Her Drama-ness: November 2004

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Blech to the infinity

I feel really sucky. I've been sick for almost 2 months now, I'm one of those stubborn people thinking that I will just get well on my own, well, it hasn't happened. I finally caved in and bought some medicine over the counter a couple of weeks ago, but what do you know, it hasn't worked. I made a doctor's appointment for Thursday morning, so hopefully, I won't be sick for much longer. I am also feeling absolutely exhausted, I need a break. Sunday night at the restaurant was a KILLER night, it was completely full, and there were only 2 people working in the dining area, it was ridiculous. I didn't get to leave until 10.45 pm, and I usually go at 9.45 pm, and there was still a 40 km drive home, blech. Last night was also fairly busy, so my body didn't get a chance to recover as much. And, I have to work the whole day today, I'm covering the lunch shift for my boss as she's heading to the airport to pick up her husband and daughter, which means I will be out for a whole 12 hours today. Am I looking forward to tomorrow, a day with no work involved? HELL YEAH!

On the stitching front, I finished 2 Signature RRs yesterday before I needed to leave for work. I still have 4 more to get through, I am hoping that I can get them done tomorrow, and then get them sent on to the next person (Dot). I still have my exchanges to do, and the deadline is rapidly approaching, how am I going to pull this off?! We'll see...

As for the blog skin that I was talking about, it's a no go. *insert sad smiley* Apparently it was really stuffed up, and when Terrence uploaded it, my blog became really screwed up, so he has to do a fair bit of work on it before I can use it as my new template. Oh well, I guess I just have to be patient and wait for him to get it fixed, hopefully it's gonna happen soon. Anyways, that's it for Her Drama-ness today. I've gotta get ready for work, sigh, can Wednesday come any quicker?

Posted by Leeny at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

Sunday, November 28, 2004

Long time no see

I haven't blogged in a while, a combination of laziness and me just not having the time to sit in front of the computer. So, on Friday, I went to the farms with my friends, it was a reaaaalllyyyyyy hot day, and man, I felt like I was being barbequed, LOL. Especially when picking cherries, a lot of the nice ones were up pretty high in the tree, so I constantly had to look up, and the sun burns! I am actually craving for the winter cold, at least I had means to stay warm, with the heat, there is only that many layers of clothing that I can peel off, and of course, I have no air-conditioning at home. Anyways, back to the farms, all of us had a good time, I think my friends enjoyed the strawberry farm the most. The ice-cream was heavenly, and such a treat on such a hot day. Unfortunately, the strawberries were TINY, the last 2 times I was there, they were massive, we must have picked a bad day to go, but still, we all had heaps of fun. By the end of it, we were all exhausted, the heat does sap the energy from a person, and so we called off dinner, and just headed home. I was like a dead person when I got home, LOL, I just lounged around till I went to bed, I couldn't even find the energy to stitch, I was that tired!

Yesterday was a relaxing day, Terrence took the day off, so we could go out together. We had lunch, did a bit of shopping, and then watched 'The Grudge' at night. I had already seen the original Japanese movie it's based on, 'Ju-on', so I already knew the story, and could anticipate when the scary bits would happen. I also knew that the movie did not adapt the story into an American setting, it just took American characters to substitute the original Japanese characters, even so, I did feel a little disappointed as I was hoping they woud inject some fresh material. There were a few minor changes, and it did combine elements from the 'Ju-on' series of movies, but still, everything was pretty much the same. It was definitely more slick and polished, and had better special effects (still could scare me 2nd time round, LOL), but I think the original Japanese version is still overall better. Terrence was absolutely bored throughout the movie, cos I not only made him watch the Japanese one with me, but of course, I had to drag him along with me last night as my big strong man to cling on to, LOL. He doesn't like horror movies, he thinks they're all stupid, so the next time we're going to a movie, it's gotta be a good one, otherwise he won't budge, hee hee. I think it will either be 'The Incredibles' or 'Ocean's Twelve', they both sound like excellent films!

I mentioned about a blog skin before that I found which I thought would be good to use, but Terrence said that the techie stuff behind it wasn't that good, so that idea was ditched. I found another one, which I think is real cute, so hopefully Terrence will give it the OK about the technical stuff, and will make it all ready for me to use it soon. I'm really looking forward to a new look for my blog! :)

Posted by Leeny at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments

Thursday, November 25, 2004

...Whatever...

I don't know why, but I'm cranky today. Actually, not even today, it's pretty much tonight, once I got to work. I started out fine, but as the evening went on, I found myself really irritable, and every little thing annoyed me. I didn't snap at anyone, I still smiled and greeted the customers really pleasantly, but once I was out of view, I think the smile just disappeared from my face. It could be cos the other waitress just kept chatting away and I had to do a lot of the work, but I'm used to that every Thursday. I seriously don't know why I'm in such a pissy mood tonight, maybe I should warn Terrence that I'm the BITCH tonight, LOL.

