Angela Leow Gray

Kevin, Jie jie +1

May 9, 2008

I’ve heard a lot of stories on the severity of sibling rivalry; the screaming, fist fights, hair pulling, scratches and vulgarities. Me and my sister just never went through all that?! Is that weird? Maybe it’s the age difference? Or maybe it’s the threat of “the teng tiao” that hangs in the back kitchen with the brooms. Dang danggg….

Anyway, I’ve always had a lot of respect for my sister growing up; she was definitely miss goodie-two-shoes in the family. The one that read more books, didn’t get into too much trouble and did better in school.

Looking back, I couldn’t have asked for a better sister. There’s no one else I’d rather do the egyptian walk around the house with, that was our thang. We’re such goofballs. I’m completely myself around her…

So I’ve wanted to post this draft for the longest time, but wanted to make sure I had the go ahead before doing so. A few weeks back, we celebrated my mum’s birthday as usual with a family dinner at home.
Read more…

posted in Family | 10 Comments

The Windsor

May 3, 2008

There’s this pub down the street from my place in South Perth called The Windsor. A few years back, that place was quite a dump.

No one really went there, it was dated, and patrons were mostly old foggies. Recently it went through a facelift, and today its bustling with activity and hot bartenders (ok maybe just one).

Jon, Naree, Chris, David, Louise and myself walked there to watch the footy over some beer and pizza. (By the way, the eagles were getting trashed man! What happened! They used to be so good! )

It was great, a simple evening filled with friends and laughter. I missed them. and I will miss them.

posted in Geek | 5 Comments

trot-a-tot-tot

May 3, 2008

So after this morning’s little panic with the bathroom door, I was fed up of running errands. I drove to the Perth Hills for some bush trail horse riding.

It was about one hour away from Perth city in the hills, but not too difficult to get to.

I had my favourite Js on my itouch, Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson and Jason Castro accompanying me all the way to the stables.

I was riding with another Japanese guy who happened to be here on holiday. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk, so i just rode and took in all the sights and smells of the Australian bushland. I really missed riding, I think the last time was with Wayne at Margaret River about 4 years ago.

The highlight of the ride was seeing Kangaroos in the wild. But the highlight of the DAY was the paddy field of sheep i met on the way home.

It was most bizarre, when i slowed down to have a look at them, they all came running towards the fence. Probably thought i was going to feed em. It was hilarious…coz when i moved, they moved. When i went a bit faster, they ran a bit faster.

i kid you not! Here’s the video…They were so cute!

posted in Travel | 4 Comments

Shoestring with Aioli

May 2, 2008

When I was studying in Perth, I’ve always had a weak spot for the shoestring fries at Oriel cafe Subiaco. The chips thickness was just right, cooked to the perfect crisp, and the aioli gave it that extra kick. So of course I had to go back for a taste… just to be sure it hasn’t changed 2 years on.

With the girlies Naree & Emma

Jonus & Naree

posted in Geek | 1 Comment

Update on the locked bathroom door

May 2, 2008

So i locked the bathroom door in right? I went through the yellowpages and called up two locksmiths for a quote, and it was going to set me back at least A$90. But one of them was nice enough to tell me that its likely my lock has a little pinhead sized hole on the handle that releases the lock.

So I went all McGyver, got a paper clip, bent it straight, found the hole, and WALAH!!! I UNLOCKED IT! WOOHOOOoooo… i just saved myself A$90!!

posted in Geek | 3 Comments

Horridae

May 1, 2008

Just when i thought i was finally on holiday, this morning I woke up set for a jog. Went into the laundry room to get my gear, and the door had locked itself in. SHIT! Now i’ll have to call a locksmith in!?! You got to be FReAKIN KIDDING ME!!!!!! ARGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

posted in Travel | 3 Comments

Adidas Cycling shoe - Beijing Olympics 2008 edition

May 1, 2008

Check out my new cycling shoe from Adidas!! Talk about a pimped out shoe!

Limited edition Beijing Olympics 2008 cycling shoes.

It comes in two different editions i think – road or tri. This one is the tri ones.

It’s so white and clean, I’m afraid to wear it out to the trails! But seriously, that’s what its made for, to use and abuse! Not as a display in your shoe cupboard. Wish there was more information about the shoe online. I want to know what its made of, and the design elements of the shoe.

