yeah that super bass

Watched the fireworks from a bridge last night. It was nice, but I was by myself (and scared I was going to get mugged).  Dinner last night was spent looking at people's costumes and wishing that for once, we would have a halloween party of some sort. I want to have a costume party where people actually put in the effort to dress up.  Hope this year's work xmas party is a themed one, and not just black tie!!

Visited Maggies tonight, and hit the Star afterwards (again, I know twice in one week?!). Didn't even make it to Zumbo's (again, it was why we were going there).  And yes, people lost money (again, lol).

So glad I'm not a gambler. I have no boundaries when I play games. I get competitive and want to win. In the process of winning, I will lose everything, and will then... not win. Doesn't make sense.

I'm tired. Why is there so much work to do when there is so much fun out there in the world that my friends live in.

I can't wait until everyone reaches work life.

Then, we will be even.

Counting down the days, weeks, months.

Happy Halloween y'all.

P.S. Can someone explain to me why people badmouth Nicki Minaj? I like super bass...

Adriano Zumbo Pattisier @ The Star

So after 2 failed attempts to go to the Star (long story), I finally got a chance to taste a Zumboran recently!  Adriano Zumbo opened up a small shop in the Star (formerly known as Star City).  Half the shop is still under renovation (the sit down area).  Our group just "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed at the decor, the variety of zumbarons and tasty tarts available.

mousetrap theme

I found that most of the desserts in the store were at really affordable prices. The tarts ranged from $6-$12 and the zumbarons are $2.50 each.

Zumbarons

Feeling poor, but rich at heart!

What we ordered:

Passionfruit Tart - This had the tangyness of a real passion fruit and the tart was lovely and crumbly.  That together with the vibrant colour of the actual dessert made it my FAVOURITE tart out of all the one we tried.

Whizz Fizz Tart - This was just lemon meringue with sherbert sitting on a layer of raspberry sauce and a crumbly base. YOM. They must have blow-torched it to make it look beautifully singed. Mm. Fresh raspberry on top!

Tastes Like Doris - Ok. This was crazy. Doris must have been an alcoholic.  I took a spoonful of this and choked. It was a whole spoonful of RUM. Ahaha, an innocent looking dessert, shiny chocolate coating, with orangey mousse and chocolate sponge. This was $12 I think. Looks beautiful.

Zumborans - I'm not a huge fan of macarons, but I love COLOUR! These are bitesized bursts of flavour.  Not your usual strawberry, chocolate or champagne (and I thought champagne was exotic..) macarons. NO! These were Watermelon, Corn with Mango, Lychee, Lime Mojito, Raspberry Caramel (my favourite!), Herby savoury ones (ahaha, everyone just screwed up their faces with disgust when we tried this), and many more!  Hot chocolate was spicy :( What a shock we all got!

I bought 3 tarts and 5 macarons, totalling $36ish. Splurgin'. I'm gonna regret this when I'm broke. But for now, I'll say it satisfied my curiosity, and I'll know what to get next time.

At least it was $36 well spent. The boys tried their luck at the craps table and lost $50 in less than a minute.  One of them had better luck playing roulette, breaking even (but not really, since they paid $2.50 in transaction fees to the atm outside).

Anyway. I don't encourage gambling. I only like to watch people win.

Overall, a very fun and colourful day!

 

Sugar Hit 2011 - Shangri La Hotel

So this year, a few of us decided to hit up the Lobby Lounge at Shangri La for their Sugar Hit desserts.  For $20, we got to sample 6 of their cakes (usually on offer) and a glass of Brown Brothers Sienna dessert wine.

I really don't like Lobby Lounge. The atmosphere felt quite pretentious, the staff were rude and I just don't like sitting in low sofa chairs when I'm eating. I like high chairs and tables (and better lighting).

The cakes on offer (first three from the right):

1. Whisky Candy Bar: This felt really rich - a slab of chocolate ganache (with scotch or whisky / can't tell) on a layer of crunchy biscuit. The highlight were the little chocolate coated crispy balls on top. They were like  mini maltesers!

2.  Chocolate & Cherry Tart: The first thing I ate off this tart was the cherry and wow, I was knocked out of my senses by the alcohol (kirsch? it tastes like the cherries on the black forest cakes) infused in the actual cherry.  The chocolate tart itself was nice, smooth and the tart was crumbly (the way I like it :D )

3.  Chocolate Bavarois: YUM! This was a chocolate mousse  sitting on a layer of sponge cake (with.. chocolate stripes?).  There was a plastic pipette filled with raspberry sauce stuck in the cake, and I think you had to squeeze the tube to inject the berry goodness into the heart of the mousse before digging in. This was lovely, I loved the seedless berry sauce!  The mousse was smooth, light and fluffy!



