i made tiramisu for daddy's birthday, but the cake part turned out too soggy. humphhh. the recipe said to soak the ladyfingers in coffee! i didn't even really soak it, just dipped quickly, but still.... the next time i'll just bake coffee sponge instead then brush on the liquor. *frustrated* and nobody could taste any alcohol! i poured one and a half shots into the coffee, should've done 3. haha. oh well, just to console myself, at least it looked alright.


above: my soggy dessert

i think i feel nervous and excited i can't sleep! we're flying off tomorrow or rather, later today. luggage is packed, but i'm always afraid to leave out something, even though i always have a list.

mutually, we promised not to quarrel, 'cause even if we do, where can we run? we'll be in foreign land.. at most i'll just buy some gelato. it's damn shiok eating ice-cream when it's cold out there. best of all, ice-cream chases all worries away. :)

i had thought of doing a blog tour, but my laptop's too zor deng to bring over so i'll just come back to do it. regretted not doing it for my rome trip 'cause that would've been fabulous since i took lots of photos of churches and architecture.

darn, really need some sleep. still have to print some maps later.

i'm so bloody pissed. i'm the one planning the entire trip while he does nothing and he can still tell me he's stressed about the trip. heeeelloooo.. i'm the one doing the research here, and i've been overseas before so don't try to act as if you know everything and tell me what and what not to pack whatsoever (and it's common sense that girls pack more things than guys) and irritating the shit out of me about the money. we're on a budget trip, WE'LL GET BY. it's not as if we're going on some luxurious tour. for the past few days, i've been irritated till i don't even feel like going with him anymore. the next time i travel, i'm going with my friends. come on, u're being the irritant here and you still complain that you can't communicate with me. who's being the asshole huh?

bloody hell. my day went very well until now. met up with ra the first time since she's back and it's great hanging out with her. i was already thinking of the next time we're going to meet up when i called him and got this shit. he's right, we can't communicate. he's saying he just wants to enjoy the trip, who doesn't? you weren't eager to plan anything, so don't come blaming me on things that i can't help it being the way it is.

and fuck safari 'cause it's been shutting down repeatedly for no reason for the past ten minutes so i have to keep logging on again and again. even the com is against me. what the hell have i done wrong huh? why do things have to suck so bad just before the trip?!

there's still daddy's birthday this sunday, the day we leave, which is also angie's birthday. will be celebrating daddy's birthday on saturday evening instead.. agreed with bro that the rest will split the cost and treat daddy, but i think i might not be able to afford, even though it's just ichiban boshi. sucks, why is it money again?!

i'm hopeless. i bought a pair of boots for the melbourne trip! i'm vaaaaaaain. but at least i bought flat ones, not those with heels. i can't possibly wear 3-inch high heeled boots strutting about the streets of melbourne, right?! and definitely not for almost a week. actually i bought a pair that resembled army boots but was actually converse look-alike with laces all the way up. it was, obviously not my style, as peipei wisely said. i don't know what possessed me to buy those in the first place. *faints* fortunately, i "woke up" and went back to exchange for a much nicer pair, which is more me: dark brown and nothing fancy. :)

just the day before yesterday i went through the rome photos on my com. omg, i didn't realise i was so much slimmer. haha. i guess 'A' levels did me some good huh.. hah. got some proof for you:

there.. behind me is the famous colosseum. hmm.. the purple gloves look funny on me..

ra is back from germany! welcome back, ra! *waves banner* miss you soooo much. msged this girl the day after she returned but until now no reply.. i think i msged to the wrong hp? maybe she's still using her germany number. hmph. jo and i promised to meet up with her when she's back, and have a great dinner. heh. can't wait to see her!

chilli crab at macpherson, jackson centre. yummy except for the starchy sauce. eeeeuk. nice buns. haha...

i have been craving for tiramisu for the past few days! argh... i just have to get my butt off the chair and buy some mascarpone. hmph.


