new year resolutions pt 2

before I start stating 2016 resolutions, would like to mention a few that I have achieved from past years :D


2014/2015 resolutions that I have achieved
- forming the habit of cleanse-tone-moisturize
 I used to be very horrible in terms of putting anything on my face (or cleaning  =.=).. I would just use makeup wipes to clean my face instead of cleanser, and skip toning or moisturizing. However, due to the massive amount of expired face products due to my lack of using and my love for buying random ones to try (and my increasing horrible skin condition because i did not take care of it), I forced myself to start doing the cleanse-tone-moisturize routine, and noticed a change.. my skin is not as dry now :D. Now, it is part of my twice daily routine which I am glad to have achieved, I still forget at times especially when I stay at home all day and not venture out which is fair enough.

- bond with my little brother more
Even though my younger brother and I live under the same roof, we can live without talking to each other for dayssss. When i came home after work, I would head to my laptop and glue to it for ages. Whenever I traveled, He found out about my travel plans from friends instead of myself because we seldom communicated. He stopped cooking due to both of us being at work full time and being tired. We barely ate together unless I mentioned to eat out during my day off.
I wanted to change that, or at least make my household living being happy :). So, end of last year, I decided to start cooking and eating at home more. I try to cook during my day off so we can eat together for dinner (and to save some $$). He was quite surprised when he noticed the change. Now, whenever he comes home on my day off, he will eagerly ask me if I am gonna cook :), and he tries to cook on the day that I work. We will eat together on the dining table instead of in front of our respective laptops. I like that change, and i'm sure he does to.
My next step is to find the effort to play board games with him, seeing that he loves it so much ;)
this family bonding is gonna be an ongoing task for sure!



OKAY, enough said. time to list out my part 2 goals:
i need to
-  DECLUTTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS has been an ongoing project since forever!  There are always clutter everywhere. I must admit that im a hoarder, I just couldn't get myself to get rid of several little small things (including empty jars/shampoo bottles that I have used =.=)..

The cleanest my room has ever been is usually right before I fly off to somewhere, because either I have no mood to pack if there is mess around,or i procrastinate by tiding my room and leave packing till the very last minute), or I tidy my room along the way in search of what to pack... hmmm i'm not making any sense here haha don't know what I am typing.

Anyway I need to get rid of ALOT of things:

CLOTHES
clothes that I no longer wear even though it's still quite new looking, clothes that I can't wear because I 长肉了 T____T , clothes that I said to myself maybe I will wear it again 1 day, clothes that I have no occasion to wear.... etc

PAPERWORK
books and reading materials from uni, i still have them. feel sad to throw all my hardwork out though my brother kept naggging at me about them. But i really should say goodbye to them, I don't need them anymore! (easier typed than done).. also some bank statements, old rental contracts/paperwork, pharmacy reading materials etc


BODYSKINCARE/COSMETICS
oh, and expired samples/skincare/cosmetics/medications... I have tons of them... i seldom use cosmetics especially mascara, lip stuff but i like to buy them (maybe I should start wearing them more during work) =.=.. the only ones i use more, are foundation/bb cream, and even those i have lots of them that have been sitting around for more than 2 years, unfinished.. some . are not cheap so it feels quite wasted just to throw them out (i need someone to come and throw it away for me xD)... and lots of samples that I get from work place, i seldom even touch them! (hence nowadays i don't really take samples/freebies anymore).. Bottles of body moisturisers that are out of date..


to prevent stuff from expiring before I use them, I came up with my next goal:
- MOISTURISE/MOISTURISE, MOISTURISE!!!!

Need to start using my body moisturiser and lip balm. My skin/lips are so dry due to the dry australian weather. Bought all these good moisturisers and lip balms but never used them, just checked these products and they were all expired! On the other hand I actually have less expired facial skincare now  (excluding body moisturisers) ever since forming the habit of cleanse-tone-moisturise routine 2 years ago.. so this year i shall apply the same method for body moisturisers, and lip balm!



hmmmm 2 goals listed... enough time spent.. to be continued :).. gonna shower now.. let's hope i remember to moisturize after xD

New year 2016 resolutions part 1

New Year 2016 Resolutions pt 1~

I guess it is the time of the year again, new year, new plans, new goals.

I tried not to set any goals in the past (partly because I knew I would not follow/achieve any of them hahahahaha).

However, I suppose this year I would like to motivate myself and set goals for myself. I have been in my comfort zone for so long, I need some sort of challenges, hey I have so many more years to go, I can't stay the same all the time aye? Have to 进化to the better keke.

Okay shall start listing all my goals!

