One semester on...

It is hard to believe but my first semester here in Shanghai is just about over.. . I have been here for more than 4 months already... In that time, I have had the milk scare which was my first real introduction to Shanghai... Then there wa the egg problem and the worms in oranges problem... This is the life...

It has gone from really hot summer to coolish winter all in the space of the few months... Then there is the pollution/ grey skies/ sunny days and now frost on fake grass! It sure has been an adventure none the less...

But life is all good and as long as I continue to find things that float my boat... I am a happy camper... There is always the lovely hot chocolates made by Amanda in my chill spot.... Half price bakery items at either Raddisson or slightly further a field... Marks and Spenser for really pricey comfort food... and not to mention the wonders of cheap DVDs and great local food...

Photos to follow when I have the time to sort them out on the Mac....

Have a great holiday season....

the life

am sitting in a very relaxing spot with my trusty iPhone enjoying some soothing music after a hard day of work this is the life of the expat next stop foot massage time... That is after a nice hot chocolate from my favourite joint and then back out into the cool weather to catch a taxi in rush hour... That is an experience as there are few and far between where taxis are concerend

Cookies

Well I have been here in Shanghai for 4 months now and the time has come to begin baking cookies... It has been interesting getting all the various ingredients... Most of them had to be bought from the imported section but hey thats one of the joys of living here... But I must say, it is costing an arm and a leg... Hey as long as they taste good who cares

Well can't get everything or rather am not willing the capital outlay... hence the newest innovation from Joy's kitchen... Chopsticks instead of a cooling rack... As long as the job gets done and the end result is all that matters....

My stress reliever is in tack once again though I don't see myself doing it often- it is a cost thing more than anything else... Now to divide, sample and distribute... 

Hmm and haaaaa

It has been a while since I blogged... Well life has been moving along as usual in the general fashion... It is the grand old countdown till the end of the semester... Somehow it is amazing how one gets use to certain things in life and it is hard to change...

For starters looks like winter is fast upon me and I am still adjusting to the fact that the days are getting dramatically shorter and darker... Plus it has finally become winter wear weather... Had nights of below the 5 degee mark... Walked to work at 0700 yesterday with a nice warm 2 degrees celcius for company... But can't really complain as low temperatures mean nice sunny days... Can and wil never trade the sun for anything in winter...

It is the season to be extra careful with one's belongings too... Apparently between now and Chinese New Year is the peak season... So it is a great disincentive to go out... Not that it has stopped me or anything like that...

Oh and I have found yet another creature comfort that I enjoy... It is a liquid creature comfort in Leonidas Hot Chcolate which is only 29 yuan for a decent glass and it comes with a free chocolate... Woo Hoo my new favourtie haunt next to Hersheys... But it is easier to get to Leonidas as it is at the new Shanghai Financial Center...

change

Well for once in my entire life, I have been closely following the US president election and campaign. 

I was glued to www.cnn.com at work today to watch the changes and votes and everything... Well never thought I would see the day that the 44 preseident elect of the USA is black African American and young. Sure is a mover and shaker.... 

With its colorful past and freedom writers, the visions  and dreams of Martin Luther King Jr are finally coming into fruition.... The activist are finally seeing the fruits of their labor...

What can I say? Barack Obama is going down in the history books... This is a pivitol point of history in the making

One of the best

It was Emma's birthday yesterday and today a group of girls went out for Brunch at Shangri-la Pudong. It was at the Yi Cafe... It was a really good feed... Here are some of the things I got up to food wise...

the week...

This has been one of those weeks for me... I developed one of the killer migrains that did not go away and as usual the right eye went all dull...

hence I took myself to the doctor to get it checked out and got three needles stuck into me... one to draw blood to check for ESR and two in the butt for pain killer and anti nausea... They worked all right and I went dizzy instead and had to lie down... I had to be supported to walk as it was impossible to walk in a sstraight line...

Have to say a big thanks to Chris who came to pick me up and supported me home... Would not have managed without him...  Hence waddling with finnese was born... 

Marks and Spencer

This has been an interesting weekend... I finally went to Marks and Spencer which was such a fun experience... I finally get things that I can read and understand though it is a really small collection... But the area around M&S is really cool and there are so many shops to explore... think I will be back there again soon... in the near future.... 

The other exciting thing was that after a long quest for Puff pastry, I have finally found it and now I should be able to bake a pie once I get a dish to bake it in... THat is going to be the challenge I am going to imagine...

