Priss's Birthday - With The 3 Amigos

Priss, the birthday girl, was subtly coerced by Jess and I to go out and celebrate her birthday, being given the excuse that she'll only turn 23 once in her entire lifetime. It worked ^_^

Hidden in the hills of Perth was a restaurant called Le Paris Brest. I strongly suggest you don't say it out loud. Didn't realise how embarrassing it sounded until I started asking for directions.

Food - The Verdict

Duck Risotto - The "Gentle" Size
There was a choice between a "gentle" or "serious" size for the servings. The girls reckoned that since they were gentle and pure, the "gentle" size was the obvious choice... O_o *sweatdrop*

Swordfish - The Fish of the Day
I choked when I saw the size of the plate. Later I almost threw up when I found out the cost - $35 for a slice of fish, (and a char grilled watermelon). Couldn't help but wonder if the plate was included with the meal -_-

Pistachio Cheese Cake
Ahhhh... Absolutely fabulous! ^_^

For a French restaurant with I quote, "the most exquisite selection of food", it was excitingly normal. Other than the pistachio cake, the restaurant loses points for its main courses and its choice of name! =P

Afterwards, we went back to Priss's place at the veterinary hospital and guess who I found???

Ahhh sooo cute!

Later, it scratched me... ^_^
*grrrr*

Chinese New Year Dinner @ Leeming Cell

CNY 07' started off a day early at the ever so anxious Leeming cell, when we all got together to celebrate the Year of the Pig =) Whatever that was supposed to mean I don't have a clue, but we did eat a lot of pork that night though! ^_^

It was planned to be a simple evening, a gathering of a few friends, with nibbles and nonchalant conversations. But nooo... The Chinese in all of us had to take over.

With over 45 people attending and 20 dishes served up, our cell leader's floorboards had to withstand the largest strain test it ever took in its entire existence. o_O

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!
May this year be full of love, joy and peace to you all!

(Finally! There's someone willing to smile at me!)

(Or for the camera... Does it really matter??? O_o)

(Apparently the higher you toss the thing, the better luck you'll have in the year. However they fail to warn you that a lucky guy has to clean up the mess all over the table. Tough luck)

(Why are you guys so camera shy? It's not like the whole world is going to see this photo... It's actually more like half the world ^_^)

(Karen - The ever-so-bubbly organiser of CNY Dinner 07')

My Mangoes!

Is it just me or is there something about the markets that just seems to captivate the senses?

Is it the huge range of sun-ripened seasonal fruits? Or is it the crisp smell of fresh vegetables and produce? Maybe it's the hustle and bustle; the screaming and the shouting; the pushing and the shoving...

Could it be the excitement of trying to get a bargain on what's left before someone else grabs it? (Like the $1 bag of mangoes I got! It's MINE! ^_^) Or maybe it's because you're able to touch, feel and smell what you want to buy...

Whatever the reason, the fact is... The stuff sold there is dirt cheap...

If you haven't been to a fresh produce market before, I suggest you do. If you have... STAY AWAY from my mangoes! ^_^

See you there!

The Incredibly Long Post That I Didn’t Have Time To Write Earlier...

Woah... Where do I start? ^_^

To all out there who're wondering where on earth I've been, I'm still here in Perth and I'm officially, abeit reluctantly, a full time taxpayer.

Working at the specialist centre has really been great fun. It's really different from the impression you get when you're at uni, where everyone either thinks we'll be running around in scrubs screaming "PATIENT FLATLINING" while flapping our bloodied hands all around the emergency room, or asking a patient to drop their pants and (ermm...) cough. There are moments where everything seems to go nuts, but most of the while life's pretty peachy...


(Not that peachy... ^_^)

Fertility treatment is not a easy thing for patients to handle on a daily basis, so we kinda don't want to make it more difficult as it is by running amok like little flammingoes. Our patients look up to us as a source of support, encouragement and answers, so in a way all of us really have to be good in what we do. Except when the blood immunoassay machine fails... (Oh watch them flammingoes run). Speaking of which...

Everyone... Meet Cleo. Her name means "Father's glory" and this is the baby I get to play with everyday ^_^

She's an automated chemi-luminescence immunoassay system, designed to handle 180 blood samples an hour, with a TTFR (time to first result) of just 15 minutes. She's going to replace the aged, but still very much loved Wilbur. He has been running for 15 years and we think its about time he takes a break. Permanently =)

(Goodbye Wilbur... *sob*) -----> (Hellooo Cleo! *wohoo*)

I'm the only guy at work, which is good because there's no competition. *woohoo!* On the flip side, all the ladies at work are either married, attached or trying to have kids... *dooh!* Looks like I'll remain single for a while longer... ^_^ At least I've got Cleo...


Being the incredibly long post that I supposedly didn't have time for, it's time to recap what's been going on the past 3 months, in a glorious barrage of photos and song! (ok maybe not the song...)

Red Bull Air Race '06

Zion Fellowship's Celebration Lunch - 2 Years On...







Company Dinner @ Caffino's

(What happens when you're really hungry...)

Grace's parking prowess...

(Sorry Grace, I just had to post this! =) Please don't send David to come after me!)


No More Long Trips!

I just moved again and have now settled comfortably in a studio apartment, just a couple of minutes walk from work. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I will soon ^_^

This time its permanent and I don't think I'll be moving again for quite some time =) Praise the LORD!

Till next time... Toodles! ^_^

I woke up at 6am this morning to witness a rare phenomenon that won't happen again for another 26 years - The transit of planet Mercury across the face of the Sun.

The weather forecasters were predicting rain and cloudy skies for the morning, but the Lord couldn't have blessed all of us sun-gazers with a better day! ^_^

A word of warning to all budding sun-gazers... Do not look at the sun directly through a telescope without first installing a solar filter, unless you want to end up burning a hole through your eye, or your camera. A telescope like mine has 130 times the light gathering power of the naked eye. Simply put, by the time you feel the pain, it's too late...

The filter is basically a mirrored surface with a safety film that blocks out 99.999% of visible light from the Sun and all the harmful UV rays. It's not that expensive and hey... It doubles up as a mirror too!

Mercury is about 1/285th the size of the Sun - a dot compared to the Sun, kind of like Singapore on the map of the world. However it didn't take long before I found it. See the dot at the top of the Sun? The bottom one's a sun-spot...

Yes... I was referring to that small miniscule dot.

A dot that I had to stare at for 10mins to make sure it wasn't a sun-spot ^_^

Mercury moving slowly towards the edge of the Sun...

Shot taken at maximum zoom of 12mm focal length, 1/500 shutter speed and an f-stop of 2.2... Just because I can ^_^

And what happens when you get your hands on a really really good telescope, like the 1 metre wide Swedish Solar Telescope (SST), compared to my 80mm Celestron?

You get pictures like these...