melbourne is weird because...

1. people sleep in public...

2. you go to a nice cafe called Hot Chocolate. and they tell you they don't have hot chocolate. but they do have coffee. you order nice cakes anyway. then they tell you you don't have to pay. sweet!!!

3. there are police barracades for junk that is loitering around the kerbside. cos they are gonna cause trouble, obviously...

BUT! Melbourne is also good... cos my Leon is there!

and ofcourse Jezze & Ang are there...

the work there was pretty average, the weather was absolutely f**king freezing (i need a balaclava), i only spent $59 in shopping... but the whole weekend was worth it cos Leon & I had some much needed catching up, and some much needed masterminding *mwahahaha*

we also ate so much. we obviously don't discriminate - we ate spanish donuts, american donuts, krispy kreme donuts. and we ate so much Breadtop it as well have been donuts. mmmm...

also, i totally forgot to take photos with my twin Janice, but she's coming in Sydney in a couple of weeks so I'll take some then!

lastly... Xmen 3 : The Last Stand ROCKS!

movie review time!

I saw The Davinci Code on Sunday night with my bro and Bec. My opinion? I think those who haven't read the book will thoroughly enjoy the movie. However having read the book... well, the book is about a bazillion times better! I know that different medias have pros and cons, and while the movie brought to life with visual imagery the 'clues' in Davinci's paintings, the book was more capable of delving into the actual history related to the book - especially with aspects of Opus Dei. Plus I thought the movie was kinda slow.

Last night I saw Mission Impossible 3 with Dave. The movie? Yeaaaahh not bad. Not typical MI stuff. I think Tom Cruise must've gone to acting school cos he shed a couple of real tears! Good effort! Storyline was ok, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers is hot!! Oh yeh and I ditched Chris for this movie cos I think he's jinxed.

So in summary?

• The Davinci Code : 4 stars out of 5
• Mission Impossible 3 : 3.5 stars out of 5
• Jonathan Rhys Meyers : 4 out of 5
• Dave : 4.5 out of 5... only cos he made me miss the previews *boo*

And - I'll be seeing X-men 3 with Leon this weekend! I SO can't wait! Hehehehe...

family snaps!

so, my parents were here last week... without going into great detail and boring y'all to tears, here are some photos..

Thursday night @ Sapore...

Friday.. an early birthday for my bro @ my house...

Saturday.. Manly, and dinner @ Golden Century Seafood Restaurant...

And then it was Sunday!... just some family QT before sending the folks to the airport.. *sigh*

In case you're wondering, yep Al came along to dinner with my folks on Saturday night. Weird.

It was great having my family here... I wish I had more QT with my mum though, but she was babysitting dad most of the time... having them here makes me miss them even more, but at the same time it totally reminded me of why I moved out in the first place, so all is as it should be again. Me here, them there - within reach, with a telephone line.

h.o.t.

How HOT is this guy?!! Reynaldo Giannechini. Why don't I know anyone who looks like him?? Ok, granted he's only uber hot in this photo, not so super hot in normal photos hehehe.. *drool*

happy b'day kids!

happy 26th birthday Reen!.. hope you have a fabulous day! And errr... happy 25th to Ming too... and happy 22nd to Stephanie!...

Parents leaving later today... bitter sweet... will miss them terribly, but having them here pretty much reminds me of why I moved out in the first place. Jase & Bec leaving tomoro... will post pics up when I finally find some time...

bring on the Queenslanders!

Last night marked the beginning of small dribble of Queenslanders into my life over the next few days. After a 1.5 hour delay - yep, in the delayed time they could have actually flown here and then back to Brissie again! - Shari & Matt finally descended into chilly Sydney enroute to NYC. I've known Shari since primary school and we've been best buds since her first day when I shyly said... "hi... would you like to play with me?" *hehe* and more than 15 years later, we are still playing! Our friendship has withstood a lot... we are essentially very very different people but our bond has outlasted such things as crazy mothers who banned us from hanging out, boys, trends (she was the alternative one, I was the 'normal' one) and ummm.... the wrath of fluoro yellow condoms.... dont ask!!

Last night we went down to Coogee at about 11pm to meet up with Tony, had a few drinks and saw the most amazing night time view of Coogee I've ever seen. Got home around 2am... chatted... and up again at 6am to take them to the airport... a quick hello, a sad goodbye. Shari is one of those best friends who I may go months without seeing... but will always always be there.

Anyway today my brother & Bec are in town and I have the fun task of taking Bec factory outlet shopping! *whee* Quite appropriate really because I had a fortune cookie yesterday and my fortune actually said "you will buy some new clothes". I shit you not!!

