Today I received among my junk emals, an email greeting from the Prime Minister of Malaysia and his family wishing me a Happy CNY.
The first thoughts that came to my mind are - Is this a SPAM mail that will corrupt my whole computer if I opened it? And how on earth did they manage to get my email??
Several Malaysian dailies reported this on their papers so now I know it is not a scam or virus. It gives one a mildly fuzzy and warm feeling that the Prime Minister is embracing technology to reach out to his people but it unsettles me that his PR dept has chosen this way to send his best wishes. Good intentions aside, surely there is a better way to do this without infringing on people's privacy and invoking the thought of unwelcomed calls selling unwanted credit cards??
He should get a twitter account.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Australia Day 2011
Happy Australia Day! I've been looking forward to a lazy day the whole of last week, having found it difficult to get into work lately (I know I'll pay for it tomorrow and Friday!!). Today Gaz and I went to Herring Island. Sounds very exciting, evokes images of sandy beach, sunshine, nice isolation... actually Herring Island is in the middle of the Yarra River which runs through the city.
Herring Island is a man made island, made with silt dredged from Yarra River. Later on, trees were planted on the island to hold the soil together, local vegetation planted, artists were invited to make sculptures for display on the island, and the island was opened in 1995.
To get to the island, we got on a punt for the short distance to the island. One gets on the punt, pay $2 for a return trip per person, count to 15 and hey presto, you're there!
The island is maintained by Parks Victoria and is an excellent place for picnics, barbeques or just a slow amble around the place exploring the numerous sculptures in a beautiful setting away from the city bustle. Besides enjoying a short picnic on the grounds, touring the art gallery and watching artists at work, we also went for a free guided tour around the island with an artist and Friend of the Island, Damien. I'm glad that we joined the tour as it provided a lot of information on the origin and development of the island as well as very knowledgeable insights into each and every sculpture on the island.
Andy Goldsworthy - Castlemaine rock
We caught a glimpse of some pilot action, part of the Australia Day festivities in the nearby city centre.
Another Andy Goldsworthy - the guide mentioned that in Scotland, walls were usually built with holes in them to shelter sheep in bad weather. (Andy Goldsworthy OBE born a Briton, lives in Scotland).
Herring Island is a man made island, made with silt dredged from Yarra River. Later on, trees were planted on the island to hold the soil together, local vegetation planted, artists were invited to make sculptures for display on the island, and the island was opened in 1995.
To get to the island, we got on a punt for the short distance to the island. One gets on the punt, pay $2 for a return trip per person, count to 15 and hey presto, you're there!
The island is maintained by Parks Victoria and is an excellent place for picnics, barbeques or just a slow amble around the place exploring the numerous sculptures in a beautiful setting away from the city bustle. Besides enjoying a short picnic on the grounds, touring the art gallery and watching artists at work, we also went for a free guided tour around the island with an artist and Friend of the Island, Damien. I'm glad that we joined the tour as it provided a lot of information on the origin and development of the island as well as very knowledgeable insights into each and every sculpture on the island.
Andy Goldsworthy - Castlemaine rock
We caught a glimpse of some pilot action, part of the Australia Day festivities in the nearby city centre.
Another Andy Goldsworthy - the guide mentioned that in Scotland, walls were usually built with holes in them to shelter sheep in bad weather. (Andy Goldsworthy OBE born a Briton, lives in Scotland).
Monday, January 24, 2011
Mood to Work
We've just came out of the Christmas and New Year season, the boss is away, some others are clearing leave. I am finding it so difficult to get back into the mood to work!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
But if you dread tomorrow, it's because you don't know how to build the present, and when you don't know how to build the present, you tell yourself you can deal with it tomorrow, and it's a lost cause anyway because tomorrow always ends up becoming today, don't you see?
So, we mustn't forget any of this, absolutely not. We have to live with the certainty that we'll get old and that it won't look nice or be good or feel happy. And tell ourselves that it's now that matters: to build something, now, at any price, using all our strength. Always remember that there's an old people's home waiting somewhere and so we have to surpass ourselves every day, make every day undying. Climb our own personal Everest and do it in such a way that every step is a little bit of eternity.
