25 yo Melbournian. Born and bred in the shadows of a city called KL. Survives on chocolates, lots of sleep and the comfort of good company. Loves a good laugh, a good book, a good cry, a good movie.

"Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for." - Joseph Addison

"Laughter is the sensation of feeling good all over, and showing it principally in one spot" - Josh Billings

31.7.04

I had a great day today. I cannnot remember the last time I laughed so much in a day. Such a great feeling to end the day feeling totally happy and worry free. The day started off with a trip up to Mt Dandenong for some Devonshire scones and tea - how English - and some chicken pie. It was sinful, but delightful. Then we headed up to the Observatory Deck to observe, well, the city. Couldn't really see too much though.

The lovely couple... Gavin & Small Ben

(1) Dan, Gavin, Chew & Ben (2) Mel, Sui Lin, Faith, Joyce & Joy

View from Mt Dandenong's Observatory Deck

Bloated and full from tea, my next stop was Villa Romana @ Lygon. Carol and Michelle are visiting from Sydney so a bunch of us got together to have dinner. These people can really eat! Not satisfied with dinner, they headed down to Il Dolce Freddo, hoping to score some durian gelati. For the record, I do not like durian - don't like the stench and the texture *eew* Unfortunately - or rather, fortunately for me, there was no durian left *phew* And then, in the rather Malaysian tradition, we walked a couple of shops down to a mamak where they had their roti canai cravings satisfied.

Tun, Mel, Sau Yan, Carol, Michelle's friend, Michelle, Gerry & Mindy

Next stop for the night was Stellar bar again. We kept ourselves entertained for a whole 2 hours, just playing drinking games. And as usual, Gavin became the target, and the victim of alcohol abuse tonight!

(1) Mel, Sui Lin, Gavin (still sober) & Faith (2) Gavin, after 2 shots of Vodka

Big Ben & Small Ben

It is 5.30 in the morning. The bed looks most inviting. Need to sleep. Just got news that the rave in Genting is fantastic! Wish I could be there!!!

31.7.04

We watched the Stepford Wives last night (not by choice though, only because Laws of Attraction wasn't showing). It wasn't exactly the kind of movie I thought it was. Would I recommend any of you to watch it? Probably not. We did have a few good laughs though. I loved the dog.

Not a bad way to end a great night. Thanks to Sau Yan for organising dinner and grouping the bunch together. And a great big welcome to Gary, enjoy your stay in Melbourne!!!

Jen Kin, Sau Yan, Sui Lin, Elaine, Beth, Angeline, Mindy, Mel & Gerry

Ben & Gary

30.7.04

What exactly is it that I do? I have been asked this question too often and so, I will attempt to explain it all here. Besides, I notice that I haven't really written much about myself per se. Please be warned that this post is intended to bore the bejesus out of you. And if you don't find yourself dozing off to sleep at the end of this, then you haven't read it properly, so read it again and again!

What do I do? *thinks long and hard* I have a Bachelor of Commerce (Actuarial Studies) degree. If you have not the faintest idea what an actuary is, don't feel bad about it. Heck, when my mum told me to become an actuary, I thought she wanted me to go shoot some arrows and study the sport of archery. Frankly, I thought she had gone mad! I was only 13 then though.

An actuary is defined as one who applies mathematical, statistical, economic and financial analyses, involving adding risk assessment to longer term financial contracts, in a wide range of practical business problems.

That's the general idea of what I do or am training to be able to do. Here is how a typical working week goes for me:

Mondays & Thursdays:
I am on secondment as a risk analyst at a client's office, a major catering and cleaning company. The title 'risk analyst' sounds all flash, but the work really isn't. I basically sit there, work on a few spreadsheets, correct the formulaes, put in some insurance claims data and then print them off. And I'm not talking about fun, interactive, colourful spreadsheets either. Just plain boring ones, with numbers across and down the page. The plus side of this assignment is, I don't really have to think too hard, AND because it is a catering company, they have a nice little canteen that has nice, cheap and very original food. However, my secondment will be ending next week.

