Better weather and second week

The first week of school seemed to go very slowly. I think it was a hard week for a lot of people I know, and a constant phrase used was 'And it's only the first week of school!'

But, the new week and a new Monday brings better things and better weather and hopefully a better mood :)

I'm currently listening to my Studio Ghibli CD. Honestly I just love classical music and instrumental music, I'm not very into pop and top40 kind of thing unless the song itself is very soothing eg Anchor by Mindy Gledhill. Unless of course, I'm studying math, on a plane or sewing. Then I set my iPod to the playlist my sister made called 'Jamming Music' lol and listen to all the Pitbull and Katy Perry and etc. I don't know why it's ONLY those situations that I listen to music like that.

Not much to blog about today, my sister came back from her trip and my dad came back from Perth. I got a new computer monitor, it's HUGE.

Listening to this music makes me want to play piano :) Gradually since getting my diploma I have stopped playing more and more, but it's so therapeutic learning new songs or even playing playing my old amus songs again. I think that would be nice, will probably set aside time this week to play some piano again.

Love: Michelle

Sorry not much to say today. Although at assembly today we showed our prefect video and many people seemed to like it which made me very happy and proud of us. Kudos to SS who spent 10 hours editing it.

Chinese New Year and that back to school season

Hey guys! Hope you all had a prosperous and wonderful Chinese New Year!! On Sunday night I went out for dinner with my family, my cousins family, my family friend Issie's family and her cousin's family. Phew that's a lot of people!

We went to the restaurant in Parramatta, Prince and it was crowded! We had lobster and fish and so much nice food :)

                                                         Such nice lobster!!!!!!

We all got red pockets to tie onto red strings into holes in the ceilings so when the dragons came around they would come by our tables and 'eat' the red pockets :)

When the dragons came around everyone got so excited in the restaurant and there were cameras everywhere and people standing on chairs etc and the noise from the drums and cymbals following the dragons were deafening! It was such an exciting atmosphere! :D

                                                           Blurry pic of the dragons
 I remember one time when I was younger maybe 2or 3 years ago I went out to Yum Cha for Chinese New Year that year and when the dragon came around it came towards me and then the guys inside the dragon costume leaned over me do I was inside the costume and I saw one of them grab my tea and drink it LOL. He must have been really thirsty. My mum was really excited cos she said that meant extra good luck :) touching the dragons tail is also considered good luck so everyone in the restaurant was touching the dragons tail :D

ALSO this was sooo exciting!! The restaurant had this prize giveaway and they were randomly pulling out numbers out of a hat and the table that had that number got a prize eg if you were sitting on table 22 and they called out 22 you got a prize. I was talking to my sister like omg wouldnt it be cool if we won a prize??? And then they were calling out the last number and the host was like the last number is forty..... FIVE and WE WERE TABLE NUMBER 45!!!!!

He was calling out the numbers in mandarin and I can't understand mandarin so at first I didn't know what he said then everyone at my table started screaming and I was like WE WON??????? OMG WE WON!!! And we started jumping up and down and my sister started laughing cos apparently I was so happy there were tears in my eyes LOL.

The prize was a red empty suitcase and my aunt got to keep it :) haha our whole table was just going crazy and the tables next to us we're like....haha they were were probably jealous hehe :3

Okay but after a while I was less excited cos we realized they rigged the prize giving ROFL so we're not actually particularly lucky, it's cos we're really good friends with the manager and we had given him a red pocket before we started eating and after we won he came around to our table and took photos with us and gave us all conspiratorial winks like ;) and he kept saying stuff like 'My favorite customers' and when he was saying 'Forty....' I realised all our parents has been shouting FIVE!!! And putting up five fingers like they were giving high fives and we were right in his line of sight ROFL so yeah not luck just connections. Like the triads LOL.

Oh well still exciting stuff :)

On actual Chinese new year I went out with my family to eat and it was nice family time :)

How did you guys spend yours? Also I have been wanting to write this post since 2 days ago but as you can see there are no pictures today in my post which is unusual for me and this is cos my computer hasn't been working for a while so I'm writing this only my iPad at the moment. I'll probably add in cool pics later :)

Also my SCUMBAG POOL! Lol it was soooo dirty and green on Friday when friends came over and 3 days later on Monday it turned completely blue and clear. It looks sooo clean and nice :) pool party before school starts? Lol.

