Contrary to popular belief, I feel a bit stressed when weekend approaches. That's because I have to think of what's the best way to spend that two precious days. And if I don't spend it wisely or enjoyably, I'll be cranky when Monday comes I guess. Yesterday, I had to run a few errands. Firstly going to the Post Office in Parramatta to post a package to Melbourne. After that I tried searching for a cyber cafe because I needed to get some documents scanned. The address I got from the internet had me walking quite a few blocks, but in the end the place I was searching for apparently does not exist or it has been eaten by a dinosaur sometime before I arrived.


It was quite close to the ferry wharf so I took a ferry to the city. Dozed off as the ferry cruised along the Parramatta River, and woke up with quite a headache. By then, the ferry was approaching Sydney Harbour with the Harbour Bridge coming into view. I wonder as a Sydneysider do people ever get tired of that view of the bridge and the Opera house coming into view as the ferry approaches from Darling Harbour. For me I'm still very much awestruck and it always reminds me of Nemo. Hahaha.

Ok so yeah, the reason I decided to go to the city was because I spotted a cybercafe when I was in the city a couple of weeks ago, in George St-the main thoroughfare in Sydney. One thing I noticed as I got out of the ferry was the average age of the ferry passengers- most of them are senior citizens! One of the reasons the tax is so high in Australia. bah.. I took the bus that goes along George St hoping to recognise the place I saw a couple of weeks ago. As the bus went past, I was 100% sure I saw that place. So I pressed the bell and got off, walked to the place I remember I saw, and lo and behold, I can't find it!! I thought I must have missed it or something, so I was walking up and down the 1km stretch of street, and even took another 3 bus rides ( that's when a weekly travel pass comes in handy) along the street to make sure I didn't miss it while walking. Finally after 1 and a half hours of frustrated searching, I thought I'll just give up. And so I took the bus that's gonna take me back to my place. What do you know, the bus actually passed by the place this time, and I realized George St was twice as long as I thought it was! But I'm still puzzled as to how I thought I had seen the place earlier because I was sure the bus didn't pass it the first time. I must be getting old!

Yea so after that horrific ordeal, I took the train to this Malaysian restaurant which was not far from my place. Had a very nice Hokkien Mee and bought some kueh lapis which turned out to be absolutely heavenly. Was quite expensive though. Oh yeah, I observed Earth Hour. And I even took a picture.

Seriously, did you know that by having your desktop and screensaver be a blank black screen (instead of a fancy picture a flower or a sports car or the guy you're stalking on facebook) actually saves a lot on power?

Haha that was random.

Woke up a bit late today, and so decided to try this new church close to my place. Surprisingly, the church wasn't that bad and the sermon was quite good. Interestingly the international crowd there are mainly Korean students. Had a 'church lunch' with some of them. Same concept as Lygon St. Haha.. It was nice. Now I have to decide which church I want to go to regularly. tough choice. Well that's my weekend so far, and I think it's been quite enjoyable minus the misadventure I had. :)

It's Monday already, and time seems to have flown past. Which is good I suppose, because it means I wasn't too bored. This easter weekend I'm reminded of the past 4 years I've spent at the Belgrave Convention up in Melbourne every easter with the OCFers. One of the best things in OCF i reckon, because getting to know people is quite hard and pressurising when you're in a program like July Camp, whereas in Belgrave it's free and easy. One of the most striking memories was when we didn't have a kitchen facility and had to cook meals for 20 people using a portable gas cooker. Indeed, God provides. I think I also talked to a few people for the first time in belgrave.

Went to church for the first time in Sydney on Good Friday. The people are nice and friendly, though it feels different from lygon. After church, we went to Zilver for yum cha. It was so crowded we had to wait half an hour, and the food wasn't that fantastic for the price they were charging. So anyway, after lunch, went around Chinatown and then to Camperdown where we were having dinner at one of the church member's house.

The next day, some of us went on a road trip to Hunter Valley. My first road trip in Sydney. hahaha. Obviously I've not been here before and it's the first time I go for a real wine tasting trip. It was a 2 hour drive and half of the journey it was raining cats and dogs, rain like I've never seen in Melbourne. Another difference is that their country side is green, not browning like in Victoria. We reached Hunter Valley and proceeded to the different wineries there. Learn a lot from the wine connoisseur who was our driver. Went to pick up a case of wine from Lake's Folly which apparently ranks as the top 4 most collected wines in the world. I actually learnt that for wine tasting you don't actually drink the wine but spit it out after letting the wine swirl in your mouth. The vineyards was quite a sight to behold as well, although I like the Tasmanian vineyards better because they were all far apart from each other instead of next to each other. By the way, I must say I was the youngest in the car. Haha.. quite a change from becoming one of the oldest in OCF whenever we go for road trips.

Dinner was at Sambal, a Malaysian restaurant near Ryde. After the unsatisfactory service during the lunch at valley, we were determined to have a feast here. Ordered char kuey teow, rendang, belachan kangkong, otak otak and fish head curry. The fish head curry was the highlight costing $38. Imagine converting it back to ringgit. Hahaa.. But it was sooooo heavenly. Had cendol for dessert. Ah, this is how life is supposed to be enjoyed.

On easter sunday, it was sunny although the prediction was gloomy all weekend. Church service was great, and after that joined the church members for lunch at a Thai restaurant nearby. After the lunch, I took the train, out of curiosity, that goes from Wynyard to Milsons Point, just for the experience of crossing the Harbour Bridge. Indeed quite a sight to behold. After crossing the other side, I walked the other way back, and snapped a few pictures, one of which sits at the header of this page now. So that's my weekend so far..

I wake up. Why can't I sleep just 5 minutes longer? I'll only be 5 minutes later for that lecture which isn't gonna have any effect anyway. Except wait. I'm no longer in uni. Dragging myself out of bed, the only feeling I have is dread. The obligatory morning coffee with milk and cereal, a few clicks on that solitaire game, and I'm off for a shower. Finding it hard to drag myself out of the warm water but eventually I do anyway. Grabbing my bag I walk the familiar path to the station. Loud annoying school kids on the train. Changing trains, now I get to sit. Reaching, I walk the 100m to the warehouse that is the office. The next few hours spent in front of the computer, clicking away cluelessly almost half the time, with the occasional diatribe from the boss which I believe annoys not only me. Lunch bought at the local sandwich shop nearby. The cute asian waitress is ever so sweet. Back to lunch where I struggle to decipher the australian style lunchtime conversations. Sleepy afternoons, the Gmail window occasionally flashes to distract my attention. It's 6, and homeward bound it is. The halfhourly train arrives. The usual working crowd on their way home, faces which tell of a hard day at work. Faces which says don't talk to me or I'll punch you. I guess my face tells the same story. The bus home is much more pleasant. I get to sit you see. Dinner is leftovers from yesterday's cooking. What's on tv? Nothing? Well then there's the shows on the laptop. I wonder how long that will last. Before long, I realise it's late.Starting to believe that time's passage isn't linear in that it accelerates when I'm at home. Off to bed.

Some pictures of my room.


I know, lots of wires.