And... tomorrow my folks arrive. Believe it or not, in the 9 years that I have lived away from home... this is the first time they are visiting me. Scary huh?

so.. what has cat been up to this week?

i can't believe it's Friday...

• i haven't been home since Monday night (oh only to sleep - yes.. hehe..)
• i met up with Al on Tuesday night...
• had dinner with Ivan on Wednesday night @ Masuya. Possibly my favourite place - after Sushi Train of course!
• last night i had my weekly dose of sushi train & got conned into watching The Hills Have Eyes. i think i was more scared anticipating the movie than i was during the actual movie... bit average but what did i expect really...
• i've been at work since 7.30am, ordered a large coffee on the way in and for those who know me, you know i only drink coffee when i'm desperate. So yes, I'm desperate.

It's been a really good week actually, lack of sleep & jitters from the mass caffeine aside! It was good to see Al - I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about how it would go. But I think we were ok. We talked about what he'd been up to, and what I'd been up to... nothing extraordinarily personal, which was probably wise. Baby steps...

Happy birthday gorgeous!!

You're 31? Seriously?!

i had an awesome date this weekend...

... and unfortunately it wasn't with a boy! *sob*

While Cam's outta town, I had the fabulous task of babysitting Mel all weekend. We did a multitude of things, and I must've had fun cos I hardly remembered to take any photos! In between precious napping time, we:

• ate bacon & eggs and french toast @ Brighton Beach
• ate gluten-free dairy-free cake @ a 3 year old's birthday party - seriously whats the point of living when you're all gluten free and dairy free??
• ate seafood pasta & steak @ Macchiato
• ate the most delicious chocolate cheesecake & tea @ Circular Quay
• ate Maccas... (as you do) @ Bondi Beach
• ate cheap Viet for dinner....
• and totally devoured caramelised bananas & crepes & ice cream @ Passionflower...
• oooh and I almost forgot - we ate seafood crepe & pasta @ City Extra! hehe.. thanks Mel!

Oh, and we did other stuff too - like buy 5 pairs of shoes between the 2 of us hehehe... did I mention how much I luuuuurve my new white trainers???

Anyway, I'm so sad that it's now Monday... Cam should go away more often... and sorry Leon, no pics of me and Mel sleeping in the same bed!

Oh by the way, tea drinkers - Loreen! - Mel had this weirdo tea contraption given to her with her tea on Saturday night... take a look at the pic, is she using it right??

Anyway thanks for the awesome date on Saturday night babe - it's the best I've ever had!

star day

Just buy a damn star and support the seriously ill children at the Starlight Foundation will ya? Cheapos...

It's also World's Greatest Shave day for the Leukemia Foundation.. a few of my workmates are taking the big dive hehe.. buggered if I'm gonna do it!

a friend of mine wrote...

"Images have flashed past me at blinding speeds .. There is nothing I can do. There is nothing anyone can do.

This is the way it is. This is the way it has to be.

It feels like my heart has been speared from my body as my face crashes down onto the hard pavement. It's numbing. I can hear voices around me .. People walking by. Noone has noticed my corpse .. My heart has shattered on a stake only to break into a 'squillion' bits across the footpath. A dark man trips over me only to get back to his feet and continue on his journey.

On the way down .. I noticed a beautiful sunset. It was only a few moments ago that I saw how great the world is .. and how great the world can be. But here I lie .. Un-noticed. Un-wanted. Lonely.

The butterflies that once swamped through my stomach have been stolen by those around me. I can only lie there and watch them take it away. I'm unable to fight for what I believe is right. I'm unable to voice what I feel from my heart. I'm unable to move my arms. I want to take those butterflies back as they were given to me. They were mine . . . They are no more.

Life can be cruel sometimes. No matter how good of a person you are. Even when YOU know yourself that you're a good person. Someone who thinks of others before themselves. Someone who would not hesitate to give a stranger a smile even when it's the last smile they have to give ..

Everything that has been planned .. and dreamt about .. and all the promises that you've kept .. everything you said that you'd do .. and wanted to do .. taken away in an instant.

And in the end it's just you .. Without a heart .. Without feelings .. Without the desire to be who you were .. Without the desire to care for others as you previously did .. Without the motivation to share a smile .. A laugh .. You're empty inside ..

Empty .. "

He wrote that - and in a million years I wouldn't have been able to write that, in a million years I wouldn't have been able to articulate how it feels to be broken the way he has. This isn't the way I feel now, but I've been there as I'm sure many of you also have. I just never thought that feeling could be explained in writing.