I'm actually back to normal now, during the drive home, I started feeling better, and now that I'm home, I feel alright. Hopefully nothing sets off the cranky mood till I go to bed. Tomorrow should be a good day for me. I'm heading to the Mornington Peninsula region with some friends, and right now on our itinerary, we will be going to the lavender farm, the cherry farm, and the strawberry farm. We get to pick our own fruits, so that should be fun, I've been there before, but this will be the first time that I'm going there with friends (it has always been with family the last few times). After that, we'll be heading back to my place to chill for a while and wait for peak hour traffic in the evening to subside, and then go out for dinner, and that will conclude our day! The weather's supposed to be good tomorrow, keeping my fingers crossed that there won't be any cold winds or rain, cos this is Melbourne, anything can happen! Today was really really warm, maybe that also contributed to my cranky mood before, hee hee. Who knows? I am such a mystery, LOL.

Well, this is gonna be a short blog. My life's pretty boring, not much of a story to tell, hopefully I will have more to share when I get back from my "road trip" tomorrow. But I doubt I will have anything exciting to say either, hee hee. Alrighty, gotta get to bed soon, it's going to be a nice early start tomorrow, cherries and strawberries, here I come!

Posted by Leeny at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

TV blog

Ok, I know it's going to seem so sad that this blog will be predominantly about TV events, but what can I say, I admit that I am a TV junkie, and it's the best activity that goes with stitching, LOL. It's still my bumming period, so I get to watch TV and stitch during the day, and then head off to work at night, it all works out *grin*

1. The Apprentice

WOOOOO HOOOOOO, Maria aka "The BLINKER" got fired, I'm sooooooo pleased about that. I know that a lot of things are taken out, and we are only shown snippets of what has happened in that one episode, but I think Maria was the right person to go. She doesn't seem to do much in most of the tasks, the one that really irked me was the doggie task, just strolling around in her mini skirt and high heels, like that's going to achieve anything with the dogs. Just because you've got an exemption doesn't mean you can slack off, honey!! And she blinks her eyes FURIOUSLY, especially when she gets agitated or nervous, I know it's probably an unconscious habit and hard to break, but it's still annoying. Anyway, she really did come across as a control freak in the last task, and poor Wes, he really copped it from her. It didn't really matter to me that he got fired, cos he's never really stood out from the bunch, I guess he can at least take comfort that he has gone further than a lot of other people in this competition.

As for Jennifer, oooohhhhh, she is turning out to be one conniving *beep* I guess in a way, it's been a good strategy for her, since 'The Apprentice' is supposed to be like 'Survivor', just in an urban environment, and that's how she's surviving in the concrete jungle. Doesn't mean that I have to like what she's doing though. She's been manipulating her way out of the boardroom, and oh man, when that Levi's guy said that she was the best member on the team, I felt the pain for the rest of them, especially when Jennifer so blatantly tried to steal credit from Ivana. Ok, Ivana isn't that great herself, she should have been fired way back in Week 2, but I think she has been redeeming herself a little with each passing week, and I do feel she did a great job on the last task. Jennifer coming in like that was just.....so sneaky, and she just gives that little smile, and try to look all so cute and blondie (no offence to blondes!), drives me nuts! Argh, I hope she doesn't win!

2. Australian Idol

The Aussie Idol was revealed on Sunday night, and it's 16-year-old Casey Donovan! I still haven't seen it, I had it recorded cos I was working that night, I will get to the tape eventually. I was really really surprised though, I did put in a few votes for her, but I really thought the title would go to Anthony Callea. I know my friend is REALLY UPSET that Anthony didn't win, and I've gotta say, the guy has flawless performances, he's a great singer with a fantastic voice, and an equally deserving winner. But as 2 of the judges said, he's a little too plastic and too polished at times, and I was a fan of his when he shook off his "Plastic Fantastic" label. Then as the competition went on, he kinda fell back into that again and became boring, and when Ricki-Lee got booted off, man, I just lost interest in the show. It doesn't seem to have the same fire as the first season, none of the contestants really had me cheering for them, whereas last year I had always been supporting Guy Sebastian throughout. I guess Anthony peaked too early with 'The Prayer', it was an incredible performance, but came too early in the competition, while Guy Sebastian blew everybody away with 'Climb Every Mountain' in the 2nd last week and remained fresh on the audience's minds. Casey has been improving steadily each week, and I suppose that's what the audience voted for. I voted for Casey cos I liked her version of the winner's song better, LOL. Oh well, I hope Anthony's fans don't cry for weeks (probably all the 13-year-old girls), and they recover soon, hee hee....

3. Alias

I finally finished Season 2, and I have started watching Season 3. I love the whole mystery surrounding Sydney's missing 2 years, and this secret about Arvin Sloane, it's driving me crazy cos I just NEED to know what's going on, but I guess that is what's keeping the show exciting, LOL. I just hope Season 3 doesn't end on a killer cliffhanger, cos I will go insane waiting for Season 4! My favourite character of the show is Marshall, he's the token awkward/geek guy, but I think he's funny, and I like him :)

4. X-Factor

This is a UK talent contest, similar to Idol, just that it's opened to anyone over 16, and groups as well. With the latest episode, Simon Cowell is the only one left with 2 acts, oh boy, that man must be smug as hell. I do love Simon Cowell though, he may be a little too harsh at times, but I think he's being very honest with his comments, if you suck, you will get that told to you, if you're fabulous, he will say that as well. I think I have probably agreed with his feedback most of the time. I think the panel of judges on this show is great, the interaction between Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh is so much more entertaining and real than any other panel I've seen. Channel 10 is bringing X-Factor to Australia, which is surprising, I would have thought that will only happen after it has made it on American shores. Well, just have to wait for it next year, and hopefully they won't screw it up too bad, LOL.

