered swirls add for posterity.

nod a little

then wonder if indeed, words do melt and mingle.

so last night was a blast, even if we did traipse about the city for a good half hour begging for tables.

and my trampoline sorbet concoction was yummy beyond yummy.

lemon, blood orange and mango, yo!

musing over pictures and crazy videos with people you’ve grown to love and expect to be a part of your life forever and ever amen stirs something within me. that while the world may change, while each of us may go our separate ways, while we may have grown fatter (or thinner), we’ll always have that time-honoured connection to buoy the relationship.

my fantastic favourites will always be my fantastic favourites.

but *ahem* there’s always room for additions to the inner circle, no?

:)

and special very special additions at that.

oh, i’d put up shots of kai in his fat suit but everyone was laughing too hard to snap any pictures.

***

early morning conversations with you let me rest easy

and make me realise i have your hand to walk into tomorrow with.

everything, everything.

when my days are filled to overflowing with good company; when absence makes the heart grow fonder; when thinking of you involuntarily conjurs up goofy smiles; when all is just a little right with the world.

i feel like i’ve been injected with an intravenous happy shot.

whoever said winter was dreary?

in other news:

1) i’ve been linked by a pro blogger! i don’t know how, but i’m pretty pleased.

2) checking my little white board, i realise i’ve got a date with someone or other every single day this week. i like, i like! catch up sessions always leave me happy and grinning.

3) i have to go for a full medical check-up next week for visa purposes and will have to pee in a little cup.

4) i’ve been sticking to my run-for-twenty-minutes-so-i-won’t-look-like-a-fat-pigeon routine ever so faithfully. i deserve that lindt bar in the fridge, don’tcha think? don’tcha, don’tcha?

5) my cousin from seattle is FINALLY coming to visit me. we’ll be hitting the alps (i kid. i’ve just always wanted to say that) falls creek together with a bunch of friends and ohmygoodnessnowi’msoexcitedi’mspeakingreallyfast.

6) theheroacrossthestreet promised to check out a concert with me when he gets back, so please please cross your fingers that there’ll be a smashing band touring then. i’m in the mood for a rocking concert!! if my little sister can mosh at a blink 182 (or was it sum 41?ah, details details, pfft) concert, so can i (rather, how come she has and i haven’t!??).

7) josh and gang will be taking the twelve hour drive from adelaide tomorrow. i shall be all tourist guide-ish and take them around melbourne (plus, it’ll give me a chance to visit places as well. corr… three years here and i still haven’t been to the zoo).

8) uncle toby’s nut feast is my current addiction. nutrigrain has taken a bit of a back seat, folks. so be updated.

i’m glad i didn’t trust the niggling thought in my head.

because then, i’d never have known the sweetness of the effort.

:)

***

received a month-early birthday wish the other day from a certain ejoos all the way from sydney.

the dear boy sounded so excited i almost didn’t have the heart to tell him my birthday wasn’t till another month.

but it’s nice to know i’m marked on his calender, yeh?

it’s been a hectic, mind-straining week. lots to think about, lots to plan. but amidst the flurry, i’m thankful for the One who is my strength and tower; for friends who bring that spark to life; for crab cook-outs, coffee catch-ups & shopping sprees; and for my heroacrossthestreet who, despite the miles, can ease my frustrations with a single phone call and a silly k.t.p text message *wink wink*.

designed to fade

and fringe.

stained-glass musings which curl like blue smoke and leave

indefinite indentations.

when the blacks and whites blur to grey

and grease-smudged windows give you hope.

when turning makes you bolder

and leaning Forward leads you Toward.

would it be all that

and even more than you think.

stretch and reach for

iridescence.

you’ll know.

you’ll know.

***

three cheers to a mantle the sea for getting another mention, this time in Vignettes.

they look too cool, lah.

:)

the brotherfromanothermother turns twenty two! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN BEN!

you and me, bro? we come a long way i.e of the since-you-were-born-oh-my-goodness-it-has-been-twenty-two-years variety. i’d regail people with stories of you as a kid, but you have too much proof (read: blackmail footage) of ME so i’ll quietly slink away and let you enjoy your day.

:)

have a good one, ben the bei!!

there’s nothing quite like four girly pals catching up over ice cream and mocha ala kokoblack style.

to three of my longest standing girl friends here in melbourne:

i love you all. we’ve been through so much together in both good times and bad. i like that though we lead such separate lives, we still manage to pick up where we’ve left off. someone recently critically implied that friendships need to be on a constant see-each-other basis. but i beg to differ. true friendships stand the test of time and thrive even in those absent moments. we’ve proven that and i say sucks to those who think otherwise! here’s to friendship, good gossip, good shopping, charting time lines (hrrhrr), growing old(er) and bright future prospects!

football text frenzy funnies/frustrations, smiley reminders and bedtime send offs.

ad hoc time zones but still inandout of each other’s heads.

i am

countingdownthedays.

***

fie: world cup ends next sunday *cue for mournful and downcast face* what are we gonna do after that??

jt: AFL!!

fie: stupid or what.

pfftt…

we better start planning something real soon to fill the soccer void.

on a separate note…

CONGRATULATIONS WENZ AND GABE!!

here’s to a happy and blissful marriage! wish i could have been there to throw confetti and yum seng with you all. i was expecting my live msn feed, but delayed telecast accepted.

love you both.

***

people who know nothing yet pass presumptuous judgement just need to shut their trap.

if you don’t mind, i’ll mind my own thanks.

oh, go jump in the lake.