Home Sweet Home

It's official! We have already moved into our new house. We may have the house, but we don't have the stuff yet. So, the house's very empty and spacious for Debbie and I to run around in. We have seen our backyard. It's big and beautiful. You may have heard, we do have a lemon tree. However, we're not going to eat the lemons as we're not that sure if the lemons we pick are fresh. Besides that, there are many varieties of plants. Mum's going to do a lot of gardening! We've also seen our rooms. Debbie and I are quite contented with our rooms. The choice between which room to take was easy as one of the rooms is painted pink! Hehe...

As our things have not arrived, we are temporarily not able to do what normal people do. We hang our clothes around the house; we sit on stools eating food on our laps; we don't use tables at all, etc. In fact, the laptop I'm using is supported by the floor! Oh well... This is what we have to do if we want to continue to stay here...

Will post pictures of our new house once we are have settled in... Be patient!

Roger Federer, The Champion

Yes! Roger Federer still manages to continue his winning streak. I must admit I was a little nervous as I knew Fernando Gonzalez would come out strong. However, when he won the first 2 sets (7-6 6-4), I knew he was going to win. There were many nice shots during the match. Also, it wasn't as boring as the match played by Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova in the Women's Finals.

After an estimated 2 hr and 30 min, the match was finally over. Roger Federer was the Men's Champion at the Australian Open! I was very happy and also excited for him... It was truly an epic event for me. Wish I could one day sit in the stadium and watch him play...

Take A Hike...(Not Literally)

Just 2 days after the fishing trip, we went hiking. We set off at 9:00 am and were expected to return home before lunch. We were told that we were going to climb 1000 steps up the mountain, some steep and some gradual. This mountain would be known as Dandenong Mountain.

At first, we walked up a slope. Then, we got to the steps. While walking up, we rested several times. When we reached an estimated 200th step, Debbie decided that she couldn't climb anymore. She felt extremely tired and needed to go back down to rest. Dad followed her back but my uncle, auntie and I continued. Halfway, I started to sweat a little. My legs were feeling wobbly then. With much determination, I finally reached the top!

Now that we have finally reached the top, we had to make our way back down. It was a slow but smooth walk down the slope. While walking, my uncle and I chatted about movies. When we reached ground level, we saw our father taking pictures of the scenery (to be expected). Debbie was feeling much better.

Some of you may be asking "I didn't know you liked doing such things?" Well, I do it because the weather is perfect for hiking. If it were to be in Singapore, I would forget about hiking!

My First Fishing Trip

The journey started at 8:45 am. Debbie and I sat at the back of the car and the parents, in front. We were going fishing for trout at a place called Ballarat. For all of you out there, you may not know what it is, but it's extremely far away from where we're living. Ballarat is a beautiful place. It's just like any countryside, only that you don't see many cowboys riding horses shouting "Yeehah!". However, we did see a lot of farm animals along the way there. There were sheep, horses, cows, etc. The car ride took 3 hrs! You can believe how restless and bored we were in the car. What's worse, the weather wasn't as cooling as we thought it would be.

Finally, early in the afternoon, we reached our destination. We were told that it was $28 per person. We paid them, took the fishing rods and nets, took our bait (corn!) and we were off to the pond. The boss came out and taught us how to use the rod as it was our first time fishing. He seemed like an expert! At first, he taught Dad, then he taught us one by one. Debbie was the first one to reel a fish in, followed by Mum, then me. Mum's trout was huge. Hers was the biggest one yet compared to what we caught. All in all, Debbie caught 5 fish, Mum caught 2 and I caught 3. Not bad for a beginner!

This is the interesting part. They were going to cook the trout for us on the spot. It was going to be our lunch! Seems like all our hardwork were paid off, immediately! The trout was delicious. I ate it ASAP once it touched my fork and knife. We also had bread, salad, potato with butter topping and potato wedges. Mmmmm....... Delicious!!!

During dinner, we overheard the boss of that place talking to a guy about feeding the sheep milk. Subsequently, we enquired if we could feed it as well. He was extremely fine with the idea and gave us the bottle of warm milk. Surprisingly, it came as a wine bottle with a nozzle on top. After dinner, we went to feed the sheep, Arista!

Upon reaching there, Arista did not make us feel welcomed. When a person got near him, he ran away. However, once he saw the bottle of milk in Debbie's hands, he went towards her and sucked on the nozzle. I patted him as he was being fed. It was the first time I ever got close to a sheep! Within minutes, the bottle of milk became empty. Then, it walked away, without even a thank you! Wait, he did. He left us a pile of droppings while we were going out... Hehe...