That's what the future is for: to build the present, with real plans, made by living people.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
So, we mustn't forget any of this, absolutely not. We have to live with the certainty that we'll get old and that it won't look nice or be good or feel happy. And tell ourselves that it's now that matters: to build something, now, at any price, using all our strength. Always remember that there's an old people's home waiting somewhere and so we have to surpass ourselves every day, make every day undying. Climb our own personal Everest and do it in such a way that every step is a little bit of eternity.
That's what the future is for: to build the present, with real plans, made by living people.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
Yering Station
During the New Year hols, Gaz and I went away to Yering Station in the Yarra Valley for a break. Yering Station has its own vineyard and produces its own wines. It also has a great restaurant, a bar and a great view!
A great sunny day, perfect for an outing
We ordered the tapas plate from Matt's bar $26 for two persons.
Stuffed zucchini flower
Prawn with guacamole
Braised belly pork in soy sauce and chilli
Fried calamari
Beef sausage with with sweet tomato chutney
The food was very tasty, and we had a great time relaxing in the casual setting of the bar.
After our snack, we drove to a nearby park for a picnic - smoked salmon with cream cheese on crackers. I love holidays!
A great sunny day, perfect for an outing
We ordered the tapas plate from Matt's bar $26 for two persons.
Stuffed zucchini flower
Prawn with guacamole
Braised belly pork in soy sauce and chilli
Fried calamari
Beef sausage with with sweet tomato chutney
The food was very tasty, and we had a great time relaxing in the casual setting of the bar.
After our snack, we drove to a nearby park for a picnic - smoked salmon with cream cheese on crackers. I love holidays!
Trip to Sorrento
During the holiday break Gaz and I decided to take a short drive to Sorrento. On the way we passed through Rye, had a marvelous pub lunch and walked the foreshore.
Then, we went to Peninsula Hot Springs for a massage. I'd pre-booked the massage session a couple of weeks ago. Boy, did the massage hurt!! Not quite the relaxation massage I'd signed up for, but I was told that it was because I had a tense body and the day after I will be as good as new. It was true, and I felt quite good after that.
Then around 7pm we drove to Sorrento, had dinner at a gasp* Chinese restaurant there. I think it was the only Chinese restaurant in the area, run by a Chinese family. The food was OK.
While we were eating, a couple were shown to the table next to us. The lady was heavily made up and was, despite her cute looking date, dour. She glanced at what we were eating, the guy even asked us what dish we were eating coz he wanted to order the same thing! The next thing we know, the lady gave some excuse of wanting to get some air (no, I wasn't eavesdropping, the tables were just situated very close together!) and walked out. After a while, the guy followed her, then he came back in and got their jackets, paid for their drinks and left. Weird huh! I did remember to take a shower in the morning...
After dinner, we drove to a lookout and watched the sunset. It was very cold and windy so I conveniently stayed in the car and watched the sun set. It was an amazing trip, I really enjoyed myself and best of all we didn't have to stay overnight in a hotel as it was only 1 1/2 hours from our place.
Then, we went to Peninsula Hot Springs for a massage. I'd pre-booked the massage session a couple of weeks ago. Boy, did the massage hurt!! Not quite the relaxation massage I'd signed up for, but I was told that it was because I had a tense body and the day after I will be as good as new. It was true, and I felt quite good after that.
Then around 7pm we drove to Sorrento, had dinner at a gasp* Chinese restaurant there. I think it was the only Chinese restaurant in the area, run by a Chinese family. The food was OK.
While we were eating, a couple were shown to the table next to us. The lady was heavily made up and was, despite her cute looking date, dour. She glanced at what we were eating, the guy even asked us what dish we were eating coz he wanted to order the same thing! The next thing we know, the lady gave some excuse of wanting to get some air (no, I wasn't eavesdropping, the tables were just situated very close together!) and walked out. After a while, the guy followed her, then he came back in and got their jackets, paid for their drinks and left. Weird huh! I did remember to take a shower in the morning...
After dinner, we drove to a lookout and watched the sunset. It was very cold and windy so I conveniently stayed in the car and watched the sun set. It was an amazing trip, I really enjoyed myself and best of all we didn't have to stay overnight in a hotel as it was only 1 1/2 hours from our place.
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