So Sexaaaayyyy

posted in Fashion | 3 Comments

Yet another beautiful morning

April 30, 2008

Just clearing some work before I enjoy the rest of the day. I wish it could be like this always, I wake up to a 20 degree morning, take a hot shower, brew myself a hot merchant coffee latte, have a freshly toasted crumpet, turn on the radio (for now it’s Nova938), and do my work.

posted in Random | 3 Comments

Wedding bliss

April 30, 2008

Attended Randall and Melody’s wedding dinner at the Shang on Saturday night. It was beautiful, THEY are beautiful.

And best of all… there was no sharks fin soup! Well done you two!

Wishing you all the best for the future, and may you have a lot of little Randalls and Melodys soon!

posted in Friends | 0 Comments

Day 3 - errands errands errands

April 29, 2008

I love how this duvet cover feels on my skin… something about it, maybe the thread count? Or fabric softener? It’s soooo soft I could wrap myself around it for the whole day.

But of course, I couldn’t do that, I had RAC come over this morning.

Got the car battery replaced, and she’s purring like a kitty. But she looked horrible, she had a thick layer of dust over her.

After the RAC guy left, I showered, got changed, and headed to the nearest gas station to pump her tyres at 32 psi. Who says women are incapable of taking care of their wheels. Tsk. I managed just fine.

Then headed to the manual car wash to get her cleaned.

Now I finally feel like I’m on holiday, enough dramas for now please.

Went down to subi to grab some groceries, but of course by then it was 2pm and I was starving! So I had a fantastic beef & mushroom pie at Funtastico on Rockeby Road.

I was so hungry, I forgot to take a picture of the pie. Realised a bit too late, here’s a picture of the aftermath.

After which I went down to the car shop to get my lights checked, coz one of the high beams wasn’t working, turns out it was just a bad connection.

Went down to Merchant Coffee to get my week’s dose of ground espresso beans, and took a drive past Tweedale Road. It’s funny, every time I’m back in Perth, I would drive past Tweedale, just because it brings back so many good memories, and I guess I like to be reminded of those days once in awhile.

Just down the road from Tweedale was the foreshore, I spent half an hour watching a black lab play fetch in the Swan River, and watched seagulls fight for my attention at the park bench.

Seagull perched on a parking sign.

Isn’t he so cute. He looks like a little otter in the river.

I like how they had a Doggy dumpage disposal unit, a box of plastic bags to pick up dog poo poo. If they had that in Singapore, I bet someone would steal all the plastic bag aways.

posted in Travel | 8 Comments

I spoke too soon

April 28, 2008

Just when I posted about a good start, the shits of the shits happened. So here’s what happened. My car battery was dead, and my dad told me he bought a jump start kit. Ok. So i took it out of the cupboard, charged it for half a day, and tried it out.

Didn’t work.

So i thought I’d charge it overnight, and try again in the morning. Morning came… and it still didn’t work. I called up RAC to find out how much it costs for them come over for a jump start, and they quoted me something like A$120. So instead, I just waited till Jon and Chris finished work.

They came over, jump started the car, so far so good right? By the way, this was after I posted the previous ‘happy-feel-good’ blog entry.

I drove up and down the freeway for a good 40mins to charge up the battery again. 40mins sounds like a lot, but i really wanted to make sure I didn’t run into any trouble.

Anyway… as I turned off my freeway exit, the unthinkable unbelievable happened……. MY CAR DIED!!!!!! O H M Y G A W D ! I couldn’t believe this was happening to me!

The battery was completely DEAD! I couldn’t even put my hazard lights on! I was so afraid a car was going to hit me from the back! I was crawling to a stop, and i just managed to steer myself a bit to the side.

I couldn’t find my hand phone, so I couldn’t call Jon. I managed to hail down a cab, and he drove me home. To cut the story short, RAC didn’t want to come out to the freeway because it was too dangerous for them, so I had to get my car towed home for A$99. Which by the way was the easiest 99 bucks that guy could make, because my house was less than 2km away.

Sigh… now i’ve got to wait till tomorrow to get a new car battery. Flips of flops man.

posted in Geek | 5 Comments

Wasted a whole day today

April 28, 2008

Woke up at 7:20am in the morning in a bit of a shock, I forgot where I was and was shocked to wake up in an unfamiliar bedroom. Got changed into my running gear, and decided to go for a morning jog.

The air was crisp and cold, running in this temperature is definitely a lot different. It takes you a longer to warm up, and your chest feels extremely tight and small.

Spent quite a lot of time sorting out the hot water, phone and internet connections, car servicing and dead battery. Which by the way still isn’t fixed yet. Am waiting for Jon to jump start my car later this evening.

