AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE CAN ENDURE MUCH MORE THAN WE THINK WE CAN - FRIDA KAHLO.

Midweek are always the hardest to endure. 

Some of you might know and some of you don't but in my senior years of high school, I actually changed schools. I went from an academic focus high school to a very artsy high school. I studied art in year 7 and 8 just like everyone and I really enjoyed it but like all Asian families, my parents did not see a future for me as an artist and so in year 9 to 10 I was 'advised' to pick more business/law related modules. I went through a hellish year 9 to 10 where I was bullied. When you're there in the moment you don't feel that it's bullying, you just feel like crap, no confidence and that what those 'mean' people are saying must be true. I really withdraw myself in year 10, hiding out in the library, because I didn't want to deal with them and their snide remarks, some say it's running away and others say its an escape. I think I would of been fine if these 'mean' people did not then decide to go to the library and taunt me when I was clearly avoiding them. Looking back, this was clearly bullying and I bet none of them believe in the fact that they were bullies. I was so depressed that I ate and had even thought about suicide, because you get into that mind frame where 'it wouldn't matter if you're alive or not, no one will miss you'. Before anyone start going on about how this is the wrong way to think or that you shouldn't let what they say hurt you.. let me just point out that I AM better. I am not that little girl anymore where she'll eat and eat and put on weight because she was so depressed. No one really understands depression and no one depression is the same. 

One of the leaders of this 'mean' group actually private messaged me on Facebook a few years back saying things like she had brain cancer, so she had an operation and now she is better and that because of so, she had forgotten all that had happened in high school and all she remembers was that we were once friends.. that she will like for us to be friend.. I'm sorry but NO! Firstly, how convenient that she had forgotten that she had bullied me and made me depressed and suicidal?! Secondly, how dare she used Cancer as her excuse! I was 20 turning 21 when my mother passed away from Cancer. I do not need people who can't even own up to their mistakes and actually apologies like a human being in my life. 

I changed school in year 11 and believe me it was the best thing that had ever happened to me. I never thought I could get my parents to let me change school but I was lucky because my brother was entering year 7 and he had made it to this high school as part of their selective year. I remember going with him to his orientation night with my mum and while we were mingling about, I remember speaking with the principal and asking about wanting to change school. I'm still surprise how my mother did not say a thing when the principal was happy to have my interview right then and there, taking us to her office. My mother was all the more happier that I was going to the same school as my brother so that I could catch the train with him and keep an eye out for him. 

I still remember my very first day of high school. I knew no one. It was daunting and exciting at the same time. I still remember the thoughts that ran threw my mind that very first day. 'I will be myself, no more trying to be someone I'm not to fit in. At least this way, the friends I make will actually be people who are friends with me for who I am'. I no longer looked back on that part of my life as shameful, that I ran away from my problems because guess what, the fact that I made the decision to change school, that I decided to take control of my life doesn't change. 

I am who I am because of the circumstances and the events that had happened in my life. I cannot erase it and I cannot change it, but I can look back and learn from it.

You're all probably going 'Whoa! This is a very personal post'. I never tried to hide my past, the good, the bad and the ugly are all me and I guess this is what really drew me into art. Art was always something beautiful for me as a kid, but as I grew older I started seeing art as a way to express the inner thoughts. It probably comes as no surprise that my old time favourite artist is Edvard Munch and at that time the one painting I loved the most was "The Scream". Not because it's famous but because it reflected my mind set back then and that it was my reality. Vincent van Gogh "The Starry Night" became one of my favourites because it's more hopeful and that was something I gain back.

So yes, I'm those arty type of people who enjoy art -  you and I might see the same art work but our interpretation might be different and that is what I love most about art.

Which then goes to why I needed some soul inspiring time and what's better for the soul than a visit to The Art Gallery NSW. The last time I visit The Art Gallery NSW was for their Noh Exhibition. This time me and my art appreciation friend went to see Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman collection. We went on a Wednesday night because The Art Gallery NSW have decided to do what they called an "Art After Hours", in which the Art Gallery is open till 10pm on Wednesday. 

Frida Kahlo - some of you will know her as the famous mono brow artist. 

I studied her for a bit in High School and found her fascinating because most of her works are self-portraits and self portraits are not easy. I can go on forever about her and her life history but then there are already so many sites about her and so I feel like I've blab enough on this post to not need to add art history to it. If you are fascinated by her, please click on her name and it'll go into more depth. 

What I really admired in Frida, not just her work but that she loved, passionately and fiercely and without a damn to the world around her. A lot of people, myself included feels that her and Diego are so mismatched, even her parents believe so but she loved him. She was the definition of 'Love Conquers All'.