Oh well another week of school and the ever exciting Parent Interviews on Friday... 

nite nite

Podcasting in Plain English

Am doing this as an after school activity... But believe it or not, it is like into the great unknown for a lot of people... Wonder if there is a blackhole or something? It just seems that it is so foreign to them...Hmm...Hmmm... Hmmmmm

The long silence

Well.... It has been a long time since I last blogged.... Lets see.... I have been working for 7 weeks now... Time seems to fly so quickly when one is working but it is really hard work too... It is really demanding and havig the whole range of abilities and needs of the children to cater to have been my challenge.... Although I moan about it, I am sstill enjoying myself....

I have just had the Golden Week holidays and that was a really good break... I went to Singapore for a week of rest and resstock... Had the most interesting things in my suitcase on the way back- milk powswe, chocolates, sweets, new PJ's and a rubbish bin! It was good to get away from Shanghai but it is good to come back too... The weather has cooled down a lot in the time I have been away...

I enjoyed seeing a lot of Jersey and his antics.... Who incidentally went to the doctor today and is on new medication as his eye is not in a good shape at all... Poor dog.... But he is lovable as ever and cute as ever....

Well back to the real world and another 10 weeks before Christmas holidays.... 

The week just passed

The Long awaited Mid Autumn festival weekend came and went... It was good to have the extra day of rest but it sure felt like a teaser as one extra day was not enough... But it sure beats havig none... The weather was fine for some of it, but we had a big dump of rain too which was a welcome relief.. The only thing was that the weather warmed up pretty quickly adter the rain which was not normal.... 

It was a busy weekend for me as my parents and aunty arrived... So it was a full house and that is a challenge when there is only one washroom... But all is well... Just take a number and wait your turn... 

We had the wonderful expereince of a Face Changing show... The pictures can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/joylim101/ChangingFacesShow 

Then on Monday, off we went to Suzhou... We went via the first Cass Train carriage from here to there... It was a really comfortable 30 odd minute ride.... There was a special entrance for the first class passengers- Soft Seat passengers... Wonder if the other is Hard seat or No seat??? 

Suzhou has a lot of gardens... I mean a lot!!!! But one has to pay alot for entrance fees too which is all right as a tourist... We got to ride on a horse drawn carrige, a boat, a trishaw and even managed to find a driver... So guess that covers just about every form of transportation... We had the wonderful experience of being caught in a rain storm too... Thank goodness we had our raincoats... 

I managed to get myself some more tea leaves and a silk duvet.... which will be good in winter- I hope it keeps me warm... Oh there is a special silk worm which is a couple cocoon instead of the usual single... Silk is so stretchable and hardy... it is amazing... 

The pictures can be found at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/joylim101/Suzhou

All in all, a great weekend plus a short week of work... 

One more week to the Golden Week holiday... Can't wait for that... Especially with my sandpaper for a throat at the moment and honking away... Not a good look at all....

Till next time....

Users and takers

I have been thinking a lot about this topic of late... Guess it is something other than my usual which is a change... But then again it is not anything new or surprising as it happens all around us regardless of ethnicity, gender, age or any other factors... 

Well guess it has been the way of the world for so long... Not that it is soething one should wear as a badge of pride... I personally think that it is scraping the bottom of the barrel in a lot of ways and not high on the desired list at all... Somehow this world is full of them and they sure outnumber the nice people... 

Why do people become takes and not givers? it is all about them isn't it???? They only look out for number one which is themselves and stuff the rest of the people around them... I find that these people are just so low on the totum pole... 

Oh well time to rest...

Nite 

The opening of the Paraolympics

The True Spirit 

Pictures speak a thousand words... It is still so much  One World, One Dream...

Both opening ceremonies are so amazing in their own right and it iss hard to decide which is better.... 

Well done China....

I'll Make a Man Out of You - Mulan [Multilanguage]

This is what it feels like in my class...

A first

I had my first attack of MSG allergy today... Guess that is going to be the end my days of eating in the the canteen.. Though it is slop food...

It was also my first experience at Shanghai East Hopsital.. I had to have oxygen fed though my system and heart monitor, pulse, blood pressure... It was a rather interesting experience... But not anything too exciting...

The down side is that my face is still puffy from the allergy... Guess I really have to carry my allergy medication around with me...

The first day of...

Traditionally the first day of September always marks the first technical day of spring... But this year is weird as it marks the first day of Autumn.

I miss having it as the first day of spring as that means winter is over and things start to look up. I am not use to referring to this part of the year as Autumn. It just doesnt sound or feel right...

