Grill'd Take 3

ended up gong to rouse hill with my mum for free grill'd burgers. it's actually not that far away, around 20ish minutes, and it was my 2nd time going there. next time when it's not so cold waiting outside and we're not waiting for free food, i shall go there and walk around again.

i thought oh rouse hill, it's a hole, no one goes there.

nek minute, the line goes in a circle and snakes. so many parents with their kids, and they each have 3 or 4 kids or babies with them. 

the line moved at an ok speed, waited for about 1.5 hours, but grill'd is more worth compared to meatballs imo, even if the price isn't as expensive

free boost samples while waiting-cookies and cream and a strawberry something

the line behind me.

we got there at 5.45 and they opened at 6, so the people at the front probs got there at 4.30...either way, they still had to wait 1.5 hours.

service was lovely as usual, even if it's free and we didn't order any sides. decided to get really different ones, since i've had most of the usual avo, relish, salad, bacon, cheese, mayo toppings with lamb/chicken/beef. i think these ones took longer compared to other people since it's not the normal ones people would order. these ones probs aren't as "worth" as the other ones, but i like trying different ones when it's free (:

lamb: goats cheese and hummus, sweet chilli chicken

both were really nice. goats cheese not too creamy and heavy, balanced nicely with the salad and hummus. chicken was very lean, with a kick of chilli and so much salad. the burger/buns themselves have gone smaller. not sure if it's because it's free or things have just generally shrunk. compared to last year, my first grill'd experience initially i thought it wasn't very filling, but then by the time i left it was.

went shopping after back at towers, and yay, finally got a pair of shoes that i wanted/needed! they weren't that cheap, even if it was half price from myer. i know i've been saying i'm saving money, but some things need to be bought/eaten. this is my 4th piece of clothing/shoes this year, so i guess i haven't bought a lot which is good (:

when my uncle came over, he brought a whole luggage filled with clothes from my aunt. i've been so busy that i still haven't had time to look at the clothes after my exams. long story short, that aunt has decided to sell one of her houses in hk. there's 3 rooms in that house and 2 rooms plus the living room is filled with clothes, so she has to get rid of it before she can sell the house. luckily my uncle is a diamond member and can take heaps of suitcases from hk to aus, it's just whether he has time to come to sydney again/has the ability to juggle 4 suitcases. he can do 3 but not sure 4....and then for the clothes i don't want, hopefully i can join up with people to sell at markets, hehe.

supps come out tomorrow. so, so, so scared. have not had time to study since last thursday since i've been working. apparently someone "broke her back", coincidentally when kids are on school hols, the manager is on hols, and i'm on hols. hence, the state manager and others don't really believe her. that's the thing, i would rather not take time off during the exams, so i can maintain a "consistent attendance" even though work isn't like school/uni. if i do need to take time off, then it sounds better than taking time off on top of the other times you've missed...i don't mind working, it's just that if i do get a supp it's mixed feelings: i'm happy since i have a chance to redeem myself/super scared with oral theory tests/no time to study since i'll be out fri, sat and sun, and exam is probably next monday. or no supp-sad that i've failed completely.

decided to take a "break" from study today by going shopping. actually, i was late to my lecture because i was trying on clothes, and my lab today ended early, so i decided to try on more clothes. wow, in the span of 3 hours, all the good sizes were already gone. (i learnt from previous sales that if there is something your size there, buy it straightaway...) the jeans i tried on earlier in the morning disappeared, then i looked through other places and it appeared again. they're not my size, but at least they're comfy. there was this super nice dress, which kind of made you look like you had wings when you lifted your arms up! it was half price at $50 and i really wanted it, but then i thought again, do i really need it? not really since i have quite a few dresses i bought last year that i have yet to wear...so i guess that 50 can go towards the end of the year.and there was this really nice blue blouse/top, 50% off but was still $120, which is pretty crazy-it was made in britain, so that probably explains the inflated price. oh, the jeans i got were made in egypt, which is a first for me =/ first time buying something from top shop which was decently priced, and my first time shopping not studying...