Now for some non-TV stuff (finally huh?!), I have been stitching over the last few days, I'm working on a project for a secret stitching exchange, so I'm not going to share much details, apart from that I almost have the border complete, and I hope I can get this one done ASAP. I still have 2 more to work on, and the deadline is coming up, yikes!

I worked last night at the restaurant, and I told my boss when my last night at the restaurant will be. She didn't seem very happy as she's worrying about replacements and all that, but hey, I'm sorry, I've helped you out for more than 4 years, I'm starting my full-time job in January, this is as much as I can do. I did give her plenty of notice, so she will have lots of time to find some new people and get them trained.

Terrence also bought me Simpsons Monopoly yesterday cos it was on sale at Target. I was actually allowed to open it, and we played a game last night. I was absolutely creamed though, so I whined and protested, saying that if it's a present for me, then I shouldn't lose, and not in such a pathetic way as well. Of course, it didn't work, LOL. Well, I will try my best to avenge myself the next time! *grin* I am now soooooo tempted to buy all other Monopoly versions, it will be a new hobby for me, but I don't think I will be allowed to open them, Terrence will have them purely for collecting, but I just wanna open and play! For now, I will keep my Monopoly-collecting urge in check, hee hee...

Nothing much happening for me today, I'm heading to my university later in the afternoon to speak to the new bunch of students who will be going for next year's study tour, which I went on early in January this year. I will also be having dinner with some friends tonight at TGIF. Hopefully I get to watch Alias and stitch a bit when I get back from university, and just chill out till I go out for dinner. Her Drama-ness/TV addict will sign off for now, bye bloggers!

Posted by Leeny at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

Saturday, November 20, 2004

Hurray! I stitched! :)

Wow, after more than 2 months, I finally have a finished piece in the stitching department. This piece is a Binky square, we stitch up little designs which will then be sewn up into blankets for children who suffer from illness or abuse. It sure feels good to have this square completed, right through to the ironing and scanning of it, hee hee. I hope that I will continue with stitching more regularly since I really have to catch up with *ahem* on a few exchanges, I'm not going to make it for the deadline otherwise! I don't have much on tomorrow, or technically today, just have to give tuition in the afternoon, and then I can head home and stitch away. I was good today/yesterday, I cleared a lot of ironing and folding of laundry during the day, so which means I don't have to worry about household chores tomorrow, uh, I mean, today.

While taking care of menial household chores, I overdosed on television, I watched another comedy, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, again another movie that I had no expectations of, and turned out to be pretty brilliant! There were some stuff in it that I could definitely relate to, dealing with the racial stereotypes and all that, I thought it wasn't being condescending and still did a funny take on it. Anyone who's up for a good laugh, I highly recommend this movie to you. I also managed to progress through to episode 15 of Season 2 of Alias, and no, I wasn't just glued to the telly all day, I had started watching this yesterday. Hopefully I will get through the rest of Season 2 tomorrow/today, and then maybe get started on Season 3. It is getting exciting!

I was also surfing for blog skins that I like and would use for my own blog. I think I may have found one, I need to enlist Terrence's help, he's konked out in bed right now (went to sleep like 2 hours ago), so hopefully I can have it up within the next couple of days. Anyways, it's late and way past my bedtime, I have to be up early, so Her Drama-ness is heading to bed. Oyasumi!

Posted by Leeny at 12:39 AM | Permalink | Comments

Friday, November 19, 2004

Heritage Series - Around The World With Marty Links - Holland Girl

WOOO HOOO!! Finally, a finish! Did take me freaking forever cos of all the interruptions and distractions, but at least I did get it done in the end. So, a pat on the back for me! :)

Posted by Leeny at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments

Thursday, November 18, 2004

My poor boss...

Tonight I worked at the restaurant, and towards the end of the night, it wasn't that busy, so I was chatting to my boss and the other lady that I work with on Thursday nights. Well, actually, I wasn't really part of the conversation, I was washing up my cup, and I heard my name brought up, so I asked what was going on. My boss was saying that it's good that I'm independent and educated, and able to support myself and be in the position to make good choices with regards to men. She was kinda comparing herself to me, and she said that she couldn't do that when she was younger, and now, it's too late for her cos she's already established a family with kids. Her husband is the traditional Asian male (on the extreme side), where the man is always right, the woman is always wrong, the woman is supposed to shut up and not argue back, etc etc... Having worked there for the last 4+ years, I know he is that kind of person, the guy makes a mistake, and is it his fault? Nooooooo....he scolds you, yells at you, goes on and on, even though it was HIS mistake. Look, I know I'm not perfect, if I've done something wrong, I know it, and I will say sorry and get it fixed, but this guy, it's always someone else's fault, even though when it's OBVIOUSLY him that stuffed up. Too bad for him, I'm not the kind of person that just stands there and take all the shit in, if it was my mistake, I would own up and gladly face the music. I may not like it, but I will admit that I was wrong and take responsibility for it. But if it wasn't my fault, and I get yelled at for no reason, I'm gonna stand up for myself, and retort back, I'm not going by his "I am MAN, and I don't give a damn about you WOMEN" bullshit.