Although I must say that the weather is brilliant at the moment... Cool enough to be in shorts still and not dripping in sweat! Think the weather is now nice enough to start walking to and from work.. . any excuse for some exercise...

It is going to be a long week for me... I have the wonderful meet the parent sessions on both Tuesday and Thursday....

I just got to see Jersey via Skype... He looked so confussed as to where the voice was coming from... But he sure looks fat!!!!

hmmmm

Just realized that I have blogged quite abit recently... This shot is just another noraml thing that happens on a normal day here in Shanghai... It was taken while I was waiting for the Taxi on my way back... Environmentally way to move a fridge????

I forgot to update all of you on what I got up to for my birthday... Had to take the photo of the moon it was just so pretty that night... Well my birthday was a busy day.... For starters, I had food poisoning which was not a nice feeling... Went out for a really expensive buffet lunch as I had only an omelette and a waffle (125 yuan)... Afternoon tea was unusual as it was a prim and proper English afternoon tea with the fine bone china tea cup and the three tier cake server... LOL yes I had to have some sort of treat!... Dinner was with friends at a Hot pot restaurant... Yummy but would have been better in winter when it was cooler.... All in all it was a brilliant day and thanks to all those people who made my day special....

wat one gets up to

It is the weekend and as usual I am out and about exploring... Went to Xin Tian Di yesterday as well as the Yu Gardens... The weather was cooler which helped... Wan Hing and I queued for more than an hour at hte Yu Garden for Xiao Long Bao... They were not too bad and at 12 yuan for 16 it cant go that far wrong can it?

Went out with Lawrrence and Wendy today and we went to People's Square to have a look around and they took me to this 1930's replica of Shanghai which was really neat.. After that we went off to the Arcade to play some games.. It was really funny... I was happy to watch as I know my hand eye coordination leaves a lot to be desired... But was "forced" to do that dancing gamewhich was a laugh... as I could not get my feet in the right position either...  Then we attempted to pick up a Pluto soft toy which was a laugh... Lawrence was so determined to get it for Wendy but sigh... after about 8 attempts we had to surrender in fits of laughter... 

Now back to the reality of the week ahead of me... Time to hit the sack....

The End

It is the end of the Beijing Olymics games... It has been a great games and it is an experience being in the country while the games are on... I have enjoyed watching the opening ceremony and it made me feel proud to be a Chinese... They have done an amazing job and with all the memories and history... One World, One dream is so true.... Now will have to wait 4 years to see if London can pull off something as amazing as this....

reinventing the wheel

It is the first day of the new semester... I did not have any classes today so I spent the day planning and working on other things... This included going down to the Early Childhood Department to work out what I am going to do there... It has been a busy day to say the least... 

I have so many different ideas and plans that I would like to try with the children but I am not sure... Guess it always safe to say never rock the boat or try to reinvent the wheel... Just will do my best still... 

The only real and tangable problem I am facing at the moment is that my left knee is not in a good place... I am struggling when I climb down the stairs and I literally have to hop down the stairs in pain... Sigh... think I am finally growing old... 

I am really amused by the weather here... It was really sunny and hot this morning but by mid day, it was pouring with rain and it just came down which causes little floods here and there... When it stopped, the weather was even hotter than before... even the bus drivers were commenting about it... we all concluded that the best time to rain is in the evening or nite as it really cools things down and clears out the air...

Anyway... but to my night life of planning and drst....

Photos and such

Where did the weekend go??? It is Monday again... One thing I have learnt here is the ability to tell the start of the working week from the end of the weekend... Simple... On Sunday, the streets around here are full of street vendors... On Monday they all magically disappear only to reappear from Tuesday onwards... Rational, it is the start of the working week and the officials have to be seen as doing the right thing so they basically go round in their transport rounding them up and doing what they have to do...  But it doesn't last for long thats for sure...

Anyway... here is the link to the photos... 

http://picasaweb.google.comjoylim101/shanghai

Enjoy

I survived

Okay... it is the weekend... Am suppose to be sleeping in.... But alas am awake bright and early... Guess it is ok... 

Well this week has been a blur as it has been planning meetings, team meetings, staff meetings, team building, training sessions... Must say that it has been a long week.... Have to let all the dust settle before I get  everything...

It has been raining quite a bit... Thunderstorms to be more exact... they usually roll in around lunch time and with the loud claps of thunder that rumble... then comes the lightning which you cna literally hear and see wich flashes so brightly... As quick as they come, they dissappear very quickly too... 