4. Gianduja Macaron: Have no idea what gianduja is, but this tasted a bit nutty. I'm not a huge fan of macarons (though my friend who has travelled the world says she doesn't know why its such a huge thing here because Sydney made macarons have nothing on the ones made in Paris), so this was just ok.

5.  Pistachio Slice: I read on some other food blog that this is white chocolate + pistachio, but I don't remember thinking "mm, pistachio.. mmm chocolate". I just assumed it was some sort of .. cream?   This is why I should post these straight after eating. My memory gets a little foggy after a week.  I remember this tasted really fresh and pistachio-y. Really strong pistachio flavour. Quite refreshing!

6.  Gateau Opera Slice: Woohoo! Layers and layers of chocolate, cream and crispy wafer buscuit!  It was iced with a layer of smooth velvetty chocolate and topped off with a gold leaf (you might be able to see that in the photo).  I like this combination of smooth, crispy, soft, spongey textures. It was like a party in my mouth!

Brown Brothers Sienna: This nice and fruit/grapey.  I love my reds and rose, and this was sorta like a cross between I guess.  A very sweet red!

Overall, very satisfied. 

I'm thinking about going to the Intercon!

p.u.m.p.e.d

The past few weeks I have:

• eaten dessert at Azuma
• eaten dessert at the Shangri La Hotel
• eaten desserts from Adriano Zumbo's
• eaten at Taste of Shanghai more than 4 times
• explored the new park at Darling Harbour
• watched a musical
• had a coffee (or two, or three) everyday
• worked overtime everyday (except days when I'm at uni)
• done all my hw for uni
• been partaying
• all my law readings
• not shopped online at all
• unfortunately not spent as much time at home.

Nearly annual leave time! Yay. After I get this pesky audit out of the way, I'll be eating/singing/dancing/studying my heart out at any time of day.

Check out my upcoming schedule!

That's like 2 weeks of no work.  PAID leave.

For the first time in my life, I feel like I'm an all-rounder! 


maaaaaake me your radioo, and turn me up when you feel low, this melodeee was meant for you
just sing along to my radio!

I love this song. I thought it was stuck in my head for the past few hours, but I just realised I'm listening to my iPod and its playing on repeat!  Oops..


ANYWAY. Tomorrow, I have work for 3 hours, then I have to head down to the Opera House to hop on a water taxi to get on a private boat.  Then it's a 4 hour cruise around the harbour with a bunch of hearty accountants from one of my jobs.

After that, I'm headed to a farewell party. My 2 favouritest people from work are leaving for a 10 week holiday around SE Asia. I'm so devo. But this got me thinking about my farewell. I'm leaving soonish. Lol March - not really. Currently, the last one of the cadets to finish up.  Next year, I'm hoping I get a chance to take part in a vaccie program in a different division - advisory or tax just to taste the grass on the other side.

NURRHURRHURRHURR ALMOST CHRISTMAS SEASON. I went to buy icecream from Woolies today (got a free icecream scoop- hurrah!) and saw the the xmas decorations.  It's getting close to work party season. Yay. Yay. Yay. And end of uni! And start of BEACHYPEACHY

Sheeple

These few days have been gone whizzing by. 

The weather is shitty again.

My parents keep warning me about befriending people at work.

"Don't add them on facebook!"

"Don't go out with them on the weekend!"

"Don't trust everything they say!"

I hate it when they say that. Have a bit of faith. If you treat people the way you want to be treated by them, it can't go that badly right?

Parents usually know best... but sometimes.. sometimes it's just weird and wrong.

I can see why you wouldn't add everyone from work on facebook.  But if you don''t treat people genuinely, how will they grow to trust you? How miserable your work life would be at work!

Sigh. I wish someone paid me to exercise. That would be a good incentive.

Sitting infront of a computer all day and night is not healthy.

Ah. Breaktime over. Back to work.

Sadface.

PS. I've taken an ENTIRE week off before exams just to chillax and get my sleeping patterns right. Psyched!