also, i like how jumbo qvb kiosk still has the same prices as the other stores, but i think the other stores will definitely be more fresh, since his jumbo vans transport it to the store there.

quiz yday was a joke. like she gave us hints on the easy questions, then everyone shared answers, but i still wrote the wrong thing! argh, so annoyed. hopefully the quizzes to become online, since in class quizzes were kinda pointless. but i'm still screwed and can't memorise all the holes/walls/bones/veins/nerves/arteries and so much random stuff of the eye. i guess i understand why people say in 3rd year diseases are the hardest. how to med kids even remember all this stuff? like for us, we still have to know the general body, but the eye thoroughly...do they also have to learn all parts of the body thoroughly...?

i feel like this week i've been chucking away marks =/

do you know what else sucks? i had this plan of having $1 hotdogs this tues since i ended at 5 and the soda factory hot dogs start at 5, but then quiz the next day so i didn't go, which means i have to wait over a month, since the next time i end at 5, it's mid sems. ben and jerry's free cone day is on the day where i have an exam. i have a 2 hour break that day so i guess i could possibly get some ice cream, but then the next day i have another mid sem, so i should be studying. i feel so conflicted whether i should get free ice cream/relax or study. did you know i haven't gotten a free bbq this year? the only thing i spent time getting free food was from vsa, then i walked past free fanta slushies from subway which was a plus (:

so manu from mar opened a new restaurant in south yarra last night, and they had a cook off event, with george from masterchef and his greek food vs manu and his french food team-that's so cute! it's more like channel 7 vs 10 imo. can't wait for MC to come back! also, it seems like everyone (well a few people) are friends with uel and shannelle. saw them yday morning on the bus, i guess they finished their sunrise interview.

i really hate walking through the rain at uni.

i really need a new backpack asap.

i really do miss my holidays.

so happy today, spent the best $5 ever on a pair of branded pants which were originally $60 (((:

also for once, zara had sale stuff for under $20. most of it were really big sizes, but were decent for Australia, i guess.

everyone is finally coming down under! by everyone, i mean H&M, too bad they're only going to Melb, but they said they were going to make a special Aussie collection and make it "affordable fashion". i doubt it, the clothes prices inflate whilst they ship stuff down. i love H&M, especially in HK where it's affordable, and during sales the stuff is really nice, cheap and come in your sizes (: i feel like Miranda Kerr is being downgraded from David Jones, Victoria Secret now H&M and other smaller stuff. but i've never really liked Kerr. apparently stores like Uniqlo are coming as well, but i've never bought anything from there, even though i was forced by relatives to get something from the store since it's quite popular there-it's just not my style. i still can't imagine Myer and DJ merging together...

originally $3.90, now $2.15

they have a looney tunes promotion now so they have different flavours, cups and spoons to collect. the "special" flavours were: bugs bunny carrot cake-couldn't really taste the carrot in it but i'm not a fan of carrot cake to begin with, daffy duck's decadent dark choc orange-i normally don't like choc orange things but this one was quite nice-maybe because of the dark choc, (first day today). key lime tart which was slightly sour but was alright. other flavours i tried: peanut butter-it had some sweetness which is weird for peanut butter, almond mocha-tasked like chocolate more than coffee (it looked exactly like the other choc one, so maybe i just blended the two together), matcha green tea-not enough of the matcha powder flavour, key lime tart which was slightly sour but was alright and raspberry tart which had a good balance of sweet and sourness. too bad i missed out on free froyo at rouse hill on the weekend ):

speed skating is the most intense winter sport to watch. it has the most false starts (like that aussie person who represented russia this years but false started twice and couldn't skate, i've already seen 3 double faults...), and people falling which usually isn't your own fault, and people who you expect to lose win. like some of the relays tonight, a team was coming dead last but the 2 teams ahead fell on top of each other and the 2 teams behind skated past. then in one of the women's finals, after the first bend ie. 2 seconds, 3/4 people fell. in that one, the british was penalised since she kinda pushed the others, so the other 3 won medals. but sometimes people fall and at speed skating speeds, you can't dodge the tangle of people in time and imo sucks. sports like downhill skiing and snowboarding when people fall it's their own fault, not someone who tripped you up...

guys always seem to repeat costumes for figure skating, whilst the girls get different ones each time.

