2012 in a Big Photo-filled Nutshell

Definitely my photo of the year.

I love reading other peoples' summaries/resolutions/etc for the year. So in the midst of my insomnia (I've been working on this post for 4 hours starting 4.30am), I thought I should do one as well, only in a more may-niac fashion: with pictures - just the way you love it.

1. Family 

Made my first trip in Australia out of Melbourne! And besides visiting my friends at UNSW (below), I spent most of my time with the best aunt ever, Aunty Bee! As you can tell from the oysters, she's one to spoil me. 

On the side note, Sydney is definitely a place to visit if you've never been, though I'd suggest bringing someone who's familiar with the area along if you're as harebrained as I am.

It felt amazing to be home for a month in Winter after being away for an entire year, and it felt better because I surprised my sister at for graduation! I can't wait to go back again in February. I miss home, and I miss my family. There have been times when I've realized how I've taken their presence as a family for granted, and as I grow older, I've been learning to appreciate them more and more.

Jacqueline, my cousin fron Hong Kong but studying in New Zealand (if you think that's a long story, trying asking her about her nationality) paid me a visit not too long ago (blog post long overdue, I'm sorry! It's coming, I promise!) and it was quiet but fun.

And that was perfect tour guide training the week right before Ping and Dubai came over. (again, blogpost will be up soon!) I brought them around for about 5-6 days; it was a whole lot of fun with lots of food, lots of walking around, lots of erratic weather changes: there you go, Melbourne in a nutshell.

Happy happy Lim sisters at the Shrine of Remembrance. Do we look alike?

Yes Dubai, you're my family too. :)

2. Friends

I've had SO many friends visit Melbourne, and funny thing is, I didn't get to see every single one of them! Must remember to fully utilize my camera from now on.

Vivien and Diksha, from Sydney. They hosted me for about 2 nights in Sydney as well, and I think the UNSW campus is beautiful. My first and probably only glimpse of a Uni campus life. 

My favourite couple of all time, Jou and Josh from KL. I can't wait to see you guys soon. Or start booking your tickets for next winter. Though, you guys might wanna find someone else to stay with cause I wouldn't have sofa couches anymore.

Mei from Iowa and Hazel from KL. This was the only picture I had of the two of you, sorry :/  I didn't get to take you guys around at all! :( Hazel, if you're gonna be in Queensland, I'll definitely pay you a visit :) Mei, you already know I'm saving money to go to the US after I graduate :)

Pauline, from Canberra. I've yet to pay you a visit, and I think I will this Easter break (unless you're coming here). I might catch a bus, though i think for the sake of my sanity of my rear, I'll spend on a plane ticket.

Xiaoyun, my long-lost, new-found soulmate from Manchester. It's been a real pleasure knowing you, and even though things didn't work out for you one way or the other, I do hope you'd still come back to Melbourne to see my pretty face!

Tri-Xha, from KL. I know you visit Australia a lot, so I EXPECT you to come back. Please? =p. I can't wait to bring you those salted caramel macarons you and Jou love so much; and for your lil dress-up tea party when I get home! :3

Julia, from KL. A new friend who works where I used to work, it's amazing how we got along so well. You were a real joy to bring around; not many people could stomach the amount of food I stuffed you with, and willingly too!

Brian, from Canberra. Okay so this picture wasn't from your trip, but I hope Amber enjoyed the sweet treats you brought home for her! You've yet to taste the best of Melbourne's food, really..

Jenn, from Sydney. So I was a little cranky when we met up, but it was really wasn't you; it was great to another familiar face! I haven't visited the USyd campus, and I will definitely ring you up when I visit Sydney the next time!

Vicky, from Melbourne/KL. Congrats on your graduation!!! It was great seeing you again; I genuinely do miss you and Aris. I'll definitely want to meet up with you when I'm back in Malaysia, though you guys might have to pick me up =p

Lara, from KL. You were more of Iryan's guest than mine, but it was still fun to bring you around. Maybe Iryan and I can plan a trip to visit you up in Sydney once you've settled down, then it's your turn to bring me to the best burgers in Sydney instead.

In 2012, I've made new friends, reconciled with people I've had a falling out with, gotten closer to some friends, and reached a different level of understanding with others. Maybe 2013 will be full of more surprises and will bring more fulfilling friendships my way. It's just good that 2012 is a year that did not see any friendships falling apart.