Sugar Hit 2011 - Azuma Kushiyaka

My first sugar hit adventurer for 2011. Booked on Tuesday for me and 3 friends but in the end, at 9.45pm Friday night it was just A and I standing at the reservation desk looking sorry and abandoned. (A is the most reliable person. Never says no- unless it's hardcore drugs)

The waiter still treats us like important guests and explains in great detail the different parts of the dessert set.

Breakdown (in normal people English)

1. Glutinous rice balls and fruits in Japanese brown sugar syrup and mint - didn't really love this that much. I think it's something you can throw together at home.

2. Sesame ice cream - LOVE THIS! When I took my first spoonful I was amazed at how sesame-ish it tasted. What does sesame actually taste like? Can you really recall the flavour of the 10 sesame seeds sprinkled on top of your burger bun? So yeah, I didn't really have any expectation, so I thought this was awesome.

3. Raw sake- ok. Not for me. It looks harmless right? I took a swig from my shot glass, cringed at the flavour, swallowed and immediately felt like all the wind was knocked out of me. Zomg. Strong stuff. Don't like it by itself.

4. Green tea tiramisu- this was simply divine. It was a really light (but didn't feel airy) cream with bits of sponge soaked in shochu and of marscapone!! I loved this. So much. I felt it went well with the sake (at least covered up the after taste). Yooommmm!

5. Layered chocolate and popping rocks - just a piece of chocolate (I alternated between sipping the sake and nibbling this chocolate because it tones down the bitterness of the alcohol) with layers of solid choc and ganache. There were a few pieces of popping rock in the chocolate which just sorta fizzed on my tongue when all the chocolate melted in my mouth. It was kinda fun to eat because I could hear the fizzing/popping sounds!

6. Butter cake soaked in sake - I think there where pieces of red bean in this (at least A's cakes did), but I didn't see any in mine. Not that I minded. I love butter cake. Because it was soaked in sake, it had a pound cake like texture. Freaking yum. I love how you can break pound cake apart in your mouth and moosh it up a bit. And it's so buttery. But that was the thing, it tasted lovely and buttery, but not greasy at all because it was soaked in rice wine. How genius is that?

7. Brown brothers dessert wine - I love wine. This wine was insanely sweet, but it paired nicely with the fruits and sesame ice cream because those didn't really have such a strong taste.

Ahh I love dessert!

Shangri la next stop! I'm actually on my way there now!! It's gonna be a beautiful weekend :)

MARY POPPINS WAS SO FRICKIN AWESOME!!

Watching this musical made me SO happy. I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy inside- content az! Even though I know I have a full 12 hr work day ahead of me tomorrow, I will be capable of smiling and will do a good job. My inside organny things would sing if they had mouths.

Sam and I got the $45 tickets to see the 8pm show on Wednesday night. Other tickets were $90-$160+. 8pm starts means 11pm finishes and I guess people aren't prepared for staying out on weeknights, because the theatre was about two thirds full. We managed to upgrade our seats to the $160ish ones. So yeah. Had a funtastic time :D

This week is looking up. Hitting Azuma on fri and Shangrila on sat for some sugar luvin'.

Hopefully I can squish study in!

An interesting email

What a joke. Anyone who falls for this is a retarded fool. If I ever meet the dude who wrote this, I will slap him/her so hard across their head. >:( auditors don't help people reclaim wills. 

"FROM THEDESK OF MR BELLO MUSTAFA
AUDITINGAND ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT.
BANK OFAFRICA (B O A)
OUAGADOUGOU- BURKINA FASO.
With DueRespect

I sourcedyour email from a human resource profile database in the chamber; my name is MrBelo Mustafa. Account officer to late Mr. Morris Thompson from America who is agold merchant Agent here in Ouagadougou Burkina Faso, a well knownPhilanthropist before he died. He made a Will stating that $10.5 Milliondollars (Ten million five hundred thousand US) should be given to a citizen ofour choice overseas. I have made a random draw and your e-mail addresswas picked as the beneficiary to this Will.

I am particularly interested in securing this money from theBank because they have issued a notice instructing me been the account officerto produce the beneficiary of this before end of Novembre. 2011 else the moneywill be credited to the Government treasury as per law here. It is my utmostdesire to execute the Will of my late client Mr. Morris Thompson since he is nomore alive, both wife Thelma Thompson, and daughter Sheryl Thompson.

If you are interested, you are required to contact meimmediately to start the documentation process with the help of a legalpractitioner. I urgent you to contact me immediately for further detailsbearing in mind that the Bank has given us a date limit.

