Last day of Summer... my first Summer and into my first Autumn.How does it feel? Not too bad actually. Today it's a little cold, it rained the whole morning.In the office, it's cold... brrrr.. Sitting in my office on the 10th floor, I could see the rain drumming on the window - it felt good to have rain. We don't have that much rain over here, unlike back home. Back home, we have so much rain that everytime it did, I get worried that it would flood.I could still remember vividly the horror of flood!!! All the water in the house, the hours of cleaning up, the stress every time it rained.

Tomorrow Autumn begins.The weather forecast says it is going to rain tomorrow, cloudy the next day and then a warm weekend. Ah well, as long as it does not rain in the morning when I walk to catch the bus :-) It's not easy to get by without a car but I am getting used to it. Public transport is quite good here, the bus is quite on time and clean too. The only problem is when I want to shop somewhere else and have to take 2 buses to get there - big problem!!! But so far, I have been lucky, thanks to my friend Valerie. Met her at the bus stop one morning and we have been good friends ever since. She is from Malacca but she has been here for many years now. We are out every weekend, well almost every weekend :-) We would go everywhere, Osborne Park to look at furniture, shopping centres in Innaloo, Booragoon,Floreat, Fremantle for fish and chips (they have good fish&chips in town).. Rockingham and Mandurah are our next destinations - south of the city, heard the place is nice. Will post some pics when I do get there..



Me & Valerie on the Bell Tower - on a beautiful Summer day

Gong Xii Fatt Chai!!! My first Chinese New Year celebration in a foreign country. What is it like? Well... nothing much is happening, for one. Work goes on as usual, there is no leave like back home. I remember we used to have 1 week off work!! So nice. In china town, there is lion dance and in Forest Chase (the shopping centre in the city) there is a show by the chinese community. I didn't go and watch any of them though.

The first day chinese new year, I went visiting with a friend. Met a whole bunch of chinese :-) loud as chinese too.. haha...No ang pow this year, so sad :-( guess you can't be forever young..

I've always thought that working in a foreign country is very different, or is it? Today I discover that it is not entirely true. Although the working culture has a distinct difference, some human attitude remains the same wherever you are.

There is this lady at work, who is trying very hard to create trouble for me and my friend. I'm not saying that she is a bad person, I think she just doesn't like new people. She doesn't like to hear that new staff members are hardworking and helpful.I think she has the the-world-can't-run-without-me syndrome. To her we are management spies, 007??? :-)

In a way I feel sorry for her. She is miserable. She is paranoid. I have worked with people like her before and they don't make life easier. She is the kind of person that makes working life less enjoyable, the kind of person you wish would just leave. Why is she behaving in such a way? Why does she accuse people of spying on her? I also feel sorry for my friend, coz she has to bear the brunt of her accusation and bad mood every day. I don't think she is a bad person, just a little disillusioned.

I guess wherever you are, there will always be people who like that. It is the norm of life.

It is a cold day in Summer today. Just like a winter day. I was having my lunch at a cafe downstairs and it was bloody cold.. brrrr... not even the cup of cappucino that I ordered was enough to make me warm. For a moment there I regretted coming out for lunch, should have just stayed in the office..hehe... And the reason for the climate change? Cyclone Isobel.It is worse down south - massive storm, anticipation of flood everywhere.

In the other world, school started today after a long leave. I've always loved the first day of school and I kinda miss it today. Students everywhere, there is excitement in the air as well as dust and noise. New students coming in, fresh young look, some are still mommy's boy. New bag, new shoes, new uniform.. orientation for a week for them to get to know the school and its rules and regulations. Older students would hang out, trying to look older and wiser..but only we know that they are still the same naughty boys and girls .. hehe.. Teachers are also busy, class teachers busy collecting school fees, arranging their students, their classroom etc etc.. Others would be helping with registration of new students.. busy busy all day long. The canteen would be full too, with teachers catching up with each other's news... the men talking about their holiday adventures while the women talking about their sons/daughters plus a little gossip here and there. When the day is over, everyone would breathe a sigh of relief. Tomorrow, ahh another day :-) Looking back, I do miss teaching. I miss the excitement, the stress, the frustrations, the look on the students' face when they learn something new. But then again, I enjoy doing what I am doing now - no homework, no marking, no frustrations.. well, none yet so far :-)

Life is too short to be frustrated all the time. Life is too short to be stressed out all the time. I made a choice to leave that life, to start anew. So far, it has been all good and I am keeping my fingers crossed..

Stranger land-this is what I call this place, for I am a stranger in this beautiful land. And it is beautiful, you just have to come and see it, or just take my word for it..hehe.. not that Sabah is not beautiful, it is just a different kind of beauty. But seriously speaking, the air is much cleaner and fresher, and not only that, public places as well. Which makes me wonder, where did we (the educators) go wrong in teaching our young ones about the importance of cleanliness????? Just remembering the dirty public toilets makes me cringe...eeeeeuuuuuu...ahh but that is another story..another blog :-)

I have been here since July and never a dull moment.. except the time when I first arrived and didn't know what to do or where to go. 2 months or so without direction, applied for jobs and got rejected over and over and over. In my mind I kept seeing myself going home and back to my old job and old life... yikeessss... scary... I was beginning to lose hope. Despite all my qualification and experience, I just couldn't get an interview offer - no interview, no job!! It is as simple as that.. Pray!!! Hard!! everyday and everynight, asking the big fella above to hear my plea....and I think He did, for he brought me here and led me to where I am now.. and I am very thankful everyday. I met good, helpful people who are my new friends in this stranger land and it feels GOOD!!!

I have a good job, a place of my own and friends and relatives - who could ask for more?? Ahhh.. but then I do miss my family, my friends, my car (here I rely on public transport, which is reliable can't complain) ... I miss my sweet Yan Yan and Ally, and the way Yan yan calls me 'Tu Tu' ... and the family breakfast on Sundays when we would gather at Chicken Hut or KFC for breakfast after church.. hehe.. I miss that.. or friends whom I hang out with..share gossips with..etc etc..

Life in stranger land is not so strange anymore. Yesterday my cousin asked me, 'Do you like it here? You don't miss home?' Naaa... as much as I miss home, I do enjoy being here and being apart of the working society. Above all I like my new life, it makes me feel like a new person.. :-)