Life as Me: Wishing I Was a Penguin

The Greener the Better

2011-08-08T11:53:00.002+10:00

Sorry, haven't posted in such a long time. I had to pack and move country again. I am now back in Australia and having heaps of fun catching up with friends and family. I will finish the posts about Beijing now.

After we finished at the Ming Tombs we went to a jade factory/warehouse thing. It was really fascinating there, we were shown different carvings, some were huge and they take years to finish. We were taught how to tell real jade from fake jade and higher quality jade from lower quality jade. And then of course we were given many opportunities to purchase jade carvings and jewellery.

I only took a couple of photos there and I apologise about the quality of the photos, I didn't have a very good camera with me.

Yay, cemeteries

2011-07-07T18:41:00.008+10:00

We got into Beijing about midday on Sunday, got an overpriced taxi to our hotel and checked in. At that hotel there was a tour booking office, we went to have a look and ended up booking two tours for the next two days. The first tour went to two tourist spots and two shopping spots, the next day went to three tourist spots and two shopping spots.

So the next day we got up bright and early found our tour guide and eventually out tour bus and off we went.

The first place we visited was the Ming Tombs. But basically some Emperors from the Ming Dynasty built huge elaborate tombs for themselves, their wives and their concubines (one had about 2000 concubines apparently). The royal families used to travel out to the site to pay respects to their ancestors, it would be about a seven day tour for them. The main room where they stayed has now been turned into a museum of sorts. We visited one of the tombs, the 3rd emperor of the Ming Dynasty tomb. His name sounds an awful lot like Judy and He built the biggest of the tombs for himself.

Anyway here are some pictures.

Main buildings

Jade Belts owned by Rich People. Apparently the greener the Jade the more valuable it is. The top one is worth a lot more than bottom one.

The actual burial place of Judy, sorry, Zhu Di, and his wife is under a huge mound of dirt that is one kilometre across. It hasn't yet been excavated because the Chinese Government is worried that they don't yet have the skills to do it properly. Before the mound there is a tall monument. This the view from the top.

If you look in the middle of this photo you can see one of the other tombs in the distance (there are 13 tombs in all, 3 that are open to the public)

You can find out more about the Ming Tombs here.

Fly Away Little Tourist

2011-07-07T17:31:00.003+10:00

My contract with the school is coming to an end and I am in my end of contract four weeks holiday. Which I guess means I have actually finished my contract. I have taught my last class here and will be returning to Australia at the end of July.

My last month here will be packing, saying farewell and the last bit of site seeing. I am a bit sad to be leaving Hong Kong and I wish I could have another year here but I am not too upset to be heading home, there are so many things I miss about Australia. However there was one thing I wanted to do before I fly home.

And now I have done it. A four day, three night mini trip to Beijing to see the sites. Mostly to see the Great Wall, but to see as much as I could see. The next few blog posts will be all about my trip. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Stonework

2011-05-28T18:49:00.003+10:00

Rainy Weekend

2011-05-28T18:38:00.002+10:00

It rained all weekend last week and it allowed for some really interesting photos.

Dragonflies

2011-05-28T18:30:00.002+10:00

Birds

2011-05-28T18:02:00.004+10:00

All from the beautiful Hong Kong Park

True Story

2011-05-03T21:51:00.003+10:00

It happened to a friend of a friend of mine.

Actually it was something my parents and my husband over heard but it is completely true. I realise I do not need to add the woman's nationality in this story but it just makes it funnier.

Recently my parents visited me here in Hong Kong and while I was working my husband took them site seeing. They were at a big tourist place called The Peak. It is up Victoria Mountain and a great site seeing place.

While they were admiring the view something flew overhead.

They then heard an American lady exclaim, "What was that."

Her guide replied that it was a kite.

Confused she said, "Oh, I thought it was a bird."

My dad took a picture of the kite.

I wonder if anyone ever told her.

Giggles

2011-05-01T13:26:00.002+10:00

Bird Market

2011-04-25T21:43:00.002+10:00

It is the Chinese way to put the shops that are the same together, which is why in shopping centres you will get floors of all the same type of shops. It also works with markets. In one area in Hong Kong there are bird markets, flower markets and goldfish markets. Here are a couple of pics from the bird market.

There is also a place called Sneaker Street.

Suspiciously Long Absence

2011-04-25T21:33:00.003+10:00

Darn now I will have to distract you away from noticing. Oh look flowers.

Purchased by my parents and me while my parents were visiting.

I still call Australia Home

2011-01-26T23:30:00.001+11:00

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!
-Dorothea Mackellar

Full poem here

Egg Tarts and Cats

2011-01-23T15:27:00.005+11:00

There is a very popular dessert here in Hong Kong (and other Asian Countries) and that is the egg tart. It is a form of custard tart that is usually small and served warm. They are very yummy and similar to the Portuguese tarts. The reason I am telling you this is because when I went to Macau I saw a bakery selling these egg tarts or Portuguese tarts (Macau was owned by the Portuguese before being handed back to China). The further reason that I am telling you this is because of this photo.

I think that cat wanted some.

Lantern Display

2011-01-22T14:52:00.004+11:00

The Venetian in Macau had a lantern display while we were there. They lit up at nighttime but we didn't see that.

Where Can You Find the City of Dreams?

2011-01-22T14:40:00.000+11:00

Oh, right here.

Around Macau

2011-01-22T14:33:00.005+11:00

OK so I meant to blog a lot more often about the Macau but it has been about 20 days now. I blame work. Luckily Chinese New Year holidays are coming up and I will have plenty of time to blog - and mark.

Anyway I hope you enjoy these photos of Macau.

Grand Hyatt

2011-01-02T18:53:00.008+11:00

At Macau we stayed in The Grand Hyatt which I must say is the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in. It is the building you can see between the City of Dreams and the Hard Rock Hotel.

I also discovered that rich people mustn't do anything for themselves. Come back from the show and find the room clean, new towels and robes, new bottles of water and the bed made. My clothes were even hung up and shoes lined up neatly, all evidence of the room service we ordered had disappeared.

Our room was amazing. The bed was so comfortable and the bathroom was amazing. There was an in room safe as well as a large couch and a table.

Here is the bath, with the shower right next to it.

For some reason the toilet had a phone in it

And here is me relaxing on the bed, in my complimentary robe watching TV.

Some photos of the outside and inside the lobby

Holidays and Adventures

2011-01-02T18:42:00.006+11:00

I mentioned in my post about Christmas and New Years that the exciting stuff happened between those two dates. Well on the 27th we hopped on a ferry.

And headed to Macau. Macau, like Hong Kong, is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. We needed our passports to get there but not a visa.

The reason we went was because we had tickets to a new show called The House of Dancing Water. The show was the most amazing thing I had seen in a very long time. I will try to describe it in a later post if I can. I wished I had taken a camera to the show but I didn't know you were allowed to take photos.

We stayed one night in Macau and then jumped on the ferry back. But we didn't go straight home. Instead we went to Lantau Island (near the airport) and stayed a night there before going to on the cable car to the Big Buddha.

The stuff we did and saw is too much to fit into one post. So I will break it up into a few posts with lots of photos.

700th Post

2011-01-02T17:07:00.008+11:00

So this is my 700th post, woohooo. I have had this blog for a little over 4 years now and I really should have posted more often but you get what you get.

Anyway there is really only one way to celebrate. Cake. Make that Cupcakes.

Due to this:

And this:

And these:

I have been able to make cupcakes again.

And in order of creation I have made so far:

Chocolate banana
As this was the first lot I made I had limited ingredients and equipment (I didn't have the mixer yet) I had to adapt the recipe. The recipe was actually an already adapted recipe from Nigella Lawson's chocolate banana muffins. I took it and made the adaption into cupcakes. They tasted really, really good.

