What Childhood Toy Am I?

You Are a Doll

You've always been a nurturing person, even when you were too young to nurture anyone else. You tend to be very socially oriented. Other people matter to you, and you are very compassionate. You are naturally intuitive and understanding. You love people for who they are. It makes you feel valued to be needed. You like have others depending on you, and you're always happy to lend a hand.

What Childhood Toy Are You?

Maybe that's why I am who I am, a school counsellor and chair of staff wellbeing committee at my work place? 
Strange though because when I was young, I never played with dolls but Lego blocks and Playmobil.

Japan Trip 2016: Day 7 Part 1 8 Dec 2016 Thurs - Owl Cafe

I woke early in the morning to the clearest view ever of Mt Fuji from our room window. WOW.

The first stop of our interesting day is the Owl Cafe in Harajuku! It is our first visit ever to an owl cafe. What an experience! :) The feathers are so soft! All thanks to my Primary 4P 1998 student, Andrea for bringing us here! Thanks for meeting up with your old Cher. :) :)

Harajuku Station

Me and Bob, the owl

My 4P 1998 student, Andrea and us

Owl Cafe is a small cafe, just two tables and you have to make a reservation in advance. The staff will lead you into an enclosed area where the owls are kept and she will explain the breed of the owl and its likes and dislikes for each owl before she allows you to roam around looking at the owls and/ or touching them for 35 minutes. The staff is on present at all times in the enclosure to ensure safety of the owls and people. It is definitely an experience to see the owls so close up and to be able to touch them gently. 

Fortune Cookies

My girls love the fortune cookies which Guardian Pharmacy sells during the Chinese New Year period and they usually sell out quite fast. I bought a pack for my girls during one of my lunch times at a nearby mall. 
I introduced my friends to the joy of cracking open a fortune cookie. Oh goodness, they are so tickled by the fortune slips in the cookies and couldn't stop at one! :P With that, I decided to get for all of them fortune cookies as their Chinese New Year gifts as the cookies will definitely be something that they all enjoy! :)

My "Strong" Sight

I laughed really hard when I saw the results! :D Yes, I often look at things very intensely. But often, that's because I am too lazy to wear my astig glasses lol. :P 
But there are some truth in the assessment. I do have an eye for beauty and often the price can be quite "beautiful" too. :P

Your Strongest Sense is Sight

You are a highly observant person, and you naturally take in the world around you. You notice every detail, and you have an amazing visual memory. A picture can stay in your mind for decades. You have an eye for beauty. Even if you aren't artistic enough to create beautiful things, you can appreciate them. You love color and design. You have an eye for aesthetic details but also for grand panoramas.

What's Your Strongest Sense?

Childhood Memories: Sweets & Toys

Isetan is having Children's Day Celebration from 27 September till 9 October 2014. 
It brings forth many happy memories of my childhood with its large display of sweets and toys of yesteryears! :)

The huge array of simple toys that gave us many hours of pleasure :)

Marbles, five stones, card games, tops, washable tattoos, etc

Chinese chess, pick-up sticks, wind-up vehicles, pull-back vehicles, etc

A wide selection of candies, sweets and snacks :)

Biscuits and cookies in tins :)

Sodas in glass bottles :)

Look at the size of that White Rabbit milk candy! :P

Can you remember playing with and eating these? :)

I think our childhood of yesteryears are so much more hands-on, interactive and fun as compared to children of today lol. :) 

Chives

In the first place, I don't like chives. My mother had to force me to eat it. :S To think that my personality is like the chives, how ironic lol.

You Are Chives

You are a complex person, and you are more versatile than others expect. You do a lot of things well. There are two sides to your personality: one is all about art and color, while the other is all business. You are very resilient. It is hard to keep you down, and you know how to overcome almost any obstacle. You are balanced and understated. You have a compelling depth, but you don't broadcast it to the world.

What Fine Herb Are You?

