Warning Call

I have finally brought my ticket for my trip back home to Perth. I actually only got the single trip ticket, as I figured it would probably hurt a lot less if I paid for my ticket in two separate transactions than if I just brought a return ticket and had to paid for it all at once.

I know.. It's all in the mind.

But it makes me feel better.. ok ? Atleast it doesn't feel like I've created a financial hole in my credit card.

I just hope that there are still tickets back to Sydney when I try to buy one later on. I know that secretly inside me, I'm hoping that either Qantas or VirginBlue will do a last minute special. But the remote posibility of that happening is just like waiting for a miracle to happen.

Hey.. who says miracles don't happen ?! You have to be a bit optimistic.

Anyway, in preparation for my trip back home, I gave a warning call to my three closest drinking buddies back home. Funny thing was that when one of them picked up the phone, he just said:

Ok.. where tonight ?!

Me: What 'where tonight' ? I'm still in Sydney...

Drinking Buddy : Really ? Still in Sydney ? I thought you are calling from the airport here. That's what you did the last time you were back. You gave me like 10 minutes to get dressed and meet you in Dreamland !

Me: Well... I decided to give you guys some warning this time ok ? ...*pause*... To stock up on the Panadols... hehe..

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I'm flying back on the 21st of December back to Perth ... Home sweet home.... :)

Countdown : 21 days to go....

Beer Goggle Effect

Finally, someone has actually bothered to have gone and worked out the scientific equation behind the beer goggles effect. The Beer Goggles Effect is the terminology used to describe people who suddenly (due to the influence of some substances) find another person increasingly attractive. This famous ideology is used to reference the instances when a person finds another person sexually attractive, even when that person is by no means appealing. When this happens, that person is usually in for the shock of their lives when they wake up the morning after, in bed, with the supposingly sexy looking person.

"The beer goggles effect isn't solely dependent on how much alcohol a person consumes, there are other influencing factors at play too," said Professor Nathan Efron, Professor of Clinical Optometry at the University of Manchester. Amazingly, scientists now believe you don't even need to have had an alcoholic drink to suffer from the beer goggles effect.

"The formula shows for example, that a person with poor vision who's talking to someone in a very smoky bar will be experiencing a beer goggles effect close to someone who has consumed eight pints in a smoke-free and well-lit room."

The formula can work out a final score to measure the effect:

• A score of less than 1 means no beer goggle effect - an ugly person remains ugly.
  
• A score of 1-50 means a slight beer goggle effect - making a person you would normally find very unattractive slightly less "visually offensive".
  
• A moderate beer goggle effect is indicated by a score of between 50-100 - a person who is by no means appealing becomes suddenly sexually attractive.
  
• A score of more than 100 indicates a severe beer goggle effect - the "fugly" you were talking to an hour ago now looks like Kylie Minogue or George Clooney.

For example, someone with normal vision who has drunk five pints of beer and see someone 1.5 metres away in a fairly smoky and poorly lit room will score 55, which means that they would suffer from a moderate beer goggle effect.

Increasing beer consumption to eight pints (2.8 litres) increases that score of 140, leading to a severe beer goggle effect.

Therefore, I would say that the outcome of this scientific experiment would conclude that a person should not consume more than 5 pints of beer to be under the "legal limit" for Beer goggles effect.

Interesting thought, as I met Pete at a night club on a very smoky dance floor with poor lighting and having consumed about 6 bottles of beer (usual start to the night). So what does that say about us ? Could I be still under the beer goggle effect (from all the previous excessive drinking expeditions ?!)

gosh.. I think I should try to stop drinking for about a month and see what happens.. :)

Draw Your Own House

Based on your drawing and the 10 answers you gave this is a summary of your personality:

Your house tells the world that you ought to be a leader.
You are a freedom lover and a strong person.
You love your house and family.
You are a gifted artist as well.
Once you have a problem, you need a friend with you.
Your life is always full of changes.
You are very tidy person............ ?!?
There's nothing wrong with that because you're pretty popular among friends.