But I was caught in one last night... Went to top up my mobile (been using it too much)... the walk is not bad but think the hazzards make it more interesting...  Other than the bicycles, the motor bikes, the taxis, the cars that turn even though the light is red... The other challenge is that the pavement material they choose to use here is so wet unfriendly... I mean they are slippery and a hazzard to walk on... I have slipped so many times that I have lost count... and they use it everywhere right up to the foot of my building... why use smooth granite looking tiles  without any grip???

Right time to head out to explore Shanghai some more.... Till next time...

Sry

Sry about the long silence... I have been in Shanghai for a week and a half now and today is the first day I have been able to get my internet in my apartment... Well it has been such a busy time for me that I would not even know where to start...

Let's see, I arrived to a wet and humid Shanghai on the 3 Aug... Was greeted and the airport and got on the bus to get to the apartment... That was well and good.. the apartment is nice and mordern enough... But lo and behold, a few days later I suffered a flood- actually it was 2 floods... One was from the washing machine- my nice neighbour down below felt that the noise from the washing machine is not user friendly and decided to cemement up the drainage hole... So hey presto a free wash of the kitchen floor... Yup kitchen as the laundry is in there- who would be sleeping in the kitchen anyway???? 

My next flood as in the shower... the water came up and never went down as the drains were clogged... So two floods within 24 hours was just a little too much for my tiny system to bear... But grin and bear it I did...

Then it was training days and that was fun... I sat a lot that I could just feel the fat growing... But all was well once the weekend came as then I had time to shop! Things are pretty expensive here and there are a lot of creature comforts I am missing- from a simple can of soup to the ore complex breakfast cereal... I can't get over the fact that things are written in bilingual over here and it just seems so weird to me still... I am really hopeless at the script...

We had a team building session yesterday and it was The Amazing Race YCIS style... We were arranged into our "working" teams and had to race all around Shanghai basically... this gave us the chance to see the sights... See it was and my team was really out to win and we literally ran all around Shanghai - in and out of the crowds, dashing across the roads and not getting into any accidents... trust me the rule of the thumb here is never cross when it is the green man...

Oh and as part of the game we had to eat food from a different culture- It was a vegemite cracker for the Chinese teachers and a soy sauce chicken foot for us... yuck yuck yuck... that confirms it, I will never eat it again... It was foul.... Wonder why it is a delicacy??? It is just about enough to make me go vegetarian....

Hence this morning I awoke to find muscles that I didn't know existed in my body and I have legs that are so sore ... I literally had to use my hand to lift my leg so that I could sit cross legged... how bad is that???

Other than that, life is good... I will post the photos once i get them all sorted....

Time to move

The time has arrived for me to move once again... I have just packed all my bags off to the airport and it was a grand total of 105.8kg... That is 5 bags full of stuff... Loos like i moved everything except the kitchen sink...  The reality of moving up to Shanghai has finally set in.. .

One thing I am going to miss is Jersey... He knows that some change is in the wind and has been rather hard to predict at times... But well it is not hte end of the world as I will be back some time to spend time with him... That I can't wait for...

The past few weeks have beem a flury of activity and it has kept me really busy... Have been having a really great time...

Guess the next time I write will be from Shanghai and that is really out in the world.... 

It has been a long while

It has been a long time since I blogged... I guess the rush of getting everything ready to move to Shanghai is catching up on me... I have only a week to go before I fly and LOL I have not gotten my visa.... 

I had to go and get a medical report which required me to be poked, told to relax, xray and nothing all to exciting... But glad that it is out of the way and now I can really go and apply for my visa...

These few weeks have been a challenge for me as there have been so many things to worry and think about... But yet on the other hand, I have been making the most of my time... I was out the other day with a good friend of mine and it really got me thinking about where I am headed... 

I guess it is way past time that I reentered the working world and it scares me and excites me all in the same breathe... One thing is for sure, I will have to save lots and yet still enjoy life... I will have to find my work- life balance again... 

Yet on the other hand, there are other things that are taking up my memory and brain space... not fully digested yet or sorted out for myself... It has been a roller coaster ride for me... But right now, it is bed time as I have not been sleeping well again....

the excitement for the day...

Smoke= Fire= Smell= Fire engines+ firemen+police

Okay it has been a really exciting day today... I was happily out with my Mum going to get a massage done when the housing agent called to ask where we were... I was on the other side of the island... He told us that there was smoke billowing out of the apartment and we had to rush home in a hurry!!!!