Rainbow Cupcakes
I still didn't have the mixer at this point. And I had sugar issues. So while these looked fantastic they weren't very sweet. I decided to make cake pops out of them. Disaster, not going to talk about it. Though they taste ok after that, just didn't look good.

Christmas cupcakes
Chocolate cupcakes with choc chips, vanilla icing and red and green sparkly writing icing. To take to the Christmas eve party referred to in last post. They were really nice.

Chocolate cupcakes with colourful sprinkles
Same at the Christmas cupcakes but with pretty colourful sprinkles. Also for the Christmas party.

I am pretty happy with what has been produced. Favourite being the chocolate banana of the bunch. However I am not so happy with the self raising flour I bought, it really doesn't raise much at all. Unless it is something else. Anyway I will try another brand. Hopefully it is not the oven.

Christmas and News Year, Now Gone

2011-01-02T16:58:00.003+11:00

Well both Christmas and New Years have both passed now and I haven't blogged since the start of December.

My Christmas celebrations started on the 23rd with the school Christmas party. A half day where all the students can come to school and have some fun and whole lot of food for a little while. There was also a tug of war competition. I think my class won.

On the 24th all the overseas teachers with whatever members of their families that were visiting had a huge dinner. There was 13 people in total, with me, my husband, my brother and his wife all in attendance. It was fun and once again, with heaps of food.

On Christmas day I headed down to Victoria Harbour and did some shopping. Caught up with my brother again and we watched the light show from the wrong side of the harbour and then went to dinner.

New years eve and new years day I didn't really do much. Did go dinner new years eve though. Lovely brown rice with green peas, spinach, rocket and goats cheese. It was between Christmas and New Years that the most exciting stuff happened. But I will tell you about that later.

So A Cold Christmas For Me

2010-12-19T16:38:00.002+11:00

For my whole life I have lived in the Southern Hemisphere. Every Christmas I have ever has has been hot. The only Christmas I have had in the Northern Hemisphere was in Thailand, which was still warm.

So this year I have been looking forward to my first cold Christmas. I have been a little worried though, because it hasn't been cold. At all. In fact I was still wearing short sleeves until last Tuesday. I got called a freaky foreigner because I wasn't cold.

Then suddenly it became cold, and not just a little bit cold, really cold. On Monday I wore long pants, short sleeved shirt, boots and normal socks, Tuesday was the same. Wednesday I wore long pants and sleeves with boots and thick socks. Thursday I wore the same with a light jacket. It didn't reach higher than 9 degrees that day. Friday when I got up it was less than 5 degrees outside. I wore a singlet, long sleeves, long pants, big jacket, a scarf, boots and knee high thick socks. I had three people comment that I was finally wearing a decent jacket. It was cold. Luckily it heated up a bit and I could take off the scarf and jacket.

So it looks like I might get a cold Christmas. It is predicted to be between 13 and 17 degrees.

How?

2010-12-06T14:13:00.002+11:00

How is it December already? How is it that Christmas is only three weeks away? Where did this year go?

50 Things

2010-11-21T14:16:00.003+11:00

I recently stumbled across this page written by and Australian couple living in Hong Kong. I love the list and I think I will do my own one at some point. However I think I might do a separate post for each one. I promise it wont be too boring though.

Getting Ready For Christmas

2010-11-21T14:10:00.004+11:00

The shopping centres are playing Christmas carols and putting up decorations. Christmas seems to be fairly big here too.

I Love Hong Kong, But...

2010-11-20T15:22:00.005+11:00

I miss some stuff from Australia. A lot of stuff actually.

Top of this is and always be my friends and family. Half the stuff I see here reminds me of them and there is so much I want to show them. I miss all the picnics and games nights and going out to dinner with my friends. I miss cuddling babies and I really miss watching my nieces grow up. I can't wait to see them all again.
Advil. They don't sell it here. It was my number one drug to go to for headache or period pain or any kind of pain really. So sad that they don't sell it here.
Blue skies. Not that there aren't any here, it just isn't as much. Yesterday it was blue today it is grey. Whether it's clouds or pollution a lot of days you have grey skies.
Public toilets. Once again they do have them, but not nearly as many as in Australia. In shopping centres and train stations as soon as you think, 'I have to go to the toilet' you see a sign pointing to them. Here you find a map, work out what floor they are on and then hope to all good things that you can actually find them.
Almost the same for public seating. Everywhere in Australia, barely existent here. Usually occupied when found. I have learned to sit on anything that can remotely resemble a seat.
Australian television. I know it is really bad but it is Australian and I miss it. I even miss neighbours. But mostly I miss Gruen Transfer, Spicks and Specks, GNW - shows like that.
Personal space in shopping centres and on public transport. It gets tricky when you cram so many people into such a small amount of space. I had some really issues with this early into the stay but I am starting to get used to it now.

The good thing is that the stuff I love here would be such a bigger list. And the rest is adventure.

Fan

2010-11-14T22:25:00.000+11:00

Pretty, Pretty Fan

Living in Hong Kong: Shopping

2010-11-14T15:52:00.004+11:00

Hong Kong is obsessed with shopping. So many of the train stations are connected to shopping centres.

The shopping centres are huge. So many different types of shops on many, many floors. Some have cinemas, that is no surprise though, lots of shopping centres in Australia do. A couple have ice skating rinks in them. Seriously they are huge.

I am not an expert but the way it seems to be done here, and I have heard in China too, is to group everything together. You will 20 or so doctors offices all in a row. On the tram we have been through streets that just sell lights. In shopping centres sometimes entire floors are dedicated to one thing.

That photo was taken in a shopping centre near us, one that we go to a lot. You enter from the train at the third floor. It is connected to a number of other shopping centres all at a similar size. There is also a mini theme park type thing called Snoopy's World. And a roof top garden with pretty lights at night. It is once of my favourite shopping centres.

Floor one has a lot of cheaper food places and take away food, there is nice burger place and couple of pizza and pasta places we have been to a few times. Floor two have gift stores, book stores, kitchen stuff and a fairly large department store. Floor three has lots of clothes stores, mostly upmarket. Floor four has cheaper clothing stores and a few other shops. Floor five has sporting shops, mainly for clothes and shoes but also equipment. Floor six has electronics. Floor seven has sit down restaurants, there is a lovely vegetarian one we go to a lot. And finally floor eight has a very large popular Chinese restaurant.

I love shopping here.

Living in Hong Kong: Getting Around

2010-11-14T15:20:00.004+11:00

Before I arrived here I read somewhere that only 5% of the population have cars. I don't know if this is true or not because I have seen a fair few cars however the number of people using the public transport systems are astronomical.

Anyway, we decided not to buy a car and just use public transport we have been here for just over three months and I really haven't missed a car much. Only really when carrying heavy things, there are ways around that though. A lot of places will deliver.

There is a minibus station stop right outside the building. The train station is ten minutes walk from where we live. There is a bus stop at the train station. Oh, and the train station is connected to a shopping centre. Whenever the rain was too heavy or we were too tired we would take a taxi home. Which we have only done a few times. The taxi from the train to our place costs less than $3 Australian.

In fact all of the transport is very cheap and the octopus card makes it very easy. The octopus card is a transport card that you fill out with money and then press onto a plate to use. The card can also be used at some stores like 7-11 and MacDonald's. Very handy.

We have also used the trams and ferries. Adodo loves the trams, I dont so much. But for about $2HKD (less than 50 cents AUD) you can go as that tram goes. Buses cost around $10HKD (less than $2AUD) for the same thing. Ferries go from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island and to Macau. And they are also dirt cheap. Macau is another special administrative region of China. We are going there in December. The ferries have beautiful views and lovely breezes. They are my favourite.

