309. over being under, melbourne

Heaps of entries have been piling up since my last update, I have a ton of things to write about but I'm just too pre-occupied with drawing and planning out some projects. I have been going around Singapore to check out prices to make prints and some merchandise. I hope to see these projects fall through before I return to Tokyo.

As I already have mentioned, I was in Melbourne to celebrate my birthday last month. I didn't do anything special but just went around Melbz for some good food, coffee, relax and unwind. I didn't bother taking much photos either. Melbourne has changed a lot over the last two years and I love it even more now because things are way more convenient. Also, there's an ACNE, COS and so many more clothes catering to my style newly opened.

I think a couple of new malls, many many food outlets have sprung up. The CBD is so busy at night now, it's nice to be out and about. I obviously dropped by my favorite gallery in Melbourne, it's so convenient since it's in the CBD. The exhibition going on last month was Xenoplasm, mostly paintings, drawings and sculptures of monsters.

I thought these guys looked like evil broccoli. 

The exhibition was not really my style but I still enjoyed it. Little sis and I went to too many new coffee places, so I can't remember the names anymore. Nothing beats coffee in Melbourne. We also had some time to go to church, and walk to Fitzroy. There's a lot of new craft stores, cafes and clothing boutiques in Fitzroy now and we spent two afternoons exploring the entire place. Really convenient because it's about a 20 minute walk from the CBD. 

There was also a light festival going on in Fitzroy on the week I was there but unfortunately, it rained on the night we were there and didn't have time to check it out again, these are the only photos I took while we rushed to get on the tram back to our apartment.

Being back in Melbourne was a much needed break from busy Tokyo. I felt much better after being home for a while. I really want to go back to Melbourne in January again for some shows (alexisonfire, letlive., Refused and Everytime I Die)  but we'll see how that goes. 

I've also fallen in love with a hidden book store in Melbourne. I bought a Norwegian folktale book there and can't be any happier. I really love Scandinavian folklore. The building Metropolis bookstore is hidden in has so many gems. The owner of the bookstore was really nice as well, unfortunately no photos are allowed in the store. So click on the link above to check it! Definitely my new favorite place in Melbourne.

This trip back home was a really good one since I got a new tattoo, satisfied my cravings for all of Melbourne's good food and coffee, got to explore new places and just let my mind take a break for a little bit. Now, I'm back with my family in Singapore and surprisingly, it has been good to me so far (minus my non-existent social life here). I have been really productive and haven't feel this good about myself in a long long long time. 

I hope to come back to Tokyo once I'm done with all these projects and I might be coming back later than expected. Of course, the boyfriend has been nagging at me to get back sooner but I really need to do things for myself. Even if that means skipping some shows by my favorite bands, so be it. I'll definitely be back in Tokyo by Autumn. Right now, I just want to concentrate on things here and have no distractions.

125. rewind, melbourne

It's been a week since Soundwave and I'm here sitting in bed listening to AFI. I thought by now, I would have gone back to listening to all my Japanese bands but here I am still listening to all the bands I saw last week.

Last week was well spent going to cafes, eating way too much, going to concerts, letting time pass at parks and reminiscing all my teenage years with little sis. We were just talking about how nostalgic we feel when we see those bands. I spent most of my teenage years indulging in music, loving it, breathing it and falling asleep to it (yes, even metal). It was nice to see them all again, especially AFI. They have been my favorite band since I was 17.

124. this celluloid dream, melbourne

let's love, like 17

i'm in love with poisoning

only bring your pretty frightful gifts to me

let's love and kill like 17 now

060. december underground

"Moment" by lynch. is playing in my head as I write this entry. It's already coming to the end of December and I haven't fully accepted the fact that 2012 is ending so quickly. I really loved 2012, so many things happened and I'm still changing. The good outweighed the bad, that's for sure.

 To end 2012 with a bang, little sis and I will be in Maldives to celebrate the new year. Hopefully welcoming 2013 will help make next year as good as this one or maybe even better (wishful thinking), but I hope the year of the Snake would be good to me, because well, in the Chinese Zodiac, I'm born in the year of the Snake and I really love snakes, so 2013, please be kind to me.