Please act fast. I am waiting your urgent response.Meanwhile I request on your return mail, kindly re-send me your data'sinformation's: Pleas Reply Me through My private email
address; belo_mustafa@sify.com

Your Full Name..........................
Your Sex.................................
Your Age..................................
Your Country....................... .......
Your pass or photo.......................
Your Occupation.................... ......
Your Personal Mobile Number.........
Your Personal Fax Number.............

However, feel free to ask me any question and I promise toclarify you on any doubts. Transaction with.

Mr Belo Mustafa.
BANK OF AFRICA.
Ouagadougou Burkina Faso
West Africa"

Sent from my iPhone

you know you're australian

- if you haven't had lots of bananas in a while.

I text my cousin quite often (she lives in the states) just about random things, and I don't know why, but I always whinge about how expensive bananas are here.

She texted me a little while ago saying that her friend's friend (also australian) was whinging about expensive bananas too. Anyway, we concluded that you know you're australian if you haven't had bananas in a long while.

I finally broke the dry spell.

I had 3 today. (They were puny, but they were REAL BANANAS).

We have 3 fruitboxes on each floor at work.  I didn't realise bananas were still being supplied because I never saw any.  Today, I discovered what happened to them.

People from the tax floors scavenge for these precious fruits early in the morning and keep them locked in their own cabinets.

LOL.

Luckily, I have a true friend who saved bananas for me this week :D

I HAVENT FELT SO SATISFIED IN SO LONG.

credit

lactose intolerant?

Today a really scary thought crossed my mind.

What if I'm lactose intolerant?

Goodbye cake. Goodbye milkshakes and smoothies. Goodbye icecream.

I had a large Mocha at Gloria Jeans this evening while waiting for my sister to finish up, and halfway though I felt like throwing it all back up.

Or maybe I ate too much sweet/unhealthy stuff today.

:/

Breakfast: Smoked ham toasted swich + coffee (1 sugar)
Lunch: Grilled fish with lemon creme sauce, chips & caesar salad.
Coffee: Small cap (1 sugar)
Pre-dinner: Brownie, regular White choc mocha

Hmm.

It looks so glamorous! Ahaha, I really enjoy working in Macq Park (actually, I just really enjoy having lunch at Cafe Pronto- they serve quality lunches). The coffee downstairs from the office in Macq Park is only $1.20, as opposed to $3 in the city.

Digressing... some places to visit (just need a place to jot this down, so I don't forget in future).
- Hunky Dory Social Club
This is a nice squishy bar in the Cross. In order to get from one side of the room to the other, you have to rub shoulders with everyone.  Usually I hate this scene, but with the funky music and the jovial crowd, it's a really cool place to get to know people (despite the fact you have to yell really loud to talk to the person standing next to you).  If you go up 2 floors, they also have a little outdoor terrace which is really nice when the weather's good :D
- The Retro Hotel
Wow. This place is hectic.  As the name suggests, it plays retro music. There are 3 floors: a floor playing 90s music, a floor for 80s and a floor for the 70s too. A lot of people hold their birthdays/hens night here and theres always some kind of costume theme (if you dress up, its free entry, otherwise its $20 entry).

Yeah, I was on a mission with a few friends to look for suitable birthday party locations for them. It was fun. I really liked the atmosphere at Hunky Dory - so different from the usual bars (EQ/Ivy/Est).

We got a lot of racist comments on the way there. Especially when we were in the Cross.

Anyway, don't think it's my scene. I'd prefer to be sitting down indoors (and eating/drinking coffee). The occassional spazz attack on the dancefloor is also nice though :)

Hope you're all having a lovely week (and don't mind the bar/club talk - just doing my market research!)

PS. How good is Billy's Get your jelly on series?  My fave part is watching the jelly jiggle on the boombox.   YOU NEED TO SEE IT JIGGLE!  I AM NOT KIDDING. YOU REALLY HAVE TO WATCH THE VIDEO AT THE END!

Utter confusion

Mega lols.

A random guy is sitting next to me in the green room.  We're sitting near the door, and people keep going in and out, and so the cold draft is constantly blowing in.

He sneezed.

Being the good natured person I am, I said "Bless you".

He looked at me funny replied "Um. Can't you tell the difference between a sneeze and a cough".




Maybe some people should just get better at coughing right. >=(

lots on my plate, majorly made up of inedible items.

Plan for tomorrow (today actually !)