Tuesdays & Wednesdays:
These days are my "I-feel-stupid" or "I-have-never-been-more-confused-in-my-life" days. These are the days when I rock up to the posh side of town, and do some training with Mercer, our sister company. I train with the Risk and Financial Consulting team i.e a team of actuaries with incredible brain power. Combine their intelligence together and we could probably start building pyramids without machines. I'm talking about really really smart people here. Even the Director of my company says that whenever he wants to feel stupid, he goes and speaks to one of them. I spend alot of my time deciphering Visual Basic programming code and tampering around with it to make it do what I want it to do. I am not great at it, but I'm learning, slowly... VERY slowly.

Fridays:
Casual day back at Marsh! It's great to be back in my own little office space, or rather my cubicle. With my mug and my snacks and my stuff. I'm the number cruncher in my team. There is no constant stream of work pouring in as we're pretty project based. I get the insurance claims, enter them all in this model, push the 'Run' button and there you have it, my work is done! Well, it's abit more complicated then that but that's the gist of it. I'm basically an insurance claims prophet! I do my magic and give the client an estimate of how much they can expect to incur in insurance claims for future years. It's all swell. I'm also supposed to be the Excel guru here, so everytime someone has a technical Excel question, I'm the girl! And when there is no work to be done, I do abit of studying. Just like accountants, actuaries have to get through some professional exams to be fully qualified, so that's what I do when there ain't nothing else to do.

Points to note:
1. I DO NOT sell insurance, so do not shy away from me when I say that I'm in the insurance industry.
2. I DO NOT calculate how long people are going to live and when they are going to die - I am in General Insurance, not Life

I am such a geek. Well, after a long day, it's time to unwind and relax with some good company at Stellar Bar.

(1) Mel, Sui Lin & Freddy (2) Mel, Sui Lin & Faith

27.7.04

From freaky dreams to endless celebrations...

Happy Birthday Joy & Paul!!! (24th July)

Jay, Joyce, Sui Lin, Mel, Joy & Gavin @ Universal Pizza, Lygon St

Joy's birthday dinner was extremely satisfying to the tummy. An endless stream of pizzas just kept coming and coming and coming... And we kept eating and eating and eating till we couldn't eat no more. I think I will stay off pizzas for awhile now! Entertainment was once again provided by Gavin. Thanks buddy! *haha* And to Joy, hope all goes well for you and may you be blessed with all the happiness in the world!

Happy Birthday Andrik (21st July) and Happy 21st Birthday Kha Yen (26th July)!!!

Kha Yen & Mel

Poser shot of Andrik & Kha Yen

Andrik: Sorry didn't wish you on your actual birthday, but it's only because I found out when your birthday was last night!! But hey, you've only managed to get my name right recently!!! You're way cool and drop dead hilarious, not to mention a BAD influence! *haha* One more semester and you're free from endless assignments so hang in there!! In the meantime, party hard!!

Kha Yen: Hope you had a blast yesterday! We as friends have failed as we did not get you pissed drunk!!! We'll make it up to you another year!! *grins* Hope you liked the present!!! You're such a great chick and I'm glad to have met you!!! TWENTY ONE is supposed to be big big deal, so enjoy it! Because once you pass the magical TWO-ONE, you can only hope that time will stand still!!! So, have a smashing year and keep on smiling sexy lady!!!

Last but not least...

Happy Belated Birthday Albert!!! (16 July)

My cuz, Albert in the centre

Vain pot! *haha* Hope you had a fantastic birthday! Have not talked to you in awhile but I'm guessing you're doing pretty well and just partying yourself stupid before you go off to work in Canada(??) or wherever it is that you're going! Good luck with all of that! And you still owe me a trip Down Under!!! *hugs*

Also, since I'm on a roll here, a great big WELCOME to my new guestblogger Mr Gavin Tan!!!

And yes, honestly, I do not see a difference in your hair after the $30 haircut from Soho. I think you got jibbed!!! *furball*furball*!!!

My New HairCut

26.7.04

You all may recognise me from GavinTan.com. No this is not a publicity stint but I am LoLa's new ultra-cool guest blogger that will bring life to this blog!! Firstly for my first publicity stunt...urh no I meant for my first post I will bring about my events of the day. I managed to get a haircut at SOHO, recommendation from Sui Lin. Cost me $30 but bloody hell everyone says its the same! Look here...before I cut it was a furball now everyones saying its a furball again?!? Its an expensive haircut okaaay..

