The Great Ozzie Chapter

Its my Party! Lets Wiggle!

2008-06-29T00:53:00.000-07:00

hello all,

Mama asked me to write and tell everyone about my burfday party. I am two years old now and I told mama to get a big wiggle cake so I can eat with my friends in school. I wore my Machu Pichu sweater on my burfday. It was such a fun party - everyone wore cone party hats and mama/papa came to join the fun. I blew out the candles on the cake although it took me a long time since staring at the candle was a lot of fun. Mama took me to the park afterwards and we sat staring at the sky (although I do think mama was asleep).

We went to Raby Bay on the weekend which was cool coz there was a mini market, a jetty and lots of big boats. Mama bought me a huge pillow from the market and I love to sleep and drool on the pillow while watching TV.

Papa had a happy week this week - he kept smiling coz he won something called "Lotto". I think he is rich now - mama said he has won $22 whole dollars from the jackpot and now he will buy me toys. I love my papa.

Here is my pictures. I hope everyone is well.

Lotsa Love,

Aerin

The One that got away!

2008-06-12T03:26:00.000-07:00

G'day all!

Tis was a fun weekend! My mama, Wan Jue, is down this week and she managed to smuggle a bottle of the sweet smelling potent budu for dear old me! Yes, snapper never tasted better soaked in budu! Yes, reunions with mama is yummy.

We spend the weekend at Gold Coast, staying at Mantra on the Park. Aerin was still recovering from her chest infection so to cheer the lil tot up, we brought her to Sea World. Her eyes lit up when she saw the Sesame street show and the usual aquarium of sharks, polar bears and dolphins. It was good to see her smile and salivate again. The poor tot is still getting used to her first cold autumn and is quiet upsetting to see her cough her way through.

Ariff decided to spend the Saturday afternoon fishing with his new rod - and after spending a small fortune on bait, he managed to catch a puffer fish (which was poisoinous) and a small Bream fish (which had to be thrown back since it was too small and against the fishing regulations). So, we had to be content with his stories of "those fishes that got away".

Anyway, I'm in cooking training camp this week - ayam perchik and tom yam soup are the culinary dishes to master whilst Mama has got her supervisory chef on. If it turns out ok, I'm selling it at Pasar Ramadan. hahahahah.

Love to all and take care!

The Crackerjack Festival

2008-06-04T04:51:00.000-07:00

Ahoy there!

Tis a rainy and cold week! Aerin was out with a sore throat and we had to dose her up on her first run of antibiotics! Needless to say, she was a clingy koala and I was the ever present eucalyptus tree with a very sore back.

The Crackerjack festival was a small suburban fun fair complete with the rides, the ferris wheel, the show bags, baby animals, performances, fireworks and a tent full of stuff you wouldn't really buy ( do you really need disco balls in your living room?) Ariff said it reminded him of "Pesta Penang" - all that was missing is the apek with Pagoda singlet selling kacang! Aerin was highly fascinated with all the rides but she was extremely scared to get down from her euculyptus tree. We tried to get her to play the games (albeit it was an excuse for us to play the games) and we ended up playing fish for the duck and throwing basketball into hoops in exchange for a measley soft toy made in in taiwan!

Although it was a wet weekend, we ended up shopping for Moreton Bay bugs at the local fish market. Yummy things they were - tastes like lobsters but kinder on the pockets!

I have been developing some strange food fetish all over again - assam, steaks, coffee tasting bad - does make me wonder whether I'm getting clucky again ;p

anyway, Wan Jue is arriving down on Friday so it should be a good weekend at Gold Coast ahead! Its the Queens holiday on Monday so we get some time off from work and some family fun!

Hope everyone take good care of themselves! Love heaps.

East Meets West

2008-05-25T03:19:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Boy, are the weeks are passing by fast! Nothing exciting happened this week except for my discovery that mat salleh and Moh Far Kor assam is not a good mix. I did the gracious duty of offering my collegue my "taik hidung cina" assam as they were all staring at my munchies and boy, their expressions were priceless! Very polite they were - none had the guts to say "Geez, these taste like snots!" ahahahhaha

On happier note, Ariff manage to pass his Australian driver's licence on his second try! His first attempt was an automatic failure since apparently the law in Queensland is that you must turn your head when reversing - looking at a rearview mirror is a no-n0! We thought it was a weird rule and it was giving us many sakit urat for doing the rule!