Here's some stuff I did this month : (I was so lazy to update, haha)

Federation Square, one of my favorite places in Melbourne and it has free wifi yay!

Myer Christmas Windows, these are just two out of 5? Cute!

There were animated and could move and the lights would flicker. There was even a queue just to look at this.

It was raining on the day I was coming back to Singapore (why I am back is a long story),

 but I was lucky enough to see a rainbow before I left home. Melbourne is so good to me.

Little sis brought me to watch Rurouni Kenshin, she knew I was bummed to be back. 

The cinema hall was FULL, and we were lucky to catch the last screening! 

The movie was pretty good, the characters really looked like the ones in the anime! *___* 

And Sato Takeru really suited Kenshin well. I love the fighting scenes. 

They changed the story a little to suit the film and it was about Jinei, 

still wish it was about Shishio but it would be so long if it was. 

The film lasted for about a little over 2 hours. 

Dad looking all happy to murder lobsters for our Christmas eve dinner! Dad came back to celebrate Christmas with us since it was a long weekend. We had the lobster and turkey on Christmas eve and on Christmas day, we went to Hyatt. As usual, I had steak and we all shared appetisers and desserts! I got a new Moomin plushie, Fullmetal Alchemist series blu ray, TEKKON KINKREET blu ray (finally) and a Rei Kawakubo book for Christmas! Happy ^^

Dad won a free trip to Maldives so, we're going there for new year, like I already mentioned earlier. I still haven't unpacked yet and now I need to pack again?!?! T_T I never thought I would go to Maldives because... beach. sun. SEA = fish. fish = me dead. I have a phobia of fish. ~_~ They scare the shit out of me but I feel like this is Krabi 2.0 but upgraded, haha.

Hopefully I'll have fun! Currently, I'm working on drawing more girls and still finding and figuring out what I want to my art to be like. Experimenting. I'm really enjoying painting jellyfishes... it's so ironic right? I don't like the sea but I'm basically drawing a sea themed piece just minus the fish and I love sea themed movies like Little Mermaid and Ponyo, they're actually my favorites but I'm scared of the ocean. If only fish looked like Ponyo and instead of sharks, there will be Ariels. 

I don't feel like my current work is very me but I got bored of just drawing girls and nothing surrounding them but hair, so I'm researching on other things that maybe I could add in and create my own world. Since I was little I always wanted to create my own animals, girls, universe. So here I am trying to do it.

Also, after I am back from Maldives, I want to write Top 10s of 2012. This year has been far too great to not even write anything about it! Music, muses, girls, boys, parties, travelling, dining, everything has been great this year and I'm so happy about finally doing what I really want. So, happy holidays and have a great new year! I am definitely cherishing every last moment of 2012.

058. chil

27th November 2012 ;

I booked a tour to the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne for some sight seeing the day before because mom really wanted to go to a winery whilst she's still here. We set out in the break of dawn and got on the bus that would drive us all the way out into the hills on Eastern Victoria. (For those of you who didn't know, Melbourne is in the State of Victoria)

It was raining heavily that morning, I normally hate it when it rains when I tour, but the rain that morning had this calming effect on me and I love the cold so much, I don't even care about the rain pouring down on me and getting sick the next day.

It took about an hour or so drive to get up to the hills, we passed by many tiny and cute towns and forests, I felt like I was still in my dreams, the trees were so tall it made it seem like I was lost but still felt so safe. Listening to THE NOVEMBERS suited the mood so well, I can't wait to listen to them in winter. I've always thought that they'd be a perfect band to listen to in the cold and quietness.

The stopped somewhere along the way for breakfast, initially, we were supposed to feed some birds but since it was raining, mom and I just decided to hide inside a little cafe and have something warm to drink. We had no choice but to get an umbrella, we settled for the smallest one with cute koala prints on it. We spent about half a hour there and got on the bus again and continued driving to Puffing Billy. Again, we passed by some cute towns.