I have never driven that quickly from west to east in early rush hour traffic... I was so worried as Jersey is at home... I don't know how I was able to drive steadily and get the car home in one piece... The sight that greeted me was one fire engine and many motorcycles sitting in  the drive way with a whole swam of police and firemen in the house... The lift smelt like a bad fire and by that time, my hands were shaking really uncontrollably.... Thank goodness nothing was burnt (as we had accidentally left a stove burning).... Jersey was all right- just badly shaken and reeking of smoke... 

Now the whole house smells like a bbq gone really bad.... Don't think any air freshner will help the cause.... 

eating

For all those concerend people out there... I have been feasting on tons of food... 

Today was no exception... I went out to get some shopping done and while I was walking there... I came across this rather interesting and new Ice-cream/ desert place at City Link Mall...

Actually the concept is not anything new- very much like the Cold Rock in Australia but of course you end up paying Singapore prices for it...Think mine came up to $7.50 for one scoop! But well it was good none the less...

Chocolate ice cream with Hazel Nuts, macaroon and sponge cake

Now onto the main event... I went to Sushi Tei at Raffles City for some quiet sit down lunch...  I had a feast and I feel so full now... LoL this is a week of feasting followed by another week of dinner appointments... How???

Sukiyaki with the yummy raw egg dip

I forgot

Australia is a great place except for one thing- the bloody Aussies...

Well I forgot to mention that upon my exit from Sydney Airport, I just about had a free poke session... Okay not the pleasurable sort but the criminal sort... Rite I must look like crap in the morning and have a drug mule/ explosive profile... More like the dazed, hungover and basically sleepwalking look... 

Hence after all the usual xray and screening- of which I had to hold up my jeans as I had to take off my belt I was ushered into a room to have 2 multi-language notices handed to me to read... One gave this guy the privillage of feeling my hands and a lady to feel my back/ arms/ the works... the other test was to check for explosives ... Hello! Like anybody in their rite mind would want either on a flight bound for Singapore... Unless you are totally brainless and a Dodo... 

The officer frisking me down got a quick education on the "fine city" and the nice "rewards" for drugs... Think he regretted randomly choosing me... 

Anyway... that sure beats getting my shin kicked by a psychopath/ psychotic/ mentally unstable/ lunatic white random guy on a bus... Hence back to my opening statement about Australia being a great place expcept for the bloody Aussies... 

been around the world...

Okay.... an update is way way way overdue... I have been around the world and back again... I left Singapore bound for Sydney on the 13 June on the A380 (no in economy this time)... It was an ok flight... got into Sydney at 0545 and I must say the airport is very deserted at that time... Out from arrival and back up to departure as I had to take a connecting flight to Auckland...  Spent the greater part of that block of 24 hours in a plane and extremely exhausted after that... But hey all because that is the cheapest way of flying... Logic?

Well here are the photos that I snapped... Not really keen on taking photos at the moment...  I need some inspiration... Oh well... At least the blog is updated...hehe... thats the positive...

The Brand New Apple Store @ George Street

Hurricanes @ Bondi

Manly

Darling Harbor 

The brand new Chocolate Lava desert at Lindt

Sydney Fish Market

The Australian Museum Wall

random thots

It has been a while since i have blogged about something random that has been taking up my brain space...

I was talking to a friend the other day and the person said that I knew how to enjoy life (this was in relation to food) This got me thinking... Guess we all do not start out on our journey of life this way... Some people choose to become and other choose to succumb....

Okie confession time.. I am on a quest for a good desert.... Not that I am getting very far of late as they are either too expensive or not shouting out to me... Think I might go and try a desert buffet soon to take the edge off but my desert eating partner is away at the moment... Hmm... think I will go and drive to have a fix tomorrow before I really suffer and over indulge...

On w more personal note... I wonder can I adapt or do I face the real possibility of becoming extinct???

everything Mac

Okay... My newest toy has arrived- my nice new shinny silver Mac Book Pro... now why didn't I just bite the bullet last year and gotten it for myself instead of suffering the painful torture of a Dell???

It is so cool and fun to use this Mac- forgotten how wonderful the computer can be... But better late than never would be the best saying I guess... Now it looks like I am once again talking in one language instead of multiple languages- though in saying that, the school that I am going to work in is a PC environment... Ha Ha Ha... But its ok, I have my iPhone, iPod and Mac book Pro for company...

anway time to have my evening time with Jersey before he gets jealous that this thing has taken over the center of attention from him....

it has been observed...

