Times

So. I was made redundant last month.

O right. Happy New Year, 2021. And yes, Happy Lunar New Year, today.

Dont get too upset now, I expected my redundancy since the company merged early last year. And hence why I worked really hard to 'prove' myself valuable to the company. I think the company tried too, to create room for me. They just didnt value what I can offer, though.

So really, there was closure and relief, when I was told my position is redundant. I had a small payout too, which I used to satisfy a luxurious want (yesterday, kekeke), so I guess it isnt that bad. You'll find out soon *mysterious smile

In all honesty, after all the worry and anxiety for half of 2020, I was pretty calm by this time, more like fed up and resigned. Even was going to start looking for jobs in 2021. So.. knowing I was going to be jobless in a week, I left it all to God, my troubles and my worries. Even Fen was pretty taken aback by how calm I was. Although, yes I am very hurt by the company's decision and my new boss' promises that I was very much needed in the company *rolls eyes

In the 3 years I've been in Oz, I've had 6 jobs. In the 10 years of my Singapore career, I've had 3 jobs. Go figure. So yes, it is very disturbing for me that I cant find a workplace to settle in. Then again, I'm in a different country. So I got over it.

Before you start feeling sorry for me.

The recruitment agency that placed me in my last 2 jobs was VERY speedy to help me get back into the workforce. Within a week from my last day, I already had 2 decent job offers. Hurhurhur. Are they good or am I good, lol. But no.

GOD IS GOOD.

I mean it. The lessons learnt these last 3 years have been hard, so I'm saying it again. A job does not define me. Hence I chose not to worry. Not to be put down. Not to be depressed. Yes, I was sad because I put in effort in my job, only to be rejected. Knowing that it was not the culture for me.

So the whole episode was timely, was planned and in God's timing.

The last 2 weeks were just me resting, catching up with a few friends, hiking, shopping spreeing, and lotsa lame funny videos laughing my heart out. T'was perfect and refreshing.

P/s: Victoria just announced a Stage 4 lockdown reintroduction from midnight tonight. Again, perfect timing and I'm just thankful for God. My heart is full and I'm at peace.

Pp/s: I got a shitty haircut last week. Lost my thick blunt cut and have an overly layered head now. Worst thing was the styling after, made me look like a 50yo aunty. My face was speechless.

Ppp/s: I'm on a roll watching Chinese dramas. Shocking, but they're mostly wuxia ones, so brought back tons of childhood memories!

Anyway, hope you guys are doing well yourselves, take care. God bless!

Blink; it's 2020

Happy New Year everyone!

Despite being MIA for over half a year, can I just say, the last 10 days have been soooooooo packed. It's amazing how Fen and I could still find a day to sleep in till 1300 in the arvo, and still gym 2 times the past 2 weeks! Okay you think 2x in the last 2 weeks is weak. But I went with a Grade 3 full ligament rupture and avulsion fracture, so.. beat that.

As Fen and I were reflecting 2019, he said it was more eventful for me than for him. Well, so I began to recollect the events of the last 12 months:

• Learning (still) to have 3 cats in the house as we welcomed Ash the highly likely Abyssinian-mixed into the family. It hasnt been the easiest, but we do love all 3 furries so very much. Our cats have very different personalities, and as we embrace all of them, we continually pray for them to accept one another and co-exist to be happy and healthy. Not quite there yet, but we'll keep trying..
• Jobless for 1st 2 months of the year; constant crying, feeling sorry for myself, dwelling in past glory days, stressing Fen out with my suicidal thoughts of unworthiness and uselessness in the world.
• Got into serious rock climbing - Fen bought us the climbing shoes and gear so we can now hop around climbing gyms and just pay entrance fees. Love climbing with my boy =)
• A church friend threw a crumb for a casual job as a Receptionist; grabbed it immediately, got the role, and started to mingle with humans again, after a very very bad 10 months of my 1st job in Melbourne being assigned a janitor's room as my office. What a breath of fresh air. And did I mention the job was in the city?! I was stuck in the West since we touched down in Oct 17, so having a daily commute to the city was definitely welcomed. In the 3 months I was in the role, as I started processing with my qualifications and experience, that the best job I could get was a casual Receptionist, negative thoughts started to crawl back to my head.
  That's when Fen told me to get off IG for 3 weeks to be more mindful of my reality and not get caught up with all the social media and their superficial 'perfect' posts.
• Made new friends at church and finally could be ourselves with like-minded and open-minded people. Really was quite liberating when we find ourselves some good friends =)
• Started doing more and longer hikes. Went camping! Love all the experiences ^^
• And then Daniel fast. Felt really good with clean food. Lost 6kg. Had a breakthrough with a recruitment agency and aced the interview and finally landed my first ever accountant job. Albeit still a casual role. But finally getting the local experience that is soooooo required in this country. Yes, every company asks for a local experience without FIRST giving you that experience. Go figure.
• Got tired of the city commute HA. Didnt take that long. Have thoughts of relocating to regional areas, still thinking about it =/
• Bought our 2nd second hand car (lol). Bit dramatic during the purchase process really (then again, when am I not putting myself in dramatic situations *rolls eyes), but really thankful for this sturdy reliable vehicle now. Fifi had done us great great service for almost 2 years, and we're ready to have an upgrade and start exploring this country with longer road trips =)
• Celebrated Fen's birthday with our close friends at our rental place. So much laughter, so much love, a home away from home <3
• Finally landed a permanent job. After 2 FULL years in Melbourne. A very awakening journey. Taught me so much. "A job does not define me." "I did not move to Melbourne to get back the exact same life as I had in SG." "Happiness does NOT come from just having financial stability."
• Signed up for a gym membership with Fen. Fen researched intensively, and we literally tried/inquired 5 different gyms before settling with Crunch Fitness. And we've been enjoying it so far!
• Sprained my ankle and tore a ligament. You know, just to celebrate the closure of a dramatic year. Jazz up this year further~

The last 10 days of the year were definitely fun and packed. Lunches and dinners (non-stop feasting) at friends', cherry picking (cutting it real close coz the season is almost over!), beach day, not forgetting to gym regularly, hiking (with that ankle yes), still remembered to save lives and donate plasma at red cross lol, movie night with friends, sleeping in with Fen, catching up with laundry and ironing (!), spending quality time with furries.

O my, I enjoyed the break so much. Although I definitely wouldnt mind a quiet peaceful time spending Christmas and New Year. Spending it surrounded by friends is a bonus =)

So I'm just thinking up a list of prayers for 2020. Getting the Australia bush fires to stop will be a good start. A very painful lesson for the nation, dont know how the people directly impacted can recover. Let's not stop praying and doing every bit we can =*

I'll check in again, hopefully soon!

Take care, have a very blessed 2020, thanks for reading =)

WINTER

O my, did i not blog last month? Who's reading anyway *rolls eyes

Winter. Winter, winter, winter. I reluctantly confess I dont do very well in winter. Mucus literally flows down my nose. Scalp is flaking. Flesh on finger splitting. Chilblains on feet and toes.

Unfortunately, weather is like this 9 months throughout the year. I needa adjust man.

Hair is a bob now, yays~ Until I can manage long unkempt hair, I'm better off keeping it short for now.

Pitch had her dental surgery and blood tests. Urine tests were inconclusive, and I'm supposed to catch her pee at home to rerun the test. Easier said than done. She treasures her privacy in the loo so much.

I'm working out at home more regularly now. Winter is making me wanna warm my body up. Plus always on a mission to. Lose. That. Weight. My pushups are looking more and more awesome, and I finally believe that hard work for exercising pays off. Most of the time I just give up after not seeing results. Now, chasing after perfect form is what drives me, not so much looking at weighing scales (we have no weighing scale anyway). Most of my plyo moves look ridiculous and clumsy, hope it gets more effortless soon =)

Fen and I are also hitting the gym weekly, and to my joy he is enjoying it so much. On rare occasions he would do HIIT at home with me too! Since the gym allows casual entries, there are no commitments, and we mostly head for the weights, which we dont have at home ^^ I'm doing 30kg barbell for deadlifts now! Did massive research for workout sets, and have this tiny book to refer to when in gym hehehe.

Which is also why I'm literally in workout clothes all the time. And still buying more. Omg. Moved on from Aloyoga to Gymshark now. Lol, Oz makes online shopping too easy, I think it's a crime =/

I tendered at NP, and that was pretty emotional. A little fearful of the unknown now, trying to look for a new job, hitting dead ends, self-doubting, feeling worthless. Looking to sermons and staying as faithful as I can now..