1st 21st

i've had to turn down some 21st during this year and hsc/yr12, so today i finally went to a 21st party. 

he hired a community centre, but the main attraction was the jumping castle! it wasn't a tiny one like those at o-week, but it was quite big and had goals either end, so people played soccer/rugby/threw the ball everywhere. once his uni friends got off, us church friends finally went on since it was slightly less violent. forgot how tiring jumping can be...it didn't have any walls, so if people slipped/leaned on the sides, the walls would fall down....

the speeches were the best! ahh, so funny, getting to know their funny/dodgy/drunk moments. laughed so hard for over 20mins (: he has so many friends! the hall was packed, over 200 people. the photo booth was so fun (: i think almost every 21st has a photobooth of some kind, so it was nice to have one here as well. food was alright, can't expect too much with these big parties. for dessert, there was some melted chocolate and fruits/marshmallows to dip in. i didn't eat much. so full from yday! 

so much fun

homemade cake

the theme was black and blue. i just wore a tank/long top from dance. i should have worn this other top...but then again, i'll save the nicer tops for parties for those who are closer. seriously, you have to strategise all the nice clothes you wear. i'm not saying that repeating dresses is bad, but most of the time, i recognise who/what dresses they repeat, and if i've seen someone else wear it before, and then i know it's a "mainstream" dress/top. i still have quite a few dresses to yet wear...but for one dress, i can wear it to parties/wedding/dinners, all which have different groups of people, before i start repeating that dress. so if you strategise what/where you where a dress, you can wear it at least 4 times. the again, once people takes photos and upload it, people will see that dress, but i'm talking about people seeing you irl, haha.

the thing is, if i have a 21st, it would be pretty empty since i have no friends, ok i do have some friends but not a lot ): also, i don't think i do stupid/funny stuff, so there's nothing interesting to say on my 21st. maybe i'll just be boring and have a simple dinner, but then again, i love parties/birthdays...apparently there were clashing receptions and another 21st tonight, yet heaps of people still made it to this party.

you know, it's usually the closest of friends who help set up/make food/stack chair/clean up etc. 

Birthdays with Zumbo Take 3

right now i am waiting for my cousin in Canada to wake up. they're 15 hours behind us...why can't australia have any decent clothing! so annoyed #firstworldproblems. btw, didn't now this until today, but a&f websites are so exclusive! they want to prevent import from other countries, eg, if you live in canada and they have sales, you must have a canadian credit card, use a canadian address and canadian computer. if they detect that you're from else where, you just get directed to the us site. like, i can't go on the hk site to see their prices. fingers crossed the stuff i want is in stock.

ahh, exam in exactly 3 weeks.

brother's bday today, so i decided to get stuff (just for the record, with my parents money. i never buy presents for my bro, and he never buys stuff for me since we don't have money).

happy mix box actually closed this time.

not as full this time, well we ate a few already, but last time we ate some so that it could fit in the jar, and this time some parts of the jar is empty. oh wells, 636g is pretty good. last time i must've had over 650g.

i made sure that before i went, i washed my hands, since i arranged the lollies when they went in. this time there were no jelly beans (apart form liquorice), last time there were about 10 flavours, and jelly beans are expensive, they're small and you can also fit a lot. also, they didn't have a variety of nuts or raisins w/chocolate. last time they did, but obviously those stuff cost more than normal gummy lollies. this time there was less variety...the guy was there serving me, and i know from experience he was more lenient (one time i didn't even buy $20, and he still have me 2 hole punches). it was a bit over the brim, but i could just close the lid (: when i asked for samples of popcorn, he gave me 4 at once, the woman last time only gave one. i ended up trying about 4 flavours, so that's well over 10 free popcorn (: the cookies and creme and salted caramel is as good as they say (:

used my 2nd group on voucher (: 

the salted caramel almond nuts were the only dark choc options, most of the others were white choc (which is fat), and normal choc. if the discover a white chocolate cocoa bean, then i will look at it differently, but white choc is cheaper than normal choc and filled with heaps more fat/super sweet. the salted caramel here is not too over powering (: i regret buying the moustache lollipop, not because of it's novelty factor wearing out, but because it's made in china. the almonds were made in france, and probably some of the happy mix, but not the lollipop ):

moreeee zumbo!