And finally one mustn't forget the Peak Tram (blogged about here) it is quite expensive but with lovely views and a really steep assent. It is worth it to do it at least once.

As I mentioned there are lots of cars but Hong Kong has solved the problem of getting around while walking with subways and sky bridges. Some are even air conditioned. You get to walk from building to building, from shopping centre to shopping centre by going under or over the roads. So very handy.

Anyway, that is getting around in Hong Kong. Nice and easy. Though it can get really, really crowded.

National Day

2010-11-14T14:56:00.003+11:00

Ages, ages ago it was National Day here, a public holiday. Every National Day they have fireworks which we decided to go and see. It was really crowded but so worth it to go and see the fireworks. They were so loud and you could feel the vibrations in your chest. But they were so beautiful. Loved it.

2010-11-14T14:24:00.009+11:00

The school had their picnic recently and because I am not attached to any one class I was told I could choose where I wanted to go. And that my husband could come too. However if we chose Ocean Park we would have to pay. Considering it was a whole day there and I didn't actually have to look after students and it was a discounted rate we chose Ocean Park.

Ocean Park is a rather large ocean themed theme park. As far as I know there are only two in Hong Kong, Ocean Park and Disneyland. Ocean Park is both bigger and cheaper Disneyland. I haven't been to Disneyland but I loved Ocean Park.

There are two sections to Ocean Park. You can travel from one to the other via train, cable car or shuttle bus. I have some pictures from above (or almost above) of the two sections. First photo is from the water front side that second two are from the island side.

The first thing we went to see were the giant pandas. We have been told to go early in the day just after they were fed because they are the most active. And they were active. Though they were just as active when we went back in the afternoon.

There were also red pandas, but they are harder to photograph because they move so darn much.

The ocean parts where my favourite. The atoll reef was incredible. It was my husband's favourite part.

My favourite was the Sea Jelly Spectacular. Jelly fish are now one of my favourite animals.

There are heaps of other things there as well. Rides and birds and shows. It was a really awesome day. Can't wait to go back.

Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Gardens.

2010-11-14T13:56:00.004+11:00

We have been to the Nan Lian Gardens twice now. The first time we didn't get into the nunnery because it was closing but the second time we say the nunnery. I figured I would blog about the nunnery first because you aren't allowed to take pictures inside so I can't show you anything but the outside.

Which looks just like that. Inside is beautiful and peaceful with the most amazing statues I have ever seen. The entire thing is built without a single nail, which is really quite incredible.

The gardens are equally as beautiful. They include a rockery, bonsia trees, beautiful traditional style buildings, goldfish ponds and a cafe and restaurant. Being a buddhist place all the food is vegetarian. Great for us.

Some photos:

Sick

2010-11-14T13:02:00.004+11:00

I have been working here in Hong Kong for just over three months now and I have taken a total of three sick days. The first two were for something non contagious but this last one, which I took on Friday, was because I came down with a nasty flu. It actually started on Thursday but I felt ok enough to work that day.

Here in Hong Kong flu and flu like symptoms means one thing - masks.

Here in Hong Kong, and many other parts of Asia, people wear masks when sick so they don't pass it on to others. So while teaching on Thursday I wore a mask. It made teaching interesting as half my students don't understand me under the best of circumstances.

The one thing I discovered this that they are more comfortable then they look. Also when you are wearing one people know you are sick. Which means they don't ask you to do any extra work or anything like that.

The flu is annoying though because I had to miss Tai Chi today.

Sock Shopping

2010-10-16T23:44:00.005+11:00

I have posted about my love of socks before but I feel the need to do it again.

Before I left Australia to come here my favourite pair of toe socks got holes in them. I knew where I got them from so I went back to the same store to get some more. But horrors of horrors they weren't there. No toe socks were there. In fact I could not find a single pair of toe socks in any single store I went to. It was a crushing disappointment, I did not notice when toe socks disappeared from the shelves. When did they no longer become popular?

Anyway, so while I was shopping I looked to see if I could find them here. Did I find them? Oh yes I did. And a whole lot more. I found:

Toe Socks

Toeless Socks

And Camel Toe Socks

Those last socks I found disturbing. But that was not the most disturbing thing I saw that day. Socks were not the most disturbing thing I saw that day.

This was

Wetlands Park

2010-10-14T21:44:00.004+11:00

There is this beautiful wetlands park here. It has lots of flowers, water features with water lilies, fish, bird blinds, crabs and even a crocodile. It is wonderful and relaxing. And like everything else here, surrounding by high rises. My favourite part was butterfly garden. So lovely.

Here are the pretty pictures of the day.

R66

2010-10-14T21:19:00.003+11:00

Hong Kong has a revolving restaurant, called R66. It is more expensive then more of the restaurants that we have been to in Hong Kong so far. But it's revolving, so we had to go. We went for the buffet afternoon tea. I ate way, way too much food and loved the scenery so much. It was a lovely day.

Food Pics

View Pics

Teaching In Hong Kong part 1

2010-10-14T20:51:00.003+11:00

I have been teaching in Hong Kong now for about a month and half. Which considering everything isn't very long. Teaching here is my first teaching job so I can't compare everything about teaching in Australia to teaching in Hong Kong. However I did have a lot of freedom in my last couple of pracs in Australia so I can compare a bit.

The first and biggest difference is that I use a microphone to teach. Doesn't matter which class, the one with 39 students or the one with 21 students, I use the microphone. For one thing it saves my voice, I don't need to yell to get attention and it makes my voice louder and clearer so my students understand me a bit better.

Which brings me to my second point, the levels of understanding. I teach students from three different grades, roughly the equivalent to grades 7, 8 and 10 in Australian terms. The oldest kids understand pretty much everything I can say and the can write and speak English fairly well. There are 39 of them, it is a huge class. It is a mixed gender class but with a lot more boys than girls.

The next class down understand about half to three quarters of what I saw and are able to ask me rephrase things when they don't understand. There are huge differences in their abilities but if I explain in minute details most can get it. This is also a mixed gender class with more of a balance but still more boys then girls.

The youngest kids understand probably a quarter of what I am saying - but it is really hard to tell. They are unable to tell me that they don't understand much English at all. This is a class of 21 students and they are all boys. And they are very enthusiastic and energetic. They are a handful and hard to teach but they are also very funny.

Anyway this post is quite long now so I will write more about teaching in Hong Kong on a later date.

So I Lied

2010-10-11T23:39:00.001+11:00

I told my students that the Principal was coming to class tomorrow
They looked at me blankly, they did not understand
They asked me to tell them Chinese, I wish I could
Instead I found a picture of him to show them
They gasped and said, "Miss I am scared!"
Good thing they don't know he is there to watch me

10.10.10

2010-10-10T22:17:00.004+11:00

Today was the perfect day to get married. I see bride and groom after bride and groom walk past me. They are wearing beautiful white dresses, just like what I wore to my wedding three years and half a world away. I expected more traditional Chinese dresses but I have been told that the brides will change into them later.

I am here for my Tai Chi lesson and I feel uncoordinated as I watch the more advanced group with their fans. It looks so beautiful and I can't wait until I have the skills to be able to do it. I feel I advance a little today in the movements I have been taught.

We practice under cover today because of the rain. It doesn't stop the people coming out to celebrate the date. We are really close to the where couples are getting married. The doors open and people pour out cheering for the bride and groom. The large Chinese man that is standing over my purse laughs and makes a joke about how another man is gone.