Comparison: THEN

NOW



Love: Michelle

P.S. Recently I've been getting into Polaroid cameras. I've always really liked them so I've tried doing so research online about how they work, cost, film etc but I'm quite noobish at it so I called on my pal JJ, the most informed and best photographer I know, for some advice. I await his knowledge, and any you readers might have :D I'd quite like to have one for 2012 and the last 3 terms of HIGH SCHOOL LIFE! :) starting off with a new camera would be lovely to capture those memories :')

EDIT: Hallelujah my computer is working again!! Pics are up now to accompany blog posts :) Personally I love the addition of photographs to posts, it adds a break to the text and adds atmosphere :D

2012

Welcome to 2012!!

I think I already learnt an important lesson in this first day of the new year (and it's only 1:34am haha): Expect the unexpected (In the wise words of B.Tan)

You see, yesterday night if you had asked me what I was doing for NYE I would have told you I would be watching the movie 'New Years Eve' and then catching a train to North Sydney with my family as we had booked two hotel rooms in Harbourside to enjoy the splendour of the fireworks.

Well.

I missed that train to North Sydney and my family were forced to leave me behind.

Instead, as I forgot my house keys, I triapsed to my aunt's house in North Parramatta (GZ-further proof that she is a superhero HAHA) where I spent the next 4 hours until midnight in virtual solitude watching the TV (as my aunt, my cousin and my uncle had all fallen asleep by 8:30 on account of the fact that they had been working all day and were really tired).
At first I was pretty disappointed (especially after my sister called and was raving about the floor to ceiling windows and how they set up chairs for everybody to sit and watch the fireworks, and how they even got wristbands to walk around the Harbourside area cos apparently it was really exclusive and how one chair was left empty for me) because I was really looking forward to it BUT the time alone really gave me time to reflect on the past year and the lessons and memories I will never forget.

And hey it was still an awesome day because I
-Got to see my dear pals BT, AG, RC and GZ briefly today and got to watch an amazing movie with BT and AG as well.

[I stole this photo from CrysBea chicken HAHA cos I couldn't be bothered to take a photo of my ticket which was H-7 btw]
-Reread Malcolm in the Middle at my aunts house (which is a hilarious series btw)
-Made my first New Years Resolution: Watch the fireworks NEXT New Years Eve, Whether with family or friends, and in a hotel room or in the ground [NOT ON TV], I shall STRIVE to achieve this HAHA I have actually never once went out on New Years with friends and only once (when I was about 5) watched the fireworks in the city with my family so I have yet to experience this 'partying' on New Years everybody talks about :)
-And call this fate or MAGIC but when it was getting closer to 12 and I was all alone, I was getting a little scared I wouldn't be able to ring in the new year with anyone because my mum told me they were still in the city but at exactly 12:00, my aunt's doorbell rang and my family was outside waiting there screaming HAPPY NEW YEAR and then my uncle and my aunt woke up and celebrated too and there were many hugs and kisses which was nice :') So I didn't spent it alone afterall :D

Also this was the first New Years I have ever gotten so many calls and text messages wishing me Happy New Year and wanting to reminisce about 2011 and telling me about their night and whatnot so thank you for everybody's wishes :D

To end this post here is a quote from 'New Years Eve': Although there are things beyond our control (such as natural disasters) we can always control our personal attitudes so this year be kinder, forgive more and LOVE more because love drives the world.

Here's to hoping 2012 will bring trials (literally as well....can't be forgetting them TESTS), triumphs, transitions, trends, tempestuous times and terrific times and everything in between.

Love: Michelle

Update: Here are some photos that my parents snapped at Harbourview yesterday and I decided to slot them into this entry as it seems fitting :)

It's summer right not in Sydney and the days are long so even when my parents and my sister got to North Sydney at 8:40 ish, the sky was still so nice and light outside :)

Some fireworks in the far-off distance

Some fireworks in the not-so-far-off-distance