A Welcoming Morning

29 March, Thursday
This is what greeted me this morning, and I had to capture it... view from my balcony!










An indeed welcoming change from a shitty day...
But it just have to be ruined again with my FIRST tennis lesson being cancelled due to rain! Damn, it wasn't raining for awhile and it just had to rain on the day when I am supposed to be playing tennis! Sucks.... devastated and cannot believe how bad my luck can get, I went to the gym instead, to work those calories off!

A Sad Day

28 March, Wednesday
It was only the beginning of Wed and my day was ruined... after Federer lost a second time to Canas, in the 4th round of the Sony Ericson's Open. I was glued to the TV when the match started at around 6am (Sydney time)... signed on to my wireless and was watching the match live in the car while catching a ride from Gavin Savage to our dealer, EPSA. The match was so exciting that I actually lost my appetite (as usual with an Federer's match)... and he had to just ruined it by not at his best and lost his chance to the Quarter Final. Damn, I was SAD, and after watching his interview on ATP website, I felt worst, cause he was really disappointed. I hope this will not affect his confidence in the coming Clay court season. Monte Carlo being next...

So, to add on to this terrible news, I was actually disappointed with my dealer for a reason (not to be revealed), and left the airport in a cab to catch my flight back to Melbourne.
Had to deal with the usual Rental Car process, but it paid off with a light metallic blue Toyata Camry! new model... putting aside my worry of how that will fit into my tiny car park space! Hack, I like the colour and I like the design. Was glad that I rejected the Elantra they originally assigned me. Picture later...

Jam, jam jam, and took me close to an hour (usual 30mins) to get home and by then, there is just not much I can do then to have some sandwich (yes, egg and ham) for dinner!
That's it... another not quite happy day, with Federer's lost being the highlight! Hee... I am obsess.

明天会更好！

Sydney - It's ALL coming back to me!

27 March, Tuesday
1hr 20mins from Melbourne to Sydney, the morning flight, QF441 served breakfast, and before I realised, we are already descending! For a monring 8am flight, I was lucky that I do not have to check in and only arrived at the airport (after returning my cool Subaru which I contemplated for quite a while) just 40 mins before departure time! The beauty of Domestic flight without any check-in baggage.
Dealer personnel came to pick me up and we were well on our 45mins journey to see a customer. 2 "mega" Power Generation Plants...
They memories of my past experience and encounter in Sydney start coming back when I got back to the city later that afternoon. Hotel room, Hyde Park (the starting point of City to Surf Run I took part in 2005), shopping, harbour view, botanic garden, and etc. I just love Sydney for it's LIFE! Just different from Melbourne.... Melbourne is like a "rural" city, definitely not as sophisticated as Sydney.
Reunite, kind of, with a friend from Aikido who has moved to Sydney a few months back... Y T Chen, Tumy and Morgan of course. Somehow, I am so delighted to see real "friends"! Seriously, it has been awhile, being able to really share and just be myself, and comfortable in their presence. Ha, Da Chang Jing for a korean bbq dinner and visited their townhouse. The area in Sydney is just wonderful (put aside the traffic that comes with every developed city)... it was a nice change just being with real "friends"!

The Value of Honesty - Really Impressive

Monday, 26 March 2007
This incident is just incredible (in my opinion), something I believe will NEVER happen in Singapore. I bet my head on it...
A friend of a new colleague (Dee) I met is kind enough to play tennis with me - we played singles! My FIRST tennis game in Melbourne since I arrived, in Monash University, Clayton. A good start indeed. The environment just suits me so well, full of life, youngsters and most importantly, activities!
Unfortunately, I was late for my first game and my first meeting with Nick due to the terrible traffic conditions, partly a result of the closure of Burnley Tunnel (after terrible accident), and also peak hours traffic towards the Eastern suburb! It took me about 1hr 20mins from Tullamarine to Monash, along Princess Highway. My first taste of the traffic condition. Underestimated the time, and upon arrival, I rushed to get change and etc... trying to minimise lost time. Had a good hit (no perspiration...) in 16 degree condition. Played non-stop for close to 90mins... enjoyed and most importantly, I was glad that he took the time to hit with me.
It was not until we parted, did I realise that my mobile phone has gone MISSING! Gosh, my heart almost stopped beating...company phone with all the key contacts were lost and I was scheduled to fly to Sydney on an early 8am flight! I almost lose my mind, as I know I may not get it back. But held my composure and traced all the way back to the changing room. I was almost certain I left it there while rushing. In desperation, I asked the counter hoping and praying that some honest people would pick it up and return to the Lost & Found counter... guess the BEST part was the reply I received.
The guy on duty went over to one corner, picked up a phone after verifying the model and said: "We were waiting for you to call to return it to you...." Lucky, lucky, lucky. Honesty! Gosh, I was so thankful to whoever returned that to the counter. I bet that will NEVER happen in Singapore. Never... it will be gone in minutes! So if you are reading this and ever pick a phone in future, PLEASE call the owner and return it, the phone may mean a lot to the owner, and I bet you'll feel so good, knowing that you have done a real good deed.
I drove back still in disbelief that there are some honest people in Australia and the fact that I was really so lucky... thank goodness. A Good Lesson learned Indeed, and that DID change my impression of Australians!