The man I have dubbed the laughing man walks past me, points to man teaching me to move my body and not my arms and says, "he is a good teacher isn't he?" I laugh and agree and with him. I love the Tai Chi class I am in. Everyone is so friendly and we have never felt like outsiders. Most speak English but different languages doesn't seem like much of barrier with those who don't, they just show us how we need to stand and move.

There are so many more people out and around today then there are most Sundays. Mostly because of the special date and for the live music. I see hundreds of people from where I practice. Some people stop to watch the lesson, I don't mind though.

The lesson ends, another couple married, and it is time to return to the real world. A lunch at a vegetarian Chinese restaurant and shopping before home. Today was a good day.

Waterfront Park

2010-09-26T13:15:00.005+10:00

There is a park about half an hour away from our apartment. One Friday night we went for a walk to check it out. The insect house and look out tower were closed by the time we got there but it was still lovely to look around. The look out tower lights up and is really pretty.

The Ten Thousand Bhuddas Monastery

2010-09-26T12:37:00.007+10:00

The Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery is exactly like it sounds. It is a Buddhist monastery with over 10 000 statues of Buddha. And something like 400 steps to get to it.

The steps look like this and they just keep going and going and going.

It was such a nice place and I took so many photos. Too many to post here. The temple has a pagoda and a main temple (with a mummy). As well as many other rooms. And thousands and thousands of statues. The next three photos are off the main temple. The outside, the wall decorations, and inside the temple.

The monastery is halfway up a giant hill (or small mountain). There are even more statues all the way around edge and the view is really quite nice.

Check out this one. To get an idea of the size have a look at the people standing on the stairs to the left. Each of the boxes on the wall contains the ashes of someone. There were half a dozen rooms like this (all with different statues and decorations) at the monastery.

Then there was this guy. He was too big to fit properly in the photo. This was the best I could do. He was very imposing. I wish I could post all the photos I took of the statues and decorations in this room. It was so beautiful.

The was a lot of work being done at the monastery while I was there so I intend to go back one day. Probably when it is not so hot.

Eating Out

2010-08-25T21:28:00.003+10:00

Recently the principal of the school took some of the new teachers out a restaurant. When we got there he proudly showed off the name.

I think this is going to be a good year.

(The food was amazing too)

The Peak Tram, A Wax Museum, The Peak and the Sky Terrace

2010-08-25T20:37:00.007+10:00

We have been to The Peak twice now. The first time we went of the famous peak tram, which was an experience. It is a funicular tram with a maximum steepness of 48% - which is quite steep.

We had purchases a multi ticket that got us on the tram, into Madame Tussuad's Hong Kong and up the sky terrace. It cost us about $AUD30 each, which is really quite reasonable.

The wax museum was fun. I got lots of photos that I don't think will fool anyone. There was an terror area that I found scary and Adodo found funny. He reckons they were targeting women though so that is probably why he found it funny.

The Peak is full of shops and eating places. The shops are full of traditional Chinese items as well as western. Last time I went I found a shop that will write you name in Chinese characters and frame it for you. You can have it in either solid black or rainbow (now I want to get what does it mean done in rainbow). I got my name and Adodo's name done. They also write the date and put the character for love between the two names. You get to watch them paint it and frame it and they also give a translation of what characters they used. It cost less than $30.

One of the restaurants made me laugh when I saw the name though.

The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant. Entirely themed on the movie with a gift shop attached where you can buy movie related souvenirs.

The view from the top of the Sky Terrace is amazing.

I would post about the second time we went but this post is just about long enough.

And back to Hong Kong

2010-08-11T15:02:00.002+10:00

On Sunday we had an outing (it didn't go so well but it is all part of the learning process).

Anyway as we were heading from the Space Museum towards the ferries I thought I heard something familar. Which I thought was impossible. And then I thought I heard it again. So I turned to my husband and said, "Is that bagpipes?"

Yep, it was bagpipes. In Hong Kong.

Aparently it was Pipefest 2010

Surprise

2010-08-11T14:47:00.002+10:00

This post is not about Hong Kong.

A few days ago a friend of mine got me onto a site called Day Zero, a site about goal setting. The idea is that you write a list of 101 goals that you want to complete in 1001 days (about 2.75 years). You can create a profile and manage your list on the site. It allows you to tick off each goal when done, keeps track of how many days are left and tells you when the end date is. You can write notes about each goal if you wish or mark them as in progress.

Finding 101 goals can be very hard though, the site allows you to browse through other people's lists (you can keep your private if you wish) and has a fair amount of idea finders.

It took me about three days to come up with my completed list and so far I have completed 6 of my goals.

I have:

Influenced a person to make a day zero list
Visited an island
Finished the list
Made a smoothie in my brand new blender
Visited the Space Museum

Ok I know that they aren't fantastic goals but 101 is a lot of goals to come up with and finishing the list did feel like an achievement. I also know that that is only 5 and I said I completed 6. The last goal I have completed so far is

Answer the "50 questions that will free your mind"

I am intending to blog about this point separately but I will tell you now, the questions aren't all that specular and they did not free my mind.

It is a lot of fun and I think helps you focus on completing what you have set out to do. I would encourage you to give it a try, just click here.

Walk 2

2010-08-07T12:33:00.003+10:00

On the way back from Pizza Hut we walked near the foot bridge that takes us over the river on the way to our bank. It is really a beautiful bridge and it is lovely to walk on. At nighttime it has colour changing lights on it.

I love Hong Kong.

Pizza Hut Adventure

2010-08-07T12:11:00.006+10:00

For dinner yesterday we decided to go to Pizza Hut. After looking up the locations and a map we decided we could walk.

When we got there the only thing that seemed familiar about the place was that it was called Pizza Hut and that they did serve pizza.

First of all it looked like this and it had a really nice atmosphere.

It had a separate dinner menu and the food was a lot better quality then in Australia. Some of the ingredients in the dishes included escargot and truffles. There was a lot more choice than just pizza and pasta.

I don't remember what it was called but this is the drink I ordered.

Other drinks looked nice as well

For food we just went with pizza as most of the other dishes weren't vegetarian. Adodo built his own pizza and I ordered a truffle temptation pizza.

So it seems that here pizza hut has done what other fast food franchises have tried to do - it has become a little bit fancy.

Laser Kitty

2010-08-07T12:08:00.001+10:00

The cat I blogged about yesterday

Black Kitty

2010-08-06T21:50:00.001+10:00

Was walking home this evening when we spied a cat (first cat I had seen so far) running slightly ahead of us, a little bit scared. We continued to watch as it ran under the gate leading into the school grounds and then into the foyer. It ran ahead of us down a hallway, then down some stairs into a makeshift garden. Our Apartment is 5 flights of stairs up from where the cat went down and each level we went up we peeked to see if that cat was still there. It could still be there as far as we know.

Walk

2010-08-06T14:01:00.004+10:00

On Wednesday we went for a walk to see if we could open a HK bank account. After a lot of conflicting information and a stack of stuff to prove who we were and where we lived we did managed to get one open. Anyway, here are some photos from the walk.

Yummy Cakes

2010-08-03T23:41:00.002+10:00

I love the bakeries over here. They contain amazing varieties of filled bread rolls and cute little cakes. Everything looks so good and it is so fun to try them all.

In and Around Hong Kong

2010-08-03T23:40:00.000+10:00

Hong Kong at Night

2010-08-03T23:36:00.004+10:00

Before and during the Symphony of Lights

Hong Kong Botanical and Zoological Gardens

2010-08-03T23:33:00.002+10:00

Hong Kong Park

2010-08-03T23:19:00.003+10:00

Victoria Park

2010-08-03T23:14:00.001+10:00

I am here.

2010-08-03T22:51:00.003+10:00

So I went for a long plane flight and found myself in a confusing and wonderful new city. I have been here for less than a week and I think I am starting to get used to it, but I know there is so much more for me to learn.

