The last few days and nights have been filled with rushing around the city looking for bits and bobs for my place in Sale and long phone calls and catch up sessions with my dearests. Oh yeah, I also got my hair trimmed and re-styled. It’s more short all around except for the fringe. I love it! It’s more “cute” than “edgy” compared to my last hair cut. The hair stylist was also the sweetest lady ever and made the whole experience enjoyable. I feel like a new lady! Haha.

Decided to experiment with food colouring; creates a nice surprise when you bite into the cupcake.

Kelly brought over homemade frozen yoghurt which was delicious!

Thursday nights are better when you have four amazing individuals sitting in your livingroom. Add wine, mini sandwiches, pink cupcakes, frogurt and Monopoly to the equation and you have a rather pleasant & interesting evening.

When my Uni friends left Friday morning I felt really sad, realising I wouldn’t see them as often or randomly turning up to their places like I use to.

But then my spirit lifted when my highschool friends turned up at my doorstep to take me to lunch. I thought we were going to have lunch in the city but the boys surprised me with a change of plans. We were going to pick up Steph and go to Chadstone. I’ve been wanting to see the new and improved Chadstone so this was a nice change in plans.

Michael bought me eight rolls of Lomographic film as a farewell gift :D

We had a late lunch at the local TAB in Springvale which Steph recommended. Dishes were huge so we shared three amongst the five of us.

Little sister received her make up order in the mail which included the NARS Orgasm and Deep throat blushes. I am suppose to choose which one I want but I can’t make up my mind!

♥ ♥ ♥

This Summer break has been amazing! I loved every day, hour, minute of it! I didn’t travel overseas but had so much fun here. 2010 has started off so well and I’m just looking forward to everyday.

Tomorrow I’m officially moving to Sale to start fourth year. I have glum moments when I realise how much I’m going to miss everyone, but overall I’m giddy with excitement for the new experiences waiting for me.

I have no clue about the internet status of the house, so for now, have a marvellous week everyone!

I spent the day getting to know my “home”, residence… dwelling for the next 9 months or so. It’s huge! One of my room mate arrived early and managed to shot gun the master bedroom, which has a walk in wardrobe and an en suite with two showers & a spa! I’m not too fussed though. My bedroom is rather dark because it looks out at the neighbour’s fence. I really wanted the other bedroom which had a bright summery view of the backyard BUT there’s this annoying pump right under the window which will keep anyone awake or sustain a migraine everytime the toilet is flushed. -_-;;

It’s hard to believe I’ll be moving out away from the colourful, busy, contradictory city of Melbourne to a small rural town, which has one of everything, 6pm closing time and cows in the backyard. It really hit me today that I was moving away. I’ve remained rather tight lip about the matter. Biting my lip everytime someone brings up the subject and holding my breathe everytime I start to think of how far from everyone I’ll be.

Kitchen & dining area

I’ll be a forth year Med student in Sale this year. I’ll be doing everything (studying, attending tutes, practising, seeing patients, living) in this rural town, three hours away from Melbourne. Everyone says it’s the hardest year and the final grade is an amalgamation of the academic achievements of the previous four years of med school. After that, fifth year is just about getting the final boxes ticked. I’m a cocktail of uncertainty and excitement.

My sanctuary, yet to be personalised.

I’m looking forward to being more independent and tasting the life of moving out.  Most importantly, I’m excited to see the person I become at the end of this year. I know it’ll be hard; I know I’ll crack, I know I’ll doubt, I know I’ll breakdown and scream - and that’s what unsettles me because I won’t have those who I confide in close by. Sometimes I’m very stubborn and I refuse to cry out and let my thoughts fester into a ball of self destruction, and if it’s not support, it’s relief I sought from them. They say they’ll visit but in reality I know it’ll be rare. The journey will be tough.

But I know after all that, I will get throught it. I always have.

A new chapter…

I’m looking forward to meeting you Leanne 5th November 2010!

Sometimes it’s good to have no definite plans. Sometimes it’s much better to go with the flow because surprising things can happen like:

Being whisked away by one of my favourite people at 11 o’clock at night.

Driving by and waking up another favourite person from his slumber.

Eating pies with faces at 1 in the morning.

Meeting a British girl with a paper bag over her head.

Dumplings at 2 in the morning.

Laughing at Youtube videos.

Snuggling with Donkey*.

Going through European memories**.

Prancing around in Italian made booties, which are too big.

Going to bed at sunrise***.

*My friend’s soft squishy toy.
**My friend’s photos have rekindled my desire to go to France.
***It’s beautiful. The last thing you see before you close your eyes is the start of a new day.