Thanks for the blogging invite,
GavinTan.

25.7.04

He was a gorgeous Asian guy. He had it all - dashing good looks and irresistible charm. We were in love, or perhaps, it was lust. Room 73 was small and filthy. But we didn't care. No one could know. I don't remember much after that, except that we were trapped inside a car. The water wouldn't stop coming in.

I couldn't leave. I had to see them. And then I did. They were in the crowd. I floated towards them. I was so happy. But they were afraid. Frightened. And I got mad. Why weren't they happy? The room started to spin, and the wind got stronger and stronger.

I woke up. I wasn't dead. I wasn't a ghost.

Goodbye Andrew & Turbo!!!

22.7.04

Hope you had a safe flight back home boys! It was great having you guys around. I hope you all had a pretty good trip here! Although we didn't really get to bring you guys around much - mostly coz you kept sleeping and sleeping and sleeping!! Such slackers! Some pictures from an appetizing meal at Pacific House last night

(1) Mel & Andrew (2) Ben & Mel

I'll miss you guys!!! See you soon!!!

NRG 7 - Metamorphosis

19.7.04

It was pretty mad. Two thumbs up to the decor committee of NRG7. The whole place looked like it was invaded by hardcore ravers - everything was colour, colour and more colour. The theme of the night was "Metamorphosis" and the butterfly was the most obvious costume for many. The music kept the crowd going but there were quite a few moments where the DJ just really made it frustrating. The beat kept coming and going - as soon as it peaked, it died out again. And the music wasn't quite loud enough. But at about 5, the music started to really pick up, and as I discovered, the music was much louder if we had stood in the centre of the room instead of the right. But by then, I was pretty buggered. I spent a fair amount of time last night just lying down. No, not because I was totally smacked out and scattered, but because my stomach wasn't being kind to me. The only time I felt comfortable was when I was lying down - so that was what I did. But overall, it was pretty good. I had a pretty good time yet again, and just getting to meet up with alot of people.

The rest of the photos can be viewed here.

"I have noticed that nothing I never said ever did me any harm" - CALVIN COOLIDGE

16.7.04

Is that how we should all be? Never saying what we really want to say so no harm may come about? Or do we cause more harm to ourselves by keeping it all in? Obviously, we don't just blurt out the first thing that springs to mind, without first letting it pass through the brain. The key to it all is tact.

I'm learning to realise that if it is something important, then I need to speak up. I have on one too many occassions kept my thoughts to myself, only to discover that I will never get another opportunity to speak my mind. I have kicked myself so many times out of frustration, just because I decided to keep quiet.

Forget your pride. Forget the consequences. Forget the what-ifs. What about honesty? What about truth? Some may view that as being selfish, but heck, we're only human. Selfishness is a gift because life is the survival of the fittest.

I told you most of what I wanted to. I understand it doesn't change anything. But I feel much better. Like a huge weight has been lifted off my back. I sleep better, and I am eating better now. Thank you for listening. Thank you for being there this time.

Beat It

15.7.04

Thank you Flynn from the Australian Idol auditions for keeping me amused. I can't remember the last time I laughed so loud, and so long. I laughed till I cried. My brother thought I was insane! He probably got paid to be the Australian "William Hung", but heck, he was entertaining, and that's what tv is all about!

I don't understand how some of these people actually think they can sing. How deluded can you really be? They must have the radio turned on so loud to drown their own voices, that they think whatever comes out is actually them! And how can their friends / relatives leave them to embarass themselves. OK, so 10 points to them for believing in themselves and for being brave and for daring to reach for their dream. I suppose you never know till you try.

The flu bug is going around. I was fine last night, till I got home. Now I can't stop sniffing. This is not good. I need to recover before Saturday. And I have run out of medication. *aargh*

Welcome to Melbourne Andrew & Turbo!!!