- Be fitter and healthier
One thing that I was proud of myself at the end of last year, I started going back to the gym (after paying for the membership since 2011 and BARELY went at all!) yup... I paid for not going, such a waste of money I know, tried to ring to cancel it once i think back in 2012 or 2013, but they said I couldn't cancel it over the phone and have to pop in to see them, AND I WAS THAT CBB and just kept paying instead =.= (bad on me). Partially because of my shift work till late night and they closed at 10pm, I did not have time to go after hours (and I could not be bothered to wake up at 6am to go sweat myself in the gym before work, nor gym on my day off after a 12 hours shift, yup you can say they were all excuses).

Last year, I decided to cancel it for good, went to their website 1 last time to check out anything good (eg gym classes, attend one or 2 before cancelling), then found out the gym near to mine just become 24/7 for 2 weeks. I was so excited because I always hoped my gym is 24/7 like some other ones so I can go after work :). See how I tried to cancel twice and something else turned up to stop me hehe, must be a sign from God hehe. So I started straight away, think it was back in October or November on the days that I work (roughly 3-5x a week).

不过因为十二月从印尼回来时生病了，加上工作开始很忙，所以直到过年一个多月没去了。不过今晚终于下定决心又开始！I've decided that if I were to stop attending for 2 months straight, I shall cancel my gym membership!!

Proof of my first gym session for 2016, pardon my 丑态 哈哈哈哈 (eye bags and break outs from late nights haihs need to fix that!)

So yeah, be fit and healthier, going to gym is part of the plan (I definitely find my stamina to have improved :). 我不期望会有个苗条有骨感的身材, i am not born with that sort of genes & have accepted that fact, but at least I want to be healthier and look healther, fit enough to climb mount fuji in future is my goal! :)
2ndly, eat healthier and sleep earlier and drink more water!!! sounds simple? But I don't do it =.=, or haven't been in the past..........................................


- COOK MORE!
Last year end (又是去年年底！）I started cooking more. Not that I didn't cook at all in the past, just mainly cooked for myself (dump everything.. veges fish balls eggs mushrooms you name it into a pot and boil them and then add noodles, macam eating 火锅 LOL, but that Was my staple in the past!) I blamed that on long 12 hours working shift again, and CBB cooking on days off because to me day off IS a DAY OFF (those who constantly work long shifts, 你懂的). 然后，出现了转机~ my brother, who was a vegetarian, decided to add fish in his diet! (之前我的借口之一是嫌他麻烦不知要煮什么给他）.So again I got excited and started to find stuff to cook for us. 他一开始觉得很奇怪我怎么突然开始下厨，thought it was for the other half xD.

Anyways, I have been craving for korean food for a while, and since flights to KOREA is pretty expensive, I can't just book and fly over there like what I did for japan =.=. Went online came across a korean youtuber called Maangchi who has plenty of korean cuisine recipes, and alot of them are simple to follow (mind you I am a very 懒散 and 嫌麻烦 person and if the steps are complicated or if I can't get the ingredients from my local grocer I will not proceed further!). SO 我决定从她拿下手！I am glad I came across her, tried a few of her recipes (including the tuna pancakes) and they worked out well :)

I always love soft tofu stew, and the ones I have from Rundle mall food court just doesn't cut it, so decided to make my own! I was impressed!! LOVE IT!! (thanks to the recipe!)

When I first saw the recipe to make these bread rolls, I was amazed at how easy it looks! So I tried it (after more than 1 month, talk about being lazy and also having baking phobia lol 我讨厌把手弄脏，have truely overcome that by now hehe)..

So far I have baked or used flour multiple times, partly motivated to finish off the soon to expire flour!

So yup 2016 definitely more cooking + baking!!!!! to 省钱 (暂时还没省到，because I started spending money on baking gadgets =.=)

more goals, but I think I have typed enough. will continue on later, =) hopefully not half a year later lol.. need to shower its nearly 12am! (oh wells what to do, late shift late gym late everything =/) 

PS: the above goals were sort of my past year (not mentioned) resolutions that I have been failing to achieve. so hopefully this year I will actually do something and be persistent in it =)

Tuna pancake recipe

Made tuna pancakes today with a recipe that I found online.