So anyways, I already knew that was his character, but what I didn't know that he isn't just like that at the restaurant, he brings this all the way home, and actually can go on about a particular incident that happened at work for days. He will scold my boss non-stop for days, even when it's not her fault, and can hold a grudge for years. In fact, he can even bring up an incident that happened 10 years ago, and start a fresh argument about it. What a guy!! Geeeeezzzz....I knew this guy was a complete jerk, but I thought he would at least have some respect for his wife. I really feel for my boss now, cos even if he's just grumbling over small matters, but doing it every night, continuously throughout the day, it all adds up, and into the years, it will grow into a big issue, and the frustration and stress will really eat at a person. He will also knock her down, saying that she doesn't know how to take care of things properly at the restaurant, yada yada. Actually, I think my boss is a highly capable woman, having come from a foreign country not knowing any English, but still able to set up a successful small business, start a family, and juggling both at the same time. If this guy were my husband, I would hit him where it really hurts *ahem* if you know what I'm talking about. I'm glad that my boss has a little break from her husband (he's gone to America for 2 weeks) and hopefully things will get better for her. I will also try to be a bit more understanding when she gets snappy at work, there is a lot on her plate to deal with.

On a separate note, I watched 'White Chicks' last night. I had no expectations for this movie, and I was pleasantly surprised. There were parts that were still stupid, but nothing as gross like in 'Scary Movie', and the movie was actually really funny. It cracked me up so bad, I was cackling away like a mad woman in my bedroom, I think Terrence was more amused by watching me, LOL. At one point, I was in tears from laughing too much, it really was hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was the kind of brainless entertainment that I needed. It's too tiring to be intellectual all the time, hee hee...*grin*

Well, that's it from me tonight. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, it's Friday, which means I don't have to work! Wooooo hooooo.... Hopefully it will be a nice relaxing day for me, filled with stitching, and just the occasional household chore, LOL. Her Drama-ness is going to bed now, so good night to all in blogger-land! :)

Posted by Leeny at 11:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Birthday celebrations

My cool Baskin & Robbins ice-cream cake, with some of the Oreos already pinched by me and my friends, LOL.

So, I officially turned 24 yesterday! It was a fun day, but I was tired by the end of it. I had to work Sunday night, and when I got back from work, I started cooking some of the stuff I was going to make for my party/dinner, and that went till about 3 am in the morning. I didn't wake up till 10 am, but I still felt real tired, probably cos I'm not used to sleeping that late anymore. I got to clearing the house a little bit, had to make it presentable somewhat at least, LOL.

My friends arrived, we chatted, watched a movie, with me running off at times to do the rest of the cooking and preparing all the stuff. And then it was dinner time! Everything turned out well, so I was really pleased with it. I thought I had royally stuffed up my pork ribs (my first time trying out my grandma's recipe), but it turned out alright, and my friend said it was yummy! :) They liked my sweet and sour fish (also my first time making that) too, so that was good for my ego as well, LOL.

We had the Baskin & Robbins ice-cream cake after dinner, Rocky Road flavour, specially ordered for me by my friends (thanks Susan, Miho, Nat and Nina!) and it was really good ice-cream. Terrence wasn't a fan, cos he doesnt really like chocolate and nuts, but who cares, it's MY birthday! LOL. Susan gave me a Giorgio Armani lip gloss/shimmer thingy which she hopes will come in useful when I start working, and I think it probably will, since I don't own any make-up product at all. Now to just be bothered to put on make-up when I go to work, hee hee. Miho made me a pair of earrings which is really pretty, and also a good simple accessory when I start working at HP. Terrence gave me an anime figurine (Inuyasha) cos he wanted to give me something on my birthday itself, but I can also do some online shopping for stash with his credit card. *grin* My mom also said that I could buy something for myself, which of course went straight to stitching stash!

It was a great night with friends, we just spent time together and had lots of fun. We also made plans for the next gathering and most likely, we'll be heading to the Mornington Peninsula region to check out the cherry and strawberry farms. I've been there twice already, but I really love it and happy to go again, you get to pick your own fruit, and you get the yummiest jam and other produce there. But anyways, that was how my day went, it was a great 24th birthday celebration for Her Drama-ness. I was exhausted by the end of the day, but I still had heaps of fun. I won't go on into what I did today, since it was just clean-up and me working at the restaurant. Till next time bloggers...

Posted by Leeny at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

Sunday, November 14, 2004

It's Sunday already?!

