Either live splendidly or die quickly

I watched the story of Liu Wei, an inspiring musician from Beijing and was moved by his words, "Either live splendidly or die quickly."

Second home

Aunty Jo Jo with Zachary, Alyssa and their daddy, Andrew in Melbourne

Two weekends before my unexpected trip to Australia, I was chatting on Skype with my little god-daughter, Alyssa, who asked me, "Aunty Jo Jo, why do live so far in Singapore? When are you coming to see us?" Lo and behold, a business class ticket appears on my desk and I was on my way to see her. Never again will I dismiss the innocent prayers of a child.

We sat down to a lovely Vietnamese dinner and Alyssa and Zach kept me entertained with their playful antics, while their daddy, Andrew Wong, updated me on his latest edition of corny jokes. I met Andrew way back in 1990 when he was doing his accounting internship in seedy Kotaraya in downtown KL. We became such good friends, he started calling me Dragon Sister...go figure!

Andrew and his wife, Carina, are wonderful hosts who have always made me feel like one of the family. Sometimes I feel as if Melbourne is my second home.

Awesome offices

Our new Melbourne offices in St Kilda have awesome views of the Formula 1 race track at Albert Park. Hmm....I really need to figure out how to smuggle myself into those premises come March 2011!

Round House, Fremantle

(Text copied from signages on site)

The Round House was the first permanent building in the Swan River Colony. It was designed by Henry Willey Revely, the colony's civil engineer, and constructed by Richard Lewis & Co for Stg1603. The prison opened on 18th January, 1831. Gaolers were civil employees, not military.

Reasons for Imprisonment in the Round House

Mutiny
Disobedience
Contempt of Court
Breaking Curfew
Seamen kept in custody
Felony
Stealing
Misdemeanour
Larceny
Sick lunatic
Arson
Manslaughter
Murder
Killing a pig
Spearing cattle

Yummy Northbridge

While my first meal in Perth was a disappointing Angus at Burger King, my subsequent meals were delicious. Thanks to my colleague, Jacqueline Wang, I had some of the best dim sum in a long time. It was at Golden Dragon, a Chinese restaurant in Northbridge - the entertainment capital of Perth. Thank you Jacqui for being such a brilliant hostess!

The fung chau (braised chicken feet) was sublime - juicy, bursting with flavour and falling of the bone. The egg tarts were equally good with flaky buttery pastry holding all that custardy goodness. The satisfaction per calorie was so high that I didn't eat again till dinner which was a salad!