Well it has been observed that I have been spending more time with Jersey than on my blog... Guess I don't want to moan and groan on my blog thats why it has been so silent...

The latest happenings have been:
1. I bought the 15 inch Mac Book Pro...

2. I have a heat rash all over my neck and behind my ears (stupid heat here and me don't go at all)

3. I bought 2 Toshiba 4 GB USB thumb drives yesterday- here is the logic behind it
2GB- $19.90
4GB- $29.90
8GB- $63.90
I can't figure out the logic of the price here... Help anybody???

4. I have changed jobs even before I have started working... Was originally hired as a Classroom Teacher but now I am going to be the ICT specialist teacher

5. My whole life evolves around the times Jersey and I go out for our walks... most of the time at least... although he has to wait for me at times...

Okay time for me to hit the shops- it is supposed to be the Great Singapore Sale at the moment... have yet to get a bargain though...

If you are really interested to find out who Jersey is... go to the link on the right hand side of this blog...

the long weekend

I have been busy enjoying my long weekend by watching American Idol Season 7... Crash course as i have not had the time to sit down and watch it at all and it is the final this Thursday...

Great way to spend my time isn't it? I guess it is the heat that keeps me indoors and away from the crowds that seem to be milling around the cooler air-conditioned shopping centers... Though I must admit I went shopping last week and got myself some stuff... not a lot as the budget is constrain at the moment...

I tried to sleep in this morning- all things considered (it is a holiday) but Jersey was not a happy camper and woke me up... we had a really exhausting walk as it is for starters hot and he decided to run today....

okay time to go beautify myself....

finally

After many anxious days of waiting... the contract has arrived safe and sound... I am now getting google eyed reading 11 pages of terms and conditions... that is before I attempt to look deeper into it...

The good part is that there is a fully furnished apartment waiting for me... the bad part is that I have to bear my tax... The good part is the pay is decent enough... the bad part is I get 12 days of sick leave...

Okay enough moaning from me... am now waiting for the lawyers to read through it so that I can decide... hehehe...

I guess I am going to hit the sack as it is another early morning start for me- have to be up by 0730 so that I will not grow any darker than I am... Have grown quite a few shades darker since my holiday... But on the high note... I get 2 rounds of free exercise per day...

the thing one gets up to

Just for laughs...

I was out with a friend tonight... We were shopping in a supermarket and these wonderful supermarkets charge you a $1 for the use of the trundler... Okay the $1 is refundable when it is returned but there was this Malay family who for some weird idea tried to use the express lane (which had a sign that read 10 items only, only baskets, cash or eftpos payment) and lo and behold, they had a trundler... the husband just chucked the trundler to one side and left... my friend and I turned to each other and grinned... we dashed for the trundler and carted it out of the store and got the $1 instead... Okay desperate or something but oh well... and the dollar went round and round and round....

A passing of a season

My romance with Nokia is over...

I had my E65 gloriously murdered over the weekend... It was cleansed with nail polish remover... Guess it died a painful and horrible death as the cover peeled off and the screen was dripping with liquid... The life just flickered out of it...

Now the new era begins... I have acquired a new partner... Okay I admit I am a tech freak...

Introducing my new friend...

The Apple iPhone

Now to have a crash course on how to use it and play with it...

jersey

My wonderful instant pet is back... Okay it is on a more long term basis... He is asleep after the long walk... I am tired too to say the least... Me feeling really happy... a good way to end the weekend and start the new week...

elasticity of demand

Rite... Let's see... the price of food is going up and up.... I agree... but the price of imports... hmmm

1. Lindt Chocolate is $4.45 per bar here....

2. Original Juice Co. is....

3. Weis Raspberry and Cream...


All things considered the exchange rate is $1.30 or there abouts at the moment...
Still... I can't justify the price hike or better still the demand for goods...
All things considered if they are necessities and creature comforts, one will have to bite the bullet and just pay the price for it...
Life would be meaningless without the little comfort foods...

juz for laughs

the laugh sensation....
couldn't resist putting this online....

juz realized

I have just realized that I have been overworking my poor blog today... Well guess it needs a major update as it stands.... All things considered it is Labor Day or May Day here so the best place to be is at home... Especially when it is so hot and sunny outdoors, the hibernation does wonders for the soul... Plus I get the chance to be one with my bed...

Here are some shots from Auckland and its surrounds...

Matakana Farmers Market

monarch Caterpillars on a Swan Plant

Saturday Rugby for Kids

Vertical Bungee from the Sky Tower