little miss may

We had a bit of a royal treatment last Sunday when two “Queens” came to town. The grand Cunard ocean liners, RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 and MS Queen Victoria were on Australian waters, together for the first (and maybe the last?) time.

I was pretty excited when I heard about the Royal Rendezvous. As a kid, I used to watch in awe as my elder brother built an Airfix version of the Queen Elizabeth II ocean liner, painstakingly gluing the tiniest parts together and painting it over with a fine brush. He pieced an RMS Queen Mary 2 ship as well, but that was destroyed in one angry bash by my second brother in an argument… *sigh!* Boys will be boys. I miss those ships. Don’t know where the QE II is now either.

Anyway.

Those ships were quite a sight — taller than some buildings, longer than 8-car city trains and wider than 3 elephants put together (obviously!). I read in the papers the other day that going on a 23-day cruise costs close to $8,000… waaaaa!! That’s half the cost of a small, brand new car here! A couple of business class trips on the Airbus A380 even. It sure does look majestic on the inside in photos, though. Think you can “tahan” 23 days on a ship like this? Or would you feel claustrophobic?

The two ladies have long sailed off now. This morning I saw another ocean liner at the Quay — the Sea Princess. She may be larger and taller than the two Queens, but somehow I think the sisters have an elegant air about them. Maybe it’s their names. Maybe it’s the red funnels that make them look more regal. Whatever it is, it would be a sure pleasure to get on board one of them for a trip ’round the world!

*looks for Sugar Daddy to sponsor passage*

*toot* *toot* *toooot…*

Easter is still a good one month away, but the stores are already stocked full of chocolate bunnies and eggs. Look what I found on the shelf — a cute Purple Cadbury Bunny. Such a yummy way to enjoy Easter, don’tcha think?

And such good timing too, for the bunny’s here to help us celebrate a “purple” event - it’s mistipurple’s birthday today!

Just for you on your big day, here’s a very aloha rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow & What a Wonderful World by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. Many Happy Returns my dear, and may you always have wonderful rainbows and moments to enjoy. And lots of chocolate bunnies too.

Also a happy birthday to Cynthia (27 Feb) and Wingz (28 Feb). Hope you all have a great one this year!

I just realised, today marks my first anniversary with Sydney! Yep, landed here 365 days ago, on the first day of Chinese New Year.

Just wanted to make an entry to mark the occasion.

Happy Anniversary, Sydney.

*Still waiting at airport for visitors*

Fancy that.

I thought no one would’ve known unless I happen to mention it, but the moment I went into the office and sat down at my desk, my boss came up to me with a baby bottle of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin champagne to celebrate my first anniversary with the Company.

That really put a grin on my face. There was even a shopping voucher included with the card!

Thanks, boss and Co. It’s been a good year. Hard work, stressful times, but I must say I did enjoy what came my way, more often than not. Here’s to another great one ahead (and hopefully a bigger bottle of bubbly, or maybe two? iPhone next?).

Hmmm, I should save this for a special occasion, yes? Birthday? Promotion? Proposal? Bubble bath romping? Eh? So who’s flying down here for a visit next? Let’s celebrate!

Happy Frenchie Bubbly Muah-Muah Valentine!!

Chen has kah-chuaks and sago worms, I have grasshopper.

Last week, a few days before Chinese New Year, this greenie sneaked into my bathroom and planted itself high up in a corner. At first I thought it was some strange wire that I never noticed before, squinting with my spectacle-less eyes. Only after putting on my contact lens and looking up again did I realise… it’s one big glasshopper! Not so young anymore lor…

It stayed in my bathroom for a good 3 days, hiding in different corners, despite me leaving the window wide open for it to get out and my bathroom door closed (didn’t want it coming into my lounge and eating my plants!).

One night, I heard some fluttering in the bathroom and decided to see what that fella was doing. When I peeked in, O M G . . . it was on my toothbrush!! E E E W W W W W W ! ! ! Beh tahan. I had to do something. I rolled up some newspaper and gave it a good WHACK (and then some), but as resilient as grasshoppers go, it didn’t die, though I think it was pretty dazed from the hits.

I felt bad after those whacks — it’s not as smelly and dirty as a roach, after all. Needed to collect some good karma points as well. After some poo-pooh attempts, I finally trapped it in a container, took a few poser pics, and let it go outside of the building compound. I hope it’s happily eating grass at someone’s backyard now.

And yes, I bought a new toothbrush after that.

What else did I do over the weekend? Oh, finally repotted my orchid. The roots were tangled, rotting and in a mess, so had to trim quite a lot of it off, find a nice clean pot and stuffed it in with some fresh sphagum moss. It still looks quite sickly now, the stem is turning yellow… *sigh*

I hope it survives, after all that repotting effort!