Among the good company in Melbourne. If your photo isn't here, don't pout.. I'll cook you dinner :)

2/3s of my favourite people here in Melbourne. Thank you for everything, Iryan and Demie <3

As for the remaining 1/3, congrats Adam, for getting that exchange to the UK!! You're living my dream, and make sure you live it the hell out for me. The three of us will miss you very much, and I'll see you back again in July :)

3. Uni Life

It's no big secret that I was never really happy with what I was doing and the fact that I was in the University of Melbourne. It's something I've taken for granted - not many people have been able to be able to study abroad, or have a tertiary education at all. I've sprouted a new respect and appreciation for my Uni life.

Uni is not meant to be easy, and it's something I had to learn the hard way, not once, but 4 times. After 1.5 years of sulking around Accounting and Finance, I've finally decided to switch to Marketing and maybe even Management, because I definitely suit Marketing better than anything to do with numbers. It was hard, and I'm so blessed to have parents who understood me and gave me a choice. 

4. Relationship

I'm sad to say that my 1.5 year relationship with JasonLMK has come to an end. It was very recent, so it might explain my behavior just a little bit. I haven't got much to say about this, just that we've had a good run, but it was time for us to go our separate ways. 

On the side note: It's always important that you get the blessings for your and your other half's parents, because no matter how good it is, they ultimately have a large hold on what your relationship is and what it will be. If there's something about you that they don't like that you can still change, then maybe that's a test for you as to whether you're willing to change for the one you love. But when it's something that you can never change, like your heritage, your roots, your religion, your race, then it's either they learn to accept, or you pack up and leave.

5. Kitty

He's currently sleeping in his bed next to me, and this may sound utterly bizarre but Levi's definitely one I've become a lot closer to, especially over the past month what with me being home with him nearly all the time. He's been a really good kitty, with bits and pieces of misbehavior here and there.

6. Other highlights

Meeting JinnyBoyTV and the 'cast' of unfold in Melbourne. I can't even...............

Opening up to Melbourne definitely means opening up to the food of Melbourne. Here's the jar that i keep talking about (it's got a lot more paper in it right now) and my Café guide that I follow loosely along with Urbanspoon. 

This is a really, really old picture, but it's probably one of the very few of me in the gym. My fitness in 2012 has been on a massive roller coaster ride. I'm gonna come back stronger and healthier. Remember, it's 30% exercise and 70% nutrition.

7. 2013

I hope for a great many things in 2013. I can feel a good 2013 coming, what with my completely unexpected reconnection with God, with my Uni life finally going in a direction where I can actually see a final destination, and with my opening up to Melbourne.

That, and that I feel a strange energy that's just waiting to pop out and go apeshit on everyone around me. (now that sounds more like me eh?)

Here's to a great 2013, from me to all of you, and to myself.

may.

The Bell Jar of Sandwiches

I haven't used the jar of cafe's* in ages, but I did for brunch on Sunday. Jason and I have a slight bias towards Collingwood since we've got a few favourites in that area, so picking out yet another from the area made us pretty excited.

The Bell Jar

656 Smith St, Collingwood VIC

03 9482 7980

Mon - Sun, 7am - 4pm

[ tram 86, stop 23 (Queens Pde/Wellington St) ]

I didn't get many pictures of my surroundings cause I was preoccupied with the cute dogs sitting outside. It looked like they have an outdoor area at the back, but i didn't check it out. The place was small, but not the smallest and it was relatively quiet for a Sunday morning. The girl who served us acted a little too-cool-for-everything though, but she was nice when I complimented her leggings. Hmm..

Organic orange juice, $3.80.

Skipped the usual soy latté cause I just wasn't feeling it that morning. I didn't really like the orange juice there though, but then again, that's beyond the café's control. 

Strong latté, $3.50.

Jason did mention that the coffee was pretty good. We noticed that they do have Market Lane beans there, though I'm pretty sure he got the house blend. +1 for using Market Lane though. Again, we're a little biased.

Roasted pumpkin, pear & caramelized onion relish sandwich with gorgonzola and rocket, $12

I think i'm going through a massive pumpkin phase right now. I really liked the sandwich though I would've preferred a little bit more pumpkin in it. It's always the bread that gets to me though: the crusts were nice and crunchy and it gave the sandwich an extra texture to bite into.

Poached eggs with pan fried haloumi, avocado, kasundi, pistachio dukkah and lemon, $17.

I tried out the haloumi and it was really salty and the texture was a little weird. I really liked the kasundi, though I'm not sure if it's meant to taste exactly like sambal from back home. 