It turned out well so I shall write down the ingredients here for future reference :)

Tuna Pancakes (more like fishcakes lol) - 6 pieces

- 2 small cans of tuna (water drained)
- 1/4 cup of chopped onions
- 1 tbs of plain flour
- 1 whole x-large egg
- 1 tsp oil (sesame), (or butter or others)
- 1/2 tsp of salt (or more)
- 1/4 tsp grounded pepper (approximately)
- 1 mince garlic
- cheese (optional)
- chives/ thyme/ chilli (optional)

hmmm i reckon thats it.. mix all the above, then pan fry.. (flip when one side turns golden brown).. takes about 5 minutes

\\

Tada, don't have any greens to garnish, I used whatever I found in ma fridge... cherry tomatoes. Worked out well because they were so sweet went well with the salty tuna :)

Besides Tuna, other meat/fish can be used to substitute.. Ivan is a pescatarian so my cooking leans more towards fish and vege.

就这样！最近想多尝试下厨Try 不一样的东西 （主要是材料简单步骤简单不然我也懒得去试 xD) ... 想吃什么就上网找食谱

ok TA!

Thought of the week

Thought of the week:

i think i should start swimming....

ah randomness..

everytime i have a sudden urge to exercise or do some physical activities, my time of the month visits me, hmm everytime...

hence, i think it must be my hormone, giving me all these "motivational" thoughts..

i wonder if it will last, or start (erm, physical exercises)

Well, i really do need some form of physical fitness, everyone should!

guess I should start with something realistic, and easy, to ensure that it will sustain

Will see what happens

Oh, ive sent off my passport for visa application, and completed all my CPD, way before due date.

Better this year than last :)... ah oops,  yet to do my tax return, have to do that before my holidays next  month!

well that's all for now! first post this year :)... let's hope i am able to post more often in future X)

#throwback #siemreap #2014 #swimmingpoolhahaha

Slack+Procrastinate = same old

Haha nothing new.. haven't visited this blog since the last time I updated my post.. came back today because I need to pack to go away for the next few days (remember I made a list of what to pack for short trip)..

Well it's not a vacation, but a work trip (so will have slight variation in what to pack), but glad that this list will save me time :)

First time driving to country (and first long distance drive!)... abit daunting thinking about it but no worries, will be fun! my boss also offered me his spare new GPS (well I asked to borrow his, he said I can have it but I paiseh la).

Anyways, need to start packing tonight, as I am going off straight from work in the evening.. hmmm so tired thinking about it =.= (got to work 12 hours today..)

Reviewing the to-do-list that I've set during my last blog post...
majority still yet to do
- Good news, i've lodged my 3 years worth of tax return, FINALLY! but I got a stupid tax agent, will rant next time...

- I've started tidying and chucking away/giving away unwanted stuff.. spent quite a bit of time so I feel proud of myself.. but because there are too much stuff, the room like it's.. erm.. still untouched= same (so sad)

- still need to calculate bills for recent europe, japan (that's old) trip

- i've uploaded few trip photos during the week (that's an improvement :))

- booked airtix for next year's easter trip :) just need to book coming back ticket lol

- backed up my laptop data and reformatted my laptop!!!!!!!

 ahh my alarm just went off to remind me to go to work now.. Bye for now =)

Hi again

Oh wow. it has been at least 3 months!

I knew I was abit slack, didn't realise it has been that long since I last blogged.

Just came back from my holiday/vacation/adventure. Can't wait to put up some photos. Hope I won't be as slacked as before. Still yet to upload trip photos from the past 3 years (japan, europe part 1, bali etc).

Can't believe it's spring already. Here come the hayfever season, safety net period, gonna be very very busy till next year Jan or Feb. Ah well year end again, new year again, felt like it was 2013 yesterday. Time sure passes very quick.

Note to self, Here are some overdue tasks that I need to quickly complete/sort it out:
- 40 CPD points (ticked, done yay, at least I didn't leave it till the very last day like last year!)
- PDL insurance (done, paid, manage to renew my policy this year, hehe I see an improvement in what I'm doing :))
- Tax refund (3 years worth, really got to start working on these long overdue tax refund of mine!)
- bills
- debt owing to myself from last year (who knows i can collect enough bills tax and debt to enable me another trip somewhere else :))
- calculate debt from recent europe trip
- clean the house (ongoing issue, need to get rid of alot of clothes that I don't need/wear)
- finish off all expiring food/ supplements
- check on airtickets for next year (yes time to plan for future trips!)
- renew Ahpra
- plan my leaves for December
- plan my upcoming break in November
- backup all data from my laptop/iphone/phone, time to reformat my laptop
- cheap way norway :)
- Chinese Visa???
- Citizenship


Too much to do.. .. .. ..

My AirasiaX + KLIA2 experience pt 1

Last month, on a whim I booked my flight to go back to Malaysia for the long weekend. Not exactly on a whim, I thought about it for a while but didn't get myself to do it, because of the upcoming trip I am having, so I should save. So I wasn't plannng to go back.