One more week of holidays left and I’m feeling the tug on my heartstrings as I don’t want to say good-bye to Summer.  I’m caught wanting to see many faces as I can and solitude. Ah Leanne stop feeding yourself violins! I read somewhere that when you’re feeling worked up, press on the pressure point below your collar bone and breathe.

Spent today with my longest time best friend :) Haha~ We spent most of the day at Williamstown beach enjoying the sun and catching up on her Thailand and my roadtrip adventures.  We saw the most gorgeous dog! The owner told us it was a Japanese Spitz - I googled it when I got home… my future dog?!

She bought me a souvenir from Thailand!

Also got a chance to use the Polaroid camera Anthony bought for my 20th Birthday. The film expired last year but thank goodness the photos turned out okay. Yeah it’s taken me over a year because I’ve been too scared to take it out … it’s precious! ^^;;

Since we couldn’t be bothered finding this famous crepe place in Williamstown, we opted for the Fondue for two at San Churro. I’ve only had fondue at Max Brenners, but this one has a better selection of tapas, which of course makes it a tad more pricey.

Strawberries, bananas, brownies, pretzels, marshmellows, caramelised popcorn & churros!

I’ve discovered pretzels dipped in chocolate ishhh gooooood!

Valentine’s Day decorations are already up! The retail world makes time go too fast. Cute decorations though.

I’ve been getting questions about Sale from my last post so I guess I’ll clarify it a bit. I’m sure I’ll write more once the moving date looms closer. The Med faculty at Monash Uni decided to surprise me by sending me to do 4th year in a rural town, despite the fact that I didn’t apply for a rural placement. Soooo… I’ll be spending the year in Sale, which is a town 3 hours from Melbourne. I’ll try and come home once a fortnight but I’ve been warned by older years that this year is going to be very busy.

Anyway, I’m going to enjoy the end of my holidays as much as I can! Tomorrow I’m seeing someone who just came back from her whirl-wind tour of Europe! (& maybe some other lovelies because everyone seems to be clubbing in the city tomorrow :D)

Ahhh spending the day in the sun always makes me feel sleepy, which is good because I didn’t sleep a peek last night!  I had a bit of a “food day” with one of my best guy pals today. He’s the best companion when it comes to trying new places and he’s also a bundle of joy to hang with.

We had brunch at Amsterdam Street cafe in Richmond, which I suggested after hearing about it and as a bonus it stocks Sugadeaux cupcakes! :D Unfortunately I didn’t buy a cupcake because I wasn’t fond of today’s flavour but our brunch was delicious! We went vego! I drank freshly squeezed OJ and ordered the Zucchini & cauliflower fritters with greek salad and tzatziki, which was very refreshing and I felt really healthy afterwards, haha :). My friend had the Tofu burger with pumpkin and capsicum. I had a taste and it was really good! There was peanut sauce and a hint of sweet chilli in it.

Afterwards we walked around to see if there were any places to discover or take note of in the area. I felt like something sweet but wanted to avoid the franchising dessert places so we searched (even with help of google) and failed, like always. They are either hard to find or are out of the way. Other times my friends and I always end up at the same franchises: Max Brenner, Kokoblack, San Churros, Pancake Parlour… :P What does a girl need to do to cure her sweet tooth around here?! Next time!! I shall find the ultimate dessert place in Melbourne!

We then headed off to Docklands and enjoyed the sea air. When I was young I didn’t understand why rich people liked boats but as I’ve grown up with a love affair for the water I want a boat too! :D It was approaching dinnertime so we decided to dine on the harbour. Livebait looked the most appealing with a Japanese infused seafood menu.

We shared Oysters in togarashi tempura & wasabi sticky soy, which were very nice.

I’m a weary oyster eater, who only likes her oysters smoothered with XO sauce, but these oysters were good!

I ordered the Japanese style tempura fish fillets served with togarashi spiced potato, seaweed salad and soy & sesame sauce. I was a tad disappointed because my potatoes ended up being potato cakes with togarashi, which was very similar to the tempura fish fillets. It would have been better if it were plain baked potatoes or fries, which would add a different taste and texture to the dish.

Other than that, everything on the plate went well together.

First time trying caviar… didn’t really like it. The popping sensation in the mouth was rather off-putting. Friend told me I wasn’t meant to spoon the whole pile into my mouth, LOL.

My friend had Yellow fin tuna with a warm nicoise salad & pimenton emulsion. I had a taste and the tuna was lovely.

I’ve been trying to spend as much time with the people I care about, since I’ll be moving to Sale next week for Uni :(

The trip slash Alex’s 21st Birthday bash was amazing! I arrived home feeling feeling happily exhausted!