I am more thankful than I've ever been, that the journey so far has been so good and blessed, not all smooth-sailing but we werent expecting smooth-sailing anyway. We fell, we learnt, we got up and kept walking. Happy to have Fen with me, to have a roof over our heads, to have furries to cuddle.

heavy

During service last Sunday, I was tearing up a lot. In my head ran through all the plights of cats and dogs I know that are suffering/have suffered. Last week I found out my SG yoga instructor's dog passed away due to cancer. Skylar, a cat in Jo's cattery has a growth in his head that's pushing against one eye, and it's getting worse. Her latest post says blood spurts everywhere when he sneezes. Nigel, the neighbour's outdoor cat is at our door 3 to 5 times a day. He wants affection, food, to make friends with our furries, I dont know. I know he's out there, in the heat, in the cold, no real home, no real love. And I dont know how to walk up to my neighbour and tell them to love their cat more. Love is different to everybody.

It wasnt easy to bring furries over to Oz. Not easy at all. So many risks. So much money. So much to fear. I still shudder when I thought about the whole process of exporting them over, the last moment I saw them in SG, the despair when I learned about Ginger falling ill, the unsettling worry and fear right till we reached quarantine facility and hospital.. It was so much drama and trauma. I would not ever wanna go through that again.
I hug my furballs everyday, thinking of what they've gone through. I love them with my everything. I learn so much from them, every single day. How it's okay to not be the same as others. How it's okay to have imperfections. How it's okay to be alone sometimes. How it's okay to show love and affection. How it's okay when things dont go your way. 

It's okay. Life goes on.

Not a day goes by that I dont think about them leaving me. It's always on my mind. Things come and go. One moment, you're so caught up with a trend, a food, an obsession, a person. Next moment you wonder how those years went by when you were so infatuated with that. I dont wanna miss my furries' beautiful faces. Their innocent love, their individual character. Their body warmth, their headbutts, their unique purrs.

Some people refuse to think/talk about death. Avoid it like the plague. Deal with it when it comes. I've seen enough deaths over the last few years to know that running away from the topic brings more pain. I still cry buckets when I think about my furries leaving me. I just try to cherish them more now. Give them all the attention they need and want.

Okay, done with furry banter. Where am I going with this?
Keep your loved ones close, they're irreplaceable.

Of trials and tribulations 2

Week 3 since touch down. Let's run week by week.

Right before we flew, we left our very very important MacBooks and iPad on the Grab car. Found out only 2 hours later when we are entering the departure gate. So much panic and frantic and worry. People who came to see us off were so kind, reassuring and helping to contact the airport's lost and found, and Grab company to trace down driver. Eventually we flew without our potential work gadget and boarded with a heavy heart. We retrieved it one week later, when Fen's cousin got them back from the driver and flew here to pass us during his work trip. We are beyond blessed.

1st week flew by so fast, and yet so much drama. And so much was done! In order (which worked out favourably for us because some documents were pre-requisites):

• Got a prepaid mobile SIM
• Rented car for 5 days
• Bought furries' necessities (litter tray, sand, food bowls, food)
• Applied Tax File Number (TFN)
• Applied/Activated bank accounts
• Applied Medicare
• Subscribed to internet, gas and electricity providers
• Bought a 2nd hand car
• Started tenancy period
• Converted driver's licenses at VicRoads
• Bought car insurance
• Bought a new mattress
• Collected car and returned rental car
• Bought washing machine and refrigerator

In between the above, we had to make time to visit Ginger at the hospital daily, and still try to be home as early as possible for Pitch. Basically the day was worked around Ginger's visit, which was pretty challenging. Applying TFN, subscribing to service providers and buying car insurance were done online, but needed some reading up and careful filling in. Didnt take super long. Took 2 weeks to get the official card for TFN and Medicare, and at least 3 days for the subscriptions to be activated. Gas took 1 full week! Because complications with outstanding bills from previous tenant. And for 1 week we had icy cold water from the tap and had icy cold showers which I found out were absolute excruciating torture. Landlord was kind and took pity on us, asked us over to have showers.