Alas, it was time to go back home. It was another tiring, boring 3 hr drive back home. However, it was worth it as I had so much fun. Also, it was my first fishing trip and I'll never forget it...really...

The Interview (Part 2)

I am going to study in Glen Waverley Secondary College! However, I will be going to Year 9 (Sec 3). It seems that there's not many available seats left in Year 8. But the vice-principal believes that I will be able to cope with it. He also told us that this type of thing is common here. Praise the Lord anyway! My family and relatives here are extremely happy for me. This is definitely good news for all of us here. The other day was so terrible. I was nervous and anxious, not knowing what to expect. I couldn't even sleep at night. I kept thinking of the next day. Questions filled my mind like "What if I'm not going there? Which school am I going to?" or "Will the vice-principal like me?". It was bad...

Let me tell you what went on during the interview. The part where he told us that I was going to be enrolled into the school.

VP : Nicholas, everything seems good here. I'm quite comfortable with your results. It also says here from your report book that you like to learn. That's a plus.

Me : Thank you!

VP : Ok, I just want to tell you a few things before I get on with the serious stuff. When you come here in Glen Waverley Secondary College, you tend to find that there are differences. You may find that the system, the way teachers teach and people may be different from Singapore. It's not all about academic results. We also want our students to excel in social aspects. It's extremely important that you are able to adapt well. However, with your academic results, I am sure you'll be able to cope.

Me : Ok, I'll try my best.

VP : Regarding your enrollment here, it's not our policy to process any application before the pupil actually lives in the school zone. However, I'm making this an exception with the assumption there's no major hiccups. We just need you to provide us with your first utility bill just to be consistent with our policy.

Family : Thank you, thank you...(in Singlish)

That's about it. I'll start school on 1 Feb. Thanks for all of your prayers. It really helped me a lot! Not a prayer goes unappreciated...(I feel I'm making a speech at the Oscars)...Hehe...

Appreciate Them While You Can

Me : What's that smell? It's quite familiar.

Mum : It's curry! You mean you've forgotten the smell of curry?!

Have I really forgotten the smell of sweet sweet curry? Is it possible that I have spent 3 weeks here in Australia and I have already forgotten the distinctive smell of curry? Maybe. However, does this mean that some of the local food I have once tasted is now erased from my memory? Unlikely. Local food is definitely my favourite type of food. I wouldn't want to forget about them. I guess I should have appreciated them while I was in Singapore. Oh my! I'm getting hungry...

The interview is tomorrow. Wish me all the best, you guys! I'll update you on what happened at the interview tomorrow.

The Interview

I just received news about my registration into the Glen Waverley Secondary College. My parents were told that there's no guarantee that I would get a place into the school as it is quite full now. However, the vice-principal would interview me this Thursday to see if they want me in the school or not. After hearing this, I felt nervous straight away. I mean, being interviewed is not my forte. I can get quite jittery sometimes. Mum and Dad told me not to worry as they just want to see if I'm able to blend in. But I don't think it's that simple. I'm sure they want to know if I am fluent and chatty, which I'm not. Sigh... This reminds me of naniecheng's job interview. It must have been quite scary for the first few times, right? Well, your prayers are greatly appreciated. I need His strength and grace to help me through...

Various

The sky was overcast this morning but now it's just windy. Dad and Debbie are off to the lake to feed the ducks again; it's been a while since they last visited them. Dad obviously has another motive in mind - to take more pictures (you can expect to see more pictures in his blog). The other day, he even suggested to us that we should hang his pictures on the walls in our house. Good thing our rented house doesn't allow us to stick any nails on the wall. Maybe we should suggest to him that he hang his pictures on gonggong and mama's house (subject to their approval, of course).

That's all for today..... Nothing much happening so I guess I'll stay home to watch a VCD, starring Jackie Chan, which my auntie bought from Singapore: Rob-B-Hood.

That Slithery Creature!

I just read an e-mail from choyban regarding snakes biting people all over Australia. It seems like a 16 year old boy from Sydney and a man from Darwin were bitten by snakes. The cause of this increase of snake bites is because of the drought happening here in Australia. The snakes are more active and thus go to every means to search for water. They can turn up anywhere, gardens, houses, etc... The government of Melbourne is asking its people to be a bit more wary and at the same time not to harm these creatures unnecessarily.

Mum told me that I should not worry that much about these snakes. She quoted this verse from the Bible: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, peace and a sound mind. Anyway, thanks to choyban for this informative news.