how could i resist the new flavours?! apple pie, yogurt and passionfruit, blueberry pancake, pandan sticky rice.

the blueberry pancake was sweeter than i would've liked, but the colour was spot on, like a bluberry (: the pandan sticky rice was so good! pandan could've been a bit stronger, but there was real sticky rice in it, gave it a nice sticky, chewy texture. apparently this macaron takes more effort, since making the rice is annoying (according to my mum). apple pie was niceee, just like an apple pie should be. there was cinnamon/sugar sprinkled on top, but it actually didn't taste too sugary. a stronger apple taste would've been better, but a lot of apple pies these days don't even have enough apples....yogurt and passionfruit was surprisingly good. it tastes like yogurt! kind of like original flavoured froyo, but with a lot more acidity. it was yogurt in macaron form! it wasn't sour though, it was acidic like yogurt should be, and the passionfruit was good as well, in the centre was a passionfruit creamy dollop. this one had the most "crunch".

i didn't bother with the other chocolate flavours. i think i like his new melbourne store, a really spacious patisserie/good display. the only patisserie he has is rozelle or balmain, and from photos, it doesn't look as big.

decorated fondant cake for brother and dad's birthday (:

everything is all online, like la renaissance. i love how i get to choose my family's birthday cakes! the boz was a vibrant yellow. (la renaissance was a vibrant pink). the cake is so good! it is so smooth, and it goes down your throat so nicely (seriously, those dry/bad cakes, you have to chug it down with something). since it's a fondant you expect it to be super sweet, but it was alright. the cake is small in size, but it's quite heavy since it's dense. you get filled up on it with a small-ish slice, about 1.5cm and i personally think that's a decent serve after dinner, with just the right amount of chocolate and sweetness. 

meringues are so good (: decorative chocolate, very pretty. love how they curve randomly. the macarons on the cake i think were pineapple w/ salted butter cream and raspberry w/ salted caramel (not chocolate like the bake at home boxes). the salted caramel was sooo sweet, even for my brother's standards. both the flavours weren't as prominent, maybe because it's been stored in the fridge...

apparently at school, some of his friends baked him a cake, and also banana bread. then at tyf (youth group), the girls in his year bought him a WHOLE WATERMELON CAKE from black star pastry! jelly, and he got a massive slice. my brother said that it  was super nice (and he usually doesn't care about food). when he said he he had a super nice cake at youth group with watermelon, i knew exactly what he meant, and since bitter gave me some earlier this year, i had a pick, and showed him and he confirmed it (: the problem with that cake is that it's hard to take home, and once you do, you have to eat it all at once, or else the water/juices from the watermelon start leaking/soaking through the cake. that's the same with fresh mousse cakes, best to eat it on the day. i've never had someone bake a cake for me the day of my birthday ): maybe sometimes after...but macarons this year were more than enough (:

dad's bday in a few days time, but recently, we combined it with bro's bday, or else we would be continuously eating cake for 2 weeks, and it's really unhealthy and waste of money.

haven't done anything today, spent it buying sweets, taking photos and eating =D going to regret this...