Your life is always full of changes.
You will avoid being alone and seek the company of others whenever possible.

You love excitement and create it wherever you go.

You see the world as it is, not as you believe it should be.

You added a flower into your drawing. The flower signifies that you long for love. It also safe to say that others don't see you as a flirt. You don't think much about yourself.

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As I was reading through that list of personalities & qualities, some of it I agree with and some of it I would hope to be true. Especially the bit about "You are very tidy person". Anyone who knows me personally would know that this is not true.

Back when I was in high school - my room was famously known as the room where you could not see one patch of carpet big enough to step on. Meaning that it was all covered by 'something'. My room was messy but not dirty.

I was also famously known within my family as the one who escaped being burgled. We came home rather late one night and as we stepped into the front door, it was obvious that we had been burgled. Everything was everywhere. We were also missing all of my dad's prized bottles of Cognac and XO. Everyone of us each ran into our own rooms to check what we were missing. Evidently, it turned out to be that I was the only one that did not have anything stolen.

Reason ? Quote from my lovely mummy:

"Ah-Mui..When the burglers got to your room, they must of thought someone else must have broken in before them... so messy.. cannot even step inside... !"

Oh well.. atleast I didn't lose any of my prized possessions ...

Click here to draw your own house

Billy Kwong's

Last night Pete took me to dinner at Billy Kwong. Yes, the famous Sydney restaurant from Kylie Kwong. Pete had been raving on about the house speciality Crispy Duck and Beef Brisket ever since I had met him. I have always been convinced that I could probably find the same quality of food from Billy Kwong served at some Chinese restaurant in Chinatown for about 1/2 the price. So I had always refused to go there.

But since Pete is paying.... why not ?!

The restaurant itself is actually pretty small. The miniature tables and stools make the place seem very cramped. Which actually made it quite hard for everything to fit on the table. As usual with fine dinning places the dishes the food gets served on is about twice the size of the portion of food. Therefore, the two person table we were sitting on was barely able to hold the teapot, tea cups, bowls and bone plate settings. And the food was yet to arrive.

The waitress that was serving us managed to accidentally drop and break one of the serving plates she was handing out. So it seemed hardly surprising that we heard someone drop some plate or chopstick every two to three minutes. Although all of this, kinda added to the fast moving atmosphere of the restaurant.

Just to satisfy Pete, we ordered the famous Crispy Skin Duck with Blood Plum sauce and the Beef Brisket (Wagyu Beef). Yes, Wagyu beef brisket. The Crispy Duck was a bit too much on the sweet side, but the beef brisket was good. I personally think anything made from Wagyu beef would be good. You can't really go wrong with that type of high grade beef. I mean, it would have taste great raw!

We also ordered the stir fried mixed mushrooms. But due to the size of our table, they did not bring out the mushrooms until we had finished off one of the dishes. So by the time they did, we were 3/4 full already.

Setting itself to be a Chinese eating house, Billy Kwong missed out on a very important detail. That is to keep their patron's teapot full. We had the lid off our teapot for the majority of the time. But the staff there failed to notice this little Chinese custom.

Overall, the food was pretty good. But I still think I could have found something of a similar quality in Chinatown. And yes, at 1/2 the price as well.

Too Slow

My internet has been capped to 56k. Again. *sob ...

It's 7pm on a Sunday. And I need my weekly dosage of World of Warcraft.

Desperately.

It is more than slow. It is painstakingly slow. Just what am I supposed to do from now until bedtime ?

It is only the 20th of the month. Which means I will have to endure this modem-like speed internet connection until the end of the month.

GGrrrr...

If I wasn't so lazy I would hit the Internet cafe about now. But after our badminton (now a regular weekly) session, the last thing I want to do at the moment, is to drag my butt out of my room.

I really really need to detox over an online gaming session of Warcraft.

Go Aussies ~!

After more than 30 years, the Socceroos have finally qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany!!

Woohoo ~~!