1. finish assignment (lol :( not halfway there yet. ive been procrasting for weeks!)
2. get to work early to print out assignment and do some online training.
3. attend official training at work (zomg whole day.. for 4 days)
4. run to uni at lunch and hand in my assignment
5. run back and eat
6. heading off early to chair another meeting.
7. Going back to uni for a lecture.
8. Coming home to do my accounting homework :'( My tutor will probs collect this week, and im pissing my pants because I was not paying attention in last weeks lecture.

I hate myself.

Poor form. I think I've been watching too much tv and youtube.

And too much going out.

awe inspiring

It's a shame we won't get to hear such an inspiring speech from him again.



Anyway, it's nearing Summer (even though it doesn't feel like it), and in anticipation of going out during the holidays, I tried out my shorts from last summer. I don't remember them fitting so snugly, so, hm. Bummer.  Maybe I should switch to skirts with elastic band waists to avoid continual disappointment in my metabolism.  At least they're sort of in at the moment.

To all those who came out yesterday (despite having assignments due on Monday/Tues), thanks! It was a fun night out and good op to catch up with everyone.

Hope you all have a lovely week!

Cheerios

Bittersweet love

Fuarck. I cannot express in words how much I love Vietnamese ice coffee.

Can someone teach me to make coffee?

Miss vague

My friend tried to draw me at work today. It reminded me of the times we did stuff like this in high school. People uses to draw me with a pony tail or bun. Oh, how I've grown up. I like how friendly she's drawn me :D IRL I look real grumpy all the time.

Anyway. Today I thought "ARGH I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE GET ALL VAGUE AND SHIZ". But then I realised I'm really vague all the time. Especially when I want to change the topic in a conversation. I like digressing from one thing to another (as you may all know already).

Anyway, digressing slightly, isn't it strange how we feel days drag on for so long, or pass by real quick? (sorry for talking like an uncultured person, but I'm really into spelling things wrong and uzin' wrong grammar these days).

Anyway. I feel like I'm stuck in a rut. What do I do? Where to from here? What am I going to do for the rest of my life? Was it worth it? When will I get over it? When will I get the guts? I try to talk about it, but I don't know where to start. Ahhh I feel like what I didn't have (choices) earlier, are now being thrown at me from all directions and I don't have the time to think about it, and as a result can't make a decision.

Things always come in rushes, or clusters, or masses. Glad to say that this time, it's not anything bad.

What to do with post-it's if you have a window seat in a prime location

Eavesdropping on a French lesson

Hello all!

I slept in heaps this morning (thank god it was just uni). So I'm skipping my first class and studying for my next one. ended up sitting next to a private French coaching session, and I can say I'm learning heaps. ;D the girl getting taught is so disinterested, it sort of pisses me off. Why pay if you don't want to learn? I'm memorizing phrases faster than her.

Wish I was learning spanish. :(

On a lighter note, my dads been teaching me short phrases in Shang- such as:
NA OLISHANG HOR VA
which apparently means how is your hubby/family.

And
HOR DA VA DA LIAO
which means 好得不得了- beyond good.

Can't believe he's finally agreed to teaching me :D

Anyway, hope you all have a good week- I'm in the city this week if anyone needs me (er but I need to watch my spending- been buying way too many coffees these days) and I'm going to medshow on Friday. Hooray.

Sent from my iPhone

Recap!

Nice weekend

Cutlery welded to drains

This has got to be the third time I've been in Canberra this year. Or maybe even fifth if you count passing through!

WHT
Today we drove down to the Can (yes I drove!!) for the Floriade festival. We're heading to Commonwealth Park tomorrow morning to get a better glimpse of the flowers.

Ate dinner in Dixon where we jumped into a bunch of old church goers. It's been 10+ years and my Sunday school teacher still remembered my name and face. :)

Headed back to the CBD where we watch a bit of a live gig at the pub downstairs aaand early night in because there's nothing to do in Canberra at night.

I'm sure alot more stuff happened today, I've just forgotten.

Anyway, on a completely unrelated note, I was flipping through the H&M brochure and realised how nice parents dress their kids nowadays. I'm so jealous. All I got were cousin Paul's hand-me-downs! Check out how badass the little guy looks ;D

Hope you're all enjoying your long weekend. I'm not looking forward to heading back into Sydney. There's a law assignment waiting. Noooo.

Ps. I love road trips (provided there is a gps in the car). Should do this more often :)