Australian Food

Thought I would take this blogthing quiz "What Australian Food are You?" and see what I get. :) Meat pie?! I don't even take all that much meat pie when I was in Australia lol.There was a nasty rumour about meat pies during my time as a uni student in Australia so I kept away from it haha.

You Are a Meat Pie

You are a down to earth and very traditionally minded person. You pride yourself on being practical. You are a good person, and you always act as ethically as possible. You are not overly sweet, and you let your actions speak for themselves. You like to help out as much as you can, and you are concerned about world causes. You believe in making things better. You may seem a bit flaky to those who don't know you well, but you are true and loyal deep down.

What Australian Food Are You?

I am a Blue Pencil

Mostly true except for the last part lol.

You Are a Blue Pencil

You are down to earth, very reliable, and completely trustworthy. When help is needed, you like to step up. Absolutely true! You are naturally responsible, and you can't relax until everything you need to do is done. You even enjoy planning out your free time. Sometimes I can be too responsible for my own good. :P You don't like chaos, trouble, or drama. You try to prepare for the worst, and you like the intellectual challenge of thinking ahead. Yes, I like to plan for contingencies.  You would make a great accountant, financial analyst, or data scientist. You can look at all the facts objectively. Data scientist, yes. But a definite NO to accountant and financial analyst.

What Color Pencil Are You?

Brisbane Work Day 4/ Reminiscence Day 2/ Fun Day 1

Brisbane Work Day 4
Today is the last day of my work that I needed to do in my Brisbane unit. 
As we were getting ready to go over to my unit in St Lucia at 8am from my friend, Azlina's unit in Taringa, the removal company called and said they were already at my unit! What?! They were early as the scheduled time for collection was between 8:30am to 9:30am! We managed to get a Maxi cab at 8:30am as we had lots of stuff to bring over from Azlina's unit to store at my unit. Thank goodness, Taringa is near to St Lucia. We arrived at St Lucia at 8:40am and the removal company guy was still there. It was really nice of him to wait for us. By 9am, 3 standard boxes, 1 large box and 5 wrapped up frames were collected by the removal company. 
When Azlina went back to pack stuff from her unit to bring over to store at my unit, I started cleaning up my unit. Although the unit is going to be vacant, I just couldn't stand the dust and all. I am OCD to some extent lol. As I couldn't find my mop, I used the wet wipes I brought over to wipe the floors in the two bathrooms and the kitchen. I also vacuumed the living room and the bedrooms. Juliane helped out by following me around with a big trash bag for me to throw the used wet wipes as well as hand out the wet wipes and/ or tissue to me as and when I needed them. By 11am, I was done cleaning up. It was the best I could do under the circumstances and I was happy. :) 

Brisbane Reminiscence Day 2
It is a sad moment for me as I sent off my boxes. My three years in Brisbane has left a huge impact in my life and it has shaped who I am as a person today. For a long time, I wasn't ready to say good-bye. I always felt that once I did, I would lose something. But I finally realised that I will always have the fond memories of my time in Brisbane in my heart. I can, at long last, say good-bye to this chapter of my life in Brisbane. 
After the cleaning up in my unit, I brought Juliane to The University of Queensland which is just 10 minutes' walk away from my unit. I am really proud to be a graduate of UQ and I wanted to show Juliane where I studied. :) We walked along Sir Fred Schonell Drive, cut through the field, walked past Mayne Hall (now called James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre) and headed to the Forgan Smith Building of The Great Court. From the Forgan Smith building, we walked towards Michie Building (where I took a course in Government), then to Goddard Building (where the giant croc still hangs from the ceiling! :) ), past Parnell Building and Richards Building (School of Earth Sciences) and went to Co-op (next to WordSmith Cafe) for a quick stop. I needed to buy UQ memorabilia lol. :P We walked past Steele Building (where I took a course on Economics) and we stopped at the Main Refectory (but called Main Course now), Union Building for a late lunch. :) I was really glad that I could show Juliane how I used to make my own sandwich lunch. :) She got to make her own sandwich lunch too. :) We stopped at Schonell Threatre for Juliane's bubble tea haha. I tried to give my uni mate and friend, Zarinah a surprise at her work place, Student Services but failed miserably as the reception lady was no nonsense lol. :P It was great to see Zarinah and to have a quick chat with her. We will be meeting up on Sunday afternoon with another uni mate and friend, Claire. :) Before we headed back to my unit on Macquarie Street to collect my luggage, I showed Juliane the McElwain Building (the Psych Building to me) where I spent most of my time in UQ. :) We went through the Social Sciences Building to get to the Psych building which is a shortcut lol. Social Sciences Building is linked to the Psych building via this little link bridge which I used 20 years ago!! :P 