The drama: Left my wallet at Medicare centre, a public place with many migrants. All our critical identification was inside that wallet. I left it on a telephone booth halfway filling up the medicare application form. Because I was caught on the phone call with Ginger's vet. And everything else didnt matter. Fen also didnt watch out because our names were then called to the counter. And for the next 10 minutes we were sitting at the counter, until Fen asked "where's your wallet?". And my heart froze. I stood up and walked stiffly back to where we last sat. Wallet was not there. I went stiffer. The security guy at the door saw my white face and asked if we needed anything. I could only blurt out "my wallet..". Security guy quickly led us to a guy who was walking around, HOLDING MY WALLET. The guy was trying to contact the owner of the wallet (me). He was tracing the computer to find if our info is with the system. When he turned around to face me, he immediately asked for my name and the contents in the wallet, the country of the identity cards. OMG this guy knows his shit. I'm so glad he was the one in possession of my wallet. GOD BLESS HIM. A false alarm but a terrible scare. We were really out of sorts and not in our game the first week. Very jumpy and constantly worried.

We got our 2nd hand car within 2 days of car shopping. 

Car shopping in a sea of cars

Our rental car, upgraded to Toyota Kluger 3.5L. I actually enjoyed this gigantic white beauty!

A crappy but only photo we took of the car, because the 1st few days were really moodless about fun.

Subaru 2009 Forester
O yea, this is our car, casually taken in the wilderness~

Not too bad, and the car is in an otherwise decent condition despite 300+k freeway mileage. My only criteria is that it works. Fen loved it and has bonded with it immediately. Cant jazz it up in the meantime, but will be a work in progress.

Most things above were done fuss-free, and it definitely helped we did our homework/research and made prior appointments and had documents ready for proof of identification. Blessings everywhere as we had kind landlords and kind-hearted souls who gave advice and offered help along the way. Thankful for all the help rendered. Thankful for God.

Week 2 was more settling. Did more shopping for essentials and had stuff delivered. Bed, fridge, washing machine, dining table (we got a 2nd hand 7-piece solid wood set for $200, woot!) helped make the house more habitable, when we can finally sleep better, keep and cook food, do our laundry, and sit at a table. With the gas activated, we can also use the cooktop, turn on the heater, and have hot water for showers. The nights have been cold, down to 6℃. So cold we needed 2 quilts. Our landlords also brought us around the area, to know where to get good deals and go for road trips. Things we found out here:

• Grocery prices are like the stock market. Case in point - broccoli can easily go for between 99cents/kg to $6.50/kg.
• By default, people enter your house with shoes on. I havent tried asking them to remove before entering, but it's my house and I mop my ass off to keep the floors clean, so I can exercise that right.
• Driving on the road is less courteous than before. We've been to Oz  since 2014, and the road ethics have definitely changed, possibly because of more migrants? But I must say, if you signal, 95% of the time the car will slow down and let you go ahead to change lane. Still beautiful people~ Singaporeans have much to learn about graciousness.
• I've heard stories about the gazillion unique creepy crawlers that are only found here in Oz. So the house has been pretty much shut tight from Day 1 of moving in. Even with windows open, there will always be a mesh (to prevent big slow flies during summer). Still, I keep finding one bug after another in the house. Freaks me out every time.
• Speaking of big slow flies, they are really ridiculously easy to swap and kill! I killed 3 in 2 minutes on first attempt. 
• When the people say something is clean, it is NOT. Zzz standards can be quite low here.
• Cheaper than SG stuff include Lush products, storage containers, (good) coffeebeans, fresher fruits (kiwi and blueberries!!!) and vege (kale and broccoli!) etc. Sorry the stuff I buy are boring. O yes! Cars, lol.

In short, I dont feel much is different. It's almost like we never left Singapore.

We're ending Week 3 soon. All is good. Weather is turning warmer. I do look forward to days where I can just wear a t-shirt, and wear thongs (slippers/slip-ons/flip flops. Forgive me I'm getting aussified). These days I'm furiously buying thermals and warmer jackets (because I left my beautiful awesome fashionable jackets back in SG, kicking myself alot), and watching my pocket burn.

Every night, furries crawl under the sheets to steal our warmth (and our hearts), and I really love spending quality time with them as they acclimatise and adjust to their new home.