It must of been the most nerve-racking Soccer game I've seen in a long while. Especially since the Socceroos had to beat Uruguay by two goals to make it to the World Cup. The Socceroos lead by 1-0 at the 90 minute mark. The match went into extra time, and then going into the dreaded penalty shootout. In the end, the Socceroos defeated Uruguay 4-2 in the penalty shootout.

Man of the moment must have been the Goalie (Mark Schwarzer) who made two historic saves.

I must say though, there are some dirty players in the Uruguay team. The classic moment was when one of the Uruguay players was rolling around on the ground in pain (faking it) and the cameras caught him peering through his hands to check if he scored a penalty kick.

My hands are all red now - I think I was slamming them down on the wooden table at the pub a bit too much. My voice is also hoarse from all the screaming. In the end, the whole pub erupted in-line with the whole Telstra Stadium as Socceroos substitute John Aloisi netted the winning kick.

Must go get Socceroos jersey !!!

Fire Warden Training

I had to get to the office before 9am today for Fire Warden training. (I don't usually have to turn up to work until about 9.30am). As I spend the majority of my time at work stuck in a comms room, therefore Fire Warden training was pretty much compulsory. Since only a limited number of people actually had access into the data center, all the people that worked in there had to go for the Fire Warden and Fire Extinguisher training. Meaning that there was no way I could actually get out of it.

I didn't actually know there were that many different types of fire extinguishers. We were told of 6 different types (each marked with a different coloured band). There were ones which are to be used for only electrical fires, flammable liquids but not cooking oils and fats. (I wonder what happens if you do). Another one which are specified for rubbish\paper and cooking oils fires but not for flammable or electrical fires.

In the case of a fire, wouldn't you just pick up the fire extinguisher that was closest to you and just use it ?! And not worry about whether or not it is for the correct type of fire ??

Luckily there were ones which are just for 'General Purpose' usage. Meaning you could use them for almost anything. Which in my opinion, kinda makes the other ones redundant.

But anyway, for those who want to know, these are the ones marked with a Black or White band.

Fire warden training turned out to be quite fun. Especially when we actually get to play with the Carbon dioxide fire extinguisher. Its quite loud and creates a big puff of smoke. Along with splatters of dry ice. Nice thing to play with on such a hot day.

Actually, it would be great to use as a quick beer stubbies cooler on Friday afternoons!

The only problem with the training was that we actually had to go through with the whole procedure of actually evacuating the whole floor. Not really much of a problem...

Except for the tiny little fact that I work on the 43rd floor !!!

Being assertive (as the trainer put it) and getting people to evacuate the floor wasn't such a problem.

But the climb down from lvl 43 to ground floor certainly was.

I think I now have a valid reason to skip gym for the rest of the month...

First Kiss

My buddy and I were chatting in the car on the way back home today, and for some reason, the topic of 'My First Kiss' suddenly surfaced. For curiosity's sake, I popped the question at Pete.

His reply was ...

"I can't remember"

"uh? why not ?"

"Ask any other guy about their first kiss.. I bet you they won't remember.."

Is that really true with all guys ?!

I can remember my first kiss.

Well, if you don't count the small-peck-on-your-cheek ones or the sweet-kiss-on-your-forehead type. I mean the real kisses where you and him, for a moment, share and breathe in the same air.

Not only can I remember who it was with. I can remember where it happened and how it happened. I can still remember the boy's full name and what he looked like. Well, vaguely what he did look like. I'm not sure where he is now. Most probably back in Hokkaido. Yes, he is Japanese.

So why woud girls be able to remember all their first times ?

Or do all guys just suffer from a genetic disorder which inhibits the growth of the temporal lobes in their brain, so that their long-term (or for some cases) short-term memory has been severely diminished ?!

I hope my cute Japanese guy still remembers me

Too Ex

My airticket back to Perth at the end of this year is going to cost me an arm and a leg. So far the cheapest I can find is $455 - One Way.

Pete actually suggested driving back to Perth in his Jeep. I'm seriously contemplating the offer now. Although I really doubt I can imagine myself to be stuck for 4 days in his Jeep. Even after an hour in his Jeep, I feel like my breakfast is already starting to come back up. Apparently, according to Pete.. "It's just the way the Jeep is built". Who in their right minds would build a car that bounces over the slightest little bump in the road ?!