Atuk and Wan was down for a short stay last week! Although it was a whirlwind stay, they managed to get their filled of sausages, shopping and sleep! Thanks again for the voluminous amount of kedai runcit goodies although we are very sad that the Quanrantine folks hijack the much needed sup bunjut! hahahahaha

We found a new mall on the weekend - its called the Hyperdome at a suburb called Logan. We managed to find an Asian restaurant there called "Addiction" which I got excited since I found Chicken Curry Laksa - which disappointingly tasted like Lodeh! So if anyone feels like Lodeh, I definitely know the place!

Anyway, there is a "Crackerjack festival" in Carindale next week which should guarantee some interesting stories. I'm sure it doesn't beat our homemade mercun back home at the kampungs!

Take care and have a good week ahead! Love to all!

A Surprise Visit

2008-05-09T17:01:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

Another week, another dollar! We had a surprise visit from Aki on Thursday! He missed Aerin so he thought he popped down for the weekend! Aerin as usual bullied the grandpa from making him carry her around, main kejar-kejar (catching game) and the endless Barney videos. Aki is taking us down to Surfers Paradise for the weekend to stay at Mantra Bel- Air - he wants to watch Aerin play at the beach. The bonding session between Aki and Aerin is so sweet.

I would like to shout-out to my mama, mum, anita and all my mother friends to have a Happy, happy mother's day! We all deserve it! The endless washing, the cooking, the support - a day is not enough for us! Bring on the chocolates, diamonds (fake oso can) and caviar (its on $5 here! haha).

Atuk and Wan is coming this week and we are looking fwd to spend time with them :P

Here's a picture of Aerin and her Aki as well as her first artwork! Our little Picasso!

Hope everyone is well, love heaps.

ps. Mediha, bila hang nak datang - cek tak lupa kawan la! Hang nie kaki tempellang! Rindu la kat Titi, lili and didi!

pps - Geez, the politics in Malaysia is deteriotating! Scary la!

Our Happy Anniversary

2008-05-04T01:31:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

How time flies! It was our third wedding anniversary this week and we thought we celebrate it with a beach holiday! We went down to Surfers Paradise and stayed at Holiday Inn for a little R&R. Gold Coast is such a beautiful place, the ocean is so so blue, the shopping is great and the folks are so friendly. We were blessed with great weather and we soak up like the locals by hanging out on the beach.

Aerin loves the beach, she basically runs into the waves gung ho! Its our third month in Oz and she has settled so well, eating lamb chops like a pro, handling blonde lil chicks with ease and being a lil beach bum with so much spirit. Her school has put her with the older toddlers since they noticed that she is happier with the bigger kids and she is loving every minute of it! She has learnt to paint and paper mache things. She's a lil Picasso in the making!

I made friends with some Swedish people down at the park ("the Ikea couple") and we had a great BBQ with them last weekend. I have promised to make the Ikea couple the famous Kari Ketam and they exchange are making us Swedish meatballs! Ariff and I are slowly making friends and its quite a global list - Indian folks, Ikea couple and da' Aussies.

We took Aerin to Alma Park Zoo last week - its a great lil place where you can feed almost all the animals there!

We are so amaze with Australia - the people here (even at work) are so open and laidback that its such a nice change.

We hope everyone is well at home, have a great Labour day weekend.

Love heaps xxxx

My Father is Bob the Builder

2008-04-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Its been another good week for us. We had a wet rainy weekend last Saturday week where our trip to Gold Coast ended up being a Wet Wash Coast. We ended up in a shopping mall games arcade called Timezone relieving our childhood days! The parents were more excited than lil Aerin, who was more interested in the lights at the arcade whilst the parents were trying to outdo each other at the mini kids bowling alley. (Ariff won by a mere 20 points)

Ariff just received his company car this week and after weeks of dreaming of a sporty car or a flashy jeep, the car was rev'ealed to be a massive Ute! We had a good laugh and Aerin kept pointing to Ariff in his hard hat and saying "Bob the builder". In her mind, her dad is good ol' Bob.

Aerin is slowly transitioning into the "terrible two" period that childcare books kept referring to. Lots of tempers, helicopter turns on the floor and screaming matches on which outfit is to be worn. Its been a source of amusement and a baffling time for us as we try to maintain the power struggle with the lovable lil tyke! Now we know what our parents when through!

Its Anzac day this Friday which means that its a long weekend for us. We are planning to go to Alma Park Zoo tomorrow since the weather is clear.

We hope everyone is well and we miss everyone heaps! Take care and love heaps.

p.s Congrats on hitting the target Eita & Byrd!