Hong Kong is so different from Australia in so many ways and yet some of it feels so similar. It is so strange to not be able to understand the conversations around me. To use limited language and lots of pointing to get across what you want to buy and where you want to go.

The first few days we were shown around so many places and every place was better than the last. But by the third day it was starting to get a little overwhelming, all I wanted to do was go back to the apartment and process all I had experienced and seen. So I excused myself and did just that.

After that I took things at my own place. We went to our closest shopping centre (within walking distance) and looked around and the went to another teachers house for dinner. That night I tried a fruit called Dragon's Eyes, they are like lychees but smaller and very sweet.

Yesterday we went into the city to look around and to the Symphony of Lights. The Symphony of Lights is a nightly sound and light show that happens around Victoria Harbour. It runs for about 15 minutes and it is really cool. That day we braved the train and ferry system ourselves. We didn't even get lost.

Today I just had a relaxing day. I start work soon so I plan to relax and see as much as can before I start.

This place is still strange to me, but I like it and the apartment feels like home now. I think I will be ok here.

I Heart Sheldon

2010-07-23T20:20:00.000+10:00

Soft Kitty
Warm Kitty
Little ball of fur

Happy Kitty
Sleepy Kitty
Purr, Purr, Purr

-The Big Bang Theory

CT Scan

2010-07-21T14:20:00.002+10:00

When a radiographer tells you that it is going to feel like you've wet your pants, he isn't lying.

Sex is Better than Food

2010-07-21T14:08:00.003+10:00

Warning: This post is about the same as the last one.

So the conversation continued after I posted on Monday night. The debate ended, the negative won, which made me happy.

Best quotes of the evening

Amazon dot cum - Cal Wilson

Don't vote with your stomach, vote with your hearts and trouser parts - Cal Wilson

Gee I don't think I found one this tight before - and that is not a euphemism - Corinne Grant

And the rest of the conversation

Me: I think the negative should win this one, they had more convincing arguments

Friend: Sex can be better than food

Me: Also Cal Wilsons slip up deserves to win

Friend laughs

Me: Hmm forgot to put in (the last blog post's) warning that I mentioned cum and porn too

Friend: Oh noes and it was amputee porn at that

Me: Yep, maybe tomorrows post will fix that

I hope this counts as fixing it

Food is Better than Sex

2010-07-19T21:21:00.005+10:00

Warning: This post is not my usual style. It contains numerous references to sex, penis and strippers. But it is very funny.

The great debate is back and this year it seems a lot better than last year. For me that is just because Jason Byrne wasn't in it.

Anyway in the past I have blogged about the 2007 and 2009 debates. So far this one is my favourite. The topic is food is better than sex, so you know it is going to be a good one.

Unfortunately I forgot it was going to be on and came in halfway through Paul McDermot's speech. Which was great. However as usual the most fun is talking about the great debate. So here is a MSN conversation with a friend who wasn't watching it.

Me: Oh, I forgot about the great debate

Friend: Mm?

Me: It seems better than last year. Well at least Paul Mcdermot's speech is pretty good

Friend: OK

(As you can see she doesn't have that much to say because she is not watching it, I don't know this yet so we proceed to talk about bra sizes for awhile)

Me: Oh my. Cal Wilson's Freudian slip = awesome

Friend: ...?

Me: Did you see it?

Friend: Nup. Parents watching 4 corners instead.

Me: OK, the topic is food is better than sex and Cal was talking about the book "he's just not that into you" and she said at amazon dot cum instead of amazon dot com

Friend: *lol* oh dear

Me: You know she didn't mean to because the look of shock on her face was priceless.

Friend laughs

Me: And now she has bought out the male strippers. Which Paul tried to de-pant.

Friend: Mreowr

Me: Yeah, you are really missing out, we almost saw penis.

Friend laughs

Friend: Now is the time we need the stripper cop emoticon. Shame MSN ate it.

Me: Yes. The second guy for the negative isn't very good, entirely unmemorable.

Friend: note to self - don't make jokes about amputee porn as a line of work to someone who just said the infection they had WON'T be leading to needing their foot cut off

Me: that is going on the blog post (see it did)

Friend: apparently he's not impressed, I was just trying to be helpful

Me: I would leave it out next time.

The debate isn't over yet, I am watching the final speaker for the negative. The debate is much better than last year. Debaters actually stayed on topic and most of them were funny. Very much worth a watch this year.

Healthy

2010-07-19T16:32:00.002+10:00

Well out of all the things I have left to go packing and getting the health report are the ones that seem to be taking the longest. Packing I assumed would take awhile, but I did not think the health report would.

The blood test showed something unusual, so another blood test. Then an ultrasound showed something that is probably nothing but it needs to be checked. So next a CT scan. And I leave in less than 2 weeks.

Ah well. I had better get back to packing.

Birthstones

2010-07-09T16:49:00.003+10:00

My Mum gave me an early birthday present of a ring with my birthstone on it. I went looking for a list of birthstones afterwards to see what the others months were and found this poem. I thought you might like it.

By her who in January was born
No gem save garnets shall be worn
They will ensure her constancy
True friendship and fidelity.

The February born shall find
Sincerity and peace of mind,
Freedom from passion and from care,
If they, the amethyst will wear.

By her who in March was born
No gem save bloodstone shall be worn
They will ensure her constancy
True friendship and fidelity.

She who from April dates her years,
diamonds shall wear,
lest bitter tears
For vain repentance flow.

Who first beholds the light of day
In spring's sweet, flower month of May
And wears an emerald all her life
Shall be a loved and a loving wife.

By her who in June was born
No gem save pearls shall be worn
They will ensure her constancy
True friendship and fidelity.

The gleaming ruby should adorn,
All those who in July are born,
For thus they'll be exempt and free,
From lover's doubts and anxiety.

Wear a peridot or for thee,
No conjugal fidelity,
The August born without this stone,
`Tis said, must live unloved; alone.

A maiden born when autumn leaves
Are rustling in September's breeze,
A sapphire on her brow should bind;
To bring her joy and peace of mind.

October's child is born for woe,
And life's vicissitudes must know,
But lay an opal on her breast,
And hope will lull those woes to rest.

Who first comes to this world below
In dreary November's fog and snow,
Should prize the topaz amber hue,
Emblem of friends and lovers true.

If cold December gave you birth
The month of snow and ice and mirth
Place on your hand a turquoise blue;
Success will bless whate'er you do.
—Gregorian Birthstone Poems

Beach Day

2010-07-06T10:45:00.014+10:00

So as I mentioned yesterday I am currently on the Sunshine Coast. On Saturday my parents took Adodo and I on an epic walk that lasted the whole morning and saw us cover 12km. I was very tired at the end and yet I still agreed to go on another walk late in the afternoon.

I also took lots of photos.

The day started off very overcast. I was convinced it was going to rain and drench us like it did the last time I went for a long walk on that stretch of beach with my parents.

We came across some rock pool, which were great for taking photos off. Some of the pools of water were so still the sky was reflected in them.

As you can see it is still very overcast, but it hadn't yet rained.

This is my favourite photo of the rocks

Mid morning we saw dolphins. They were leaping out of the water and it was great to watch them. This was all I got in a photo though.

Closer to midday we had reached our midway point. The clouds had mostly cleared up by then. It is hard to see in the photo but the last buildings you see toward the centre of the photo is where we had to walk back too.

After lunch and an afternoon nap we took to the beach again, this time it looked like this.

This is my favourite photo from the whole day

The day that started cold and miserable ended up with a beautiful night

So that was my Saturday.

Whoops, there I go again.