4 days of continuous bumpy ride.. humm..it could actually be a very good way to lose weight..

No. I have got to stop thinking about that option

My mummy and my grandma got all excited when they heard I was going to fly back for christmas. I doubt there is anyway I can get out of it now.

Dammit

I already feel broke, and I haven't even brought the airticket yet.

Pain

I'm one of those people who have a gym membership but would probably only make it to the gym once in a blue moon.

So after much persuasion from housemate A and Pete, I decided to join my housemates and our group of friends for a badminton session yesterday.

Bad move. I should of stayed at home and played world of warcraft for the whole day.

The Badminton session turned out to be a very strenuous cardiovascular workout. (For me anyway). By the end of the 1 1/2 hour session, I was sweating (like a pig) and puffing (like a smoker with bad lungs). And I don't even smoke !

By the time we finished lunch and got home, I fell asleep on the sofa before even making it into my bathroom to take a shower.

My body feels a lot worse today than it did yesterday.

Like someone just threw me against a brick wall.

My neck is pain. Arm is pain (moving it is out of the question). Shoulder is pain. Legs... I don't even want to talk about it.

The whole freaking right handside of my body is @#$* in pain...

70/30 ?

How Boyish or Girlish Are You...?

You Are 70% Boyish and 30% Girlish

You are pretty evenly split down the middle - a total eunuch. Okay, kidding about the eunuch part. But you do get along with both sexes. You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them. You're just you. You don't try to be what people expect you to be.

How Boyish or Girlish Are You?

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Another fun little personality test from BlogThings. I think I was more interested in the outcome of this test, simply because it had something to do with my nickname given to me by my drinking buddy.
My nickname amongst my group of drinking buddies in Perth is derived from a boy\girl personality ratio.

95/5

95/5 = 95% Boyish and 5% Girlish

I never had the chance to ask them what the 5% was..

Morning Call

I've been wanting to give my drinking buddy back in Perth a call to check up on how she is for the past month. But after I reach home, the last thing on my mind is to hunt for my mobile and actually sit down and give her a call.

So I gave her a morning call instead.

Morning call at 9am (my time), which is 6am (her time). It's moments like these that I love daylight saving.

Regardless to say - she was still in bed. I chatted with her and managed to get her fully awake before my train reached the tunnel and lost connection.

I only had to say 'Wei' (meaning 'hi' in chinese) and she knew it was me already. When I asked her how did she know it was me (as I had deliberately used my work mobile so that she wouldn't recognise my caller ID), she replied :

'Even though after all these years, nobody else is crazy enough to give me morning calls - its only you..'

Opps.. :P

I used to remember we would go drinking all night and get home about 5am in the morning. But then for some obscure reason I could only ever sleep for about 3 hours. So I would wake up early in the morning and as I was bored and still slightly hyper, I would call everyone else who went out with me that night and pester everyone of them until they would wake up and meet me for breakfast.

I would happily get out of bed and take a shower, but by the time I go back to my room to get changed, my bed would look unusually appealing - so breakfast usually becomes brunch.

For those several years, my morning calls became a tradition.

Ah...

Those were the times...

Melbourne Cup

We finally made it to the TAB counter after about an hour of queuing up in Martin Place.

After leaving the counter with $37 dollars less in my pocket - I realised I had placed my bets on the wrong horse.

Duh !

I had mistakenly put down the horse's Gate number instead of the Horse Number.

*sigh..

So my original picks of (1), (2) & (7) became - > (14), (24) & (5)

Can someone tell me what the odds for (14), (24) & (5) are ?!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Your Personality Profile

You are elegant, withdrawn, and brilliant. Your mind is a weapon, able to solve any puzzle. You are also great at poking holes in arguments and common beliefs. For you, comfort and calm are very important. You tend to thrive on your own and shrug off most affection. You prefer to protect your emotions and stay strong.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

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I actually think about 90% of it is true for me. Try it for yourself