So....I've fallen behind in blogging again, oops, hee hee. *grin* Well, I had to work Thursday and Friday nights (both were really busy nights), and during the day I was clearing my list of household chores to do, and I was just really worn out. I did think of what to say in my blog in my head though, LOL. Saturday came round, I tutored my boss' kids, and then I visited a friend who recently got a puppy. The puppy's name is Cindy, and she's uh....I know Bichon Frise and crossed with something and something else, it was real long and complicated!! Anyway, Cindy is real cute, but she's a tiny dog, I had to remember to be gentle when playing with her cos she's not my Banzai! LOL. I forgot to bring a camera, so sorry folks, no pictures! Maybe next time, when Cindy gets a bit older, I will visit with Banzai and make it a playdate of sorts! :)

Well, the next big event for me around here is my birthday. I turn 24 on Monday (15 November, that's tomorrow!), not quite a quarter of a century year old yet, but getting there. Or to quote Jessica Simpson, "When I'm 25, that's like...almost mid-twenties!" WOW! Btw, that was dripping with sarcasm if nobody got it, LOL. So yeah, it's another birthday for me. I wasn't planning anything big, I already got the night off from the restaurant, and I thought it would be the usual, just spend the day with Terrence, cap it off with a nice dinner at night, and maybe have some cake at home. Since coming to Australia, I've usually just celebrated my birthday with Terrence since my family is in Singapore, except for my 21st, where I was ALL ALONE! Well, Banzai was there, but I had no humans with me! That is a whole separate story, and should deserve a blog on its own, LOL.

Anyways, this year's plans are going to be different. I was thinking of the simple dinner with Terrence, but I also wanted to do something with my friends. Most of them are heading back to their respective home countries in December, and there won't be another opportunity like this. I was debating between a dinner out somewhere, or having them come over for a home-cooked meal. I was struggling with that for a while, cos I would love them to have dinner here at my place, but the thing is, this house is not really made for entertaining. Just coming over to hang out, watch TV, that is perfectly fine, but to have dinner is another story, cos uh, I don't even have a dining table, and I don't have enough chairs either! Wahahaha....sounds sad huh? :p

Final decision was......me cooking dinner and having friends over. As pathetic as this house is, I thought it will just be nicer this way, having dinner in a restaurant just doesn't seem as personal, and probably won't be as fun. I'm going to pull out the table from the 2nd bedroom to become my temporary dining table, and either borrow some chairs from Terrence's brother, or just head to Ikea and buy more chairs. Wouldn't hurt to have some extra chairs around anyway! It's not going to be a huge party anyway, I'm only having 5 friends come over, and I still don't know if everyone is coming. So they're heading here about 2 pm, we're gonna watch some movies, chit-chat, and then end with dinner and cake! The menu that I will be preparing:

- Chinese soup

- Baked chicken wings

- Pork ribs

- Jamie Oliver mussels

- Beef stew

- Sweet and sour fish

Do you think I've got enough food?! Hee hee.... My mom thinks it's silly that the birthday girl is going to make dinner, but I really don't mind, I will treat it as the chance to show off my culinary skills! LOL.

Anyway, time to stop blogging now, Her Drama-ness needs to head to Ikea in a bid to address the chairs situation at her royal abode...

Posted by Leeny at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

What are bathing boxes for?

The colourful bathing boxes on Brighton Beach - Melbourne, Australia.

Her Drama-ness is here to blog! Now, what did I do yesterday? Nothing much happened, apart from me almost poisoning myself, LOL. I was washing dishes and there were a few flies buzzing around me, really pissing me off. So I sprayed some Mortein (fly spray) in the air, left the kitchen for a while, and went back and continued with the dishes. After a while, my tongue felt funny, and I had a weird sensation in my stomach, it could be just me over-imagining things and being paranoid, but I do think it was the fly spray that did it. It passed after a while, so it was nothing major, hee hee.

I also worked last night, it was quite busy but relatively uneventful, just the usual kind of customers, none of the "exciting" ones, LOL. There is this couple, who are regular customers, but have no restaurant etiquette whatsover. The restaurant I work at, it's by no means a high-class restaurant or anything like that, but you still gotta be relatively well-behaved. This couple gets REALLY DRUNK, and start arguing with each other at the top of their voices, with lots of people around them, and this happens every single time that they're there. The worst of their antics that I've seen is the guy pouring his glass of wine over the woman's head IN the restaurant, the lady threw a fit, the guy walked out, and everyone in the restaurant was left gawking. Yes, such high drama in a small suburban restaurant!

Today was a nice relaxing day for me. Terrence took a day off today, so we could spend time together. We didn't do anything adventurous, we stayed home and washed my car, LOL. Well, Terrence had only tested his car products on the hood of my little red car, so he wanted to do the rest of it today. This time, I joined in, and we did the wash, paint cleaner, and polish. There is a final step, a wax for the car, but by the time we finished polish, our arms hurt so much, we decided the car looked good enough, hee hee.