An Encounter with a Particular Puppy

My family and I went to the supermarket today. It was pretty boring for some of us (you should know who). My father suggested we go to a pet shop just outside the supermarket. Debbie and I readily agreed. We walked briskly to the pet shop while hearing barks and purrs along the way. When we entered, we immediately went to see the dogs. It seemed like they only had puppies for sale, not adult dogs, so you could imagine how cute they were. Debbie was interested in a Rottweiler puppy as it tried to lick her finger as she tapped it softly on the glass. As I was looking at it too, something caught my eye. A Silky Terrier puppy was looking at me and whining. Subsequently, it presented me with a toy. I looked at it and shook my head, telling it that I could not play with it. Impatient, it started to jump around, barking softly. Once it was tired, it lied down, looking at me with those small, pitiful eyes. This made me so sad that I wanted to just take it home with me.

The innocence and playfulness of this puppy reminded me of my previous dog, Jean. I do miss it so, but life still has to go on...

Our Little Nest

We went to see the new house today for the first time. It was everything I had expected. It looked quite brand new, with a huge garden in front of it. There were huge trees around it too. They look similar to Christmas trees. The shutters of the garage looked like they've been painted recently. All in all, it was the perfect house to live in. Well, this is my opinion just by looking from the outside. I'll have to look inside to really know whether it's my ideal house..

Here's how it looks like from the outside...

Our First Aussie Home

Hooray! This morning, my parents signed the lease agreement, which goes to say that we have found a rented house that is to our liking. I haven't seen it yet, but if my parents were to like it, I would too. It's has 4 bedrooms and is very well kept. It has a huge garden, a garage for two cars and a huge space to put a boat, according to the real estate agent. You know my mum doesn't drive, right? So, the garage and the huge space would be empty! The house is fully carpeted and spacious. It's within walking distance to both our schools and a huge shopping mall with a supermarket in it - so perfect for the shopping queen (you should know who I'm talking about). We'll only move in on 30th January.

It Just Had To Be Today..

Today was a sweltering hot day. We woke up feeling lousy and dehydrated. Mum and Dad were gone again looking at houses and real estate agents. We watched a few blockbusters, played a few games, but nonetheless, bored... I decided to take a bath to cool myself off from the intense heat. Suddenly, I heard Debbie saying "What happened to the fan? It just turned off by itself!" Later, I heard her saying "Everything cannot be used. Must be a black out."

There wasn't any fan to cool us now. We were sweating and drinking water all the time. Soon, we found out that the electricity would come back at 7pm. We looked at the clock. It was 4:20pm! We couldn't even have dinner as the stove wasn't working. It was really bad!

However, the electricity came back before 6:30pm! It seemed like God heard us! Debbie and I rushed to the fan as soon as it started to work. Phew, I thought I could not take it anymore! Thank God for electricity...

A Dreamy Farewell

I had a dream today. It was a dream that I would not forget. This dream happened to take place in my school. I was saying goodbye to all my friends and teachers. I was standing in front of my classroom. All my friends and teachers sat on the chairs with eager faces. Even those who didn't know me, but I knew them by their faces, were there too. There was a microphone in front of me. As I made my speech, my voice echoed in the classroom. My words were quite simple. I said "Hi, everyone. I am here to tell all of you that I will be leaving for Australia. Will think of you when I am there." After that, everyone clapped their hands. That was when I woke up...

This was quite bizarre for me. I never had a chance to say goodbye to all of my friends actually, only some. I actually hoped I could do that, but that never happened, until now. Ever wanted to do something that you couldn't? Then do it in a dream!

Change is good, right?

My father asked me a question today. "You haven't been going to school for a long while now. Will you be able to cope with the studies here?" I have never thought about that. Wow! I haven't been going to school for about 3 months. All this time I have been relaxing a lot... and I really mean, A LOT! What's worse, I would be going to an Australian school. A whole new system, a whole new place, and a whole new group of people. I would need time to adjust and adapt here. Sometimes, I think that I'm not capable of doing that at all. So, I have been praying to God to let me adapt to this new country; we are generally talking about its culture, system, lifestyle of the people, etc. I know it's going to be tough but, since we've come this far and that we're already here, why not take this opportunity to make some changes to our lives. Life's all about taking risks...

An Eventful Day

Today was an eventful day for my family. First, we went to view a house near the school of our dreams, Glen Waverley Secondary School. At first look, we didn't like the place at all! It was old and rundown. Quite smelly too. There was no way we were going to live in this house.

Later, we went to my mother's very good friend's house, Auntie Doris. She has 2 daughters. One same age as Debbie and the other, two years younger than the older. We had dinner over at their place. It was delicious. We had chicken, duck, broccolli, and char siew. For dessert, we had a piece of chocolate cake with strawberries. Mmmm.....

