I just saw Super Junior's Cooking Cooking.

Why do they all have such high pitched voices (for guys)?

But boy, their music's really bouncy!

perseid , I can see why you were so entranced with them.  

Last night harlzen and I made a visit to Satsuki in Subiaco.  For those who don't know, they are they sister restaurant to Ha Lu in Mount Hawthorne.  Satsuki specialises in sushi in the Edomae style which relies on appealing as much to the visual senses as it does to the tastebuds.


( Satsuki in Subiaco )

While the menu for this place would be quickly exhausted by piggies like us, it has definitely won us over for their style and quality of food presented.  Yes, it is rather pricey, but definitely worth it if you want to have a good quality Japanese meal that's not teriyaki beef and rice.

Satsuki

Shop1 / 50 Subiaco Square, Subiaco

Western Australia 6008

Phone number: 08 9381 9868

Open

Lunch Tue - Sat 12:00 noon - 2:30pm

Dinner Tue - Sat 6pm - late

According to the State Government, people who present themselves with flu symptoms to a doctor are sent home one one week's sick leave.  And that's mandatory.

Moreover, you are to wear a face mask when you present yourself at the surgery and when you have your consultation with the doctor.

Is that overkill?  Or is caution the better part of the overall plan to combat the H1N1 virus (aka swine flu)?

Yes, I'm sick. No, I do NOT have the swine flu, just a very vicious strain this year that the flu jab did nothing to stop.  I was literally wiped out over the weekend and still only feel about 30% of full capacity at the moment.  And yes, I have got the mandatory 1 week's sick leave and have been told in no uncertain terms by work not to come in till I was well so that I don't spread the virus around.  T_T

harlzen is sick with me.  Two zombies in one household is kinda funny and not at the same time.  I was fairly incoherent on the weekend, sleeping an awful lot, while he sat glazed in front of the computer sniffling away.  Plus on Saturday we had a rent inspection.  I'm sure we impressed our landlady with our enthusiasm.  Not.

Well, I hope we're on the up now.  So I look forward to the long weekend (no pun intended, it really is one in Western Australia this weekend) flu-free!

I went by a friend's house to catch fishies from her pond.

Catching fishies is VERY HARD WORK!

Especially if there is much greenery in the way!

I woke this morning with Boomtown Rat's "I don't like Mondays" swimming around in my head.  Is that a warning sign?

*sigh*

Off to work...

When all is said and done, much of my RuddBucks will end up clearing debts anyway.  Not all, just about half of it.  Still, my bank account does seem healthier for it! 

There's something nice being able to clear debts, even if it's not a lot.  Just the satisfaction of sticking it to the bank and going, "HAH!  No more interest for you!" when the credit card amount hits zero.  I think I've got fairly good spending habits in that I use the CC for emergencies or for items I consider 'large' (I mean, this is relative.  $100 item can be large for me depending on what it is.)  It's also a debit account for regular charges like health insurance and other monthly payments.  Daily expenses are taken out of my weekly trips to the ATM.  I keep about $50 cash on me most times and that seems to be enough for things.  Petrol and groceries go onto EFTPOS.

How do other people set up their spending/budgetting routine?  Not just savings, but mostly the way you manage your spending and debt incursion.  Some people also keep a bit of emergency cash on hand which they don't touch except when absolutely necessary.  Others (especially those with mortgages) spend entirely on their credit card as that is tied to the way their income is deposited into their bank accounts.

Maybe people have some tips to share?

I have a new toy!

<3 Shiny black Nintendo DS.

Anyone have games they no longer play and I can borrow for a little while?  I have lots of puzzle games (like sudoku, crosswords and such) but would like to try some others.

Ok, another insanely long break between posts for me yet again.

The weather is turning out to be ridiculously hot this Easter break, after earlier forecasts stating it would be cool and mild!  *shakes fist at weather forecasters*  Where is my mild autumn?!?!?!  I have a nice 5-day break this year around (thank you public sector holiday!) so there are plans, plans, plans!  But none of them have really eventuated yet!

This morning, for example, harlzen and I headed to Mt Hawthorne to have a late breakfast at the New Norcia bakery.  But it wasn't opened!  So we headed to Leederville instead, and while not entirely a dead-zone (130s and Green & Co were doing a roaring business), my preferred option, Sayers, wasn't opened either!  In the end, we went on a trip to nostalgia lane and ended up at Broadway, where we feasted on kebabs and beef fried hor fun.  Mmmm... I swear that the little kebab shop at the bottom of Broadway shopping centre has the best kebabs in Perth.