Weather in Melbourne - An Interesting Encounter

Just needed to blog this experience I had in Melbourne for the first time (not quite)... which is very interesting - It's WEATHER!
It was a fine Thursday, when I arrived in Melbourne from Auckland and was pleasantly surprise by the weather! It was 38 degree, and stayed at about 26 degree during the night, and this is really the first time that it was above 25 deg in the evenings since I was here! Didn't actually like it. Friday morning came... like the night before the morning was HOT, and I mean really HOT, from my apartment , the big display showed 37 degree. Not as bad as in January, but it is supposed to be Autumn now... and u wonder what one can expect when winter come. A much welcome "thunderstorm" (not as bad as those in Singapore) strike in the early evening, bringing the temperature down to the a good 12 deg! Welcome to Melbourne!
Autumn is finally felt with the temperature floating below 20 throughout Saturday, 16 deg in the morning and throughout the afternoon and a good old 11 deg in the evening! How am I supposed to get use to this and prepare for my marathon in October (Spring)? Don't want to think about it until my shipment arrive... but it is definitely going to be an interesting change and experience and I wonder how my body will react when I run in the Hot and Humid Singapore again later this year.

Back In Action!

22 March, 2007...
A very tiring and stressful day. Left Auckland around 6am to catch a 7.40am flight back to my new home, Melbourne. A good start, NZ123 was my flight. Impressed with the Premium Check-In counter of Air New Zealand, an indeed One-stop shop (check-in, departure tax payment & express immigration), all without hassles and very fast indeed! The flight wasn't fantastic, but it's a NEW Boeing 777-200ER, with individual screen and movie on demand in Economy class. Managed to finish the movie "Breaking & Entering" starring Jude Law. Remember watching him in a movie with Cameron Diaz, he is just so charming! Not a bad movie after all, reflecting the world full of Love and Compassion, which can really change a person's behaviour.
The real pain starts when I arrived Melbourne. Gosh, all the rental cars were OUT, but managed to reserve one from Europcar, though not our Corporate Rental company, in desperation, I accepted it. Beggars can't be chosers really. After waited for about 20mins, I was pleasantly surprise to get a 2.0L Subaru Impreza! Hahahaha...really happy, cause it is a car where I can managed (physically), yet powerful, and most importantly, looks COOL! Really hated Avis' cars, sigh... wish we could rent from other car company. Anyway, my day just began when I arrived at the office (packing my lunch from the food court). Calls, discussion, & emails follows....one after another.
Ta Bao a simple dinner back to the office as well and rushed back for a teleconference at 11pm. And here I am at 1.25am on a Friday morning, rather updating my blog then going for a good night sleep. Realized somehow, I am really addicted to updating my blog, even at the expense of my sleep and at times my work!

A real "fine" Sunday in Christchurch...

My first business trip to NZ in my new role. Arriving at Christchurch reminded me a great deal of my vacation here with Siok Teng, Siok Kwan and Siew Mun back in 2000. Those were just great time we had in South Island.
Woke up this Sunday morning and realised just how ignorance I have been... I believe I brought the wrong clothing... it's 17 deg and well, I don't even have a jacket or overcoat with me! Headed down for my breakfast and checked with the porter. Apparently, they had a pretty cold summer this year, besides, it's now autumn...there's nothing I can do except hoping that it'll be better when the sun is out.

Went for a half-day vineyard tour with my "boss". Yes, my boss... and it was absolutely enjoyable. The journey to Waipara from Christchurch took about 45 mins and we had a wonderful lunch at Waipara Springs vineyard. The weather was just fantastic and the surrounding were just superb! A kind of afternoon noon I've always wanted, it would be wonderful to spend a lazy afternoon with some close friends! Will that ever happen? Well...
Visited some 3 more vineyards in the area and tasted close to 27 types of wine. I ended up buying 5 bottles to stock-up as gift or for my own enjoyment. The last being Pegasus Bay... another tastefully decorated place. Had a cuppa nice Long Black to end the tour! How more can you spent a lazy Sunday afternoon?

All good things have to end. Back to reality and ready for another week of customers call and dealer visits...in Christchurch and Auckland. More later...

Time? Where have they gone?

Too much to update, too little time...

Will try to post my Relocation experiences, please check back regularly, I will have them up soon. Till then, have loads of fun!

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