We did do a bit of exploring in the evening, I have always heard about the famous Brighton Beach Bathing Boxes, and wanted to have a look. We don't live that far away, probably about a 15-20 minute drive away? So we went for a cruisey car ride on the search for these bathing boxes. Well, we did find them, and they are quite cute! They look really nice on the beach all lined up in a row, as you can tell by the photo above. Btw, I didn't take the picture, it was one that I found on the web. I do wonder, what are they for though? I mean, they look nice, and it's become a cultural landmark of the area, and even for Melbourne, but what purpose do bathing boxes serve? They are really small, so it's not like you can sleep in it if you decide to camp on the beach. I read in an article that one of those bathing boxes sold for A$150,000, and as the author said, they are nothing more than "glorified sheds without tools", LOL. They are very cute, and would be an excellent backdrop for photos, but I do wonder if they have any practical use at all.

Well, I think I am done with blogging for the day. I still have not done any stitching whatsoever, I need to get out of this slump! I am off to stare at my stash and hopefully that will kick me into some stitching action...

Posted by Leeny at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

Monday, November 08, 2004

Presenting.....BANZAI! :)

This is my precious boy, Banzai! Doesn't he look comfortable?! LOL. That is supposed to be my stitching armchair but it usually ends up as his own personal nook, hee hee. Actually, everywhere is his sleeping area, the couch, my bed, he has claimed every bit of this house! The way he sleeps never fails to fascinate me, he's sooooooo cute, and I love him so. :)

A question about dogs: do they dream? I'm not an animal scientist so I wouldn't know for sure, but I think they do. Sometimes when Banzai is sleeping, he whines really loudly in his sleep, if it isn't a dream, I really dont know what is going on! I wonder if he's dreaming some other dog has stolen his treats or something, LOL. But yeah, he does that sometimes, and I have to go over and sorta hush him/wake him, and he opens his eyes in that dreamy way, and settles back into his sleep again. Any dog owners have the same experience?

Nothing much happening for me today. I did get the final package of stitching stash that I have been waiting for, so that was good. I have been in a bit of a stitching lull though, I hope things will pick up again. I just need to clear all the other things that I have to do and have been piling up, and I know I will get back to stitching again.

Oh well, I hear my washing machine beeping away, telling me laundry's done. I had better get to it, as I have to work tonight at the restaurant again as well. I hope it's going to be quiet one, it's one of those lazy Mondays for Her Drama-ness, hee hee...

Posted by Leeny at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

Sunday, November 07, 2004

Egg faces

I just can't get enough of pictures today. This has nothing to do with my super long blog, but my aunt in New York had sent this to me in an e-mail a few days ago. I don't actually know who did this, but the person's brilliant! I think it's real cute and I just wanted to share it on my blog :)

Posted by Leeny at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments

In the Little Black Box

All the organised stuff in the folder, I was very impressed!

Posted by Leeny at 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments

Little Black Box

This is my cool HP folder, LOL.

Posted by Leeny at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

Yada yada yada...

This will be a big one, as I'm gonna do a HUGE update on what has happened over the last few days, serves me right for not blogging everyday huh? Well, if people do get bored, they can click on to the next blog, or just shut me right down, so it doesn't really matter, I suppose. Alrighty then, here goes!

Update 1:

My official job offer from HP arrived nice and early Friday morning (8 am). I had tacked on a really silly note on my door the night before - "Doorbell doesn't work. Please knock on door or windows. Thank you." I was that paranoid about the courier guy just leaving, cos I know some won't just leave the parcel at the door. Hmm, I really should get that doorbell fixed. Anyway, the job offer arrived safe and sound, and it came in a really cool folder! Everything was really organised, it was so official, it felt really good to receive that! I will post pictures of the folder, it really is a cool folder, hee hee.

There were HEAPS of stuff to look through, and being the newbie that I am, I felt really overwhelmed! I have already gone through most of it, just a few more things that I need to work out, nothing major, just stuff that I need to understand. Overall, I am really pleased with the job offer, it's a good package, and remuneration was more than I expected, so it was a really pleasant bonus!

During the whole job search process, my fear was that I would never get a job, now that I've actually got one, my new fear is that I will totally screw up and suck so bad! I know with my education, I'm supposed to be prepared for my entry into the working world, but I do know there is a world of difference, and now I'm just worrying that I won't be up to it. It's like the feeling you get on the first day of school, just possibly a million times worse, LOL. I know it won't be that bad, I will get training, I will learn things on the job, but these are just things I think about, and stress about a little. Which I guess isn't that bad, since it's an indication I'm ready for the next chapter of my life hey? *grin*

During my final interview, my future boss/supervisor, had indicated if I were successful, he would have liked me to start ASAP, so that I learn the ropes and basically catch up with everyone else, and start doing my job. He had hoped that I could start in December, but however, the HR department wants all graduates to start at the same time, so I won't actually join the company until January. That's really fine by me, as I can have an extended holiday, and enjoy the last bits of me being a student/bummer before being a regular working person! LOL.