Then it was back home.  For a nap.  Yup yup.... you see, despite it being weekend/holiday period, my internal alarm system always wakes me just before 6am no matter what time I go to bed.  EVERY MORNING.  Naps are therefore the only way I can catch up on any rest.  Now I'm waiting for my other half to finish with his experimental dinner.  He's still working with beans... lima beans this time.  So we shall see how effective it gets later tonight.  *chortle*

Tomorrow we're off to Subiaco to do a spot of shopping and exploring since it has been a while since we've gone there.  And then lots of catching up with various people soon too!

I've just spent part of the evening at my parents' home throwing out years of accumulated hoardage.  Yes indeed, it runs in the family!  I had years worth of Animerica, Animanga and SFX magazines just taking up space, as well as all the primary source material I used for my PhD.  As well as a stack of  National Geographics I promised I'd get through one day.  Well, I never did and soon they will end up in the recycling bin.  I blame the latter on the Save the Children Fund Book Sales held annually at UWA though.  I still remember very fondly trawling through the aisles in search of bargains.  I haven't been back for a while, mostly because I realize just how much of a hoarder I can become.

Over time I realize just how much of my past I still need to keep.  That is, the momentos.  Of course, all the memories are perfectly fine where they are!  I think that's one of the most important things, to keep precious memories safe, where no one can take it from you.  When those memories are invested in an item, it can be easy to lose them, even inadvertently.  That's not to say there's still not a lot of things I do want to keep, so it gets hard when I come across something from years back which brings back many fond thoughts!  I came across a massive box of old correspondence back in the days before internet (I truly reveal my age at this point!)  I think I was a fairly prolific correspondent as I had pen pals from all over the world.  Things just eventually petered out, I guess, especially when the internet and emails replaced more traditional forms of communication.  Part of the beauty of a letter travelling by air is that there is time for one to consider the words to be committed to paper.

But it does feel somewhat liberating though, to be shedding some weight, even if it's not off the body!  I'll probably do more this weekend, provided I can find where my mom (quite a hoarder herself!) has hidden all my stuff!

Thank you to the person who sent me a rose.  *heart*

I have a PSP (in case anyone is wondering) courtesy of sibling generousity.  And I have Locoroco, courtesy of spousal munificence.  And I have Locoroco II, courtesy of my eagle eyes spotting it at JB. 

I am a happy camper, yes I am.  All those little roly-poly rainbow creatures bouncing around on my screen .  *sigh*

Trying hard to stay awake so I can go pick up the folks from the airport.  At least the air is cooler now!

As such, have been browsing food blogs...

Cupcake art!   The things you can do with fondant icing!  Go see this just for her wonderful and creative designs!

Ok, time to head off....

Barely alive in this putrid heat.

URGH.

Give me back the Melbourne chill!

Shall be without internet for the next week, so I shall only be contactable by phone.  :D

Today is the start of the post-Christmas sales so here's the hope that I can find a thing or two.  It's always the case when one is actively out shopping, the chances of actually buying something is slim.  Well, that may be good for my bank account too!

Christmas in Melbourne was lovely.  Just a nice slow relaxing day catching up with folks.  Didn't overdo it with the food this year either (I mean that I didn't pig out!)  Present unwrapping was fun, as was my first taste of eggnog.  Oh yes, quite delicious, but not really something I'd have frequently, I think.

Anyway, this is a day late, but a very merry Christmas to my flist and a prosperous and blessed new year!

And so I continue to wake early... up at 6am this morning before tossing and turning.  Not that I don't sleep well.  Perhaps a little too well!  But my brain just has this nasty little habit of switching itself on at 6am local time, wherever I am.

At least I get my internet fix every morning!  But being two hours behind where I normally am, there are still news sites I can't access till at least 9am here. 

In  any case, the weather has been lovely the last few days, but I have to say that I find it awkward to adjust to how the humidity just seems to spring out at you occasionally.  Did I say how much I love air conditioning?  :P

We've been catching up with family and friends the last few days, and then tomorrow it'll be Christmas!  Now, that will be catching up with family plus much foodage!  Yesterday we also covered Victoria Markets - visited all the little stalls to satisfy that craving I had in me, to prove that tacky souvenirs are common all over.  But the deli never disappoints me!  Also tried some lovely tokay at the Candlebark Hill stall (nekomancy - it was expensive but well worth it!  I brought you back the order form.  ;P)

The afternoon was spent lazing with Paul, Nikki and their new addition to the family, Felix - who has the most amazing slate grey eyes.  Carrying a 7+ week old baby is not an easy task.  They still lack support in their bones so your arms do a lot of the work!  But such amazing skin!