2010-07-05T10:40:00.002+10:00

Well it has been almost a whole month since I posted last. But understandably I have been busy. We have now booked our flights to Hong Kong and we are off in about three weeks. I am currently on the Sunshine Coast (minus the sun) visiting with family before we head off. When we get back home we have a huge amount of packing and last minute stuff to do before we go. So I don't think there will be heaps of blogging. I will try to do bits though and post some photos from here, I got some nice ones of the beach and the sunset.

Anyway I am in a library using free wireless so I can't post much.

Closer, ever so closer

2010-06-11T17:07:00.002+10:00

My work permit has arrived at the school. That was the last thing we needed before purchasing out tickets for the flight.

Flights book.
Vaccinations.
Health report.

This is all I have left to do. And I am already underway in most of those.

So exciting.

Prince of Persia

2010-06-07T12:49:00.003+10:00

I went to see Prince of Persia - the Sands of Time last night. Another in a long line of movies made from games. Unlike all the other I have actually played the game it comes from, which I enjoyed. I didn't get very far, mainly because I suck at computer games.

As far as I could tell the movie stayed true to the feel of the game. The action and the stunts are definitely there. It was enjoyable and entertaining. It is not a deep movie, but it is not meant to be. It is what it is meant to be - fun.

The only downside is the one that everyone is talking about, the fact that for a Persian movie it is awfully white. Without even talking about the lead (which is pretty bad) you have Richard Coyle, who played Jeff in Coupling, as one of the Princes.

I usually don't like movies (or TV shows) that use time travel, I find it annoying. The fact that it is only small amounts of time makes it bearable. Though without saying too much I found the ending disappointing.

So, if you like the game and don't expect too much from movies but some entertainment then I would say see it.

Almost

2010-06-04T22:47:00.002+10:00

I am so close to having everything organised for Hong Kong. I have received my criminal history check. I had the first doctors appointment in order to get a health report. I had a blood test and a chest x-ray. And we talked about what vaccinations we will need.

The principal sent me an email saying that my work permit is almost ready. When that is ready we book the tickets.

Less than two months to go.

Not a Dirty Word

2010-05-27T16:33:00.004+10:00

Remember when I posted not too long ago about trying new things? Well I tried something new again.

These are kumquats. I remember when I first saw them as a little girl in a supermarket and I thought they were mini oranges. I never saw them in a supermarket again.

Last weekend I went to visit a friend and they had kumquarts. So I got to try one for the very first time. I love how you can eat them whole.

I didn't know too much about them so when I ate my first one I was so surprised at the combination of wondrous sweetness and biting sourness in my mouth. Then I found out that the skin of kumquarts are sweet and the flesh is sour.

The sweetness is like the sweetest orange you have ever had that has had sugar sprinkled on it. The sour is like grapefruit. They taste great. I can't wait to have more. Not sure where to get them though.

I realised when I first did this post that photo showed no kind of scale and small is not really an acurate description. Kumqutes are roughly the size of olives. This photo might help

If I were ever in a band

2010-05-27T16:04:00.004+10:00

GET A BAND, DEBUT ALBUM AND COVER ART IN SECONDS:

1 - Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random. The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to Random quotations: http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3. The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr's "explore the last seven days" http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/. Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Put it all together, that's your debut album.

I followed these directions once. It was fun. The original link is gone now. I got it from here .

Dentist

2010-05-25T12:15:00.002+10:00

I had to have my very first filling yesterday and it was such a bizarre experience. I realise most people reading this would have had a filling but I feel like telling you what it was like anyway.

It didn't hurt at all, in fact I barely felt a thing. I had the numbing cream first and then the local injection, in a few minutes the whole right side of my face felt funny, tingly and then completely numb. The whole filling process didn't take too long, it was only a small one. The drill was annoying because of the noise and vibrations but it wasn't too bothersome. The main thing that stayed with me was how weird the numb feeling was, it felt like that side of my face was twice the size it normally is. I also could not speak properly, I sounded like I had a speech impediment. If I concentrated hard I could pronounce words correctly without a slur but it took a lot of concentration.

I waited about an hour after the appointment to eat but my face was still mostly numb. It was kind of awkward because I couldn't always feel the food going in my mouth. Luckily nothing feel out of my mouth and I did not dribble. By the time the meal was over and my husband and I found the place that has chocolate frozen yogurt the numbness had mostly worn off and on the train ride home it had finally completely worn off. It felt good be to back to normal. There was a small dull ache in my jaw where the filling took place but that was it. No pain this morning.

Gluten Free Brownies

2010-05-20T15:14:00.002+10:00

Today I made gluten free brownies. I have never delibrately made anything gluten free before and I am terrified of getting it wrong and poisoning the person I have made them for. But I think everything will be ok. I will post again about the success of said brownies and how they taste after the weekend.

Red Velvet Cupcakes (Again)

2010-05-20T14:24:00.008+10:00

I made red velvet cupcakes again. I want to make them again and again because they are so good. More than good. They are the best cupcakes I have ever tasted. I have only made them once before which you can see here and those I turned into zombie cupcakes braaaaaaiins, oh and I turned some of the left over batter into a ladybug.

And since making those I have wanted to make them again but never really had a good enough excuse. So after about two months I was evidently becoming desperate to make them again. Introducing my flimsy excuse.

I bought sprinkles, lovely, wonderful, cute little sprinkles. Black and white sprinkles with little silver balls.

With those sprinkles and few others (admittedly with store bought frosting) I made another batch of red velvet cupcakes.

Speaking of the store bought icing, I was not impressed at all, it said it would ice 24 cupcakes and with the thinnest of spreading it only covered about half that. Which left a whole heap of uniced cupcakes.

See

So I fixed it, I made strawberry icing with icing sugar and strawberry ice cream topping. Which also fixed the problem of the chocolate sprinkles not showing up on the chocolate icing.

I ate quite a few so I sent the rest with my husband to his work today. Secretly I am hoping some come back.

Don't they looks fantastic

My Name Here

2010-05-14T15:39:00.003+10:00

If you live in Australia and own and watch a TV you will probably have noticed that Continental is doing there free personalised soup mug campaign again. Buy six packs of cup-a-soups from Woolworths and you get a free mug (provided they haven't run out).

I am here to tell you that I fell for it. I am getting my very own personalised cup sometime in the next few months. Just don't make the mistake I made, make sure each packet has the special little code you need to claim the mug. I had to buy and extra pack.

I will let you know when my mug comes.

Flowers

2010-05-14T15:17:00.003+10:00

Hunter Valley Gardens

Beach at Night

2010-05-14T15:14:00.001+10:00

Newcastle Beach

Would You Look At That

2010-05-14T14:56:00.003+10:00

Wednesday saw me blogging for this month more than March and April combined. Yay for me.

I would have blogged yesterday but Thursday tends to be busy day. I have music lesson in the morning, cooking and cleaning in the middle of the day and tutoring in the afternoon.

I made feta and zucchini muffins. I don't think I like muffins a huge deal, definitely not as much as cupcakes. But they were pretty good, I think it is the feta. Photos probably wont come later, I am too lazy and I only have three left. If I do take photos I will post however.

In case you were wondering why I keep making muffins if I am not that into them, it is because I have two friends with little babies and I usually take most of the muffins to them. It can save them some cooking.

Anyway, enough about food. Remember in my last update post I mentioned that the paperwork for the Hong Kong job seems like it never ends? Well I had thought it was all done, but I was wrong. I have two (hopefully no more) things to do. I need a police check (for working with children) and a health report (for the health insurance I will get over there) then I should be done. Hopefully.

Tarty Pops

2010-05-12T17:27:00.003+10:00

A friend sent me this link, on how to make homemade pop tarts. I am a bit of a pop tart fan but almost died when I tried to read the ingredients list. So homemade sounded like the perfect plan.