The Working Musketeers

2008-04-14T03:40:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Its been a busy time for us - all three of us back in the work and playschool groove! Ahhh.....back into the rat race again! Ariff started work as a Project Engineer with Patrick Hastings and he was so happy that he could not wipe the smile of his face during the first week of work! The weather is slowly changing into cold Autumn mornings. We tend to be very homely during the week since we are all tired from the work and Aerin from all her playground antics. Last weekend we explored the city for a bit of late night shopping which was wonderful since they had heaps of street buskers and activities. The weekend was filled with grocery shopping and catching up with Ariff's cousins.

I had an interesting moment at work last week which showed me how uncultured Aussies can be. A girl at my work ("the dumb blonde sheila") was commenting on public holidays and somehow the month of Ramadan was brought into the conversation. She viciously commented how ridiculous it was for Muslims to be fasting and how the purpose of fasting seemed nonsense to her. She reflected how during her time in UK, her fasting Muslims colleagues were so grumpy that it drove her nuts. I was eavesdropping the whole time (since I sit a few tables away) and I was thinking how sad it is that this girl grew up with narrow-minded views in comparison to the tolerant global Malaysian. I ended up hoping that the dumb blonde sheila would choke on her non-halal chicken during lunch.

Anyway, here's some pictures of us at work and play! We are heading to Gold Coast this weekend to catch up with Ariff's old friend. Should be some nice Kodak pictures then!

Love heaps to all.

The Koreans and those delicious kangkung

2008-04-01T05:12:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Let me share with you a story about our lustful neighbour, the "Koreans" (aka the bush possums). One night a bunch of drunken Koreans staggered through our conservative residence and started shouting out a Korean name and going through our yard. Yours truly and my other neighbour started to peer out the window to basically tell them to shut up when lo and behold, to our shock, we found out that the Koreans were searching for their two friends who was happily doing the three legged lambada in our neighbours porch. After much shouting and embarrassed pants pulling, the Koreans wandered off into the night only to leave two very miffed neighbours. Sheeeesh.... and I thought there were looking for their lost cat.

Anyway, atuk and wan sadly left on Sunday after a week of fun and food! Wan had put on her "Superwan" hat and ensured that we had our dose of curry ketam, nasi lemak and nasi ayam in a matter of 3 days. Not to mention the rearranged food larder and sudden appearance of a miniature playground in my small backyard! Ahhhh...things we do for love! I even got the hint that the new blender and ironing board that they bought meant that i would have to start ironing and blend those sambal! Aerin as usual bullied both of the grans for cuddles and her fair share of Barney videos viewing time. Thank you Wan and Atuk! Come back soon!

On another happier note, I found out that my neighbourhood market sold kangkung! Ahhhh...those delicious skinny greenies! I was actually having withdrawals until this discovery. I always take kangkung for granted in Malaysia, but never again. Kangkung Rocks!

I don't have a picture of mah favourite vege, but here is my Chinese money plant for your happy viewing!

Love heaps.

Ahoy Easter Bunnies!

2008-03-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Its Easter in Oz and chocolates are the way of life. Eating them on the way to work, dreaming of them in the shower.....ahhhhhh, how they sit nicely on the hips...for life.

Atuk and Wan are down this week and its been a wonderful start with Wan bringing a bag ful of Asian groceries...I can actually start a small kedai runcit with them! We did the usual mini pilgrimage to the Direct Factory Outlet, Southbank and parks, gobbling everything from fish and chips to kebab in sight. Atuk and Ariff have also been having their soccer marathon on Foxtel together which is a sweet sight.

Thanks to Atuk, we have a video cam now. It makes me worried that people can actually see the state I'm in while on the net (translation: pimple cream and thick glasses ain't a sexy look!)

Here's hoping for a nice family reunion week this week with more food, shopping. I was sick last week with some strange virus. Strangely , it coincide with my first week of work. Hmmm.......allergies to work?

Anyway, miss everyone as usual. Will update next week! Love heaps.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho,,,its off to work we go!

2008-03-16T02:40:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Its been a nice quiet week. I'm starting work this Monday as a data administrator so I am quite excited although I will miss spending time with Aerin. Its not that bad since work hours is short from 8.30am - 4.30pm.

I was quite an amusing interview session. I asked what happened to the previous administrator and they said "We ate them". After a few seconds of silence, I broke into nervous laughter. I do want to say a big thank you to my Astro colleague Lina for her cool reference. I owe you an expensive Japanese lunch woman!

Aerin had a good Sunday - she spend her time with her cousins Ima, Tash and Aliyah. Kak Mimi cooked an awesome laksa which after 2 months of not eating laksa, it tasted so so good. Will load pictures once I find my camera!

We are looking fwd to next weekend since Tuk and Wan are coming. Don't forget keropok Mum! Our stock is running low.