After dinner, we watched a few DVDs which they rented from a video store just down the street. How convenient! We watched "Are We There Yet?" and "Cheaper by the Dozen 2". My parents had so much to catch up with the other family that we left their place at 12.10 am!

Just found out that next Tues and Wed would be 37 and 35 deg respectively.. Sigh!

Good Service, now...

I was at home when the doorbell rang. It was my parents who came back from the shopping centre. My parents decided to take a break from all the hassle of finding a suitable house for the three of us. Once they stepped into the house, they quickly went into the room to put down their shopping bags. Later, they told us about an incident that happened in the shopping centre.

My parents were in a shop that sold all the facial things, soaps, shampoos, etc...(something like 'The Body Shop' in Singapore. They thought of buying me a bottle of gel for me to use if we were to go out. While they were looking at the different varieties of gel, a salesman came and asked if they needed his help. They only asked 1 question which was "How much is a bottle of gel?". He answered "21 dollars". Thinking that it was too costly, they enquired if there was a cheaper bottle of gel for them. The salesman turned away and shouted sarcastically across the shop to his colleague, "What's the cheapest gel we've got here?". They looked at the salesman and of course felt frustrated and angry. How could he humiliate them in front of everyone, thinking they did not have the suficient money to pay? It was a real terrible experience for them.

You might agree or disagree with my parents. Agree - He didnt have the basic courtesy, humiliating others by asking that question, making them look like they did not have the money to pay for anything in the shop. Disagree - He might have thought that they really wanted a cheaper gel. You decide...

The first 5 days

After reading my first posting, I realised that I didn't really elaborate on the first few days that I have spent here in Australia. Alright, here goes...

Day 1 - It was really hot when we arrived here. Once we went out, the houseflies were flying all over our heads. Really irritating! Upon reaching our uncle's house, we quickly unpacked our luggage. That day was a lousy day for all of us. We felt dehydrated and tired. Also, our room did not even have an air-con! Couldn't take it at all! I couldn't sleep throughout the whole night. It was really bad...

Day 2 - We woke up feeling quite good as it was very cool outside. Very 'shuang' ah... My parents drove around to look at houses - something like window shopping... You just look at the houses but not buying... Debbie and I stayed and played Xbox 360. Should really buy one if you are free most of the time..hehe..and rich maybe..

Day 3 - Again, my parents went out looking at houses. This time, they went to an open house. When they came back, they reported that it wasn't their ideal house. Smelly, rundown and dark. In the evening, Debbie and I went to the lake to feed some ducks and hopefully, a pelican. We were a bit disappointed as the ducks and pelican were fed already, thus not hungry at all.

Day 4 - My parents took a little break today. They decided to follow us to the lake to feed the animals. We took a few pictures which you will see. My mum was extremely cold after a while. This time, we were not that disappointed. The ducks were hungry! Day 5 - 37 deg! That was the temperature for the day. Sigh, we felt a little lousy like the first day. However, my parents still went house hunting. Feel so sad for them ah... I also feel a little guilty also as they had to rent a house near our schools. My mum can't drive and father would not be there to drive us anywhere. But I'm sure our Heavenly Father will help us along the way..

Good Service

It's been 5 days since I have moved here in Australia. Things have been going pretty easy for us here. Weather's crazy during this period of time. One day, it's cool, and the next, hot as hell! My parents have been looking for a house for quite a while now. So far, no news but I'm sure God will help us...sooner or later.

We went to McDonalds to have our lunch since we were given free coupons by Aunty Jamy. Buy 1 Big Mac, get 1 free! Cannot resist ah!!!! We were greeted warmly by a lady when we reached there. We ordered 4 Big Macs, 2 medium-sized french fries, a chocolate sundae and 2 diet coke. They told us that there were only 2 Big Macs left so we had to wait for a short while.

20 minutes had past and still no Big Mac. My mum went to the counter and requested for our 2 Big Macs. Coincidentally, the manager was there at that time. She overheard my mom's conversation with the staff. As soon as the Big Macs arrived, she refunded A$6.90 to my mum. She was quite surprised and told the manager that she only wanted the Big Macs. The manager warmly replied, "Oh no no... We must give you the refund. It's a must! I am extremely sorry for the wait." Once she had left, there was an awkward silence. My mom actually had a hard time finishing her burger - too 'pai seh'... too overwhelmed!!

This is a true example of good service, well... not for the waiting part. Still, they did refund my mum her money. A meal for 4 in McDonalds cost us only $4!!!!

Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind waiting 20 minutes for a meal next time!