I made lemon curd ones just to be different. I also just used store bought short crush pastry, this made the pop tarts crispy rather than soft. I also sprinkled sugar on top.

I believe they tasted nice, I am unsure because I ate them too soon after they came out of the oven and I burnt my mouth. Adodo liked them.

I will make them again. I will probably make the pastry next time so it is more soft than crispy. There are so many different types I could make, so little time.

Trying New Things

2010-05-12T17:07:00.004+10:00

My quest to try new foods has continued:

1. Bitter melon
Tastes exactly like it sounds. Beware of a food that recommends you cover it in salt for 15 minutes before eating. I would not try if I were you.

2. Dragon fruit
I loved dragon fruit, not so much for the taste, but for the colour. I love the deep purpley red. And I didn't mind the taste either, kind of like a cross between a kiwi and a lychee. Not a very strong flavour but I have been told that the ones we get here in Australia are bland compared to ones you can get in Asia. I guess when I get to Hong Kong I will be able to test that.

Just look at the colour, it is so beautiful.

My cutting board looked like a horrific slasher murder scene after I was finished cutting up the fruit.

Lazy Cupcakes

2010-05-12T16:59:00.002+10:00

I made lazy (chocolate mud packet mix) cupcakes for a friend's birthday recently. We took them on a picnic and I packed all these different types of toppings so people could ice and decorate their own. This didn't work so well on a picnic and I only got photos of two different types. But it was fun. I will plan for it again, but not on a picnic. That way it will be easier to do and easier to take photos of.

More Chocolate

2010-05-12T16:52:00.003+10:00

I made (for the very first time) my own rocky road. I didn't have marshmallows but I made it with Turkish delight, cashews and cherries.

Nice and melty

And now all hard and set

Everyone should make rocky road.

I Love Pie

2010-05-12T16:41:00.003+10:00

And I don't mean 3.14159265. I mean food pie. But you probably got that from the spelling.

It was so, so, so good. And I made chocolate mousse one the same day and I must say, they went well together.

And I made little ones

Oh yummy.

I would like to point out

2010-05-12T16:34:00.002+10:00

That my last post proves that I do cook healthy food too. However this will be wrecked by my next few posts.

(I am of course, refering to this post)

Muffins

2010-05-12T16:07:00.010+10:00

I have cooked a fair bit since I last posted about the zombie cupcakes so I will combine some of the foods.

First up we have cornbread

My husband lived in America for a couple of years when he was a little boy, sometime there he got a taste for cornbread so I made him some. I discovered I didn't really like it.

Although it was passable with cream cheese pesto mix and tomato.

Also good with a big meal of beans, tomatoes and rice.

I made a standard cornbread (but not sweet) and a cheesy herby one. I still didn't like it so much, nice with gravy and potato gems though.

Avocado and Lemon Muffins

Not too much to say about these, they were good. They were easy, mashed avocado with lemon juice folded in at the end. Lemon zest in the muffins. I added some cumin and cheese on top. If I make this again I will add some more cumin and a bit more flavour next time.

Adodo refused to eat these because he doesn't like avocado. I liked them.

Pesto Muffins

The ones in green are basil pesto with pine nut. The ones in yellow are lemon balm pesto with pine nut. I discovered something in making these, I am really not a pesto person. Adodo liked the lemon ones but not so much the basil ones.

Although it did allow for some slightly fancy photography (ok not so much, but I thought it was pretty).

Oh My

2010-05-12T15:53:00.004+10:00

It is almost halfway through May and I haven't posted once. Where does the time go?

So it is time for the brief news again.

My parents are back from their cruise and have booked another one.

A friend of mine had the most beautiful baby in the world and gave it the most awesomest name, Serenity Jade.

Last time I posted news I mentioned that I got a job in Hong Kong. That is still happening and I am getting really excited about it. There was a whole lot of paperwork and emailing and scanning and emailing. Every time I think I am finished with the paper stuff there is more and then a little more. But I think it is all done now. Just waiting on the work permit.

In the meantime I somehow managed to get a job tutoring a high school student. Seems like some places are desperate for tutors, which is good for me. This combined with the Hong Kong job makes centrelink and various other employment places happy for now.

I purchased the entire box set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Which makes me happy. I am almost finished season 3.

Speaking of Buffy, I also have a brand new laptop that I named Willow, so I will expecting it to turn evil at some point. And then hopefully good again.

And I have been baking and cooking and all that food stuff. Which will be blogged about.

Men and Women

2010-04-30T18:26:00.001+10:00

It takes 7 seconds for food to pass from mouth to stomach. A human hair can hold 3 kg in weight. The length of the penis is three times the length of the thumb. The femur is as hard as concrete. A woman's heart beats faster than a man's. Women blink twice as much as men. We use 300 muscles just to keep our balance when we stand............. The woman has read this entire text. The man is still looking at his thumb.

Red Velvet Ladybug

2010-04-06T13:54:00.003+10:00

When I made the red velvet cupcakes I had just enough mixture left over to make a ladybug

So cute - and very yummy

Zombie Cupcakes

2010-04-06T13:27:00.009+10:00

When I saw this sometime late last year I knew I had to one day make them, I just had to get the brain molds. As you can tell from a few posts down, I got the brain molds. This is also the reason I made red velvet cupcakes.

So we put the brains...

And the cupcakes...

With some sauce...

You get this

Much fun to make, much tasty to eat.

My New Favourite Cupcakes

2010-04-06T13:02:00.006+10:00

I don't I had even heard of a red velvet cake until a few years ago. It is not something you hear much of in Australia. For reasons that will be explained in a later post I decided to make red velvet cupcakes. I mainly used an American recipe with a little bit of help from an Australian one. I read the comments on the American and got worried it wouldn't turn out really red or that it wouldn't taste nice or would taste too oily. Because of this I changed the amount of oil to 1 1/4 cups and did the same for the buttermilk and I put in way more cocoa (more like 2 large tablespoons). I also used macadamia nut oil rather than vegetable oil because macadamia nut oil is sweeter. And I added a little of strawberry ice cream topping.

This is the the strawberry topping and the colour of the mixture before I baked them

Mixture in the cupcake pans

Out of the oven

And Iced

As you can see they didn't turn out pale pink or a washed out red. They were a lovely deep, dark red. I don't know if this is to do with the extra cocoa, the tablespoon and bit of food colouring or the type of food colouring I used or some sort of combination. But if you want to cook these and you live in Australia, this is the colouring I used.

Chocolately Brains or Brainy Chocolates

2010-04-06T12:36:00.008+10:00

I have only once before used chocolate molds and in that instance it wasn't a mold designed for chocolate - we just used it for that. That was I mad chocolate penises (click here for a refresher).

On Friday I made chocolate brains using a proper chocolate mold, it was quite fun. I even used much better chocolate for it.

See

And I had the molds (Thank you Brandon)

They are little hard to see being transparent, but hopefully you get the idea.

Then I filled with chocolate

I had two sheets of nine brains so I made 18 brains in all

After they had set in the fridge, I removed the little extra bits around the edges.

Afterwards you end up with messy, empty molds a messy cutting board and a plate of chocolate brains.

And then you end up with something you hope looks more like a brain then a walnut or little poo.

It's A Bug's Life

2010-03-19T20:08:00.006+11:00

A few weeks ago I bought this

It was so cute and less than $15

I was not sure how it would work - whether or not the cakes would fall apart or not take the shape properly.

Today I made cupcakes for a friends birthday and with the leftover mixture I decided to try the tray out. I only had enough left over mixture to fill the lady bug and a butterfly.