Now, not that I am a TOTAL bummer, lots of people have asked me, uh, how do you pay the bills till January? I was a full-time student, but I have been working part-time while studying the whole 5 years, I was overloading subjects (I accelerated my undergraduate degrees), I was working 4-5 nights a week at the restaurant, and when I did my Masters, I was doing both my waitressing job, and working a couple of 9-5 days a week at my university as a research assistant. I'm not trying to boast about how capable I was, but I get really annoyed when some people assume that students have it easy (especially me being an international student then), I know I don't have major worries like kids and big finances like a mortgage etc. But I still had (and still have) bills to pay, I had to juggle both studies and work, I had a home and a dog to look after, and just other little things that happen in life. Again, I understand these may not be huge issues, but don't knock us down cos we're young and JUST students. We are never JUST students, it can be real tough! Not everyone is a spoilt brat ;p So yeah, back to the main question, I have been working the whole time while hunting for a full-time job, so that's gonna continue until I start at HP. The bills ain't gonna stop coming!

Update 2:

Apart from the job offer excitement in the morning, nothing else much happened for me on Friday. I watched 'Mystic River' while doing some ironing. I thought it was a pretty good movie, I did guess the ending halfway through, but it was still a great film, gotta love the actors, they're brilliant. I saw lots of familiar faces, there is that new kid on CSI: Miami, didn't know he was in the movie; the young Sean also looks familiar, I think he may have been on an episode of Law and Order; the mute brother of the murdered girl's boyfriend also looks real familiar, can't put a finger on where I saw him before though. Oh, and Terrence got the scratch on his car fixed on Friday, the guy did a great job, and it was also a great price, it was like half the amount that other places were quoting us, so Terrence is real happy about that.

Update 3:

Saturday was another fairly slow day. I tutored my restaurant boss' kids in the afternoon (I have been doing so for the last 3 years), they were pretty good yesterday, they actually finished all their homework! After that, I came home and just cleared some things around the house. I left the house at about 6.30 pm, cos I was meeting some friends for dinner at 7 pm. Terrence didn't want to join me, he didn't want to be surrounded by all girls and feel completely bored, LOL. I did make him some pasta before I left, so he would have something to eat when he got home from work. Dinner was good, it was fairly cheap, and we were all VERY stuffed, it was good value for money! And it didn't taste bad either. After dinner, we had coffee (well, I had hot chocolate, I don't drink coffee or tea) at a cafe with CRAPPY service. Oh well, they didn't get no tip from us! At least the conversation was good, apart from the cold miserable weather. Crazy Melbourne, it's supposed to be spring!

Terrence also decided to test out his car wash and polishing stuff he got on Friday from Kmart on my little red car. He wanted to wash the hood of my car last night, at 11+ pm, LOL. So there we were, on the driveway, me holding a light for him, and he happily doing all the stuff on my car. Well, those products do work, and if it can actually make my hood look fairly shiny, then it will do wonders on his car. Just need to find a good day to actually do the work, as his car is huge compared to mine, so it's gonna take a long time!

Update 4:

Not really an update, just time for me to end, as I have gone on and on and on and on.... Well, I did say it was gonna be a big one! Nothing much happening today, except having to work at the restaurant tonight, and set the VCR to record Australian Idol. I think I really need to shut up now, if you have read all the way, I COMMEND YOU! Give yourself a pat on the back and get a kiss from the nearest human being or animal near you. Her Drama-ness bids you farewell...*royal wave*

Posted by Leeny at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments

...zZz...

This will be a short one. I haven't been keeping up with my regular blogging, had too much excitement over here (which I should have blogged about but didn't). I did learn from Terrence how to change the stuff on the right, and the tutorial will continue tomorrow. At least my blog is on its way to looking the way I want it to be, well, maybe not, but at least more personalised. Anyways, I can barely keep my eyes open, so I will end now. On to proper blogging tomorrow! Nitey night...

Posted by Leeny at 1:12 AM | Permalink | Comments

Thursday, November 04, 2004

Finally here...

I just got back from the post office, and it is almost a happy mail day for me. One of my packages arrived, it is my order from Stitching Bits and Bobs, I have been waiting for it for AGES, and it is supposedly my anniversary present (my anniversary was in September, LOL), but hey, better late than never! As long as it gets here, I won't be complaining...too much. *grin* Well, the big one in this is the chart for 'My Stitching Treasures' (by Jeannette Douglas Designs) along with the charms and threads for it. It looks REALLY elaborate, and I feel almost scared to get started. I won't be starting anytime soon anyway, I still need to get the fabric for this piece, and then get over the fact that I will be stitching over one on 32-count! *yikes* For those who know nothing about stitching, in a nutshell, this is scary stuff in the stitching world, LOL. Whenever I do get it finished, I really want to get the box, Terrence insists that he will be able to make the box, but ermm...we'll see... The box is pricey (almost US$200!!!), but I know it will be my stitching treasure, it's just simply too beautiful, and a bit of saving up will do the trick. Anyways, first of all, I've gotta get stitching on this first, then it can progress from there.

Hopefully the other package turns up soon, actually, I don't even know if it has been mailed out, but as usual, I just worry about it first. I have said before, I hate waiting for mail! I probably should learn to have more faith in Australia Post Office, mail has only gone missing once, and for that one, I don't know if it was lost or stolen. Anyhoo, Her Drama-ness is off to drool over her stitching stash, I just love adding to my collection! :)

Posted by Leeny at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

Blog in Progress

Right now, my blog is kinda in the construction phase. I have recruited my highly talented computer geek boyfriend in helping me make my blog look a bit more attractive, and a lot more personalised. Not everything is done up properly yet at the moment, so until we both sit down together, and I am completely done with everything, you'll probably see a lot of 'something' all over the blog.