14.7.04

A great big welcome to Andrew & Turbo to Melbourne!!! It is no surprise that the first destination on the list was Crown, so that is all we all ended up last night. There was the usual dinner and drinks session before the boys stormed into the casino. Tried my hand at a game of Baccarat, mostly to keep myself entertained and attempting to win a NRG ticket for Steve! I won it, but then I lost it back! I'm SORRY Steve!!! *haha* At least I kept myself fairly entertained for an hour.

Andrew, Guy, Mel, Steve, Turbo

Also a big *wave* goodbye to Guy. Hope you found your way back to the barren wasteland of Perth! It was good to see you. Come back and visit again!!!

Stavros Tavern @ Albert Park

10.7.04

We had another one of our get togethers last night at Stavros Tavern. The Greek - Euro Cup spirit was definitely in the air! It was a nice place. Thumbs up to Elaine for another excellent choice. If any of you plan on going there, make sure you go for the lamb shanks!!

Clockwise from bottom left: Steve, Guy, Mel, Elaine, Gerry & Angeline

7.7.04

A few people have commented on how I've been "different" lately. Lost in my own downward spiral. Exceptionally moody and easily irritable. Not exactly the most pleasant person to be around at the moment.

Some days, I put on a facade and brave the day. Most days, I just let myself slide into the slump that I am in. It really drains to pretend to be jolly when you aren't really. Although, sometimes, that pretence lights up the day for a brief moment. But at the end of the day, when the sun goes down, I'm right back where I started. Maybe I'm getting bored with the routine that I've gotten so used to. Everything has become almost mechanical. To make things worse, I'm not exactly thrilled to attempt new things either. So here I am, stuck in this cycle, no, this never ending loop with no promise of a better tomorrow.

I don't mean to be a bitch to you. I don't try to be. But sometimes, I just don't think you get me at all. And that disturbs me a whole lot. To think that someone who has been in my life for so many years not being able to understand me is worrying. I can't be that hard to disect. I don't have a whole closet of secrets, or a long list of weird habits, but yet...

I don't want sympathy and I don't expect anyone to understand. But I'll take assurance. I know it'll pass. That I'll be OK. That I will ride it out eventually.

6.7.04

Happy Birthday Yumes & Kin Mun!!!

(1) Mel & Yu Meng (2) Aaron, Mel & Kin Mun

Yumes you gorgeous hunk! Happy 23rd birthday!! I did not forget your birthday this year. *haha* I don't know when I'll see you next - perhaps if you are generous enough to sponsor my trip to the UK? We always miss each other during holidays, talk about bad timing and planning - mostly on my part! But I miss you heaps!!! I hope you have a great one this year. Thanks for all the times that you've been around to listen to me, especially recently when I really needed to vent, and for understanding and for sharing! Life would not have been the same had I not met you. So, live it up and three cheers to your wit and sarcasm! Love ya!

Kin Mun you joker! It was great to see you just recently! I did not con your ass into waiting for me at Hartamas!! haha yeah well I did! haha.. but thanks a bunch! You are a bundle of joy! Whenever you're around, I am always guaranteed a night of laughter. And I know that you're a truly great friend to have around. School would have been an absolute bore without you! I love your jokes so keep them coming!! *hugs* Happy Birthday!!

Lavish @ Billboards

3.7.04

BIG BIG thumbs up to Ragin Weijun *HAHA* and the Bass Agents for last night's stellar performance! The excellent music drove everyone to get up on their feet and party the night away - young AND old alike, dancers and non-dancers. Not forgetting all the girls who were shuffling in their stilettos and pointy shoes - you girls were truly truly amazing!! Let the pictures tell the rest of the story...

2.7.04

Happy Birthday Andrew!!!

Ahoy captain See! *haha* Happy 24th Birthday! Hope you're living it up in Perth at the moment - things will be better once you get down here I promise!!! Thanks for all the fun times and all the lame jokes over the years! And for opening up your house to myself and everyone else over Chinese New Year! Such a generous host. Hurry down!! *HUGS*

And a great big thanks to all the well wishes I received since my fall! I'm 90% healed up and ready to party on tonight!! But before I hit town, I think I might have to take a quick power nap! Red Bull will be my new best friend tonight.