Short and sweet for now. Love heaps to all!

Ode to My Fwens, how I miss you guys!

2008-03-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

Sayonara....

2008-03-09T20:06:00.000-07:00

Ola everyone!

Wan Ju went back home on Sunday - it was very sad to have Wan Ju going home but at least we know that Wan Mazi and Atuk is on their way next week.

Wan Ju helped teach us the many use of Nasi Goreng Perencah (didn't know you can fry asparagus in it!) and how to maximise fridge space. - They failed to teach us these things in university!

We found out from star.com that the election created some major news back home! We were overjoyed and bemused by the results - hopefully it will not create chaos back home. I'm happy that one of my favourite blogger Jeff Ooi won his spot in the election.

Aerin is as usual her sunny michievous self - she had a minor accident at the playgroud. She frogjump her way around the slides and landed face flat on the soft woodchips. We tried very hard not to laugh to see this little munchkin with a mouth full of woodchips. Aaaah, growing pains. At least, she is not jumping into the longkang like her father!

Anyway, short and sweet for now. Will write soon!

p.s Regulatory Girls - I swear I saw an Ogre lookalike in Brissie this week! Nearly had a heart attack!

Seize the day!

2008-03-02T16:42:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Thank you for all the happy birthday wishes! Tis was a fun day with the family! My mama and brothers were down in Oz. It made the lil one one very happy toddler indeed! She had centrestage loving attention and pressies!

We decided to spend the day at the fun filled Gold Coast staying at the gorgeous Conrad Jupiters Casino. Aerin had her first jacuzzi and her poses were very posh. She tried to enter the Casino as she was drawn by the bright lights but unfortunately security checked her licence and deemed her "too young".

We had a wonderful birthday dinner at Georges Seafood Restaurant where we stuff our face with lobsters. The restaurant sang my b'day song since i was the only one celebrating my birthday that day. We had a go in the casino on the Roulette table but alas, luck was only with my mum. It must be the unwashed hair feng shui that my mum was following.

We spend the rest of the weekend shopping and slumbering at the beach. I think my brothers had a great time checking out the Aussie chicks in their tiny weeny bikini.

Here's some pictures of the day! Love heaps.

The Breakthrough

2008-02-23T18:44:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

Its been a good week! Aerin finally got used to the idea of playschool as she quickly naps and play her Friday away with Ms Elmira. We used the time to have a date and catch an endearing movie called "The Bucket List". It was such a sweet movie - Morgan Freeman (he's so kewl) and Jack Nicholson played two terminally ill people who went on a bunch of adventures to make up for their limited time left.

Our cargo finally arrived, so we were very busy unpacking our stuff. The smell that accompanied our goods made us miss our home! We experienced the hottest day in Queensland, it was 40 degrees on Saturday....and here we were eating fish and chips outside under an umbrella. It was stupidest thing we did since we all came out looking like a lobster but the food was so worth it!

I thought of posting our pictures at the community soccer club. Ariff wants to join them once his food gets better. The lil one loved the open field, she kept running around and lying down on the grass daydreaming. I was a bit more cautious since it was a windy day and I wore a dress - so had to be careful that the dress didn't blow up to reveal my Bridget Jones get-up.The car at the back is our go-go mobile.

Take care, and write soon! Love heaps to all.

Dear Wan and Atuk

2008-02-16T17:24:00.000-08:00

Dear Wan and Atuk,

This week was my first playschool week. It was very scary and I cried a lot. My new bibik has blonde hair and her name is Auntie Jac and another one is called Auntie Amyra. They smell different and talk in a strange language but they cuddle and hug me a lot so that I won't miss mama and papa.

Ma and Pa took me to Chinatown this week. I fell at home since there was lots of black hair people around and mama kept getting excited over some rempah shop. They also took me to the museum in the city which they were getting excited over some big cicak and kept asking me to pronounce 'di-no-saur'. I was more excited about the pigeons outside the museum. I gave them my chips when mama was not looking.

I met my new cousins this weekend. It makes me miss Along and Abang Nizam.

Hope everyone is ok and love you all.

Cuddles,

Aerin

Ode to Steve Irwin

2008-02-11T20:13:00.000-08:00

Hello again, hope all our loved ones are well. Its was a fun weekend last week. On saturday, we thought of treating the lil one to Australia Zoo - about 40 minutes drive to a place called Beerwah. This was the home to Steve Irwin aka Crocodile Hunter. It was such an amazing zoo with all the animals being fat and healthy. Aerin had such a good time patting the animals but for some strange reason she was highly drawn to the baby piglets which we kept dragging her away from due to the non-halal elements! The only thing about Australia Zoo was that it was filled with crocodiles and not many other animals. But, it was sad to know that the amazing owner has passed on. He really build a wonderful animal haven.