Feel like I’ve wasted a day, because I’m stuck in this apartment with no transport. But I did walk to the nearby shops to get myself lunch and a coffee. Sat by the esplanade and fed a seagull and soaked in the sun’s rays.

posted in Geek | 2 Comments

Off to a good start

April 28, 2008

I arrived to see two familiar faces, Jon and naree at the arrival hall. What a rush….to be back at my second home, great weather and to be here in time for one of my best friend’s birthday.

After i settled in, Jon and Naree took me to Leederville for coffee. We walked by this funky café with tons of oriental paper lamps hung from the ceiling. The walls were filled with concert posters from Robbie williams, armin van buuren, def tones, Marilyn Manson…you name it, its there on the wall. The placed smelt heavenly! I knew the coffee was going to be good just by the smell of it.

As we walked down the café…. I was thinking to myself… hmmm…. This green couch is so out of place… all the chairs were dark and… and… wait a minute… OMG… I’M IN THAT CAFE KAREN WAS TALKING ABOUT LAST WEEK!!!! Isn’t that bizarre!!

Jon and Naree

After coffee, Jon bought us dinner at Spaghis, this little Italian restaurant at Mends street, hold on to your knickers, I’ll save the best for last… ciao Italia on millpoint before i fly back.

Day 1 and i’m already so content, this break is off to a good start!

posted in Food, Friends | 4 Comments

QF72

April 28, 2008

I couldn’t blog yesterday because I didn’t have internet connection. Yesterday morning, I was on a flight to Perth Australia. Since I was at Changi early, I decided to take the sky train over to T3.

Don’t know what the hoo ha is about, its just…new…new design… new fixtures, but nothing out of this world.

I met Wayne at Yakun for some kaya toast and egg. Hmmm….

QF72 bound for Perth, Australia.
I don’t usually go trigger happy on a flight, but today, the view was just ab-so-lutely amazing. Here’s a couple of my favorite shots from the air.

Indonesian islands. I loved how the couds and islands were all lined up.

Just out of Singapore

fluffy clouds, was just waiting for a care bear to pop out.

The yellow part in the picture is actually sand.

beaches

Perth on aproach

more beaches

I flew on a Boeing 747-338. Don’t usually notice these sort of things, but the Rolls Royce engines are REALLY quite quiet!

posted in Photos, Travel | 4 Comments

Flower Power

April 26, 2008

My parents came back from LiJiang today, and guess what my mum decided to bring home? Flowers!!

S$35 worth of flowers wholesale.

ALL THIS FOR JUST S$35!! Amazinn…

posted in Family | 3 Comments

Adidas Sundown Marathon

April 23, 2008

With all the hype surrounding the F1 night race coming up, here’s a novel idea for you running buffs, a night marathon!

The Adidas Sundown Marathon will be held at the end of May.

Race Details
Date: 31st May 2008
Venue: Start and End Point, Changi Point.
Time: Various Race Start Times from 8pm onwards

Ultra-Marathon 84km

Marathon 42km

Corporate Challenge Relay (10.5km x 4 Runners)

Team Challenge Relay (10.5km x 4 Runners)

If you’re scared to do it alone, register as a team! I’m sure it’s a lot more fun! Maybe get your colleagues together to form a team? Registration closes soon!

Did a shoot last month for the creatives at Maxling’s crib, which went really well.

I’m loving the final artwork, so here it is….If I’m not wrong it’s in the upcoming issue of Shape. Whoop!

posted in Geek | 11 Comments

Lurkers

April 22, 2008

I’ve been blogging since 2001, but after the crash of my old website, I went on a hiatus for a year. I remember doing a poll like this awhile back, and I’d like to do it again on this new blog.

posted in Geek | 30 Comments

Congratulations Lynn & Dave!

April 22, 2008

WELCOME TO THE WORLD, BABY OLIVER!

Plug
They own a fantastic kitchen paraphernalia store in Portsmouth, England called The Good Cook Shop. And I believe they opened a new store in Worthing, West Sussex. If you’re living around there, do check out their shop. I could spend hours in there.

*edit
Lynn is my cousin from my mum’s side.

posted in Geek | Comments Off

I’ve got to start somewhere

April 21, 2008

I did my first 10km last year at the Great Eastern Women run, and I still remember how torturous 10k felt. I did zero training (not that its a good thing), but I thought it was pretty awesome that I still managed a decent time. But I don’t think I want to go through that struggle again. This year, I’m not going to make the same mistake.

Great Eastern Women 10k 2008 will back on Sunday, 26 October 2008.

So I got back to jogging. Oh lordie… I hope my knees hold up!