Lindt Cafe Take 2

thanks Bitter for the link! i have kinda distributed the link to quite a lot of people now...

since i snuck into yday's chem tute, i skipped my 9am tute, and went lindt cafe at Martin Place. my bus stops at martin place so it was super convenient.

dark chocolate mocha

Bitter had it before, so i decided to try it. it's soooo good! not your average mocha! look at those layers! i shoul've also take a pick from the other side, but i wanted to show the "melting" effect. not sure how much this is, couldn't find it on their menu. on the take away list it's $5.70. i love these glasses! not hot too touch, an keeps the inside hot. this glass was made in swiss. aldi sold these a while back, but i didn't buy them since i don't have a coffee machine. this mocha didn't have much coffee in it, very subtle, but i can't complain since if you're at a chocolate cafe, you'd want more chocolate, and they only allowed coffee not hot choc. since it's dark chocolate and coffee, it wasn't sweet at all, and you could taste the authenticity of the chocolate, which is highlighted through the coffee. there are chocolate bits which you could see in your glass, but they melted in your mouth instantly. foam was nice, and the chocolate sauce on the side was chocolate and not sugary syrupy chocolate that you'd find at normal coffee/cafe places. my favourite mocha yet (:

tagged along with Bitter and Better to the "fashion show" at the galeries. let's be honest, i was more in for the free stuff. i do love my fashion, but that's a hundred times more expensive than food. also, i won't be able to pull off more than half the stuff because of my height. i actually have a variety of clothes at home, from normal, to crazy patters, floral, lace, bold stripes and even fob. most of the time i just stick with my normal t-shirt and pants, since uni=moving everywhere + labs and you need to be comfy/don't want nice to dirty. maybe i should actually start wearing some prints which i have but don't wear. 

i think my most expensive shirt was about $40au, which i bought in hk, but i really loved it. btw, everytime i buy normal clothes it's on special/less then 20 bucks. in aus, average shirts you buy at higher end places, which are not "branded" but just higher up one average prices are pretty expensive. places which sell plain singlets for $20, they have nice stuff, but you pick up anything it's most like 3 digits. and then branded stuff, it's 4 digits, and my income is 0 digits. even if i did have an income, fashion is something way too hard to follow, compared with food.

free champagne. 

i know that's not how you hold it, and i'm pretty sure it's fake champagne, ie sparkling wine. there is a major difference which some of my uncles are so passionate about and were willing to explain the concept over dinner back in hk...it's gets quite technical, and it's about where it is made. in short, if it's made in Champagne, France, then it's called champagne. if it's not made in that place in france, it's sparkling wine, but it becomes trivial since people see bubbles and assume and mis-call it champagne. real champagne (ie Moet, which has federer) is expensive!

magaret zhang with models

too short for me to pull off stripes. even if i was tall, i don't think i'm brave enough to wear that.

the macarons were just sweet, and no distinct flavour, but i've had sweeter macarons. my freebies/goodies bag are missing some vouchers. chances are, even if i did have them, 90% i would not use them, since i'm pretty well stocked on make-up, as i don't use a lot, only for dance/some occasions, but i would like to have the option of using those vouchers. someone also took my 10min free make up. oh wells. the notebooks they gave are pretty nice (:

what luck, the last express bus was late about 15min, and i managed to catch it (:

i'm trying to do the healthy thing of eating a bigger breakfast and not eating much at dinner. so far these past two days, breakfast has been bigger than dinner. i guess i had the coffee to sustain my hunger throughout the today, and my milkshake yday. i'm also over free bbqs and maccas. when you think about those sausages, most of it's fat. if i ever have a sausage at home/outside, it has to be lean or gourmet, even though it's more expensive. lean sausages actually have so much less fat. trying to eat healthier these days at uni/home. saving my "quota" of fat for outside/cafe food. during the big mac chant, we got about 5 big macs in our family, since there was a generic voucher. i only had about 1, and my bro had most of it. so over big macs. you know what, so far my lunch yday and today have been vegetarian. i love my meat, but i guess i can survive without meat for lunch. 

also, my mum wants to by a $900 juicer and blender. i'm pretty sure it's commericial, or else it wouldn't be that expensive. apparently it can make purees/hot stuff as well. that money could pay for halfway to america or literally shop-till-you-drop (shopping can become exhausting, walking around the whole day, carrying over ten filled bags...), since everything is so cheap over there! we have a blender we got for free in hk when we bought our rice cooker about 3 years ago, but still haven't used it. i hope we don't get it. there's no room for a coffee machine but room for a massive juicer/blender ): i guess freshly squezzed juices are super healthy, but how many juices do you have to juice to make it worth it? i'm pretty sure buying it from outside would be cheaper. or just use our new and un-used blender.i shall get it out in the end of year break and make healthy smoothies! =D i said that post-hsc, never had the time.