Jason, as usual, enjoyed the kick of poached eggs on toast. He seemed to enjoy the dish, but then again, he's never tried haloumi prior to this. 

I relatively liked the rustic look of the place. What i liked even better was that the place seemed to attract plenty of dog owners taking their pooches out on a Sunday morning. 

What we really noticed, upon paying our bill, was that the barista had pretty damn excellent latté art skills. His hands have so much control; it was such interesting thing to watch.

Food: 7

Coffee: N/A (for me)

Ambience: 8

Value: 7

Staff: 6.5

*jar of cafés : I've been picking out where I've wanted to go over the last few weeks; i use the jar when I really don't know where to go for the morning. If i pick out a place we've already tried, i'll just throw the rolled up paper away and pick another. Heh.

So i've watched enough Vampire Diaries. Anyone can recommend anything else? D:
may.

Dead Man Espresso, Campfires and unconventional BLTs

So.. hi :D

I know I've been gone for a while. I've had a few things to settle, and I also had a couple of guests visit me as well. But now that everything's back on track, and life's back to normal, I'm back to blogging.

Dead Man Espresso
35 Market Street, South Melbourne VIC
03 9686 2255
http://www.deadmanespresso.com.au/
Mon - Thurs, 7am - 4pm, Sat - Sun, 8am - 4pm.
[ tram 112, stop 127 (York St/Clarendon St) ]

 It's a short walk away from the tram stop, but it's also a very short walk away from the market. There weren't any cafés along the adjacent street if i can recall correctly; the only thing i remember was the garage-converted-into-a-crossfit-gym along Clarke St. 

You know you've reached when you see a building that looks like it's made out of crate planks and when you hear the typical buzz of a café. I was really surprised that the place wasn't as busy as a café would be on a Saturday morning, given that Dead Man has quite a good reputation. I'm not complaining though.

Ordered the usual strong latté and soy latté. I've forgotten how much the coffee is over there; usually i take a photo of their menu but even their menu didn't have the price. Oh well, it can't be far from the $3.50-$4.30 price range. Blend was by Seven Seeds, which is one of my favourites.

Dead Man BLT: pork belly and spinach puree on brioche with pickled fennel and apple slaw, $16.50.

Review after review, this was the dish that everyone seemed to order. Maybe because you can never really go too wrong with pork belly. It wasn't really a BLT at all, but it's by far one of my favourite pork belly dishes here in Melbourne.

The brioche was fluffy and the crusts were crunchy - the best kind of bread to have for anything. As usual, what i really liked about the pork belly was the lack of smelly porky taste and smell; the spinach puree cut the fattiness of the pork well too.

I was rather disappointed with their fennel and apple slaw though: there was one full circular slice of green apple sitting in between pickled red cabbage and overly pickled fennel. I almost always finish whatever that's on my plate but i really didn't like the slaw.

Camp fire brekky: bacon, pork and fennel sausage, confit tomatos, Heinz spaghetti, two fried eggs and sourdough, $21.

Yep. This dish was pretty darn big hence the price. Usually I'd turn away from items above $18, but after seeing how much was on that pan, it got my stamp of approval. Jason took one look at it and he said it immediately reminded him of Scouts back in the day, sans the bacon.

I was a little confused about the Heinz spagetti, but maybe that's what campers eat here. Haha. Only thing missing would be baked beans and charcoal and/or ash in the dish. Jason seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed it; it took him ages to finish up cause there was just so much on a plate. 

I've been told that Dead Man Espresso was in the same category as all the other over-rated cafés, but quite honestly, I liked the place. The staff who served us was a little on the blur side, and another staff just kept taking away the plates and cups without asking, but other than that, I enjoyed it.

Food: 8

Coffee: 7

Ambience: 8

Value: 6.5

Staff: 6.5

I will be blogging about my cousin and my sister's trip over the next few days. Don't worry, i've already started. I'm just working out how to piece two similar trips together into a couple of posts.

On a side note: Things didn't really go the way I planned for uni, and I was a bit of a wreck inside for the last two weeks. But after finally facing it and working things out, I've decided to drop Accounting and take on just Marketing. I was supposed to do an Accounting subject over the summer, but upon dropping the major entirely, I'm doing a breadth (elective) subject on Sports Coaching. How awesome is that?

Can't wait to watch Life of Pi later! Thanks NuffnangAU!

may.