We all signed Alex’s new Air Jordan Ones to add to his growing sneaker collection

I didn’t take any photos because I was too caught up in the fun and wanted to be present in every moment instead of experiencing it behind a camera lens. So these photos are from Alex’s cam/FB :P

Only one shelf for food.. the rest was filled with drinks ^^;;

The four days were filled with lazing on the balcony, cigarettes resting carelessly in fingertips (I don’t smoke) and remnants of last night’s tipsy fun sprawled out on the table and floor. Tanning on the shore while the boys played cricket, screaming “sexy” to tanked-up strangers, splashing in the sea which had no deep end despite being more than 200m from the shore (the water never lingered passed our hips), collecting pipis and sea snails for Kelly’s dinner, hehe, jumping into the water first despite the cool change and others following in, then jumping into the sauna after with Owl City blazing through the speakers.

Laughter and music dominated the night and tobacco and weed lingered in the air. Four kings, beer pong, roulette and beer bongs ruled the night’s activities and Shots by LMFAO ft Lil’ John became our anthem. The first night, five of us strolled and laughed to the beach. We attempted to make a bonfire and joked about singing Kum Ba Yah. That night I was forced to sit in the sauna in my trackiedacks because the four guys in it felt t’was too sausage festy and needed a girl. Haha~

The 12th of January was the special day, Alex’s Birthday. Drinks were pouring. His little brother Aristotle (but we call him Aris, cool name!) cooked delicious risotto for the 15-20 people in the house. Later on, he became like our mother always curing our hunger :) All adorned in our highschool uniforms because the Birthday boy shared a lot of his happy memories during those times. We did too. That’s where we all met. Tiet secretly organised a stripper and we all chipped in and the stupid things we did to distract Alex while she got ready and Alex’s face when Fifi Fox walked in was priceless. Fruit and veg show?! Trust the boys to choose something exotic and fetish-like. T’was a hilarious show and everyone got involved. Me included! Whip cream and strawberries is all I’ll say. :P

Every night topped the previous and the last night was the best. A new drinking game was created which combined beer pong, roulette and beer bongs - which was the ultimate drinking game ever! Afterwards we all grabbed forks and devoured the ice-cream cake and sat on the balcony talking about everything . The stoners decided to sit in the sauna and smoke pot. Watching them zone out is quite hilarious. The boys hid in the sauna and scared the shizzles out of me.  As the clock passed midnight we adorned our highschool uniforms again and gathered around the couch and did individual speeches. Each person shared a memory with Alex. Alex surprised us by doing a little speech for each of us too. I was pleasantly surprised with mine. “Leanne was the first girl I ever held hands with. It was the first time I built up enough courage to confidently hold a girl’s hand. She may think we were only holding hands to prevent ourselves from falling from the high ropes course at camp, but there may have been some caring from my part.” :) Awww~

In the final morning before we left, there was a huge-arse cleaning session which was done quickly with the many hands on board. Aris made breakfast which was a combination of the left over food. Afterwards everyone sat in the livingroom area while tunes which dominated our radios and mp3 players in the 90s and 00s churned out of the speakers reminding us of younger and innocent days. At noon, we bid our farewells but not goodbyes because we all knew we’ll all see each other again in a month or two :)

My parents’ Birthdays are around the same time of the year so my little sis and I decided to shout them dinner at Berth Bar and Restaurant in Docklands. I’ve  never dined in Docklands before and found the atmosphere very relaxing. It really reminded me of Darling Harbour in Sydney however not as popular.

For Starters my Dad had the Potato and leek soup, which was nice and creamy; Mum had the Crumbed Calamari served with pickled beetroot salad and aioli sauce, the calamari batter was the highlight and I was very impressed by the pickled beetroot salad because I’m usually not a fan of beetroot.

I ordered the Bruschetta for my sister and I, which was deliciously fresh. The bread was topped with cherry tomatoes, spanish onion and basil with crumbled fetta and olive oil.

For Mains, Mum had Spaghetti Marinara, Dad had Mushroom risotto, Pauline had the Chicken Involtini and I had Lamb Shanks.

Lamb shanks were pretty good. The sauce reminded me of the ragu Mum cooks at home, but I prefer barbaqued lamb to braised lamb. 

Chicken Involtini was chicken breast filled with spinach, capsicum, pecorino cheese and prosciutto served with mash potato and tomato relish.

I personally thought the Starters menu was more creative and sounded more appealing than the Main menu. The Entree serving was very substantial and could have made a nice lunch. I would have liked a more seafood inspired menu since the restaurant is situated at the water’s edge but the service was excellent and the food was overall pretty good.

It’s been ages since my family went out for dinner and it was nice. No bickering or grumbling. Mum and Dad seemed to have a good time. It was nice.