flats and other news

i bought the most comfiest flats today! it was $70 off the original price, and even though they are still, expensive-ish since they're branded, it makes up for it since they are super comfy, and made of good quality leather. and the last pair of comfy flats i had, they were bought ages ago. it's so hard for my feet to find the right flats. it has to be narrow, a bit curved in at the heel and must not be hard plastic. my heels are smaller than normal, actually i just have small feet, so i had one main pair of flats, but now i have a second main pair (: yeah, don't normally wear flats...
i didn't buy any flats in hk, mostly boots. i hate buying shoes in hk, unless i'm in a department store where you can properly try on the shoe. a lot of cheap market places shoes are so bad, for opbvious reasons. my aunt got me some cheap shoes which look nice, but you literally wear it for one season and chuck it. i would rather pay more for one good quality shoe and for it to last long.

had my first free michel patisserie coffee! my mum has had at least 10....

went to the library today! after over a year.

KMART TOYS/STUFF IN GENERAL IS SUPER CHEAP! they have pillow pets for $7! not sure if i should get one, but there were more uni students there buying one compared to children/parents buying for their children.

To other news since beginning of finals:

- my grandma has whatsapp and fb! she records these audio notes ands sends them lol. and the other day she was telling my mum she sat at a cafe and GAMED for three hours straight. probs one of those addictive games like candy crush (well i heard it's addictive....). oh, and my grandma is really old, she majorly broke her back 3 times...but i think my cousin taught her the basics and so now she games in her free time.

- BLOCH "ONCE IN A DECADE SALE"
that was the weekend before finals, so obviously couldn't go, so i sent my mum. lol jks, i asked nicely, and then had to ask my dad to drive her since that place was near the airport, and don't think my mum knows how to drive to the airport, but i always tell her you just follow the signs! anyways, bloch stuff is superrrrrr expensive, but they have nice stuff (: originally i wanted my mum to get me a cheap new pair of dance shoes, but it was a warehouse sale, and they obviously didn't have the ones i wanted since they make good money out of popular stuff. but my mum did get a few of really nice comfy flats (: the insides are so soft. (i think they will become my third/fourth pair of main flats). and she bought some nice cheap tops. mind you, by expensive i mean rrp 50 bucks for a t-shirt. oh, there was a jacket rrp 130 but she got for 20 (: except it's kind of tight, yet the sleeves are super long. and she bought some tan coloured jazz shoes for 15 (i use black jazz shoes), and i told her not to but she was like "they were cheap". so i am going to try to see them on ebay, except that style of shoe is also last season/old-ish. noooo idea how to sell stuff on ebay. she bought heaps of clothes for me...yeah, that "not buying clothes this year thing" didn't turn out, but hey, they were about the same price/cheaper than hk stuff, and they were branded and good quality.

-wimbledon. lol nadal. 2 weeks ago champion, this week....and hewitt making it to the 2nd round, hmm, he's still playing...missed federer's match since i had an exam that morning...but now i can actually stay up to watch! slept at 1.30am today, and woke at 12pm..woops, which is why i need to go out to maintain an ok sleeping routine.

-sunrise. i missed mel's last show...slept in that day...and on monday morning of this week, i watched a few mins, and i don't like samantha. i never really liked her since she took over today tonight a few years ago, matt white was alright. and now the "new" person (whose been on for the past year...) i don't like her, which is why i've been consistently watching the project since senior years of high school... poor nat, she will still be news-reading on sunrise.

-vouchers. so many to use before expiry date.

-my wallet has really died now. like really died. it died last year, but now it actually breaking. too apprehensive about using my new wallets.

and my parents ditched us to go out to dinner with other people ): no outside food for me ):