The results...

The lady bug

And the butterfly

Sorry the photos are blurry (camera issues) but as you can see they turned out quite well. If you leave the cake to cool in the tray and then be careful while handling, nothing breaks or falls off.

Now I have cute chocolate mud cake insects (well the lady bug is going to a friend so I have the butterfly). And I can't wait for an excuse to try it again.

In Other News

2010-03-19T19:42:00.003+11:00

I haven't posted in over a month. There are two reasons for this, one I have been busy and two, I have some unresolved personal issues that have been distracting me.

So the brief news is...

My parents are on a one month around Australia cruise. There first stop was a port that was only 45 minutes from where I live. So Adodo and I went out and picked them up and took them around to the Hunter Valley Gardens for the day. It was a really nice day - photos will follow.

I got a job - teaching English in Hong Kong. Contract is signed the half the paper work is done, the other half is almost done. Providing the paper work goes through Adodo and I will be heading over late July.

I am still battling with centrelink - they have some strange rules if you have a job that does not start immediately. Essentially you still have to look for work (basically fair enough, but a little unfair on prospective employers) and now I have to do 2 weeks on intensive training. It would make more sense for me to do volunteer work rather than continue to look for a job. Ah well.

Well that is the news.

The Solution

2010-02-09T14:46:00.002+11:00

This post is in reference to my post about vegetarianism (it is only 2 posts down but I will link to anyway).

A comment I got from Clanskye mentioned that she wished that people would remember and use words to describe semi-vegetarians.

Such as:
Like Pescetarian (includes fish)
Pollotarianism (includes poultry)

I thought this would be a great idea and planned to use them - if only I could remember them. I look at the words, think they they wouldn't be too hard to remember or pronounce. I then walk away from the computer and cannot for the life of me remember the words.

But I now have the solution, a word invented for semi-vegetarians.

I Present:
Flexitarian - Referring to a person with a diet focusing on vegetarian food with occasional meat consumption.

I am happy to announce that I am a flexitarian.

Jaffa Ganache Cupcakes

2010-02-09T14:29:00.003+11:00

I made these, with a friend, for another friend's 3oth. The original recipe called for candied orange on the top, not wanting to make that I put Jaffas on top instead. I worked better with the title of the cupcakes too.

I know they look the orange chocolate cupcakes but they have a different recipe and they taste nicer (I think).

Thieves and Vegetarians

2010-02-04T14:33:00.003+11:00

I stole the idea for this post from this post at the Aussie Adventures blog. For the most part the post and the linked article are exactly they way I thought and and lived. Though I don't think I have ever had someone force me to eat meat. I was raised a vegetarian and I loved it. I love how creative you can get cooking vegetarian. I also love all the vege meats (especcially vege bacon).

The part that amused me about the post and the article was the annoyance of those who assume that vegetarian includes the eating of fish and poultry. The reason I find it so amusing is that, while I mostly associate with being vegetarian, I will occasionally eat fish and poultry. I do understand that this a contradiction and it doesn't make sense. I started eating a small amount of meat while I was in college, partially because I was curious and partially because it is easier when eating out to have more options. More often that not I will choose the vegetarian option though.

I would however, never assume that others do the same as I do. When I hear vegetarian I assume that means no meat whatsoever. Just like I when I hear vegan, I assume no eggs or dairy - and that it may also mean no honey.

And finally it amused me because it reminded me of a quote from Coupling from the episode Inferno.

Jane: Vegetarianism for me is about saying ‘yes’ to things - even meat.

Great show that.

Too Painful

2010-02-04T13:33:00.002+11:00

This is a lot in the world that is painful and hard to look at. So much so that it seems that there is more pain that joy. This large amount of pain is often what stops people from believing in a loving God and that makes sense. It is also something I have no answer for, but this is not what this post is about.

I can remember twice in my life when I have looked away because what I as looking at was too painful. Both times it was when I was watching TV. Both times I changed the channel. Both times I saw enough for it to stay with me forever.

The first time was about a mother who had the world's only blind, deaf and mute triplets. These children were five or six years old at the time. It was nigh on impossible for these children to learn anything - though their mother was trying as hard as possible. Experts were trying to help but there wasn't much they could do. The mother was exhausted and her partner (not the father of the children) was at his wits end. I don't know if there was any hope at the end of TV show, I didn't finish it. I know people were trying to help though.

The second time was about a young girl with one of the worst cases of schizophrenia I have ever heard about. When she was three or four she was already had over 200 different voices speaking to her. When she was about six she was on the highest amount of medication for schizophrenia that you could possibly be on. This didn't take away the voices but it did stop her from being violent. Her parents had to rent two apartments because they were worried she would harm her younger brother. One parent would sleep in the apartment with one child and the other parent with the other child, they would swap the next night. The only hope I found in this story was the fact that the little girl had friend who understood her - another little girl with paranoid schizophrenia. Once again I did not stay to watch the end - too painful. I can only hope that people were trying to help these people too.

Not long ago I was on Facebook when I noticed a friend of my became a fan of Alekksis. As I do sometimes I clicked on the link to see what it was about. When it wasn't completely obvious from the Facebook page I went to the listed website. There I read a heartbreaking story of a little girl born was multiple and serious complications, you can read about it here. I read further and realised that the last name was familiar. It didn't take long for me to discover that this little girl was the niece of some friends of mine - who I had been out of contact with for awhile. It also didn't take long to find out that this little girl, who is only one year old, lives within an hour of me.

I wanted to help but I didn't know how. So I am hoping that posting about this might spread the word, I hope this helps in some way. And I hope that by posting this here I am not turning away from the pain.

Just To Let You Know

2010-02-01T19:26:00.002+11:00

My dear Husband enjoys a fair amount of anonymity on the interwebs - as do I. This is why my Facebook profile has fairly high security settings and this blog isn't under my own name. My husband does not have a Facebook profile or a blog. Most of the time in this blog I refer to him as my husband, this can get clumsy and very repetitive. Every now and again I referred to him by his real name. Tonight I asked what he would like me to call him here. He chose the pseudonym of Adodo. Therefore I have gone back through my archives and changed all times where I called him by his real name. So in future, when I say Adodo, I am referring to my husband.

Thanks for understanding.

Happy February

2010-02-01T18:18:00.001+11:00

Well now you see what happens when I don't post for awhile. Everything builds up and I end up doing 6 posts in one day. Well it was fun though.

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful February.

Sunset Picnic

2010-01-31T19:32:00.002+11:00

Went on a picnic and listened to some free music Friday week ago with some friends. Devilishly hot day but wonderful experience. Doing the same thing again this Friday for a friends birthday. Sunset picnics are a very different experience to daytime ones as you get to see a beautiful sunset. Best to take a torch though for when it comes time to pack up.

Better camera - Better fireworks

2010-01-31T19:25:00.004+11:00

As I was finishing my last post I remember my brother had sent me some of the 2008 Riverfire in Brisbane. My brother has a much better camera than I do. So the photos he sent me show much better colour and everything.

Anyway, enjoy the nicer photos of fireworks.

Sigh, I need a new camera.

Fireworks

2010-01-31T19:09:00.004+11:00

Last last year my husband and I went to carols evening in a neighbouring suburb. The music was so-so, the food I bought was quite nice (a cheese and egg gozleme - I love Turkish food) but the fireworks at the end of the show were amazing. My camera is meant to have a fireworks setting - I don't think it works that well. It picks up red and yellow very well but not any of the other colours. So the photos I took did not do them justice. This might also have something to do with the fact that I wasn't really paying any attention to what I was doing, just pointing blindly and snapping. I didn't want to miss any of show, I am sure you understand.

Anyway, these are the best of the photos I took.