Used to be called Mayne Hall where my ceremonial graduation was held

The Forgan Smith Building, The Great Court

Looking towards Michie Building

Looking towards Duhig Building which used to be the Undergrad Library during my UQ time

Us at the Great Court :)

The giant croc is still around at the School of Biological Sciences!

A portion of the Great Court

We are creating new memories of UQ

More of The Great Court

The Great Court - I love you!

The snake craving, around since my time in UQ!

I took a photo here (similar pose) in my graduation gown back in 1994 :)

Wordsmiths Cafe is still around! :)

Our self-made sandwiches :) Tasted extra yummy!

Schonell Threatre where I used to watch foreign movies

Juliane's favourite place in UQ :P

Social Sciences Building from which we cut across to McElwain Building

Omg, still the same staircase to link to McElwain Building

OMG, still the same little bridge!

Yup, NO CHANGE even after 20 years! :P

Duhig Building (Undergrad Library during my UQ time)

As Juliane followed in my footsteps (literally, for today, for now), it is heartening to see the sparkle in her eyes as I had when I was a student at UQ as she saw the Great Court, the various buildings in UQ where I had lectures and tutorials, ... Maybe in the not so distant future, there may be another chapter of my life that involves Brisbane. :) 

Brisbane Fun Day 1
By the time my "down the UQ memory lane" trip ended, it was just past 4pm. We took a cab to our accommodation in the city, Meriton serviced apartment on Herschel Street. We were allocated Room 2207, a 1 bedroom city view apartment on the 22nd level. The apartment was amazing! :)  

The living area of our 1 bedroom city view apartment, Meriton Herschel Street

The kitchenette, the laundry room and the bedroom

Another view of the living area and the kitchenette (looking towards the door).

The bathroom

The toilet, separate from the bathroom

The bedroom

View of the Brisbane River and South Bank from the bedroom window

View from the bedroom window

The sunset view was amazing too! :)

Close-up view of the sunset over Brisbane River

High tech lift (just press the floor you want to go to and the panel informs you which car to go to and there are no buttons in the lift)

We walked to Queen Street Mall (about 10-15 minutes' walk from Meriton Herschel Street) to get some groceries from Coles such as milk, juice, cereals and snacks for our stay. 

Treasury Casino in Brisbane city

Christmas window displays at Myer, Myer Centre

Christmas displays on Queen Street Mall

Treasury Casino and Brisbane Square

Tickled! Was really tempted to take a peep inside lol

Boob-shaped pizza?! LOL

We had a simple meal in our apartment. While I did some laundry and more photo-taking of the night views, Juliane did her tuition homework. Yes, she brought homework over to do as she won't be able to complete them if she waited till she goes back to Singapore.

Night View of the Brisbane River, South Bank, and Performing Arts Centre from the bedroom window

Night View of the Brisbane River from the living area window

My UQ t-shirt, UQ mug, UQ magnet and UQ stress "ball" in the shape of a brain lol (gift from my friend, Zarinah)

Interesting stuff from Coles - pork krackles and pad thai 

It has been a really meaningful and memorable day for me, especially the trip back to UQ. I hope it is for my daughter, Juliane too.