The rain lightened a little when we arrived at Puffing Billy, we had to wait for another half an hour before getting on the steam train. The guides were filling us in about the history of the railway and train and all that jazz, so we were actually going to get on a train that started operating as far back at the 1900s. It was nothing special but well, it's for the experience right? 

The train ride was about 20 minutes, there was nothing much of a view but trees and more trees and lamas? I couldn't tell if they were lamas or alpacas. We got on the bus again at the end of the train ride and had another hour drive to Yarra Valley for lunch. 

The rain cleared up and the sky was in a nice shade of blue. One thing I hated was how bright and strong the sun rays were. I never liked the sun that much, I think everyone knows that by now, even if it's for the better, I still don't like that ball of heat. 

We had roast beef with some salad and a glass of red wine for lunch. I always love how fresh the produce are in Australia. It's just something that makes me a little happier inside. After lunch, I accompanied mom for a little wine tasting and she bought two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon, we both agreed about how much we love how the taste of this wine rested in our throats.

It wasn't before long that we had to get on the bus again, we headed to the final stop of the tour that was Healesville Sanctuary. I was most excited for this stop because I wanted to see platypuses for as long as I can remember. They are cute, weird little creatures, don't you think?

At Healesville Sanctuary, the first thing that greeted us were koalas, I've seen a lot of koalas in my time, obviously, because I am an Australian. I love holding them though, their butts are all warm and smooshy.  There were Echidnas (little things that look like hedgehogs), Kangaroos, several species of birds, snakes and lizards, Tasmanian Devils, Dingo Dogs and Wombats (which were sleeping, they are nocturnal).

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Sanctuary, the weather was nice to us that day, it cleared up right in time. When we arrived at the Sanctuary, it stopped raining completely but I got a little annoyed because of the heat. We left the animals at about 4 in the afternoon and arrived back in the city an hour later, just in time for dinner. The bus dropped us off right outside Taco Bill, so we settled for Mexican. We were both lazy to find and think of something else to eat, plus we didn't want to walk anymore.

I had enchilada and dip for dinner and mom had the mixed platter. I forgot to take photos of my food again, it's rare that I have mexican food. We didn't do much but eat and eat and went straight back to the apartment after that. All I can think about in Melbourne is the food. They have the freshest produce and nicest pastries and coffee. I swear I am going to grow fat in this town.

056. bitter & sweet

I've been feeling better after the first few days, so on Monday, I decided to walk around the CBD a little more. We skipped breakfast and lunch and headed straight for tea time at Brunetti. Had Soy Chai Latte again (I think I will be drinking it everyday, haha) and some sweet stuff. Plus, the weather was perfect, I think it was only 20 degrees. Ohhhh and the Tiramisu and Lemon Brulee tart was yummy. :9

After tea, we just walked aimlessly around the CBD.

I've walked pass St.Paul's Cathedral so many times and never walked in, actually there are so many cathedrals around the CBD in Melbourne but I always only go to St.Patrick's because my parents got married there. Yes, you can say that I'm biased and partially lazy to "explore" other churches. 

And this is the alley way next to the cathedral. It was so windy that my dress flew and this guy standing next to me was just staring/laughing at me. -_- Same dress as the last time I went out with Shinpei. Never EVER wearing this dress on a windy day again, EVER. It's like I'm doomed to show everyone my undies with this dress.

We walked down some more to St.Patrick's Cathedral and stayed there till closing time. After that, we went to Fitzroy Gardens for a scroll, where I got chased by a duck. Seriously, this particular duck chased anyone who didn't even stand that close to it. I get that it's trying to "protect" it's young but this poor duck is just crazy. But nonetheless, the ducklings were cute!

Miniature houses! 

After walking around Fitzroy Gardens for a little bit, we took a tram down to get some dinner. 

Well, you've guessed it, Vietnamese for dinner. :3

So far, I am enjoying Melbourne a lot. I hope I don't have to go back.