Today's a slow and lazy day for me. I wanna go to the post office and see if any packages have come in for me (I'm expecting 2 and I have been waiting for a loooooong time), but I don't want to just pop in for no reason, like as though I'm so desperate for these parcels. Actually, I am desperate (and a bit panicky), both have stitchy stuff in it, and I WANT MY STASH! One of it was supposed to be an anniversary present for me, and my anniversary was way back in September, what is going on here? I hate waiting for mail, I am so paranoid about lost mail, and it would really really suck if it did happen with these 2 particular parcels I'm waiting for. I probably should go soon, since I need to leave at 4 pm for work at the restaurnat.

My current mood is curious, because I got a call from a HR person at Hewlett-Packard today. The job offer is being couriered out to me today from Sydney, and I was told to expect it to arrive tomorrow morning. I'm curious, cos I'm wondering what an official job offer will be like, and not that I am being absolutely $$$-faced, but also about other important stuff like what my pay will be, when do I start etc... I know, it sounds really pathetic that I don't actually know what the salary is since I should have asked during the interviews, but I really didn't have time to ask those kind of questions, I was the one being grilled all the time, and whatever little opportunity that I got to throw back some questions, I thought it would probably look better for me to find out more about the job role. I am quite a newbie at job interviews (HP was pretty much my first one!), if I were more experienced, I would probably know how to work in the question somewhere, but I didn't, so I still dont have a clue until the official job offer comes in. I don't think it will be bad, and I'm not greedy, if it's market rate, I'll be more than happy, it's just nice to know, I guess.

Ok, I think I'll go to the post office now, I hope today will become a happy mail day for me. It's supposed to be spring, but it feels like bloody winter today, I am so cold! If I get my stitching stash, Her Drama-ness will be very happy, and this weather will not bother me one bit. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Posted by Leeny at 1:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

1998 Mitsubishi Magna Sports TF

This is Terrence's pretty car, minus the scratch, LOL.

Posted by Leeny at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments

Melbourne Cup Day

Ok, before I get on to regular blogging, let me first commend my wonderful bf, Terrence, cos he complained about me "conveniently" forgetting his role during my final interview at HP. *grin* I didn't forget about him, I really appreciate what he did for me, just that the final result kinda just took precedence over everything, hee hee. Anyways, this is what he did. My interview was at 9 am in the city, I knew traffic would already be disgusting, I didn't want to struggle with finding parking on top of that (I didn't want to walk into the building all flustered and frustrated), so my darling bf not only offered to drive me there but also to wait for me until my interview was done. Now, I had been told that the interview would probably take about half an hour to 1 hour, but instead it took almost 2 hours, and poor Terrence was waiting that long for me. So yes, he was very very sweet, and I love him for it, and even though he was probably going nuts while waiting for me, he was still very patient, and that's why he got big hugs and kisses :)

Now on with the program! Today is Melbourne Cup Day, which means everything comes to a standstill here and all attention is on horses. These are some things about Australia that I just never get, I don't understand the fascination with Spring Racing and all the fancy schmancy attires that go with it; I don't dig footy either (Australian football), I think it's a crazy game; and I don't get Vegemite (YUCK!), how does anyone eat that stuff?! I know it's probably cos I haven't grown up with the culture here, but it never fails to fascinate me how people can be so obssessed with these things. Well, being Melbourne Cup Day, nothing is open, which is fine by me, cos I have a lot of chores to catch up with. I didn't get to do much housework while my family was here as I pretty much crash in bed once I get home.

The other thing that I probably will be doing is just driving around and checking out locations for body repairers cos Terrence is going absolutely bonkers over this little scratch on his new car. Well, he got it about a month ago, and it's not exactly new either, it's a 6-year-old Mitsubishi Magna which he got for 2nd-hand, but it was a really good deal, and I do think it's a good car. Definitely much better than my little 12-year-old red 0.7 litre (WHAT THE?!) Daihatsu Mira, but hey, I still love my little car, it gets me from point A to point B, and it is just sooooooo great for parking, especially when squeezing into tight spaces. But back to Terrence's car, he got the scratch on Sunday, and he has been just fussing over it and I think he won't stop until he gets it fixed. And they say that women are whiners, you should see Terrence and his car! :p

Ok, I think I've blogged quite a bit today, I probably will be back soon, I wanna put up some pictures on my blog, it looks so bare and boring! I also want to try to do it up like Debbi's (Debbi, if you are reading this, please help me!!), I love that mood icon thingy she has on her page, and all of that interesting stuff. I'm the newbie, gotta learn from the experts! Alrighty, Her Drama-ness will sign off for now, ta-ta!

Posted by Leeny at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments

Her Drama-ness

A blog where Her Drama-ness reigns over nonsense and generally useless thoughts, but may possibly provide the rare gem of wisdom.