Today will be last minute Christmas presents and Victoria St (the Chinese/Vietnamese part of town).  This ought to be fun.  We've had quite a bit to drink and eat of late, so my constitution is holding out for a detox today (more wine last night, so not a good idea.  Felt really nauseaus on the walk home).  But I crave noodles.  Mmmmm... I do!

We arrived safely in Melbourne yesterday afternoon.  Flight was boring to say the least - but the discovery that harlzen lacks legroom in budget jets suggests strongly that our next overseas trip may have to be on another airline if the trip is a long one.  The passenger on my right, however, snored greatly and reeked of stale cigarette mouth breath.  >.<  Most discomfiting!

Tiger Airways in Melbourne operates out of sheds and fenced compounds which somehow made me feel as if I was some sort of refugee... As it was fairly much open-air, it lacked the feel of being a privileged traveller, touching down on holiday.  It made me feel a bit like... a chicken.  >.>  But all was good, as we got picked up by family and were whisked away to more family (a bbq) - got fed (after waking up at 4am and surviving on a coffee kindly provided by nekomancy and a few snack on the plane, /meat/ was glorious), went home and settled in.  We went for a walk around the neighbourhood - someone is still unable to properly judge distances - in search of food and groceries.  It made me feel as if Sunday in any Australian suburb is much the same.  It's all pretty dead and lots of places simply do not open late.  *sigh* 

Anyway, am up pretty early this morning.  I have to convince my head that I'm now on holiday and no longer have to wake up as early.  Sadly, I think sometimes my internal alarm clock works independently of my wishes in this regard.  But there's lots of things to do in the next few days.  Can't wait!  Just having time to my own, spend time with my beloved, and catching up with friends... so very glad we decided to holiday domestically this year.  I think with the global financial down turn, we would be hardpressed to find a place to holiday overseas without stretching the bank.  Japan now seems so far away!

</lj></lj>

eirivan said to do this, so I shall...it's rare that I'm so accommodating.  ;)

Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird....
1.  I dislike eating broccoli and cauliflower, because they kinda look like brains to me.
2.  I have more bags than I have shoes.  No big deal, you say.  I have over 60 pairs of shoes (and counting).
3.  I sometimes cry at emotional scenes in movies.  Rare, but it's been known to happen!
4.  I love trying different kinds of instant noodles.
5.  If I wear costume earrings for too long, it irritates my skin badly.
6.  I'm a hoarder.  I discovered recently that I've got about 2 archival boxes of old correspondence from when I was a teenager.  I also have plushies dating dating back to the same period.  However, harlzen is trying to break me of the habit.  I'm not sure he's winning though.
7.  I don't have a green thumb.  I kill all things green, barring my bamboo.  That's still alive, and I only got that because I was told those were damn hard to kill!

Well, sort of. And I'm talking about my compooter.

After much swearing and cutting of skin (not me or mine), the problem has been isolated to the video card. It seems that when the power supply detects something dodgy with the other hardware, it cuts off. Thanks to eirivan 's spare power supply, A played around with different combinations of hardware.

So at least now I have a working pc, albeit running onboard video. It's not great, but it does mean I don't have to take time off work and head to the pc shop to get a replacement immediately. The video card is still under warranty though, so my hope is that it will be replaced without any hassles.

On the negative side, my colleague tells me that on the weekend he purchased a mid-range video card of around $320+. This morning it was being advertised for another $100 more, and he had been warned by the retailer that prices were going up due to the global financial crisis. -_- Makes me cry, and hope that my warranty covers what I need. I really don't have all that extra money to burn up.

Another long break between posts.

I still love reading LJ and just getting snippets into everyone's lives, but I've been so damn lazy.  I can't even claim to be too tired these days!  Work is very much nine-to-five, barring the occasional late days.  Weekends are also lazy-ish, just catching up with people and household chores.  All very mundane.

Nothing much to update except to say that I am posting from my trusty laptop.  That's because the power supply on my PC has given out.  :/  Not sure whether it's just the power supply or if something else triggered it (egads, I hope not.  If it's the video card or something else, it's going to cost a lot to replace.)  Shall wait for the SO to wake up and do a test with a spare power supply later this morning and see how that goes.  I foresee some judicious wrangling of time tomorrow to make it to the PC shop to exchange a unit.  Thank goodness I filed away all the receipts!  But the problem may be that they will send off for a replacement and I may have to wait over a week for it.  -_-  Even then, this is hoping that nothing else is wrong with the computer.

The power just zipped off while I was in the middle of copying some files, and then that's when I smelt the burning metal.  *sigh*

I'm such an addict though.  I promptly pulled out the laptop (while praying it still powered up) and set it up.  It now runs Linux, but that's all right.   I won't be using it for much except surfing the net and low level reading and word processing (if any at all).