doesn't this look cutesylicious? :)

i caught my first episode of Bare Beauty on artscentral today. i think it's a great show 'cause it's about being beautiful using natural ingredients. what got my attention was the java coffee bodyscrub that uses freshly ground coffee, gula melaka and rice. i never knew freshly ground coffee helps to clear pores, until today. lol. and i knew rice helps give translucency and radiance to skin, so i thought this is a wonderful recipe. for those who'd like to try out other recipes, you can visit: http://barebeauty2.wordpress.com/

courtesy of Bare Beauty:

Recipe for Java Coffee Body Scrub

Makes 1 application

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Materials:
- Mortar and pestle
- Table spoon
- Mixing bowl
- Grater

Ingredients:
2 tbsp java coffee powder
4 tbsp palm sugar (gula melaka), grated
4 tbsp ground raw rice
1/2 tbsp peanut oil

Method:
- Mix ingredients together with a little water to moisten.
- Use immediately.

P.S. you have to soak the rice for 30 mins and then dab it dry before grinding it.

today was the second and last day of the ite "flea market". i feel super cheated for paying $50 rental and getting only so few customers i just covered the rent. the guy next to our stall for today (who was selling cute little gadgets and optical mouse and card readers and the like) was right: ite students have little spending power. if we were to sell at an actual flea market, i'm sure i would have sold at least half of all my clothes. the first day was a disaster. most of the stalls didn't have much business and i only sold one top (of mine) for the entire day. tons of people walked past but they just basically, walked past. a few took a look and only 3 people bothered to search the rack. i was very sure i would make a loss from this bazaar. luckily, perhaps thanks to my mom's prayers, we had some business today. the number of people was prolly only one-third of the first day's but more people actually browsed. i managed to earn about 30 bucks. some of the stalls weren't as lucky as we were: on the first day one packed up before time was up and quit the bazaar (she had a high opportunity cost just being a sitting duck), today some stall owners didn't come and the ladies who sold bookmarks and stuff packed up at like 3 plus and the events organiser even had a quarrel with her about packing up before time's up and that's against the "law". like, what law? you didn't give a confirmation letter for the booking of the stall to begin with, much less rules and regulations. no contract whatsoever, so don't blame people for packing up when they're making huge losses? seriously...

anyway, it's over.

maybe next time i'll try to rent a stall at a real flea market, but that would most prolly be after i come back from australia. anyway! met up with sam and greg at RK after dinner. it was great! it's hard to meet up since we always say we must meet up again but never set the date. haha..

shit, feel damn tired the past two days. all 'cause of the bloody bazaar. i think i'll need to sleep 12 hours to make up for all the lost hours..

sigh. tomorrow or rather today is exactly one week since i had my makeup test. if i don't get any calls from them, i've decided to be thick-skinned and call them.

later in the day i have to open my wardrobe and pick out all the clothes that i'm going to sell at the fair. it's gonna be sorta like a family day plus celebrate-national-day event at ite college east (simei), which is the one near the expo mrt. i'm sharing the stall with rena. i'm selling mostly 2nd hand but hardly worn clothes while she's selling some of her stocks from bangkok. the events company is aiming to sell mid-range products, and expecting at least 5000 people. i hope i'll manage to sell most of what i dish out, 'cause all the profits are going to the funding of my trip. :) P.S. the fair is this coming fri and sat (3rd-4th aug) from 10am-5pm! if you stay near the east or happen to be around the area, come and look-see-look-see! :)

talking about the trip, i may miss the twelve apostles 'cause it might be out of budget. it's like my top places-to-see! it's one of the things that are driving me on this trip, and the sad thing is we're most likely booking a hostel/budget hotel near the city. i mean, it's for the convenience, but it's bloody far from the twelve apostles and the great ocean road is such a loooong stretch and it's either u drive there or book a tour which will not be that cheap. arrrrrggghh.

i feel like exchanging my bagpack for a bigger one but i lost the receipt. it's 45L but now i have a feeling it's not gonna be big enough. oooops.