But when mum kinda hinted for me to go back (at least that was what I felt LOL), I felt bad, if I am willing to spend money to go travelling, I should be more than willing to spend the money to go home too if my family wants me to. Plus it was mum's birthday, and she wasn't well (had a major op).

So yes I went back, via Airasia X. seriously, Thank God for Airasia, that I can afford to fly back to Malaysia to visit my hometown, family, friends (if not I don't know when I go back, seriously tickets can be so expensive!). I got my no so cheap tickets (because I booked quite late, just few days before), costed me about 400-450AUD return (could have been less than 400!)

Alot of people complained about Airasia seats being uncomfortable, no meals/ entertainment etc. Well hello, first of all, it is a budget airline, so they try to cut cost (no meals no entertainment) to offer you lower ticket are. I think that is fair. It helps for people that are trying to save. You can still buy meals if you really want to eat something (it is not that expensive). Would definitely recommend buying meals on board though, especially if it's a long flight, you will definitely get hungry (I learnt from my lesson lol). I supposed you can prepare your own snacks to bring on board to save abit. (even though they said no outside food, doubt they care that much I did that before with no issues). 

Seats wise, during day flights I find it ok. Well imo, maybe because I'm tinier in size, I find the seats ok for me (well gotta admit compared to other airlines, they feel more squishy, so ya giant people I so don't feel for you :P). The only thing that I really hate is the headrest, and that is due to me being short =.=. I couldn't rest my head properly against the seat, thank God for next pillow that helps with comfort. the normal Airasia flights (domestic) has more comfortable seats though.

Night flight, I have mixed experiences. It would be best if no one sit next to you (same for day flights). You get more space that way, and can sleep at ease. That happened with my first few flights to/from Adelaide last year. I was quite satisfied with it and slept soundly. Recent few hadn't been as comfortable though. One of them, I had an afro looking guy sitting a seat next to me (middle seat was empty, I was at the window seat while he was sitting at the aisle seat), I barely slept the whole night (I felt uncomfortable maybe because he looked creepy, but that can happen with any airlines i guess). Then I have sore back =X

And, to think about it, I don't think any other airlines night flights will be more comfortable anyway (except very slightly bigger seats). You still have to sleep sitting (unless you are lucky enough and get the whole row to yourself when it is not a full flight). IMO Best night flight experience would be with Emirates, their reclining seats were awesome (you can adjust the whole seat and backrest, hmm don't know how to explain).

So yes, mixed feelings with Airasia X in regards to the night flights, till I discovered Optiontown, where you can choose to buy row of seats to yourself (subject to availability aka has to be non full flight, fully understandable!)!! I did that with my last trip back to Adelaide, RM125 on top, worth every dollar! I don't think you could even buy seats like that with normal non budgeted airlines (correct me if I'm wrong, because I rarely travel via expensive airlines hahaha). I brought along my pillow, blanket (or you can use a jacket/big scarf, it is a must for me, I need something to cover myself to sleep), slept like a baby (non crying 1 lol) that night, when I woke up it was time to prepare for landing :). 

So yesh, taking into account various things mentioned, airasia is my preferred airline now :D.. However if I find any other airlines with cheaper price (esp when on sale) no doubt I will go for those! except maybe China air =X.. (quite scared about the safet). In the end the major deciding factor is still the airticket cost, I just need a plane to get me from 1 place to another with the lowest possible price, and I think it is quite hard to beat airasia :).. 

Okay, that's all for now. continue on later Re new airport!

on the side note...
 gonna customise a handcarry packing list here for my  Malaysia weekend getaway / short break (for future use) so I do not have to google what to pack the midnight before my flight next time!

My Carry On packing essentials
wears:
jacket/scarf/airplane blanket (for sleep use)
yoga pants/leggings
lazy top
socks
neck pillow

handbag/backpack:
valuables
credit card/ malaysian currency
AUD (cab fee prn)
phone
keys (home & luggage & car) + lock
passport
airticket/boarding pass
camera
watch
Guntha
others
pen
water bottle
earphones
spare batteries
spare phone (MYS sim card)
toothbrush/toothpaste/facewipes
cosmetics
earphone/ipod
snacks (optional)
sleepaids (eye marks/ stilnox prn)

Handcarry luggage:
flipflops
toiletries (max 100ml size)
charger
1 set of bras and underwear (more back home)
clothes (if I have luggage space, to empty my wardrobe here and fill up my wardrobe in malaysia)
mum's nougat/chocolate/supplements
spare foldable handcarry