Oh and we managed a little more time to explore the Young Archie 2016 displays. Such talented kids that were truly inspiring!

SHE LOVES THE SMELL OF COFFEES, BLOOMED ROSES AND NEW BEGINNINGS - SONIA AZALIA.

I feel that all my post are about food lately.. I should really update about more cultural stuff but I've been so run down lately that the only thing I go out for is food and more food.. well okay and Pokemon too. Maybe I should do a post on Pokemon Go one of these days hehe. 

It's been freezing cold lately and I do not want to get sick since I'm blood donating so I'm trying very hard not to get sick or go out too much. Still the best time to have ice cream is actually when it's cold and there is this new ice cream joint that I've been dying to try. 

i-Creamy Artisan Gelato.

A friend of mine wanted to go out for dinner and karaoke so I suggested that we go out early, pay Uncle Tetsu a visit for their cheesecakes (she still haven't been yet! Also you can read about my first visit here) then head over to the i-Creamy Artisan Gelato for their rose petal ice cream before we head to dinner. You see, me and her after dinner are always too full for anything else so if we want dessert its best to have it before dinner. Anyway we waited about 50min for the cheesecake, played a bit of Pokemon Go while we wait in line because its situated between about 3 Pokestops but I got nothing rare.. then we dropped the cake in the car and head over to get us some ice cream. We got the 2 flavour ice cream because we weren't too sure how good they taste and you know just in case. It's not a bad price, we paid like $13-$14 for two, two flavoured rose ice creams. 

I had the fairy floss and milk chocolate flavour one and my friend had the white chocolate strawberry cheesecake and fairy floss. It was de-lish! I was expecting the cone to be so-so, because let's face it not all waffle cones taste as good as the ice cream but this, I devour the whole thing in a minute and I definitely want to go back for more!

Oh I also debuted my much shorter hair cut for the first time out. Hope you all like!

I EAT CAKE BECAUSE IT'S SOMEBODY'S BIRTHDAY SOMEWHERE - UNKNOWN.

I really should be working. Actually scratch that I haven't even finished my other draft posts but this one must take precedence over the rest. Why? Because yesterday my friend line up for 50 minutes for a cake. Yes, you heard right a cake. Not just any cake mind you, it was Uncle's Tetsu Cheesecake. 

These heavenly beauties. 

Only one cake per a person and a queue that seems to never end. 

We took some sneak bites while it was still nice and warm and mhhh. It was so good! So light and fluffy. This is what the Japanese called "fuwafuwa" (ふわふわ) meaning fluffy and I just can't help thinking that this is so true. 

I've been obsessed with Pokemon Go lately which I'm sure the rest of the world is too. It's such an addiction and so now I've been out heaps but not for food but more for Pokemon Go. Also explains the slow update unfortunately. Still, I'll try to keep updating as regularly as I could. The hype for the game should die down.. well I won't be as crazy if my friends stops the friendly competitiveness that's going on in our group. 

We actually went out to go the Sydney Opera House to catch us some Pokemon and figured that since we were out we will get us some yummy cheesecake. We were literally sitting there with cheesecake in one hand and our phones playing. Have to say the way the cheesecake melts in your mouth.. so good! I definitely prefer eating it warm and I wouldn't mind if it had a bit more cheese flavour to it. I have tried to make the Japanese Cotton Cheesecake before and it turned out pretty good so maybe I should aim to make the fuwafuwa cheesecake now.

Dinner we went to Miso in World Square. Gotta love our Japanese food! Went for some simple dishes. 

ALL HAPPINESS DEPENDS ON A LEISURELY BREAKFAST - JOHN GUNTHER.

I'm not really a breakfast person. As in I'll rather sleep in more, wrapped in the warmth of my blankets than to get up and make breakfast. Well, it's kind of meh to make breakfast for yourself right? Really, just give me a cup of coffee in the morning and I'll function. If you know me, than you will know that I need coffee. It's not a want but a need. Coffee to me is the elixir of life. Still, I enjoy finding really interesting places to go to, those cafes and restaurants that have their own characters. 

This might be random, to me the ultimate happiness will be having someone to go to these places with and wouldn't mind waking up at an ungodly hour to go to these places with you.. To join you on these random adventures to seek out places by driving around, wouldn't mind how random and crazy you might be. Right now, I do not have that so called special person in my life but rather I have a handful of extremely important special peoples; my friends. Lovers come and go but friends will always be there for you, even at your worst. I've never believed in lovers over friends, it's just never been something I can comprehend and although it might seem slack on the lover.. I guess I just need to find someone who will become my best friend as well as lover. 

