30 seconds

it took me abt 30 seconds to recall the 3-letter name of my SG bank when I wanna search its website........

tis is juz the beginning........ more will b forgotten!

metres away....

underestimating the winds again, my fairly-light slippers at the balcony moved abt a metre from its original position n now one flew another 1+m to neighbour's balcony........ it's too far to retrieve by myself so gotta wait for neighbour to b back liao........ goodness.

they really check!

received a parcel full of goodies from v-cute-mummy good-fren yesterday..... Thank You!

tis is the 3rd parcel I observe big torn openings for anyone to peek in....... at first thought rough handling causes the boxes/parcels to deform, tearing the sides...... but can tell from tis one, it's a deliberate tear!

proves that NZ customs really wanna make sure nothing prohibited pass through, there is even a weekly TV programme of their amazing discoveries. so for anyone sending stuff to NZ (think even Aust), beta not let small items run loose in parcels...... will drop out through new openings!

sua gu again - tomatoes

mayb i sua gu again but never seen such beautiful bunch of tomatoes still in their stalks sold in supermarkets!

'expectations'

this is so laughable to me........

1. I'm the engr of a new structure but the principal designer issued out the drawings without my checking or approval. Before that, I even have to ask when I can check the drawings but their lame answer indirectly implies I'm not expected to check........

2. The drafter who did the drawings doesn't check his/her work n expect the engr to check. See item 1 again.

from prior experience, the drafter can make fundamental mistakes such as absolute wrong reinforcement......... bo chap liao, I'm so ready for an arrowing game if something goes wrong with the structure.

the blur-ness continues......

after a day of holiday n a boring long day at work, I bought the wrong bread expiring in 2 days time instead of the usual 4 days.......

amazing how doing nothing for long can retard the mind......

few rides

this is an escalator.......

ya, who dunno right?? suddenly hits me that i only rode on these for less than 10 times for past 3 mths! felt odd when i was riding on this outdoor type for the first time here...... yes, I'll get cultural shock when i'm back in SG.......

ouch?

after being out for only 3+hrs, got stunned to c red patches on my arm....... was wondering how the hell i got these bruises or sunburns with no pain??!

the colours of a red shopping bag hanging over my arm was running off........ scared me!

Auckland Seafood Festival

there is some seafood carnival by the sea for 3 days at $15 per entry........ of course I din spend $15 n starve myself!

got a gelato shop nearby........ of course can't spare it! tis is a single scoop, finally found one that really taste like gelato!

so bluurrr!!

now then i realise 26/1 is a Auckland holiday (not so in other parts of NZ)! so I still have a holiday on CNY!

seriously, if the cafe pple din tell me, I would have gone to work on 26/1! office is so quiet n unhappening that no one is talking abt coming holiday.......

potential car pool

tdy got a new HK fren who lives near me, takes the same bus as me and her work place is juz opposite mine...... n she's more scared of cold than me......

a potential car pool member to reduce my car expenses!!

salesgirl

after 'major' work finishes tis week, i'll b salesgirl next week onwards to get more jobs...... blah! one target client is the now famous china milk shareholder...... hey, i know nothing abt dairy ley!

frankly, i dun feel worried abt no job....... lazy to b biz liao......

the hunt rewards

:D so pleased with my purchases with the little expectations I had, only one or two stores selling so not much bargaining power here.

surprisingly the kok zhai is nice! so can guess wat I had for lunch?? not all for me lah, will b sharing some with colleagues...... to save myself from heatiness n sore throat!

ya, wife biscuit is not CNY goodie but how not to buy when usually not found here?!

next mth got some lantern festival....... seems they wanna cramp all festivals together??

for now, I'm a happy Chinese here!

the shows

so matrix!

CNY Festival

finally reached the festival grounds after being so stupid for walking more than a km to the wrong bus stop when the correct one is juz outside my apartment........

got the usual sharks fin, abalone n sea products......

this store only sells noodles but gets lots of biz!

got koi nian gao, displayed like toys......

din find out watz 'chinese hot dog'

the uncrowded bah gua store, I guess this looks disappointing to SGeans??

for 30 years in SG, i never seen MM, SM or PM in person...... within 3 mths in NZ, the new NZ PM is only 2 persons away..... ya, not many bodyguards around......

wat the @$#!$@&^.....

i ask myself again y i'm not my own boss so i dun have to waste time compiling cals for snr engr to review when he only register 5% of the info...... the time can b beta spent finishing the design so drafter can start drawing!

well, weekend finally here........ he so wasted my time!!

CNY coming!!

think caught the mood of CNY n did more clean up in my apartment last week...... heh, dunno y so fast got dust after 2 mths.......

weekend got some CNY fair, mayb can find my fav goodies there?! yum! hope they r not larger in size like these....... these r 'zhong', not nasi lemak!

biz...

never b4, I'm biz at work!

dun understand y colleagues wanna rush their work when there's no work to do after dat n then they have problem filling up timesheets......

I'll have prob filling my timesheet after few weeks...... register that I surf the net or play sudoku so that me mind won't shut down?? timesheets r headache ley......

mouthwash no good?

not sure if SG affected.....

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10551361

eat art?

saw this at a burger place..... creative but one can forget abt using the table! the burger is oso not bigger than the hole!

Wow!

Am so blown away with this Peugeot that has glass roof n matching leather seats.... WOW!

only wowing not buying, out of budget.

too simple?!

been taking some time searching the NZ concrete code (thicker than BS concrete codes combined!) for the procedure to calculate moment capacity......... there is none! so pple here juz calculate the moment coupled from concrete stress block and tensile steel....... no regards if concrete will b overstressed or not, requiring compression steel......

even snr engr oso still using BS method......

Did it again......

I brought work back to the apartment....... always been telling myself to drop this bad habit but the stupid column uplift keeps giving me prob!!

unreal prices......

clothes prices n sizes r not working well for me here, a pair of made-in-china ladies bermudas cost $50 to $70 in most shops!! in the end got a fitting boy's bermudas for only $20....... also got a kids-size NZ-holiday T-shirt for only $10....... would rather buy my casual wear from SG if really no choice!

also can't get over the future monthly cost of $240 for carparking in my apartment...... been hunting for cheaper alternatives n found a nearby open space carpark which is free on non-working hours, heheh.....

New Year? Work?

dun really feel the new year coming since I had my big change 2 mths ago...... perhaps next new year I shall have the countdown at Sydney...... cuz Auckland fireworks r not fantastic!

not 100% back to work tdy too..... how to recover from the indulgence of spas, followed by ice-creams during the holidays??! finally got my structural model to work beautifully tdy but once I changed some members for optimisation, errors come back again...... so itchy fingers!! wanna bang my head against the wall!! forgotten wat I changed liao! #&*!$%@!#$$......

Nonetheless, Happy New Year!

Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland

juz 2 words - colourful & steamy!

Waimangu Volcanic Valley

Mt Tarawera's major eruption in 1886 spilt the volcano into half, exploded nearby Lake Rotomahana to 20 times its size and created 7 craters forming the Waimangu Valley........ these r only views of the lake, was raining so din tour the equally smokin' valley.......

Mt Tarawera

Steam coming out from a fault line..... would prefer more live action like a moving fault line??!