Hello lovelies! I arrived home from the trip to Tootgarook slash Alex’s 21st Birthday bash yesterday but was knackered to do anything so I slept. I slept for 14 hours, which shows how much fun I had :D Am in the process of typing a blog entry detailing the awesomeness of the trip however I’m waiting for some photos since I didn’t take any because I was having too much fun. I’m still beaming from the whole event! Anyway, here’s a list of the things which made my face shine like sunbeams & feel lovely this week!

Going to the beach everyday; a beach with no deep end- we were more than 200 metres from the shore and the water was only up to our hips!; collecting pipis; eating fish & chips; cooking for the boys; chilling on the balcony; sweating in the sauna while listening to Owl City; being mistaken for someone else, hehe; cold shower after the sauna; creating crazy drinking games- combine beer pong+roulette+beer bongs and you have hilarity!

Individual heart-felt speeches; shot shot shot!; reliving highschool memories; long conversations with acquaintances which are now friends; Westbourne plus Leanne & Huong - LOL; Aris’ cooking; hashbrown & cheese; Replay by Iyaz; on the couch listening to music which was the soundtrack of our childhood & teenage years; cleaning with 15-20 people- it’s so quick!; ice-cream cake; feeling sunkissed; exchanging knowing glances; Alex’s speech about me :) 

Sending “welcome home” messages; finding messages from friends I haven’t heard from in years; phone calls from Italy; finding sand everywhere; blowing bubbles; sleep; organising dinner for my Mum and Dad’s Birthday; being asked by my Grandma to make the same cupcakes like last time; people pushing me to be more confident; honesty; squished in the backseat; looking forward to the next event and ”see you laters not good byes” :)  

YAY! I finally received my pay today and my bank account no longer looks so sad. Well just. :P However, I have a heap of Birthday presents to buy this month; who knew I had so many special January babies in my life!

The weekend has been rather calm and relaxing. I’m just resting after the epic week road trip and getting ready for tomorrow’s trip -__-;; Before people start telling me to “SAVE MONEY!” This trip is my friend’s 21st :D 4 days 3 nights at some place which-I-can’t-remember-the-name-of, but it’s near Sorrento! BEACH goodness! Alex has really gone all out this year, he’s booked an awesome house for his 21st Birthday bash! Get this: double storey, 14 beds, upstairs deck & BBQ, huge backyard, home theatre room and Swedish spa (?!). Can’t wait!

Take care and see you all in 4 days :)!

(more…)

First “Things I Love” for 2010! Here’s an explosion of shiny glittery goodness to start off the year :D

Brainstorming travel ideas: I’ve been playing around in my head places I’d like to visit at the end of this year if I pass the dreaded and challenging 4th year of Med. Think of this as a reward! It’s unfortunate that the part of the world I’d like to visit around Nov/Dec/Jan is cold, but we’ll see :) I’m so excited and 4th year hasn’t even started! :P

Celebrating New Years in quiet: I enjoyed spending NYE in the small coastal town of Merimbula. Strolling to the wharf approaching midnight and sitting on the old sea wood with legs dangled over the edge whilst watching the fireworks was the perfect way to welcome 2010. Opposite to the usual boom of city fireworks and then waking up the next morning in the same clothes stinking of alcohol and sweat. It was nice to just sit and reminisce the year that just passed and the one about to begin. I remember taking a deep breath as the last round of fireworks littered the night sky and the anticipating silence which followed when the fireworks ended.

The outdoors: The colours. The dirt on your hands. The air that fills the lungs. The brush of the wind across your cheek. The stars. All naturally made. Living in a man-made world, we forget where we originally come from and how small we really are. I saw the Milky Way on the way home from the road trip… I haven’t seen it for years.

Madame Brussels: Short stay tonight, however I shall be back to properly try the fruit punch and lemon sponge cupcakes while seated on the Alice in Wonderland inspired benches in the middle of a swimming pool :D 

Going out for breakfast: I don’t do this often because I’m generally asleep and can’t be bothered, but I love it when I do. I have a wishlist of cafes and restaurants I’d like to dine at… all I need is money and a dining buddy! Leanne needs to find a breakfast/lunch/dinner date :P

Being treated like a lady: Chivalry is not dead! :D

Other lovelies: concocting ways to surprise friends/family on their Birthdays; hugs; writing lists; elephants; catching up with friends; ‘good luck’ messages; helpful SAs; laughing; feeling extremely lucky with what I have; Yoko Ono; compliments; toning my butt- lol! I don’t know whether I’m doing it right but it feels like it helps :P If not, at least my legs are getting a work out!; feeling healthy; my family and not knowing what day it is because everyday is a holiday - literally! :D