Friendship is a relationship. It's the relationship you have with these people and I just want to write down how important I hold relationships that are dear to me. 

I have a friend whom I've known since I was 12 years old. I'm now 29.. that means I've known her for 18 years. 2 more years and that is 2 decade of solid friendship right there. We might not always agree on the same stuff and sometimes we get so busy in our lives that we don't see each other much.. This has never made our friendship any less solid because we don't believe in the need to see one another every week just to justify our friendship. Still when we do meet up it's always in good company and happiness.

The other Sunday we decided to go to breakfast. Now me and her, don't do breakfast, brunch - yes, lunch - not really, dinner - hell yeah. Last year, we did a little mini trip down to almost Melbourne for the truffle hunt season. This year, no time, so I found a nice cafe in St Leonards that is putting truffle in their menu and believe it or not, in their hot chocolate and mocha!

Cavalier Speciality Coffee.

Truffle is an acquire taste so not many like it. Kind of like stinky tofu and durian, both have their own unique taste. St Leonards is towards North Sydney and to me that always seem so far away but in all honestly it actually isn't, took me about 20 minute to drive, and yes I was driving within the speed limit. Parking was a bit of a hassle and we had to move the car at least once because of the waiting line outside the cafe. However, I did manage to find all day parking where there is no parking limit on a Sunday. 

My friend had ordered the truffle hot chocolate because she isn't a fan of coffee and while I did asked about the truffle in coffee, I was advised that the taste does not go well together so I opted for their truffle mocha, which is not an actual coffee. I had been checking their Instagram while we were waiting for our table and in the end we ordered the Mac N Cheese and the Tiramisu French Toast and yes both with truffle slices on top added. I think we might have picked too much sweet focus food, still my favourite will have to be the Tiramisu French Toast. 

It's a very cute little place so there is a bit of a waiting line but the staff are so friendly and a little sunshine never hurt nobody.

ONCE YOU HAVE TASTED THE TASTE OF THE SKY, YOU WILL FOREVER LOOK UP - LEONARDO DA VINCI.

I couldn't agree any more.

One of the managers that I work for wanted to do a team bonding getaway.. the result - Skydiving in Hunter Valley, because let's face it, whats a work gathering without alcohol right? Now, I just want to make it very clear, I am not a thrill seeker. I hate things like rollercoasters, giant drops and I cannot even imagine wanting to do bungee jumping. The idea of free fall does not appeal to me. This is definitely one of the craziest thing I have ever agreed to do.

Still, I'm not sure if it's something to do with age, but you kind of get to a stage in your life where you are like.. fuck it, let's just do this anyway because:

1. You only live once. #YOLO

2. It's an adventure.

3. When was the last time you did something for the very first time?

If these aren't enough reasons then really what's living? Sometimes you just have to let go of the doubt and fear and just go for it and really.. I'm glad I did!

Skydiving.

Wow. Where do I even begin. We were told to meet at the drop zone by 7:00am. So yes that means 6:00am wakeup time for all the jumpers, which resulted in a breathtaking view out our balcony. Leave from the hotel that we were staying at Mecure Resort Hunter Valley Gardens by 6:30am. We got a little lost and ended up having to call to get directions but it was all good because we literally watched the sun rise over the hills while driving to the pickup/drop zone. That was breathtaking and it made me really glad I woke up that early for it.

I don't know what it was but I did not feel the fear. Even the day before the jump, all my friends were messaging me saying, "good luck!" "have fun jumping out of the plane" "bet you're going to be thinking about the jump all day" and so on but the truth was, I honestly did not feel anything beside excitement. I was expecting myself to feel scare once we put the gears on but really it was just all nervous excitement. I was more excited and can't wait than anything else, even asking the instructors if I could jump 2nd? Maybe, it was because we were the 2nd load of jumpers so we got a change to watch the first load jump and land. 

If you ask me what was my favourite part of the whole experience? I have to say zero gravity was pretty amazing. Imagine. Mid air and you're suspended right there and then because there is no gravity. It was amazing! 

If I'll ever skydive again? YES! Absolutely! 

I'm really glad I had such an awesome instructor for my jump because he made my very first skydive experience so much fun that I definitely want to do it again! If you ever want to skydive in Australia, should definitely go with Skydive.com.au and go with the Sky Dive the Beach team because they bring so much energy that makes you can't wait to jump. Also, I did the photo and video package so I was going back on the video that was filmed on their gopro and my instructor was just too funny - I had Luke - an instructor that I definitely recommend if you want to experience flying and zero gravity.

 

Photos below are taken from the GoPro that was attached to Luke's wrist. 

Now that I can proudly say I've jumped out of a plane and done sky diving, I believe it's onto a new adventure.