On Sunday, we had a visit from my Melbourne friends. All of us decided to have a lazy day at Southbank, swimming in the manmade lagoon. Aerin had a great time throwing sand onto her parents and just grazing about at the beach. She is such a confident water baby now that at times, it was hard to drag the screaming koala away.

Anyway, we will post the latest on Aerin childcare soon. She just started part-time childcare. Its such a fun place filled with toys, pool, sandpit, hamsters and the lot. It was easier to leave Aerin there as there was so many distractions for her to forget her parents! Here's a quick picture of her first day:

Our weekend Escapade - Australia Zoo

2008-02-11T20:07:00.000-08:00

The Nest and the Dream Car

2008-02-07T03:01:00.000-08:00

Ariff is in love with this Lexus! The picture above is our lil rented nest at Mt Gravatt.

Our new friend, the possum

2008-02-06T21:37:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! We finally got our own broadband instead of stealing the neighbours! I haven't uploaded any new pictures but I thought the old picture of Aerin is adorable.

We discovered a lot of new things on a our second week......kids immunisation is free here (and we get paid by the Govt as an incentive to get Aerin immunised!) , the Direct Factory Outlet in Brisbane is the coolest place on earth, the library is actually a semi-retirement village and that the thing on the tree in our backyard at night is not a cat, but actually a possum. The possum seems to love our backyard, I think its all the new sambal rubbish that he finds in the bin!

Its been a good week with the exception of Ariff fracturing his toe. We discover that Brisbanites have nothing better to do but shop since every suburb has a massive department mall! We went to the Brisbane International Car Show on the weekend and was salivating on all the beautiful cars.....I had to keep taking pictures of hubby in his dream car.

We were taking the bus for a few days and Aerin found it the most fascinating thing. She keeps making truck noises and her mouth keeps gaping at the thought of being in the bus.

We will keep you posted with the latest soon!

The Southbank Pics

2008-02-01T04:10:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, this is in the middle of the city. Lil one happily playing away with SAND and the parents are just posing away....some mat salleh guy took this pic by the way and quickly disappeared after taking the photo. I think he's afraid we'd ask him to take it again. Maybe we should have offered him a free bath in the "beach"....

We have arrived!

2008-02-01T03:33:00.000-08:00

Location: Mt Gravatt, Brisbane
Days at location: 4 days

It was an exhausting journey for the uncultured nomads! We had to resort to a few drops of shiraz in the lil princess milk as she was an active untranquilised koala on the plane. We arrived at Brisbane with two trolleys of luggage which the immigration dog refused to smell. As we drove and navigate ourselves through Brisbane traffic, we noticed it was raining serenely. "Hujan Rahmat" Ariff said - a good blessful sign.

The first 2 days was a mad dash to the shopping centres buying everything from prepaid cards to kicap. We went nuts at the grocery as dollar to dollar, a $100 could buy a lot of yummy stuff. Can you imagine, with $50, we bought 2 potterhse steak, 1.5kg of Oz beef, 8 lamb chops, 1 whole chicken, 500g of Oz tail, 4 chicken sausages and nuggets! The halal butcher looked at us with dollar signs in his eyes. - We have to definitely learn how to cook now!

We are posting pictures of our trip to Southbank today - a manmade lagoon in the city centre. At 28 degrees - it was bliss to see the little tyke enjoying herself.

We are Family

2008-01-27T21:47:00.000-08:00

Today: 28 January 2008
Departure Time: 11 pm
Destination: Brisbane

Today is the day of departure. crazy things needed to be done. collecting paycheques, buying baby milk, getting our last fill of mom's ketam curry......We've been wearing the same clothes for 3 days! Eeewww...smelly.

The excitement is bone chilling but the sadness is melancholy. here's a pic of our extended family on Ariff's side.

Presenting - The Uncultured Nomads

2008-01-15T23:20:00.000-08:00

A New beginning: Part 1

2008-01-15T22:41:00.000-08:00

Destination: Brisbane
Time to destination: 12 days to go

Nervous factor - 60%
Packing factor - 75%

There is only less than 2 weeks before my little nuclear family make the big move to the great Outback. In 12 days, me, my husband, Ariff and my daughter, Aerin (19 months) will be left maidless and parentless as we make the small steps for a better life. Lets just hope they sell belacan there! My budu is so coming with me - those poor Immigration folks. I hope they don't faint at the smell of budu.